Chapter 819: The

The center of Yemei Town might have looked quite prosperous in the past; on the hexagonal town square, there stood the Baron's own mansion, a church of the Agricultural God Church, a church of the Sun God Church, as well as the Government Office and an Exchange, and on the south-facing side, there was also a four-story brick-and-wood hotel.

These were all majestic and tall buildings, everywhere manifesting the power, strength, and wealth of the rulers, the various churches, and the merchants.

However, at this moment, the center of the square was quite chaotic; several carriages were parked together in disarray and were guarded by the town's soldiers.

Beside the carriages were a series of tents with various patterns and styles.

From the vents on the tops of the tents, scorching steam and the black smoke of burning firewood merged and billowed out vigorously. Outside each tent were countless crowded foreign or local villagers and townspeople.

These villagers were all honestly holding their own bowls for eating in one hand, while tightly gripping a small wooden stick in the other. Jier scanned them and saw from afar that there were traces of blue paint smeared on those small wooden sticks.

"What is that for?"

Jier asked aloud. He certainly understood that this was to provide relief to the people in the blockaded town. In order to control the entire town and prevent some townspeople and villagers who had nothing to eat from causing trouble, the town's managers used relief methods under their control to manage the stability of the town.

As long as there was something to eat, people, no matter what, would not revolt or riot. As for where to live, they either slept directly on the streets or consciously went to the villagers outside the town to dig a hole and live simply. After all, the weather was getting warmer day by day now, so it was not impossible to not sleep in a house at night.

Hearing the young Knight's inquiry, one of the youngest officials from the Government Office who was walking with him—a middle-aged Fatty—immediately replied: "Knight Jier, this is the generous Young Master Sasi having people use the stored grain to provide relief to those commoners who have no money in their pockets and nothing to eat."

"It looks like you all are doing a good job?" Jier said with a smile.

These gentlemen from the Government Office all laughed happily, and the same person as before said: "Of course, Young Master Sasi is truly clever. After doing this, the tense atmosphere in the town has gradually eased, and public order has also improved a bit."

"Can the people get full from that relief grain?"

Facing this question, the gentlemen from the Government Office smiled sheepishly, and then the same middle-aged Fatty official said triumphantly after the sheepish smile: "There is the wisdom of a mage in this! The portion of wheat porridge given out as relief must be at just the right amount."

This person reached out and gestured with his index finger and thumb pinched together; the two fingers were very close but not touching.

Jier was a bit curious, so he asked: "Oh? What wisdom is in this? Could you explain it? I'm just curious. Also, for those people who came to collect the relief grain, I understand them holding a bowl, but what is the other thing with paint on it? I remember that bright, oily paint isn't cheap, right?"

Several officials from the Government Office whispered to each other, and finally, the one with the highest status nodded at the middle-aged Fatty official, and only then did this guy explain with a smile: "Let me answer the latter question first. To be honest with Knight Jier, our Sasi County does have some specialties. There is a mine north of the town, and it is also easy to mine some blue stones in the mountains and forests of the territory. This thing doesn't have much value and isn't any kind of magical Magic Material, but it can be processed into a beautiful blue pigment!"

He pointed his finger at the Exchange on one side of the square: "That Exchange named 【Sky Colors】 is the only place where foreign pigment merchants buy and trade this blue pigment. This pigment is not only purchased and used by the entire province from us, but even several provinces to the north, west, and east, and even several small countries to the south and southwest, all rely on our low-price supply."

"So don't think that this bright blue color is rare and expensive elsewhere, but here, we have more than we can use. It just so happens that the Shanglu has been cut off these days, and there is still a lot of pigment in stock, so we took it out to mark the people who received the relief grain. Who has received it today and who hasn't—it's very easy to distinguish this way."

Jier clapped his hands, which counted as a simple compliment, but the Steel Gauntlet on his hand clattered, not sounding loud, but rather having a sharp metallic friction.

"Then what about the wisdom? You said it was the wisdom of a mage; is there anything peculiar about it?"

