It was getting late, and the cold air that had not yet dissipated in the spring gradually came up, casting a dark cloud over the already uncertain dusk again.

Oliver pulled out an overcoat from under the counter and draped it over his body.

"That spring thirty years ago was so cold. The old man waved his hand, rejected the beer that Leo handed him, and picked up the hot teaglass. "That year, I watched an adventurer take out a small copper cage from his bosom and hold it in his hand, and I was very curious and asked him what it was. He told me that it was a stove, and the adventurer was surprised by the surprise we had shown, for it was already something that a well-off family would prepare. ”

"We tried the hot little things in the merchant's hand one by one, and everyone liked it so much that they asked him to buy some for us. We have money. ”

The adventurer readily agreed. Oliver held the teacup in his hand and subconsciously turned it in his hand. But the adventurer never showed up again. We all thought he had deceived us, and we cursed him loudly, but we didn't pay much attention to it, so we should have learned a lesson and find a reliable person next time. ”

"No one expected that this search would be for two months, and in these two months, not a single caravan would be willing to help us purchase these things, and once we asked the reason, they left in a hurry. It wasn't until the money reappeared on my desk that we realized that maybe it wasn't money. ”

"There are more and more novelties, and everyone's desire for the outside world is getting stronger and stronger, and finally, the temptation of new things is greater than the light of money, and my two sons finally made up their minds to explore the outside world on behalf of everyone. ”

Leo pondered for a moment, and said, "Thirty years ago, I remember when the eighteenth Pope of the Church of Light, Senicoros, was in office, and that pope seemed to be strongly encouraging the re-establishment of trade routes between the two kingdoms. ”

"It was the enlightened Pope. Olyte nodded. "I do not deny the greatness of this pope, but it is clear that not everyone is as impartial as he is. ”

The pope promoted equality of faith, and no matter what god they believed, the congregation was not allowed to look down on each other. Of course, this is good, and even in order to promote this fatwa, he mobilized all the churches and jointly formulated the 'believer registration order'. When all believers arrive in a certain place, they must register with the local church, and all business, lodging, and other needs must be carried out with this certificate. ”

"And that kind of thing?" Leo looked at Ente and Esenas in surprise.

Esenus nodded and said, "That's right, so I avoided all the places that needed to stay along the way. ”

Leo thought about it and realized that it was true, once he entered the realm of faith, Esenus was always used to avoiding the big cities.

"I thought you were thinking about our fragile economy," Leo muttered.

"It's only our wallets that are unhealthy, but the team has always had plenty of money. Esenas said as he twisted the air and turned Leo's head towards Aolide. "And what you should be doing now is listen carefully to what people are saying. ”

"I'm sorry. Leo scratched his head.

"It doesn't matter. Oliver smiled and leaned back in his chair, changed into a comfortable position, and continued: "This paper restriction greatly reduces the conflict between the different sects, but it also completely screens us out. I remember saying that because of the special geographical conditions of this village, none of the gods wanted to spread their faith here. ”

"It was also after my two sons went out that we learned what our village had been smeared by the gods outside, the unfaithful who turned their backs on the gods, the unbelievers, the land abandoned by the gods three times. Say it as if we are the same as the devil. Olid uttered the words with sarcasm on his face.

"My two sons have tried their best to explain our village to others, but no one will give up their trust in their own church and listen to the self-justification of the two demons, or even worse, the local church heard from them both, found them personally, and threatened them to leave without bringing disaster to their city. ”

"The eviction, which was launched from top to bottom, was an immediate success, and not a single hotel or restaurant was willing to accept them. ”

"They slept on the road, robbed the kennels, picked up leftovers and fruit, and finally came back in disgrace. But they were not reconciled, they encouraged everyone, and with their heads, they tried again and again to open up the communication channel with the outside world, and then failed again and again. On their last outing, they've figured their way to the doorway and know how to use gold coins to subtly make some rules look less offensive. But what they don't know is that there is only one rule for the lords, don't infringe on their gold coins. And just like that heroic friend of mine, they disappeared into some unknown corner. ”

The old man sighed, looked past the window on the thin wall, and looked at Xiaotong Village in the dark night.

