Volume 5: If you are poor, you should be alone Chapter 142 Snow Wolf Tribe Recruitment (Part 1)
The city gate officer's name was Dominic, a Cronin native, just over fifty years old. He had been an adventurer when he was young, but sixteen years ago, Valentine City issued a recruitment order regardless of background. With a family to take care of, he resolutely gave up his adventuring career and joined the city lord Philip.
This year marks Dominic's ninth year as the North Gate Officer. Over the years, he has seen all kinds of races, adventurers, and travelers, and even dealt with the dragons who are famous for their greed... but this is the first time he has encountered such difficulties.
Dominic's eyes stayed on the ears on both sides of the head of the alien youth who was speaking for a few seconds, and then he shifted his eyes to the sun cloth clothes he was wearing, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses...
"This is your rule, is there any problem with it? If there is no problem, please stop the car and pay the money so that we can enter the city." Seeing that the man in armor had nothing to say, Xiao Yun urged him righteously - the reasonable tax avoidance allowed within the rules is something that even the most powerful tax agency on the planet, the IRS, has nothing to say about. How can you be more impeccable than the US Internal Revenue Service!
City gate officer Dominic: “…(o言o)” I have never seen such a shameless person!
Isaac looked numb and Hannah looked devastated.
The snow wolves have purity written all over their faces...
After the air froze for a few seconds, Dominic took a step back and said dryly: "No problem, sir."
Xiao Yun immediately turned around and shouted, "Pull the cart over here, hurry up, don't waste time."
The adventurers stepped forward with their brows bowed and their eyes lowered to help push the cart. The surprised, admiring and amused looks from the people of all races around them almost drove the adventurers crazy! It was even more embarrassing than running naked in the street!
Twelve cartloads of goods cost twelve silver coins, which is equivalent to 600 copper coins and eight kilograms of genuine cold-eaten rabbits. Xiao Yun's face didn't look good at the time... Eight kilograms of cold-eaten rabbits were enough to pay off Margaret, an official from the Ministry of Transport, four times, and were enough to bribe those elf warriors to sell all the intelligence about Ananas City - it's not that he was stingy, but spending this worthless money was really no different from wasting it!
"Since it is a commercial city, it should encourage the flow of merchants and goods. Why do you charge gate fees? It is really hurting other people's enthusiasm for doing business. What does the city lord think?" Xiao Yun counted the silver coins and paid the money while complaining to Isaac in dissatisfaction. Nowadays, if you have to pay tolls to drive goods around, it is at least because the local government has built a flat road for you to use. With the terrible road construction in Valentine, how can they have the nerve to charge tolls!
Isaac looked up at the sky in silence: "...Mr. Ayun, the gate tax of Valentine is already the lowest in the Kingdom of Kronin. The lowest gate tax of other cities is half of all goods." (About one twentieth)
"So the economy of this country is really not good. This is not even called draining the pond to catch all the fish. The fish fry in the pond are just thrown into the pond and they are all being fished out to make soup!" Xiao Yun was even more disgusted.
Dominic who received the money: “…”
The veteran who was checking the goods nearby: "..."
The Snow Wolf tribe's carts were loaded with wool, food, tableware, tables, chairs and benches, and the inspection was just a formality; when the three cubs carrying the goods passed by, they deliberately lay down to be inspected, and the soldiers guarding the city pushed and shoved each other for a long time, and finally the oldest veteran gritted his teeth and stepped forward to take a look before quickly stepping back and letting them pass.
"Don't lie down so hard, your belly will get dirty once it touches the ground! Why don't you even do the face-saving work? What will happen if you clean the city gate more often..."
The soldiers guarding the city were completely stunned as they watched this strange group walk away amid the mutterings of the alien youth...
"Dominic, is this the Snow Wolf Clan from the Travel Notes?" a young city guard asked blankly, "Is it the Red Leaf Clan that turns into a giant white wolf in the Elf Ranger's Travel Notes?"
"...It should be." The city gate officer Dominic nodded stiffly.
"Isn't Hongye very generous and magnanimous? How could a real snow werewolf be like this?" The young soldier looked devastated and felt extremely disillusioned.
