Imperial Crown

Chapter 264 Getting Up

Thank you very much for the 500 reward from Qidian Dad [Zongheng Mochi]! (I owe 12 more chapters, I will make up for it)

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"Okay, Bobby, stop barking…"

Peter opened his eyes with a long tone, rubbed the head of a big golden retriever into his arms, scratched its chin, and waited until it stopped barking, then yawned a long time amid the neighbors' scolding.

Rubbing his eyes and sitting up, after a moment of trance, Peter realized that this was his home.

Like many other young people in Xiongying Town, Peter bought this house around the school.

The whole glass window, flat and smooth walls and ceiling, and the hot water pipes buried in the floor during construction, the feet are warm when stepped on, unlike in previous winters, if the firewood is not added enough, the stove will go out in the middle of the night, and people can be frozen alive.

Frozen to death is not uncommon.

The building is 4 stories high, with two households on each floor. Peter came late and only bought the 4th floor.

However, the top floor also has its advantages, such as not having to listen to the footsteps of neighbors on the ceiling, and being able to see the distant scenery every day when you open your eyes.

He got up, drew back the curtains, opened the windows, and the morning sun shone into the house. The fresh and cold air hit his face, making Peter somewhat refreshed.

Peter was too lazy to fold the quilt, so he took off his pajamas and threw them on the bed, grabbed the clothes on the chair and put them on randomly, stepped on slippers and went to the kitchen, lit a small coal stove, filled a large iron kettle with water and sat on it, turned around and went to the bathroom, and began to sit on the toilet and doze off.

This house is priced at 168 gold coins. Originally, at this price, Peter couldn't afford it even if he sold his whole family.

Fortunately, the baron allowed the purchase of the house on loan. As long as he paid 43.7 silver coins a month, he could truly own the property rights of the house if he paid it back for 80 years.

It seems that he had to pay back more than 400 gold coins in total?

Although his monthly salary is 62.4 silver coins, and there is more after overtime pay, with the current price of Eagle Town, it is enough for him to live well after paying off the loan.

And in a few decades, the cost can be spread to the children.

However, with Peter's character, even if he has the above conditions, he will never be tempted to buy this house.

But his father strongly asked him to buy it, and even shared half of his loan every month.

According to the old man, not to mention that his children can go to the town's college in the future, it is a bargain in itself; and buying this house is equivalent to investing in the Griffith family.

In a dozen or a few decades, they will be proper "town residents" and "Eagle City natives", which is much higher than the mud legs who can only farm and those outsiders.

To put it bluntly, even if there is a famine in the future, they will be the last to die with this house.

This makes sense. Although Peter's family is a freeman, before Baron Raven came, they lived a hard life...

"Woo--"

The kettle whistled, Peter stood up, wiped his butt with a piece of thick hemp rope, went to the kitchen, took down the big kettle of water, took out a few handfuls of fried beans and corn, put them in a big basin, rinsed them with boiling water, stirred them with a spoon and put them on the ground: "Bobby!"

The big golden retriever slid on the ground and rushed over, buried his head and started eating.

Peter poured the remaining water into the basin, took a clay pot, poured in the milk he bought last night and put it on the stove, picked up the basin and went to the bathroom.

The magic lamps were not affordable, but fortunately it was already bright outside, the living room was transparent, and the sunlight was not dark.

He turned on the tap and used cold water to warm the hot water, and scooped some water from the basin into the mouthwash cup. Peter picked up a toothbrush - a piece of wood tied with pig hair - dipped a little fine salt in his mouth and mixed it, grinning at the iron mirror.

This thing is very cheap, you can buy one for 1 silver coin. The thin iron sheet, although it can't compare with the Angel's Glory, can also reflect people's shadows. The disadvantage is that you have to pay attention to maintenance. If it touches water, it will rust overnight.

Speaking of which, I heard that if a man gets married now, he must have at least one copper mirror at home.

Brushing his teeth, rinsing his mouth, and washing his face with the Angel's Embrace, Peter just wiped his face with a towel when he heard Bobby screaming again.

"Oh no!"

