Chapter 650: Grain! Grain! Grain!

Facing Jier's question, Bata'er Jiaoshi shook his head: "If I could understand it, I wouldn't be a Village Priest of the Agricultural God Church."

"That's true, the result wasn't caused by one or two obvious reasons. Seemingly normal tests completely overlooked various aspects." Jier saw his companions looking at him and shrugged: "First, the three locations shouldn't have been placed together; they should have been separated by a certain distance, a distance that ensured they couldn't communicate with each other. In any case, the information transmission efficiency of the Church and the Nobles far exceeds that of rural villagers who have never been to a town in their lives. So, it would have been entirely possible to separate all three test locations."

"Secondly, the management during the test was too loose. For example, in the second region, the public wanted to resell the grain; did no one stop them? Before giving the grain, it should have been forbidden to use it for anything other than local consumption. Of course, brewing alcohol was also completely forbidden, or making the grain into other things to sell—none of that was allowed. This aspect of management might have been a loophole, or it might have been done on purpose by some people who didn't want it to go well and wanted it to fail."

Bata'er Jiaoshi had a complex expression after hearing this, feeling a sense of shared sorrow. He felt that what Jier said made some sense; although everything looked fine when various churches conducted tests together, it was likely that they were sabotaging each other behind the scenes.

Especially since the story took place in the northern part of the Empire, where the various churches within the Empire were not like the Saint Hors Kingdom, where they kept to themselves or, in other words, had no contact with each other.

Not to mention being respectful, they were often in a state of religious war, trying their best to kill each other.

"Finally, in the regions where the Church Priests were mainly exerting their efforts, a key problem was that they kept everything in perfect order during the test years, which seemed very good, letting the public eat their fill and dress warmly, which might prove that the public wouldn't easily fall ill under good conditions. But the final result of everything ending in a mess was that it was just a test. A beautiful life was something people enjoyed, but the most painful part was telling the public that such a good life would eventually have an end date."

Jier saw a relatively clean and grand inn by the street, so he had Tianxuecao stop there, preparing to spend the night: "If they eventually have to return to their original lives, what would the people living through it think? Having seen the clear sky, who would want to return to living in the fog? Being able to survive for a few years under the double exploitation of the local Nobles, I think that is already very good. The fact that the local public didn't leave with those Priests immediately when the test ended was because most of their property was still there. Hehe, I think the truly smart people among the public should have left with the Priests right then, even if it meant losing most of their wealth."

"But perhaps the smart ones might have sold the wealth they couldn't take with them to other people who didn't understand the situation yet, perhaps at a low price, or maybe even a high price. Who can say for sure? But regardless, in the end, most of the wealth produced by the public under the hard education and direction of the Priests surely fell into the hands of the local Nobles. But the educated public likely all left the area. However, what does that matter? The local Nobles surely recruited another batch of displaced people from elsewhere to move in; they lost nothing and obtained a large amount of wealth for nothing over a few years."

"Only the Priests who worked in vain and the local public suffered losses?"

Bata'er Jiaoshi's tone was somewhat low.

Jier turned back: "Hard to say. Although the public lost their land and hometown, they received an education and finally found a direction they could rely on. And the Priests of the various churches, although they lost several years of time and effort, they gained a batch of believers and public who believed in them and were educated. Who lost and who gained is really hard to say."

"What do you think is the cause of all this?"

Jier shook his head: "Hard to say, hard to say. Productivity increases, but if social relations don't adjust, there will always be problems."

The inn's shop assistant pushed aside the refugees from the Southern Province who were lingering at the door and spat at them in disgust: "Get away, get away! Don't you see you're blocking the way of the Knight Lord and the Priest Lord? Hey, Lords, if you have horses and carriages, you can go directly to the backyard of our inn through this side door. Our shop's assistants are very diligent and guarantee to take good care of these horses. Oh my, what tall and strong horses; they must be fed the best beans."

Jier dismounted sideways, glanced at Bata'er Jiaoshi who had also dismounted, and then gave a wry smile.

He hadn't officially become a Knight-rank Warrior yet, especially since he didn't have the noble title of a Knight Lord, so being called Knight Lord like this really made him feel uncomfortable.

Although he didn't miss out on any of the service benefits that came with it.

There was no help for it; he said he wasn't a Knight, but people didn't believe him.

This horse, this armor, this set of weapons—how fine they were.

And if you said Jier hadn't received Knight Training, he was currently undergoing it, and had achieved some small success. He hesitated to call himself a full Knight-rank Warrior, but as for half of one, Jier felt that with his current strength, there was no problem.

