Downstairs, all of Frankās men were disarmed, one by one tied together.
The tavern owner obediently knelt on the ground.
Gang Le threw Frank down,
"Keep an eye on them for me!"
"Yes, Lord Gang Le!"
The soldier took a thick hemp rope and bound Frankās legs, arms, and hands.
Knights should be given at least some respect.
Tightening the binding hemp rope was the best respect.
Gang Le lifted the tavern owner with one hand and dragged him directly to the kitchen,
"Spare me, Master!"
Gang Le held the old man tightly in his arms, his palm patting the tavern ownerās slightly trembling shoulder from fear.
"Alright, stop pretending."
The tavern owner gave a awkward smile, "I was just afraid that someone would find out weāre in league..."
"You did a good job."
Gang Le grinned and said, "Donāt worry, your achievements will be credited to your family."
Originally, Gang Le had planned to withdraw, but changed his mind upon discovering Frankās scouts.
Gang Le had part of the group pretend to leave, while the others hid in the tavernās underground cellar, leaving the tavern owner to handle those scouts.
When Frank and his men fell asleep, the tavern owner sent word to Gang Le.
Gang Le led his men from the tavern cellar, rushed over, and completely captured this entire group.
The guards at the village entrance were also slain by the people returning.
In fact, if it werenāt for that knight being cautious, sending someone to follow the tavern owner while cooking, the tavern owner wouldnāt have had a chance to make a move, and it wouldnāt have been so troublesome.
A packet of knockout drugs would have knocked them all out.
However, thinking about it, itās rather amusing; the cautious knight was drugged by his own attendant.
Gang Le thought it was amusing.
Gang Leās words suddenly made the tavern ownerās eyes shine, "Master, can I ask how much..."
"I donāt know the exact amount, but your two sons wonāt worry about food and drink before spring plowing."
Gang Le assured him, "Donāt call me Master anymore; we have only one Master, Lord Luo De of Black Pine Ridge."
"Alright, alright, Iāll remember."
The tavern owner bowed, "Please thank Lord Luo De for me."
The old man used to be the tavern bartender, but after Gang Le arrived, he caught the brewing owner, handing the tavern to the old man.
The old manās two sons went to Frost Leaf Town, while he stayed here to gather information for Luo De.
Gang Le looked at the tavern owner with satisfaction.
"Youāll be in charge here in the future, and Iāll send two more men to help you."
"Yes, Lord Gang Le."
The tavern owner said, then cautiously asked, "Lord, wonāt we be exposed after doing this today?"
"Donāt worry, everyone who saw us come out of the cellar is dead, and the others will be taken away."
Gang Le said with a grin.
These men were all young and strong, destined to be brought back as laborers.
"Soon, Iāll give you a couple of punches, and when your face is bruised and swollen, no one will suspect you."
"Ah?"
The tavern owner looked at Gang Le with a troubled expression.
Wouldnāt his punch kill him?
Gang Le saw through the tavern ownerās thoughts, smiled, "Donāt worry, Iāll go easy."
"Alright, alright..."
The tavern owner reluctantly agreed.
Subsequently, Gang Le swung his fist, and two screams erupted from the kitchen.
Soon, Gang Le hauled out the bruised and swollen tavern owner, cursing as they walked,
"Damn it, thereās no food left; are you trying to starve us?"
"Lord, the food was taken by you before..."
The tavern owner with a bitter face cooperated with Gang Le.
"Shut up!"
Gang Le threw the tavern owner to the ground and pointed at Frank, ordering, "Go bring all their food here and make sure we get a good meal!"
"Alright, alright."
The tavern owner scrambled towards the kitchen to busy himself.
Gang Le grew a bit bored waiting and had the injured Ilan brought up,
"Tell me, why did you try to kill your Lord Knight?"
As soon as Gang Le finished speaking, Frankās men beside him widened their eyes,
"What does he mean, Ilan?"
"Ilan, you bastard!"
"Shut up, he couldnāt have harmed Lord Frank!"
...
Angry, panicked, and surprised noises echoed around.
The noise annoyed Gang Le.
"Shut their mouths for me!" Gang Le shouted harshly.
The soldiers immediately acted, gagging the prisoners.
Ilan might have been feeling guilty, his head bowed like a confessing prisoner, unable to look up.
"Itās..."
Ilanās voice was as thin as a mosquito, "Itās Honier..."
"My family owes Lord Zane a lot of money, forcing me to work for him."
"Zane?"
Gang Leās eyes widened with sudden interest.
He didnāt know Honier, but he knew Zane was the eldest son with inheritance rights.
Ilan pointed at a fat man behind them.
"Itās him, Zaneās messenger."
Gang Le strode forward and sized up Zaneās messenger.
"Interesting..."
Gang Le pulled up the trembling Honier,
"Tell me, whatās going on exactly."
...
...
Winter fishing is not limited to one day.
What Luo De participated in could only be considered a ceremony.
Afterwards, until it warms up, netting and catching fish would be a daily cycle.
Not just at the dam, but all along the River Bay upstream, wherever the water is over three meters deep.
Everyone loves this activity, even though the cold wind cuts their faces painfully, they all enjoy it.
Itās not like work; itās more like a game.
Within just three days, Luo De had already harvested over a ton of fresh fish.
This kind of fresh meat in winter is particularly precious in the deep winter.