For Kazuto farmers, the concept of childhood is almost non-existent. Although children sometimes play, parents and elders often teach them practical skills as early as possible instead of letting them play freely in the name of "the children are still young".
Food is hard to come by, and every grain of it is hard work. Under such background conditions, every additional mouth to eat in the family must be found ways to make the cost return.
Girls before getting married are an important labor force in every family. Most of them will learn to do housework from the age of five or six. Weaving and sewing are considered essential skills, and if there are younger children, the elder sister usually takes on the role of caregiver so that the parents can work in the fields without worries.
It is often the boys from farm families who are relatively free. Unlike girls who have to work since childhood, boys who are regarded as the inheritance of the family can play around and be educated in various knowledge until they are older. They are highly expected to be trained by the whole family, but few of them can really do it. Become a talented person.
Even so, childhood, which only occupies less than a quarter of life based on average life span and definition of adulthood, is still the first thing many people in this era will miss after they successfully survive and grow old.
The beautified memories have discarded the impure elements and left only freedom and looseness. Besides "one generation is inferior to the other", the most favorite words among the elderly are pronounced as "Anuo Guo Luo Yu Gada Na" - the literal translation is "It was so good back then" type of nostalgia.
But is childhood really carefree and beautiful?
For Aqiu, who was in the hot spring village in the summer of 4164 in the Great Moon Calendar, the answer was probably no from the beginning.
According to statistics from Dr. Land, the average life expectancy of the Moon Country’s population is about 39 years old. It seems that it is very rare for someone to live past the age of 40, as if everyone has agreed to die together at the age of 39, but this data is actually extremely deceptive.
Although Rigal is unable to produce similar statistics due to limitations in national strength and academic system, the average life expectancy of the population of the two continents is probably very similar.
Of course, this is not because Rigar and Crescent Island people, who are separated by different cultures and languages across the ocean, have made an agreement not to live past the age of 40. The fundamental reason for this situation is the extremely high mortality rate of infants and young children.
Pregnancy in ten months means childbirth is a hellish experience for women. More than half of inexperienced first-time mothers will die from dystocia and hemorrhage after childbirth. If a child whose biological mother dies is born into an aristocratic family and can spend money to find a wet nurse, civilian families will basically have no choice but to die.
Even if one successfully survives infancy, childhood is still fraught with dangers. A late monsoon leading to drought and reduced yields will kill at least half of the children. Along with various complications caused by domestic violence, wild beast invasion, summer drowning and even malnutrition, 10 out of 10 children will survive beyond the age of 10. , only 1-2 people.
So can we be safe after the age of 10?
Not really.
"The half-grown child will eat me to death"
This proverb among the people shows the complex relationship between peasant families far beyond what outsiders can imagine - the appetite of children who have grown up in adolescence has increased sharply, but their physical fitness and various aspects are still unable to compare with adults. They eat as much as adults, but cannot do as much work to earn their rations. Children in this period also have the most serious conflicts with their parents. Girls will be looked for as soon as possible to get married as soon as possible, and in addition to the eldest son who inherits the family business, if there are additional boys, they will also be required to be self-reliant.
Poor and humble couples suffer from everything. Children who grew up in Kazuto peasant families never knew what their parents' love was.
The childhood playmates they played with died at some point due to inconspicuous things; the sisters married young and became wives, and the brothers also need to consider inheriting the family business if they survive. Even when their parents are still alive, they often don't take care of them and are busy working, leaving them to grow freely.
But even so, after she woke up in the hotel, she still cried and wanted to go back to her mother.
Aqiu, who is only 7 years old, is unaware of the fact that she has been abandoned. She may not even understand the meaning of hatred. She only thinks that her father will get better after being temporarily angry.
No matter how gentle the Luoan girl and the others are? These people are still unknown strangers.
No matter how bad this home looks to outsiders, for this child, it is always her only home.
"It's hard for an upright official to deal with household chores." Narumi next to him sighed. In the end, he invited the hotel manager who was familiar with Aqiu to finally comfort her and fall asleep again.
"Try to mix some soothing medicine and wait for her to wake up and take it with water." Master Jian said this. People are more or less kind-hearted. He has become the pharmacist working for the Qingtian family and no longer cares about the small amount of money. Passed it to the store manager.
"I'll take a look later and go talk to Allen." The store manager sighed. Then he glanced at Rigar and his party next to him, hesitated, and finally spoke.
"Everyone? Master of the Southern Barbarians."
"Although I am a guest, it is not appropriate to speak like this. But I heard what Master Torataro said before."
"It seems that you are mercenary swords?" The store manager Masayuki used very elegant words. The concept of "mercenary" does not exist in Kazuto's language? Therefore, when Torataro tried to explain to him, the result was A new vocabulary was created.
"Yes." It was the Luoan girl who responded to the store manager. Henry and Galeva were still repairing the carriage outside, while Yajiro and Lao Qiao ran to the nearby blacksmith shop and other places to make purchases.
"But they are different? They are." The Nanman gentlemen mentioned by the store manager also included missionaries. The Luoan girl thought for a moment: "Monks." She explained.
"That's right, isn't it a monk?" The store manager nodded. He mentioned a concept that Mira didn't understand well, but now was not a good time to satisfy her curiosity, so she didn't ask further.
"Do you want to say that we are going to fight against evil dragons and thieves?" The store manager Masazhi did not hide it, so Narumi judged his intention and asked before him, but before the store manager could reply, the samurai leader shook his head. He shook his head and said: "This is really unlikely. We are on our way. The miasma of the swamp is vast and difficult to travel, and the evil dragon god is haunted. It must take several days just to search."