He rushed to the kitchen in a hurry. Sure enough, the milk on the stove had boiled and overflowed, leaving a little white on the small coal stove, which turned into burn marks in the blink of an eye.

Quickly taking it out and putting it on the table, Peter took out two pieces of hard bread, broke them apart and soaked them in milk, and ate them while drinking with a spoon, occasionally chewing a mouthful of milk skin.

Every time this happened, Peter would stop for a while.

He is 21 years old this year. In his past memories, his family rarely had milk to drink, and they would only buy some when someone was sick.

The most memorable thing was that when he was 11 years old, his grandmother was bedridden, and his father would buy a small can of milk for her every day, and every time it was cooked, the milk skin floating on it would always go into Peter's mouth.

It's a pity that she didn't make it through the most difficult years.

May she be safe and happy in the kingdom of the Lord of Light.

After a quick breakfast, Peter poured a basin of water for Bobby, took off the coat hanging at the door and put it on, squatted down and rubbed its head: "Don't bark at home, wait for me to come back, do you hear me?"

Bobby looked at Peter with his tongue out.

Patting its head, Peter put on his coat and hat and went downstairs.

Passing by the houses on the street, Peter looked at his own reflection in the window and a smile appeared on his face.

In the best days of his life, he never thought that one day he would be able to wear a crisp suit and look like an upper class person!

Turning the corner, he came to a grocery store in a residential building. Peter took out 6 copper coins from his pocket and put them on the counter together with a small wooden box: "Fill it!"

The boss was a standard Nord, with a round face, a big beard, and luxuriant body hair. Hearing Peter's words, he took out a large wooden box from under the counter, which was full of hand-rolled cigarettes.

Putting these hand-rolled cigarettes into Peter's small wooden box one by one, the boss said: "Today is Saturday, do you have to work overtime again?"

"Yeah, that damn boss whose head was kissed by a pig refused to hire more people and kept asking us to work overtime." Peter complained and then changed the subject: "But why did you open the door so early today? I thought It will hit the lock."

"You'll know when you get married." The boss shook his head: "Work is much easier to deal with than women."

While talking, 18 cigarettes were stuffed into the wooden box. The boss placed it in front of Peter and handed another one over: "This is for you."

Peter took it and put it in his mouth, lit it with the oil lamp on the boss's counter, took two sips, and blew out two puffs of smoke: "You are really good at doing business, no wonder you have the best business here."

"That's right, I plan to pass this shop down to my family." The boss leaned on the counter and said, "Speaking of which, you are already in your 20s. When are you going to get married?"

"I haven't thought about it, mainly because I haven't found the right person." Peter said casually.

The boss became more energetic: "Then you have to be careful. When I was young, I didn't have a choice, but now, in our Eagle Town, young men like you who can live in a building are a hot commodity."

"There have been a lot of girls from outside recently, but listen to me, if you are looking for a wife, you still have to choose one from our local area, especially those who come to weave silk. Their income is no less than that of men, and they are skilled in craftsmanship. They will definitely be virtuous and run the house."

"I know." Peter scratched the back of his head and heard the sound of horse hooves in his ears. He quickly grabbed the cigarette case and stuffed it into his pocket: "No more chatting, I'm going to catch the car!"

The public carriage galloping on the streets is now an indispensable part of the streets of Eagle Town, and many people point to it for commuting.

It is pulled by three packhorses, with a driver, and two carriages behind it. Theoretically, it can accommodate 8 people, but in actual operation, no less than 20 people can often be crammed into it.

Every time he saw the three panting draft horses, Peter felt a little sad for them. If the road conditions in Eagle Town were not bad, they would have broken their legs long ago.

I paid 2 copper coins and stepped on the carriage. Before I could stand still, I was squeezed again by the people behind me.

The experience of riding a public carriage is not good. When there are more people, bad breath, smelly feet, body odor... all kinds of smells are mixed together, which is so sour that people almost faint.

But Peter had to cheer up. He rode a lot of public carriages, and he always heard news about some unlucky guy who had his pockets cut and his wallet stolen.

The public carriage stopped and went until it became more and more crowded and could no longer fit, then it slowly started to speed up.