"It's not surprising. Not all snow wolves are Hongye. There aren't many elves as knowledgeable and wise as Crest. The bard who lives near my house doesn't seem to have any special abilities except singing at night to disturb people's sleep." The old soldier next to him interrupted.
"No, I think it's just that snow werewolf that's special..." Dominic wiped his sweat, "Huh? Wait, what did the knight call the snow werewolf just now?"
Valentine is a giant circular city built on a mountain. The area at the foot of the mountain belongs to the lower city, where most civilians live. Not far after entering the north gate, the busiest main ring road in the lower city appeared in front of the group.
As the only open city in the Kingdom of Kronin, and benefiting from the commercial vitality brought by the port, the lower town of Valentine is not directly equivalent to the slums like other cities - although the overall building complex is relatively old, the streets are still spacious and can accommodate four carriages in a row. There are many shops on the roadside, and the clothes of the newlyweds are relatively clean and complete. In addition to the largest number of humans, you can also see many non-human races, either participating in commercial activities or strolling on the street.
Although there were many foreign races, the three cubs carrying goods in the team were still the most conspicuous wherever they went. The busy streets were quiet for a moment because of the appearance of this group of people...
Xiao Yun looked around the streets that barely had the infrastructure level of a 28th-tier town in China, then turned to look at Isaac and asked, "Where is the poorest place in the Lower Town?"
"...the area in the southern part of the downtown area." Isaac said after a pause.
"Let's go!" Xiao Yun gestured proudly to Isaac to lead the way.
Isaac subconsciously took a step forward, and after a few steps he realized: "Mr. Ayun, there's something wrong in South City..."
"Just go. If we want to recruit people to go overseas, the residents here are all well-off and happy, so why would they be willing to work overseas?" Xiao Yun waved his hand.
Isaac thought about it and it really made sense...
Walking south along the main ring road of the Lower City, the further south you go, the fewer businesses there are, the simpler the buildings on both sides of the street are, and the clothes worn by pedestrians on the road are gradually showing patches; after walking for nearly half an hour and going around to the poorest part of the southern part of the Lower City, Xiao Yun seemed to see the slums in third world countries that he had only seen on TV - the blue stone brick buildings were replaced by loess walls and wooden houses, and there were no tiles on the roofs, only straw roofs or various available shelters; some houses seemed to be built with wooden frames made of discarded canvas, and they were crooked and had a bit of the style of the primitive Snow Wolf tribe...
There are almost no businesses to be seen in this place. Even if there are people doing business, they are hawkers setting up stalls on the roadside. The better wooden houses are all taverns and gambling houses. Four or five groups of idle people are wandering on the street, beggars with numb expressions can be seen everywhere in the corners of the walls, and in the deep alleys on both sides of the road, women in revealing and cheap clothes occasionally peek out.
Isaac frowned, and Hannah also felt a little uncomfortable. They didn't like to come to such a place with sewage flowing, garbage everywhere, robbers, thieves, beggars and prostitutes everywhere. Although the adventurers were regarded as rude and unstable elements in society by those noble lords, they could still afford the consumption in the central city.
Xiao Yun's eyes sparkled, and he frequently cast friendly glances at the idle people on the roadside. After walking for a while, he saw a slightly clearer piece of ground, and pointed there: "This is it, come and set up our recruitment office!"
The Snow Wolf people naturally wouldn’t question Ayun’s decision, and the adventurers quietly stepped forward to help… Isaac, who was most likely to advise Xiao Yun, didn’t say a word.
Isaac also has his own dignity, and he feels very tired of being slapped in the face all the time.
The tables and counters are laid out, and charcoal is stuffed into a stove made of mud inside an iron barrel to start a fire. A barrel-shaped pot and an iron pot of the same shape as the stove are placed on top. Jars containing various spices are lined up in front of the counter. Several tables are put together to form a long table, and a circle of small stools are placed around the long table - yes, it's the stool that everyone knows, a traditional Chinese handicraft, with crossed legs as a support, canvas or hemp rope stretched on it, which can be closed. It is the most inexpensive, high-quality and easy-to-carry small seat, which has not been eliminated in modern times.
