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MTL - Attack Stream of Life-Chapter 128
After some time, green spread silently in this silent land.
Qingchuan unexpectedly heard the sound of birds chirping in the early morning, standing at the window and looking at the sound, I didn't know when a white-headed and black-necked bird settled on the welcoming pine at the door The bird's nest is neatly built, it is a regular circle, and it seems to be padded with a little petal.
It's a very particular family.
Maybe a new member will appear in this luxurious and warm home.
'Well Dragon King'.
Not far from the well, there are two fields opened by Qingchuan, one is planted with wheat, and the other is planted with vegetables such as cabbage, cabbage and carrots. There is a scarecrow on each piece of land, sponsored by the puppet master, and it can really drive away the birds.
It is the paper figurines who work. A piece of paper figurine can work for more than ten hours without stopping. Qingchuan has cut a bamboo basket for the paper figurine.
Between the vegetable garden and the lake is a large meadow, the vigorous grass burrows out of the gap in the meadow, and grows oval, slender, paw-printed leaves, blooming red and blue , yellow, and purple flowers, like a spread out tapestry, corresponding to the grove that already has a prototype on the opposite side.
Qingchuan saw bees flying in and out of the beehives laid down before, collecting nectar in the grass and woods. They are busy among the flowers, bringing a touch of vitality to the place.
Because of the increase in planting trees, the water level of the small lake did not decrease. The lotus seeds sown by the lake were well adapted, and green lotus leaves grew, and the buds of the lotus also emerged, but they have not waited. Come to that lovely dragonfly.
There is a breeze in the air, this is only recently, it glides gently over the water and also brings in a few leaves.
With these microorganisms and algae, most of the fish, shrimp and freshwater shellfish put down by Qingchuan have survived, and sometimes they can be seen scratching among the aquatic plants.
Suddenly a fog came one day.
Qingchuan was wearing a sackcloth coat at the foot of the mountain behind the house to clear the land. He was about to plant some bamboo, but at this time he raised his head slightly, and there was a cool breeze, because the nearby soil had just been Turned over, but also with a little earthy smell.
"Is it the rainy season?"
Have those guests who are going to enter here already feel the sincerity of his host for the first time?
"Hello, you have entered a private territory - the Silence Territory, a beautiful new world that is about to be reborn. Welcome to settle, temporarily live, travel, and work here. I wish you a happy life."
"That voice just now?" The man in the taupe felt hat looked nervously at his two companions, "Did you hear it?"
His two companions were less courageous than him, so they nodded their heads in fright, stood there for a while without incident, and then hesitantly asked: "Is there a powerful mage staying in this place? ? He asked us to come here to settle down and travel?"
This is a question that is strange to anyone who hears it. Who would invite a refugee like them? Not even a slave.
These are three wanderers, they have no hometown to go back to, they are wandering around like little mice. This is not the first time they have come to Silent Land. Although it is very desolate, at least there are no monsters and strong bandits. It is safe for them to survive on the ground.
They came here to collect some broken things left by the predecessors, such as fine gold and silver, cracked gems, and even some magic materials. Other people look down on these things, because a busy day is enough for a drink, and the price/performance ratio is too low.
Those people would rather control women to sell themselves and earn their liquor money.
But enough for three of them.
I don't expect it to be good enough to survive.
"Brother, there are people here, so let's... still go?"
The man with the unshaven beard in the felt hat tugged at his hat, "The job of picking up garbage was robbed before, and now all the money is exchanged for dry noodles, and if you don't go, you will die. They are Big people, you won't pay attention to small places, let's be careful."
It doesn't matter if you live, if you can live, you still want to live.
The three walked forward carefully, because the periphery had been turned over countless times, they did not stop, and walked for a day before they began to use stone hoes to find things to work.
If you are thirsty, drink the water in the water bag. They have been drinking like this for so many years. They don't know that the water has to be boiled.
People dump **** into the river, the water is very dirty, many people get sick from drinking dirty water, but no one knows, no one tells them. The priest would only say that they were being followed by the devil and asked them to buy holy water, which the pharmacist could not afford.
If you are hungry, there are some noodles in your backpack. It is said to be noodles, but it is actually made of flour ground from some beans and wheat bran. It is the cheapest food. It is dry, hard and astringent. It is like bricks. After eating, it is still difficult to swallow.
The advantage is that it is easy to store and filling, so every time they come out, they will bring a lot.
