Noon.

Wetland Park.

Due to the blizzard last night, the pine forest was covered with snow, and the white snow was dazzling under the noon sun.

With a hemp rope on his left shoulder and a hunting bow on his right shoulder, the young man took a breath of white mist and looked up at the south gate of the park.

The twisted steel bars are covered with icicles, and a wooden plank the width of a table is attached to the highest point, with a series of numbers engraved on it.

"Shelter 404."

After staring at the wooden sign for a while, Yugin whispered the numbers.

It was the way Old Charlie had taught them, and it was a habit he had acquired only recently.

It is said that as long as it is a word that you see on the road, you can read it in a low voice if you can recognize it, and silently count the strokes in your heart.

The more you know, the more familiar you will be.

This method works quite well. Recently, he has learned to write the names of himself, Yuki, Daddy, Mother brother and sister-in-law. He has also learned basic numbers, addition and subtraction.

If it was placed a few months ago, this ability could already be regarded as a cultural person on Beit Street.

But right now, it's just average.

Recently, the learning enthusiasm in the town is ridiculously high, especially among the young lads. Since everyone heard about the treatment in the new industrial zone from Jackson and others, they have all become regular visitors to the literacy class, wishing to live there.

Of course, this may also be partly due to the fact that the castle is relatively warm, and I don’t want to leave once I have been there.

The most dangerous road has passed.

Taking a rest at the gate of the park, Yugin tightened the rope on his shoulders, and continued to walk forward on the knee-deep snow.

Wading through the snow with prey is not an easy task, but for experienced hunters, this problem does not exist.

He made a raft out of wooden boards, tied the mutated wild boar he had hunted to it, and dragged it away with ropes.

In this way, there is no need to worry about the prey getting stuck in the snow and freezing, which is much easier and safer than pulling the prey directly.

As long as you step carefully and don't take unfamiliar roads, basically there is no problem.

After passing through the woods hundreds of meters away, the eyes suddenly opened up.

Rows of snow-covered wooden piles stand on the open ground outside the ditch. In front of it is the wall of the outpost and the south gate, and behind it is the house built by the blue coats, and then the home of Big Brother Lucius.

Compared with a month ago, the changes here are simply too great.

The tall chimney behind the wall, and the tinkling sound of iron, disappeared along with the trees outside the wall.

Instead, there are cottages with unique styles, straight streets paved with stone bricks, more and more people, and more and more things on the stalls.

Yugin is not well educated, he just learned to read a few words recently, and he came up with some beautiful words to describe these houses, and he just thought they were so pretty.

Some eaves are upturned, brick and wood are mixed and matched, square and majestic. Some are entirely a cylinder, made of stone bricks, fortified and mysterious.

Although the styles are different, these houses are all neat and uniform, and none of them exceeds the roof of the house in the center of the settlement—the nursing home.

Yugin didn't know what those houses were for, he only knew the warehouse, and the elegantly decorated log cabin with a plaque wrapped in rattan.

He bought clothes there once, and bought two meters of cloth for his family. It seems that his sister's scarf was also made there.

Occasionally, when he catches some prey with beautiful fur, Yugin will take it here first for questioning. The shopkeeper who looks like a child will pay a little more than the warehouse not far away.

Anyway, according to Brother Lucius, as long as you bring things here to trade, you can help him, and Yugin doesn't care whom you sell them to. But the wild boar still forget it.

Yugin felt that the cute little shopkeeper probably didn't need this kind of rough leather, so he dragged the wild boar directly to the warehouse.

The rope was left at the door, and just as he was about to ask the steward to weigh the prey, he suddenly saw a familiar face from behind the wooden table.

The man also saw him, and instantly beamed with joy.

"Yugin?"

"Aries?" Yugin looked at him in surprise, "Aren't you in the brick factory?"

While speaking, Yugin looked up and down at the fur coat the fellow was wearing, with a hint of envy on his face.

This guy is having a good time.

He changed all his clothes new into one!

Seeing the surprised expression on the fellow's face, Aries smiled and said with a high air.