Their busy work attracted the attention of many idle men on both ends of the street. Local residents secretly peeked out from their strange-shaped homes. Some bold ones even walked out of their homes, stood at the entrance of the alley or walked directly to the street to watch from afar.
Xiao Yun did not let the three cubs return to their human form, but he also did not allow them to play around in such a dirty place. He gave each of them a bag of candy and asked them to sit quietly beside him. He also put animal skins under the wolves' butts... It was very difficult to wash them in wolf form, but the cleaner they were, the better.
This was of course done to avoid unnecessary trouble. With the three big wolves crouching like this, those idle people who were ready to make trouble... uh, suspected local gang members did not dare to come over to make trouble; although Sean could save countless troubles for the Snow Wolf tribe's recruitment activities by taking the upper-level route, there was no point in pretending to be a pig and attracting the lower-level forces to slap him in the face, so it would be better to save trouble as much as possible.
The charcoal fire was lit, the pot was heated, and a large can of greasy spicy rabbit cubes was poured in. As the oil temperature rose, the pungent aroma of rich spices quickly spread. In less than a few minutes, more local residents in the streets and alleys came out of their homes, some lying on the walls, some huddled in street corners, and countless pairs of hot eyes were cast on this group of strange outsiders...
Seeing that the preparations were almost done and there were a considerable number of people watching, Xiao Yun nodded to Isaac and said, "Come on, come on."
Isaac: “Uh…”
"Don't be so hesitant. You're a handsome young man with a righteous character and a knight. Who could be more convincing than you? Come on." Xiao Yun urged.
Isaac had no choice but to walk to the table, stand up straight, and look determined as if he were on the execution ground: "Dear residents, fellow countrymen, the Snow Wolf Tribe is here to recruit--"
"Are you memorizing your lines? Pay attention to your attitude, your attitude!" Xiao Yun scolded from behind, "Be friendly and nice, and use plain language!"
"..." Isaac made up his mind and gave up the treatment. "Everyone, pay attention. The Snow Wolf Tribe is here to recruit workers. Food and accommodation are all included, and the monthly salary is five silver coins! The work location is on the west coast of the grassland in the northern continent. The Snow Wolf Tribe will cover the round-trip transportation costs. The work will last for eight months a year, and they will let everyone come back to spend the winter-"
Five silver coins!
The crowd of onlookers suddenly became agitated. The salary in the central city was only three or four silver coins, which was not a job that most people could get. Moreover, the union in the lower city would also take a cut... If one could earn five silver coins a month, life would be so much better!
However... even in Kronin, the most open-minded Valentine, this was the first time he had seen aliens coming to recruit workers, and they were required to go out to sea far away from home to work. Although the residents were tempted, they still chose to wait and see, and no one dared to step forward.
Xiao Yun was disgusted by Isaac's arrogant look. He turned around to look at the adventurer team and raised his hand to call two of the brothers: "Edward, Wayne, come here."
The knight brothers were capable men under Hannah's command. Unfortunately, Xiao Yun remembered their names and always thought of them during training, intentionally or unintentionally. Seeing that the two were named again, the other adventurers cast sympathetic glances at them.
"Mr. Ayun." Regardless of his mood, Shield Knight Edward was very polite.
"You two should go to the crowd and promote it up close, focusing on the benefits of our Snow Wolf Tribe. Tell them that we are only recruiting for today and tomorrow, and we will be gone once we have recruited 500 people. Tell those who want to sign up to seize the opportunity, because there will be no more opportunities after this one… Those who sign employment contracts on the spot can bring their entire family to our place for a good meal! We will also give them a resettlement allowance of 100 kilograms of vermicelli!"
The knight brothers were born in the lower class and had been street vagrants since childhood. They were taught martial arts by Hannah and given names by Hannah. They did not have the awkward personality of Isaac who could not let go of his pride. After remembering Xiao Yun's words, they walked out of the recruitment office, one to the left and the other to the right, and separately lobbyed the local residents who were both excited and afraid.
