Chapter 255 Money is not important, but having money is important

"We need supplies, food, and weapons." Thorin looked at the man and asked, "Can you help us?"

"You need to seek medical treatment in a hurry!" Aaron held his forehead and shook his head, feeling extremely speechless.

To be honest, he understood Thorin's mood. After all, he was about to arrive at the Lonely Mountain. Facing the dragon without preparation was no different from giving it away in vain.

However, if you want to ask for help, you should at least find someone with a little bit of financial resources!

It will be very difficult for this brother to feed their family. Supply and food may be a problem, let alone weapons.

The man did not answer, but touched the arrow marks on the barrels, "I know the origin of these barrels."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know what kind of business you did with the elves, but it doesn't seem to be going well.

Only the mayor can bring people into the town. Doing business with the Woodland King is his only source of income. In order not to make Thranduil angry, he will put you in jail. "

As the man spoke, he was about to pack up and sail. He could bring ordinary merchants into the town, but these people were obviously not merchants. There was a certain risk involved in bringing people who had offended the elves into the town.

"Wait a minute." Aaron suddenly said, then took out a gold coin from his pocket and threw it to the man, "What's your name?"

"Bud."

"Okay, Bud, I completely understand your difficulties, but wealth is gained in danger..."

Bud looked at the gold coins in his hand, with a flash of struggle in his eyes, "I have children to raise, and I don't want to take risks."

"Understood." Aaron snapped his fingers and put another gold coin into his hand. "Risk and return are directly proportional, aren't they?"

"But if you are caught by the mayor..."

"There are always other ways to enter the town!" Aaron patted his shoulder meaningfully, "I don't think a man who can do that kind of archery is really a nobody."

Bud looked at Aaron in surprise, as if he had made up his mind, "How much can you pay me?"

"We'll pay double," Bahrain said immediately.

...

On the other side, the woodland kingdom.

The captured orcs were led to the throne by Tariel and Legolas.

After Thranduil finished speaking, Legolas began to question Oak's purpose.

This half-orc behaved extremely arrogantly and had absolutely no consciousness of being a prisoner, but in a way he was particularly cooperative.

First, he told a few people that the dwarves were about to be reduced in number, and that Qili was hit by a Morgul arrow and would die soon.

This news made Tauriel uneasy. If it weren't for the king's order, she would kill the orc in a minute.

Afterwards, he despised Thorin Oakenshield fiercely: that dwarf could never become king.

This view agrees with Legolas. As long as Smaug is alive, no one will dare to enter the Lonely Mountain.

Finally, he bluntly stated that the time of the orcs was coming, and that his master served the Supreme One.

After hearing the word "Supreme One", Thranduil was no longer calm. After living for a long time, he suddenly understood a lot of things and cut off the orc's head directly.

“The border, all roads, and rivers must be double guarded, and no unauthorized movement is allowed without my order.

No one can enter this kingdom, and no one can leave it. "

Thranduil issued the order to seclusion. He knew that the world might not be peaceful in the future, but this had nothing to do with the Woodland Kingdom. As long as the war could not burn here, there was no need for him to get involved.

Although Legolas was puzzled, this was an order from the king and his father, and he could only obey it.

But when he ordered people to close the gate, he learned from the guard's air that Tariel was fully armed and went to the forest, which made him feel bad.

In desperation, he could only leave the Woodland Kingdom to find Tauriel.

...

Bud drove the boat carefully around the thin ice on the lake and moved forward slowly in the thick fog.

"careful."

Bofur suddenly shouted, and saw a large piece of broken wall appearing in the thick fog.

Bud immediately controlled the direction and avoided these obstacles.

"The skills are pretty good!" Aaron said meaningfully, "Logically speaking, it's impossible for a person like you to be so bad at it, even your clothes are in such tatters."

"Nothing to do with you."

"But I want to know." Aaron said. "Currently, I only know that there is an incompetent mayor in Changhu Town. I need to know more information."

Bud sighed helplessly, "It has nothing to do with you, don't make me say it a third time."

"Okay! I'll figure it out.

But before that, I have something else I want to trouble you with. "

"What's the matter?" Bud frowned.

“I need medicine, any medicine you can find.

Because there was a fool among us who didn’t want to drag the team back, so he had to carry it all by himself even if he was injured. I had to find a way to heal him. "

Bard glanced at Kili, "Is it him?"

"Obviously." Aaron spread his hands, "I still need tools for brewing medicine. Of course, I will pay you accordingly, and I guarantee that I won't let you down."

"I see."

"Brothers, take out the money," Balin said. "Our ship fare has to be paid."

The dwarves took out their wallets and collected a pile of silver coins.

Balin took stock, his face darkened, "There is a little trouble here, we are still ten silver coins short."

After the words fell, everyone turned their attention to Aaron, who was talking to Bud.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Aaron subconsciously covered his money bag, "I paid for more than half of the expenses along the way, even if I made a small fortune along the way. , you can’t always catch a child like this!”

