In the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. Cheng Yu and Marcus went to visit the latter's manor.
Along the way, Mina followed behind Cheng Yu, her gaze icy as she stared at Marcus. Marcus felt extremely uncomfortable, as if there were thorns pricking his back under Mina's stare.
Cheng Yu had warned Mina that if a slave killed someone, the slave - owner would also be implicated. Mina didn't want Cheng Yu to get into trouble, so she just stared at Marcus without taking any action.
The three of them walked north, leaving Bailu Town.
Between Bailu Town and the northern fortress was a thick forest with a rather pleasant environment. Golden sunlight filtered through the gaps between the tree branches, creating patches of golden light spots. The air was filled with the fragrance of grass and wildflowers, making people feel relaxed and happy.
A stone - paved road over ten meters wide extended through the forest, reaching all the way to the northern fortress in the far north.
If one were to stand at a height of a hundred meters and look into the distance, they could see a towering mountain range stretching across the northern land for thousands of miles. It was like the Great Wall, fending off the invasion of demons from the northern demon realm. This mountain range was the northern border of the Black Sun Empire - the Snow - covered Mountains.
The Snow - covered Mountains not only blocked the demons from the north but also the cold air. To the south of the mountains was a warm and fertile forest, while to the north was a barren and cold snowfield. It was truly the MVP in the war between demons and humans.
After leaving Bailu Town, the three walked north along the stone - paved road for about ten minutes.
In the forest beside the stone - paved road, an artificially - reclaimed farm appeared. The farm was rectangular in shape, over three hundred meters long and over two hundred meters wide, with a total area of about one hundred mu.
The black land was as fertile as cream, as if one could squeeze out oil by pinching it. The farm was surrounded by a forest, and a simple wooden fence separated the farm area from the forest.
In the northwest corner of the farm, a Gothic - style manor was built. It consisted of three rows of connected wooden houses, covering an area of several thousand square meters. Colorful flowers were planted around it, making it very beautiful.
Looking at the manor and then at the farm, Cheng Yu was quite satisfied with the place. "How much?"
"One hundred and fifty gold coins," Marcus replied with a smile.
In a border town like Bailu Town, land prices were relatively cheap. A fertile farm of over one hundred mu plus a manor for just over a hundred gold coins was a normal price.
"One hundred and fifty gold coins is indeed not expensive, but I don't have that much money," Cheng Yu said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.
Last time, he spent ninety gold coins to buy Mina. Now he only had over thirty gold coins left and couldn't afford this manor.
Marcus's chubby face, which seemed to be oozing fat, was filled with a smile. "It doesn't matter. If Brother Cheng Yu can teach me the recipe for making fried rice with eggs, this manor can be given to you for free."
Hehe, so this old guy was waiting for me here, Cheng Yu thought to himself.
Merchants pursue profit. Marcus had long been coveting Cheng Yu's fried - rice - with - eggs recipe.
Calculating that Cheng Yu wouldn't have much money left after buying an orc slave, he deliberately brought Cheng Yu to see this manor, hoping to exchange it for the recipe.
Cheng Yu raised his eyebrows. "This fried - rice - with - eggs recipe was painstakingly developed by me. I've put a lot of effort into it."
"So, you're not going to exchange the fried - rice - with - eggs recipe for this manor?" Marcus frowned slightly.
"No, you need to add money."
"Add money? How much do you want?"
"This manor plus one hundred gold coins."
Marcus's eyes rolled as he weighed the benefits in his mind. If he obtained Cheng Yu's fried - rice - with - eggs recipe and opened several fried - rice - with - eggs restaurants in nearby main cities, he could get his money back in at most a year. It was a profitable deal.
"Okay, deal."
Marcus agreed to exchange one hundred gold coins and the manor for Cheng Yu's fried - rice - with - eggs recipe.
The three entered the manor. Cheng Yu found a pen and wrote down the recipe for making fried rice with eggs, including the mixing ratio of egg liquid and salt, the method of making steamed rice in a steamer, the order of adding seasonings like monosodium glutamate and scallions, and the length of frying time.
There was no monosodium glutamate on the Cersei Continent. Cheng Yu planned to sell monosodium glutamate to Marcus at a high price after Marcus opened the restaurants. This was the so - called "mastering the core technology."
Both Cheng Yu and Marcus had their own ulterior motives.
Having obtained the fried - rice - with - eggs recipe, Marcus was overjoyed as if he had found a treasure. Feeling that he had made a great profit, he immediately signed a house - and - land transfer contract with Cheng Yu and they both pressed their fingerprints.
