Chapter 168 Beach Stall

Gu Fei didn't know exactly where the wharf was. They had come here by boat, haphazardly landing directly on the beach. Afterwards, to avoid being surrounded by onlookers, they had fled in a hurry. He didn't remember seeing anything resembling a wharf nearby.

So, Gu Fei walked and inquired, twice getting targeted by the system guards because he wasn't familiar with the city. However, because his PK value was now less than 30, he only attracted the attention of some stationary guards. As long as he escaped a certain distance, they wouldn't bother him anymore. For Gu Fei, who had instant movement, this wasn't difficult.

After such a journey, Gu Fei finally arrived at Linshui City's proper wharf. The wharf was large, with several berths. Some had ships docked, and players were boarding one after another; some berths had no ships and no people; others had no ships, but many players were waiting, presumably because the ship was arriving soon; and some ships had just left the shore, with a few players who had missed the ship jumping up and down on the berth, cursing.

But these were all normal scenes at a wharf, and Gu Fei didn't pay them much attention. What really surprised him was that this place was no longer just a wharf, but a large-scale market.

The sky was blue, the water was blue, and the gentle breeze often carried droplets of water. On the golden sandy beach beside the wharf, there were clearly divided areas.

The left side was obviously a trading area. Many players were setting up stalls here, making full use of the richest resource: sand. Everyone piled the sand into all sorts of bizarre shapes, then placed the equipment they wanted to sell on top to attract attention. The most awesome was a person who directly piled the sand into a life-size model, dressed in clothes and wielding a sword. Ignoring the equipment's data and effects, at least the appearance was clear at a glance, attracting countless people's attention. This person's business was also very prosperous. The attire on the sand model was sold off and replaced with new outfits, and when he had time, he would build a new model.

Such a brilliant idea, yet the other players selling goods around him only felt envy, with no one imitating. Obviously, the person who made the model must have used some special method or skill that others wanted to learn but didn't understand the trick.

The left side was mainly for trade, while the right side was a leisure and relaxation area.

There were even round tables and wooden benches placed on the beach. Of course, the benches weren't free to sit on. These were all open-air taverns run by players, with someone guarding the liquor cabinet next to them, selling drinks to the players who came over. This sales method was clearly more profitable than Xiao Lei's Tavern. Xiao Lei invested a lot just in the system's big building, and then followed the proper route to apply to the system to open a store. As a result, he would be registered by the system and a certain fee would be deducted from his daily turnover, which players called taxes.

And the system was really shameless, not ashamed of the players' ridicule, but proud of it. Seeing that more and more players were opening stores, they even launched an activity to evaluate the merchant who paid the most taxes each day as the Tax Star, and then give them a reward. The reward was really generous, causing those who opened stores to get up early and work late, competing, squeezing, and suppressing each other, creating a smoky atmosphere.

Of course, a formal merchant like Xiao Lei also had the benefits of being a formal merchant. For example, if you took the wine and didn't pay, he could summon the system guards with a text message. After all, his store was registered with the system, and the system had a record of whether someone took the wine without paying. It wasn't just listening to Xiao Lei's side of the story. It's just that he gave the boss the right to call for help, after all, sometimes the boss would invite friends to drink a few bottles for free. If the system guards automatically descended and took people away, it would be too anticlimactic.

Compared to Xiao Lei, these players who couldn't pay taxes to the system naturally couldn't get system protection. What if a strongman came to freeload? Even if the boss was a peerless expert, he couldn't afford to provoke a whole guild!

Gu Fei admired the scene and worried about these bosses in his heart. But when he got closer and looked at the signs on each liquor cabinet, he finally understood.

These open-air, non-system-run taverns weren't individual businesses. They were all registered under a guild's name. They clearly marked which guild they belonged to in the most conspicuous position on the liquor cabinet. This was enough deterrent. If you wanted to be chased and killed by the entire guild, then go ahead and try to get a free meal!

Many people were relaxing at these open-air taverns, which naturally had a different flavor than the indoor taverns that Gu Fei and the others often frequented. Gu Fei walked around and looked around, finding it interesting. For a moment, he forgot about going to grind monsters and level up, and began to look around for a vacant seat, wanting to experience it as well.

This action was immediately noticed by the experienced wine-selling players, who rushed over with the same energy as snatching a Boss: "Brother, looking for a place to sit?"

"Yeah!" Gu Fei nodded.

"This way, this way, there are still seats here, how many people?" the other party asked.

"One," Gu Fei said.

"Da Ben, one person, bring a small table!" The player turned around and shouted.

"Coming!" A warrior squatting beside the liquor cabinet stood up when he heard the sound. He walked over in two steps, and with a "whoosh," he reached into his pocket and took out a small round table that looked like a bedside table, then casually picked up a stool from the side, and set them up in two moves: "Sit!"

"How much weight are you carrying?" Gu Fei sat down in stunned silence.

The warrior smiled honestly, returned to his original place, and continued to squat and play with the sand.