If they are sleepy at night, they will find a piece of land with a suitable temperature, open it, hide themselves halfway in it, and pour the soil on their bodies, which is very warm, better than a thick and soft quilt. Also comfortable. In winter, many refugees will run to the area of the silence collar to rub some heat, so as not to freeze to death silently in any corner.
The harvest in the past two days was not very good, and the three of them found some worthless metal blocks, not that kind of precious metal, and they could not be sold for money in the blacksmith shop. Several people hesitated whether to continue to go inside.
The closer you are to the aristocratic area, the higher the probability of valuable legacy. I heard that there are Mage Guilds and Mage Towers inside. There must be a lot of good things left here. There are also the former lord's mansion and the nearby official mansion, maybe there are still some secret rooms and the like.
But the more you go in, the more difficult it is to grasp the direction.
"Let's go inside and take a look. Everyone should be alert. If you see anything unusual, you must be careful to hide." The elder brother shook his clothes. The three of them were all dressed in the same color as the soil. Their clothes were still covered with dust and clods, so they lay down on the ground, making sure no one could find them.
Just in case, they also pulled out a hemp rope that everyone was pulling to make sure the front and back would respond.
If you lose your way in a place like this, you're done.
As the saying goes, people die for wealth and birds die for food, and there is some truth to this sentence.
The three originally planned to stop when they reached the city, but for some reason, their luck turned out to be very good, they found a piece of burnt silver in the city, it turned out to be a cup or Others, so the three of them thought again, there is silver here, there should be something better in it.
All three long for a permanent place to live.
A humble but fervent desire.
In this way, the interests drove the three to continue to move forward, walking and stopping like this for two or three days, but when they turned around, they found that they had run out of water and only two noodles left. .
Although I did find a lot of good things in the past few days, even a small piece of gold. But no matter how much money you have, you have to have a life to spend. This looks very troublesome.
A man gave himself a slap in the face, "It's all my fault, I said I was leaving, I have to look for it again."
, reluctant to drink.
This eldest brother is older and calmer after all, "I heard that there is a lake nearby that is not deserted, where the water is drinkable and there are some edible aquatic plants. Let's go along the ruins. Go for it, it must be nearby. As long as there is water, we can live."
The three made a quick decision and went to the big lake next to the city. As the water vapor in the air increased, they did find it very quickly, but...
"What is that? Who actually opened up such a small farm in Silent Land?"
It is out of place, like a green gem falling into the mud, so abrupt and strange.
"It won't be a new lord, will it?"
Qingchuan built a fence not far behind the house, built a thatched cottage, and raised a dozen chickens. He will be fed twice a day, rice bran grains and vegetable leaves, and the rest of the time the chickens will peck on the ground by themselves.
Their excrement will be collected by working paper figures and thrown into the fertilizer fermentation tank. Qingchuan does not want to come in and step on chicken excrement.
He just finished the second meal today, and before closing the door of the chicken coop, he heard the sound of dogs barking not far away.
That was the voice of the three-headed hellhound.
The cub of the three-headed hellhound is fierce, powerful, and especially bearish. Every day I just walk around, looking for trouble with kittens, going to the water to catch fish, nibbling on scarecrows and then being chased and beaten by scarecrows.
He is a bear child who hates dogs, and it is the most skinny time.
Qingchuan, still holding a bag of rice bran in his hand, hurried to the front, and saw the little hellhound chasing three very embarrassed homeless people running very excitedly, throwing saliva and chasing people all the way Run around the lake.
"Little Black!" Qingchuan called out the little hellhound's name.
But most of the time, the three of them quarrel with others.
And it's still noisy, and it's very irritable.
"Wow!"
Boss, they steal food!
Xiao Hei immediately came over when he heard the greeting, and complained to Qingchuan. Qing Chuan rubbed its three heads, "Xiao Hei did a really good job. I have fried chicken legs for lunch." All children can't escape the temptation of fried chicken legs, and the same is true for Cerberus.
Xiaohei immediately became happy, "Wow!" Three!
"Okay, three!"
The three homeless people are being chased like dogs. They didn't have much strength. Now they lie on the ground and can't get up. He turned around and ran, but his legs were weak and he couldn't move.
"Big, big..."
This image is really tragic, with a piece of vegetable leaf stuffed in her mouth and sandy soil, she can't bear to spit it out, and she burst into tears.
Qing Chuan looked at them.
The courage of the three disappeared at this moment, whether it is a puppet scarecrow or a three-headed devil dog, it can all show that the owner here is indeed a powerful magician. Even warriors dare not confront magicians casually, let alone ordinary people like them.
"Are you hungry? Would you like to come and have a meal with me?"
