It was already night when Bud jumped out of the freight wagon wearing an old fur coat.
During the day, he and several hired workers went to deliver goods and missed the payment time, and did not return to the brewery until then.
A leader of the winery gave him his portion of the money, briefly explained why it was less than before, and then asked someone to bring the carriage in to prepare for closing.
Bud was a little confused as to why the Nisos family always went back on their word, but there were not many people in the winery at this time, and he didn't know who to complain to.
"Have you seen Gretel?" he asked a familiar employee.
"No, it seems I haven't seen it since I paid out the money in the afternoon." The employee recalled it for a moment and said casually, then shook the dust off his clothes and prepared to go back.
Bud asked two more people, but they said they didn't know, because he was not familiar with these people, so Bud had to give up.
He guessed that with Gretel's character, he would be very angry.
Forget it, it's relatively late, let's talk about it tomorrow. With this thought, he was going to go back and rest first. After all, he was very tired after running around for a day.
"It's really disgusting. I didn't expect those guys to side with the Nisos family."
The employee and Bud just stopped by for a while, and while the two were on the road, he started to talk about what happened today.
Bud also felt that those people probably took money from the Nisos family, but as long as they were not caught red-handed, what could they do? They had to work in the winery for a living.
With no clue, Bud could only continue walking on the dim streets. This was Hopeland's workshop and warehouse gathering place. There were no tourists, and there were no lights on the roadside. He could only hear the lively music coming from the distance.
.
For some reason, he walked slower and slower, and finally stopped altogether.
I'm a little worried about Gretel, because this friend's character is like that, he can't tolerate sand and is rather idealistic.
Let's go and have a look, it's not far anyway.
He turned around and walked towards another intersection.
It was very dark in the deep alley, and there was a little water on the road. Fortunately, there was a stone floor on the ground, so you wouldn't be covered in mud when you step on it.
These rough stone slabs effectively prevent mud, because the guild is more concerned about the appearance of the city and does not want to see mud rolling everywhere in the city. It will not only be dirty, but also troublesome to clean.
Bud walked quietly in the alley. He was familiar with this section of the road, so there were no obstacles.
Turn around this alley and you'll reach where Grete lives. It's not far from the winery.
There was dim light coming in from outside the dark alley, and there were several people talking outside.
"Aren't you very dignified? Why are you so honest now?"
A familiar and disgusting rough voice reached Bud's ears, followed by a dull hitting sound and a hoarse wailing sound.
He carefully walked to the corner of the alley and poked his head out of the shadows.
Under the dim light, the door of Gretel's cabin was opened, and seven or eight people gathered in the open space outside the door. Everything was quiet.
A man in the middle was kneeling on the ground, his hair was pulled up, and his body was covered in blood and stains. If it weren't for the familiar clothes, Bud wouldn't even recognize him as Gretel.
At this time, Gretel no longer looked as handsome as before. His face was covered with blood, snot, dirt, and spit. His feet were even unnaturally twisted. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, I'm afraid it wouldn't be possible.
Some people think he is still alive.
"You were very proud when you asked for money for that ugly guy. Why didn't you think that you would also have this day?"
There were several big men standing, led by Manda, the villain who had robbed Bud of his money before.
Some of them were holding wooden sticks in their hands, and some were carrying broken wine bottles with blood stains on them.
Just as Bud was about to rush out, one of the middle-aged men spoke.
"Let me tell you, Gretel, you just don't understand the importance of the matter. You just want to make trouble once, but you want to do it a second time."
"Don't even look at how much you weigh. It's better now. Mr. Fenton is angry, and you won't come to the winery anymore. Haven't you always said that the Nisos family is not good? Now you are following your lead.
willing."
"You..." The bloody Grete wanted to say something, but unfortunately his throat was filled with blood and he couldn't speak.
The middle-aged man under the light was one of the leaders of the previous strike with Gretel, as were the others next to him.
After seeing this shocking scene, Bud knew that Gretel had been betrayed. His heart began to sink, and he wanted to scream something but couldn't.
Yes, he didn't dare. Everyone around Gretel had betrayed him. How could he alone defeat those strong men?
Fear spread in his mind, and the scenes of being bullied and beaten in the past reappeared in his mind. The ridicule and sarcasm in those memories seemed to ring in his ears again. His legs trembled, and his body slowly slid down against the wall.
What to do! What to do! What to do! What to do! What to do! What to do! What to do! What to do! What to do!
He clasped the soil between the stone slabs with his fingers, his heart filled with anxiety and his brain in chaos.
[If one day you feel too uncomfortable and can't bear it anymore, just imagine that you are a stone without emotions. It will make you feel better.
For some reason, this sentence suddenly came to his mind.
Because of his ugly appearance, Bud was often looked down upon by others, and few people showed any special kindness to him since he was a child.
What impressed him deeply, besides Gretel as a good friend, was the girl who helped him out in the restaurant at that time.
In fact, he was very grateful for the girl's help, but unfortunately he didn't know how to speak. He seemed to have made her angry, so he only left this sentence.
His poor knowledge left him without much choice. He tried to imagine that he was a cold stone, with no emotions, no fear, no shame, and no fear.
Slowly, slowly, the brain finally calmed down.
How can we rescue Gretel?
I can't beat him. Looking for someone? It's hard to find someone in a short time, and other people may not dare to come forward.
My thoughts seem to be stuck, something is wrong, I need to change direction.
Just separate Gretel from them.
He turned around and retreated into the alley, carefully ran away without making a sound, and after leaving a distance, he started running with all his strength.
The night wind whistled in his ears, his chest rose and fell violently, and he panted heavily, heading in that familiar direction.
After turning two streets and alleys, he rushed back to the brewery and kicked open the closed door. The old iron lock suddenly cracked and a small section of the wooden frame was torn off.
Regardless of the surprised and speechless employee on duty, he rushed over, picked up the lantern on the table, and rummaged around.
The oil can in the last corner appeared in his field of vision.
Holding the oil can in his arms, he prepared to rush into the workshop, where there were many empty wine barrels and wooden structures.
"What are you doing, Bud!" The employee on duty wanted to stop him.
"Get away! Or I'll kill you!" Bard roared with a ferocious face, shocking the hired man.
After he entered, he poured oil on the barrels and debris, then turned on the lantern and lit it with candle flame.
boom--
The flames began to spread, but he didn't want to burn quickly. He grabbed the gauze used for filtering and threw it up. Then he pulled the fire cloth and spread the flames quickly to the entire workshop.
The monstrous flames ignited. It was already the dry season in autumn, and the fire expanded very quickly.
As the scorching and suffocating heat wave hit, the employees on duty did not dare to step forward and could only shout, alerting other employees around.
Bard watched the flames rising up, soaring more than ten feet high and lighting up the night sky, before he put down the ignited fire cloth in his hand, then turned and ran away.
Thick smoke rose along with the flames, and the choking smell spread in the air. People who were startled by the shouts began to look here. If the fire really burned, it would not only be this brewery, but also several nearby workshops.
Even worse.
Most of this area is owned by the Nissos family. They immediately sent people to wake up the employees living nearby, and several people mounted their horses to report to the owner's family for help.
When Bard was running back, the people who tortured Gretel also saw the fire, and the sound of firefighting began to be heard not far away, making it full of noise.
Seeing that many people began to appear in the alley, Manda and the others did not dare to continue beating Gretel blatantly.
"What should I do, boss? This will be difficult." One of the younger brothers asked as more and more people were around.