Dozens of minutes later, the carriage arrived at the edge of Eagle Town. Peter jumped out of the carriage and walked not far away to the outside of a factory.

This is his workplace, the Schneider Pig Farm, which can slaughter more than a dozen pigs every day. When demand is high, dozens or hundreds of pigs can be slaughtered.

It is said that there is a knight behind the boss, and the knight's family buys all the meat from him.

From the small door into the changing room, the strong smell of pig smell hit your face.

Peter rubbed his nose. Although he had been working here for a long time, it still took some time to get used to the smell here every day.

Opening his cabinet, he put some decent clothes inside, put on a pair of coarse yellow clothes, and put on an ugly black apron. Peter lit a cigarette by the chandelier on the wall. As soon as he walked into the factory, he was greeted by another man. pinch away.

Peter was not angry and slapped the man on the shoulder: "You kid, just wait for me, right?"

"Hehe, isn't it because the ladies at home are strict?" This man's name is Lapu, Peter's good brother who has been playing with him since childhood. He got married early and bought a house with Peter, but he doesn't have any children yet.

"I have a family to support, and I can't compare to your coolness, so I just think of it as helping my brothers!"

Peter exhaled from his nose: "I'm too lazy to pay attention to you, leave quickly, otherwise..."

"You two, what are you waiting for?" The boss's rough voice sounded loud and clear: "The pigs are starting to squawk for hunger, don't you hear them? Hurry up and get to work!"

Hearing this sentence, the two of them looked at each other and shook their heads, picked up the big shovel next to them, walked through the rows of pig pens, and came to the kitchen.

From childhood to adulthood, they worked together in the factory. The two of them cooperated tacitly. Lapp was responsible for pouring water and feed into the pot, while Peter was responsible for stirring with a big spoon.

"Hey, our life in Eagle Town is really good now. We even have pig food." Lapp sniffed, looking like he wanted to go up and take a bite.

Also, this feed is all broken corn, and some old and unsaleable wheat. In the early years, let alone pigs, even people would have been killed for these things.

"You can eat it if you want, just run into the circle and grunt twice, and I'll definitely give you more!"

"Get out!"

The two of them were arguing, and soon a pot of pig food was considered cooked. They were poured into two large wooden barrels. The two of them pushed it on a cart, and the soldiers divided into two groups and started feeding the pigs.

As soon as he walked outside the pig pen, the short-nosed pigs began to grunt, obviously they were too hungry to wait.

Peter pushed the cart with ease and came to the side of a pig pen. He used a spoon to pry open the mouths of the pigs that wanted to beg for food, and poured the pig food into the trough with a large spoon.

These short-nosed pigs only cared about eating when they saw the food, and didn't care about the heat at all. Even though their noses were soaked with pig food, they still ate happily.

"Eat, eat, the fatter the better!" Peter smiled as he watched them eat.

Now that they eat well, the pigs are different from before.

When he was a child, every family raised pigs that could grow to 80 kilograms, which was not small, and 120 kilograms was a real big pig.

Now look at these pigs in the pen, each one is fat and strong, with black and white spots on the pig skin, bristles standing up, and fat that squeezes the eyes out. They must be at least 180 kilograms.

The standard for slaughter is 240 kilograms.

Seeing that the food in the trough was almost done, Peter pushed the cart to the next pigpen, and when the food in the wooden barrel was finished, he went back to cook again.

One trip was definitely not enough. This factory raises thousands of pigs all year round. Even if they were not responsible for all of them, it was still a big project!

When they were all almost fed, it was noon. Peter took off his dirty apron and wandered to the cafeteria.

To say that the work in the pig farm is hard, but the benefits are really good. As long as the pigs are slaughtered and sold on the same day, many scraps will naturally become their food.

For example, the pig tails, pig trotters, and pig heads that are not easy to sell, paired with cabbage, potatoes, and radishes, or fried or boiled, are also very delicious.

Everyone gathered together, eating and chatting, nothing more than some gossip.

Someone whispered at the table: "Hey, have you heard that the boss got harassed by a pig last night!"

"Is there such a thing? I wonder why he is so angry today. Tell me in detail."

