Before returning to the hotel, Keating took Verak to a restaurant to eat some Dunman specialties.
Verak is not very sensitive to food. He just thinks that Dunman's food is as delicious as Blissy's. He has nothing wrong with it. Other than that, there is no difference.
Keating was different from him. He first lived in a foreign country for twenty years, and then spent two unbearable years in Dymans Prison. When he ate the delicacies of his hometown again, the taste he felt in his taste buds brought back his memories.
, which made him deeply moved.
"I have been on the road these years and have tasted food from all over the world, but when I come here I still feel that the food in my hometown is the best." After lunch, Keating murmured as he walked on the road.
"I also think the food in my hometown is delicious." Verak doesn't have the experience of being away from home for decades like Keating, but he also likes the food in his hometown the most.
"Time is worth everything." Keating thinks the answer is this.
Verak didn't know and didn't think about it.
After returning to the hotel, the two continued to observe Quinn's Tavern. Quinn's Tavern was the same as when they first arrived. It looked deserted on the outside, with only a few people coming in and out occasionally.
"It's nothing that they prohibit foreigners from entering. It's xenophobic at most. But Boss Xin and Willow seem to be very wary of foreigners, which doesn't make sense. I suspect... they have conflicts with some foreign gang.
"Verak took off his coat, put on a woolen sweater, leaned against the window with his arms folded, and analyzed.
"There is a serious gang war here, and Mantline Street is a place where every inch of land is at a premium. It is normal to have conflicts with outside gangs. This may also be the key to us breaking the situation." Keating looked into the distance while holding a steaming coffee cup.
Tavern across the street, "But now it's a little complicated."
Verak looked at Keating.
"After Wilson died, did he tell anyone else about the gold?" Keating was struggling with this point.
"I think he should tell his son Willow or his friend Boss Xin. After all, Wilson doesn't know your life or death. He also has to make a golden plan if you are no longer here." Verak also said the same.
Feeling a headache, "But it makes sense even if he didn't do this. Human nature is too complicated. People can't even guarantee what they will do, and it's even harder to place their hopes on others."
"If Wilson hadn't said, we offered a high price to buy Quinn's Tavern, and Willow didn't agree, Xin would have made the decision to sell it for him. If Wilson had said it, he could only tell Willow and Xin. Regardless of whether he told Xin or not.
, Xin will eventually learn the truth from Willow's mouth. In that case, things will become difficult, and they will not move away until they have completely eaten the gold." Keating said.
Verak felt that it was easy to verify this matter: "Then let's just test it out? I will find a way to come forward, or send someone else to contact them, and negotiate at a price that is enough to make them excited, but will not make them suspicious.
Talk. If they agree, then everything is easy to talk about. If they don’t agree, then they probably know about the gold, and we can only fight for it through other means."
When it came to Boss Xin and the others knowing about the gold situation, Verak's wording was "fight for it."
Because being discovered by the local forces about the existence of gold is the last thing they want to see. The two of them hold two pistols. Let's not talk about whether they can fight against a gang of hundreds of people in the Old South.
It was said that they had fought, and the matter would become a big deal, and everyone in the Old Southern Testament would know about it. How could they hold on to the gold in the face of so many jackals, tigers, and leopards?
To get the gold back, it must be done quietly. If one more person knows, the risk will increase.
This is no ordinary thing, this is gold worth 200 million gold grams, 100 billion pounds. If the news is leaked, let alone whether it can be transported away, survival will be a huge challenge.
"After being on the boat for so long, let's take a good rest today." Keating knew better than Verak that if Xin knew about the existence of the gold, their hope of getting it back would be slim. "Tomorrow I will look for my former friends.
Just keep staring at them."
"Understood." Verak nodded.
——
January 26
After the two had breakfast together, Keating left the hotel alone.
Verak and the waiter asked for some Old South Testament newspapers, moved a stool and sat in front of the window. While monitoring Quinn's Tavern, he learned the Dunman language and understood current events through the newspapers.
——Old Southern Tribune: Although the Union won the Civil War, the people were still quite dissatisfied with the results. Protest marches and worker strikes occurred frequently in various places, which were beyond the control of the government. President John John delivered a speech on January 24.
, indicating that there is no difference between people, trying to quell the riot.
——Old South Testament Sun: The new conscription law was officially promulgated. It is called the number one conscription law in federal history because of its simplicity, crudeness, and serious unfairness. It stipulates that if you pay 300,000 pounds of exemption money to the government, you will be exempted from military service.
——Old Southern Testament Herald: We will not support any faction or be the trumpet of any group. We will be committed to recording facts and recording public and major events and issues. We will not talk nonsense, be unbiased, and be impartial.
, report independently, fearlessly and in good faith, and comment appropriately.
…
As Verak read further, his brows frowned more and more.
Tun Man ended the civil war and was already in a mess. Under such circumstances, instead of maintaining order and restoring the economy as soon as possible, addressing the people's demands and stabilizing the country, they also promulgated unacceptable new policies.
Conscription Act.
If the civil war had not ended, large-scale war would not have broken out in Dunman in the foreseeable future. The promulgation of this conscription law will definitely cause a huge backlash.
"Three hundred thousand pounds... six hundred gold grams..." Verak held the newspaper and felt angry for the ordinary people of Dunman who had suffered injustice. With such a large sum of money, he was allowed to work as a photographer without food or drink.
It would take seven or eight years to come up with it. "This is clearly giving the dignitaries immunity from military service, forcing civilians to go to the battlefield..."
In every corner of the world, civilians are not immune to the disaster.
Oppression and exploitation, this group of dignitaries and dignitaries regard human life as nothing, and squeeze out all the value of the common people.
Verak's heart could not be calm for a long time.
He hoped that after they lit the first torch, torches could be erected as soon as possible in places like Dunman Old South, and people could unite to fight injustice.
Before lunch, Keating rushed back, looking unhappy.
Verak, who had been staring at him all morning, was rubbing the bridge of his nose and massaging his eyes. When he saw Keating coming back, he quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Teacher, how are you?"
"Either they can't be found, or they have already left the Old South, or even Dunman." Keating shook his head.
After such a long time, and with a major war taking place in Dunman for several years, it is normal for some changes to occur.
"Then it seems we can only rely on ourselves." Verak said.
"Yeah." Keating sighed and sat down.
Verak brought the newspaper he had read in the morning and placed it in front of Keating: "Teacher, look here."
"What's wrong?" Keating looked along the newspaper section pointed by Verak, where it was reported that people from the Sder Kingdom and the Monrego Empire had just arrived in the Old South Treaty, and they were forced to sign the residence permit while issuing it.