Chapter 013 Bogheria Market
This free market is far more prosperous and lively than Bai Su had imagined.
The Boqueria Market is located in the maze-like narrow alleys. Fresh ingredients and colorful fabrics are spread out casually, and spices and handicrafts fill people's minds. Here you can buy the most satisfactory goods at the most affordable prices.
The air was filled with the fishy smell of seafood, the pungent aroma of spices, the tempting taste of cooked meat and a faint aroma of plants.
As the largest free market in Boeing Town and even the entire Wink Empire, the Bogheria Market is somewhat like a temple fair or an open-air adventure.
Bai Su had never seen so many colors crowded together. All kinds of goods were piled on the oilcloth as if they were worthless, forming a stall. Many people stopped in front of each stall, and from time to time, children would playfully chase each other around a corner.
Bai Su clung close to Keos, fearing that he would be separated by the bustling crowd.
"It's fantastic here!" he exclaimed.
"Of course." Keos smiled, "Follow me closely, and be careful not to get bumped."
The centaur's strong arms pulled the black-haired young man in front of him to prevent him from being hit by a passing carriage.
The businessman driving the car greeted the two men apologetically, then carefully drove the horse forward. Bai Su looked at the neighing pony and tilted his head in confusion.
He originally thought that since there were fantasy creatures like centaurs in this world, all horses should look like centaurs, but why were there ordinary horses?
Where is the boundary between intelligent life and ordinary animals and livestock?
Bai Su's mind was full of questions, and soon, he felt as if someone was covering his head with a hand.
He looked up—
The gray-haired centaur smiled lightly, ruffled Bai Su's hair, and asked him, "What are you thinking about?"
The black-haired young man answered honestly, "I was thinking about the horse just now."
Keos's smile remained unchanged. "I'm wondering what the difference is between a centaur and a normal horse?"
"Yeah." Bai Su nodded, as if he felt that this was a bit rude, so he quickly added, "I'm sorry, Keos, I didn't mean to offend you."
The tall and handsome Centaur guard captain escorted the black-haired young man through the crowded crowd and arrived in front of a wishing fountain. He bought two glasses of freshly squeezed juice from a nearby beverage shop, handed one to the young man, ruffled his fluffy black hair once again, and said calmly:
"It's okay, many people have this idea."
"Strictly speaking, centaurs are also a kind of orcs, but we have a stable body shape."
"Do you know why the Empire is so wary of orcs? Two hundred years ago, or even more, humans, orcs, and some long-lived races like sirens and elves—all intelligent life forms—shared the entire continent. But suddenly, one day, people discovered that a curse had spread among the orcs—except for the centaurs and Pan (goat-headed men), two races with stable bodies, all other orcs began to degenerate to varying degrees."
"When hunting, people can't tell whether it's an ordinary buffalo or a buffalo-orc; when attacked, they don't know whether it's an ordinary tiger or a tiger-orc that has lost its mind and can never transform into a human. The same is true for orcs: they can't tell whether the food they encounter in the forest is from their own people, nor can they stop their relatives and friends from degenerating into mindless beasts. Thus, the contradiction of survival is imminent."
"After a long war, the Wenk Empire seized control of the continent. All intelligent life forms other than humans, following divine oracle, retreated into the deep sea or into the dark forests of the western continent."
The huge amount of information made Bai Su silent for a long time, until the frost on the wall of the cold drink cup in his hand melted into water and flowed down his arm into his sleeves. The young man, who was startled by the cold, suddenly came to his senses.
He murmured, "How cruel."
If a sentient being were to degenerate into a mere beast, with no memory of its human past, how would its relatives cope? Could they truly be treated as ordinary animals? Could they simply watch as herbivores were devoured by humans or other orcs?
What's more, what should we do when those large beasts lose their minds and attack our own people?
Bai Su thought about it and suddenly felt that this was an unsolvable proposition, but the humans and orcs who had truly experienced this great change had suffered far more damage than he had imagined.
Bai Su took a sip of iced tomato juice, and the sweet and sour refreshing taste made him feel much better.
He smiled wryly and said to Keos, "I originally thought it was just some animal nature or lifestyle issue, but I didn't expect it to be so serious."
Keos expressed his understanding. "You've always lived in human society. The royal family of the Wenk Empire is very upright and wise. Peace has lasted on the continent for two hundred years. Of course, you think life is beautiful."