"It was the big Dick in our factory. I don't know if he was fed too much concentrated feed recently and went into estrus early. Last night, the boss went into his pen to clean up the pig manure. You know the boss's physique. From a distance, you can't tell whether he is a human or a pig. Maybe it was because of the dim light. Dick mistook him for a sow and rode on him at that time!"

A low laugh sounded. Dick was the strongest breeding pig in their factory, weighing more than 300 kilograms. His capital was so big that it looked like two pig bladders filled with water.

"Oh, I heard that the scene was so chaotic at that time. The boss rolled in the pig manure and screamed louder than the pig. In the end, several people went to stop the big Dick..."

After saying this, there should have been a burst of laughter, but the cafeteria became strangely quiet.

The boss walked into the room with a dark face: "Just eat well and stop talking nonsense. I think you are eating too well, so you are gossiping all day long!"

"Watch your mouth. If you don't do it, there are others who will!"

After that, he limped out of the cafeteria and slammed the door.

Peter and his colleagues looked at each other and laughed, but they didn't dare to be too much. They suppressed their laughter and continued to eat.

After lunch, Peter went into the toilet with a cigarette in his mouth. He picked up the competition report placed next to the toilet and read it countless times. He got up and walked to the factory unsteadily until his legs were numb.

The main work in the afternoon was to patrol back and forth and check the pigs. If there were fights, they would mediate. If they saw a pig that seemed to be sick, they would report it to the boss. Generally speaking, it was quite leisurely.

Of course, there were also colleagues who pretended to be full of energy every afternoon and deliberately performed in front of the boss.

Peter didn't do that. He thought life was good now. Why should he make everyone nervous when he couldn't get much benefit?

After inspecting two pig pens, Peter felt a little tired and began to doze off on the pillar outside the pig pens.

He suddenly remembered what the grocery store owner said.

Maybe it's time to find someone to live with.

In the past, the neighbor's daughter, Ji Si, was very good. She was 4 years younger than him and had been following him around since she was a child.

At that time, Peter just thought she was annoying. He always teased her and wanted to get rid of her. He made faces and laughed at her crying.

But who would have thought that the girl with freckles on her face would be so charming now, speak very gently, and have a very good embroidery skill.

It is said that in the textile factory now, more than 40 silver coins can be earned a month.

"Brother Peter!" A gentle voice sounded.

Peter looked up and saw Kisse standing there in a white dress, her hair braided, smiling, and holding a food basket in her hand.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to bring food to Brother Peter." Kisse smiled shyly, slowly walked to Peter's side, and put her arm around his shoulders: "Do you want to eat it first, or me first?"

Peter's heart skipped a beat, and before he could react, Kisse had come up and kissed him deeply on the lips.

The passion almost made him breathless!

His face began to get wet, and Peter hugged Kisse and said excitedly: "Slow down, slow down, there's no one here..."

He froze halfway through his words, because when Peter opened his eyes, he saw not Kisse, but a short, wet nose!

The fat tongue was scratching his face.

I said why Ji Si’s tongue is so hard!

Peter almost screamed, and slapped the side of the pig's head fiercely. His legs fell down, and he moved out, patting his chest with lingering fear.

The sow let out a frustrated cry.

After looking at it and touching his sticky face, Peter almost vomited on the spot.

Even though he went to wash his face immediately, the nauseating feeling stayed with Peter until he got off work.

When the bell rang for get off work, these unpleasant feelings were immediately dissipated. Peter jumped up and rushed to the changing room, changing his whole body in less than half a minute.

Taking another look at Lapu who had finished changing clothes at the same time, the two looked at each other.

"Walk?"

"Let's go!"

It was about 10 kilometers from Peter's home to the factory. In the morning, Peter would rather spend 2 copper coins than walk alone.

But now, that man was so energetic that he walked several streets with Lapu, found a tavern to sit down, ordered a few glasses of beer, bread and barbecue, and started drinking.

After drinking a glass of beer in an instant, Peter breathed a sigh of relief: "It feels so good!"