"Recently, there is a lot of construction at the base, and the warehouse and dormitory are being expanded. There is a shortage of manpower. I think the salary is good, so I asked to be transferred from the brick factory!"

In fact, he didn't want to come here.

Although the brick factory earns a few less silver coins, it is as warm as spring, and there are always people with stories written on their faces being sent into work.

Those old buddies are all talented, they speak nicely, and they love to brag.

Opening your mouth means thinking about the past, and keeping your mouth shut means telling a long story. When asked where it came from, it was either a mercenary from the Wandering Swamp, or a commander from the Far West... In short, they were all places he had never heard of.

Aries had never left Spring City in his life, and the farthest he had been was the dungeon of the Bloody Hand Clan. He vaguely remembered that the leader of the Bloody Hand Clan seemed to be known as the Centurion?

At his peak, that bear-like man, with about a hundred men under his command, ran rampant in the northern suburbs of Spring City, committing all kinds of crimes.

But what's the use? In the end, he was taken over by those blue coats. Now he is probably working in the mine in Red River Town, and he doesn't know if he is still alive.

So... the commander of a thousand is in charge of a thousand people?

This is no nonsense!

Aries pondered, all the people he has met in his life may not add up to a thousand! It would be a headache for him to memorize the names of dozens of people. If he really manages so many people, can he remember who they are?

In short, Brick Factory is a good place, even if you don't believe the nonsense of those old buddies at all, Aries still loves to listen to their bragging.

If he hadn't planned to move his family here from Beit Street in the spring of next year, and buy a house while the base expanded northward, he would really like to stay in that good place where summer is always like a lifetime.

It was heaven.

"...Let's not talk about me, how are you doing? Is the snowstorm badly affected? Also, is my family okay?" After talking about his situation, Aries asked Yugin about the family affairs.

The blizzard last night blew away another roof. Thinking of the shack at home, he didn't sleep well all night.

"Our place is very good. Your father asked me to bring you a message yesterday, saying that you don't have to worry about your family and take care of yourself..." Retelling the greetings that Aries's father asked him to bring, Yugin and the fellow Continue to talk about the recent situation on Beit Street.

Although this winter was colder than everyone expected, and the blizzard made people's hearts tremble, but thanks to the help of those blue coats, they lived in a uniform brick house early on, and the disaster situation was reversed. Not as bad as last year.

If it was the shack before, it would be hard to say, probably many people would die.

In the most difficult days, Old Charlie let those poor people whose houses were blown down by the blizzard live in the castle of the former mayor, and at the same time arranged for manpower to repair the damaged houses.

Under the organization of the street office, everyone is united in the face of difficulties.

It turns out they're only better off without the old mayor's rule.

After listening to Yugin's description, Aries's face was full of emotion.

"This is unimaginable in previous years."

Yugin nodded in deep agreement.

"Yes."

When the old mayor's family was still there, they had to do their best just to survive. How could they be as comfortable as they are now.

Not to mention opening the gates of the castle to let the disaster victims in.

Even if the disaster victims gathered together to save themselves, he would send those dog legs who only dared to bully his own people to drive away the people who gathered together.

"Speaking of which, Yugin."

"What's wrong?"

Aries hesitated for a while, then spoke.

"Why don't you come here too!"

Before Yugin could speak, Aries continued to persuade.

"The life here is way too much compared to Beit Street, and there is a shortage of manpower everywhere. You are so good at hunting, you can definitely find something to do here! You are definitely better than me!"

To be honest, seeing the changes here, Yugin was really moved.

Anyway, he didn't have a family, and he didn't open his mouth to eat when he moved out of the house.

But after thinking about it, he finally shook his head.

"...Forget it."

Aries was taken aback for a moment, apparently not expecting him to refuse, and hurriedly asked.

"Why?"

Yugin said frankly.

"You also said that I only have that little hunting ability. The weather is not helpful at all. I may not be able to catch a prey in a few weeks. Rather than come here to cause trouble for you, it is better to stay at home and learn more words, maybe it will come in handy.”

