Three months passed. Outside the Shire village, at the Wayne Manor construction site, hobbit masons, bricklayers, and porters worked diligently. With their combined efforts, the basic infrastructure of the massive manor, covering nearly 10,000 square meters, was complete, including the outer stone wall.
At Ford's suggestion, Wayne had allocated a large area for growing pipe-weed, a Hobbit specialty. When dried and processed, these fragrant plants made a unique tobacco popular among dwarves and hobbits, ensuring easy sales. Even if he couldn't sell all the pipe-weed in Middle-earth, Wayne could bring it back to the Witcher world. He had tried it himself and found it smoother than Witcher world tobacco, making it a guaranteed hit with smokers.
In addition to the pipe-weed plantation, Wayne had reserved plots for herbs from the Witcher world. With time flowing five times faster here, having a large herb garden would ensure a steady supply for future witchers.
The largest project at Wayne Manor was the central castle. Unfortunately, according to Ford, hobbits were not skilled in building large stone castles, being better suited for wooden houses. If Wayne needed such a structure, the best workers would be dwarves.
Wayne accepted the old man's advice. He also planned to interact with the dwarves, so this could serve as an opportunity. However, there was still much to be built within the manor. Since many hobbits had been working there for a while, it had become not just a workplace, but also a playground for the village children.
Kind-hearted Wayne had hired hobbit women to care for the children and provided meals. For him, integrating into the world and gaining acceptance from the hobbits was more important than building a manor and spending gold.
In this playground, his direwolf cub, White Fang, was the star attraction, even more popular than Wayne himself. Perhaps due to their longer lifespan, direwolves matured slower than ordinary wolves. The six-month-old cub was still small, with fluffy white fur, short legs, and black eyes. Its cuteness made it a favorite among the children.
The cub had a gentle personality and was quite intelligent. Due to a lack of survival pressure and Wayne's training, it was more like a lovable pet than a fighting companion.
The newly born deathclaw cub was different. Named Robin, this black male deathclaw was destined to be a battle pet. From a young age, Wayne fed him fresh meat and, as he grew older, took him into the forest to hunt small animals.
Due to the harsh environment of the wasteland, deathclaws had a short infancy. In less than three months, the cub had grown to the size of an adult goat and possessed considerable fighting power, not far behind that of a wild wolf. Wayne's efforts had paid off. Thanks to his personal incubation and companionship, along with his animal training skills and special food, the deathclaw cub, Robin, regarded Wayne as his closest companion, obeying his commands with absolute loyalty.
However, unlike the popular direwolf cub, Robin's intimidating appearance frightened the hobbit children, and even some adults. Therefore, Wayne mostly kept him near his cabin, acting as a guard.
Bilbo, with his adventurous spirit, was intrigued by Robin. After confirming the cub wouldn't harm anyone, he often brought homemade food to feed him near Wayne's cabin. Bilbo's main purpose was to learn about the outside world from Wayne.
Wayne didn't mind this. Bilbo Baggins had a good reputation among the hobbits. Befriending him could facilitate Wayne's future involvement in the journey to the Lonely Mountain. They bonded over cooking, often exchanging recipes and techniques. Wayne even felt that without the system's bonuses, his culinary skills might not match Bilbo's.
One day, Wayne invited Bilbo and Old Ford to his home for dinner. While enjoying the meal, they chatted about local gossip. As the meal neared its end, Wayne revealed his purpose.
"Bilbo, I'm going to Bree in the Old Forest to recruit dwarf craftsmen. Old Ford mentioned there are some exiled dwarves working there. My manor's basic construction is done, but the central castle isn't. This journey may take a while, so I'll leave things here to you two."
Bilbo and Old Ford had heard about this before, but bringing it up formally meant Wayne had finalized his plans. Old Ford stroked his beard, smiled, sipped his cider, and said, "Don't worry, Wayne. You're a good neighbor of Hobbiton. Leave this to me, and I'll take care of the construction site. The lads won't slack off."
Wayne waved his hand dismissively, raising his glass to toast Old Ford. The smooth progress of Wayne Manor in Hobbiton was largely thanks to the kind and enthusiastic old hobbit.
After hearing this, Bilbo also raised his glass and drank with them, but asked with some confusion: "Wayne, Mr. Ford is taking care of things at the construction site, but what do you need from me? I don't know anything about construction." "Of course, it's not that I won't help you. As long as there's anything I can do, just let me know."
Wayne chuckled and whistled. The deathclaw cub, Robin, wagged its tail and ran over from another room, looking up at Wayne happily. Wayne petted Robin's head and said to Bilbo: "Bilbo, besides me, the closest one to Robin around here is you. I can't take this little guy with me to Bree. So I'd like to entrust him to your care for a few days." "Oh, and my direwolf pup, White Fang, as well."
Bilbo glanced at Robin, feeling a little embarrassed. White Fang was a sweet little creature that every hobbit adored. But the deathclaw, Robin, still looked too ferocious, standing as tall as Bilbo, with sharp claws and teeth. Bilbo instinctively felt he might not be able to handle him. He worried that bringing Robin into the village would not only frighten the children but also cause chaos. If Robin got into any mischief, it could be disastrous.
Wayne, noticing Bilbo's concerns, smiled and waved his hand, saying...
"Don't worry, Bilbo," Wayne reassured him. "You don't need to take him home. Just come here regularly to feed him. Though Robin looks fierce, he's actually well-behaved and intelligent. He's house-trained and won't hurt anyone or anything without my orders."
Seeing Bilbo's hesitation, Wayne added a tempting offer: "Haven't you always been interested in humans and dwarves? If you agree to my request, when I return from Bree, I'll prepare unique human and dwarven gifts for you. Gifts you'll definitely enjoy." Wayne smiled and nodded to Old Ford. "Of course, Mr. Ford, I'll have a gift for you too. How about some human red wine and dwarven ale? I know you enjoy your drinks."