These officials from the Government Office gathered around Jier and drove the surrounding guards away a little, and then someone lowered their voice and said: "The daily cooking amount of the relief grain, as well as its thickness, are all at a just-right level that we gave after judgment and calculation."

Another person pointed to the carriages on the square: "Those carriages are loaded with old grain from previous years transported from the underground Grain Warehouse, but they are not all loaded with grain. After calculation, one carriage of grain a day is enough for the people who are currently collecting relief grain to eat."

Jier raised his eyebrows: "Hmm, then what about the other carriages?"

These official gentlemen all smiled, and someone gave the answer: "They are all filled with soldiers. We don't need those soldiers to do anything; they just stay in the carriages all day. What we are guarding against is a sudden riot and the Bandit attacks from a few days ago. You are an outsider Knight, so we won't hide it from you, but please don't tell anyone."

Jier clapped his hands: "Of course I won't tell, after all, you all satisfied my curiosity with a secret."

The middle-aged Fatty official continued triumphantly: "And the amount of relief grain supplied daily also has wisdom in it. Although our Sasi County is a grain-producing county and the grain in the Baron's Grain Warehouse simply cannot be sold and cannot be eaten up, in the current situation, it seems there will be no grain harvest this year. Not only that, we also have to feed those villagers who came to the town, as well as the townspeople."

"This grain has to be used sparingly. After all, the grain in the Grain Warehouse is fixed and is decreasing every day. And the relief grain cannot let these people get full!"

"Oh, this is..." Jier pondered for a moment and guessed: "To prevent the idle people from having too much energy?"

The middle-aged Fatty official snapped his fingers: "You guessed it right. Although the Bandits outside the town are a big problem, since the Baron took the Knights of the territory to join the war, some extra stability is also needed within the town."

He said with a smile: "Not only can we not give too much relief grain, but giving too little won't work either. If the people are hungry, they will also act recklessly. If they don't dare to steal or rob here at the square, the pressure faced by the townspeople or some merchants will become greater."

Afterwards, he sanctimoniously straightened the expensive-looking Robe of the Government Office official he was wearing; it is said that the style of this thing was imitated by the Saint Hors Kingdom Noble Council after the robes of the officials in the Empire. The middle-aged Fatty merchant finally said triumphantly: "After all, for the safety of the townspeople and the normal operation of the shops of loyal merchants, the daily distribution of relief grain contains the wisdom of a mage."

Jier hummed and laughed, clapped his hands, and didn't say anything more.

Since these guys were so frank, he could naturally guess the hidden meaning in their words: if people are fed, how can the grain merchants raise prices in their grain shops? How can they make money?

Jier even suspected that since the town had accommodated so many outsiders these days, how could the grain shops of various merchants provide a steady stream of grain? It should have been sold out long ago, right?

Then where is the grain currently sold in the grain shops coming from? Where is the most grain in Yemei Town? Who does it belong to? Is this something that a group of officials from the Government Office can manipulate? Did they receive the benefit of the true ruler of the town?

He smiled. Layer upon layer, it thinned the villagers who came from outside the town to hide, and it also thinned the ordinary townspeople, but who did it fatten?

However, these had nothing to do with him; he was not a local, he was just a passerby.

They had been talking at the entrance of the Baron's Mansion for a while, and even the small door next to the main gate of the mansion was opened by someone inside, and two heads poked out to look at what was happening outside.

People in the mansion called out to this side, and these officials from the Government Office then crowded Jier over.

Seeing that these people had no intention of going in, Jier asked: "Are you all not going in together?"

The leading official finally spoke for the first time: "Knight Jier, the temporary manager of the town, the Baron's Heir, Young Master Sasi, is summoning you personally. We all have our own work, so please forgive us for not accompanying you."

After speaking, this person waved at his subordinates, and they all walked together toward the Government Office not far away.

Jier looked at them, then looked at the people collecting relief grain in the town square, sighed, and under the gesture of the town soldiers beside him, walked into the opened side door of the Baron's Mansion.

He had no objection to taking the side door; after all, he was just an outsider Knight, and it was impossible for the Baron's family to open the main gate of the mansion to welcome him.

