The southern urban area of the Kingdom of Solbe is not large. Without the oppression of the aristocracy, most of the residents in the town now live a self-sufficient life.
Although we can't say we are very rich, as long as we work hard, we will never starve to death, and there is some hope in life.
Under the small peasant economy model, it is impossible to say that the southern region of the Kingdom of Solbe can be prosperous.
However, the atmosphere of rural life can still infect people's hearts. In today's world, it is already considered good for people to have such a life.
After leaving the church, Jiguo Yuanyi led his two children through the streets again. He didn't have any great feelings about the current situation of the southern part of the Solbe Kingdom.
Because in the New World, there are many places like this.
Except for those cities that are plagued by pirates, most islands with indigenous people have such harmonious scenes.
Passing through the southern block, Tsugumi Yoshiichi and his two children walked towards the north.
The Kingdom of Solbe is not large in area, and there are several main roads between the north and the south.
It only took Tsugikuni Yoshiichi and his team about two hours to travel from south to north.
It is said to be a kingdom, but in fact, in Yunyi's opinion, it is just a small urban area at best.
Compared with the southern urban area, the degree of urbanization in the north of the Kingdom of Solbe is obviously much higher.
Unlike the buildings in the southern area, most of the houses in the northern city are built of stone and cement, which is very different from the rammed earth and wooden houses in the south.
Even the roads are paved with stone slabs, clean and tidy.
Not only were people on the street dressed in cleaner and more stylish clothes, but the shops on both sides of the road were also open, and there were customers selecting goods inside several of the shops.
The business environment looks pretty good.
If the south of the Kingdom of Solbe is a rural area, then the north can be considered a true urban area.
Irene, who had originally lost interest and was clamoring to go back to the boat, discovered something new and interesting. She broke free from Yunyi's hand and hurried to the shops on the street.
People were coming and going on the road, busy with their own things, and Ji Guoyuan and his group did not attract much attention.
"Although there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor in the north and south, the people's living conditions are prosperous."
"Without the so-called ruling class, the impact on people's lives doesn't seem to be that great."
Jiguo Yuanyi observed carefully and thought so in his heart.
"Brother Jiguo!"
"Come on! Come on!"
"Pay up, I want this!"
At this moment, in front of a shop not far away, Irene waved frantically at Ji Guoyuan.
Hearing the call, a look of helplessness appeared on Yunyi's face.
This kid Irene is curious about everything. After leaving Dressrosa, no matter what island the warship docks at, this kid always buys a lot of things.
His curiosity seemed to never run out.
Holding Robin's hand, Ji Guoyuan walked to the shop where Irene was staying. When he took a look at the thing in Irene's hand, he found that it was a small handicraft woven with leaves.
Judging from its appearance, it should be a bird.
The shop owner was a girl who was sitting behind the counter. Her body was shaking slightly, her head was lowered, and her golden bangs were hanging down, so her face could not be seen clearly.
"Boss, how much is this?"
Yunyi walked to Irene's side, rubbed her head with his hand, and asked towards the counter.
Only then did the girl behind the counter rub her eyes, slowly raise her head, and brush her long hair back to her ears with both hands, revealing her delicate face. She forced a smile, looked at the product in Irene's hand, and replied:
"100 Baileys."
Ji Guoyuan looked up and found that the store manager was very young, about sixteen or seventeen years old. There were traces of tears on her pretty face, and her eyes were glistening.
It looked like she was crying just now.
"One hundred Baileys?"
Jiguo Yuanyi looked at the tearful blonde girl, confirmed it, and reached into his arms to take out his wallet.
When the young shopkeeper heard what Jiguo Yuanyi said, he thought that Jiguo Yuanyi felt that the goods were too expensive, so he quickly said:
"It can be cheaper."
"50 Baileys is also fine."
The female owner sounded anxious, as if she was afraid that the customer would leave because the items were too expensive.
“Ohhh!”
"Sister, you are so kind!"
"Thank you!"
Hearing the owner's initiative to lower the price, Irene immediately exclaimed with joy and smiled widely.
Yunyi took out two coins from his wallet, placed them on the counter, and said:
"I have two children here, so I'll buy two."
"Those straw weavings should all be the same price, right?"
Ji Guoyuan pointed to a bamboo basket not far away. In addition to the same bird-shaped straw weavings as the one in Irene's hand, there were many other types, all of similar size.
"Um."
"The prices are all the same over there, so you can pick whatever you want."
As she spoke, the blonde girl hurried out of the counter and came to the display case. She picked up two straw braids, bent down slightly, and asked Robin:
"What do you want, little girl?"
