The goblins had not originally planned to live in the town. They did not dare to spend the night in the human territory. In the first few days after arriving in the town, they only dared to sleep in the woods and arranged people to keep watch. Because they had lived deep in the woods for many years, no one felt that this was uncomfortable.
After all, building houses is not easy for them. There are no nails or adhesives. The houses are all wooden houses, and the roofs are woven with local leaves. Covering with several layers of woven leaves will prevent rain from leaking, but it cannot block the wind.
In order to prevent the wooden huts from being blown down, they are not built very large and are slightly smaller than ordinary tents.
It was Ye Zhou who saw it and told Feng Ling and the little goblin to move to the tidied house first.
Ye Zhou didn't want to make money from these goblins, so the houses they lived in were either elaborately decorated or ordinary local houses, but they were not broken or leaky. The goblins were all short in stature, so two houses were enough for them to live comfortably.
Ye Zhou set the price at two silver coins a day for one house, and the goblins didn't say anything - they were poor before, but since they didn't have much to spend money on, they were not stingy. Besides, they had already bought the necessities, so they gave the two silver coins readily.
As for eating, the dwarves take care of it themselves.
They have no staple food. Although they can occasionally dig up plant roots in the woods, it is not common. Starchy plants are just occasional snacks for them to change their appetite. The staple food is still meat.
Because we are used to eating it, we won’t feel sick of eating only meat.
The goblin stayed in the town for five days. Ye Zhou met the old goblin the night before he left.
Ye Zhou would not personally negotiate for such a small business, as he also had to give his employees opportunities to train. The earnings were not much, and it was still a long way from the target amount anyway. He had to wait for Stan to sell the first batch of goods and come back.
The old goblin was led to the lounge by Feng Ling. It was not her first time to enter a supermarket, but she still couldn't help feeling nervous - she had come into contact with humans, but not humans of high status. Even the goblin merchants who often did business with them were just small businessmen outside.
Unlike Ye Zhou, a "businessman" who owns a large supermarket.
"Don't be nervous, our boss is easy to talk to." Feng Ling kept comforting the old goblin on the way here.
She didn't lie, Ye Zhou was just not so easy to talk to rich people.
The old goblin smiled at Feng Ling, then quickly lowered her head, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Feng Ling sighed in her heart. She had been dealing with goblins a lot these days. The goblins' life was not good. They lived in the deep mountains and forests by hunting and gathering. They lacked medicine and the infant mortality rate was very high. Even a child under the age of ten could die from a small wound or being caught in the rain.
Adults are not much better off. Hunting is also risky. Without guns, hunting depends entirely on traps and hand-to-hand combat.
The goblins have no advantage at all against large wild beasts; they are only at a disadvantage. Every year they lose a lot of their people due to hunting.
The goblins are not very good at counting, but they know that there are fewer and fewer people in the tribe and fewer and fewer newborns.
Feng Ling felt a little sympathetic towards them, but there was nothing she could do for them.
Although she saved some money, she had to keep it and give it to her friends after she left the supermarket.
The closeness of their relationship meant that she couldn't actually do anything for them.
After sending the old goblin into the lounge, Feng Ling stood at the door waiting.
Feng Ling didn't know what the old goblin wanted to say to the boss, so she was a little curious. Unfortunately, she was too embarrassed to eavesdrop.
·
The old goblin didn't expect the supermarket owner to be so young. There were no wrinkles on his face. He was not serious or mean, and he didn't have the common mercenary smile on the faces of businessmen. The old goblin stared at him for a long time until Ye Zhou said, "Sit down. You're welcome. You can tell me directly if you need anything."
The other party spoke, and the old goblin sat down.
Ye Zhou waited for a long time but the old goblin didn't speak, so he was not in a hurry and just drank tea and waited.
The old goblin had no interest in tea. He just thought the tea smelled good and had no idea about its price.
After waiting for a while, the old goblin finally opened his mouth.
She lowered her head very low, a gesture of begging.
"Boss." The old goblin imitated Feng Ling's way of addressing him, "Can we, can we buy a house here? And live here?"
She didn't want to go back to the mountains. The mountains were not safe. Someone had to stand guard every night for fear that wild beasts would take the child away. But even with someone on guard, there would still be hungry wild beasts who would try their best to get into the house or tent.
They have to move every time the wild animals migrate.
They couldn't contact the outside world, and had to listen to the merchants when buying and selling things. Didn't the old goblin know that the goblin merchants were cheating them? She knew, but she had no choice. If she offended this merchant, no one knew when the next one would come.
What's more, she did trust her own people more before.
The old goblin had thought it over carefully. She knew that for middle-aged and elderly goblins like her, it would be safer to stay in the mountains. After all, they had been living this way since they were young. They were used to it and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
"The kids can't stay in the mountains forever." The old goblin's head had dropped to his chest.