The public from the Southern Province crowding at the inn entrance saw the Priest Robe worn by Bata'er Jiaoshi, especially the Agricultural God Church robe, and they all approached, wanting to beg for some food.

Bata'er Jiaoshi not only didn't refuse, but he also looked excited and somewhat eager to try.

As soon as Jier saw his expression, he knew what the other party was going to do.

Therefore, he patted Tianxuecao's rump, letting it and the prairie horse next to it follow Xueya Site on the carriage into the inn's backyard.

Jier stood behind the Priest, hands on his hips, escorting the Priest as he released 'Blessed Grain' for the first time.

As an Agricultural God Priest, Bata'er Jiaoshi naturally carried some crop seeds with him. He felt around in the sleeves of his robe, and the refugees gathered in a circle nearby were waiting for the Priest to take something out.

They whispered guesses that this Priest might reward them with some coins, so they could go buy some of the lowest quality, but filling, coarse Bread, or perhaps buy some unhusked rye and find a vessel to boil it in, which could at least let a whole family get a full stomach.

But the thing Bata'er Jiaoshi finally took out made everyone very disappointed, even the inn attendant who was greeting Jier and the others was somewhat disappointed. He had hoped these two Lords would give these beggars some coins so they would leave early to buy food and not keep blocking his inn's door.

It affected business!

Although there wasn't much business to begin with, since the Caravans traveling to the Southern Province had been decreasing since last winter.

"Priest Lord, just these grain seeds? It's not impossible, at least it can let the children eat without crying from hunger." An old man wearing clothes that hadn't been cleaned for a long time walked up, hands cupped together, wanting to receive the small handful of crop seeds rewarded by Bata'er Jiaoshi.

But he reached for nothing.

The old man was a bit surprised and looked up; Bata'er Jiaoshi's face didn't have the mocking expression he expected, but a smile.

This made the old man somewhat confused and bewildered; what did this mean?

"Elder, please wait a moment." Bata'er Jiaoshi's voice gradually grew louder: "I see everyone's suffering; hunger has always been the problem our Agricultural God Church values most. By my own strength alone, I cannot let everyone enjoy a full stomach. But!"

Bata'er Jiaoshi became excited: "'Blessed Grain'! I have received the power of the great Agricultural God, which can make grain seeds multiply through Divine Power. Although it is still like pouring wine into a field, there is no problem with letting everyone have a full meal today! Please look! Please look! Please look!!"

The Priest raised his hands high, holding the grain seeds above his head. On his left chest, a cyan light lit up, even slightly shining through the Priest Robe he was wearing.

There were no more shocking Divine Art spectacles. Apart from the grain held high by Bata'er Jiaoshi being shrouded in cyan light, the most unexpected thing was that at the edge of Bata'er Jiaoshi's palms, the grain seeds, which were originally less than half a handful, now had a few grains overflowing.

It wasn't because the Priest's hands were shaking from excitement.

Jier stood behind the Priest and saw it clearly; that was because in the palms shrouded in cyan light, a magical scene appeared. The grain in the Priest's palms buzzed and split into two, and grain emitting a faint cyan light suddenly appeared, then gathered more and more, exceeding the palms, and then fell down.

"Hey, grain!"

The old man in front of the Priest looked aged, but when facing food, his movements were lightning fast. He lunged to the ground, his hand movements unchanged, directly catching the falling grain in his hands.

"Caught it!"

Just as the old man let out such a sigh, his sons and daughters behind him crowded over in surprise: "Father, Father, look, grain! There is still grain, and it's getting more and more!"

Everyone present was not a fool; they watched in surprise as the countless grain fell like sand from the Priest's palms, as if an invisible bag was standing on the Priest's palms, continuously pouring down clean, plump, high-quality grain seeds.

"Hahahaha, this is the great blessing of the Agricultural God, enjoy your fill! My fellow countrymen!"

The Priest was extremely excited; he moved his palms forward and downward a bit so it was easier to hold them up.

The refugees gathered in front of him one after another, each with an excited face, stretching their palms forward hard, wanting to catch more grain.

Everyone was excitedly saying strange things; some screamed about a miracle, some followed Bata'er Jiaoshi's words, shouting about the great Agricultural God, though it was unknown if that person had been a believer of the Agricultural God before.

Others didn't care about anything else, just wanting to push others aside to let themselves collect more grain.

Seeing such people, Jier walked up and pulled one away, originally wanting to 'gently' give him a punch, but seeing the man's sallow, withered face and thin figure, Jier sighed and had to say dryly: "Don't push others."