“Is this dog cute?”
The owner rubbed his cheek and asked Robin enthusiastically.
Seeing the other party's enthusiasm, Robin subconsciously took a half step back and looked at Jigoku Yoriichi helplessly. At this time, Yoriichi also came behind Robin, squatted down, gently patted Robin on the back, and said softly:
"Pick one you like."
"It would be fun to put it in the room, wouldn't it?"
Hearing Yunyi's words, Robin stretched out her hand, but she did not take the dog handed by the blonde girl. Instead, she grabbed the other hand and said:
"I want the cat's straw ready."
Hearing Robin's words, the blonde girl immediately placed the cat's straw gently in Robin's hands, and her smile became brighter.
"Big sister, were you crying just now?"
"Why are you crying?"
At this moment, Irene, who was playing with a bird-shaped straw weave in her hand, suddenly asked. The blonde girl turned around, and the smile on her face froze.
She seemed to have thought of something bad, her mouth pursed, and her eyes became tearful again.
Irene raised her head and was about to say something when she suddenly noticed two young men walking in from outside the door.
Both men were wearing black uniforms, with long sticks on their waists and round hats on their heads.
The older young man was estimated to be in his early thirties, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square face, and a little stubble on his chin, giving him a cool and handsome look.
The younger one, who was only about twenty years old, had fair and delicate skin. When he walked into the shop, his eyes were evasive. He secretly glanced at Ji Guoyuan and others, and then lowered his eyebrows and looked at the blonde girl.
Both young men were dressed as law enforcers.
After entering the store, the bearded young man walked around to the back of the counter, opened the drawer skillfully, and began to rummage through it.
The fair-skinned young man slowly walked up to the blonde girl, bowed slightly, and greeted her:
"Miss Bebes."
"Long time no see."
The young man stuttered when he spoke, and his face turned red even though he was just saying hello.
However, the lady boss, whom he called Beth, had no intention of paying any attention to the young man. She looked past him and at the bearded young man who was rummaging behind the counter, and said timidly:
"My business has been bad these days and I haven't made much money."
While Beth was talking, the bearded young man had already rummaged through the boxes and drawers to find all the money. He grabbed some coins in one hand and a few small-denomination banknotes in the other. He curled his lips and said unhappily:
"Hello!"
"Beth."
"And all you have for all this time is these few thousand Baileys?"
"Are you looking down on our Sowerby Police Station?"
"Do you know who is protecting you vendors from doing business?"
"If you can't pay, we won't be able to help you if those guys come again next time!"
"After all, the brothers in the police station need to eat and drink, and we can only provide protection to those vendors who pay us!"
The bearded young man sat on the bench behind the counter, crossed his legs, then reached into his arms, took out a pack of cigarettes, took out one and put it between his lips, then waved his hand to his companion.
"Brother Fulishi, please don't say that."
"After Uncle Berg passed away, Miss Beth had no relatives left and was left alone."
"She's already working very hard to make money."
"Our police station should be more considerate of people like Miss Beth."
The handsome young man didn't even need Befuli to call him. When Befuli took out a cigarette, he hurried to his side, took out a lighter and lit it for him.
"hiss--"
After taking a light puff of his cigarette, Bei Fuli looked at the pale-faced young man with an embarrassed expression, and said helplessly:
"Byer, I'm not unaware of Miss Beth's difficulties."
"But I have no choice!"
"The police station needs to recruit brothers to maintain public order. Ever since the revolutionary army came, where is the government in the Solbe Kingdom?"
“Where will we get paid?”
"I established the Sowerby Police Station to maintain the safety and security of North Town. I just wanted to do something for everyone."
"The people understand us, give us money, and ask us to help maintain order in Beizhen."
"Tell me, if we provide protection to those vendors who don't pay, will the other investors be unhappy? Will they also stop funding us?"
"If this happens, what will our brothers eat and drink? Without us, who will protect these people?"
Bevley finished his speech with a righteous air, as if to say, "This city can't function without me."
Hearing what Beifuli said, Bayer also smiled, bowed, and said repeatedly:
"Brother Bei Fuli is right."
After complimenting her, Bayer turned around and walked to Beth's side, saying helplessly, "Miss Beth, there's really nothing I can do."
"You've been in arrears for over two months."
“.”
"But don't worry, Miss Beth, I will help you!"
Bayer said this, puffing out his chest and patting it to make a promise.
At this moment, Bei Fuli poked his head out, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said with a smile:
"Beth!"