She could see how much the young goblins loved the world outside the mountains. They ran wildly on the plains and were even willing to take the initiative to interact with humans.
They wanted to experience this new world and no longer be trapped in the barren mountains.
This is for the ethnic group, and the continuation of the ethnic group depends on the young people.
Lao Dijin was unsure. She didn't dare to look up at Ye Zhou, and her voice became smaller and smaller: "We are willing to pay."
After she finished speaking, Ye Zhou also fell silent. The old goblin was uneasy, his heart in his throat.
Just when the old goblin thought that this matter would not be accomplished, he heard the young man opposite him say: "You can buy a house, but how will you live in the future? One day I will leave, what will you do then?"
The old goblin waited for several days before coming over. She had thought all these things through in her mind. She slowly said, "We can still go hunting if we live here. We also want to learn farming from humans. It's not easy for babies to get sick if they live here. After you leave, we will move back to the mountains."
By broadening your horizons, you will have the courage to come out again even if you return to the mountains in the future.
Ye Zhou chatted with her for a while, and confirmed that the goblin head had really thought of how to solve all the problems that might occur, and then nodded and said, "Just buy the two units you live in now?"
The old goblin shook his head: "We want to buy a few more sets."
Now they still have some goods in their hands, which can be exchanged for some money. They can take this opportunity to buy a few more houses so that the young couple can go out and make babies. The old goblin is most worried about no newborns being born or that the newborns will not live long.
"Sure." Ye Zhou agreed readily, "You can ask Feng which buildings to buy and how much to spend."
Only at this time did the old goblin dare to look up at Ye Zhou.
The old goblin had droopy eyelids and looked at Ye Zhou's face carefully before leaving.
She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that the other person's face was a little strange, but she couldn't tell what was strange.
However, the old goblin was not stupid enough to ask. She bowed to Ye Zhou and walked out of the lounge slowly.
From that day on, the goblins settled down in the town. The old goblin carefully selected people to pick up the tribesmen who were still in the mountains. Only a few came out, and most of the goblins still stayed in the mountains. The only ones left were children and young people.
This is the wisdom of the old goblins. If something happens to them outside and they can't go back, the young people and a small group of old people can raise the children, and the tribe will still exist.
The little goblin was a goblin after all, and no matter how wary he was of these "outsiders", it wasn't long before he became friends with kids his own age.
Goblins don’t have much of a family concept. They live together as a group and raise their children together. Most of the time, children only know their mother but not their father, so goblins accept little ones very quickly.
In addition to the little goblins, several adult goblins that were rescued earlier also quickly integrated into the group.
However, the little goblin still kept his "duty" in mind and usually stood guard at the city gate, greeting anyone who looked like a customer.
But when it was time to eat, the little goblin still ate with the other goblins.
"This bread is delicious." The goblin introduced it to the others. "It is made from wheat ground into flour, sifted very finely, without stones or bran. You can't find it anywhere else. This one even has eggs in it."
“Better than just eating meat.”
With the staple food, the meat becomes a side dish and you can get full quickly.
Staple foods are always cheaper than meat.
The old goblin smiled and said, "It will be better if we can farm the land ourselves in the future."
The meat can be exchanged for more money, and some of it can be eaten, but the extra is better to exchange for necessities.
The goblins were also happy. The young goblins who were brought out from the mountains were reserved at first, but now they have started to run wildly with the children. Because it is a human settlement, there are no dangers nearby, and the farmers also know not to set traps near their homes. No matter how wildly the children run, they will not encounter danger as long as they do not run into the mountains.
"Be careful when you go up the mountain. It's best to go up with the humans a few times first to see where they usually set traps. We can go around them and then go in." The old goblin said, "Be sure to give them some way."
The goblins had no objection, they had just arrived and needed to build good relations with the humans, so it was okay to give way. Anyway, they now had houses to live in, food to eat, and they had bought seeds and hoes, and were already reclaiming the land.
Suffering a loss now is to benefit in the future.
·
The goblins were discussing animatedly, and the farmers were no worse than them.
"We have to use stones!" A Pu argued at home, "If we use wood, it will leak! We will need a major overhaul in a few years!"
Apu's parents disagreed: "Stones are too expensive. Even if you have money, you can't spend it like this. If you have money, just buy more land."
Apu did not know whether to laugh or cry. With the money he brought back, he could have bought a few nearby mountains, let alone land. But even with so much money, his parents would not allow him to build a stone house.
"Only nobles build houses with stones." The parents were stubborn. "You are not a noble, so you can't think you are great even if you make money!"
Apu was almost driven crazy by his parents and could only look at his wife, hoping that she could speak for him.
But this time Mira didn't help him.
For farmers like them who were born and raised here, if they have money they should save it to buy land and grow more crops. This way they will have enough to grow when they have children in the future and they can still survive even if they run out of money.
