The wind blew gently, carrying back the muffled sound of forging hammers in the distance.

"The last time I saw this level of trust." A trace of a smile recalling the past appeared on the one-armed soldier's lips: "It was still between a hammer and a shield."

Winters laughed loudly and took the one-armed soldier's arm: "Okay. Colonel, please don't curse us. Let's go back to Gevaudan. Mrs. Mitchell is treating you to dinner tonight, have you forgotten?"

"I really don't want to go. I'm scared when I see that lady."

"And there are women who scare you?"

"At least there is one right now."

…

…

It has been three days since Colonel Bode returned to Plato.

According to the custom of the Palatuan people, happy events such as Colonel Bode regaining his freedom and returning to his hometown must invite relatives and friends to a banquet to celebrate, to show that he has broken with the bad luck of the past.

Although the current situation is special, Winters still wants to give the colonel a good start.

After thinking about it, I could only ask Mrs. Mitchell for help in this matter.

Winters was very ashamed of Mrs. Mitchell. Girard's life or death was uncertain, so he sent Pierre to carry out the most dangerous mission. He also used Mrs. Mitchell.

Mrs. Mitchell never showed the slightest reproach to him, which made Winters even more guilty.

So in the end it was Anna who came forward to ask Mrs. Mitchell for help.

Ellen Mitchell readily agreed, and so this "family dinner" took place.

Mrs. Ellen Mitchell was the host, and Colonel Bode Gates was the guest of honor.

The male guests were Winters, Mason and Father Carman.

Andre was not there. Like Don Juan, he had already led the reconnaissance cavalry into the wilderness; Lieutenant Colonel Moritz avoided Colonel Bode and did not come to the banquet.

The female guests were Anna and Catherine, but Scarlett was not there.

Because Scarlett cut off her hair on her own initiative, Mrs. Mitchell did not allow her to attend the dinner table.

It just happened to satisfy the little wild cat's wish. At this moment, Scarlett was hiding in the kitchen and eating wantonly. No dish could escape her "poisonous hands" - Ellen obviously did not expect this.

There were only six guests, and Ellen chose a two-meter-long dining table, which was neither alienating nor crowded.

Ellen also opened two bottles of wine brought from Wolf Town. In Gevaudin today, wine is a rare thing.

The guest of honor toasted and chatted, and everyone deliberately did not talk about war, politics or the Hurds. The atmosphere was pleasant and intimate.

Colonel Bode's witty stories came one after another, and the laughter at the dinner table never stopped.

There may be a dispute over who of the three men here is better at marching and fighting.

But when it comes to pleasing women, even if Winters, Bud, Andre, Mason, Don Juan and Moritz were tied together, it wouldn't be enough for Bode Gates to do it alone.

Although the disaster in the wilderness almost tortured the colonel into a little old man, it could not kill his sense of humor.

While chatting, it was the turn of the snacks to be served.

There should be seven snacks for one host and six guests, but only six were served.

Ellen handed it to others calmly, but she didn't take it herself: "Speaking of snacks, the price of flour in the city is the same these two days."

Winters' attention suddenly focused: "The price of flour has increased?"

"Yes, those poor believers can't even afford rice porridge." Father Carman asked coldly: "The price has increased significantly. Is this matter your responsibility? Can you give me an explanation?"

Colonel Bode stopped telling jokes and tasted the snacks silently, as if he was invisible at the dinner table.

"This...I will check it out." Winters looked at Mrs. Mitchell seriously, and Carman nodded in thanks: "Thank you both for reminding me."

Kaman sneered and stopped looking at Winters.

"Isn't this simple?" Senior Mason, who was very drunk, said with a drunken eye and a blur of consciousness: "I heard that the Hurd barbarians are coming to kill. Anyone with some property in the nearby villages and towns all ran into Gervaudan! This

There is a city wall! Can the price of flour not rise? What do you think? Can it not rise?"

"Then you just watch?" Father Carman asked with a frown.

"What should we do? Limit the price? The price will rise even higher! Limit purchases? Everyone will rush to buy it!"

The senior sucked his nose, fiddled with the wine glass, and pushed it back unceremoniously: "If you want to completely solve the problem, you have to open a warehouse and sell food! But do we have food? We don't have any extra food! The food in the warehouse is getting less and less every day.

We still have to get food to fight with the Heds! You push us, do you know our difficulties? Father Carmen!"

Not only does the senior have a bad ability to drink, but his wine taste is also not very good... At least at this moment, Mason is by no means the gentle senior he usually is.

Kaman was choked and couldn't speak, and the priest didn't want to argue with the drunkard.

Colonel Bode, on the other hand, had already finished his snacks.

"I will discuss a solution with Mayor Priskin." Winters smiled and reassured Kaman and the seniors: "There will always be a way, don't worry."

Seeing that Senior Mason was already sixty percent drunk, Winters had a thought and asked the senior: "How is your ranch doing now?"

"Which one?" The senior said slightly dull.

"That's where I first visited you."

It's a good thing Winters didn't mention it. The mention just made the principal sad.

Drunk, depressed, and emotionally infected by the atmosphere of the banquet, Senior Mason actually burst into tears, and the atmosphere suddenly became subtle.

Was it too hard? Winters was also a little panicked.

Winters felt someone kicking him under the table. He raised his head and faced Anna's bright smile.

Something bad is happening!

Winters scratched Anna's ankle expressionlessly.

Madam Navarre's hand was unsteady and she almost spilled half the glass of wine.

Catherine narrowed her eyes and looked at the two of them suspiciously.

Immediately afterwards, Winters was kicked harder on the shin.

Holding back the severe pain, Winters put his arms around the senior's shoulders and comforted him: "I just wanted to ask, how are the breeding pigs you bred?"

"It's all gone, didn't I tell you?" The senior wiped his nose.

Of course Winters knew, because of the testimony of the victim Don Juan. Last time the senior got drunk and went crazy, dragging Juan along to talk about breeding stock all night long.

"It doesn't matter if it's gone, we can cultivate it again." Winters guided the senior.

"Oh, it's different." The senior said drunkenly: "To improve breeds, the fastest way is to use male animals, and the most direct effect is to use female animals. I have both male animals and female animals, all of which were carefully selected and bred. Now they are all

No more…Ronald…it’s okay to raise pigs for meat, but how can you kill breeding pigs for meat? I hate it so much…”

Winters listened and nodded.

Anna was a little annoyed. What were sows and boars talking about at the dinner? She had clearly signaled Winters not to continue this topic, but the bad guy continued to lead Mr. Mason to talk as if he couldn't hear or see.

Anna suddenly heard her sister say: "Can't you buy it from outside again?"

A lady was interested in this topic. Senior Mason's conversation became more intense. He cheered up and explained: "Most pigs are raised in free-range households and lack the awareness and conditions for breeding. Only by raising a lot of pigs at one time can you have more opportunities."

Select the best from them and cultivate them.”

Catherine smiled sweetly and asked curiously: "Can't we raise more again?"

Little Ms. Navarre is much more perceptive than her sister in some aspects. For example...it is obvious that Mr. M is deliberately inducing Mr. Mason to talk about certain things.

"It will take many years to restore the size of the herd." The senior became more melancholy and sad: "It takes time to get pregnant, and it takes time for the cubs to grow up. Alas."
Chapter completed!