Durin's Diary

Chapter 801 Half a day free

When Du Lin and Lid came out of the portal, the small building in front of them was frozen - because no one had lived there for a long time.

Taking Reid with him, Du Lin flashed into the small building - the door was frozen.

As soon as she entered the small building, Reed began to light the lights with ease.

Durin began to light the fire - first he used magic to completely dry the pile of firewood beside the stove, then he threw the firewood into the stove with the magic hand, and the flames brought by the magic ignited them.

Then Du Lin went to the kitchen and checked the cast iron pot. After confirming that there was something wrong with it, he repaired it.

The iron pot turned into liquid, and then quickly turned into the pot that Du Lin was familiar with. Du Lin put it away, added some spices, a little water, lit the fire, and put the pot on the stove.

Soon, tiny sparks burst out from under the pot, and the frozen blue printed curtains began to thaw as the temperature rose.

A pot of wine was placed next to the pot. As the fire heated up, a wisp of mist began to slowly overflow from the spout of the pot.

The wizard took out a pine chopping board from the shelf nearby. Perhaps because it had not been used much, it looked somewhat new.

Putting it away, the mage began to sharpen the knife, and Du Lin took out a bag of ten chicken breasts from his space.

In the stove under the pot, the flame has gradually risen, and the soup in the pot has begun to bubbling.

He took out the bag of wolfberries that the Changtang merchant gave to Du Lin and added some to the soup. The red wolfberries sank and floated in the soup. The mage's hands finished cutting the meat and began to take out two bowls from the stacked bowls and plates.

These are two very beautiful bowls. The blue glaze on them is still as good as new. There is a long Tang Dynasty character "Fu" on the bowl, which makes Du Lin feel as if he has returned to the old times.

Du Lin smiled and put the chopped chicken into the pot.

Reed, who had lit the lamp over there, came over. She watched Du Lin begin to thaw the pond. The small flame melted the ice flowers on the window frames. The sound of water drops falling into the bluestone grooves and the crackling of the fire formed an unpleasant chord.

Soon, the broth in the pot began to boil, and the aroma filled the air, making the little girl in Du Lin feel a little regretful: "I've already eaten it before, what a pity."

"It's okay. This soup needs to be cooked for a long time before it can be used as a main meal." Du Lin said as he used the magician's hand to take down the woven basket on the top hanging rack.

It was filled with spices that had long been dried. Durin picked up some and sniffed them, finding no signs of decay. He then took out some and had the wizard grind them finely into the stone mortar.

At this time, Reed took a leather notebook with copper nails from the shelf beside her, took out a pen and wrote something on it.

Du Lin came to her and saw that she was recording everything Du Lin did here.

"I'll write it down, and when I learn it in the future, I'll make it for you." She said this, and her smiling face didn't look like a duke's granddaughter at all, let alone the wife of a protector of the country.

Durin smiled and nodded, and at the same time took out a kettle from the side. After recasting it, he asked the mage's hand to take a few handfuls of snow and put it in it, and then placed it on the other burner of the fire.

Two bamboo tubes, one large and one small, were taken out from the space. On the red-painted bamboo tubes were long, ink-colored Tang characters markings with "Qiantang Before the Rain" and "White Dew Osmanthus Tea".

After putting them away, Dulin took out a wide-mouthed glass jar. Through the glass, he could see honey, a golden, viscous liquid precipitated within, reflecting a sweet aroma in the firelight. The crackling flames from the hearth lit up the frozen room, and traces of water from the melted ice formed streams on the windowsill. A spark exploded in the hearth, causing Hemer, who had followed him, to grunt. She stopped on the bird stand, staring at the fire before her, as if taking a nap.

Du Lin brought Reed back to the fire. The wicker rocking chair seemed a little big, so he spread out a blanket. Du Lin and Reed sat down together, and then covered each other's legs with the newly taken out blanket.

Lid looked at the fire and said, "I've lived here since I can remember. This is my home. After I left, I thought I would never come back, but I didn't expect that I would come back today."

As she spoke, she looked at the bookshelves on the wall. The various books on them were still there, quietly waiting for their owners to return.

After a while, Du Lin held up the boiled water with his wizard's hand and brewed two cups of tea, one was his Longjing tea and the other was her Osmanthus tea. Tea with honey might taste strange to other races, but it was just right for the grassland elves.

The two of them held white porcelain cups, their hands warmed by the warmth transmitted through the thick cups. The brass wind chimes in the corner suddenly trembled softly, and a draft carrying the scent of snow brushed past the noses of Du Lin and Lid. The old man who pushed open the door had his head and face covered in snow. His face was full of smiles, but there was a hint of confusion in his words: "Why are you back?"

"Grandpa." Reed greeted with a smile.

"Today I'm accompanying Reed home, just the two of us." Du Lin replied.

The old man sighed and closed the door. "I heard the sentry say that the lights were on in the small building, so I came to take a look. You two kids really scared me."

He sat on a chair beside him and teased Hemer casually. Hemer didn't care, just gurgled and continued to enjoy the warmth.

"As for you, I haven't heard of any war in the north recently. Why are you here?" Du Lin asked curiously while making him a cup of tea.

"That family is too busy, and I'm old. It's time for the eldest son to take charge. As a Duke, I must stay in the North as long as I'm alive." At this point, the old Duke Alessandro sighed, "This is what I agreed with him."

Du Lin knew who this person was. It was either Robert, Jean, or both of them.

The vows these old men made to each other when they were still young were defended with their entire lives.

Some died early, while others are still surviving.

The lid of the pot clicked loudly from the steam, and the aroma filled the room. The rich aroma of the chicken soup made the old duke laugh: "Good boy, I have to follow you for this meal today."

"Okay, no problem." Du Lin nodded with a smile.

The wizard's hand opened the golden cigarette case, took out a cigarette and lit it for the old duke.

The latter took a puff and sighed with satisfaction.

A certain warm emotion is slowly fermenting among the old things in the house, like the soup in the pot, like the pine resin rising with the fire, lingering over the years.

And Du Lin also saw happiness beyond the seriousness on the old man's face.

And sentimentality.

(End of this chapter)