Chapter 33

And just like that, Zhao Mai obtained a "household registration" in Nibo Town, becoming a "respected" figure. However, he still chose to live "low-key" in the guest room of the Fireplace Inn, with no plans to rent or buy a house in town.

After calculating his daily expenses, he realized that if he didn't earn any money, the seventy gold coins would be completely spent within a month, leaving him destitute. This made him feel somewhat incredulous. The farmers in Nibo Town worked hard all year and couldn't earn as much as he had. Why was he spending it so quickly?

Calmly thinking it through and listing all his expenses for comparison, he finally understood the subtleties. Excluding housing, servants, and food, Zhao Mai only needed two or three gold coins a month. Moreover, many farmers made their own clothes, which reduced the need for currency even further. In a self-sufficient small-farmer economy, land was the greatest capital.

With land, one could grow food to sustain oneself, build a house for shelter. One could raise animals for meat and weave clothes for clothing. Even matters of birth, aging, illness, and death were taken care of by the goddess of life, Falesma. Although there were still lords ruling above, with some strict and ever-changing laws, those who owned land were indeed living for themselves. Owning one's own land and building one's own home had always been Zhao Mai's dream, which was why he was eager to try and obtain a piece of land here.

"It's basically impossible for you to do it alone," Green said. "There's plenty of unclaimed land far from the town. Although they are nominally owned by various lords, since no one is farming or paying taxes, the lords don't care. If you can develop a piece of land and pay the taxes, no one will interfere with your land."

"Why do so few people do it?"

"It's too dangerous," Green moved a chair to the table, gesturing for Zhao Mai to sit down. "Wild beasts are the first challenge, but experienced farmers can handle them. More troublesome are goblins and dogheads, which move in groups and often destroy villages before they can grow. If you encounter orcs or gnolls, which have good military organization, even ordinary adventurers would be defeated, and then you'd have to rely on the lord's army. Most of the time, they can only drive them away; encirclement and annihilation are rare. You should know that lords also need to control their own losses."

"Why not use regular army patrols to deter orcs and the like?"

"Because there are even more dangerous things. Magical beasts, aberrations, undead, and dragons—these aren't afraid of armies. In such situations, the power of adventurers is more reliable. Of course, they can only deal with one or two at a time. The highest level of power is the professional guilds and temples. Nibo Town has ties with the druid community, or it wouldn't have developed to this scale."

Every civilization has its unique survival skills, and Zhao Mai gradually came to understand this. He spent over a week doing nothing but chatting with Green to improve his Common Tongue. If he hadn't done so, how could he have understood such complex introductions?

"You should pay me more. Hiring a professional language teacher is more expensive than hiring a servant. I've talked so much these days that I've even gained weight," Green picked up his mug of ale and gulped it down.

"Then how about we switch to water?" Zhao Mai joked.

Green chuckled and stopped complaining. The ale was bought with Zhao Mai's real gold and silver, and as long as he didn't get drunk, he could drink as much as he wanted. He was a drinker by nature, and this arrangement suited him just fine. Besides, he always had someone to chat with, about any topic, as long as the Common Tongue was spoken slowly and with simple vocabulary.

This was the most comfortable job, and how could Green be dissatisfied?

Zhao Mai was also satisfied. Through Green's descriptions, he connected the abstract concepts on paper with the real world, gradually forming a vivid image.

The cost of a vivid image was no money. "Green, is there a way to safely and anonymously sell some goods?"

Green's drinking motion clearly paused. He put down his cup, licked his lips, and said, "If it was the first day we met, I would suggest you go to the Wooden Stake General Store. They have channels to contact the Thieves' Guild in the south, which might fulfill your wishes. But now, I would advise you not to do it."

"Is it because you think I'm a good person?"

"Spit, I think you're too weak." Green shook his head. "Don't be fooled by your weapons and armor. In terms of combat ability, you're very weak, and most apprentices can defeat you. Your only advantage is that you're smarter, which might give you an edge in a pinch, but it's not stable. Against cautious opponents, your intelligence won't help much."

"You're right, I admit I'm not good at fighting. But how did you know I'm smart?"

Of course, it was from the speed of learning the language and the breadth of knowledge. Green wouldn't say that, so he skipped the topic: "For safety, you might not tell me what you want to sell, and you'd only show it at the Wooden Stake General Store. I wouldn't mind this arrangement, as I'd still get a commission. But now I'm worried that you might bring something extraordinary, and then the Thieves' Guild would target you, and you'd be dead for sure."

"Thanks for your concern. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Still, go through the guilds and use Nibo Town's contract to protect yourself. I can help you contact merchants and include confidentiality clauses in the contract, which the guild will keep. The fees might be higher, but the security is much better than dealing with the Thieves' Guild. I think this is what you're more concerned about."

"Let me think about it." Zhao Mai nodded.

He wasn't a naive young man and wouldn't just listen to one side of the story. He felt his Common Tongue was good enough to handle most situations, so he decided to visit the guild. He had signed a contract with Green at the guild, so he knew where it was and that there were people there to explain the guild's procedures. Two gold coins for an explanation was a lot for ordinary people, but Zhao Mai thought it was worth it.

Now he could roughly understand what people around him were talking about and could greet people with proper local etiquette without embarrassing himself. He could even distinguish between real beggars and spies from the Thieves' Guild in the south. Green had once complained that the Thieves' Guild from the southern Nidale was trying to extend its reach to the north. The Shadow Council (Nidale's ruling body) wasn't militarily powerful but was making every effort to support organizations within its territory to expand outward, for reasons unknown.

Whether they were real beggars or fake beggars, Zhao Mai put a copper coin in each of their small bowls. He had already checked the coins and found none of them were Fate Coins. In the Healthy Forest, coins were rare, and Fate Coins were useless. But in a trade-oriented town, to find other Fate Coins, he naturally had to carry the one he had.

He had a craftsman make a pendant and embedded the gold coin in it, wearing it close to his body. Zhao Mai hoped it would soon sense other gold coins, giving him more freedom to travel between the two worlds.

"Hey, kid, can you come over and talk?" Zhao Mai heard Chinese while walking down the street.

He turned his head but didn't see anyone talking to him. He looked at his dog, Storage, who was staring intently at a black cat by the roadside, growling slightly, showing some caution.

"Remember 'Tongue of the Heavens'?" The cat waved its paw, mimicking the gesture of a common lucky cat in stores. Then it turned and slipped under a door into a shop.

Looking up at the sign, he saw it was a store selling various vegetables and flowers. Could it be a druid's shop? Zhao Mai scratched his head, picked up Storage, and walked in.

...

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends