Wall Village is located deep in the Pagolos Mountains, separated by two steep mountains. The mountain roads are rugged and difficult to navigate. It is considered the outermost area of the Halanza Territory. If you go deeper, you will enter the desolation of the Pagoros Mountains.
It lacks all the resources needed for production and life, and humans cannot survive there. Not only that, even magical beasts rarely appear in that area.
It takes almost a day to ride a horse from Helensa City to Wall Village. Tax Collector Bird rode a short brown stallion with four legs and kept complaining that the mountain rangers in Helensa City would use only four of them.
The sheep rode away, leaving him to ride a stallion with short legs.
This kind of stallion is not suitable for walking on mountain roads. Only sheep can walk on rugged mountain roads with ease.
Although Tax Collector Byrd is not tall, his pampered life has given him a belly as big as that of a pregnant woman. His legs are very thin, which makes Suldak a little curious. Such thin and short legs
, how does he support his tonnage-level body in normal times?
This short stallion looks very stocky, and Tax Collector Byrd is as steady as a rock as he rides on it.
The two followers of the tax officer were riding ancient Bolai horses, and one of the followers was assigned by the tax officer to rush to Wall Village first to inform the village chief of Wall Village that their group would arrive at dusk.
Arrive at Wall Village and ask the village chief of Wall Village to prepare a temporary residence and dinner for him.
Surdak followed Tax Collector Byrd and walked slowly on the mountain road for most of the day. He thought to himself that if he had followed that entourage, he would have reached Wall Village by now. Unfortunately, he did not have the foresight and could only
Follow Tax Collector Byrd as he walks slowly through the mountains.
After crossing the first dangerous mountain ridge, the lush trees all over the mountain became increasingly sparse.
Large expanses of green grass and large rocks are exposed between the mountains behind. After climbing over the second steep mountain, you will find that there are only a handful of trees in the mountains, and the green grass can only be seen in some ravines.
See.
The north slope of the mountain wall in the distance is filled with gravel and gravel. The entire mountain looks like a complete huge rock. However, due to years of weathering, these rocks have produced mottled cracks.
Unexpectedly, after leaving the city of Hailansa and entering the mountainous area, the landform here was so different from the surroundings of Hailansa City.
There was no expression on Suldak's face, just like a wanderer who had been away from home for many years standing at the door of his house and not daring to walk in easily.
After walking on the mountain road for nearly a day, Tax Collector Bird sat on the saddle, twisted his butt unnaturally, pointed to the mountain pass in front of him, finally breathed out, and said to Suldak: "We are almost there.
, you should be able to remember it after you pass this mountain pass!"
Surdak rode on his horse and gave a knightly salute to Tax Collector Byrd. He couldn't wait to rush forward to take a look. The ancient Bolai horse under him seemed to be like an arrow, rushing directly towards the road.
Yamaguchi.
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, a village with only a few dozen stone houses appeared in front of the mountain col. This mountain col looked like the only green streak among the nearby mountains.
He remembered that on the battlefield, when the members of the second team were resting on their beds and crossbows, Suldak told him about his childhood life in detail. The beautiful small village gradually overlapped with the village in front of him, and he couldn't bear it.
He turned over and dismounted, knelt on one knee on the road at the mountain pass, supported the ground with both hands, and put his head close to the ground to smell the fragrance of the earth.
Tax Officer Byrd caught up from behind, looked at the deserted village in front of him, took a long breath, and said with a relaxed face: "Finally, I don't have to come here to collect taxes anymore. This is great!"
Surdak looked at Tax Collector Byrd with a look of astonishment, wondering where his joy came from.
Tax collector Byrd walked up to Suldak, reached out and patted his thick shoulder, and said to Suldak seriously:
"To be honest, Knight Surdak, since you have become a knight, Wall Village will be your territory from now on. Although the official knight certificate has not been issued yet, it will be a matter of time."
"I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. If it weren't for you, I would have to walk so hard four times every year. Every time I come to such a poor mountain village to collect taxes, my heart is full of heavy guilt.
feel."
Surdak did not expect that Tax Collector Byrd would be happy that he would not have to go to Wall Village to collect taxes in the future.
It seems that Wall Village is poorer than imagined.
Surdak asked Tax Collector Byrd: "Don't you have to wait until I get the knight certificate before you can allocate a fief to me? Will this village be assigned to me? How will other people in the village live here?
?”
Surdak was a little worried. If his arrival was more like a disaster to other villagers in Wall Village, that would be the worst.
"Well, that's right!" Tax Collector Byrd said, and then explained:
"But according to the usual practice, I think it is to divide a territory for you in the nearby area. After all, you cannot deprive other villagers of their land, even if the land nominally belongs to you, you have to continue to rent it in the form of a lease.
For these villagers, the annual rent increase must not exceed 5% of the total rent, and you cannot take the land back unless they are unwilling to continue cultivating the land."
It turns out that the Imperial Code also has some protection policies for civilians, so who will compensate for his losses? Surdak thought randomly in his mind.
"...So the higher ups will also divide a piece of land that truly belongs to you." Tax Officer Byrd continued.
Surdak curled his lips and asked, "Wasteland?"
Tax Collector Byrd did not expect that Surdak would speak so bluntly. Considering that he was a knight who had never entered the academy and had not received systematic training in knight etiquette, Tax Collector Byrd felt that he could forgive him for his rashness.
, so he explained: "This...indeed...you need to pay for it and hire people to cultivate it."
The most indispensable thing around Wall Village is probably these ownerless wastelands, and they are still wastelands full of rocks and gravel that cannot be cultivated. In this way, it does not matter whether the land is divided for yourself or not. Even if the land is not divided, for
Can’t I take the initiative to reclaim these wastelands around the village?
"...Why do you feel that becoming a knight doesn't seem to have any benefits." Surdak muttered.
Tax Collector Byrd mounted his stallion again and waited in front of the mountain pass. He smiled at Suldak and said: "The good territory has been taken over long ago, so the Green Empire is now encouraging the knights to go to other rich planes.
Open up new territory.”
Surdak got on his horse and chased after him.
"I heard that the land in the Warsaw plane is very fertile?" Tax Officer Bird asked Surdak curiously.
Surdak nodded, and the scene of the forest farm camp appeared in his mind: "It is indeed quite fertile. There are large areas of pasture in Handanar County, and the alfalfa there can grow to almost waist height..."
"That's really fertile land." Tax Collector Byrd said wistfully.
At this time, Surdak added: "Some evil spirits will run out from time to time."
Tax Collector Byrd's expression immediately changed, he forced a smile and said, "Well... actually, I personally think Helensa City is pretty good."
…
A meandering river flows from the dark gray stone pieces and flows along the valley into the mountain depression, dyeing the world into emerald green.
The small village of Wall is built in this mountain valley. The stone houses are not neatly built, and small roads are distributed in the village. A wooden board is hung on a dead tree at the entrance of the village, and it is painted with white lime powder.
Wall', it looks a little blurry.
A group of villagers wearing linen clothes stood at the entrance of the village. They looked forward in anticipation under the afterglow of the setting sun. Surdak's figure stretched out his back under the setting sun.
As Suldak and Tax Collector Byrd came closer and closer, the young people in the village began to cheer and even began to sing a song of triumph in unison. The villagers used the simplest singing to welcome them in their hearts.
hero.
At this time, Suldak felt very uneasy. As he approached on horseback, this feeling became more and more intense. He looked at the woman standing at the front of the crowd with some uneasiness.
From time to time, people around shouted: "Suldak, good job..."
At this time, a girl wearing a long linen skirt and a headscarf ran out of the group and shouted: "Brother..."
She held the hem of her sarong with both hands and ran very fast, her pace filled with youthful atmosphere.
When he ran in front of Surdak, his face had turned red, and his bulging chest was rising and falling violently. A pair of chestnut eyes stared at Surdak, but the surprise in his eyes gradually turned into surprise and doubt. Standing in Surdak
In front of Dak, it was like staring at a stranger.
"Are you Rita?" Suldak quickly got off the horse, put down the reins, strode up to the girl, and looked at her seriously.
Surdak is right. He has a very beautiful sister. Her fair face is very similar to Surdak's, but she exudes a kind of softness in her bones. Her eyes are bright and energetic, and her eyes are shaped like water chestnuts.
The ends of his lips were slightly raised, looking full of pride.
Rita looked at Suldak with suspicion. Facing the handsome knight who could call out his name at a glance, she really wanted to find some shadows of her brother in her memory from the man in front of her. Some places were very similar, and some were similar.
It's definitely not like that. The girl became a little confused at this moment, and lightly opened her lips and said:
"Who are you……"
Before he could say the next words, a group of cheerful villagers came up behind him. They couldn't help but lift Suldak up, throw him into the air and catch him again. This was repeated three times, and the cheers still didn't stop.
