The sun fell on Ye Zhou's body as he walked on the path between the mountains and forests. Fortunately, the temperature was not high and he did not feel very hot.
Ye Zhou did not plan to show up in front of the slaves during the day - they thought he was the Moon God, and they had already found an identity and a character for him, so he would continue to act according to this character.
It is still morning and too far from night. After discussing with Zou Ming and others, Ye Zhou decided to go down the mountain to take a look.
There is a village at the foot of the mountain.
Perhaps it was because this place was too far away from the country's administrative center. Looking from the mountain, there were only scattered houses on the vast land, and the largest building complex was just two streets. Ye Zhou looked over and didn't even see anyone doing business.
The houses are all wooden dwellings, but they have nothing to do with the pastoral cottages that modern people imagine.
Each wooden house was more rudimentary than the last. Ye Zhou looked over with a telescope and saw leaky wooden boards and roofs that could not keep out rain. It looked as if these wooden houses had been persecuted by natural disasters over and over again, making people worry whether they were really habitable.
Since their appearance could not integrate into the indigenous group, even after Ye Zhou went down the mountain, he could only observe them from a distance.
There were scattered farmers working in the fields. There were large tracts of farmland, but manpower was limited, there were no cows or mules, and people could only use the most primitive methods to cultivate the land.
This place is even poorer than the Daliang Dynasty.
The people of Daliang Dynasty were displaced because of natural disasters. If there had been no natural disasters, they would have been better off than the people here in terms of material conditions.
Even though Cao'er's family was so poor and the taxes and rents were so high, they could still buy a red hairband.
People here don’t even have a place to buy hair ties.
The red headband is not as simple as a rope. It means people have a pursuit of beauty besides food and clothing, and it can be bought and sold freely. Although it is a very small business, a market has been formed among the people.
But here, it obviously doesn't look like there is a market.
But the land before us is vast and sparsely populated. Without sufficient manpower, the benefits that the land can bring to people are limited.
You can't harvest the land just by sowing seeds; it needs to be plowed, fertilized and pest-killed.
If there is drought or flood this year and there is no good harvest, people will starve to death next year.
Farmers' livelihood depends on the weather, and their blood, tears and sweat are all condensed in these four words.
Ye Zhou could see ragged farmers working in the fields, and the children were tied to a tree with straw ropes. Ye Zhou could even see the children reaching out to grab the insects crawling past them and eating them, and they would just put them into their mouths without their parents even noticing.
When he saw the child picking up a stone, he was worried that the child might swallow it!
Fortunately, the child just licked the stone near his mouth and did not put it in his mouth.
Ye Zhou: “…”
No wonder there are so few people. The survival rate of children is too low. Those who can survive are considered God’s chosen ones.
"It's too poor here." Ye Zhou sighed.
Poor both materially and spiritually.
Ye Zhou was a little curious: "I wonder how their lord is doing?"
The common people in the territory are so poor, the lord shouldn’t be very rich either, right?
Chen Shu smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true. I've been to a plane before where the lords wore gold and silver, but the common people in the territory were so poor that they couldn't even afford clothes. They walked on the streets almost naked."
Ye Zhou: "Is there no such a particularly wealthy plane?"
Chen Shu thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I have been to places where technology is more advanced than my own plane. It's just that business is difficult and it's not easy to make money. They have everything you have, and it's better than yours, unless you have something that they don't."
“But the value of things that don’t have value is also unstable.”
"It's easier to make money in poor planes because the gap between the rich and the poor is huge. Things that seem cheap to you are priceless to them. Although it's dangerous, the bosses are still willing to take the risk."
Chen Shu smiled and said, "Many bosses are willing to continue doing business in the plane after they can return to their original plane, and rarely return to their original plane."
Ye Zhou nodded: "I understand."
Not only can you travel through dimensions without getting old or dying, but you can also continuously accumulate capital and make a profit from the price difference. Once you start, it's very difficult to stop.
If it were Ye Zhou himself, he would probably continue to do business in this plane if he returned to it.
It doesn't matter where the business is done, as long as he can go home to see his parents occasionally.
From this perspective, it is a good thing for businessmen to engage in plane transactions. Not only can they make a lot of money if they are bold, but they can also see different scenery, understand different cultures, and learn more, just like an adventure story.
The only thing that makes people hesitate is the degree of danger.
But if the system unlocks something like a protective shield later, the danger will be close to zero, and there will be no need to hesitate.
They slowly approached the street.
This is a plain, and after coming down the mountain, there is no high place to observe. They can only stay in the woods behind the farmland and look at the people on the street.
There are actually not many people on the street. Most of them are working in the fields. They don't grow vegetables at all, they only grow crops.
