Hotel on the mountain

In 1801, at the end of December, the Alpine Hotel hosted its first grand New Year’s Eve dinner. Since Jetro's proposal was very hasty, the people below worked hard to prevent the party from bringing shame on the Raya family.

In the kitchen, six or seven ovens were lit with fire, making the place steaming. Chef Pavlov blushed and shouted: "Be more diligent! Boys! You represent the Raya family's cooking skills tonight." ! Not the garbage snacks on the street! The people waiting for your dinner are all respectable people. Remember, the people of the Byrd family who are equal to the young master will also be included in the banquet! A dish, I’ll chop it up and feed it to the pigs!”

"Don't let the fish sit too long when it's ready. Pour some cream on it and serve it quickly!"

Pavlov walked among the crowd, glanced at the cream whipped by a chef, and patted him on the shoulder. "Man, you can start beating again." He clapped his hands again, attracting the attention of several apprentices. : "We are going to make a big dish, 'Roasted Heart of the Barbarian Dragon', come here and help."

The kitchen was so busy that no one had time to answer Pavlov's words. He looked at the serious and diligent look of the chefs and nodded with satisfaction, even though no one paid attention to him.

The hotel's waiters came in and out, picking up the plates of prepared dishes with one hand, showing full manor servant style. They shuttled out from the small door leading to the atrium from the kitchen, and presented the dishes in the planned order. There are two banquet areas near the big tree bar in the atrium and on the north side of the courtyard.

The men and women in costumes chatted and laughed at the dinner table. They did not talk about politics, work, sex, or money. The older lady presided over the conversation at the dinner table, but the experience of gathering so many people together for a grand dinner at once was rare and new for them.

The big tree bar leads to the banquet area in the north, which is divided by an arched hedge. Because the banquet area in the north has a stage and dance floor, many young people who don’t want to be so particular gather here, making the big tree a place to start a family. An exclusive area for adults.

On the stage, Betty, who has brown wavy hair, has begun to shine her singing voice. Her square face is dotted with thin eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose, and red lips. Now she is wearing a fitted dress, which makes her even more charming.

Behind her, pianists and other musical instrument players who were also selected from the workers were already in place. They played cheerful songs and let the young people start to invite their dancing partners to dance on the central dance floor. Carnival of people.

Jetro did not join the dance floor to the north, even though he was a young man.

He, Feifei Bird, and Moore Bird shared a table with three people, making him look particularly unique among the banquets. Mengzhi stood near the wooden door leading to the atrium in the lobby. She didn't like to use her vocal cords to pronounce words, so she didn't want to eat at the table.

Urd and Kablan were guests, so they could serve at the table if they wished, but Urd also stood near the wooden door, like a real servant, waiting nearby while his master was dining. As for Kablan, she stood peacefully behind Mr. Moore, waiting for his call for money at any time.

The dining table where Jetro was sitting was located in the center of the wine table. He himself sat in the northwest, Moore sat in the northeast, and Feifei faced south. However, Moore didn't like to talk. He watched the plates of dishes being served and was indifferent. He rested his head on his hands, feeling like he had lost interest in everything, but his eyes betrayed his inner thoughts - because those green eyes never left the slender figure in the dream.

It's just that neither Feifei nor Jetro paid attention to Moore's actions. They chatted harmoniously, just like everyone around them would do - Jetro stood up and tapped the wine glass with a silver spoon.

The noisy venue was quiet for a moment, and the adults all turned their attention. Jetro laughed enthusiastically and said loudly: "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to take care of the Alpine Hotel. I will have a drink first to express my sincere gratitude to you."

He raised his glass and drank it down, then poured himself a second glass of wine. "The Alpine Hotel was renovated out of my capriciousness from the Alpine Castle passed down by my ancestors. It has only been a year and a half since then. Although I have gone through many hardships, it is really a pleasure to meet you all here now. It’s something that can be called a success, so, as we approach the New Year, please allow us to pay tribute to the ‘Alpine Hotel’.”

He raised his glass, and everyone followed him. The wine went down his throat, and Jetro poured a third glass.

"But, today, I have the most important thing to announce."

Jetro stretched out his hand to indicate Feifei's position, "Only on behalf of myself, I have formed a mutually helpful alliance with Feifei Bird, the manager of the Bird family. We will have frequent economic and trade exchanges. exchanges in order to promote the mutual growth of both parties.

