The Nord merchant did not show up, and the fisherman brought in and said that the merchant wanted the black chief to talk to him himself, and that the Nord said that he would leave the coast in half a month, and that he would come back next time in three months. ()

The black leader and Paul privately speculated that the Nords had acquired enough goods to return to their hometown in Beihai, and it seemed that the Nords were not too remarkable, and the black leaders were still counting on long-term cooperation with the Nords.

After Asri handed over the title deed to the middle-aged man for safekeeping, it was as if he had been relieved of some burden. But she only paused for a moment, and then kept coming to the black chief, demanding that he hand over the young master's body. To get to that place was through an uncontrolled plain, full of bandits and robbers, and some settlements full of malice towards passers-by, I had a rough idea of where the young master was buried, but I was not prepared to go there at all.

The black leader was going to send a messenger to Abi to report him on his situation in the city of Yurik. The last three blacks and a Creel guide were chosen. In addition, the four men were also ordered to take Aunt Asri and ask her to go and claim the body. When the chief gave this order, everyone agreed with a strange expression, and I knew that none of them really intended to do so. Aunt Asri was quite dissatisfied with this arrangement, and she hoped that the young master's body could be sent to the garden, or even directly to the temple, and for this reason, she also asked that the contract be taken back from the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man seemed to have gotten what he wanted from the black leader and Paul, and naturally he didn't want the business to be ruined, so he had to patiently persuade Asri not to be impulsive. Asri was furious. scolded this man for eating inside and out, and he was angry in the room for a few days. These days. No one wanted to provoke her, but there were black men who provided him with food on time. After all, she was also a slave, although she never identified with these blacks in her heart.

On the day the group of four set out, Paul somewhere got six horses and a mule. At the last moment, Asri finally agreed to join the team and go with them to claim the body. The negroes said it would be fine to feed her, but if she came to ride a mule, it would be a waste of animal power, so they were reluctant to take her. Determined not to back down, Asri began to gaiter herself, but her arms still did not recover. Bandages shivered.

While the blacks were saddle their horses and hang their grain sacks on the backs of their mules, Asri said to himself that he was about to complete the contract, and that his master would not blame him.

I saw that she was stubborn and pitiful, so I squatted down to help her with leggings.

Asri couldn't even find two strips of cloth with the same face, and just a few days ago she was estimated to be one of the richest people in the city.

"You're with some sinners, young man," Asri couldn't get used to my Navaran's way of tying. Picky, and then accusing me of being complicit in the wicked, "It will invite misfortune." ”

"I'm with them because of misfortune, auntie." I fastened the left leg. And help her hit the right one. "And not the other way around."

"You should leave these demons sooner and be with your own people." Asri persuaded me, "There are a lot of good people. They are willing to recruit young people to work with them, and they are willing to take care of my relatives. If you promise me that you will not associate with these scoundrels in the future. Of course I'm willing to help you find a good position, an apprentice or a gardener, or even join the Governor's Guard. ”

They only boast to you about the garden, the shops and the buildings you have, and no one will remember you if you come to visit now. I said, "I'll think about it." ”

"Hmph," Asri understood my attitude, "you little thief, sooner or later they will take you to hell." ()”

"Aunt Asri." I finally couldn't help but say what was in my heart, and now there was no one around, "You should go to the temple to pray, find a G shop, and spend the rest of your life there." The bones you are looking for have been buried, and I have seen it with my own eyes. As far as I can see, it doesn't make sense for you to bring it back to the city. And, I don't think the black soldiers will take you there. When you go out of the city, it is your time of death. ”

I put on my leggings and stood up.

"I won't bother, they don't go, I'll just walk over by myself, and they will tell me the place." Asri didn't show weakness, or thought I was scaring her, "It's much better to die on the road than to sit at home." ”

"Well," I knew I couldn't convince the woman at all, and even had some admiration for her, "goodbye, Aunt Asri." ”

"You're saying 'goodbye' in your heart." Asri said harshly, "You think I'm finished." It's not so easy for me to get away with them. I have to say, you're not bad. She thought of something and pulled a key out of her bosom, "I must have been so confused that I forgot something." Half a month ago, or ten days ago, a scholar came to me and asked me for our master's collection, and I agreed to him, but I turned around and forgot about it. I'm so confused. For you, that thing should be worthless, you can go to the basement and open a box, and look through it yourself, it's all books, and they don't sell for a price, you can read it yourself. If you're willing to do my old woman a favor, send him these books. Well, it won't be harder than playing leggings. ”

"I am not the master of this garden," I said, "and I cannot be the master." ”

"People sometimes have to make their own decisions." Asri handed me the key, "If you think it's right, you should do it." If you do this, my Lord will guide you. ”

Asri didn't thank me from beginning to end, and limped to the black man on crutches. She hung her parcel of three wheat cakes and a garment on the mule's back, which a black man threw on the ground with contempt. Asri picked them up from the ground, patted the ash, and pressed it over his shoulder, staggering after the black man, slowly disappearing into the distance around the corner.

