The village is not large, except for the small square in the middle of the main road at the entrance of the village, and the buildings are basically arranged irregularly around the open space with alarm bells.

The village chief was near the clearing, his house next to the lush fruit trees, and it looked like he was waiting for Takita.

There is an open space in the house with a table and four chairs, and next to it is a traditional earthen stove that looks like a kitchen. The table and chairs are a little shabby, and they seem to be many years old, and when Takichen sits on one of the chairs, he can even hear the screeching sound of "squeak, squeak", which can be described as veritable poverty.

Perhaps out of curiosity, there were a few more daring children standing at the door, but they did not dare to lean over and lingered in the doorway.

"Please."

The village chief's wife placed a simple cup of tea on the table for the two of them.

In the corner of the kitchen were some farm tools, and the sunlight shining through the lattice window illuminated every corner of the room, and with the village chief's wife serving some fruit on the table, and the village chief taking his seat, Takichen was also ready to face the next question about the remuneration.

He didn't know the financial situation of the village, nor did he know the value relationship between the country's currency and goods, although he negotiated with the village chief to help him, but his main purpose was not for money, but more importantly, to learn some basic information from the conversation.

Wanting to get as much information as possible without the other party being suspicious, Takitsu felt a little headache, after all, he was not good at these, but it was just a little annoying. When you first come to this world where you don't know anything, it's always right to be careful.

"I've kept you waiting."

The village chief was the first to speak, and his wife stood quietly behind him.

Half of his dark hair has been dyed white, and although his face is full of wrinkles and his skin is a little tanned from years of working outside, he can feel that he has a healthy body that has been exercised by doing heavy work on a regular basis.

However, from the time he sat down across from him, a strong sense of exhaustion could be clearly seen on his face, as if he had aged a little more.

The village chief's wife is about the same age as him, and although she still retains the charm of her former slender figure, because of her hard farm work all year round, her original beautiful face is almost gone. Her shoulder-length hair was a little messy, and her freckled face still looked a little dull even in the sunlight, and now she could only say that she was a slender aunt.

"Tea was specially prepared for us, thank you!"

The scene of burning tea before happened to be seen when Takichen walked into the room, and even if it was because of this hard work, Takichen still expressed his gratitude.

Start with flint, put a little wood chips on the tinder, then wait until the flame is bigger before adding firewood, then put a kettle with raw water, and by the time the water boils, it's already been a long time. When Takichen saw this scene again, he couldn't help but sigh: It's still convenient for electrical appliances.

"You're so polite."

"Then let's get straight to the pay."

Some greetings and the like are not suitable for this situation, because in the current situation, I am more like a big man, and if I make some unreasonable actions, it will only make people suspicious.

"Before I make the negotiations, allow me to express my gratitude to you! Without your help, all the villagers would have died, thank you so much! ”

The village chief's heartfelt thanks made Takichen feel a little surprised, after all, this kind of thing seems to be just a casual task in his own eyes, but in the eyes of the villagers, it is equivalent to saving his life.

"Don't worry, as I said before, I will be paid the same share as the villagers who survived."

"Of course we do, but I beg you to let us say thank you! Because of your help, so many people have been able to live. ”

The village chief bowed to the two of them to express his gratitude, and couldn't help but make Devile Wood, who was sitting next to her, a little flustered, she had never encountered such a situation, and she didn't know what to do for a while.

"If that's the case, then just pay more, I think the village chief should be busy too."

"Thank you, then I'll be respectful and obey!"

Although he said this just to end this boring entertainment as soon as possible, in the village chief's heart, it was understood that Takichen hoped that he would not waste too much time here, and there were still a pile of villagers' corpses outside that needed to be buried, and he couldn't help but be even more grateful to him.

The villagers who had been possessed by the Shadow before, although they returned to the village after the Shadow was destroyed by Takichen, they had long since lost their breath.

"Then I'll get straight to the point, I want to know how much your village has left in a year after the taxes paid? and how many households remain. ”

"As a lifesaver, we really dare not hide it. In our village, the time of taxation is June and October, and the main crops collected are wheat, which can harvest about 1,800 catties, and according to the price of seven copper coins of wheat this year, after deducting the two-tenths of the tax collected, there are still 10,080 copper coins and 28 households. ”

The village chief's expression did not change, and he calmly told Takichen about the village's taxes, as if waiting for Takichen's answer.

"At the price of a hundred copper coins per household, I will charge you 2,700 copper coins, but this kind of small coin is difficult to carry, and I would like to exchange it for a large denomination if I can."

Among them, Takichen didn't know how many silver coins or gold coins he could exchange for a hundred copper coins, and he was betting on whether it was the same as he guessed. This kind of face-to-face conversation barely gave him time to think, not to mention that he didn't know the world's basic monetary system.

"The maximum amount that can be taken out in the village is ten silver coins, and although it is too much to ask you to do so, at least, at least let us pay in installments, is that okay?"

After a short while, the village chief came out of the room, and then took the silver coins out of the cloth bag one by one. Perhaps for fear of angering Takichen, he quickly added, "Because many people have lost their lives, and many farmlands will be abandoned due to lack of manpower, if we pay another twenty-eight silver coins, we will not be able to survive the rest of the winter." ”

The village chief apologized to Takichen with a very sincere attitude, and it didn't look like he was lying.

"I don't get paid."

Takichen pushed the silver coin back in front of him, and in the middle of this, the village chief did not mention how much farmland they owned, nor did he mention whether there was any amount of money that could be obtained through other means. However, Takichen also knew the exchange ratio between silver and copper coins.

"For... Why? ”

The two of them were surprised, but were interrupted by Takichen's next words.

"Instead, I want you to give me an uninhabited house, broken or charred."

"That's fine."

For the village chief, it is naturally better to be able to pay without paying, in contrast, there are two houses that have been burned down, and since he wants it, it is better to take it.

"I have taken this silver coin, and I will return it to you until the next time I come, and I hope that until then you will keep your promise."

Asking for payment after saving someone's life, but not taking it, always makes people feel suspicious. However, compared to collecting money directly, choosing a piece of land in the village is a better choice for Takichen, he had a plan before that, a person's strength is limited after all, even if he wants to cultivate power, he needs the corresponding land. Almost all the towns are divided into spheres of influence, so a village with a relatively small number of people is undoubtedly a suitable place.

"That's right."

The village chief did not pursue the matter, and after the conversation was over, he went to arrange the funeral.

The funeral was held at a cemetery near the village, and because they were slightly interested, the two followed.

The so-called cemetery is just a vacant area fenced by a dilapidated fence, and the pile of corpses is carried to the pit, and after being poured with a bucket of oil, the village chief recites the prayer to the gods in front of the cemetery, and then lights a torch and throws it into the pit.

The corpse was burned after death, and it seems that the place has a tradition of cremation, and in Takita's speculation, this practice may have been just to avoid a corpse mutiny.