The remaining money should not be used to repair the house, but should be saved.
Mira thought more long-term, she whispered: "When we have children in the future, it would be best if they could be sent to school to learn to read."
Church schools also accept common people, but the tuition is high.
"Yes! Mira is right!" Both parents felt that their daughter-in-law had long-term thinking, which was great.
A Pu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I don't know how long that will be."
This time the whole family glared at him.
Only his sister stood on his side, but she didn't think what Apu said made sense. She just thought the stone house was beautiful and she could brag about it outside.
In the end, the brother and sister were no match for the other three.
All Apu could say was, "Then I'll go out a few more times and earn more, okay?"
The whole family had no objection now. They didn't mind having too much money. Money was a good thing. It could buy better seeds, more farm tools, and better flour.
After dinner, Apu’s parents were not in a hurry to go to the fields. They bought pesticides in the supermarket. There were no insects in the fields now, and even if there were, it would not affect the harvest.
"There were no pesticides before. I don't know how we lived back then." Apu's mother sat on a chair, fanning herself slowly. Thinking of the old days, she curled her lips and said, "I caught insects every day. I couldn't even stand up straight."
Insect pests are their biggest headache. Tiny, dense insects gnaw on the leaves. If left alone, they will eat the stems after eating the leaves. In addition to insects, there are also mice and various pests. The birds in the sky will fly down to peck at the wheat that is about to mature.
Not only them, every household here is the same. Every day when they go to the fields, they do watering, fertilizing and pest control.
Even if there is not much land, you can still be exhausted.
But this is only a temporary solution and not a permanent cure. The bugs were eliminated today, but they appeared again in a few days.
They worked hard for a year, paid taxes, sold some of the remaining grain, and exchanged it for salt, but they still had to live a tight life in the next year.
Mira smiled and said, "It's so convenient now. I just need to spray some pesticides in the morning."
Farming doesn't seem so hard anymore. Farmers have now bought enough salt to last for several years and are looking forward to the harvest in autumn.
The family had enough food and there was surplus grain. The farmers all had smiles on their faces and there were fewer disputes.
After resting for more than half a month, Apu set out again. He knew Stan had been here, so this time he planned to try his luck in a town farther away. He still brought the same group of people with him. After going out together once, the others all obeyed him. A group of people must be united and face the outside world in unison. If a team has two voices, it will be difficult to lead the team.
Although Apu had never been to school, he learned these principles without a teacher.
The friends tasted the benefits of making money, and when they returned home they were praised by their parents and relatives. They did not think highly of the money earned from farming.
If they could make money from farming, they wouldn't have been poor for so many years.
Before leaving, Apu gave careful instructions to his wife and sister that after he was gone, there would be no middle-aged man at home, so they should close the doors and windows after dark, and even if someone outside was looking for them, they should wait until the next day to ask.
Anyway, now that you have money, you have to be extra careful.
Ye Zhou also saw the backs of Apu and his friends leaving in a group one morning.
The group of young people were full of vigor and vitality. Now that they had money, in addition to the goods, they also bought horses from Ye Zhou before leaving.
Last time they walked out on foot, this time they finally had horses to ride on.
Their parents and relatives stood at the door and watched them leave.
"Actually, I kind of want to be like them." Ye Zhou muttered to himself, forgetting that the person standing next to him at this moment was Zou Ming, not Chen Shu.
When Ye Zhou came back to his senses and glanced at Zou Ming, he closed his mouth again, pretending that he had said nothing.
Just when Ye Zhou was about to leave the lounge and go out for some fresh air, Zou Ming stood behind Ye Zhou with his back to the window. The sunlight fell on his shoulders but did not reach his face.
Zou Ming's voice reached Ye Zhou's ears: "How long are you going to hide from me?"
There was no emotion in his voice, as if he was just asking what to eat for lunch, without any questioning or pressure.
Ye Zhou stopped where he was and turned around after a moment. He smiled at Zou Ming and said, "I'm not hiding from you, but I think sometimes getting too close is not necessarily a good thing."
From his angle, he could see Zou Ming's face, but because of the backlight, Zou Ming's face was not clear.
They all had prostheses on their faces. Ye Zhou tilted his head slightly and turned around again. This time he didn't wait for Zou Ming to speak, but raised his legs and left the lounge.
After Ye Zhou left, the door of the lounge was blown by the wind and slowly closed with a "click" sound.
After quickly walking out of the supermarket, Ye Zhou stood at the bottom of the stairs and took a deep breath. The fresh air slowly calmed Ye Zhou's mood.
He didn't really want to face Zou Ming. To be more precise, he didn't really want to face Zou Ming alone in a confined space.
After discovering that Zou Ming's feelings for him went beyond the normal range, Ye Zhou was shocked at first, then felt it was ridiculous, and finally tried to avoid it. But the supermarket was only so big after all, and he couldn't avoid it. What's more, he didn't want the atmosphere in the supermarket to become weird and awkward because of him and Zou Ming.
