The village of Wall is in the depths of the Paglos Mountains, blocked by two steep mountain ranges, the mountain roads are rugged and difficult to navigate, and it is considered the outermost area of the Hylantha Territory, and further down you will enter the barren land of the Paglos Mountains, where there is a lack of all the resources necessary for production and life, and humans cannot survive there, not only that, but even the demonic beasts in that area are rarely seen.

It was almost a day's ride from the city of Highlandsa to the village of Wall, and the Bird Collector, riding a short, brown horse, complained incessantly that the patrolmen of Highlandsa had ridden away the only four sheep, so that he could only ride a small, short-legged horse.

This kind of horse is not suitable for mountain roads, and only the pan sheep can walk on the rough mountain roads.

Although the tax officer Bird is not very tall, his usual pampered life has given him a belly that is as big as a pregnant woman, and his legs are very thin, which makes Surdak a little curious, how such thin and short legs support his tonnage body in normal times.

The dwarf horse looked stocky, and the Bird Tax Collector rode on top of it, steady as a rock.

Two of the tax collector's retinue were riding Gubolai horses, and one of them was instructed by the tax collector to rush to the village of Wall to inform the chief of Wall that they would arrive at dusk and ask the chief of Wall village to prepare a temporary lodging and dinner for him.

Surdak walked slowly along the mountain road with the Bird tax collector for most of the day, thinking to himself that if he had followed the attendant, he would have almost reached the village of Wall by now, but unfortunately he had no foresight, so he could only follow the Bird tax officer through the mountains slowly.

Over the first treacherous hill, the lush trees of the mountain became more and more sparse.

Behind the hills, there are large areas of green grass and large rocks, and when you climb the second steep mountain, you will find that the mountains are so thin that there are only a handful of trees, and those green meadows can only be seen in some ravines.

The northern slope of the distant mountain wall is filled with gravel and rubble, and the whole mountain looks like a whole huge mountain rock, but the rocks have developed mottled cracks due to weathering over the years.

I didn't expect that after walking out of Hailanza City and entering the mountains, the gap between the landform here and the surrounding areas of Hailansa City was so big.

Surdak didn't have any expression on his face, like a wanderer who had been away from home for many years standing at the door of his house and didn't dare to walk in easily.

After walking for nearly a day, the tax collector sat in the saddle, twisted his buttocks a little unnaturally, pointed to the mountain pass in front of him, and finally let out a sigh of relief, and said to Surdak: "It's almost there, and when you get past this mountain pass, you should be able to remember!" ”

Surdak rode his horse and gave a knightly salute to the Bird tax officer, and he was a little impatient to rush ahead to take a look, and the Guborai horse under him seemed to rush straight up the mountain pass like an arrow from a string.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, a village with only a few dozen stone houses appeared in the col in front of me, and this col looked like the only green mark between the nearby mountains.

He remembered that on the battlefield, when the members of the second squad were resting on the ballista on their beds, Surdak told him in detail about his childhood, that beautiful village, gradually overlapping with the village in front of him, he couldn't help but turn over and dismount, knelt on one knee on the road of the mountain pass, supported the ground with both hands, and put his head close to the ground to smell the fragrance of the earth.

The tax officer of Bird caught up from behind, looked at the deserted village in front of him, exhaled a long breath, and said with a relaxed face: "It's great that you finally don't have to run here to collect taxes in the future!" ”

Surdak looked at the Bird Tax Officer with a stunned expression, not understanding where his joy came from.

The tax officer of Bird walked up to Surdak, reached out and patted him on the thick shoulder, and said to Surdak in a serious tone:

"To be honest, Knight Surdak, since you become a knight, then Vol Village will be your territory in the future, although the official knightly certificate has not yet been issued, but it will be sooner or later."

"I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have to walk so hard four times a year, and every time I come to such a poor mountain village to collect taxes, my heart is full of heavy guilt."

Surdak didn't expect that the Bird tax collector would be happy that he would not have to go to Wall Village to collect taxes in the future.

It seems that the village of Wall is a little poorer than expected.

Surdak asked the Bird tax officer, "Isn't it until I have the knight's certificate that a fief will be distributed to me?" Will you assign this village to me? So how do the rest of the people in the village live? ”

Surdak was a little worried that if his arrival would be more of a disaster for the rest of the villagers, it would be the worst.