His arrival must have also been beyond the expectations of the town's rulers.

However, as soon as he walked into the side door, in the room inside the side door, he saw several tall and strong Refining Qi soldiers wearing iron armor plates covering their whole bodies. These soldiers wore chainmail inside and simple armor made of iron plates connected together outside. Each one looked like they were wrapped in metal, and the weapons in their hands were mostly two-handed weapons. On their backs, Mudu and two-handed crossbows were equipped. Each one was armed to the teeth.

Jier scanned them and saw several Church Priests sitting up from chairs on one side of the room.

What was special was that these Priests, who were dressed differently, actually came from several different churches. It was unknown how these Priests of various churches, who usually wouldn't even say a word to each other, were gathered in one room.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jier frowned. Even so, he did not sense any danger from these people.

Facing his question, a well-dressed old man walked quickly from one side of the room. This person had gray hair and was wearing a servant's outfit that was more expensive than what most merchants wore.

After walking in front of Jier, he first bowed and said: "Please, Knight Jier, there is no need to be nervous. You came from outside the town, so you must have met those 'Bandits'."

The old man emphasized the word "Bandits" when he said it.

Saying this, Jier understood. He loosened his tightly gripped sword hilt and said: "Is it that self-proclaimed 'Hanging Ghost'? Are they actually a group of Flesh Demon parasitic Monsters? My team and I have killed more than ten of them in the past two days starting from the mountain ridge ahead. Are you guarding against this?"

The old man bowed again and pressed his palm down: "Please keep your voice low. It is best not to let this matter spread, as it will cause panic among the people in the town. Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am the Second Butler of the Baron's Mansion. My name is not noble, so you don't need to bother knowing it, Knight. Please come this way; the Young Master and the family members have been waiting for you for a while."

Jier shrugged: "You said it backwards; it should be me waiting for you for half a morning."

This Second Butler led the way. The others in the room also stayed in their respective places. Those armored Refining Qi soldiers took two steps back and leaned against the wall, while the Priests looked at Jier and sat back in their respective chairs.

Before Jier walked out of this side-door room, he glanced at these people again. Those Refining Qi soldiers looked fully armed, but they didn't feel like much to Jier. Before his Knight Training, he felt he was stronger than every one of these Refining Qi soldiers. As for now, even if these five Refining Qi soldiers attacked together, they would not be his opponents.

Of course, it would take some effort if they really fought.

As for those Priests, he just took one look, and among them were an Agricultural God Priest, a God of the Dead Priest, a Sun God Priest, and a Priest of the Wealth Church. They were all Priests of the most widespread churches in various places, nothing special.

Ever since he entered the room, the gaze of that Priest of the Agriculture God had been following him, and his expression had changed time and again; it was impossible to tell what this middle-aged Priest, who hadn't said a single word, was thinking or what he intended.

Jier gave a self-deprecating laugh; he felt that this Priest of the Agriculture God had perhaps seen the immense Divine Power of the Agriculture God brought about by the two blessing abilities on his body, not to mention that one of the blessing abilities had been bestowed by the Agriculture God himself—the man was likely stunned by the sight.

Haha.

The Sasi Baron's mansion was very large; after entering from the main gate, to the left was a small labyrinth garden. It was a good season, and the tall shrub fences of the labyrinth garden were covered in specially planted climbing vines and flowers. Below, slightly taller than a normal person, were large clusters of flowers of various colors and shapes. Bees buzzed back and forth, wantonly burrowing into the flowers and vibrating their bodies, letting the fine hairs on their limbs become coated with more pollen.

From deep within the labyrinth garden, there came a series of increasingly loud female moans, accompanied by the panting of a young male.

The Second Butler leading the way heard it too; his expression twitched but did not change, and he only said apologetically to Jier: "My sincerest apologies, Knight, but some of the young people in the master's family have been restricted from leaving the mansion during this time, and the entertainment shops on the streets outside are also keeping their doors closed, which has made those young people somewhat restless."

Jier waved his hand: "It's fine, it's fine, I understand, I understand; it's spring, after all, it's like this every season."