Grain can fill the stomach, and as for side dishes, wild vegetables are enough, and there is no need to spend time and energy growing vegetables.
Ye Zhou looked around and didn't feel that this place looked like a town - it was not even as big as his smallest village.
"I originally thought I could find a hotel and try to see if I could stay there." Ye Zhou whispered to Zou Ming, "Now it seems that I really can only live in a tent."
Zou Ming: "I'll find a way."
As for what the method was, Zou Ming did not say.
The three of them could only stay in the woods and wait for the opportunity. Their meals were simple, and they brought with them only dry food such as compressed biscuits, dried meat and dried tofu, which were convenient and did not take up space. They did bring a lot of condiments, such as Lao Gan Ma.
There is bread, but not much, and it is the kind that comes with bread, not soft, so it doesn't waste much space.
Ye Zhou recalled the scene when Cao'er and her daughter ate bread for the first time.
It seems as if each piece of bread is some delicious delicacy.
For the people of this land, black bread is a delicacy.
The child in the distance stopped eating the bugs. He seemed tired and lay on the ground to sleep.
His parents would occasionally look up at him, make sure he had not broken free from the ropes and crawled away, and then continue working.
The freemen who did not work in the fields worked on the streets, repairing holes in the wooden roofs of their homes, sweating profusely in the sun.
It is clearly a pastoral scene, but it does not feel vibrant.
·
Ira was eating. He had been eating since he woke up. He vomited several times but still continued eating.
He felt like he had eaten maybe a cartload of brown bread, but he didn't feel full.
The slave's stomach began to ache, but he still kept stuffing food into his mouth.
"The stewards are here!" The slave sitting at the door of the warehouse put down the bread, stood up excitedly with fear on his face, and shouted, "The stewards are here!"
The slaves who were originally sitting in the warehouse got up, took all the black bread around them into their arms, and then continued to crowd out. Ira was knocked down twice, but each time he managed to reach out his hands to support the ground before landing and stood up quickly.
After the slaves had filled their stomachs, they finally became afraid.
They ate so much bread, so much! If they were caught by the stewards, they would surely be beaten to death!
Run away!
With so many of them, they can always find a place to survive, right?
As long as they were not caught, they would ask for nothing more, even if they continued to be slaves.
However, Carl, who had just arrived here, did not pay attention to the slaves. He did not even look at the warehouse, but first asked where the Moon Goddess came out last night.
"The Moon Goddess flew up from the cliff!" The witch doctor walked to Carl. He always subconsciously wanted to curry favor with the other party, but he always held back at the last moment.
"He even called the moon here," said the medicine man.
Carl retorted: "I saw the moon last night too, and it was still in the sky."
The witch doctor then added: "That is the sister of the moon."
Witch Doctor: "It is written in the myth that there were six moons in the sky in the past."
This explanation seemed to make sense, and Carl nodded without saying anything else.
Carl walked to the place the witch doctor pointed to - under a big tree on the cliff. This tree did seem a little extraordinary.
It is very tall, and it seems normal for a tree to be tall, but there is only this one big tree nearby, and there are only small trees around it.
So it’s normal for the Moon Goddess to choose this.
Karl didn't dare to stand where the Moon Goddess had stood. Although he didn't know whether the Moon Goddess was real or fake, it was always better to be careful.
"What is that?" Carl saw something reflecting light in the soil.
But he himself didn't want to dig, so he turned and looked at the manager behind him.
The manager understood what he meant and walked over even though he was reluctant. He dug up the map with his bare hands and took out the things underneath.
When the dirt was cleared off this thing and its true appearance was revealed in the sunlight, everyone was stunned.
They even forgot to breathe, their souls floated out of their bodies, and they forgot to think and speak.
The steward held the thing in his hands, not daring to move.
In his hand is a butterfly.
But it is not the usual butterfly - its wings are spread, colorful but without a base color, the transparent wings are glowing with colorful light, the wing patterns have golden lines, and its antennae are exceptionally delicate, as if it will fly up at the next moment.
It was so beautiful that it took their breath away.
"God, miracle..." Carl murmured, "This is a miracle!"
This butterfly must have been punished by the Moon Goddess, turning it into this state.
But it was so beautiful that Carl's eyes flashed with greed, but he finally said, "Put it away, I'll take it back and give it to the lord.
The other managers were silent; they were so frightened that they even forgot how to speak.
Karl said excitedly: "The Moon Goddess has arrived!"
"Will the Moon Goddess come tonight?" Carl grabbed the witch doctor's arm tightly.
His eyes were fanatical and expectant, as if he was not the one who had just ignored the witch doctor and did not take him seriously.