"Dak, your appearance has changed so much that we almost don't recognize you anymore." A young villager punched Suldak in the chest and said with a smile.
Surdak stretched out his hands, hugged the young villager who looked a little thin, wore a leather apron and smelled of sheep, and said: "You are still the same...Hood!"
The young villager named Hood was so excited that he hugged Suldak tightly and shouted to the surrounding villagers:
"I just said that Dake will not forget me. If we meet you in the city of Helena, I won't dare to say hello to you. We haven't seen you for five years, and you have become so strong."
A villager in the crowd asked: "I heard that you made great achievements on the battlefield and were made a knight by a noble man?"
Several young people surrounded Suldak and said excitedly: "It's great to have you back. This time we will definitely beat the shit out of those grandsons in Guta Village."
A faint smile appeared on Suldak's face. Facing these strange and enthusiastic villagers, he really didn't know what he should say.
A boy wearing linen bloomers and a shirt with cut sleeves squeezed into the crowd and hung on Surdak's thigh like a leather monkey. Surdak reached out and patted the boy on the back and asked him
Said: "Are you Peter?"
Peter blinked his big, smart eyes and said to Suldak in a sweet voice: "Dad, mommy said you are my daddy, that's great! I finally have a daddy. I'm really afraid that they will say I'm the same as Jim."
, they are all wild children.”
Peter's innocent words seemed to ignite a fire in Suldak's heart. He reached out and gently stroked the soft long hair on Peter's head, pinched his armpits with both hands, and easily lifted him above his head.
, and then put little Peter on his shoulders.
Peter held Suldak's hair with both hands, sat on his shoulders and laughed non-stop.
All the villagers gathered around Surdak, and everyone seemed happy. On the contrary, Surdak's family stood outside the crowd, watching everything in front of them without saying a word. Natasha looked at the old man with a worried look.
Sheila asked softly: "Sheila..."
What mother in the world doesn’t know her son?
No matter how this person changes his appearance, some of his little habits will never change. Sheila looked at the strong young man in front of her, who was at most five points similar to her own child Surdak, but she was sure that surrounded by the crowd
It must not be Suldak, because his smile is so strange and his eyes are so strange.
But who is this young man who can be sent back by Tax Collector Bird personally and has the status of a knight?
The wrinkles on old Sheila's face were almost squeezed together, but she still couldn't figure out these things.
Hearing Natasha calling her, old Sheila's loving eyes fell on Peter, who was laughing heartily on the knight's shoulder, and just whispered to Natasha: "Go home first!"
The sun has set, the blue-purple sky is getting darker and darker, and the light is getting dimmer.
The villagers surrounded Surdak and walked towards his home. Surdak kept looking for a chance to say a few words to 'his' wife, but unfortunately he never found a suitable opportunity and could only raise his hand.
Little Peter walked home with everyone.
Tax Collector Bird did not come with him. The village chief had already arranged dinner and accommodation. Tax Collector Bird was tired all the way and wanted to have an early rest. He had to return to Helensa City early tomorrow. This time, he came back again and again.
Even riding a horse is a kind of torture for a fat man like him.
Walking along the dirt road in the village, Surdak recognized the low stone house in front of him at first sight. It was the home that Suldak had described countless times, although it looked smaller than expected.
The middle one is a bit shabbier, but it's exactly the same as what he said.
The small chestnut tree at the door has grown very tall and is covered with fruits.
The stone mill in the yard looks like it has not been used for a long time, and half of it has been buried in the soil.
I remember that Surdak once said that he often used this stone roller to crush wheat ears, but he was the only one who could pull the stone roller.
Suldak crossed the crowd and walked to the door of the courtyard. He put Peter down from his shoulders, stretched out his hand to touch the pear tree at the door of the courtyard, and found a few crooked letters carved with a knife on the trunk. Then he entered the courtyard again,
Squatting in front of the stone roller, holding both ends of the stone roller with both hands, squatting slightly with his legs, the veins on his forehead appeared, he just shouted "get up", and the stone roller that was half buried in the soil was suddenly lifted by Su
Erdak was pulled out of the mud.
Then he walked to the courtyard wall and touched the wooden figure practicing swordsmanship with mushrooms growing out of it that was almost rotting leaning against the wall with a nostalgic look on his face.
He turned around and just smiled at these people.
The villagers standing at the door wanted to walk into the yard, but they were stopped by the old man who looked like the village chief. He drove all the villagers at the door away like cattle, leaving only a few people from Suldak.