So he just avoided being alone with Zou Ming.
When there are other people around, Ye Zhou will not deliberately avoid conversations and physical contact with Zou Ming.
Ye Zhou rubbed his temples and looked at the mountains in the distance.
I didn’t expect that he would have luck in love, and I didn’t expect that his luck in love was with a man.
But his feeling towards Zou Ming was more embarrassment than disgust.
Whenever he was alone with Zou Ming, he would feel uncomfortable and even dared not look into Zou Ming's eyes.
Ye Zhou let out a long sigh.
He felt that Zou Ming could like him, but just an ordinary liking would be enough. Like him, he also liked Zou Ming very much.
But there is really no need to like it to this extent.
"Fairy, why are you here?" Cao'er, who was drying clothes not far away, trotted over.
She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of cropped jeans. She looked no different from the girls in the same dimension as Ye Zhou, except that she was exposed when she opened her mouth.
"My god, you wanted to eat the ice jelly last time, and my mother found it!" Cao'er came over to take credit, "I've just made a pot of ice powder seeds, and I've frozen them and made jam. They're all good fruits."
Cao'er stopped and saw Ye Zhou's expression. She was stunned for a moment, looked around, and asked cautiously: "Fairy, who offended you? I'll take care of him!"
Ye Zhou smiled and waved to Cao'er. Cao'er walked over and Ye Zhou asked, "What did A Pu and his friends take away the most this time?"
Cao Er immediately replied, "It's still those glass jewelry. They also bought some of the jade brands that Lin You sent before. But I'm keeping an eye on them. The ones they gave them were all inferior. They said the patterns were beautiful and looked like something from the East. Things from the East are valuable now."
Ye Zhou nodded.
Cao'er added: "I told them that supermarkets also sell tea and porcelain."
Ye Zhou became slightly interested. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "What did they say?"
Cao Er said seriously, "I think it was A Pu who made the decision. He shook his head first, and then the others said they didn't want these two things."
Ye Zhou nodded and asked, "Why do you think they don't want it?"
Cao'er had dealt with Stan and the others before. She looked at Ye Zhou's face carefully and found that Ye Zhou was smiling, obviously encouraging her to continue.
Cao Er cleared his throat and said with his head down, "They are children of farmers. They have no connections and no military power. If they go out and stick together, maybe they can protect the things they have now. But for tea and porcelain, even big merchants like Stan are willing to pay a high price for them. If they take them out, I'm afraid they can't sell them, let alone come back alive."
"Apu chooses the best and easiest to sell from what they can protect."
The smile on Ye Zhou's face deepened: "Now you can understand it, good."
Cao Er was a little shy: "If you learn from Brother Zou and Sister Chen, no matter how stupid you are, you can always learn something."
"Next time Stan comes, you should go." Ye Zhou, "You have to be able to use what you have learned."
Cao'er was very excited: "Yes!"
Ye Zhou looked towards the clothesline and said, "Go get busy."
Cao'er couldn't suppress her emotions and ran back laughing.
Ye Zhou withdrew his gaze.
·
Cao'er hung the clothes up and walked into the supermarket with the empty laundry basket. When she passed the lounge, she saw Zou Ming coming out. Cao'er stopped and greeted Zou Ming: "Brother Zou, the immortal is outside, are you going out?"
Zou Ming shook his head slightly. Cao'er was used to Zou Ming's silence and didn't think there was anything wrong. She continued, "The immortal was alone outside just now. I'm afraid he was worried about A Pu and the others going out. Immortals are immortals. They are always concerned about mortals."
Zou Ming lowered his eyes, and when he opened his mouth his voice was a little hoarse: "What did he say?"
Cao Er shook her head: "He didn't say anything, he just tested me and praised me!"
She couldn't wait to share her feelings with Zou Ming: "They praised me and said I could understand. I don't know how I understood, but I just understood. Brother Zou, do you think I am quite smart? It's just that before..."
She didn't need to be smart before. In the Daliang Dynasty, all she needed to do was to be diligent, hardworking and able to give birth to children. What vision and wisdom did she need?
Cao'er touched the back of her head, unwilling to talk about the past. She smiled and asked, "Brother Zou, where are you going now?"
Zou Ming didn't say anything, Cao'er said to herself: "It's strange, I saw you before, always with the immortal, but now you are often alone."
She asked with concern: "Did you do something to make the immortal angry?"
Zou Ming glanced at her.
Cao'er didn't understand: "Brother Zou, don't be stubborn. He is an immortal. Even if an immortal doesn't say anything, he knows everything in his heart. If you do something wrong, just admit it. The immortal is kind-hearted and will definitely not blame you."
"You can't just keep silent. You have to say what you want to say."
"Right?"
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