"William, I am entrusting the care of the castle to you; please take good care of your health." Before boarding the carriage, Jasmine grasped the thin, liver-spotted hands of the old Butler and instructed him solemnly.
The old Butler slightly bowed his body, his eyes brimming with tears: "I look forward to the day my Lord returns soon; your servant shall wait for you."
"Lord, please, you must return safely." Unknown to them, the female Cook had also arrived at the front of the main building to see them off. She wiped her hands on her apron and stuffed a packet of tofu fried in lard into Jasmine's hands. Jasmine could still feel the piping hot heat and the rich, greasy fragrance transmitting through the thin layer of oil paper.
"You made tofu?" Jasmine was somewhat surprised. Although she had previously explained roughly to the Cook how to make tofu from soy milk, in order to allow the Slaves to have more food to eat, Jasmine had not yet allowed the Cook to press the tofu pudding into solid tofu because it would reduce the volume. Even though Jasmine craved this dish, she had been able to suppress it.
"I apologize, my Lord, I used the lard without permission." The Cook tugged at the hem of her clothes with some trepidation, bowing her head and not daring to look straight at Jasmine.
Oil and grease in their castle were extremely precious supplies; ordinarily, the Cook had to obtain the permission of the old Butler before she could use them, and every drop of fat was measured and counted.
But this time, the Lord did not know how long she would be gone. The Cook knew that the Lord's mouth was picky and that Jasmine was not accustomed to eating dry food, so she hoped that before the lard spoiled, she could let Jasmine eat a bit more. That was why she had taken it upon herself to make fresh fried tofu for Jasmine.
Leaving other matters aside, tofu fried with added oil was truly fragrant enough to fill the nose. The outer crust was golden and crispy. The Cook felt as if her entire body was permeated with this aroma; she could hardly bear to step out of the kitchen, fearing this fragrance would dissipate into the cold air outside.
"It is alright. I actually have to thank you for the food you prepared for me; I like it very much, the flavor is wonderful."
Jasmine placed the full packet of fried tofu, which was still emitting steam, into the carriage, freeing her hands to wave to the Cook:
"Do not save the remaining lard either; make it all for everyone to eat. I hope that when I return, I will see that the lard in the kitchen has been used up. Everyone also needs strength to work."
Previously, to prepare dry provisions for the road, Jasmine had instructed the Cook to use lard to fry quite a few whole soybeans, and to coat them with a little coarse salt for preservation. Fried beans like this could be kept for a very long time; even if they did not light a fire on the road, it was enough for them to hold out until they reached Ankera town without going hungry.
Moreover, fried beans like this were both fragrant and crunchy when chewed. Even if they were not used as a main dish, they could ordinarily be used as a snack to nibble on to relieve boredom, it was just that they were a bit hard and tough on the teeth.
Jasmine herself did not like eating them much because she was afraid of hurting her jaw, but the Slaves liked them very much because they were flavorful.
Apart from the Cook, the Slaves who had been building the perimeter wall also stopped the work in their hands, peering out and standing to watch from a distance, their gazes following the carriage.
Jasmine was not cold towards them; seeing this, she also waved her hand to say goodbye to the Slaves in a friendly manner.
There were Slaves with small courage who shrank back in fear, and there were also Slaves who received the response of the Lord and became so excited that their faces flushed red. Their eyes, which were originally numb and soulless, stared at the figure on the carriage with a rare fiery gaze.
They did not dare to actively step forward like the Cook; they could only silently pray in their hearts that the Lord could return safely, bringing with her the hope of changing their lives.
"Let us go," Jasmine said softly to the Bull-man on the driver's seat, taking a deep breath.
The Bull-man gently swung the reins, signaling the horse. The carriage slowly moved outward along the trampled dirt road, the wheels rolling with a clattering sound that signaled the beginning of the journey.
On the way, they also encountered a number of Slaves who had gone out to collect mud and weeds to reinforce the stables. Hearing the noise of the carriage, they straightened up one after another to look in this direction, their limbs stained with mud. Discovering that it was the carriage the Lord was sitting in, the Slaves hurriedly bowed deeply to perform a salute.
They had heard that this time the Lord was going out to buy food, and that in the future, even Slaves like them might be able to eat bread to be fuller, and not have to slurp diluted porridge just to stay alive anymore.
Although the Slaves did not know whether this news was true or false, they were more or less filled with expectation for the return of the Lord, the person who had brought positive changes to the castle.
Waiting until the carriage had gone far and disappeared behind the small hill, the Half-Elf maiden in the crowd finally lifted her head. Her pointed ears twitched slightly; she sniffed her small nose a few times, smelling the dense humidity in the air, and could not help but frown in worry.
It seemed that before long, it would rain heavily. The wind was carrying moisture blowing in from the sea, and she did not know if this rainstorm would cause any influence on the Lord's trip.
The Half-Elf maiden looked at the dark clouds surging in from the horizon like giant monsters, and the space between her eyebrows was filled with uneasy anxiety.
Leaving the range of the wheat fields where the Slaves usually operated, and going even further, even the dirt road that had been trampled out no longer existed; before their eyes was only a vast desolate area.
The place the carriage passed through was completely wilderness, with weeds growing lushly. Fortunately, the weeds here only reached up to the knees at the highest, not enough to cover the wheels that were half a person's height, but the uneven ground full of gravel and stones made movement difficult.
The last time Jasmine followed the Knights here, her whole body had been dizzy from carsickness, and she had completely failed to see the surrounding environment clearly.
Of course, a place like this also had no iconic objects for people to use as landmarks to identify direction. All four sides were grass and rocks that looked exactly the same. In Jasmine's eyes, the surrounding scenery was all like a maze; if there was no guide, relying only on Jasmine herself, she would certainly lose her way amidst this immense wilderness.
This time, the guide for Jasmine's team was an old Goblin named Darius, with skin that was wrinkled and pale green. This was one of Jasmine's few Slaves who had a proper name, and he was also from an intelligent foreign race.