The monthly living expenses of the residents in this neighborhood barely cover the cost of a copy of "Travels of the Continent". Their knowledge of the Snow Wolf Tribe is limited to the bits and pieces of information passed back by people working in the upper city. They have a very low awareness of "Red Leaves of the Snow Wolf Tribe", a brilliant supporting character in the travel notes, so it is definitely not a good idea to use this as a signboard. The knight brothers, who have been street vagrants for many years, know what these residents care about. They specifically look for those residents with simple faces, rough hands and feet, and children around them, and lobby directly to the key points:
"Do you know vermicelli? It's the kind of food that was mentioned once in the travel notes. It's made with special technology. This kind of food can't be found in the southern continent, but we adventurers often eat it in the northern continent. Two to three taels of vermicelli can make a full bowl of noodles, enough for an adult to eat in one meal... If you sign a labor contract, the Snow Wolf Tribe will pay a lump sum of 100 kilograms of vermicelli for resettlement. There are four people in your family, right? If you save some, it can last for two months!"
"Don't worry. The Snow Wolf Tribe knows that you care about your family's survival. Your monthly salary can be exchanged for food of equivalent value from the Snow Wolf Tribe. The Snow Wolf Tribe has a very good relationship with the Transportation Department of the Adventurer's Association. You can ask them to help transport it back. Your family can just go to the dock to pick it up..."
"Safety issues? Don't worry at all. Your workplace is right next to the Elf Port. There is no place safer than there!"
"The Snow Wolf Tribe still has a lot of things to do. We will only recruit for two days. If we recruit 500 people, we may end early—"
Shield Knight Edward was a good speaker. Not long after he chose a resident holding a child to persuade him, many people gathered around him. As he explained the benefits of the Snow Wolf Tribe one by one, the man holding the child looked more and more enthusiastically at the Snow Wolf Tribe's recruitment office.
The South City resident holding the child is named Sam. He was originally a farmer from the neighboring Bolton Territory. When he was fifteen, he followed the villagers to Valk to survive and lived in the lower city for ten years.
The feudal system of land power adopted by Kroenig was undoubtedly the most reliable and convenient for the top nobles. A pig sitting on the position of a lord could live an easy, comfortable and extravagant life; in contrast, the life of the lower-class common people was in purgatory mode... Serfs were suffering from bitterness, and self-cultivating farmers freemen were not much better off. After paying taxes to the lord, the remaining food was barely enough to feed the family. No wonder so many people came after Valentine opened his arms - the population increased nearly a hundred times in thirty years, which would be a miracle in any world.
Although Valentine's commercial activities are free and prosperous, it cannot absorb so many manpower, especially in the southern part of the downtown area . The only means of survival for most ordinary residents is to register with the union and wait for the union's arrangements to work as laborers at the docks... Although the union will take away a lot of money, at least they can support themselves and their families.
This month is the off-season for maritime trade, and the dock laborers have to take turns to do the work. Many families have run out of food, and have had to let the women in their families engage in the prostitution trade - even so it is difficult to alleviate the difficulties, as the South City really cannot attract many "customers".
Sam's family hasn't reached that point yet, but he only gets to work at the dock two days a week, and the meager income forces him and his family to tighten their belts to make ends meet. Adults can endure it, but children can't. Sam, who has to earn export rations, has been relying on water to fill his stomach since yesterday, and his arms are a little weak as he holds his daughter. Not to mention the salary of five silver coins, just the one hundred kilograms of food and a full meal for the whole family are enough to make Sam extremely excited.
But...if he left, his wife would be the only one at home to take care of the two children, which made Sam feel hesitant.
Just as Sam was hesitating, a foreigner from the Snow Wolf Tribe's recruitment office threw a pile of diced meat into the oil pan. With a "sizzling" sound, the strong aroma of meat was blown to the crowd by the wind, and the sound of swallowing saliva was heard immediately .
"Dad..." The daughter, who had been lying quietly on Sam's chest, raised her head and looked at her father, biting her fingers, her little face full of desire.
A well-behaved daughter would not complain to her father about being hungry, which made Sam, despite feeling sad, quickly make up his mind. He humbly bent down to thank the knight who explained the things to them, then walked out of the crowd and strode towards the recruitment office of the Snow Wolf Tribe.