"Huh?" All three of them have the same expression, like a dream.
Are you starving? Why does this hallucination occur? Heard someone invite them to dinner? Hahaha, I must be starving.
"I'm the new lord here. It's the first time I've seen people outside. I'm a little curious about what's going on outside. Come on, I'll still have a meal Do you want to come over?" Qingchuan asked again.
The three of them have been hungry for a day and their stomachs are rumbling. Now I heard that Qingchuan invited them to dinner, and said twice, confirmed that it was not a dream, and their mouths were crooked in surprise.
Eat?
Do you really want to eat?
Eat, eat, eat! Even if it is poisonous, they want to have a meal, and the three of them naturally nod their heads desperately.
A bowl of salted cabbage soup, a loaf of fermented coarse bread, that's all, but the three hungry people devoured it without feeling shabby, the warm cabbage soup and the soft Fermented bread, which is considered a luxury even when eaten at ordinary times, is especially delicious at this time.
They only have food in their eyes and see nothing else.
Qing Chuan silently waited for them to finish eating before calling a paper man to come up and take away the plates and bowls.
Cerberus turned around beside him, watching the three outsiders vigilantly, showing deciduous teeth from time to time as a threat.
Seeing the paper figurine with a stiff face like a dead puppet, the three rationally returned to the cage were a little frightened. They were not sure who this person was in front of them. It seemed like a black magician's method. Even at this time, I was a little scared, and even the food I just ate was suspicious.
Of course, it is impossible to vomit, I would rather be a full-fledged ghost.
"Oh, this is just a puppet technique." Qingchuan stretched out his hand, and the paper figurine that was just like a living person turned into a small thin paper and fell into Qingchuan's palm, and the three people on the opposite looked at the eyes All straightened, desperately wiping his eyes, trying to make sure it was indeed a piece of paper.
In fact, Qingchuan can make paper figurines more flexible and natural, but this requires more energy, and it is not necessary.
"Are you the honorable Mr. Sorcerer?"
Mage? ..."Ah, forget it." He was wearing a hood now, and people couldn't see his ears, so they didn't know he was an elves. All elves were both wizards and warriors, born spellcasters.
It's just that the relationship between elves and humans is not very good, elves don't like human greed, and humans don't look down on elves' arrogance.
And the expansion of humans caused the elves to retreat to remote corners. Human beings have strong reproductive power and a large base, and there are also many powerful warriors and magicians. Although elves are all born warriors and magicians, the number is still too small.
Hearing Qingchuan admit that he is a magician, the three of them relaxed, "I wonder what the noble lord has ordered?"
Magicians are all about equal exchange, they will not plunder their wealth like greedy nobles. Although neither regard civilians as human beings.
Fortunately, although the magician has a weird temperament and is not easy to deal with, he has his own principles and will not mess around. For people with low status like them, the magician is more friendly.
"Are you homeless?" Qing Chuan asked.
"Yes." The three of them didn't hide it. Anyway, they knew at a glance that they were so poor and had no serious jobs.
The homeless are all people who have lost their hometown. Some of them have offended the lord and escaped, some left because of the war, and some because of poverty. They have no fields or houses, and are disliked by the rulers and by the local residents, who think they are the ones who bring disaster and take away jobs.
It's like a mouse in the dark night. So every place is not long, wandering everywhere.
"Have you ever thought about finding a place to live?"
This question can only be asked by those who do not understand the suffering of the people.
The three of them smiled bitterly, "We don't have any skills, where would they want to take us in? Even if they are looking for serfs, they want young and strong people."
"Since there is no place to go, do you want to consider living here? As the first batch of residents, you can enjoy the policy of tax exemption for fields and heads for three years. In addition, there are many other benefits. I I really don't like places that are too quiet, it's too quiet here."
"Are you telling the truth?" The three of them were stunned, and their eyes were about to fall out of their sockets.
"You guys can think about it."
Silence Territory is really a desolate place that is not suitable for living. It takes three or four days to walk to the nearest town here, and it can be said that there is basically nothing. If it were someone else, no matter how downhearted, he would never consider settling here.
But the three brothers are really tired of being disgusted and despised by people outside. They want to have a home, a piece of land of their own, and dream of it.
Only if you lose it, can you know what a sacred existence your home is. If you have a place of your own, a home, it is worth dying immediately.
Qingchuan promises that new residents can get a piece of free homestead and fields, which are given to them, but only with the right to use. It can be passed on to future generations, but cannot be bought and sold. If you leave here, these lands will automatically return to the lord.
