Chapter 354: 354

Chapter 354 You“re Quite Unconstrained When You Have Noodles

The “V” gesture when taking photos was very common for players, but Andonara was unaware of it . She almost cut down the player when he made the gesture, but she managed to hold herself back since he did not show any malicious intent . Roland was quite helpless too . He was not a superstar . Why did everybody want a photo with him?

When the rest of the merchants arrived, they all surrounded Roland and Andonara in a circle and made a “V” gesture while shouting, “Cheese!”

Then, they all laughed and dispersed in satisfaction, resuming their business .

The wagons were pulled to the meadow in a circle, and the players set up sheds and fires .

Very soon, a fire was started, and a huge pot was placed over it .

The first player who took a photo with Roland was pointing his fingers nonstop, as if he was uploading the photo to the forum .

Seeing how weird these people were, the six magic apprentices subconsciously gathered near Roland, and Andonara said, “Your compatriots seem rather odd . ”

“In fact, they’re very normal,” Roland said . “Except that they may have slightly different habits and behaviors . ”

Slightly different?

Speechlessly, Andonara watched what was going on before her .

After setting up a shed, the players soon sat down in a circle and took out simple musical instruments from their system Backpacks .

One of the players even took out a pair of hammers .

Some players spread a blanket over the meadow, and the rest of them piled fruits and meatloaf on it .

The guys with instruments started playing, and the players who sat down around the blanket began to sing loudly: “Don’t give up your dream as long as you still have heart…”

Their voices were as not exactly pleasant, but it was entertaining nonetheless .

The players who had fruits clapped their hands and echoed the lyrics now and then, making the camp very lively .

Normally speaking, traveling merchants would keep a low profile for fear that they might attract professional bandits, or that they would piss off other travelers who would turn into bandits and attack them .

In many cases, there was not a clear boundary between merchants and bandits in the wilderness .

But what were those Golden Sons doing?

They were singing loudly!

They were more like a team of cocky nobles on a trip than a group of merchants .

The first player who took a photo with Roland seemed to have uploaded it . He rubbed his hands and walked to Roland, then said, “Almighty Roland, I didn’t expect to meet you and the beautiful queen here . How lucky I am!”

Roland was amused . “I don’t have any evidence, but I suspect that you’re being sarcastic . ”

“That’s a groundless accusation,” the player said with wide eyes . “I respect you as the almighty Roland from the bottom of my heart…”

Roland rubbed his eyebrow and said, “Are you doing this on purpose, bro?”

“Don’t be angry . I’m just kidding . ” The player continued, “I am Ashrosfin, the deputy chairman of Cornucopia, the guild of merchants!”

The player then looked at Andonara and said, “Your Majesty, greetings . ”

Andonara snorted but didn’t say anything, because Ashrosfin just called her a “beautiful queen” in a frivolous tone that she didn’t quite like, and in front of Roland, too .

She feared that Roland might have misunderstood her .

Ashrosfin was a businessman, and businessmen were good observers . He immediately said with a smile, “You and Roland are a perfect couple, Your Majesty, your children will definitely be both beautiful and smart . ”

Andonara was much more fond of Ashrosfin after hearing his adulating remark .

She had thought about it herself too . If she ever had a baby with Roland, the baby would definitely be both beautiful and smart regardless of its gender .

With that, she found Ashrosfin much more agreeable . “I’m pleased to meet you . ”

Ashrosfin nodded at Andonara and spoke to Roland . “I read news and watch your videos on the forum all the time and I’ve always admired them . It’s not easy to meet you in person . ”

“There’s no need to admire me . I was just lucky enough to obtain some rare resources . ”

“You’re only being modest,” Ashrosfin said in admiration . “Why did you get the rare resources when others couldn’t? Only because you’re capable . I do envy you . ”

At this point, the other players had finished their song . They roared at the players who were playing instruments, demanding the next song .