I looked at the key in my hand and threw it into the grass to the side.

For many days after that. What we do is boring. Paul volunteered to go to the fishing village to find the Nord, and the black leader weighed it for a few days. At last he agreed, and sent a black man without a nose to follow him. I and another Wikibian worked as grocers for the time being. We took out the frescoes and stones on the walls, scraped the gold paint off the majolica, the beautiful stone tiles and sculptures from the roofs, everything that could be sold, we collected it, piled it up in the courtyard, and then went to the small merchants who came to the city and shouted around, and exchanged it for food or tools, and the black chiefs were not interested in the garden at all, and were disgusted with the luxury and comfort of the house, as long as there was a clean ground when it rained. Spread a thick blanket, the black chief felt that it was enough, and everything else was superfluous.

In the basement there was a box of scimitars and daggers, the blades of which had not been sharpened, and the surface of the knives was painted with glittering gold, and a black man slashed at each other with two such scimitars, one of which was broken along the handle, and it turned out that it was only a decorative ritual vessel. Seeing that this pile of things was useless, we pulled out all the shiny stones from the hilt. A small bag was filled, and the rest of the scrap metal was used by a black man to make a baking fork and use it to stick in the grilled fish. There were fewer and fewer things to sell for, but a pile of women's clothes in a box unexpectedly fetched a lot of money. The clothes were all shirts with bare breasts and holes in their buttocks, and women wore them. The virgin will also look yín. The owner of a jì courtyard said he wanted the clothes and asked us for four buckets of flour. Or four jì women to serve for a month, or buy a slave permanently. We didn't hesitate to choose flour. One more person means one more mouth to eat, and with food, Wikibians and blacks can easily find women wandering around the square.

Our demolition of the old house aroused the idea of the soldiers, and one of the soldiers came and blackmailed us, but was sent away by the black leader with four white cloths. The soldier who had tasted the sweetness came back a few days later, only to be beaten and threatened to hang us all, but he never showed up, and no soldier ever came to trouble us. The Great Temple sent someone to the black chief, hoping that he would provide for twelve poor people, saying that they could work for free, as long as they were kept alive. The black chief agreed, and when the poor men came, the black chief tied them to a rope and made them spend the whole day in the mill pushing stone mills, grinding the wheat in our hands into flour, and then untying the ropes from the feet of these people in the evening, and giving them a bowl of porridge, and in less than a week these people ran away, and the black chief smiled and said, "Asre, that stupid girl, will understand why we got up, and I have been doing this for thirty years." ”

Stealing is gone, not because we're watching, but because we don't have anything left in our house to steal.

Paul's first return was fruitful, bringing back six barrels of flour and two boxes of salt, which were mixed with less than a third of the sand, and the product was excellent. The black chiefs were greatly satisfied. The first time he sent Paul, out of prudence, he only brought him a little gold and worthless goods, not expecting the Nords to be so generous, and the second time he sent more men, so that they could bring more gold, hoping to buy more food. At the same time, the black leader privately sent a gift to the Nords, that is, the previous slave, and the black leader had excess food in his hands, so he went to the owner of the Jì Courtyard to buy her, and then sent it to the Nords to warm the G, hoping to exchange it for the favor of the Nords. The second time Paul went and did not return for a long time, he asked a black man to come back and tell the chief that the Nords had gone to sea, and that he could only stay there to buy fish, and hire fishermen to help him marinate the fish and put it in barrels. Paul also mentioned that the village can dry salt by itself, and the price is much cheaper than elsewhere, and asked the chief if he hired someone to dry the salt, and the black leader said that he only needs food, salt or something in exchange for food, and there is no need to find extra trouble to get it himself.

