Chapter 88 "Very Valuable"
Can we eat the food given by the undead?
If the gentlemen were thrown on the street and had enough fat on their bodies, they would definitely refuse. Going hungry for a meal or two is nothing for them who are used to eating good food.
If it were ordinary people, there would be no need to discuss this issue... Not to mention the low-level prostitutes, even the "property rich" people who run family hotels like the Doyles often eat wormy cheese and "hairy" black bread.
The reason for this is that Westham does not produce enough grain locally.
In Westham and surrounding villages, 80% of the land is mountainous, and less than 5% of the land is arable.
5% of the arable land area sounds a bit tragic, but considering that the total population of the entire Westham town and surrounding villages is less than 20,000, it should not be difficult to feed such a small number of people with more than 200 hectares of arable land - but there is no abuse of fertilizers in this world.
Without fertilizers, pesticides, and intensive farming, you can imagine how low the yield per mu is... The self-sufficiency rate of all the food produced by the land (wheat, corn, soybeans, potatoes) can barely reach 60%, and at least 40% of the food gap needs to be filled from other places.
The less developed the road construction in a region, the higher the transportation cost. Westum is only 40 kilometers away from the nearest big city, Innadri, which is not too far. However, it is inevitable that the price of grain from Innadri will increase by 10% to 20% when it is transported from Westum... In other words, the cost of living in Westum is higher than that in other regions.
To make matters worse, during his more than 40 years in office, the mayor of Westham's only "achievement" was to transform Westham from a poor border town into a den of debauchery and extravagance.
The large number of pleasure-seeking merchants brought in a lot of money, but also indirectly raised the prices in Westam - a bottle of the cheapest corn rum could be bought for four copper coins in other places, but it cost six in Westam; a pound of black bread could be bought for three copper coins in other places, but it cost four to five in Westam; a small jar of butter could be bought for thirty copper coins in other places, but it cost thirty-eight in Westam.
Apart from the very cheap vegetables that farmers in the surrounding areas often bring into the town to sell, other daily necessities are 20% more expensive in Westham than in other places.
As for spices... don't think too much about it. Even in Innadri, spices are considered a luxury. The people of Westram can ensure that the salt taste is not too light when cooking soup, which is already considered a good standard of living. Many housewives are good at making ketchup, just to use the sour taste of ketchup to add flavor and reduce the consumption of butter.
If we look at the problem from a different perspective, the people of Westerme live what some Chinese people consider to be an extremely environmentally friendly, primitive, and healthy life of cultivation. They do not consume a lot of oil and salt like the Chinese, nor do they have the problem of abusing sugar like the Europeans and Americans. Their average life expectancy is at least 120 years old...
But, if you really ask the people of Westram whether they are willing to exchange their super healthy and immortal life for the Chinese people's daily life of heavy consumption of oil, salt and abuse of spices... they will definitely be very willing to do so.
Half a bowl of soup made from concentrated broth powder in an instant noodle packet, about 50% of which was solid matter consisting of cooked potato chips, fried noodles that had been cooked until puffy, and some green leafy vegetables. Mrs. Doyle, whose appetite had decreased significantly due to her old age and deteriorating sense of taste, finished it all in five minutes.
After finishing the meal, the old lady was still holding the bowl and was reluctant to put it down. She kept saying, "Such a delicious soup is actually used to cook potatoes and vegetables. It's such a waste. It should be diluted and used to cook meat. It would be better to cut a few slices of lotus root into it... Ah, I should have left some soup, old man, have you finished it too?"
Mr. Doyle sheepishly showed the empty bowl in the direction of his wife...
He was a few years older than Mrs. Doyle, and his sense of taste had deteriorated even more. He hadn't been able to taste food for several years, and he couldn't stop eating the rich and fragrant soup that stimulated his taste buds so much.
Not to mention the other seven young men, the glass bowls in their hands were cleaner than if they had been washed.
"Madam, these people are... good people!" Chris, a simple country dairy farmer, had tears in his eyes.
Mrs. Doyle, who was just happy about eating delicious food, suddenly changed her expression ... It seemed that she was not as happy as Chris.
From Mrs. Doyle's life experience, she knew very well that the food they got was worth a lot of money just in the spices in the soup.
A group of weird undead, a few suspicious men (Hal and his gang really don't look like good guys), controlled Westram and distributed food to them so generously... What exactly are these guys planning against Westram?
Mrs. Doyle did not show her worries. She smiled and asked Chris to help her wash the dishes. She also asked the old man to take the tenants upstairs and send everyone away. Then the old woman took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and opened the door of her house alone.