Everyone said nothing, just looked at him.

Aaron rolled his eyes and realized that he might not be able to survive without the money.

"It turns out that money is not important, but having money is very important." Aaron said with emotion, and then took out ten gold coins and put them into Bud's pocket, "The extra money can be used as a deposit for finding medicine. ”

Bud didn't refuse, he really needed the money.

The boat continued to move forward on the lake, and he stopped only when the town could be seen through the thick fog.

“There are guards ahead, so get into the barrel quickly.

If you don't want to be discovered, just do as I say. "

Everyone looked at each other, but decided to believe him for the time being.

Bard walks to the shore and Bilbo observes from a distance through a hole in the barrel.

"What is he doing!" Dwalin asked.

"He was talking to someone... he was pointing at us... and they were shaking hands."

"Can you please stop saying a few words?" Aaron said speechlessly, "It's as if Bud sold us."

"Maybe he has already betrayed us." Dwalin said unhappily.

"Calm down, everyone. This is a normal negotiation. Don't be impulsive." Aaron said immediately, "Don't do anything bad before you are sure that he betrayed us."

As soon as the words fell, the sound of pulling the iron chain was heard in everyone's ears, and then a large number of fish were poured into the barrel to cover them up.

Now everyone understood what Bilbo's three words meant, but this method was too uncomfortable.

With these fish as cover, Bud dared to lead them into the checkpoint.

"Stop the ship, check the cargo, please show the documents." The man at the checkpoint came out of the house with a light, "Oh, it's you, Bud."

"Good morning, Percy."

"Is there anything you need to declare to customs?"

"No, but I'm cold and hungry." Bud handed him a document. "I just want to go home."

"Both each other." Percy took the document and went back to the house to stamp it, "Okay, everything is fine."

"Wait a minute." A pale, stooped man snatched the document. The moment Bud saw him, his face turned ugly.

“Commissioned to bring barrels from the Woodland Kingdom.

But the bucket is full now, right, Bud?

If I remember correctly, according to the registration, you are a boatman, not a fisherman. "

"That has nothing to do with you."

"You are wrong. Things related to the mayor have nothing to do with me."

A dog-legged person, a pure dog-legged person.

Aaron directly labeled this person, and at the same time secretly shouted that it was unlucky to encounter such a person.

I hope Bud can get through it! Otherwise, he would have no choice but to take action.

He hadn't learned the Imperius Curse yet, but he was still familiar with the Amnesia Curse.

"Come on, Alfred, out of kindness, everyone has to eat." Bud said helplessly.

Alfred, however, had no so-called kindness. He directly labeled these fish as illegal and ordered his men to drain them all.

No matter how much Bud talked about the food and clothing of the town residents, Alfred remained unmoved.

Seeing that Alfred was still stubborn, Bud could only blame the mayor, "What if people heard that the mayor dumped fish into the lake?

If they revolt, that's none of your business! "

Hearing this, Alfred's already pale face turned even paler, and he immediately waved his hand to stop pouring fish.

"You always wanted to be a hero, Bud?

Always want to protect the people. They may support you now, but the good times of boating will not last long. "

The gate opened and the ship passed the security check smoothly.

"The mayor has been watching you. You'd better remember it clearly. We know where you live." Alfred said coldly.

"This is a small town." Bud replied directly, "Everyone knows where each other lives."

After the boat reached a safe place, Bud kicked the barrel over, and the members of the expedition crawled out of the fish pile one after another, their bodies covered with the smell of fish.

Bud sent an acquaintance on the shore with a silver coin and a boatload of fish, asking him not to tell anyone about what he saw.

Aaron took a deep breath of the not-so-fresh air, and then he really looked at Changhu Town.

The entire town was built on the lake, but there was no life at all. Dirty, chaotic, and poor were his first impressions of this place.

"I understand why you are so poor. People who can live in a place like this probably just want to get by!"

"At least he's alive." Bud said calmly.

"Ha! People like you shouldn't be buried here." Aaron said earnestly, "You should also be able to have a broader world, and you will have a place in the capital of mankind."

Bud smiled and shook his head, and changed the topic without any trace, "Let's go to my house first!"

"No, your home is probably under surveillance now.

That bitch doesn't sound very capable at first glance, but the harsh words that bitches usually say are true. Aaron murmured, "For the safety of you and your family, I suggest changing to another place." "

"No one else can take in so many of you." Bud shook his head and said, "You can only go to my house."

"Aaron, it doesn't matter." Old God Bahrain said calmly, "I believe Mr. Bard must have a route to avoid the monitor."

"Yes, there is, but..." Bud looked embarrassed, "You may not be able to accept it."

"I can accept it, I can accept it, I must accept it." Bilbo said. They had never suffered any hardships or suffered any sins along the way. Safety was really more important than anything else.