The witch doctor was stunned for two seconds, and then he quickly became proud: "The Moon God said that he would come."
"Don't touch it with that cloth!" Carl suddenly shouted at the steward who was about to put the butterfly away.
The steward was so frightened that his hands shook and the butterfly fell from his hands.
Time seemed to stand still, and the butterfly landed on the stone at the steward's feet.
The crisp sound rang in everyone's ears like a bolt from the blue.
The butterfly broke into pieces, like a fragile piece of ice.
"It's broken..." someone whispered.
Karl had already rushed to the steward who had made the mistake. His face was ferocious, with his facial features almost pressed together. He slapped the steward hard. The steward was old, so he was knocked to the ground with just one slap.
"Do you know what you did?!" Carl yelled at him, "I will tell the Lord about this. You are not worthy of being a steward, let alone a free man! You! And your parents and children should all be slaves!"
The butler fell to the ground with a panicked expression. He crawled to Karl's feet and reached out to pull Karl's trouser legs. He begged while crying: "I was wrong, it's my fault, Lord Karl, don't do this, don't do this to me!"
"I have been working for the Lord. I can sacrifice my life for him. Please don't let me become a slave, Lord Karl!"
Karl just kicked him and told him to stay away from him.
Carl walked over, took out the handkerchief he carried with him, and wrapped up the "remains" of the butterfly.
"I have to go see the Lord now." Karl didn't even bother to look at his nephew. "You keep an eye on him."
He pointed at the steward who was crawling towards him.
The other managers didn't dare to plead for mercy. They could only watch Carl leave with the witch doctor.
"I didn't mean to do it... I didn't mean to do it..." The butler who smashed the butterfly lay on the ground, repeating the same sentence over and over again.
He looked at the others as if for help: "You all heard it, right? It was Carl. Carl yelled at me and that’s why I lost my grip."
"Right? You all heard it, right?!"
But no one answered him.
Those who were on good terms with him even turned their heads away and stopped looking at him.
Som was taking care of Hill in the cabin and waiting for Carl to come in, but Carl never came.
Hill is not dead yet. It is not known whether he is lucky or the medicine brought by the witch doctor is really effective. His condition has not changed, but it has not gotten better either. However, he is just unconscious and unconscious.
Som was a little anxious. He went to the door several times to look, only to see Carl leaving.
He couldn't believe it - Carl abandoned his nephew?!
They are blood relatives!
Som turned his head to look at Hill who was lying unconscious on the bed, and inexplicably felt a sense of sadness.
In fact, he didn't like Hill. Hill was arrogant and cruel, and often beat and scolded his companion.
But he was also grateful to Hill. If it weren't for Hill, he might have become a slave long ago.
His family had no money and no status. Even as freemen, they were of the lowest class. They always owed money to the lord and could never pay it back. If Hill hadn't helped him, he would probably be among the slaves, working day and night.
Som walked to the bed and looked down at Hill's pale face.
He hoped Hill would survive.
If not, I hope he dies without pain.
As for himself...
Som covered his face weakly.
He had no choice, perhaps his fate was to become a slave.
·
The broken glass butterfly enjoyed the treatment that it should not have as a modern handicraft. It was placed on the desk and padded with a wool pad that was worth many times more than its value.
The lord didn't even dare to sit down, he just watched from the side. He exclaimed: "It really is God. It was God who turned the butterfly into unmelting ice."
Although it is unmeltable ice, it has so many colors. Except for a powerful god like the Moon God, other gods such as the Wind God and the Water God cannot do it.
Carl whispered, "Maybe it was touched by some animal or person before us, so it broke into pieces like this."
Although he had just threatened the steward and said he would make him a slave, he finally kept the matter secret.
It's not that he is soft-hearted and kind, it's simply because he was there at the time, and if the lord was angry, he wouldn't be able to escape.
The lord finally became curious: "Do you think the Moon God really lives on the moon?"
"Can he take us to the moon too?"
Although he said that the servants and messengers of God are also slaves of God, it is like being the king's male servant, which you cannot do even if you want to.
Carl: "If Lord Moon God can see your sincerity, he will definitely take you away! After all, you are a great and noble person, different from ordinary people."
"I just don't know what Lady Moon God likes." The lord looked at the butterfly and said regretfully, "It would be nice if I could see it in good condition."
Carl was also very sorry.
The master and servant discussed it and decided that since the Moon Goddess was real, they must find a way to let the Moon God see their sincerity.
"What's so great about going to the capital?" The lord snorted coldly, "If you go to the capital, you may not even have land. How many nobles are there in the capital now? You only have one title, and you have to rely on it to make a living."