What kind of reason is this? After hearing Yugin's words, Aries couldn't laugh or cry.

"Hey, the granary next to you is almost full, how can they be short of your food? And you don't have to be on Beit Street to learn those characters. The factories here have night classes like the guards!"

"That's not okay," Yugin said stubbornly, "Brother Lucius has already helped our family so much, how can I take advantage of him!"

Seeing that this guy was as stubborn as a rock, Aries shook his head and sighed.

"You guy... Forget it, I can't persuade you."

Yugin touched the back of his head, and said with a smile.

"You don't need to persuade me, I know it well. Besides, Brother Lucius said, let me come next spring, he will find something for me to do, and I will come back when that time comes!"

Brother Lucius is such a smart person, he must have already arranged everything.

You can't go wrong if you do what he says!

The two were not talking about moving. With the help of Aries, Yugin weighed the mutated wild boar and sent it to the slaughterhouse.

Standing in front of the chopping board in a blue jacket with a butcher knife, he skilfully peeled the skin to get the meat, and threw the bones and offal into the bucket. His movements were dazzling and dizzying.

Now the price of prey is much higher than before. The purchase price of mutated wild boar skin has increased from 10 silver coins to 20 silver coins. If it is replaced with coarse salt, it will be 400 grams!

In the past, although the price of salt is cheaper, you can exchange up to 300 grams of coarse salt.

The same is true for the price of meat. The prices of the things sold here have almost doubled, but the price of the prey has also risen accordingly, which does not have a great impact on him.

It's a good thing that prey can get more things in exchange.

The raw hides are put into storage, and a tanner will come to pick them up later. The raw meat was divided into two portions, the larger portion belonged to Yugin, and the smaller portion was the payment for the slaughter, which was returned to the base warehouse as agreed.

Aries dug out the ledger, made a mark on it, then carefully counted out 20 silver coins from the drawer, and arranged them on the table.

"This is 20 silver, you take it."

Looking at the silver coins on the table, Yugin picked up one, looked at it, weighed it in his palm, and asked curiously.

"How did this silver coin change style?"

It's a lot heavier than before, and it looks newer.

Aries explained.

"The manager said that the coins were inconvenient before, and this new silver coin will be used in the future."

Although he couldn't say where it was inconvenient, this is what the manager said.

"Then what about the original silver coins?" Yugin remembered that there were still some at home, and if they couldn't be used, he had to ask his brother to replace them with salt.

Expecting that he would ask this, Aries waved his hand and responded skillfully.

"It's not a problem. The manager said that no matter it's new coins or old coins, the warehouse and the bank will accept them according to the order, but they won't look for money anymore."

Seeing that there was no impact on his own pocket, Yugin felt relieved and put the silver coins on the table into his pocket.

Looking at Yugin who was packing up his things, Aries asked.

"Are you going back straight away?"

Yugin said.

"I'm not in a hurry. I'm going to see my little sister later. Do you have anything you want me to bring back for you? I can drop by and pick you up."

Aries continued.

"It's gone, our wages are settled on a monthly basis now...how about you tell me and my family to tell my parents to pay attention to their health, and wait for another two weeks, and it's my turn to take a vacation here. Just take some time to go home and have a look.”

Yugin nodded.

"Okay, I'll take the word for you."

After receiving this promise, Aries showed a relieved smile on his face.

"Thanks!"

At this moment, a few residents of the refuge came running not far away, pointing at the shelves and chattering.

The voice sounded like a quarrel.

"Pepper, I want pepper!"

"I also want!"

"Hey! Don't jump in line, I'll come first!"

Seeing Richest Elf King who was at the forefront, Walker, who hadn't outrun him, couldn't help but spout.

"What's the use of asking for pepper, you are a hunter or chef?"

Brother Elf King rolled his eyes, and spoke confidently.

"What the hell is wrong with it? Still not allowing hunters to be cooks?"

How could Richest Elf King miss this opportunity to enter the Hall of Fame!

Although he can't cook at all, it doesn't matter!