"Well, that's right!" The Bird tax collector said, then explained:

"But according to the custom, I think it is to divide a territory in the neighborhood for you, after all, you can't take away the land of other villagers, even if the land is nominally yours, and you have to continue to lease to these villagers in the form of leases, and the annual rent increase must not exceed 5% of the total amount of rent, and unless they are not willing to continue cultivating these lands, you cannot take back the land."

It turns out that the Imperial Code also has some policies for the protection of civilians, so who will compensate for this part of their losses? Surdak thought wildly.

“…… So it will also give you a piece of land that really belongs to you. The Byrd tax officer continued.

Surdak pursed his lips and asked rhetorically, "Wasteland?" ”

The Bird Tax Officer did not expect Surdak to speak so bluntly, considering that he was a knight who had not entered the academy and had not been systematically trained in knightly etiquette, the Bird Tax Officer felt that he could forgive him for his recklessness, so he explained: "This ...... Truly...... You need to pay for it yourself. ”

The most indispensable thing around Wall Village is probably these ownerless wastelands, and they are also unreclaimed wastelands full of rocks and gravel, so what makes a difference if you don't divide the land for yourself, even if you don't divide the land, can't you take the initiative to reclaim the wasteland around the village?

“…… How do you feel that becoming a knight doesn't seem to have any benefits. Surdak muttered.

The tax collector remounted his horse, waited in front of the mountain pass, and said with a smile to Surdak, "Good territories have long been occupied, so the Grimm Empire is only now encouraging knights to explore new territories in other rich planes. ”

Surdak rolled over and stepped onto his horse and chased after him.

"I've heard that the land on the plane of Warsaw is very fertile?" The Bird tax officer asked Surdak curiously.

Surdak nodded, and the scene of the forest camp came to mind: "It is indeed quite fertile, there are large pastures in Handanar County, where the alfalfa grass grows almost waist-high......"

"That's fertile ground." The tax officer said wistfully.

At this time, Surdak added: "Every now and then, some evil spirits will run out." ”

The tax officer of Bird immediately changed his face, smiled reluctantly and said, "Huh...... Actually, I personally think that the city of Highlandsa is still very good. ”

……

A meandering stream flows out of the dark grey stone and down the valley into the mountain pass, dyeing the world a verdant green.

The small village of Wall is built in this col, the stone houses are not neatly built, the paths are scattered in the village, and a dead tree at the entrance of the village hangs a wooden plank, on which the 'Wall' painted with white lime powder looks a little blurred.

At the entrance of the village stood a group of villagers dressed in linen, who were looking forward to the sunset, and the figure of Surdak stretched out in the sunset.

As Surdak and the Bird tax collector got closer and closer, the young people of the village began to cheer, and even began to sing the song of triumph in unison, and the villagers welcomed their heroes with the most simple songs.

At this time, Surdak's heart was very apprehensive, and after approaching on horseback, this feeling became even more intense, and he looked at the woman standing at the front of the crowd with some uneasiness.

From time to time, people shouted: "Surdak, good ......"

At this time, a girl wearing a long linen dress and a headscarf on her head ran out of the group and shouted, "Brother......"

Holding the hem of the cloth skirt in both hands, she ran fast, her steps filled with the breath of youth.

Running in front of Surdak, his face had become red, his bulging and full chest rose and fell violently, and a pair of chestnut eyes stared at Surdak, but the surprise in his eyes turned into surprise and doubt little by little, standing in front of Surdak, it was like staring at a stranger.

"You're Rita?" Surdak hurriedly dismounted from his horse, lowered the reins, and strode up to the maiden, looking at her earnestly.

Surdak was right, he had a very beautiful sister, that fair face was three points similar to Surdak, but there was a kind of softness in his bones, his eyes were bright and bright, and his water chestnut-shaped lips were slightly raised at both ends, and he looked full of pride in his bones.

Rita looked at Surdak suspiciously, facing the handsome knight who could call out her name at a glance, she wanted to find some shadows of her brother in her memory from the person in front of her, some places are very similar, some places are definitely not like it, the girl became a little confused at this moment, and opened her lips lightly and said:

"You ......"

Before the rest of the words could be spoken, a group of jubilant villagers rushed up behind them, and everyone lifted Surdak up without saying a word, threw him into the air and caught him again, and so on three times, and the cheers did not stop.