In this way, the ownership of the manor was transferred to Cheng Yu.
...
Previously, Cheng Yu lived in a residence in Bailu Town. Now that he had his own manor, he could move here.
The next day, Cheng Yu hired a carriage and, with Mina, moved all the things from the residence to the manor.
The manor was located beside the stone - paved road leading to the northern fortress, so the transportation was very convenient.
The orc race was a hard - working and simple - living people. Mina was busy moving things and cleaning the house, arranging the living room and bedroom in perfect order.
In the evening, Cheng Yu made a dish of steamed spareribs with glutinous rice to reward Mina.
At the long table in the living room, Mina picked up a piece of steamed spareribs with glutinous rice and took a bite. The taste was soft, glutinous, fragrant, and savory, extremely delicious.
"It's so delicious. Every food you make is incredibly delicious," Mina said happily.
[The host's favorability with Mina +5]
The system's voice sounded.
After more than a week of feeding Mina delicious food, Cheng Yu's favorability with Mina had reached 70 points. As long as it reached 100 points, he could use one of the Silver Wolf Clan's innate skills.
Mina was about 1.75 meters tall, with a slender and well - proportioned figure. Her long, shapely legs were exposed outside the maid's skirt. Eating the steamed spareribs with glutinous rice, she was in a good mood, and her snow - white tail was wagging from side to side.
Cheng Yu's gaze fell on that fluffy wolf tail. "Mina, can I touch your tail?"
"Okay, but don't touch it for too long. My tail is quite sensitive."
If it were a week ago, Mina would rather die than allow Cheng Yu to touch her tail. But now, having a good impression of Cheng Yu, she readily agreed.
Rubbing his hands in excitement, Cheng Yu walked behind Mina and gently stroked her big, fluffy tail. Touching an orc's tail was similar to petting a cat.
While stroking Mina's tail, Cheng Yu's arm naturally wrapped around Mina's slender and boneless waist. He leaned close to Mina's ear, only one centimeter away from her soft animal ear. "Follow me from now on, and I'll make delicious food for you every day."
"I... I have a master - servant contract with you, so of course I'll follow you," Mina said.
Being so close, Mina's delicate face turned crimson. Her eyes darted around like a frightened deer. "You've been busy all day. Let me give you a back rub."
She freed her tail from Cheng Yu's hand, pushed Cheng Yu onto the chair, and started giving him a back rub.
...
At seven in the morning, several cavalrymen rode their warhorses to Cheng Yu's restaurant.
The leading cavalryman was a young man with red hair. He had a straight back, wore silver - white armor, and had a sword hanging from his waist. He was probably in his twenties and looked very handsome.
The red - haired young man dismounted from his warhorse with a smile on his face. "Hello, friend. I'm Karl Müller, the captain of the cavalry team. You can call me Karl."
"Hello," Cheng Yu replied, sizing up the red - haired young man.
This person had a completely different aura from those ordinary cavalrymen. He seemed to be a noble.
"The buns you make are very delicious. I hope you can supply more buns every day."
There were over a hundred people in the cavalry team. Cheng Yu only supplied 100 buns every day, which was not enough for the members of the cavalry team.
"Supply more? How many do you need?" Cheng Yu asked.
"There are a total of one hundred and ninety - some people in our cavalry team. If each person eats five buns, that's about 1000 buns."
Cheng Yu and Mina could make about 150 buns in an hour. To make 1000 buns, it would take about seven hours.
Cheng Yu was not a very diligent person. Before, when he ran the restaurant, his business hours were from 10 am to 2 pm, only four hours a day. He wasn't willing to work seven hours a day.
"I can supply at most 800 buns per day."
"Only 800?"
Karl's tone was slightly disappointed, but he didn't want to force the issue. "Eight hundred is also okay."
Cheng Yu calculated in his mind. Each bun cost 20 copper coins, and 800 buns would be 16000 copper coins. The daily income from selling fried rice with eggs was between 6000 - 10000 copper coins. Selling buns was more profitable.
Cheng Yu planned to close the restaurant in Bailu Town, stop selling fried rice with eggs, and start making and selling buns in the manor tomorrow. This way, he could save on rent.
"Don't come here tomorrow. I live in the manor north of Bailu Town. You can come directly to the manor to buy buns."
"Okay," Karl replied with a smile. Tomorrow, he and his soldiers could eat more delicious buns.