Published: March 12, 2025
CHAPTER 457: Family Feast (Part 2)
After discussing everything, Zhao Hai and the others stepped out of Lintaiju. They were going to find Grandpa Gan to give him those snacks for the evening meal.
Grandpa Gan was busy in the kitchen. Today he was truly swamped because there was a family feast that evening, and everyone in the Dark Soldier Fortress had to attend, including the servants. This meant that the food and drink had to be quite substantial, and everything needed to be prepared in advance.
Zhao Hai saw Grandpa Gan bustling around and immediately smiled, "Grandpa Gan, you're quite busy!"
Upon hearing Zhao Hai's voice, Gan turned around and smiled back, "It's you, kid? What's up? Coming to drink again? Not today, too many things to do. Let's do it another day."
Zhao Hai chuckled, "Grandpa Gan, do you really think I'm a drunkard who drinks every day? I'm here with good news! You don't have to prepare so many dishes today. When we went out earlier, Meigen took us to the snack street, which is filled with various snacks from Karsen City. I bought quite a few, so we can use them as extra dishes tonight." He then revealed a large pile of snacks.
Gan's eyes lit up at the sight of the snacks. It’s important to know that the specialty snacks from Karsen City could not be considered common fare. Many of these were famous across the continent, and Gan loved them. These snacks would pair perfectly with wine.
Thinking of this, Gan immediately said to Zhao Hai, "Alright, no need to show them off now. These snacks don't count as a meal. Put them away for now, and take them out during the feast tonight."
When Zhao Hai heard Gan say this, he didn’t oppose and nodded, putting the snacks away. He then bid farewell to Gan and led Meigen and the others away.
Time passed quickly, and when night fell, Smith specifically came to call Zhao Hai, and they slowly made their way to the grand plaza in the castle.
Normally, everyone was busy living in their own quarters, so it wasn’t apparent, but now, when they gathered together, it became clear that there were actually thousands of people living in the Dark Soldier Fortress. That number was indeed significant.
As soon as Smith arrived, the servants and warriors who were already gathered in the plaza came to greet him. Many of them bowed respectfully, and Smith greeted them back politely, chatting briefly with them. Zhao Hai was surprised to find that Smith could actually call out many of their names, which made Zhao Hai quite admirable of him.
Zhao Hai knew that being able to call someone by name right away would leave a very good impression, especially for someone like Smith. As the family head, being able to remember a servant's name made it easier for that servant to develop a favorable opinion of him and win their hearts.
Zhao Hai, Chris, and Nodia followed closely behind Smith, while Laura and Meigen accompanied the lady outside to greet the women.
There were many servants in the castle who had yet to meet Zhao Hai. Upon seeing him, they felt a bit disappointed; Zhao Hai looked too ordinary, and in their eyes, he was simply not worthy of Meigen.
Meigen was not only liked by Smith and the direct relatives of the Karlqi Family, but many servants in the castle also adored her because she was kind-hearted and never acted like a young lady, treating the lower-ranked people very kindly. This made the servants fond of Meigen.
However, Zhao Hai didn’t mind. When Smith introduced him to those servants, he smiled and returned their greetings. Though the servants hurriedly bowed, they had a slightly better impression of Zhao Hai.
Interacting with people is as simple as that; when you respect others, you can naturally win their respect in return. Excluding those who do not understand the concept of respect, most people would develop a favorable impression of you, especially these servants. Given that Zhao Hai now had half the status of a master, his bow to them touched their hearts.
Before long, everyone from the castle arrived, and the crowd in the plaza grew larger. Fires were lit, illuminating the vast plaza, and the initial chill of the night was dispelled by the warmth of the bonfires.