"How about this, you sell the shop and stop doing business."
"Just keep doing business and no one will bother you."
"As for life?"
"Why don't you just stay with Bayer? If you stay at his house, Bayer probably won't refuse."
The second shop is divided into two floors. The lower floor is a shop, and the upper floor is a residence. The floor area is about 60 square meters, which is not small.
While listening to these people talking, Yuichiro Tsugikoshi also noticed that there was another staircase at the back of the store, which led to the second floor.
"Hehehe"
"How can this be convenient?"
"No way"
"Miss Beth, I don't mean anything else. If you need anything, you can come and stay with me anytime."
"My place is big and has plenty of room."
Bayer first waved his hand as if to refuse, then turned his head and said this to Beth.
These two simple sentences seemed to have helped Beth make a decision.
"Beth, you can't sell this straw weaving."
"Look, after all this time, it's just this little money."
“It’s simply impossible to afford the expenses of running a shop.”
"Take my advice and sell the shop."
"By the way, I have a friend who is thinking of buying a shop."
"I told him about you. If you're willing, he's willing to pay 100,000 Baileys for you."
"You know, your shop isn't doing well at all, and Uncle Berg died at home."
"It's great that someone is willing to buy it. You have to seize the opportunity and think carefully."
"With 100,000 Baileys, if you find a man like Baier, you won't have to worry about your life for the rest of your life."
Seeing Beth lower her head and remain silent, Bei Fuli continued with a smile. Meanwhile, Bayer also stole a glance at Beth, observing the expression on her face.
Young Beth's mother died early, and her father raised her with great difficulty.
Her father was a carpenter. After working hard for half his life, he finally bought a small home like this in the North District and opened a carpentry shop, doing work for others. At the same time, he made small furniture and sold it in his spare time.
Her family was not considered wealthy in the Kingdom of Solbe, but compared to those in the South District, it was better off.
The father and daughter lived a decent life, and Beth, who had been spoiled by her father since childhood, had always lived under her father's protection. She had grown up without being exposed to any problems or coming into contact with any people.
However, just over two months ago, her father suddenly fell ill and died.
Without a source of income, Beth began to face the bittersweetness of life, and her first lesson in life was "protection money."
After the revolutionary army left the Kingdom of Solbe, the people of this country began to rebuild order.
The "historical legacy" of the North-South division still exists.
In the North District, the two largest forces at present are the "Solby Provisional Government" and the Black Rose.
The Solby Police Station mentioned by Befuli and Bair belongs to the so-called Solby Interim Government, which is considered the current "official agency" of this country.
"One hundred thousand Baileys?"
“So cheap?”
Beth couldn't help but sigh when she heard that her family's shop could only be sold for 100,000 Baileys. Although she was no longer under her father's wing, she knew that her father had spent 150,000 Baileys when he bought the shop.
This was when she was a child. So many years have passed, and the prices in the shops here are no longer the same as before.
"It's not cheap anymore! It's already very high!"
"after all."
"Haha, huh?"
Seeing that Beth was really willing to give in, Bei Fuli's eyes suddenly lit up and he quickly spoke. Although he didn't say it clearly, Beth understood what he meant.
It was just that the shop was not as prosperous as before and his father died at home.
This was not the first time the other party had said the same thing. She had just been complaining about the shortcomings of her shop before, but only today did she tell her that someone wanted to buy it.
Beth lowered her head slightly, her body trembling slightly. When she thought about how she couldn't even support herself and had to rely on selling her father's shop to make a living, Beth felt wronged and missed the life when her father was still alive.
"Where did you two bastards come from?"
"This shop doesn't have any business at all, why should I pay?"
“Does the police department have the right to collect money from the public?”
“Isn’t this the tax department’s job?”
"Furthermore, hasn't anyone taught you that commercial taxes should be collected only when the people can ensure their own livelihoods?"
Just then, Irene tilted her head and asked with a puzzled look.
He had studied at the Naval Academy in Dressrosa, and only knew some common knowledge about Dressrosa's system.
"laugh-"
"Erin, this isn't Dressrosa. Every place is different."
"Although the systems in different places are different, I know that these two guys are really bastards."
Robin grabbed the cat's straw with one hand, half of his body hidden behind Tsugikuni Yoriichi, and let out a light laugh, then stuck his head out and spoke.
The conversation between the two children suddenly plunged the shop into silence.
"Hmm?"
It was not until this time that Befuli and Bayer looked at Jigoku Yoshiichi and the others and looked at them intently.
(End of this chapter)
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