Do you have to use your hands to cook? The seasoning is in place, but you still worry about making it delicious?

So the key is to grab the seasoning!

Aries lowered his head and glanced at VM, skillfully took the last two bags of pepper from the shelf, handed them to the person standing at the front, and said in a non-standard pronunciation.

"This is the last, no more."

Hearing this sentence, the people behind immediately dispersed with disappointment on their faces.

Only the one in the blue jacket who bought something had a happy expression on his face. After saying "Thank you", he generously took out the VM, paid for it, and left in a hurry.

Looking at the retreating figure, Yugin asked curiously.

"What did he buy just now? Salt?"

"It's 'pepper', a seasoning with a strange taste. Anyway, I don't like it very much." Having said that, Aries paused, and then added, "Unless it's sprinkled on barbecue."

BBQ.

Yugin swallowed unconsciously, thinking of the barbecue stand at the north gate.

The food sold there tastes absolutely amazing!

When looking towards the north gate, Yugin suddenly noticed that there was something different from the usual bustle. Many blue coats were busy running there, some took things from the granary, some carried things to the granary, and some people moved some wooden tables and sheds from the carpentry hut there.

Usually there are more people there in the evening, why is it so busy at noon today?

"What's the situation over there?" Yugin felt that the number of times he was curious today was more than the sum of the past week.

Aries said with a smile.

"Its said that, there will be a celebration in a week's time!"

"Celebration?!" Yugin looked at Aries in surprise, "Is anyone getting married?"

To hold the celebration a week in advance, it must be someone of high status.

Could it be...

Is it Brother Lucius?!

"What is marriage? That's called... New Year's Day!" Aries was not very familiar with the pronunciation of the word, and it took him a while to remember, "The residents of the shelter plan to celebrate the arrival of the new year, the last day of the year And the first day seems to be a very important festival for them. I don’t know the details, but it’s something like a celebration.”

Yugin knew about the ceremony.

For example, the most recent time, when the youngest son of the old mayor was just one month old, he gave them a croissant and asked them to go to the castle to do white labor for half a day.

No one was happy except the old mayor and his henchmen.

But……

Celebrating the New Year, for the first time he heard about such a new thing, he still couldn't help being curious.

Seeing the expression on Yugin's face, Aries laughed and said.

"It's not the most lively time yet, wait until the last night of December, if you have time, you can come and have a look."

"I bet there must be a lively batch!"

Yugin nodded vigorously and said with interest.

"Yeah! I'll remember it...but it's not convenient to go back at night, right?"

"Why don't you go back? You can live here when the time comes," Aries patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "My dormitory has enough space, so I'm sure you can sleep there!"

...

The north gate of the outpost.

It was a very lively moment.

The players showed their abilities, either busy setting up booths, or cooking something in the cauldron. The whole north gate was filled with a strange smell, which even the north wind passing through the forest couldn't blow away.

Akiba next to her sister blinked curiously.

She had never seen such a lively scene.

"Night badger! Brother Pingtou in the wilderness! Does anyone want it? I just caught it outside Starwood Farm! If you want it, bring your own price. If you want to buy it, hurry up."

"Sweeping the building on 76th Street, does anyone get in the car, I heard there is a hyena den there."

"The three-person team waits for a perception department, and newcomers are also fine."

"Tail, what did you throw into the pot just now?!"

"Boss Yaya!! Help Tail to see if this is poisonous!"

"Help me to be healthy!"

"Hey!! You just put it on the table, don't stuff ducks into my mouth!" The screams of Yaya echoed on the mushroom beach, causing the guards to look over there one after another, and then walked away after seeing nothing happened.

The market is not far away.

Richest Elf King shook the two bags of pepper powder in his hand towards Walker, and proudly walked towards his teammates. Brother Mole and Irena were waiting for him.

Pushing the guy's back, Walker walked to the side of his teammates cursing.

"Damn! I didn't get the seasoning! It's outrageous that the peppers are all sold out!"

When did these people get so rich!

1 silver 1g of pepper powder, I bought two packs in one shot, which is really too much!