"But in the Dark Forest, the orcs never stopped fighting among themselves. Frequent wars broke out between the tribes, and under the guidance of the god Pan, the political struggles within the tribes were also fierce."
"Ten years ago, the Centaur King led the Centaur tribe to reach a peace and friendship treaty with the Wenk Empire. As a result, we can share the sunshine and rain on the same land."
As he said this, Keos clinked the carrot juice in his hand with the Bai Su glass.
"Respect peace."
"Respect peace."
The two smiled at each other.
At this time, several children ran past the wishing fountain. The younger one almost fell into the fountain. Bai Su quickly caught him.
The child smiled widely and thanked Bai Su, then quickly ran away with his companions.
The clear spring water splashed on Bai Su. He shook his head nonchalantly, thought for a moment, and then took out the enchanted 18K rose gold cake from his collar. The cake was a little bigger than before and had been enchanted.
"If this is destined, I believe it will be resolved soon," he said.
Keos asked in confusion, "What did you say? You mean the food crisis?" He looked at the golden cake in Bai Su's hand and agreed, "I believe your hybrid rice can help everyone get through this crisis smoothly."
"No, not just food, I mean everything." Bai Su mumbled. He weighed the gold cake in his hand and said silently in his heart, Garcia, my good friend, I already know the meaning of my coming here. Do you know about yourself?
Somehow, Bai Su felt that Garcia would be able to solve the problem of orcs' degeneration.
He took out a copper coin from his purse, put it on top of the gold cake, put his hands together, closed his eyes and prayed devoutly: "I hope for world peace."
Then he deftly flicked the coin with his fingers into the hand of the small angel statue in the center of the wishing fountain.
"Hello, I hit the mark!" the young man cheered happily. He said to the stunned Keos, "What? Did you think I would throw my precious golden cake into the wishing well? No way!"
His face was being kissed by the afternoon sun, and his eyes seemed to be sparkling with stars that only appear at night.
Keos felt that no matter how many times, he would be moved by the young man's smile.
The centaur also smiled and said, "Now that you've made your wish, Mr. Farmer, it's time to get down to business. What are you going to buy at the free market?"
…
Under the guidance of Keos, Bai Su successfully hired twenty workers to work temporarily on his farm.
The remuneration he offered was very generous: forty copper coins per person per day, working from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon, with lunch included.
The prerequisite is that these temporary workers must have basic planting knowledge and obey orders.
"Don't worry, Mr. Landlord. We've all farmed before." The middle-aged man in the lead rubbed his palms, which were as big as a palm-leaf fan, and smiled naively. "We will definitely follow your instructions and cultivate these fifty acres of land."
"Okay, then let's meet at the gate of my farm at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning..."
"...Wait!" Bai Su suddenly felt something was wrong while speaking, "What did you just call me?"
"Landlord." The middle-aged man repeated honestly.
Bai Su was very upset: "Don't call me that, just call me Bai Su."
"Okay, Master Bai Su."
“…”
Finally, at Bai Su's strong request, the group of temporary workers agreed to call him Mr. or farmer.
Bai Su was very tired. His ancestors for generations were all farmers. When he was a child, his father always told him stories about beating landlords and dividing land. The young Bai Su hated the shameless landlords who exploited the working people in the stories.
It would be fine if you could travel through time and space and become a big farmer with fifty acres of land, and get the super double buff of Landlord, but what would it matter if you really became what others called a "landlord"?
It's too unlucky!
The peasant kids couldn't bear to hear this.
Bai Su thinks that the current situation is good enough, and he defines himself as a self-employed person.
"It's just that self-employed people can't buy social security here." Bai Su sighed, "Your civil service system is still better, with paid leave. Keos, I envy you so much!"
Keos didn't know what self-employed people, social security and civil servants were.
But he understood the paid leave.
Keos glanced at Bai Su, who had thin arms and legs, and disapproved, "The guard team also recruits human members, but your physical fitness may not pass the assessment."
Bai Su: “…”
Bai Su: "I don't really want to be a guard."
In fact, Bai Su is 1.84 meters tall, which is very tall and handsome among southerners. He has been doing farm work all year round and has a beautiful but not exaggerated body of strong muscles. Anyone who sees him will praise him as a sunny and cheerful boy.
But in the Western fantasy world, compared with this group of white locals, Bai Su seems a little petite.
Especially in front of a centaur that is nearly three meters tall.
He glanced at the exceptionally tall and strong Centaur guard captain beside him and said bitterly:
"snort!"
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