The northwest end of the Palohia Plateau is the Talva-Suta defense line. After crossing here, except for a few hills, there is no continuous high ground in Suomir. What visitors see with their eyes is the legendary fairy tale country, Suomir, the country of thousands of lakes and islands.
Words cannot describe how beautiful this scene is.
After experiencing the prosperity of Parnila, entering the more traditional area of Suomir made the Luoan girl from the west coast feel familiar.
Compared with the arrogant Padrosi Empire, Suomir is indeed more like the small kingdoms on the west coast in general. This is not only about the political system and some cultural aspects, but also the urbanization gap in the country.
The large-scale commercialization of the Padrosi Empire is generally very similar to the Southern City-State Alliance - wealth and industry are gathered in one place, and merchants trade here, and so on. The population density in a city-state is extremely large, and there will be more than one city in the entire area. With the city as the center, most people in small towns and villages are determined to go to the city to work hard.
Countries or regions have cities as their main structure, and more than 60% of residents live in such large settlements.
In comparison, Suomir is similar to the various kingdoms on the west coast. Although there are castles, they are only used for military purposes. The only truly densely populated large city is Aurora City on the shores of the Heinzwom Meteor Lake. More than 70% of the remaining kingdom residents are scattered throughout the territory, existing in small towns and villages.
The vast majority of people born in villages and towns have no intention of leaving their hometown and either work in farming or simple handicrafts: weaving, leather goods, or wood and ironware. There is no such large-scale commercial exchange here, it just stays at the level of self-sufficiency.
The dazzling and even dazzling beauty of Parnilla is nowhere to be found here. People's life pace is relatively slow and they still live a traditional self-sufficient life.
The windmill that leans against the bakery is spinning slowly, and the person in charge of it is the squire with the highest status in the entire village. After the villagers harvest the crops they grow, the rest, except for the tax paid, is sent to the mill for grinding. Later, the chef in the bakery next door bakes it into bread.
Of course, there is a fee for grinding and roasting. In addition, plus the occasional traveling vendors, they constitute the only commercial activities in this traditional small town.
When the group of three arrived, they attracted a lot of attention. There were not many high-level mercenaries who were well-equipped and capable of riding horses. When they entered the village, two people at the door only wore simple woolen cold-weather clothes and carried small shields. The self-defense militiamen armed with one-handed knives and spears could hardly move their eyes away.
However, their attention did not include vigilance. It could be seen from their stance that they did not show any obvious vigilance, but simply looked forward to these expensive high-end equipment.
Small villages and towns like this are generally not exposed to war, so there will be no large-scale garrison of lords and nobles. The militia and self-defense forces organized in villages and towns are not so much an army to guard against foreign enemy attacks, but more a security force to catch thieves or deal with wild boars and the like.
The leisurely security guards who contrasted with this peaceful atmosphere did not show any obvious hostility towards the group. This kind of kindness was somewhat nostalgic.
After all, they seemed to have been targeted since entering Suomir.
"——Ah, I can finally take a rest." The person who made a tired voice immediately after entering the village was Galeva. Although he was a porter, the things he needed for long-distance travel were somewhat different from short-distance portage. The straps of the backpack were stretched too long and his shoulders were indeed very sore, and by coincidence, the soles of his leather boots were also torn.
Although, as seasoned travelers, our sage and Roan maiden had brought with them a maintenance kit - consisting of a needle in a small wooden bottle, waxed linen thread and some scraps of cloth and leather - Galeva If the soles of the boots are just re-sewn, they can barely be used. Considering that the coming season will be colder and they still have a long way to go, changing to a new pair of boots may seem like a small matter, but it has become a crucial issue.
The seams in travel clothes are holes in the journey. Although some of the words of the ancients have changed their meaning today, they can indeed be regarded as the crystallization of wisdom. The situations you will encounter during long-distance travel are beyond imagination. Once you are careless, you will suffer a lot later.
This is actually what happened to Galeva.
As the birthplace of leather sandals, the East Coast is now a continent-wide fashion trend, but the production of leather boots is not much different from that on the West Coast. They all use a thick piece of cowhide as the sole and a thinner one as the shoe body. The shoe body and sole are first turned upside down and sewn with suede. When punching, the holes are punched from the side instead of placing the stitches directly on the sole. After sewing, soak it in water to soften it, then turn it over, and then perform some treatments such as vegetable dyeing and waxing on the surface to make the leather boots stronger and more durable.
The fact that the stitching is on the side rather than directly on the sole makes the leather boots actually quite durable. Because most of the roads are soft dirt roads, if these boots are well maintained, there is actually no problem in wearing them for a year or two.
But this is where Galeva went wrong.
The seams of leather boots need to be regularly applied with beeswax for maintenance. When the weather is cold, you should bake them by the fire after applying the beeswax. This ensures sturdiness and durability.
Because young people are not used to traveling and think it is not good to eat and drink for free, they try hard to find things to do every day. In addition, they often take notes. The result of working blindly was that he failed to do what he really should do, and the seams of his leather boots were cracked and damaged due to moisture and heavy walking. Although they were temporarily re-reinforced with sutures, the damaged leather boots were still eroded by the cold weather in the cool weather of September when walking in the mountains.
Naturally, our Luoan girl scolded him for this matter, and the dull young man failed to muster the courage to refute. He just sat with his neck hunched and listened obediently like a student being lectured by a teacher.
"Before you do things for others, you must deal with your own affairs first. That's it, you don't have to worry about those things." After Mira reprimanded him so forcefully, Galeva could no longer intervene. For a while, he became the most idle one among the three, because Henry and Mira were able to finish everything, so he had to stop, and except for the occasional helper, he spent most of his time writing.
When I have more free time, my notebook, which already has little space, is filled up in one go. While the young man was distressed, the Luoan girl dug out a large notebook with few words from her belongings and gave it to him.
This was somewhat flattering, considering how expensive paper was. Mira later lent him her books, and the two of them often discussed certain things together, which made Henry next to him always have the illusion that he had two disciples.
The trip of three people is indeed more exciting than that of two people.
All in all, after time came to today, because many things needed supplies and repairs, they decided to go to this small village on the map, but it must be able to meet the requirements.
There is no hotel here, but there are taverns that meet the social needs of the villagers. Although Suomir's food may not suit their taste, the villagers' home-brewed wine is very interesting.
The practice of making wine from grains or fruits exists in every civilization in the human world. Suomir is contrary to common sense in the North. Although grains are used to make wine, the alcohol content is not high and will not make people drunk easily. .
The drinks here were mostly invented because drinking water easily freezes in cold weather. People often drink it in their daily lives. It is also a relatively easy-to-accept drink for people who are not used to it.
The foreign tourists, who were also high-level mercenaries, brought a lot of impact to the residents of this small village. The news spread quickly, and within a few minutes of entering the village, almost all men, women, and children came out to watch. The three of them were divided into three groups. Galeva consulted with the villagers next to him and then ran to find the shoemaker's shop. He carried a small leather bag with him and took off his one-handed knife and dagger. Then he still had an empty leather water bag hanging on his body, ready to take it to the tavern to fill up with drinks.
In addition, prepare to look at candles, beeswax cotton and linen and other useful groceries. He often did errands like this when he was working as a helper at his hotel, so he was quite familiar with it.
On the other hand, the sage took out the empty dry food bag from the saddle bag and walked straight towards the bakery, preparing to replenish the main food. After completing this, he had to go to the farmer and buy some oats. After all, the little unicorn and the two horses also needed to eat.
And finally there is our Luoan girl. This time she stayed in place to guard things. After all, their group carried quite a lot of valuable things with them. Although the people in Suomir are generally simple and honest, sneaky people will not disappear here.
It's just that the dense glances of these curious villagers made the Luoan girl feel a little helpless. They were not only curious about this rare high-level mercenary, but also seemed to be curious about herself. Henry and Galeva were both tall men with black hair and looked no different from the locals, but her white hair was extremely conspicuous in this environment.