"Now, every household has a mountain of gold coins, and everyone has hundreds of thousands of gold coins that have nowhere to spend. Accustomed to spending a lot of gold coins to buy food and coal for their daily needs, people didn't even want to hunt and farm, and it wasn't until the unexpected disaster ten years ago that I understood why our village was like this. ”

"Because we are the piggy bank of the victors in a war that is bound to break out again in an unknown number of years. ”

This sentence shook everyone in the group.

War will not stop forever, it will only take a temporary break and then return in a more powerful posture.

Because of its natural advantages, Xiaotong Village has attracted countless gold coins to flow here, and the unmanaged Xiaotong Village has such a huge economic base that it is easy to give birth to a natural lord.

The tormented lord would take all the gold for himself, then burn it and squander it to build an impregnable, meaningless and useless fortress. (Of course, this is just malicious speculation on the part of the aristocracy.) And these riches should have belonged to them!

That's why they used all kinds of means to prohibit others from communicating with Xiaotong Village, and prevented Xiaotong Village from using this valuable wealth on their own bodies.

Where could the construction of a wilderness mountain village be more useful than the restoration of the baron's shabby and dilapidated palace?

The greed of the aristocracy is far beyond the imagination of the common people.

It took Olide sixty years and the cost of his two sons to finally understand this eternal truth, but never had a chance to crack it.

Leo's gaze followed Olide's eyes to Kotsumura.

The cheerful songs of adventurers and travelers pierced through the thin curtain of rain and reached his ears, but his eyes fell on the puppet-like villagers of Xiaotong Village.

Expressionless, they stiffly brought up one food after another, bottle after bottle of wine, and mechanically took one gold coin after another, and threw it on the mountain of gold, adding a little imperceptible volume to it.

Only then did Leo understand why, when he entered the village, the lazy man at the entrance of the village didn't want to deal with him at all.

Leo, who had seen the essence of this village, was no longer interested in drinking at this time, so he hastily put the wine glass on the table and asked, "Do you all know about this?" ”

"This is the conclusion we have collectively discussed. ”

This is also the reason for the collective decadence of this village.

Lizanka gritted her teeth and said, "Then why don't you change all this? It is not difficult to give up the life of the walking dead now, and pick up the craft of farming and hunting? No one can force you to open a hotel, nor can you be forced to go to the mountains and forests, and the fields." ”

Oliver smiled wryly and said, "No, it's really difficult, pretty lady. Laziness is a deep-seated disease, and once you have tasted it, who wants to go back easily?"

In addition to the greed of the nobility, the village is bound by the chains of money that have been spent for decades.

Everyone felt sorry for it.

"It is indeed a very outrageous and sad history. Isenus got up from his chair, looked at Olide, and said in a questioning tone, "But why did you choose to tell us?

Olyd looked at Esenus with a complicated expression.

"You guessed it?"

"It's not that hard. After all, no one would reveal their scars as soon as they met, and I just saw where we came from, right?" said Isenas with a shrug.

"You're right, as soon as you came in, I knew you were strangers. Olid pointed to his heart. "I see very clearly those who believe in gods and those who don't. There is always a stubborn prejudice in the eyes of believers, and only their gods are the only truth, and you do not. ”

"So you're trying to impress us and let us help you with this?" asked Leo curiously.

"It was true at first. Olid turned his back and pressed his hands against the counter, determined not to let the party see his expression. "But as this secret analysis that had been buried in our hearts for ten years was revealed little by little, I felt that no one else could help much. Perhaps the lady was right that the solution to our village's problems was ultimately in our own hands. ”

After a long sigh, the old man waved his hand in anticipation and shuffled towards his room.

After exchanging a few glances with everyone, Leo opened his mouth and shouted, "Hey, old man. ”

Olide didn't mean to stop, he turned his back and said, "Don't talk about it, children, I don't want to get away with it, I really don't want to ask anyone else for help in this matter." Go and rest, let me be quiet for a while, old man. ”

Hearing this, Leo turned his head and glanced at Omoni: "Children, are you included?"

Omoni bent his back helplessly, made a gesture of a baby falling asleep, and said, "Who doesn't look like a child in the eyes of an eighty-year-old man?"

Izenus crossed the table and chased after Olid, muttering, "This is not good, I don't have the habit of giving up halfway through helping people." You go to bed first, and I'll talk to him again. ”

Rizanka stared at the back of Isenas, always feeling that there was still something in Isenas's behavior.