Roland glanced at them and moved his eyes back . Then he asked, “I remember that you used to do business by suicide . You carry the goods in the system Backpack and kill yourselves at specific locations, so that you can be instantly resurrected in a remote Temple of Life . Why are you shipping goods with wagons now?”

“That was the 1 . 0 version of business . Death means a great loss of experience points, which are essentially wealth too,” Ashrosfin said with a smile . “Everybody has to make progress . Now, we’re merchants in the 2 . 0 version . The valuable goods are stored in our system Backpacks, and the goods that are in demand are in the wagons . Though we’re not strong as individuals, we are quite good as a team . Only a team of soldiers of over two hundred people can expect to loot us . ”

At this point, a player who had been busy with the pot tapped the pot with a spatula and shouted, “Time for dinner!”

Hearing that, the players who were listening or playing music dropped whatever was in their hands and swarmed to the pot . Then, everybody took out a big bowl from their system Backpacks and waited in line before the player who was in charge of distribution .

At this point, the fragrance of cooked noodles drifted over .

Ashrosfin said to Roland with a smile, “Let’s have it together . Bring your friends . ”

Roland felt hungry the moment he smelled the noodles . He looked at Andonara and Vivian .

But Andonara, Vivian, and the others all shook their heads, because the players who had gotten their bowl of noodles had squatted in a line next to the road and started gobbling and slurping the noodles noisily .

Born as nobles, Andonara and the magic apprentices were rather unaccustomed to that .

Roland, however, did not have such concerns . He asked the distributor to give him a bowl of noodles . After thanking the man, he squatted at the end of the line and devoured the noodles .

The noodles were rather delicious, made with meat and vegetables from this world .

More importantly, the noodles were hot . Having hot food in the wilderness was really enjoyable .

Soon enough, Ashrosfin squatted next to him with a bowl of noodles and asked, “How does it taste?”

“Very delicious . ”

Ashrosfin smiled and said, “We made the noodles and the meat . It’s a shame that people in this world are mostly too poor to have food in restaurants, or we could’ve started a nice noodle restaurant . ”

“You can make business with the nobles, can’t you?”

“No, someone tried it before . ” While eating, Ashrosfin said, “The nobles are truly generous, but their tempers are too bad, and they may propose outrageous requests . For example, they ask for our recipes, or a share of the profits of the restaurant . We’ve suffered enough in reality . Why on earth would we suffer more in this game? So, we’ve decided not to serve those people . The bottom line is, it’s not easy to run a restaurant in this world . ”

“But nobody gives you a hard time when you’re doing business?”

“We’re selling the goods in demand . They all need us . Haha . ” Ashrosfin eyed Roland and remarked, “That’s a rather strange squatting-and-eating posture . Are you from Guanzhong[1]?”

“Not exactly . ” Roland shook his head and said, “But I spent more years in Xiluo[2] in college . ”

“Then you are a half-Guanzhong native . ” Looking at Andonara who was eating meatloaf gracefully under a tree far away, Ashrosfin nudged Roland and said, “You will pass Bianca City if you go this way with the queen . Are you not worried?”

“Worried about what?” Roland was rather stunned .

“Bianca City is the first prince’s territory . The brothers and sisters of Cornucopia are almost all over Hollevin . ” Ashrosfin drank his soup and wiped his mouth . “Therefore, we have collected a lot of information that may or may not be useful . ”

“Oh?”

“Because of your native squatting-and-eating style, let me tell you something for free,” Ashrosfin said . “About a month ago, the first prince had a party . He was drunk and made a statement . ”

Ashrosfin paused .

Looking at Ashrosfin in the eyes, Roland said, “Would you like to enlighten me?”

“The first prince said, ‘Queen Andonara is a bi*ch . It’s a shame that she is in Delpon and too far away from me . If she ever comes to Bianca City, I’ll definitely capture her and give her a good time . After I’m tired of her, I’ll return her to my father . ”

Roland looked rather gloomy . “Is this first prince’s head full of s*it?”

“No . On the contrary, he’s very smart . ”

[1] part of Shaanxi, China

[2] part of Shaanxi, China