That person was very afraid after being pulled out by Jier, because Jier, who was wrapped in metal iron armor with only his face exposed, was not only very majestic but also pulled him out of the crowd with just one hand, easily.

"Yes, yes, my Lord, I will just catch some more so my wife and daughters at home can all eat. Tha, thank the great Agricultural God!"

This person finally squeezed out such a sentence, obviously learning it on the spot.

Jier gave a wry smile and let go, letting him continue to catch the continuously falling grain seeds.

Some refugees couldn't hold any more with their hands, so they directly took off their dirty coats, trying to use them to carry the grain.

Jier didn't care about this either, and even spoke up, calling for the refugees to go call their family members as well.

The more the better.

"Bata'er Jiaoshi, don't block the inn door, move a little to the open street to the side; anyway, it's dark now and there are no carriages, go to the open place to the side."

After Jier finished speaking, the Priest moved toward the street in small, shuffling steps, and the Refugees surrounding him followed along bit by bit.

Some people heard Jier tell them to return to their temporary shacks to call their families to come and receive the God's Miracle grain together, but they were hesitant, not knowing when this grain might run out.

Others listened to Jier's advice, because they did not think a lord like Jier would come to deceive them; it wouldn't be worth the trouble, right?

Consequently, they told the younger children nearby to quickly return to their dwellings and have everyone come out to welcome the God's Miracle.

"Hahahaha, don't rush, there is plenty, plenty indeed! Hahahaha."

Priest Bata'er laughed heartily; this was the happiest moment he had experienced in a long time, and through the gaps where the grain slipped down, he could see the faces of the excited crowd.

Perhaps he could do nothing before, but now, with the powerful ritual blessing ability, he also had the opportunity to change some things.

For instance, right now.

The Refugees had their own circles for sharing news, and the God's Miracle that occurred by the inn on the main street of the checkpoint spread rapidly.

Those nearby, holding the attitude of "better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't," intended to go over and take a look. And once they actually went over, they also frantically took off their outer garments and crowded forward.

The Refugees who had already filled their clothes with grain went together, as if protecting the most precious Zhenbao, carrying their bulging clothes back to their temporary shacks.

As they walked along the path, the grain spilled out amidst the jolting, and the old people following behind lowered their heads to pick out the grain that had fallen to the ground, one by one, not letting a single bit go.

"These are the plumpest seeds, truly a God's Miracle, truly a God's Miracle."

As time passed, the Refugees around the Priest came and went, came and went; every Refugee who came over did so with the attitude of just wanting to try their luck, but when they finally left, they all carried a garment full of grain, struggling under the weight.

"Move aside, move aside! What are you all gathering here for! You bunch of stinking mud-legs, get back to your dark shacks."

A loud voice came from far away along the main road where Jier and the others had arrived; Jier turned around and saw a squad of over fifty Soldiers from the checkpoint, led by a Soldier Captain wearing armor, Running toward them.

Those Soldiers all carried Long Spears in their hands, with Long Swords strapped to their waists, and were well-equipped in brown Leather Armor, Iron Helmets, and leather boots.

The Refugees were like a pile of mice seeing a whole squad of old cats; with a "Boom—", everything fell into chaos.

One look and it was clear they were often bullied and driven away by the local Soldiers.

Priest Bata'er naturally heard the shouting from afar, as well as the sound of leather boots stomping on the ground as they approached.

He gave Jier a sharp look.

Jier coughed lightly, smiled, and took the initiative to walk up to meet the Soldiers.

"Stop! Everyone stop!"

Jier blocked the middle of the road and reached out to call a halt; the squad of over fifty Soldiers actually slowed down and stopped after getting close.

The leading Soldier Captain had originally looked as if he were about to devour the Refugees, but upon seeing Jier, he became cautious.

"You, no, wait, who are you? Didn't you see that these people from the south have already blocked the road? Why don't you move aside!" The Soldier Captain seemed to be a guy who knew his stuff; unlike others who saw Jier's full set of Steel Armor and took him for a Knight Lord, he saw directly from the thickness and weight of Jier's Steel Armor that Jier was not a real Knight.

Actually, this point was not accurate, because not all Knight Armor was heavy Steel Armor like that of Kela the Knight and Lumi the Knight, which was the style of armor favored by Knights from a military background. Knights from a Knight Family, however, did not wear very heavy armor, and to the naked eye, it did not look much different from the set Jier was wearing.

But the other party still guessed correctly; Jier was indeed not a Knight, he was only half of one.

Jier heard the other party's question but did not give way; he just stood in the middle of the road with his hands on his hips, blocking the distance between the Soldiers and the Priest and Refugees.