"This, this is true." The store manager sighed. There are many depressions and swamps in Zhangzhou. The miasma in some places can make people dizzy and difficult to identify the direction. Even locals are rarely willing to go deep into those places.
The entire territory is divided by these large and small swamps. The population of Zhangzhou is basically scattered in small settlements except for a few larger towns.
In the unregulated mountain forests and swamps, thieves, bandits and even rebel rogues run rampant, and they cannot be cleared away despite repeated killings. Coupled with the existence of various evil beasts and poisonous insects, the swamp area has always been the location of horror stories about parents and elders terrorizing disobedient children.
But on the other hand, the swamp also has some rare resources. Abundant peat can be used for heating and fertilizer in winter. Frogs and large snails in the swamp are rare delicacies among the people. Even crocodiles can be eaten if they are capable enough to catch them.
Slices of delicious berries, lotus roots, and other edible plants often grew near the swamps, tempting hungry farmers to risk their lives to get them.
Hot Spring Village is considered a larger village nearby, but compared to the adjacent swamp, it is so small that it cannot be seen clearly on the map. Narumi, who had seen the vastness of the swamp all the way south, knew that assisting these people would cause trouble. Although what happened here was indeed heartbreaking, they were also powerless.
Zhangzhou's crocodiles are not nearly as large as their cousins in the saltwater swamps of the Rigal world, with most crocodiles here being only one to one and a half meters long. It is actually relatively safe for adults to enter the swamp. If you only encounter one, you can escape if it is bitten. Most of the time, they won't even take the initiative to attack people when they see them, unless they are children who are small enough to look like they can eat them.
"My Iceberg Beauty Wife"
But the swamp area here is vast and covered with tall reeds. With limited vision, if you really want to destroy the crocodiles, the manpower and time required are far beyond the capabilities of Henry and his group of few warriors plus a few Rigal mercenaries.
Crocodiles grow very slowly, and killing them once is enough to keep the waters safe for a long time. According to the introduction of the store manager Yazhi, large-scale hunting has been organized in the hot spring village in the past. The samurai leader from Pingshan County led a young and middle-aged labor force to conduct a large-scale search by boat. Destroy the eggs and kill the adult evil dragons with big bows and guns, but with the turmoil and division, today's county magistrates can no longer afford such manpower.
However, his statement was a wake-up call for the group, because although they themselves did not have such manpower, there was a group of people nearby who did.
Ryuunosuke and his party are hunting down their mortal enemy Saburo who fled back to Zhangzhou from the feudal lord. According to the store manager Masayoshi, in addition to those evil dragons, there are also thieves lurking in the swamp who have only appeared in recent times.
"In fact, it might be them who drove the evil dragons to the swamp near the village." This information aroused the interest of Narumi and others. The timing was just right. It would be strange to say that there was no connection.
"Although we can't assist directly, we may be able to lead people with abilities to help. But the identity of the other party may be a bit subtle." Ryunosuke and his party plan to detour through the hot spring village. Although they will seek supplies in some villages, But places like Wenquan Village, which directly supplies food to Pingshan County, are not included in this list.
There will inevitably be rumors when a large number of ronin come in, and due to their delicate status, there is a certain risk of being discovered about the size of the army.
Because there was a certain distance between the two parties, when they said goodbye, they only knew that Ryunosuke and his party would probably be repairing in the nearby mountains. However, the warriors had horses to travel with them, so it wouldn't be too difficult to go back along the mountain road to find them.
The rest of the decision-making is mainly decided by the store manager. The matter of having an affair with a prostitute can be big or small. The main reason is that the army of Ryunosuke and his party is quite large. If there is a bloody military conflict near Hot Spring Village, it is basically impossible to hide it from the superiors of Pingshan County.
After all, ronin are disliked in Kazuto society and are considered to be lawless beings who may do bad things at any time. Coupled with Ryunosuke's status as the former magistrate of Pingshan County, it is natural that the Chinese people in power today would have hostility and prejudice against him. So it’s probably better not to mention it in the following paragraph.
"Ronin." But even so, the store manager Yazhi still seemed quite hesitant.
Getting rid of the evil dragons and the entrenched bandits can solve the hot spring village's major problems, but entrusting serious samurai to do so is enough. Entrusting ronin to do such a thing is obviously fighting fire with fire.
"What if after the cleanup is completed, they decide to stay here? What if the lion asks for more rewards?" The store manager's worry is not unreasonable. After wiping out a group of bandits, a group with a greater appetite will come. , then wouldn’t they face even greater trouble?
The hesitation based on distrust caused the air in the room to become a little dull. Under this situation, the Luoan girl sighed:
"I don't even believe I'm saying this, though."
"Let Torataro come forward and try?"
"If it was an order issued by the serious Chinese son of Pingshan County, it would be more or less restrictive, right?" Our white-haired girl, who has often dealt with nobles in the world of Rigar, has applied her experience to today. In this situation, not surprisingly, others also accepted Mira's suggestion.
"Indeed, if a Chinese comes forward and goes back on his words, it will be like breaking out and going against Pingshan County." Narumi nodded.
"With the name of the Iwakura family, it will be easier for me to convince the villagers." The store manager seemed to agree with this proposal - although he has some connections and is respected by the villagers, after all, he is just a commoner and not the leader of the village. Therefore, if you want to do this kind of thing, you cannot be arbitrary and you need to convene the villagers to discuss it together.
"Then, I will go discuss it with Master Torataro, and then try to gather the villagers. Ronin, I would like you all to inform them."
