Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Ninety Minutes Left
"She's really a thrifty and housewifely girl," Field nodded in agreement. But the next moment, he saw Vina pick up the kettle and gently shake it, as if listening to the sound of the liquor inside. The sound was somewhat loud, indicating that the kettle wasn't fully filled, probably only about half full. Vina stood in place for a moment, then headed to the living room. Field perked up his ears.
"Grandma, can you give me some money? We're out of wine," Vina said.
"Okay."
"Thank you, Grandma. I'm going out."
"Go ahead, be safe."
"Mm."
Field: "…"
I just praised you for being thrifty, and now this foolish girl!
Listening to the footsteps approaching the door, Field walked over directly. As the door opened and Vina stepped out, before she could take two steps, Field's figure appeared in front of her.
"Stay there," Field said with a stern face.
Vina immediately froze in place, her small hands starting to fidget.
"Keep your hands visible," Field added.
Vina then hid her hands behind her back.
"What are you going to do?" Field asked.
Vina lowered her head, and after a moment, a small voice came out.
"To… to buy… buy wine."
"Did you buy it for me?" Field brazenly asked.
"Mm," Vina nodded gently.
"How much?" Field asked again.
Although Field didn't know why he was asking these questions, Vina still honestly answered.
"One hundred gold coins."
Field: "…"
Why is it twenty gold coins more expensive?! Are prices higher in Harbor City than in Greela City? Nonsense, clearly this girl got swindled!
Field wiped his face and said, "You silly girl, you don't drink rum, why buy such expensive wine?"
Actually, even if it were a hundred gold coin wine, as long as Field wanted, he could splurge on several bottles without feeling it was expensive. What he wanted was simply happiness and pleasure. But in Vina's case, he felt it was expensive, and he wished he could confront the wine seller right now.
Hearing Field's seemingly reproachful words, Vina didn't speak, just kept her head down. Seeing her like this, Field couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile, unable to be angry with her.
"I don't like drinking rum, I like drinking black ale, you know?" he said. Then emphasized, "The kind that costs a silver coin a bucket!"
He knew this mushroom girl was a bit dull, and if he didn't explain properly today, she would definitely continue to buy wine. Field didn't want to see her getting swindled, even if it was only twenty gold coins.
Hearing this, Vina raised her head slightly, tilting her little head to look at Field, clearly somewhat disbelieving.
Field didn't know why, but his face felt a bit hot. Probably because of his recent promotion, he was full of vitality! So he didn't like this feeling and deliberately frowned, saying, "Don't doubt it, I'm a bit rough."
"A wild boar can't eat fine bran, and a mercenary can't handle good wine!"
"Understand?"
Hearing this, Vina fell silent for a moment before nodding.
"Mm."
"Mm what? Mm, say you understand!"
"Under… understand," Vina said, shrinking her neck.
Field nodded in satisfaction and said, "Alright, go inside. Don't go buy wine anymore. If you want to buy, go to Harbor Eleven and find the landlady there. She's fair."
Vina didn't say anything, just nodded, then stood there, seeming to fidget with her hands.
Field was somewhat puzzled, so he waited for a moment, to see if she wanted to say something. But the next moment, Vina seemed to gather her courage and extended a finger from her sleeve.
Field: "?"
Vina: "I'm… one year older than you…"
Field: "…"
He laughed, really.
"A year older than me, still a stupid girl!"
"I come out and see you bullying my student," a voice came at this moment.
Holland leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, smiling elegantly. His elegant demeanor clashed with the simple room.
Field smirked and said, "You've misunderstood. I'm doing this for her own good."
Of course, Holland knew. She had heard all those words. Field just didn't want Vina to waste her money on him. But even though it was a good thing, coming from him, it sounded like he was bullying Vina.
For some reason, even though Field was humorous and witty when talking to her, he seemed a bit grumpy with Vina, with a touch of strictness like an old father.
Perhaps this was Field's way of taking care of people.
Why didn't Field treat her like that? Because she didn't need Field's care.
Holland thought so.
Then everyone entered the room. Field was about to find a wall to lean against because the chairs here were a bit small and uncomfortable to sit in. Besides, he was big, and he was afraid of breaking the small wooden chairs, so he just stood.
As soon as they entered the living room, Field saw a sturdy large wooden chair. The seat of the chair was about a meter wide, spacious enough, and the backrest, armrests, and chair legs were all thick and sturdy. It was clear that it was well-made and durable.
Field widened his eyes and turned to look at Vina.
Seeing him looking, Vina shrank her neck and said cautiously, "I didn't… didn't spend money randomly. I made it myself."
"You can make chairs too?" Field asked curiously.
Vina nodded gently, "There's a woodworking elective at the academy, and I took it."
Grandma Lunla smiled beside her, "Many of the furniture at home are made by our girl. She's quite handy."
"Is that so? Let me see," Field reached out to Vina.
Vina seemed a bit puzzled, "Hmm?"
"Hmm what? Show me your hand," Field said.
"Oh…" Vina slowly extended her hand.
Her movements were a bit slow, so Field took a step forward and grabbed her hand.
Holland raised an eyebrow. She thought it wasn't good to hold a girl's hand like this, but she didn't think Field was that kind of person. So she didn't say anything, just observed Field's expression.
