Chapter 521 – The Ugly Ah Tai
The horse carriage was something commonly seen in the Prairie. It was full of Beastman craftsmans.h.i.+p techniques, and it was very large as well. It wasn’t much smaller than the carriage that Randolph gave Zhao Hai.
The carriage quickly arrived in front of Zhao Hai’s group. The driver stopped the carriage and jumped down. When the person jumped to the ground, Zhao Hai was taken back. It was because this man was very tall, he was about two and a half meters tall, he also had a muscular body that wasn’t much less than those Beastmen.
This man wore a leather robe that looked very worn and ugly. His skin was also very black, he looked like a black person from Earth. If his body was just covered with hair, then one wouldn’t doubt him if he posed as someone from an Ape tribe.
When the man arrived near Zhao Hai’s group, he bowed to Laura and excitedly said, “Young lady, you finally came. Ah Tai was waiting for you for quite a while.”
It was at this point that Zhao Hai and the others understood that this man was the person that Laura sent to the Prairie, Ah Tai. Seeing this person’s appearance, Zhao Hai and the others couldn’t help but make a strange expression. Did Laura send Ah Tai to the Prairie because of his appearance?
Laura nodded and said, “Ah Tai, I haven’t seen you for a long time. You seem to have darkened some more. Come meet my husband, Zhao Hai.”
Ah Tai turned to Zhao Hai and bowed, “Ah Tai has seen the Uncle.” Zhao Hai wasn’t used to be called by this name, he couldn’t help but smile and said, “Alright, no need to be polite. It’s been hard for you these past few years. Also, you can just call me young master.”
Ah Tai looked up and honestly smiled, “Young Master, I really hadn’t been having it hard. I have something to eat and drink everyday, actually, it’s been very easy.”
Zhao Hai stared at Ah Tai. He never imagined Laura to send such an awkward looking guy to the Prairie. She was actually not afraid that he wouldn’t be able to sell properly.
Then Laura introduced Ah Tai to Megan and the others. While Ah Tai were meeting his wives, Zhao Hai paid attention to the surroundings. Around them were merchants who were somehow acquainted with Ah Tai. Zhao Hai could even see some of them pointing towards their direction.
Zhao Hai focused his ears and listened to the words of those people. He listened to a merchant on their side, “Look, isn’t that silly Ah Tai? Why did he run out of the camp?”
Another person answered, “Who knows? But looking at his respectful appearance, it seems like the person who came has an authority over him. I heard that this person might have been from the Buda Clan. From the undead earlier, it seems like it was Buda Clan’s Patriarch Zhao Hai.”
The person who previously spoke said, “If it is really possible for it to be Zhao Hai, Ah Tai is really unlucky. Now that the food is expensive, he actually dared to sell it at a cheap price. I’m afraid that this fool would suffer this time.”
The other person said, “Tone down your voice. I heard that this Zhao Hai isn’t a simple person. He became famous by being vicious and ruthless on the continent. If he heard our bad words towards Ah Tai, he might not let us off.”
The first person snorted and said, “Why do we need to be afraid? This is Beast G.o.d City. Violence wasn’t allowed in a thousand li radius around the city. If someone dares to neglect this rule, the Beastmen wouldn’t let them off easily.” Although he said that, his voice was evidently much quieter.
The other person replied, “Don’t say that. Even if he cannot find trouble with us inside Beast G.o.d City, what would happen when we leave the city? This is Beastman Prairie, if he killed us here, our families would think that it was the Beastmen who did it.” Then the two of them went silent.
Zhao Hai now had a faint understanding of the situation. He turned around to look at the ugly man who was talking with Laura. If Ah Tai chose to sell the goods at the same price as those merchants, then Zhao Hai would truly be disappointed, but now it seems like he didn’t do so.
After Ah Tai greeted Laura and the others, he then invited the group over to the carriage. When Zhao Hai and the others were on board, Ah Tai immediately drove the carriage towards Beast G.o.d City.
Inside the carriage, Zhao Hai looked at Laura nd said, “Didn’t they say that the camps outside Beast G.o.d City were only temporary and spa.r.s.e? How come there are a lot of people here?”
Laura smiled and replied, “It used to be like that, but now there were a lot more Humans who were trading with the Beastmen. Because of that, the Beastmen allowed them to set up shop outside the city. Because of that, Ah Tai also had his own place outside the city. However, since we managed to take over the Markey Family, Ah Tai had gotten a place inside.
Zhao Hai nodded, then he asked again, “What’s the difference between inside and outside the city?”
Laura replied, “There aren’t a lot of differences really. The amount of buildings inside the city are too small, tents were much more prevalent there. Also, since the soil inside the city were made from Beast Blood Earth and were heavily controlled by the Beastmen, only great families of the continent were able to have a place there. The weaker merchants can only go outside the city.” Zhao Hai nodded. At this time, the carriage had already entered the city.
Through the carriage’s window, Zhao Hai looked at the city. The insides of Beast G.o.d City was indeed very different from the outside. There were structures inside that were built using Beast Blood Earth. In front of those buildings, Beastmen were seen to be guarding the entrance. It seems like those buildings were very important and weren’t used for casual matters. In other places, large tents could be seen. However, these tents were tightly packed. The inside of the tent looked also the same as what would be seen in a normal house.