Therefore, in order to show that I, Jetro Raya, value this alliance, I would like to present a precious gift to Feifei Bird, as a strong proof of my cooperation with the Bird family. . "

Feifei stood up pretending to be surprised, as if she didn't expect that Jetro would give the gift in public. Her smile was as bright as a flower, dazzling.

Jetro took out a beautifully shaped box and opened it directly. He saw a white bead lying quietly inside. This bead was very similar to the one worn on the hand of Dream, but it was useless. The ugly red rope passed through two asymmetrical holes, so that although it was much smaller than the one worn by Dream Hand, its natural beauty still attracted the attention of everyone present.

Feifei was really surprised and lightly covered her mouth. She looked at this pearl, which was only the size of her little finger, and found that its white color seemed to have brilliance flowing in it, as if she could see the fine water of the spring and the wind and waves in the sky. This wonderful beauty is far more rare than any lifeless white.

Feifei knew that this white pearl was worth far more than the fireworks-like pearl that Jetro gave to Selina. Her eyes seemed to be shining when she looked at Jetro. When she took the box that Jetro handed over, she couldn't help but want to give him a hug, but she knew what she should do now - she put the box He gently turned sideways and slowly turned in a circle, signaling it to everyone present.

People were surprised by the rich wealth of the Raya family, and also marveled at Jetro Raya's courage as the heir to the Raya family. Everyone present was happy, mixed with jealousy of course, but there was only one "person", and she seemed to have some emotions.

Mengzhi also saw the pearl, and she knew that they were two very similar pearls. Although the one given to him by Jetro was larger and tied with a red rope that he tied with his own hands, Ke Mengzhi felt that he should be a little unhappy.

She didn't know what kind of emotion it was. It strangely told herself, "Something that belongs to you has been taken away." Mengzhi didn't understand it, but it really affected her behavior and movements - she wanted to leave this place so that she couldn't see the pearls displayed by Feifei; she wanted to give the pearls on her wrist that Yetro gave to her. Hiding it in her sleeves so that no one could see it; she wanted to pass through the wooden door and go to the lobby without seeing Jetro and Feifei celebrating.

She did the same thing. Emotions are really amazing and can actually make individuals behave irrationally.

She turned around, opened the wooden door, and her feet were about to cross the line.

Urd, move.

Moore, who had always focused on Mengzhi, suddenly stood up! He saw Urd running behind Mengzhi very quickly, holding her hostage, and stabbing her neck with a knife——

The length of the knife that penetrated the flesh was very short, but it actually brought out some blood. Under the skillful control of his strength, Urd allowed a trace of blood to slip out along the tip of the knife. The drop of blood came from the burn pattern of the sword. It slid all the way to the hilt, forming a bright bloody path in Moore's eyes.

Urd's slender eyes glanced at Moore through his long hair. He saw the shock and anger clearly in Moore's eyes, and knew that the picture he showed had been perfectly conveyed. He dragged Mengzhi and hid her behind her back, and brought her into the lobby.

Moore rushed out like an angry leopard. Feifei, who had just finished the demonstration and turned around to sit back down, looked at Moore's movements blankly, wondering why her brother who liked to use a wheelchair suddenly went crazy.

Jetro, he also saw it, because from the seat he chose, he could always see where the dream was.

His fists were clenched, his breathing was quickening, his heart was pounding, and his eyes were flashing with fear and eagerness, but he first had to stabilize the guests present.

Jetro looked around, raised his arms, and made a gesture to Betty who was on the stage. Betty on the stage could see Jetro's gesture through the arched hedge. She knew that this was an adult asking her to change. It was a lively and cheerful song, so she quickly turned around and asked the band members to change the music style.

The passionate musical notes played out, even affecting the people at Dashu's bar. The adults' eyes moved to the dance floor, and they also wanted to invite dance partners to dance.

Jetro said goodbye to Feifei, left his seat, and walked out quickly.

Feifei wanted to stand up and ask something, but when many female guests saw Jetro leaving, they couldn't wait to gather up and began to surround Feifei to compliment her on the pearls she had harvested. Feifei naturally didn't care what Jetro and her neurotic brother were doing. She was immersed in everyone's pursuit and couldn't extricate herself.

The wooden door leading from the atrium to the lobby was closed.

"The stars are brilliant~the years are immortal~time is frozen in this corner~" Betty's lyrics were shut behind the noise.

Jetro and Moore were two or three steps apart, standing side by side in the lobby where only hotel staff were left.

Opposite them, Urd held Mengzhi hostage, stood under the glowing Pillar of Raya, poked his head out from behind Mengzhi's hair, and smiled ferociously.