As soon as she stepped out of the door... Mrs. Doyle saw two ghosts standing near her door. They turned their skull heads and looked at her with four black eye sockets.
Mrs. Doyle pinched her apron nervously and held her breath subconsciously.
The two undead didn't pay much attention to her and quickly looked away.
Mrs. Doyle quietly wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, and then turned to look for the people distributing the meals...
Two tricycles pulling large pots had already distributed the meals to the back of a dozen or so stores. Seeing that the people in front had received their meals, the people who had been leaning against the windows to watch even consciously prepared their tableware in advance and stood at the door waiting.
No matter how much money Westam makes, it has nothing to do with these low-level prostitutes and male prostitutes. No matter whether it is a low-end pub and strip show or a high-end club, in order to ensure that these people are obedient enough and have no physical strength to harm the guests, they must be prepared to be taught a lesson even if they eat one more leaf of vegetable.
Someone distributed food to them without any conditions attached. These people did not loot it because they were too weak and the undead were too terrifying.
Mrs. Doyle stood quietly at the door, watching the team go from one house to the next, until the big pot was lifted up to pour out the soup, and it was obvious that there was not much food left in the pot, so it was poured back.
Mrs. Doyle pinched her apron nervously, telling herself countless times not to be afraid, not to run away... until the group passed by the door of her hotel, she mustered up the courage to approach, put on a bright smile, and said to the leader Rex: "Hello, dear sir, my name is Watts Doyle, I really appreciate the food you gave me, can I help too ?"
Rex glanced at the brave old lady and didn't refuse: "Of course, Mrs. Doyle."
Mrs. Doyle clasped her hands together happily: "This is great--"
At this moment, the door behind Mrs. Doyle opened, and Chris rushed out and said firmly, "Please let me help, sir. My name is Chris."
Mrs. Doyle almost couldn't keep her smile and suddenly became nervous: "Chris?!"
Chris nodded to her and pleaded with Rex earnestly: "Please let me help too, sir. I, I have strength, I can do anything."
"Come on." Rex waved his hand indifferently and led the way.
Chris immediately followed with big strides, and he refused to look back even when Mrs. Doyle gently tugged at the corner of his clothes.
The first two pots were distributed too quickly, and the players hadn't finished cooking the second batch of stew yet. Rex brought back two civilian NPCs, and the girl Liu Meng, who was in charge of the overall cooking task, didn't think much about it. She pointed to a frame of vegetables and asked the two civilian NPCs to take it to the backyard of the tavern to fetch water for washing. The civilian NPCs in Exile Town would work with the players anyway, and except that the two sides could not communicate with each other in language, there were no other inconveniences.
Chris carried the vegetables into the backyard of the tavern. Seeing that no one was around, he shook the capstan to pump water and said to Mrs. Doyle in a low voice of disapproval, "How can I let you take the risk alone? You should have let me do this, ma'am."
"You...you kid, you are still young. I am already this age, and it doesn't matter even if I encounter anything." Mrs. Doyle said a little angrily.
Chris shook his head and began to pour the vegetables into the wooden basin in the tavern: "Don't say such things. If anything happens to you, I will be very sad, and so will Anna."
Mrs. Doyle sighed, squatted down and washed the vegetables silently.
The two men were used to working, and in a short while they finished a whole basket of vegetables, which Chris carried to the door of the tavern and handed over to the undead in charge of cooking.
Liu Meng checked the vegetables washed by the two civilian NPCs and found that they were better prepared than the players, with even the roots chopped off. He then took out a plastic bag from his waist bag, took out two rock candies and shared them with the two civilian NPCs.
I bought this bag of rock sugar from the old man in the Chamber of Commerce cafeteria with copper coins.
Why do players who don't eat need to carry rock candy with them? This is a little trick discovered by the players themselves... When you ask the civilian NPCs in Exile Town to do something for you, give them a piece of rock candy and they will be happy to help.
No one knows who discovered this "bug" at first. Anyway, a player's backpack had a small hole. It was not cost-effective to sell it and buy a new one, but he was afraid of losing things if he continued to use it. So he "bribed" a female worker in a sewing shop with rock sugar, communicated with her through gestures, and asked the female worker to do private work to help him fix his backpack...
This "BUG" which is only circulated secretly among players and no one posts it on the forum for fear of being fixed by the stupid planners is now increasingly being exploited by players. Many people will not replace their clothes with new ones unless their clothes are too torn. They will just buy a bag of rock sugar and find a female worker to help sew them.
Mrs. Doyle and Chris never expected that the dead would give them candy, and it was a big crystal hard candy that didn't look cheap. They were a little confused...
The second big pot of stew was almost done when Rex came over.
This weapon master, who was young but very worldly-wise, glanced at the two civilians standing quietly by the side, seemingly waiting for help, and waved at Liu Meng, signaling the undead to give him one portion first.
In front of Mrs. Doyle and Chris, Rex drank half a bowl of soup in one breath.
Mrs. Doyle was fine, the smile on her face didn't change much, and the unsophisticated Chris was obviously relieved and accepted the fact that the undead didn't tamper with the food they gave them.
The catering convoy set off again and stopped for a long time when it reached the middle of the town's main road.
The two largest shops, "Golden Coast" and "Elegant Fantasy", are both located in the middle of the avenue. 40% of the prostitutes and men in the town are concentrated in these two shops. What's different from other shops is that these two shops also have a lot of "special stuff" - orcs.
Brothels that are not strong enough cannot use orcs to attract business. The reason is very simple. The cost of guarding orcs is much higher than the cost of guarding humans. No matter how weak these orcs are, they can still kill people if they find a chance.
Standing next to the steaming and fragrant pot holding a large steel spoon were orcs who were equally weak and showed signs of imprisonment. This was enough to offset the defenses of the orcs who quickly banded together after the incident. More than 20 to 30 orcs walked out of each store. Some of them knew Osrian and Lika, and excitedly went forward to hug them.
Rex stepped back, giving the lead to Osrian and Lika, who comforted his fellow tribesmen.
The players couldn't understand anything and could only partially understand what was happening, so they all stood around and muttered to themselves.
"Does this game also have racial discrimination? The NPCs are all forced to sell their bodies, but the humans are kept plump and white, while the orcs are just skinny and bone-like?" Yang Ying asked curiously.
"Of course. We, the undead race, have been discriminated against a lot." Tang Jia nodded affirmatively.
Rex: “…”
In order to prevent the undead from misjudging the prostitutes' physical fitness, Rex had to turn his head and said seriously: "It's not what you see. The human race is actually treated badly. They don't get enough food on a regular basis. They are forced to take fattening drugs used on livestock farms to maintain a plump body shape to avoid being too thin and causing disgust to customers."
Not only Tang Jia and Yang Ying, but all the players who followed them to complete the mission were stunned...
“I—what?! It’s just a game! Is it necessary to set the background so dark?!”
"What the hell?! I can't even look at those pretty big sisters!"
"Fuck! I'm traumatized just by hearing that!"
"No wonder the righteous undead Scourge wants us to attack this place. The light of justice must shine on the earth!"
"Rex, kill all these guys on the street! How dare they treat a whole street of beautiful girls like this? Uncle can tolerate it, but aunt can't!"
"Capital punishment! Capital punishment!"
Rex covered his ears and ignored these crazy people who were talking nonsense when they got excited.
At this time, Hal Maxwell, who had been counting heads and calculating accounts for nearly two hours and whose head was about to explode, came over with a sad face.
This guy had completely changed from his usual arrogant attitude. He looked as haggard as if he had just been raped by eighteen big men. He silently grabbed Rex's arm and pulled him to a place a little further away from the undead, and without saying a word, he reached out his hand.
"What?" Rex frowned.
"Give me money." Hal said grimly, "You set the reward for the mission yourself. Capturing an enemy gives you 100 territory reputation points and two copper coins. This group of undead captured a total of 1,862 people, which is nearly 4,000 copper coins. How can we get enough with what we brought!"
Rex, stunned.
Yes, the chickens lined up on the street were spectacular, but Rex had never expected that there would be more than 1,800 of them...
Hal gave a thumbs up and pointed at the player representative waiting to hand in the task, and his tone became even more sinister: "The heads have been counted, and those guys are excitedly waiting to get paid. If we can't come up with enough copper coins... you know what this means."
Rex's forehead was covered with cold sweat...
"Save Civilians", fifty reputation points for each rescued prostitute, female or male. Just refresh it in their branding matrix operation panel, it's not a big problem.
"Capture the Enemy". In order to avoid giving these undead the chance to experience the pleasure of killing, Rex not only raised the reward to 100 reputation points, but also added two copper coins per person.
According to Rex's expectation, it would be good if the undead with such a small number could capture a few hundred prisoners. After all, they were on someone else's territory. The undead were definitely not as familiar with the route as the locals, so a lot of them would slip through the net...
I never expected that, with the dual stimulation of reputation and copper coins, the undead could complete this siege mission so beautifully, and even so beautifully...
Rex held his head in his hands, cold sweat pouring down like a waterfall.
Under the normal "task order", no matter how crazy the undead are, they can still be controlled.
