Ming saw that they were still a bit shy, so he immediately put water in their hands, "Drink it first!"
"…"
The crowd took it and started to drink in small sips. In fact, they still had many worries, but their bodies were very honest. If they didn't drink water now, they really wouldn't be able to hold on. Surviving first, then making plans for the rest.
"Thank you~"
"We are grateful to you."
"…"
A brown-haired man cautiously came to Ming, and sincerely said, "Sir, I am Angelo. Thank you for subduing that monster and saving our lives. Also, you gave us water. We would like to know your name, may we have this honor?"
"Gutmann, by the way, don't be polite with me, I'm just doing business."
Ming smiled slightly, thinking about what ratio would be appropriate for the return, 1:3. Would that be too much?
"Mr. Gutmann, we have discussed and decided that after the end, we will return your supplies at a 1:4 exchange rate. Do you think it's acceptable?"
"Uh…"
Ming was stunned when he heard this. He actually thought 1:3 was too much. He was still too young. Seeing his hesitation, Angelo tentatively said, "1:5, what do you think?"
"…"
Angelo gritted his teeth, "1:6, please be kind."
"Well… I need to discuss this with my brother, Gutwater. You must know that the business belongs to both of us, I can't make a decision by myself~"
Ming pointed to the tent.
"Uh… okay, okay."
Angelo looked at the tent somewhat despondently, so 'she' was a man, it was… the sound of a broken heart, and he deeply bowed to express his gratitude before slowly retreating to the side.
Ming waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that he didn't need to be so polite. He originally thought that the customer was God, but after a series of procedures, he found out that he was God. This damn world was too good.
Angelo drank the water, and he always felt that the name Gutman sounded familiar, but his mind was dizzy and it was hard to remember for a while.
After finishing their drinks, everyone felt physically and mentally relaxed, temporarily dissipating the fatigue caused by the high temperature. After relaxing, they found out... they were hungry again...
Everyone looked at the neatly lined zombies standing behind Ming, staring at the parcels they were carrying or dragging, and swallowed their saliva.
"~"
Ming noticed their thoughts. After half a day of torment by the sandstorm, they didn't find any supplies, the warehouse was sealed, and it was time to be hungry. He turned and went to a zombie, took out a small bag of biscuits, opened it, and started eating.
"…"
Everyone watched as he bit into each biscuit, making a crisp sound, like an angle sound, no, even better than an angle sound.
Everyone whispered again, and Angelo came to Ming again, "Mr. Gutmann... As we see, you are a generous person. Can you sell us something to eat at the previous rate?"
"Of course~"
Ming smiled, business naturally has to be done, how much profit is not important, and everyone makes friends.
Take it slowly~ don't rush, there's still a long time to get along, what's most important is, I wonder if these guys are in need of work.
"Thank you so much."
"God will bless you."
"…"
After receiving the biscuits, everyone started to chew slowly to replenish their energy, sitting or standing. But they dared not eat too much, because the biscuits were too dry, and eating too quickly would cause choking. Choking would require drinking water, but... water is really precious. If they drink too quickly, they need to buy more, and the price might be different. So they chose to take small bites, like a civilized person.
"You don't need to be too reserved. Eat in big bites. Don't worry, I have plenty more here. If it's not enough, come and get more."
Ming smiled, chewing in big bites and drinking water in big gulps.
"Thank you~"
"..."
The people expressed their gratitude for the generosity of the man in front of them, but they still chewed their biscuits slowly. Being generous was his business, being frugal was their nature.
At this moment, the tent door was knocked from inside. Ming pointed, the tent opened, and Lavia came out with the head of the sphinx in his hand. The cut on the head was dripping with bright red blood.
"..."
Upon seeing this, everyone stopped chewing... Did these two really kill that 'god'?!
They looked at Lavia, who was holding the head and was covered in blood, and the impression of her being polite and gentle completely collapsed. This was a ruthless person!
Ming said to Lavia: "They borrowed some water and food, saying that after they leave, they will return it at a rate of 1:..."
As he said this, he looked at Angelo, "How many times are you going to return it?"
"1:10!"
The crowd immediately responded.
With a plop, Lavia dropped the head of the sphinx onto the ground, took out a small notebook and a ballpoint pen, came to the astonished crowd, and said, "Everyone, please report your names and home addresses. We are all understanding people, don't try to play tricks on me. You should know, it's very tiring for me to chop off heads, and you wouldn't want me to think about your heads, right~"
"Understood!"
Everyone nodded in unison, immediately reporting their identities. After a moment, the register in the ledger was completed.
Ming was sitting in the closed tent, watching Lavia skillfully skinning the sphinx.
"What did you do before you opened the restaurant?"
"I was a chef~"
"And before being a chef?"
"I was a butcher~"
"Eh~"
No wonder this guy was so skillful.
Outside the tent, the people in the temple hall gathered together, discussing in low voices.
"Should we leave like the others? You know, these two are too strong, I always feel insecure."
"Leave? To where? You saw the sphinx, it has a master, and besides, we don't know what strange things might happen at night! I actually think staying with these two...might be safer."
"But..."
"But what? Either go outside or stay here, you must choose one."
"..."
Everyone fell silent, then Angelo suddenly said, "I remember! I remember!"
"What do you remember?"
"Come on, tell us~"
As the crowd's gaze fell onto Angelo, he blurted out, "He must be Mr. Gutmann that my friend mentioned!"
Angelo's eyes twinkled as he spoke excitedly, "Damn it, I should have thought of it when I saw his puppet. My friend mentioned that his boss, Mr. Gutmann, had an imperial puppet that had the horns of a bull, the head of a lion, the body of a cow, the scales of a snake, the tail of a monkey, and the wings of an eagle."
"Really? What did your friend say about him?"
"My friend said he's a great businessman. He also mentioned that he'd introduce me to Mr. Gutmann. Damn it, I should've figured it out earlier, especially when he said his own name."
Angelo seemed a bit remorseful, then added, "You might not know this, but he has many businesses around the world and is a big mysterious figure. He's much better than those slave masters, governors, bishops, and so on. I heard that he really cares about the lives of his subordinates, and he even built a church for them to worship. This proves that he's a person without discrimination and with love."
"In fact, with their strength, they could have wiped us out, but they still helped us. Of course, those interest rates are negligible."
"You didn't say that just now."
"So what do we do now?"
"..."
After a while, the remaining 12 people in the temple made their final decision. Angelo led the group to the front of the tent and knocked on the tent door.
The tent automatically opened. Upon seeing the bloody skinning scene inside, everyone had a new understanding of these two men - Gutmann the Skin Ripper and Gutwater the God Slayer.