"What would you like to order, brother?" The serving player reached out and handed over a drink menu.

Gu Fei looked up and saw that the drinks were still the same, but the prices were more expensive than formal stores like Xiao Lei's Tavern, which had to pay taxes. It seemed that what was being sold here was not just drinks, but also this special atmosphere. Gu Fei sighed in his heart, while secretly scanning around, wanting to see what kind of drinks the other players were ordering.

At a glance, he found that although the environment had changed, the players' consumption concepts remained the same, with cheap drinks still being the most popular. Gu Fei was about to order the same when he suddenly noticed two bottles of the most expensive 200 standing on a single table like his. Someone who would drink this kind of wine! Gu Fei looked up and, sure enough, Young Master Han was sitting there holding a glass of wine. The difference was that everyone drinking here would look around at the scenery and feel the atmosphere while drinking, but this guy's attention was entirely on the glass of wine in his hand.

"Excuse me!" Gu Fei suddenly got up. "I have a friend over there, I'll go sit with him!"

"Where?" The serving player showed an unhappy expression, after all, he had specially opened a table for Gu Fei.

"There!" Gu Fei pointed, and the player's face showed a look of ecstasy. Why? Because the person at that table was Young Master Han. Young Master Han drank expensive, fast, and a lot, making him the most desirable customer for the hotel owner. Now, Gu Fei was actually this person's friend, going over to help him consume more. Didn't that mean he would drink even faster and more? You should know that a glass of this kind of wine was worth many times more than the cheapest wine, not to mention that guy was ordering it by the bottle.

The player's attitude suddenly became enthusiastic, and he rushed over to help Gu Fei move the stool to Young Master Han's table.

Young Master Han finally stopped paying attention to his glass of wine and looked up. After seeing Gu Fei behind the player, he didn't say a word, turned his head back, and continued to pay close attention to his glass of wine.

The serving player looked puzzled. Young Master Han's attitude was as if he had seen a puff of air. Gu Fei didn't care, patted the person, and said, "Get me a wine glass." After speaking, he sat down.

The person immediately reached into his pocket and got Gu Fei the biggest wine glass he had, so big that even Young Master Han's calm face showed a hint of surprise.

A trace of slyness flashed in the player's eyes, and he patted Gu Fei on the shoulder intimately and said, "Enjoy."

Gu Fei nodded, ignoring Young Master Han's expression, took his wine bottle and poured a full glass. This glass was really big enough. Half a bottle was gone after one glass. Gu Fei felt very fulfilled holding this glass.

Before he could take a sip, someone had already flashed to Gu Fei's side, lowered his head, and asked, "Brother, do you want grilled fish?"

"Grilled fish?" Gu Fei was surprised.

The man turned his head and pointed. Gu Fei looked in the direction he was pointing, and saw piles of bonfires on the less beautiful and awkward places on the beach, with wisps of smoke rising. Many players were squatting in front of the fire, busy with sticks in their hands. The sticks were basically skewered with fish. While grilling, they looked around at the wine stalls to see if there were any new guests. A few people showed regret that Gu Fei had been snatched first.

"Chef proficiency 2700, guaranteed to satisfy you," the player continued to recommend himself.

"How much… uh, one fish or one skewer?" Gu Fei asked.

"One fish is one skewer," the other party replied. "But we all call it one stick."

"Are the fish all the same size?" Gu Fei suddenly became curious and gossipy.

"They're all refreshed by the system, guaranteed to be exactly the same size," the other party replied with great confidence.

"How much money?"

"Five gold coins."

"That's quite expensive!" Gu Fei clicked his tongue. In fact, the catering industry had not yet developed in Cloudrise City. He had only passed through other main cities in a hurry, so even if they existed, he wouldn't know. So Gu Fei didn't know the market price, but intuitively felt that it was so.

"That's the price," the person said.

"Then give me two sticks to try!" Gu Fei said.

"Okay, okay." The man nodded quickly, ran away like the wind, and returned in a short while, holding two sticks in his hand, with two fish skewered on the sticks. Frankly speaking, it was very rough, but there was a wild charm to it. Gu Fei looked at the fish and felt very hungry.

After paying the gold coins happily, Gu Fei took the fish and handed one stick to Young Master Han.

Young Master Han was holding his glass of wine and slowly shook his head.

"Try it!" Gu Fei had already tasted it himself, felt it was very good, and strongly recommended it.

"I've already eaten six sticks," Young Master Han said, while tapping the ground with his foot.

Gu Fei looked down and saw a pile of sticks on the ground, and said in great surprise, "You can eat and drink, you're a glutton!"

Young Master Han's face turned cold, and he coldly reminded, "The wine you're drinking is mine."

"Yes, yes, it is." Gu Fei nodded quickly and took a big sip.

Just then, a loud shout suddenly came: "Look, it's that guy!!!"

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A glass of wine, a stick of grilled fish, n votes~~~