Words were written on the curtains of those tents. Some of them had names of the stores, at it seems like these shops were all selling a.s.sorted merchandise. Zhao Hai cannot see any shops that specialized on a certain product.
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of a tent. This tent was very big, and on its curtains were large letters that read, “Magic Lily Store.”
When Zhao Hai saw those words, he couldn’t help but feel warm. This Magic Lily Shop was a trademark of the Markey Family, but who would’ve thought that this shop was built by Laura herself.
There were two people outside this tent. These two doesn’t seem to be very large, but still looked very strong. Their build and faces was actually quite similar to Ah Tai.
Ah Tai jumped down from the carriage and then said, “Ah Da, go unload the things in the carriage. Ah Er, prepare some food and drinks for the Young Master and the Young Ladies.” The two complied and then turned around to get busy. They unexpectedly didn’t greet Zhao Hai and the others.
Ah Tai became somewhat embarra.s.sed, he scolded the two and said, “Show your manners!” Then he turned to Laura and Zhao Hai before saying, “I’m sorry, Young Master, Young Lady, those two doesn’t have very good manners. I’ve shown you a disgraceful sight.”
Zhao Hai waved his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter, this is but a small thing.” Ah Tai felt relieved, then he led Zhao Hai and the others inside the tent.
Upon entering the tent, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but stare. This was because the furnis.h.i.+ngs in this tent were just like the furnis.h.i.+ngs in Laura’s Magic Lily Shop. However, there were only a few things left inside. There were a small amount of fruit oil present, the other places were quite empty.
Ah Tai embarra.s.singly looked at Laura and said, “Young Lady, forgive me. The grain and the vegetables are all sold out.”
Laura smiled and said, “That’s not a problem. You go take a break. I want to explore this place. I also remember how fragrant Sister-in-law’s barbecue was.”
Ah Tai smiled and said, “Young Lady actually remembers. Since we knew that Young Lady and Young Master were coming, I already had my wife prepare everything. Then, Young Master, Young Lady, please.” Then he led the group to a yard behind the tent.
Once they arrived at the yard, they can see that several smaller tents were also erected there. Ah Tai’s two sons can also be seen unloading the contents of the carriage into the yard.
Ah Tai directly led the group towards the tent in the middle. Just as he was about to open the tent’s curtain, the curtain was suddenly flung open, then a tall woman came out.
The woman seems to be about 40 years old. Although she was already old, and had wrinkles on her face, she was still attractive. Once could see that she was quite beautiful when she was a young woman.
When the woman saw Laura, her face couldn’t hide her excitement. She immediately arrived in front of Laura and sized her up before saying, “The Young Lady has surely grown up, you’re getting more and more attractive. Time really pa.s.ses by quickly, in a blink of an eye, the Young Lady was already married. It’s a pity that I’ve not been able to partic.i.p.ate in the ceremony.”
Laura smiled and said, “Sister-in-law, how have you been good these years? Did Uncle Ah Tai bully you?”
Ah Tai’s wife gave a quick glance to her husband and said, “As if he’d dare. Right, Young Lady, come quickly, I’ve prepared a lot of delicious food.” Then Ah Tai’s wife turned her gaze towards Zhao Hai while Zhao Hai also looked her in the eye.
Zhao Hai saw that Laura’s relations.h.i.+p with Ah Tai’s wife was very unusual. When she spoke to Laura, she wasn’t being polite. On the contrary, it seems like it was Laura who spoke to her with respect.
Then Ah Tai’s wife suddenly gave her greetings to Zhao Hai, “This one has seen Uncle. This one is called Pearl, people generally refer to me as Ah Tai’s wife. Sister-in-law would also do fine.”
Zhao Hai smiled bitterly, it seems like being called ‘Uncle’ was very common here. He immediately replied and said, “Thanks, Sister-in-law. You can just call me Young Master, Zhao Hai is good as well.”
Ah Tai’s wife smiled and said, “I can’t call you by name, so I’ll just call you Young Master.” Then she led Zhao Hai and the others to enter the tent.
The tent was very similar to an ordinary Beastman tent. Only the interior decorations were different, this one had more Human furniture in it.
There was also a furnace inside, of which several good slices of meat were being barbecued. There were also dishes on the sides, taking advantage of the heat to stay warm.
After Ah Tai’s wife got introduced to Megan and the others, she immediately invited the group to sit down on the carpet. She also served the group some tea before she spoke to Laura, “Young Lady, you sit here first. The vegetables are still not finished. When they are done, we can have our meal.” Laura nodded, then Ah Tai’s wife began to get busy, Ah Tai also helped her from the side.
Zhao Hai drank his tea and then turned to Laura, “Laura, are you very close with Sister-in-law?”
Laura smiled and said, “Not just sister-in-law, I’m also quite close with Ah Tai. Ah Tai was my mother’s guard while Sister-in-law was my mother’s maidservant. They were there while I was growing up.”