The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Before long, a banquet was laid out at the main entrance of the Earl's castle.

All kinds of fruits, breads, meats, lettuce, fine wines, and warming soups, along with various snacks, were brought up and arranged on an entire table.

Chopsticks and cups were also placed on the table.

Two maids stood by the table, serving the host and the guest.

"Has the Earl given up on knives and forks so quickly?" Gregor asked.

He noticed that the Earl's bread had already been sliced into neat pieces, just like the pre-sliced loaves sold in supermarkets in his previous life.

Although it was a small detail, it was a sign of progress.

"Lord Tywin has given the order. If I don't set an example, who among my subordinates will listen?" Earl Audd politely replied with a smile.

He gestured for Gregor to try the meat.

Gregor reached out with his chopsticks to try it. As expected, what looked like a whole piece of meat had actually been pre-sliced in the kitchen by the chef. The chef's knife skills were excellent, and the slices were not visible on the surface.

"Ser Gregor, sliced meat cooks faster in a pot than a whole piece. Moreover, the salt penetrates the meat more easily and evenly, resulting in a much better taste for each slice," Earl Audd gave Gregor a thumbs up. "Ser, your invention of these small chopsticks is truly remarkable. My family's forks, knives, iron basins, iron art railings, and iron ornaments have all been taken to the city's ironware collection department because of your chopsticks."

"You are an Earl. If you don't take the lead, your people will be even less likely to change. As for chopsticks, anyone could have invented such a small thing. It's just that people are used to a certain way of doing things, and even if it's inconvenient, they develop a lazy inertia, like hitting the snooze button. Everyone knows it's better to get up early, but they still prefer to linger for a while. Most people prefer to settle for the familiar status quo and are unwilling to take the initiative to change."

Earl Audd's eyes lit up, but the expression quickly disappeared. Gregor couldn't read, was a boor, and often cursed, but not today, or at least Audd hadn't 'seen' it.

Gregor didn't care about Earl Audd's reaction at all. These weren't important matters of consequence.

"Under what circumstances did you come up with such simple yet incredibly practical chopsticks?" Earl Audd asked with a smile. He skillfully used chopsticks to pick up a slice of bread for himself, then used a small spoon to scoop honey from a honey jar and pour it onto the bread.

Before chopsticks, there were many knives and forks. The Earl used to cut his own bread at the table. Now, with chopsticks, servants pre-slice the bread, and there are no bread crumbs on the table.

"Hunting. We cooked large chunks of meat in a big pot. There were many people, and not enough knives and forks, so I grabbed a branch and used it to poke and eat. Later, someone used two branches to eat more easily, and I thought that was a good idea. When I returned from hunting, I decided to try chopsticks," Gregor said off the cuff, without any hesitation.

This little bit of eloquence was no problem for a university engineering student. Engineering students actually have good eloquence; they're just underestimated.

Gregor noticed that the Earl had replaced the hand-washing basin with a wooden one, instead of the previous iron one.

Duke Tywin's order to replace 'iron' with 'wood' throughout the Westerlands had a significant effect. According to Duke Tywin and Grand Maester Pycelle's calculations, the price of weapons from the Westerlands' blacksmith shops would inevitably decrease within three months.

All because of a pair of chopsticks!

When the price of weapons in the Westerlands decreased, and commoners could afford good weapons even if they tightened their belts, the overall combat power of the Westerlands would invisibly increase. While others remained at the same level, the Westerlands' national strength would also improve imperceptibly.

Duke Tywin benefited so greatly that the price of betrothing a foster daughter was not a loss at all. The foster daughter wasn't even one of his people; she was from House Westerling. Gregor was going to ruin House Westerling.

Tywin was always the biggest beneficiary, profiting without investment.

Thinking of this, Gregor smiled slightly.

Earl Audd was slightly puzzled. Ser Gregor was not a man of much interest, and he rarely smiled when interacting with people. Seeing that he was in a good mood today was a good sign!

As the two were happily eating and drinking with chopsticks and wine glasses, a centurion rushed through the garden, panting. It seemed something unusual had happened outside.

The centurion came in a hurry, but when he suddenly saw the Earl and the Mountain toasting and laughing on one side of the gate, the atmosphere was harmonious, and his face suddenly stiffened.

"Balon, what is it?" Earl Audd called out to the centurion who was about to slip away.

Balon glanced at the Mountain. The Mountain glared, and Balon swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He didn't expect the Mountain to be here. Although there was indeed some trouble outside, it wasn't necessary to report it to the Earl, especially with Lord Mountain here.

"N-nothing," Balon said with a smile. "Lord Earl, Ser Gregor, good morning."

It wasn't morning anymore, but this kid still said good morning, incoherent.

"Good!" Gregor said. His voice was like muffled thunder, but Balon heard the threat in his voice.

"Nothing?" Earl Audd stared at Centurion Balon. He sensed something was wrong, but he couldn't be sure.

"Nothing, nothing, really nothing. Lord Audd, Ser Gregor, you two old-timers have a few more drinks, a few more drinks. I have something to do, I'll take my leave first." Balon nodded, bowed, smiled, and slipped away.

Before Balon could leave the garden gate, another centurion hurried in. Before he reached the gate, he saw the Mountain and his master together from afar. He immediately stopped, as if someone had punched him, then turned around and left quickly.

Earl Audd understood. The trouble outside must be related to the Mountain. But the Mountain was here with him, eating and drinking. The centurions weighed the pros and cons and had no choice but to go back and handle the situation in a way that favored the Mountain.

The Earl had been wondering why Gregor would come here to freeload for no reason. This kid had unbelievably invented chopsticks, army whistles, and snow salt because of the Seven's Favor, and had been greatly appreciated by Lord Tywin, earning a lot of money just from the engagement ceremony. At Tywin's foster daughter's celebration banquet, the Mountain bet with the Westerlands nobles and earned a large pile of gold dragons plus a gold mine in Silverhill.

After the Mountain got money, he wouldn't come here to freeload unless he was spending it lavishly. Now it seemed that there was indeed a reason.

Since the centurions could handle it, it wasn't a truly crippling matter, but it must be somewhat troublesome.

Things related to the Mountain were always a bit tricky.

As the Earl pondered, another centurion hurried over, but this time, the centurion was stopped by the guards outside. The guard exchanged a few words with the centurion, who glanced inside, turned around, and left, simply not coming in.

Earl Audd poured the Arbor Gold wine to the full for Gregor, and also poured a glass for himself. He raised his glass and tapped it against Gregor's, and smiled: "Ser, to you."

Gregor was eating lettuce, his mouth full of vegetables, he said vaguely: "Earl, speak, don't beat around the bush like a woman."

Earl Audd laughed: "Ser, my centurions are all the duty officers patrolling the city today. They must have come here to find me for something, but as soon as they saw you, they all turned around and left. I think the troublesome things they encountered outside must be related to your men. Ser, if you want to do something in Lannisport, tell me. As long as it complies with the laws of the Westerlands, I will definitely help you with all my strength."

"No need, I'll just eat and drink here with you, and your subordinates will know what to do. If your subordinates weren't so disciplined and well-trained, I wouldn't have come here to eat with you. My men would be able to solve the problem directly, without having to wait for the centurion to report to you first." Gregor reached out and grabbed a plate of bread and a plate of meat, too impatient to use chopsticks, and just used his hands.

Earl Audd gave a dry laugh.