"That's not true." Rapp also drank a glass of beer: "Nowadays, I am getting more and more ambitious. Three years ago, let alone this beer, even if I had something to eat at night, I would not necessarily have it."

Peter sighed: "It's all Donald's fault. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be living like this!"

"You young people only know Donald." An elderly drinker next to him turned his head: "Actually, let alone him, if we go up a few generations, our lives in Eagle Town will be similar."

"Ah? Really?" Peter blinked.

"Yes, it has been like this for hundreds of years." Another old drinker said: "When you are rich, you eat dry food, and when you are poor, you eat thin food. Once you are over 60 years old, if you want to be more respectable, you can take advantage of the winter Go into the mountains by yourself and don’t put a burden on your family.”

"Sons of wind, sons of snow, and sons of water, that's how they came about."

"That is to say, under the rule of Baron Raven, I, an old man in my 60s, can still sit here and brag with you!"

"The next glass of wine is for Baron Raven!" Peter raised his glass high.

"Here's to Baron Raven!" Everyone in the tavern raised their glasses: "I wish him a fat boy soon!"

A burst of laughter filled the tavern, and the atmosphere became much livelier.

Peter and Lapu drank a few more drinks, and then he started to talk nonsense: "You have been married for more than three years, why haven't you heard anything? Do you need my help?"

"Pfft!" Rapp almost spit out a sip of beer, pointed at Peter and scolded with a smile: "Just wait, kid. When you get married in the future, I will definitely tell your wife this!"

Peter quickly apologized and said, "No, no, no, just kidding! But seriously, you really need to pay attention, or else go to Bucky's alchemy shop and ask?"

"No need. If he hadn't been out drinking with you friends every day, there would have been several children at home." Rapp's wife appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Rapp's collar: "You're almost done drinking, right?" ? They are all talking nonsense, come home with me!”

Lapu slammed his glass of wine, trying to show off his toughness, but when he saw the bristling eyebrows, he immediately lost his temper.

Peter, who knew that he had just said something bastard, did not dare to plead for mercy, and could only watch as Rapp was led out by his ears.

After finishing the beer in his hand, he was suddenly startled: "Let me go, he didn't pay the bill?!"

Fortunately, the bill wasn't too much. A total of 6 glasses of beer, two pieces of bacon, and a basket of bread totaled 37 copper coins.

After he finished paying the bill, he packed up the leftover food of Lapu and took it home. When he opened the door, Bobby pounced on him, his tail wagging so hard that it started to make a shadow.

Peter fed Bobby the leftovers and then put a rope on him.

Rather than walking the dog, it was more like Bobby dragging Peter around on the street, sniffing the butts of other dogs, getting into the grass to mark, and occasionally nibbling a few mouthfuls of grass.

From time to time, Peter would nod and say hello to others, and Peter was also imagining that Ji Si had always liked dogs. If they could meet by chance, could they take the opportunity to hook up?

It's a pity that Jisi didn't meet them, but she did meet a few old ladies who like dogs.

He remembered that he had met an old man who seemed lost two years ago. After meeting him, his energy seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.

I haven't seen him in two years, and I don't know how his old man is doing. If he is still in Eagle Town, I can introduce him to a wife.

After walking the dog, it was already extremely dark. Peter returned home carrying a jug of milk, lit a candle, and leaned against the window looking at the brightly lit Colosseum in the distance in a daze.

Do you want to go take a look? Tickets are not expensive, and I heard that the goblin Qiqi Xunke will appear today.

But if we go now, there will definitely be trouble until late at night.

I still have to work overtime tomorrow.

Forget it, go to sleep!

He said he was sleeping, but he put on his pajamas and lay on the bed, and Peter became more and more energetic.

I always think about how exciting the battle in the arena will be, and the figures, clothes, and thighs of the women who perform in the arena...

Peter jumped up and sat up from the bed like a corpse - gotta go!

As soon as he made up his mind and got out of bed, Peter looked out the window and was stunned.

The arena became dark.

Laying down with a groan, Peter sighed and covered his head with the quilt.

Go to sleep, go to sleep, you still have to go to work tomorrow.

Or... take a leave and find someone to make friends with Jisila?