Some of the people who were listening nearby had been itching to do something, but they just couldn't make up their minds to take the risk. When they saw Sam move, countless people's eyes were focused on Sam.
Sam steeled himself and walked to the table. When he saw the fierce adventurer and the aliens of astonishing size standing behind the table, his face turned pale instantly and he involuntarily took half a step back.
When Xiao Yun saw this situation, he quickly turned to look at Sal.
Sal immediately walked out from the crowd and greeted Sam with a friendly smile: "Hey, buddy, don't be nervous, come sit here and talk."
Thrall's Common Language had a hint of the Bolton accent, and Sam recognized it immediately. He stared at him in amazement for a moment, then when he realized what was happening, he quickly hugged his daughter and bowed, "Good day, my dear sir."
"You are also a Bolton, what a coincidence!" Thrall's attitude became more intimate. He pulled a stool and sat down, waving to Sam again, "I am not a master, you can just call me Thrall. Sit down and talk, buddy. Your daughter is so cute. What's her name?"
Speaking of his daughter, Sam's nervousness eased a lot, and he moved over slowly and embarrassedly: "She doesn't have a name yet..."
Before he was exiled for offending the nobles of the Bolton territory, Thrall was a well-known figure on the street. He dispelled the other party's vigilance with a few pleasantries, and used his own experience of living in the Snow Wolf tribe to emphasize how friendly the Snow Wolf tribe is to humans. He also skillfully brought the little girl over to sit on his lap and feed her - although he had trouble getting along with the caracal cubs, Thrall was not careless in coaxing the cubs and feeding them.
The master, who was dressed in low-key luxury and connotation (sun cloth) and had aristocratic temperament (Sarl's ancestors were rich after all), was so approachable and directly expressed his love for his children. Sam was so grateful that he explained his family background clearly during the small talk, and half-heartedly signed the indenture... uh... employment contract, and kept his daughter as a hostage. He carried a hundred kilograms of vermicelli and ran home accompanied by adventurers to call his wife and children...
Sam's family of four sat at the long table, slurping noodles and chewing rabbit cubes with bones and meat. The crowd that was still watching finally loosened up and ran in groups to the Snow Wolf Tribe's recruitment office...
Xiao Yun crossed his arms over his chest and bumped Isaac with his shoulder, who was shouting until his mouth was dry and Xiao Yun told him to shut up in disgust: "See, that's the right attitude to do things. I'm not as handsome as you, and my temperament is not as good as yours, but I'm better than you, tsk tsk~"
Isaac glanced at Sal, who was surrounded by a group of local residents and spitting at them, and turned his face away silently.
Captain Hannah, who was not asked to "receive customers" because of her fat face (...), looked at Isaac with sympathy.
There are thousands of households in the southern part of Xiacheng District, and thousands of young and middle-aged men. However, most of them have never dared to sign up due to too many concerns, lack of courage, or unwillingness to go to sea far away from their hometown. They all plan to wait for the registered people to work for a year and bring back the salary before following suit... So after more than three hours of lively recruitment, only about three hundred people signed the contract, which is still a bit far from the goal of 500 people.
Xiao Yun was a man who would not wait two days for something that could be done in one day, so he forced Isaac to take his knight brothers to go from street to street to spread the word and call out those who were still lying at home starving...
"In addition to the 500 vacancies for male workers, we will also recruit female workers. We will recruit as many as possible. Remember to call out this to the public." Xiao Yun reminded him. Wool textiles for the low-end market require a large number of textile workers, and the small cat tribe is totally insufficient. The tribe has to repeatedly expand the warehouse for storing raw wool. If they can load two ships of female workers back, there will be no trouble.
"Wait, if we want to recruit female workers, all men are not allowed..." Xiao Yun glanced at the adventurer team again, "All women, come out. Hannah, you should go too."
Captain Hannah: “…” A face full of fat isn’t safe anymore!
In order to prevent these guys from working without putting in enough effort, Xiao Yun asked the grassroots clan leader to go with them to "supervise"...
On the outskirts of the crowd, several men with gloomy faces watched a snow werewolf and several adventurers leave the "recruitment office" and go into the alley. They glanced at each other and quietly retreated.