When Paul came back for the second time, it was almost a month later. The Nords returned earlier than previously estimated, probably because Paul's sudden appearance made them see a business opportunity and changed their original itinerary. On the second occasion Paul brought back twenty vats of flour, for which he rented all the wagons and all the mules and horses from the three surrounding villages, which were so exhausted that they fell to their knees when they arrived at the city of Ulric.

The Governor's magistrates knew we were buying food. He sent someone to collect high taxes, and then Jǐng told us not to sell grain in the city without permission. To be able to do this, he was as if we did not exist. I've been to the Governor's bakery. All the bread and naan sold there were adulterated with fake bread and naan, and the flour was spoiled or mixed with a lot of sand, and he relied on this garbage to suck the blood of the Ulrics, and if an ignorant merchant came to stir up the trouble, he would probably be troubled. Of course, the black leader wouldn't sell the grain, and he told us to move it all to the basement. The basement was quickly clogged up with these vats, and we had to throw the garbage inside.

Soon more than twenty men came from Abi's side, most of them black slaves, but some of them Creelians. This puzzled me a lot. Abi did not like the Creelians unless they were born slaves. The men told me that Abi had now begun to protect the Creelians, and that he had found himself a Creelic preacher to have his best time debating with his brightest sorcerer. I'm worried about these shamans, once Abi also converts his faith, he will be a hundred times more fanatical than a Creelian who was born with that faith, and the first thing he will do is cut these sacrifices.

This is a grain transport team of more than 20 people. More than a dozen horses and six carriages were brought. During this time, they have been commuting back and forth between Ulrick City and the area controlled by Abiy. I thought about why these cities didn't take the initiative to wipe out slaves, firstly, because they didn't have enough power, and secondly. They are even willing to let their slaves help them disrupt the order of the Salanders in order to gain an advantage for themselves, which is actually playing with fire**.

I once asked a Creelian. "Was there an old woman among the people we sent back last time?"

"Old woman?" This Creelian stuck out his tongue. With a disgusted expression, "Who will take the old woman around." Didn't see it. The old men and women in the city are all dead, most of them are starving, and if an old woman shows up, I will know. Why do you ask this? ”

"Just ask." I answered him.

The name Asri has since vanished, as if she had never existed, and the pact she had insisted on until her death had not been fulfilled.

The grain team makes it lively every week or two, and everyone can eat meat, real mutton, when the grain team leaves and arrives. People sat around the campfire in the garden, smashing up their lives with Rhodoc stools and the Vicchian table, roasting meat around the fire, and eating bread and naan, which had become our main food. In the entire coastline, we are definitely among the best eaters. I'm even starting to like this place, at least there's not so much mess of deception and betrayal. I even had the idea of owning an industry in a city that had prospered again after the plague, getting ahead, saying goodbye to the barracks and noble castles, and starting a different life. It was a ridiculous dream, and I knew of course that we were just a temporary leaf, floating in the calm pond before the storm, and the slightest stir would turn everything in front of us to ashes. Not knowing how, I knew it was going to happen.

The grain convoy would not stay for more than a few days before they would leave with the flour of Yurik City, and each time they left, the garden was much deserted and the basement was much more empty.

I began to wonder what happened to Asre, but everyone, including Asri's most trusted middle-aged man, was just full of food sales, and it seemed that this house had nothing to do with Asre.

In the basement, I saw the box. It didn't need a key to open it anymore, it had been split open with an axe, the books inside were littered, many pages had been torn and wiped, and the basement was littered with scattered papers. I cleaned up the papers on an afternoon when I had nothing to do, and threw them into the box, and I naturally couldn't read a word of the books in Saranda, but in the books of Swadia I would occasionally see a few Swadia words that I was familiar with, but more of them were ambiguous, and I couldn't figure out what they meant.

No one will ever teach me to read again, and in less than ten years, all the words I remember will be completely forgotten.

By the time I had put away the broken books that Asri hadn't had time to give out, it was only halfway through the afternoon, and I decided to do Asri one last favor.

When I dragged the box out, the middle-aged man thought I was crazy, and he was marking the flour bucket and making notes in a ledger. When I explained what I meant, it seemed to take him a moment to remember who Asri was, "Oh, naturally, these things do what she wants, I don't see anything wrong." ”

"Who's that scholar?" I described to middle-aged people what Asri told me to the scholar.

"An astronomer," said the middle-aged man, "lives with a madwoman, a Swadia. ”。 )