"Dark, your appearance has changed so much that we almost don't recognize you." A young villager said with a grin as he punched Surdak in the chest.

Surdak stretched out his hands and hugged the young villager, who looked a little thin, wearing a leather apron and smelling of sheep, and said, "You are still the same...... Hood! ”

The young villager named Hood was so excited that he hugged Surdak and shouted at the surrounding villagers:

"I said that Duck would not forget me, if I met in the city of Highlandsa, I would not dare to say hello to you, I haven't seen you in five years, and you have become so strong."

One of the villagers in the crowd asked, "I heard that you have made great contributions on the battlefield and have been made a knight by the nobles?" ”

Several young men surrounded Surdak and shouted excitedly, "It's great that you're back, this time we'll definitely be able to beat the kids in Guta Village to the bust." ”

Surdak had a faint smile on his face, and he really didn't know what to say in the face of these strange and enthusiastic villagers.

A boy in linen bloomers and a chopped-sleeved shirt squeezed into the crowd and hung like a leather monkey on Surdak's lap, who reached out and patted the boy on the back and asked him, "Are you Peter?" ”

Peter blinked his big eyes and said to Surdak in a milky voice, "Dad, Mommy said you were my father, and that's great!" I finally have a dad, and I'm afraid they'll say I'm just like Jim, a wild child. ”

Peter's innocent words made Surdak's heart seem to ignite a fire, he reached out and gently stroked the soft long hair on the top of Peter's head, pinched his armpits with both hands, easily lifted him above his head, and then put little Peter on his shoulder.

Peter grabbed Surdak by the hair with both hands and sat on his shoulder and giggled.

All the villagers gathered around Surdak, everyone seemed elated, but Surdak's family stood outside the crowd, watching all this in front of them without saying a word, Natasha looked at old Sheila with a worried face, and asked softly: "Sheila ......"

What mother in the world would not know her son?

No matter how this person changes, but some small habits will never change, Sheila looked at the strong young man in front of her, at most five points similar to her own child Surdak, but she was sure that the person surrounded by the crowd must not be Surdak, because his smile was so strange, and his eyes were so strange.

It's just that who will be this young man who can be sent back by the Bird tax collector in person, with the status of a knight?

The wrinkles on old Sheila's face were about to squeeze together, but she still couldn't figure out these things.

Hearing Natasha call to herself, old Sheila's loving gaze fell on Peter, who was laughing on the knight's shoulder, and only whispered to Natasha, "Go home first!" ”

The sun had set, and the blue-purple sky was getting darker and darker, and the light was getting dimmer and dimmer.

The villagers crowded around Surdak and walked towards his home, and Surdak kept looking for an opportunity to talk to 'his' wife, but unfortunately he could not find a suitable opportunity, so he could only carry little Peter and walk home with the crowd.

The Bird Tax Collector did not follow, the village chief had already arranged a place for dinner and lodging, and the Bird Tax Officer was tired all the way, thinking that he would rest early and return to the city of Highland early tomorrow, this time and again, even if he rode a horse, but for a fat man like him, it was also a kind of torture.

Walking along the dirt road in the village, Surdak recognized the low stone house in front of him at first sight, it was the home that Surdak described countless times, although it looked more dilapidated than expected, but it was exactly the same as he said.

The small chestnut tree at the door was already very tall, and it was full of fruit.

The stone mill in the yard looked like it hadn't been used for a long time, and the small half of it had been buried in the dirt.

I remember that Surdak once said that he often used this stone mill to crush the ears of wheat, and he was the only one who could pull the stone mill.

Surdak walked past the crowd to the gate of the courtyard, he put Peter off his shoulders, reached out and touched the pear tree at the gate of the courtyard, and found a few crooked letters carved with a knife on the trunk, and then went into the courtyard, squatted in front of the stone mill, held the ends of the stone mill with both hands, squatted slightly with his legs, and the green tendons on his forehead floated, and only shouted 'get up', and the stone mill that was half cut and buried in the soil was pulled out of the mud by Surdak at once.

Then he walked to the edge of the courtyard wall, and touched the wooden man leaning against the wall that was about to rot and grow mushrooms, practicing swordsmanship.

He turned around, just smiling at the men.

The villagers standing at the gate tried to enter the courtyard, but they were stopped by the old man who looked like the village chief, and drove all the villagers at the gate away like cattle, leaving only a few family members of Surdak......