There was no hint of joy on his face from holding her hand, instead, he frowned slightly.
Vina's hand was small, especially compared to his large hand, it looked like a baby's hand in an adult's.
He looked at the palm of her hand, then turned it over to examine the back of her hand.
Vina seemed a bit uncomfortable, her ears turning slightly red under her short hair. But she didn't dare to pull her hand back, so she could only shrink her neck, and her other hand, which wasn't held by Field, started to fidget, making her look a bit awkward.
Seeing Vina like this, Holland was ready to stop Field.
But Field voluntarily let go of Vina's hand and then turned to Qiqi, "Qiqi, go to the furniture store in the east of the city later and place an order for a set of wooden furniture."
"Okay, meow!" Qiqi nodded.
Normally, when there were big things to do, Field handled them, and Qiqi handled the small things.
Upon hearing this, Vina quickly waved her hand and said, "No… no need, these furniture aren't broken yet, and I can make them myself…"
"What's the use of making them? Look at you," Field waved his hand, "The hands of girls your age are so tender, like they can squeeze out water. And yours?"
"Looking tender but actually rough, full of calluses."
"You have to know as a magic researcher, you must protect your hands well, because only then can you do precise research."
"Look at Mentor Holland's hands, that's what excellent magic researchers should have, right, Mentor Holland?"
"Huh?" Holland was stunned, then immediately understood Field's meaning and nodded seriously, "Indeed, later on, we'll need to manipulate precise magic devices, and the requirements for hands are even stricter than those for pianists."
"You'd better not touch these woodworking anymore."
After saying that, she glanced at Field somewhat helplessly.
Although magic researchers did need to protect their hands well, it wasn't to this extent.
This guy just didn't want Vina to do this rough work anymore and then pulled her into lying together.
But she also knew that this was for Vina's own good, so she felt more happy about it.
Happy that Field could take care of Vina like this, and happy that Vina could meet Field.
Perhaps he appeared a bit domineering in front of Vina, but Holland could feel the subtlety hidden in his dominance. Moreover, this kind of dominance was just right, making Vina obedient without harming her. Hearing both Holland and Field say so, Vina looked down at her small hand and then nodded.
"Yeah."
"That's right," Field grinned widely, shooting a proud glance at Holland.
Holland couldn't help but find it amusing.
Field then comfortably sat on the large wooden chair. Just as he was thinking about how to decorate the orphanage later, he heard a sound of friction. Field raised his eyebrows and looked over. He saw Vina pushing a small plate towards him with her finger, bit by bit. It was the same small plate Field had seen earlier, filled with fruit. Although it was much smaller than the large fruit plate next to it, there were still plenty of fruits of various kinds, neatly arranged.
Field almost burst into laughter. Why did Vina specially prepare the small fruit plate? It turned out to be for him. How could he not feel a little proud?
So, Field happily ate the fruit on the plate while flaunting a smug look at Holland.
Holland rolled her eyes at Field, feeling a bit jealous. A dedicated fruit plate? She, as Vina's mentor, didn't have such treatment.
But she understood that this meant Field had genuinely helped Vina, and Vina acknowledged and appreciated it.
"Don't just stand there, let's eat together. You bought it, so you should eat it," Field noticed that Vina hadn't touched the fruit plate. Although the other fruit plate had already been mostly devoured by Qiqi and a few other girls, it seemed like Vina hadn't eaten.
Although they hadn't known each other for long, Field had roughly figured out Vina's personality. She would leave what she thought was good for her important people.
Upon hearing this, Vina gently said, "You eat."
Field pursed his lips, picked up an apple, took a bite, then suddenly widened his eyes, his whole face wrinkled, but he still swallowed.
"Sour... this apple seems unripe..."
Holland: "..."
Keep acting, keep acting, she had just eaten an apple, and it was very sweet.
Vina was stunned for a moment, a little flustered, "It... it should be ripe..."
"It's not ripe, it's sour as hell. Try it if you don't believe me," Field pointed to the fruit plate.
Holland couldn't help but suppress a laugh.
This big guy, really...
But Vina believed him. She picked up an apple, pulled down her high-necked sweater, revealing a small mouth.
Field's eyes lit up.
Sure enough, as he had guessed, Vina's face shape was excellent, with cherry lips, absolutely not ugly!
Add five points!
Ninety points for the girl!
Put in a little more effort, surpass Mentor Holland's ninety-three points!
With a crisp sound, Vina took a small bite of the apple, chewed it, then turned to look at Field.
Field smirked, "I was kidding. Hurry up and eat, or it'll really get sour if left for too long."
Vina remained silent for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah."
Under Field's coaxing and deceit, Vina finally relaxed a little and started to eat the fruit bit by bit.
"This orange is really sour," Field said.
"Yeah," Vina nodded.
"This banana is sour too."
"Yeah."
"This pear has worms."
"Yeah."
"Don't eat it, silly girl, there really are worms!"
"See, this half-worm is still squirming, but it also means this pear is really good, pure and uncontaminated."
"Holland:Half strip... and there's still another half?"
"It's biting my tongue," Field grinned.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone