Working at sunrise and resting at sunrise is a common understanding in today's society and the living habit of most people. Mainstream culture believes that people who move at night are mostly sneaky people, who are either engaged in dirty industries or have no ambitions and indulge in drinking and sex. Generally speaking, their prejudice is not too wrong.
After all the fire candles were used up while exploring the cave, the group realized that the lighting equipment in Xinyue Continent was very expensive, and even the wealthy Qingtian family did not have much. It seems that beekeeping is not as prosperous here as in Rigar. The standard beeswax candle commonly used by officials is one crescent foot long - converted to Rigar standard units, it is about 17 centimeters, because it is exactly the length from the middle finger of an adult's hand to the wrist. Because of its length, it is also commonly known as "one-palm candle" - this kind of candle usually sells for about 400 Wen.
You must know that the monthly income of most Kazuto civilians is only one tael of silver, which is 1,000 copper coins. Buying two candles, which can be saved and burned for at most 18 hours, leaves only 200 cash to support the family. This shows how extravagant it is.
The more common among the people is the so-called "half-palm candle", which as the name suggests is half shorter than a palm. The price of half of this kind of candle is between 100 and 130 cents. The reason why it is so much cheaper than a palm candle is that it is made from a variety of materials and is not purely composed of beeswax. It also contains some cheaper ingredients such as animal fat boiled from the butcher's leftover scraps.
The disadvantage of this is that it will have an unpleasant smell when lit, unlike beeswax which has a pleasant aroma. But even though it is such a relatively cheap candle, it is still a bit of a luxury to light it every night.
The lighting equipment used by most civilians at night is cheaper oil lamps or wood collected from the mountains. Homemade torches are an essential skill for mountain people. Kazuto's torches are slightly different from Rigal's. They are usually made from dry bamboo wood and the tip is split and filled with fuel instead of being wrapped in cloth soaked in oil. Among them, pine wood, which is rich in oil, is the best. In fact, the word for "torch" in Kazuto language is written as "pine light", which refers to pine wood that is rich in rosin and resistant to burning.
Of course, even with all kinds of folk wisdom, the most economical way is to work when the sun rises and breathe when the sun goes down. After all, except for those with evil intentions, few people need to do anything at night.
After eating supper, the group fell asleep quickly. The first morning of summer came very early. The sun was already shining before 6 o'clock, and many people had already woken up.
The ashigaru who got up earlier exchanged some fresh water from the train of Ryunosuke and his party and cooked military porridge in the pot. They did not use currency to purchase directly, because it would be better to exchange the supplies they needed while away from home.
Before, A Yong and the others temporarily borrowed their things and replenished their water supply. It was not so much that Ryunosuke and his party were generous enough, but rather that it was sold to Henry, an old acquaintance of Joshua's, to save face, and they also had information they needed to get from the group.
Good intentions without reason are not trustworthy. Nothing in the world is more expensive than free. Ryunosuke and his party are ronin after all, so even if there is an old acquaintance like Joshua among them, it is best not to trust them too much.
The explanation for the mudslide we encountered at the beginning was that the deforestation was not intentional and was caused by the refugees who followed them without authorization. However, this kind of argument that makes the temporary workers at the bottom take the blame is not uncommon everywhere, so it is best not to believe it. Even if this is indeed true, there is no room for excuse for Ryunosuke's later attempt to conceal the facts and obtain information from the sage sideways.
Although this makes sense from their point of view: Telling everything to a stranger you met by chance would not only seem mindless, but also likely not get the information you want at all. From their point of view, only by staying vigilant can they survive. long.
But that's not the case with Henry. People who ask you to "stand on the other side's side and try to understand" in everything often not only have a questionable stance, but also have a brain that is not easy to use, because in the final analysis, no matter how beautiful the words are, there are still various cliques and small groups between people. of.
What you should do is give priority to the interests of the group you belong to, and then try to understand the other party on the premise of self-protection, instead of being like a princess who has read too many fairy tales and thinking that it is okay to stay open at night. There are good-hearted people in the world. .
It's just that the power of circles and groups between people is not always clear-cut, like thousands of ripples on the surface of a pond in a heavy rain. They influence each other, cover each other, and wax and wane, so there are always people who can't tell what is. If you belong to a circle that does not actually regard you as one of its own - we are going too far.
All in all, everyone takes what they need and keeps a distance. There is no need to lick your face to build relationships to get fresh water and other supplies, but exchange for some things they need. This is the tacit understanding reached by Henry's side and Ryunosuke's side.
This tacit understanding allows the two parties to cooperate peacefully and to a certain extent, and as long as they do not demand more from each other, a relatively good atmosphere can be maintained.
The world of adults is not black and white - the simple thinking of either friends or enemies will only force potential friends to become enemies. This kind of law-abiding relationship that is not considered friends but is not considered hostile is in line with the general world. The attitude that some people who meet by chance should have.
Ashigaru and others who got up early took the military porridge stewed by Ayong and others who had diarrhea and fell to the ground. After they finished eating, they took a spoonful of lard and added it to continue cooking in preparation for the others. After the old pharmacist Jian Ye joined the team, the gastrointestinal medicine he prepared helped the three warriors recover faster than expected. In the morning they could already stand on their own. Although they were still a little too weak to walk long distances, they had the ability to move alone in the camp.
The situation was more serious for Ah Hui, who was still half asleep. Sometimes she would wake up in a cold sweat and scream, and sometimes she would sleep as if she had died and only take a breath for half a minute. For this reason, Torataro seemed reluctant when paying the group's reward - according to his original words: "Can a person really be saved successfully if he is like this?"
The words of the resentful young master made Mira roll up her sleeves and almost punch him, but Torataro was obviously such a person, an extremely self-centered young master. He may make admirable actions in some situations, but you can't expect him to change much in essence.
The reluctant young master finally gave them 8 taels of gold as a reward, which was a huge sum of money considering the income of local civilians, but Torataro who took it out didn't seem to care very much. If Hui's situation was better, he would have given more.
He is not short of money but is stingy, because the act of giving money is a reward in his opinion - since these people can't complete their work well, why should they give money?
Typical thinking of a superior person.
The money was eventually shared equally by Henry, Lulu, Mira and Galeva. Although Narumi and other Aotian family samurai also participated and put in a lot of effort, they did not accept it. Firstly, they were not short of money and secondly, as a It seemed unseemly for a samurai to get paid for such a thing.
The same goes for Ling who doesn't take money, and she doesn't have many needs in this regard. As a doctor certified by Beijing, she is highly respected in China. She can even go to many places to eat and drink without any problem.
Two taels of gold per person is enough to support a fairly comfortable life for more than a year. This is not a wasted risk. But this is a conclusion based solely on food and accommodation issues.
Adventurers in Rigar can earn a lot of commissions. Even if they are cut in half by the guild, they will still get a lot of them, but most of them are always lingering at the bottom. A big reason is the wear and tear of equipment.
Swords are not as durable as laymen imagine. Even if they are made of high-quality steel, they will still have problems such as the edge falling off after a battle. This level of repair costs a lot of money.
Increasing the thickness can indeed make the weapon more durable and less susceptible to damage, but swords with a thicker section often sacrifice cutting performance and become dull and heavy.
This is a dilemma - do you want a weapon that is relatively fragile and easy to damage and requires frequent maintenance and polishing but is very easy to blow and break hair and can kill the enemy? Or do you want a weapon that does not need constant care and is not easy to break, but the weapon The sword-wielding hand cannot cut off the opponent even if it can break bones with force, but the efficiency is still not as good as a blunt sword?
A thick sword will also increase the user's fatigue, so whether it is a long sword or a long sword from Rigar or Crescent Continent, it will not be particularly heavy.
Good swords are hard to find. Swords that are light and easy to use and have sufficient strength are all made by masters, and craftsmen of this level are often unable to buy them even if they have money. So in the end, most people can only choose better quality weapons and use them carefully.
As the old saying goes: three years for the new, three years for the old, and three more years for mending.
Kazuto's sword skills even use the flat surface and back of the sword to block the opponent's attack and preserve the relatively thin blade. However, when it comes to life and death, those who care about such details are often the sword that saves the person's life.
All in all, all in all. Although the amount of money earned is not small, considering that the weapons and armor damaged during the mission consume materials that need to be replenished, the money can be said to come and go quickly.
Although Henry and the others, as distinguished guests of the Qingtian family, could eat and drink freely and obtain some weapon supplies, it seemed a bit shameless to plan to buy new weapons and equipment for nothing when they had income.
No matter what, after all, it would be more free and comfortable to buy the equipment you need with your own money, so this is also what the Luoan girl planned after receiving her salary - after arriving in a slightly larger town, she planned to buy some new equipment. outfit.
After a brief breakfast, the group got back on the road. Torataro and the others originally planned to take different paths on their own, but seeing that Hui was in a coma and he had no experience in taking care of others, they finally hired him with one or two silver a day. Liao Ying helped take care of them and they also went on the road with the Qingtian family.
The white-haired girl was a little unhappy about this. She personally hoped that this troublesome young man could disappear from her eyes as soon as possible, but in the end she suppressed it after seeing Torataro's anxious and overwhelmed look in front of the unconscious Hui. .
Since Ayong and others were still weak and unable to withstand the bumps, and the horses of the previous samurai had also eaten poisonous berries and died, and the load-bearing capacity of the transportation vehicle was missing, Narumi spent a sum of money after discussing with Ryunosuke and his party. The money allowed them to transfer a heavy Rigal-style carriage.
The large-capacity four-wheeled carriage was enough to seat most of the people and put down supplies. As the coachman, Old Qiao spent some time on the spot and got used to how to operate it. The samurai on horseback, the high mobility brought by the carriage, and the small size of the team allowed the group to get on the road before Ryunosuke and his large troops were sorted out.
According to the basic understanding, the destination direction of the two parties is still roughly the same, but their relationship is not particularly close, so they only bid farewell to Henry and the others and set off on the road first.
The large army of Ryunosuke and his party can walk, and the smaller party will naturally walk faster.
After several gentle slopes on the smooth road, the team began to descend a little bit, and finally arrived at the southern area of Zhangzhou.
The white-haired girl sitting in the carriage poked her head out from beside the waterproof canvas. She sniffed and smelled something.
"It smells like burning haystacks." The old pharmacist next to him didn't look outside, but he could tell what was going on.
The early morning sun shines on the ground, and Japanese farmers' thatched houses with A-shaped cross-frame roofs are lined up in rows. The harvested rice is threshed and spread out on the road in a relatively dry place to be exposed to the sun, while the cut straw is gathered in piles in the distance. , part of which was stewed in earthen kilns covered with mud to make peat fertilizer.
The rice fields here are not large in scale and it is one of the few places in Zhangzhou that can produce rice. Thanks to the relatively stable and fertile waters nearby, most of the rice produced here was used by the warrior nobles of Pingshan County.
It's just that it doesn't seem to always be peaceful here.
"Originally, they could just dig in the swamp, but in recent years, the miasma has become so strong that dragons often harm people. In addition, it is said that some bandits and bandits are hiding in it, so they increasingly burn their own fertilizer." The villages here are more prosperous because of the rice they produce. Wealth is also a place where Mr. Jian often sells ointments, so he knows a little bit about the local customs.
The multi-purpose straw could have been used for other things, but now it is used to burn fertilizer. Obviously, it is because ensuring that the nobles have white rice in their rice bowls is more important than the livelihood of the farmers.
The peaceful and tranquil pastoral scenery, as long as you don't think about the suffering behind it, is as beautiful as poetry.
The carriage was spinning leisurely, and looking at the mist rising from the low mountain on which the village rested, Mr. Jian suddenly remembered and said:
"Oh, by the way, there are hot springs here."
"Hot spring!" The Luoan girl turned back with shining eyes.
