The alcohol concentration of the barley beer here was not high; ordinary people treated it like water to drink for quenching thirst.
Even though the Minotaur group was drinking it for the first time, Jasmine did not worry that they would become drunk to the point of knowing nothing.
However, Jasmine herself did not like to drink it. Ignoring the crude manual production process that made people unable to bear looking straight at it, the mouthfeel of these types of alcohol was also not good, carrying an indescribably bitter and astringent taste and a slightly sour aftertaste.
Moreover, these types of alcohol were very cloudy; if one looked closely, one would see sediment settling at the bottom. Occasionally, if one were unlucky, one could even see the carcasses of a few nameless bugs floating inside.
But even so, for the people here, it was still much safer than drinking plain water directly from rivers and streams.
Jasmine did not drink the barley beer; she ordered vegetable soup for herself.
The vegetable soup in the tavern also used cabbage and a few roots that had a sweet taste. Naturally, it was not luxurious enough to have expensive spices added inside; they only added a lot of grated cheese, cooking it until it was extremely thick and consistent. It was a greasy taste that Jasmine was not used to eating, but it provided enough energy.
The apple that she had been expecting was placed on a small wooden plate. It was unknown how long it had been left in the cellar; the skin of the fruit on the outside had become wrinkled and dull in color. The size was also not large, only slightly bigger than a child's fist. Compared to its price, it felt like a bit of a loss.
Jasmine used the small knife she carried on her person to cut the apple into four pieces. She shared three pieces with the group of Minotaurs and held one piece herself to taste.
Taking a bite, the sour taste spread in her mouth, but it was quite crisp to eat, and the taste was still acceptable; at least it was fresh fruit.
The barley rice that Jasmine ordered was cooked directly from whole grain barley without removing the bran husk. The color was gray-brown, and eating it felt a bit scratchy in the throat, like swallowing sand.
Jasmine ate two mouthfuls of this rough barley rice, trying to chew thoroughly, but she really could not swallow it down anymore.
Fortunately, the people in the Minotaur group were not as picky as Jasmine. Whether it was bread hard enough to smash a person to death or barley rice that scratched the throat, they ate it all enthusiastically and deliciously, wiping the plates clean without leaving a single grain.
Conversely, the taste of the grilled fish in the tavern was not bad. The fish skin was grilled until golden and crispy, sprinkled with a little coarse salt; the fishy smell was not heavy, and the fish itself was large.
With a large grilled fish down the stomach, plus nibbling on half a piece of bread dipped in soup earlier, and drinking two more mouthfuls of the thick vegetable soup that was cloying enough to kill a person, this slightly late lunch could be considered a full meal.
After eating, Jasmine did not rush to leave; she sat leaning back in her chair, observing the surroundings.
The tavern was the place where news gathered fastest; all kinds of people from everywhere poured in here. She intended to ask Evelina a bit about the situation in the town of Ankera.
At this hour, there were not many customers in the tavern, and the noise had also lessened. Evelina was cleaning the tables and chairs, and she was also very curious about the group of newly arrived customers who had a striking appearance like Jasmine.
Hearing that Jasmine wanted to inquire about a shop to buy food supplies, Evelina happily put down the cleaning cloth, pulled out a chair, and sat down next to her, chatting enthusiastically with Jasmine.
"You want to buy food supplies? Then you asked the right person." Evelina saw the Minotaur being cautious in every tiny detail, holding the glass of alcohol with both hands as if cherishing it, and treasuring every small sip of barley beer in the glass as if afraid it would disappear. She could not help but assess him with a bit of peculiarity.
Slaves would usually gulp it down to quench their thirst, yet this fellow drank like he was tasting fine wine.
But non-human races were not rare in the town of Ankera, so she very quickly shifted her gaze back to Jasmine, answering with a bright smile:
"Recently, Old Jacques' grocery store at the end of the street just happened to import a batch of barley from the South. The grains are very plump, and the price is a bit cheaper than other stores. If you want to buy food in large quantities, you can go there to negotiate."
"As for the blacksmith shop, you guys arrived too late; it's truly a pity. Previously, our town had a smithy opened by a family of Dwarves. The weapons they made were incredibly sharp, and they were considered to have a thunderous reputation within the adventurer circles. But ever since the Dwarves left for some unknown reason, the blacksmiths in town now have skills that just aren't up to par; they only know how to repair simple farming tools. If you want to craft high-quality weapons or armor, the suggestion is still to go to another town to see if there is a smithy opened by Dwarves."
The iron-forging skills of the Dwarves were famous throughout the continent, favored by The God of Smithing. Usually, in places that had a Dwarf's smithy, people would not choose other shops even if the price was higher.
Evelina had worked as a server in the tavern for many years and had contact with all sorts of people, so she understood the town of Ankera very well. Plus, she was naturally a talkative person who liked to share information. No matter what Jasmine wanted to ask about, she could speak about it clearly and logically, from the prices of goods to sidewalk rumors.
Very quickly, Jasmine understood the general situation of the town of Ankera from the other party's mouth, from the distribution of areas in the town to the underground forces that were operating.
She ordered a glass of decent quality red wine for Evelina.
Evelina smiled until her eyes squinted when she saw the ruby-colored glass of wine in front of her. She introduced the town of Ankera even more enthusiastically, gesturing vividly with her hands and feet, causing the few remaining customers in the tavern to be unable to refrain from constantly glancing over toward this side out of curiosity.
By dusk, more oil lamps were lit in the tavern, customers began to crowd in, and the sound of laughter and talking became noisy again.
Evelina needed to go attend to other customers, and the tavern owner had started to glance over to remind her; she could only reluctantly stand up to leave.
Jasmine handed her a shiny silver coin as a tip. After all, the other party had conversed with them for more than half the day, providing a lot of useful information to the point her voice had gone hoarse; it was not easy.
Evelina held the silver coin, her eyes opening wide in surprise.
Evelina very rarely met such a generous customer; normally, customers only tipped a few odd coins. Added to Jasmine's noble style of dress and polite attitude, her favorability towards Jasmine increased sharply.
Before leaving, she lingered and instructed: "Lady Jasmine, if you want to ask anything next time, or need a guide, you must definitely remember to come find me, okay?"
"Mhm, if there is a need, I will definitely come to find you again. It has been hard on you today." Jasmine said with a gentle attitude, smiling and nodding.
When she spoke, she liked to look straight into the other party's eyes. A sincere gaze would make the other party feel that Jasmine valued them very much and held no class-based disdain.
Previously, it wasn't that Evelina had never been looked at directly by nobles, but in their eyes was entirely a disdain as if they were bestowing a favor, and some noble men even looked at her in a coarse manner, assessing her like a cheap piece of merchandise.
In front of Jasmine, it was as if she and the other party were people of equal status, respected like a human being.
Oh, The God of Light above, how could she feel that she—a tavern waitress—and a noble, honorable Lady had equal status?
This thought was truly blasphemous.