He also lent them food, tools, seeds, young animals and other supplies needed for survival, without interest, and repayment at the latest next year.
All taxes are lower than outside, and taxes on fields and heads start after three years.
The basic taxes of the outer territory include but are not limited to land tax, poll tax, resource use tax (such as lord's wood, mushrooms, honey, etc.) animals), even marriage tax, breeding tax, etc., there are many kinds.
Basically, an ordinary commoner, who works hard for a whole year, has less than three-tenths of his own, and the rest are taxes.
Farmers are accustomed to this kind of life, their ancestors have been like this, plus the rulers have been brainwashing: because you are low-blooded and untouchables, you must live this kind of life. I don't even feel like I'm having a hard time.
Qingchuan has not exploited so much, nor has it drastically reformed the current tax policy. He just lowered the tax a little bit first.
The land tax is charged according to the upper, middle and lower third-class fields, 30% for the upper-class fields, 25% for the middle-class fields, and 20% for the lower-class fields. At present, all are taxed according to the lower land.
The poll tax is also reduced, starting at the age of sixteen to receive a poll tax, at the age of thirteen, half of the poll tax, and not under the age of thirteen.
Land tax and poll tax are heavy taxes. Once these two are reduced, everyone can take a breather.
Resource use tax is also charged, but a free quota is set, such as wood used for heating. The standard for winter months is 30 pounds per day, and the standard for other months is 10 pounds per day. Additional charges will be required for more than that.
Marriage tax, that is, the first time the bride is unwilling to be with the lord, and then pays the money, this tax is cancelled, no more.
The farming tax is basically 30% in the outside world, but here it is reduced to 20%.
Then the question of labor and military service.
The outside world is like this, no matter men, women or children, everyone has to work for the lord for one month every year, without food, and men over the age of sixteen are waiting for orders at any time, from peasants to militiamen.
However, in the silent collar, men need to participate in one-year military training in the eighteenth year, and the outstanding ones are selected as soldiers, with basic wages and benefits. If there is a war and the number of soldiers is not enough, men in their twenties and fifties are selected directly from families with many children.
And every year, men and women who are over 20 but less than 50 have to participate in labor labor, once a year, one month at a time, and food is included in the labor service.
According to modern eyes, this tax is still very heavy, but the three of them were overjoyed and couldn't believe it.
policy.
In fact, the bulk tax in the future will be a commercial tax. When the commercial tax rises, the land tax and the poll tax will be reduced or exempted again, but there is no need to say this now.
According to their own plan, Qingchuan demarcated three pieces of land of about 100 square meters on a flat land not far from the lake as their homestead, and each homestead is allowed to attach 20 square meters small vegetable garden and barn, which is not taxable.
Qingchuan asked the paper figurines to open up, water them thoroughly, separate them with ridges, and then put the wooden sign of 'Someone's Land'.
The weather is not bad now, and you can urgently plant a batch of food and vegetables.
As a result, they didn't even care about the house, so they borrowed iron farming tools and planted a batch of peas and chickpeas, which are the most common food for civilians, satiety and high yield. The reserved vegetable garden has not been idle either, with radishes, cabbage and Chinese cabbage already planted.
"If you let the land idle, you will feel guilty." The three said that they would rather sleep in the open air and plant food first.
Soon all the land was planted with plants.
These three are full of energy now, and the feeling of working for themselves is completely different. Qingchuan allowed them to use the unburned bricks and stones in the city, and they walked like ants for one or two kilometers every day to carry stones and bricks.
Here's a light gray fired clay that's a good binder, almost like soil cement, and that's what they use as a binder.
Little by little, like little ants, slowly build their home.
The terrain where Qingchuan is located is relatively high. You can see their house at a glance. It only takes a month.
.
This is a typical house here, and it is a good house.
In the countryside there are still houses made of wood and mud. Only the better-off could afford to live in a masonry house with an attic.
The walls inside were smoothed with mud, and there was nothing else, but no one was dissatisfied. It felt completely different to have a home and not have a home. It is also more comfortable to sleep on the mud floor, in the wild and in my own home, even if it does not even have a door.
Qingchuan borrowed some wooden boards and tools to make their own doors, windows and beds. There are also clay pots for food and water, clay pots for cooking and a thick quilt.
There are also several strong chicks.
Drinking sweet and sour lemon honey tea, Qingchuan marked a small tick on a piece of paper with a red pen.
Building the world's first collar plan, the second item: If there are official citizens to move in, get.
The author has something to say:This world is not a horror type~ Leisurely doing infrastructure (*^▽^*)