Bunny comforted him.

"It's okay, it's fine if you don't buy it, anyway, you may not be able to use it in the end."

Gale also said.

"Well, it's better for us to use some simple materials as much as possible. I feel that the probability of winning the game will be higher in this way."

The seasoning will be sold out, but it is also expected by the wind.

After all, the reward of the event is not only the annual limited title, but also enter the Hall of Fame.

It will be as fierce as a competition, it can only be said that it is reasonable, everyone wants to be the number one, after all, it is there.

If no one is playing this, Gale will have to doubt whether he is playing the national server or not.

At this moment, a split claw crab was lying beside them.

The cute newbies passing by all involuntarily looked sideways at this side, envious and couldn't help cursing the hateful lucky guys in their hearts.

In this winter, the roads have been buried, and the nests of split-claw crabs can still be found.

Isn't it the son of lady luck?

Carrying a bag of flour and coming out of the north gate, Martin saw the big crab, his eyes popped out.

Walking up to take a look, he couldn't help asking.

"Where did you get such a big crab?"

Walker didn't hide it, and lazily pretended to say.

"There is a burrow on the north shore of Lonia Lake, and there is a hibernating split claw crab inside. We saw that he was sleeping, so we took the opportunity to give it a slap in the head."

Although it cost a little money, it was worth the money.

Martin cursed and said: "Mommy! Why do you always find such good things?"

Seeing his envious and jealous look, Walker chuckled.

"Maybe it's luck?"

Martin: "#%@!"

Tomorrow and Scrambled Eggs stood together, staring at the split claw crab on the ground and discussing the cooking method.

One is super good at eating and the other is good at cooking. Standing together, they are a strange pair.

"I carefully studied the announcement of the event. The requirement stated above is 'Simple and delicious'. We must use as many ingredients as possible that are easy to obtain, so the probability of winning the prize should be higher."

Scrambled Eggs shook his head.

"This request is too abstract."

Tomorrow said thoughtfully.

"Indeed, and how to preserve crab meat is a problem."

Even in winter, it is difficult to preserve the crab meat of hunting crabs until the third day, and on the fourth day, even if the meat does not deteriorate, the taste will be much worse due to dehydration.

And now there are still 7 days until New Year's Day!

He had found this huntingclaw purely by chance, and he had no confidence in finding another one.

Scrambled Eggs touched his chin, and suddenly said.

"Preserving the crab meat... I have some ideas about this."

Tomorrow looked at him.

"Oh?"

Scrambled Eggs continued.

"I have observed the laborers in the brick factory before. They would pick up some grass from the lake and use it to process the uneaten fish, so that it would be fresh even if it was kept for the second or third day. I don't know about crab meat. Does it work, but I feel like I can give it a try."

Tomorrow had never heard of such a strange plant.

"What grass?"

Scrambled Eggs said.

"Looking at the illustrated book on the official website, it's called buffalo grass, but it doesn't mention the specific effects."

Tomorrow immediately asked the most critical question.

"Can you find it in winter?"

Scrambled Eggs shook his head and said.

"That's not clear, but after I found out about it, I picked a lot out of curiosity, dried it and put it in a locker to study slowly, but it has never come in handy."

Hearing this sentence, Tomorrow was instantly excited and said excitedly.

"Good brother! Here comes the chance to come in handy!"

Scrambled Eggs scratched the back of his head.

"But even if the problem of preserving crab meat is solved... what should we do with it? We can't just grill it over charcoal fire?"

Although it is not impossible, but it is too untechnical, and it is still a bit difficult to win an award.

"That's easy to say," Tomorrow continued with a confident smile on his face, "I just noticed that the warehouse's sales restrictions on green wheat and croissants have been temporarily lifted."

Scrambled Eggs froze for a moment, but didn't understand.

"What do you mean..."

"Obviously, the 'Cheap and delicious' bid is included in these two items! Why else is the restriction lifted at this point in time?"

Tomorrow looked at Brother Scrambled with piercing eyes, and continued.

"Dude, have you ever heard of crab cakes?"