Across Ranch Story: Friends of Mineral Town

After leaving Grandma Ellen's house, next door was the home of Mayor Thomas and town policeman Harris. Harris was not at home at this time. After entering the house, Thomas was the only one there.

"Good morning, mayor!"

"Oh~ It's Lin Xia~ How are you doing recently? How is the ranch going?" Thomas asked with concern.

"It's good. Now that planting and animal husbandry are going smoothly, I have time to travel around!" Lin Xia said teasingly.

Thomas laughed and said, "You are a capable girl. I have never seen anyone who can adapt to a new life as quickly as you! However, if you encounter any difficulties, remember to come to me. We will all help you!"

Lin Xia: "Of course, I won't be polite. By the way, these are the peanuts grown on my ranch and the chestnuts picked on the mountain. I made some for you to try. I hope you like them!"

Thomas said happily, "You are so polite. I will accept it. By the way, your ranch is very close to the Goetz family. Have you had much contact with the new residents there recently? What do you think of them?"

Lin Xia: ... How can I explain this?

"I'm busy every day, and I don't interact with him that much, so I don't know him very well!"

"Really?" Thomas murmured, "It seems that artists all have their own personalities!"

"What do you mean?" Lin Xia asked puzzledly.

"Hey~ Since he came to town, except for the concert that day, I haven't seen him come to town. It seems that he has always been in the back mountain and Gotz's house. It's a bit~a bit~"

"Not sociable?" Lin Xia asked.

"Yes! But maybe this is a common problem among artists. Their thoughts are different from those of ordinary people."

"Yes." Lin Xia agreed, and at the same time couldn't help but think of what happened when she went to Gotz's house two days ago.

That day, just two days before Goetz's birthday, Lin Xia went to Goetz's house to ask him something. As soon as she entered the door, she saw Brandon with his back to the door, in the workshop in the living room. He didn't move his hands, just stared at the pieces of wood in front of him, muttering something.

Lin Xia looked around and didn't see Goetz. She probably thought he had gone out to look at the wood. Out of courtesy, she greeted Brandon, which woke him up from his deep thoughts.

"Ah, it's Lin Xia." Brandon said expressionlessly, "I'm very busy now. If you're free, I'll invite you..."

This was quite impolite. Since Lin Xia came to the Mineral Town, she had never encountered such a scene. She was a little dissatisfied and was about to say goodbye with a cold face.

"...No, wait a minute." Brandon smiled and said to her, "Lin Xia, I have a question that I want to ask you. When you hear the words avant-garde, sin, and freedom...what do you think of?"

Lin Xia: . . . . . ?

What kind of a question is this? How can a normal person think about this?

Perhaps because he could see Lin Xia’s confusion, Brandon said in a frustrated tone: “…Forget it, it’s nothing.”

Now Lin Xia realized that he was not targeting her, but that he had encountered some problem that she did not understand.

"Why do you suddenly ask such a question? I have never thought about these things, so I probably can't give you any advice."

"...It's like this, I received such a commission, but I can't come up with any inspiration. I need... a medium, so I asked you this question." Brandon explained in a good-tempered manner, "If you can't think of it, forget it."

Lin Xia was a little surprised after hearing this, and at the same time she couldn't help but wonder: What kind of people are Brandon's customers? They just buy works, why would they choose this kind of theme? It's really hard to understand.

But he still racked his brains and came up with a so-called "association" that even he couldn't understand: "For example... cat?"

After saying this, I even felt embarrassed.

Brandon thought after hearing this, "Cat? Your point of view is really interesting. However, it is really incredible, and this answer is acceptable. Hmm... Chains and cats... liberation... I see."

Lin Xia was completely confused after hearing this.

Brandon was full of confidence at this time: "I have an idea, let's do it."

Looking at Lin Xia's expression, he said, "...What's wrong? You look confused."

Lin Xia nodded woodenly. Brandon: "...To get inspiration, there must be an opportunity. Like being in nature, eating, or talking to people... The opportunities vary, but the more you don't do it normally, the better. I don't like meaningless conversations... But I won't say that all conversations are meaningless."

Lin Xia continued to remain expressionless.

"...That is to say, the conversation I just had with you was meaningful. Thanks to you, I feel like I can create good works. Thank you. Well, I'm going to start working, don't talk to me for now."

Lin Xia... Thank you for your appreciation, it's really nice!

Thinking about the not-so-good experience last time, Lin Xia didn't want to talk too much about Brandon, otherwise it would seem like she didn't even understand what he was saying, so she quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, Mayor, I haven't seen Harris recently. How is he?"

"Haha~ He patrols the town every day to ensure its safety!"

"He's the only policeman in the whole town, so it's quite hard work!"

"It's not hard. The public security in our town has always been good. He is just doing routine work. It's not like outside cities. Although there are many people working together, the workload is really not small. That's hard work. Our life here is like a paradise." Thomas asked vigilantly, "Did he complain to you about the hard work?"

Lin Xia quickly shook her head: "No, no, how could that be? Harris is very responsible at work, and every time he sees me, he is very energetic and on duty seriously, and has never complained. Please don't be suspicious!"

Thomas then relaxed and smiled again.

Lin Xia couldn't help but wipe the sweat off her forehead. This father is really strict. I never noticed it before.

After saying goodbye to Thomas, they went to the grocery store next door to share some fried snacks with Jeff's family. After tasting them, Karen praised them highly. She also enthusiastically asked Lin Xia about the frying method and said that she would try it later.

Jeff and Sasha beside them turned pale after hearing this and quickly interrupted the conversation, saying, "Lin Xia, come and see what's new in our store..."

Lin Xia also cooperated very well and followed Sasha to look at the products. Karin was obviously excellent in all aspects, so why did she have to stick to cooking, which she was not good at?

"Jeff and I have already advised her that she really has no talent, and if the food is not cooked well, it will turn into poison. She put you in the hospital last time. She was very depressed at the time. It made me feel so sad." Sasha whispered to Lin Xia, "I wanted to forget it at the time. Since she likes it, let her make it. At worst, Jeff and I can taste it. Anyway, Dortmund is next door to us, so nothing serious will happen. But on second thought, I can't do it!

If I don't reject her seriously, she might get complacent and give the problematic food to others without thinking carefully, and then they get sick, which would harm both them and myself, oh!"

After hearing this, Lin Xia could only sigh how difficult it was for her parents!

written request for leave

Please take a day off tomorrow!