Although he said this, his head kept craning toward that direction, as if he had the thought of peeking.

Although many young people in his own team did this almost every night, he was still somewhat curious: in the middle of a labyrinth garden shrouded in the fragrance of flowers and the buzzing of bees in broad daylight, was doing this really that interesting?

To the right of the main gate was a small pond within the mansion; it was likely an artificially dug pond, so it was not large. It seemed that fish were kept inside. When Jier, the Second Butler, and several servants walked along the path by the pond, the fish in the pond jumped out of the water in excitement, making splashing sounds.

A dragonfly vibrated its wings and flew past, dodging left and right in front of Jier. Jier reached out and instinctively grabbed, catching a large red and blue dragonfly.

The little thing vibrated its wings hard, making a "fu-fu-fu-fu" sound.

Jier flicked the creature's belly a few times, which seemed to provoke the insect's dissatisfaction; the limbs on its abdomen grabbed back and forth vigorously, but they were no match for the steel gauntlet on Jier's fingertips.

With a "fu," Jier loosened his fingers, and the dragonfly immediately flew away, flying to the other side of the pond without looking back to find a mate.

The ground under Jier's feet was paved with solid, seamless pieces of rock; the ground was very hard and level, and in the middle of this neat stone path, a Noble Emblem of the Sasi Baron was pieced together using colored rocks.

It was a square Noble Emblem, with only a colored triangle inside, and next to it a crude human figure holding a pickaxe and a Long Sword.

The appearance of this Noble Emblem could be seen everywhere in the mansion. Jier did not understand the meaning of the emblem, so he asked as he walked.

"Second Butler, may I ask what the Noble Emblem of the Sasi Baron represents?"

Facing the inquiry from Knight Jier, the Sasi Family's Second Butler was about to answer when the main hall door of the mansion ahead was pushed open by a servant inside. A young man dressed in solemn attire said: "As the Heir of the family, I feel that it is most appropriate for me to answer Knight Jier's question."

The young man smiled: "After all, from childhood to adulthood, I have answered this question more than once, hehehe."

The young man walked down the stone stairs outside the hall building with large strides, followed by an old man and a middle-aged woman. Behind these three, the Refining Qi Soldiers Jier had seen before walked out one by one, standing in order along the steps of the stone stairs, staring at Jier without speaking.

Jier raised his hand to acknowledge the other party, while the Second Butler took two quick steps to stand beside the young man, though he did not block the figure and line of sight of the middle-aged woman and the old man.

After a light cough, the young man said: "The square emblem base represents that my family holds a noble status enfeoffed by the Noble Council, and the colored triangle on the emblem represents the Mountains surrounding our Sasi County, and the resources in the mountains are rich and easy to mine, which is different from other noble territories."

He paused, and seeing Jier listening attentively, the young man lifted his head and continued confidently: "The person beside the mountain is our Sasi Family; one hand holds a sword, representing that we use force to defend all of this, and one hand holds a pickaxe, representing that my family has the qualification and ability to extract mineral resources."

Jier nodded upon hearing this, but he did not expect the young man to continue: "But that is not all; the person holding the sword and pickaxe also represents another meaning. It is said that before the holy Saint Hors Kingdom was established, the family's land was once a large excavation site for the alien Dwarf race. The rich mineral deposits rumored here were once an important source of minerals for the Dwarves."

"However, these are just legends of the ancestors. In reality, the family's Sasi County does not have those ubiquitous mines and Mine shafts. The easiest things to extract in the mountains are those colored rocks with special uses. The buildings left behind by the Dwarves are actually not many either."

After listening, Jier instinctively reached out and touched the belt buckle of the metal belt at his waist, which was inlaid with a large Dwarf Coin.

He had previously attached this thing to a leather belt, but after leaving Dorn Town, he took it off and used a Small Iron Hammer to hammer and inlay it onto the front of his armor's metal belt.

This Dwarf Coin was not only gorgeous and beautiful, but the material was solid, and it was unexpectedly hard and not prone to wear or bumps, making it very suitable as a belt buckle.