Some small families are willing to support nobles, even if they are impoverished nobles, because in this way they can claim to be nobles when they go out, which is mutually beneficial for both sides.
As for the nobles, the king would confer titles every year. The good lands had long been occupied by others, and the bad lands - which noble who had nothing to do would be willing to go to a remote place to be a lord? It would be better to stay in the capital and wait to be supported by others.
The lord wanted to go to the royal capital because this land was really barren.
The land is not fertile and not much grain can be grown. The only reason he can still eat meat and drink is because his grandfather, father, and several generations of people have been squandering the money they have saved up for him to squander.
This extravagance simply refers to eating meat at every meal.
Many of the animal skin carpets in the stone house were damaged by insects and have not yet been replaced with new ones.
"Hurry up and ask the butler to see if there is anything else in the warehouse that can be taken out." The lord felt a little uncomfortable. "This place is really too poor."
He doesn't have many valuable things, such as the golden bowl, but the Moon Goddess is definitely not short of gold.
God loves fine wine, but his wine is not really fine.
"Pack up the wine from the wine cellar." The lord looked at Butterfly infatuatedly, "I must let Lord Moon God see how pious I am! Even if I can't go to the moon with Lord Moon God, I must get His reward!"
Although the butterfly was broken, it was still valuable. He thought that if he gave the butterfly to a noble with a higher title, he might be able to exchange it for a better territory.
But he didn't dare to send it now, for fear of being discovered by Lady Moon Goddess.
But if he gets the favor of the Moon Goddess and the god bestows him these treasures, he will be able to obtain benefits that countless people cannot imagine.
Maybe... he can become king!
Thinking of this future, the lord became even more excited: "Quick! See what else will come out!"
The chance to change your destiny comes tonight.
·
Dark clouds obscured the moon and the stars were dim, but there were flickering fires on the hillside. Countless people held torches high, gazing into the horizon, eagerly waiting for the Moon Goddess to descend.
The witch doctor was muttering something, and he had a few feathers of an unknown bird stuck on his head. He was dancing around the fire while muttering something.
But no one thought his behavior was funny, even the lord who was dressed solemnly looked at him seriously.
The lord was wearing the clothes he only wore for important occasions, and the colorful clothes were covered with patterns.
Dyes are not easy to obtain, and brightly colored dyes are even harder to come by, and even cannot be bought with money.
Even if you buy them, clothes are consumables because they will fade after being washed twice, and the faded color is completely unsightly. You can only wear them once, wipe them with a dry cloth, and then put them away carefully.
I won’t wear it as normal clothes until I really can’t wear it anymore.
Ye Zhou, who was not far away, was looking at the lord.
The contrast between the fat white lord and the skinny slaves gathered in the distance was too tragic.
This lord didn't look like a bad guy - he had a big nose, small eyes, and a round face. Although he wasn't good-looking, he looked inexplicably honest, which made people think that he must be an honest man with a good heart.
Ye Zhou asked in a low voice: "Are all the things ready?"
Chen Shu: "I'm ready."
Ye Zhou nodded: "Let's get started."
Zou Ming put down the fireworks not far away, and Chen Shu found a suitable place to hold up the high-intensity flashlight.
Ye Zhou winked at Zou Ming.
Zou Ming lit the fuse of the fireworks——
"The Moon Goddess hasn't come yet." The lord was a little tired of standing, but he didn't dare to sit down until the Moon Goddess came.
Carl said quickly: "My Lord, please do not sit down."
The lord sighed: "I know..."
As soon as he spoke, he was frightened by a loud noise, and at the same time the blue flowers in the sky appeared.
The lord looked up along with everyone else.
Huge blue sparks bloomed in the darkness. They were brilliant and beautiful, lighting up the night sky in an instant and then quickly disappearing.
But soon, the next flower bloomed again - but this one was golden.
It is so beautiful, even more beautiful than a butterfly.
The loud noises continued, but people were no longer afraid. They looked up, staring at the flower with the night as its canvas. It was so big and so dazzling, as if all the haze in the world would dissipate the moment it bloomed.
The lord opened his mouth slightly and didn't even notice a bug flying in. He felt his scalp tingling from head to toe.
The moment the last flower disappeared, a pure white light fell beside the cliff tree.
In the trance-inducing light, a figure stood in the light.
No one could see his figure or his face clearly.
But they all knew that it was not him, it was Him.
He is the most honorable god in the world, the god who will change their destiny.
The lord knelt down decisively with a plop.
He raised his arms and bowed down with the utmost piety.
If possible, he would also like to kiss the toes of God.
The lord's voice trembled: "Lord Moon God, I am your most devout believer!"
Even if it wasn't like this before, it is now.
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