She didn't know if her teacher knew this and deliberately arranged for her to stay. She just silently thought in her heart, "Mr. Sage is such a terrible adult."
The villagers, men, women, old and young, all gathered around, hiding in corners or behind carts and watching from a distance.
If it were in the Padrosi Empire, those Lamanites who were eloquent and sociable would have already come up to chat with them. But the Suomir people, who were afraid of strangers, just watched from a distance. The girl suddenly thought of the marmots she had seen on the Abu Serra prairie. They always stood up in the grass from a distance. Looking at people like this, once you take any action, it will immediately hide.
"Um...how do you pronounce it, Ni-Ni Hao-" she said in the broken Suomir language she learned from Galeva and Henry, while the villagers stared at each other blankly.
"Ah, it's so difficult to learn." The girl from Luo An held her forehead, her face full of helplessness.
Not far away, Galeva in the east of the village contacted the shoemaker, but as expected, he needed to get a new pair. Because he had to spend money, his expression suddenly darkened. Fortunately, the shoemaker had ready-made leather boots. After testing them and finding that they fit, the young man put them on and ran towards the tavern.
Henry, who was walking towards the windmill located high in the town, turned back and took in everything at a glance. With a slight smile on his lips, he shook his head and continued to move forward, but before he entered the bakery, he heard Suomir's voice. language quarrel.
"The flour I gave you is better than this!" The back that can be seen from the door is a typical farmer's dress. The wool coat and wool trousers are a bit shabby. In order to facilitate work, the upper part and the part tied to the coat are removed. Unbuttoned, revealing the same dirty linen underpants. On his head was a Suomir-style pointed triangular wool hat.
The person he was quarreling with was dressed in a higher-end style, with clean and slim-fitting clothes, a pointed tricorn hat of the same style but with higher-end fabrics and better workmanship, and silver jewelry inlaid with pearls. He was obviously a country squire.
The profession of baker was a very high-status role in a small place in this era. Because the only thing with ovens in the village is the bakery. The mill is owned by the person with the highest status in the village, and the bakery that is closely related to the mill and the baker who is engaged in baking are naturally relatives of the person with the highest status in the village.
This kind of nepotism destined them not to worry about the feelings of their customers. Unlike the prosperous Padrosi Empire businessmen who would fawn over and be enthusiastic, bakers in villages like Suomir would have a "love to buy or not to buy" attitude. You are the one who is going hungry anyway.”
——And this is obviously what is happening now.
Farmers grew crops and milled the best and most refined flour for the nobles to enjoy. What they themselves eat is always slightly worse. Henry went in quietly, and at a glance he saw that the bread in the villager's hand was very dark, obviously made from the worst flour, so it was no wonder that he was angry. But the baker opposite had an arrogant face and didn't care at all.
"You...ah, there are still pebbles in it!" The villager broke open the bread in his hand, and the baker shrugged: "You accidentally got it into the oven, accidents will always happen. ."
"You, this - ah!" The angry villager slapped the table, but due to his status and the fact that his family was hungry, he could only accept the loss and turned around to leave angrily.
"Get out of the way." In a hurry and in a bad mood, he pushed Henry and ran away, while the sage raised his eyebrows and continued walking inside.
He had no intention of intervening in this injustice, just as he had no intention of reaching out to help those begging when he met the Luoan girl many years ago.
Being a wise person does not mean being a good person. It sounds ruthless and unjust, but the result of doing everything personally is often to treat the symptoms but not the root cause.
"Welcome, oh -" the baker's eyes immediately lit up when he saw the equipment on his body, and his attitude changed: "Is he a traveling mercenary? This is really a big shot. What do you need?"
It is common for all human beings to adapt to the wind - Henry thought, shaking his head slightly: "Let's have some bread and pancakes."
"Fill this up." He said, handing over the dry food bag in his hand.