If the "task order" cannot be guaranteed, these undead will become a huge and extremely difficult problem.
Seeing his reaction, Hal was in no mood to laugh at this guy who always looked down on them. He grabbed Rick by the collar madly and said, "You bastard, you're not going to say that you didn't have any backup plan at all? How is this going to end? Huh? Tell me!"
"It doesn't matter. I'm already here."
A man's low and calm voice rang in the minds of the frantic Hal and the nearly crazy Rex at the same time.
Hal, who was usually annoyed by Yang's orders through the imprint matrix, was not angry at all when he heard this voice this time. Instead, he was ecstatic: "Yang?! You're here??"
"Yes, I'm here."
Yang Qiu used the matrix to comfort the two tools who were about to give up treatment, then nodded to Supervisor Lowell who was walking with him, and dismounted first: "We are finally here, let's go in."
Supervisor Lowell silently pulled down his dusty hood and stepped off his horse.
They each led their horses towards the town gate of Westham.
Many players who were doing quests dispersed. Some of them ran around in the town, while some of them habitually formed teams to wander outside the town to see if there were any monsters they could fight. Those who remained in the town were either anxiously waiting to settle the quests and share the money, or were worried about dying from running around, so they simply waited patiently for the resurrection point to be built.
Several players squatting and chatting at the town gate saw Yang Qiu and immediately started to shout:
"Old Yang is here, Old Yang is here!"
"Damn, they brought a pretty boy with them? Are these two really good friends?"
"What a lousy game that still relies on formalism. The lord is not here and the rewards for large-scale tasks are not given? We have been waiting for so long!"
"Think positively. When Lao Yang comes, there will be a resurrection point. We can spend as much time as we want."
"I just want to teleport back and fix my clothes. My pants are showing my butt."
Yang Qiu ignored the guys' outspokenness and calmly led the undead horse into the town.
The scene in the town... Yang Qiu has already seen it through the player's perspective, and there is no fluctuation at all.
It was just a pity for the black-robed inspector who was caught off guard by such an exciting scene. As soon as he followed Yang Qiu into the town gate and saw the rows of thousands of half-naked men dying in the July morning sun on the main road in the town, Lowell was stunned...
Yang Qiu looked up with satisfaction at the landlords, rich men, thugs and villains who filled the entire street. He smiled with joy from the bottom of his heart and said to the dumbfounded black-robed inspector as if to take credit: "Look, how spectacular! Decades of accumulated sins have been cleansed in one day. This quaint town can finally see the light of day again. This is really gratifying."
Rowell: “…”
He has many objections, but he doesn't know whether to express them or not...
Yang Qiu pretended not to notice the resistance written on the face of this backward religious figure. He led the horse, admiring the embarrassed postures of the clients, brothel owners and thugs along the way, and went to find the two tool-man natives who were surrounded by players and were waiting for his rescue.
There was a prostitute who was so fat that he had trouble sitting for a long time. He had been staring at Yang Qiu, who was wearing a black robe, since he appeared. When Yang Qiu passed by him, the prostitute struggled to sit up and shouted, "Wait a minute! Are you a black magician? Did you summon all these undead spirits?"
Yang Qiu naturally ignored him.
"Wait a minute! I am from the Odysseus family! Count Odysseus is my uncle!" The fat prostitute was anxious and took the initiative to expose his noble identity regardless of the consequences. "If you send me back to Count Odysseus's territory intact, you will be rewarded handsomely! Did you hear that, black magician?!"
Yang Qiu finally stopped, turned around and looked seriously at the fat client who claimed to be the earl's nephew.
The fat client's eyes lit up, and he tried to prove his identity again: "My luggage is in the top VIP room of 'Elegant Fantasy', and the family emblem is in the glasses case. You just need to ask someone to get it and you will know that I am not lying!"
Yang Qiu nodded to the fat client , looked around, and waved to the riding instructor Jerome who was not far away: "Jerome, come here."
Jerome quickly ran over and asked, "Do you want to invite this person... into the room first?"
"No need." Yang Qiu waved his hand. "Go find a piece of paper, write 'very valuable' on a sticky note and stick it on this fat guy, so that you don't put it in the wrong place when you sort it later."
The fat prostitute who claimed to be the nephew of a noble: "???"
Supervisor Lowell: "... (゜ロ゜)"
Even Jerome was stunned...
"Go quickly." Yang Qiu waved his hand.
"Okay, okay." Jerome swallowed, turned around and ran.
Jerome had the habit of writing a diary, so he quickly took out a piece of paper with "Very Valuable" written on it and taped it to the fat client's chest...
