Although he thought of all the rumors about Howard circulating in the town, Matthew still shook hands with him.
Rumors cannot be taken completely seriously.
The two then chatted politely for a few words.
But Howard looked worried and kept looking out the carriage window, so Matthew didn't say anything more.
Twenty minutes later.
The carriage successfully arrived at the "South Trading Post" located in the south of Rolling Stone Town, bordering the two territories of Golden Fertile Field and High Leaf Collar.
Howard thanked him and got out of the car.
He wanted to pay the fare but Matthew refused. Then he gave the coachman a few loose coins and hurriedly walked towards the interior of the trading station.
The South Trading Post is a large market built on the plains.
It provides a resting place for merchants traveling from north to south, and is also compatible with the function of a wholesale market. Here you can buy a large amount of food, textiles, handmade crops, and some gadgets at a low price.
Some sheds were built to the north of the trading post, and there were many small workshops transferred from Rolling Stone Town.
Matthew wanted to take Laila for a walk around the trading post.
But Laila said she has her own way of checking the spots.
Matthew left her alone.
Since entering Rolling Stone Town, Laila has wrapped herself up in layers of thick robes. Any areas involving dark skin have been covered by her, leaving only those areas with severe albino skin exposed.
This made her look weird.
But it at least prevents people from associating her with the evil underworld drow.
About half an hour passed.
Laila is back.
So the carriage bypassed the trading post and continued heading north.
In the carriage.
Matthew asked:
"How about it?"
Laila said calmly:
"Basically I understand everything."
Matthew asked again:
"Any news worth noting?"
Laila thought for a while:
"There are two pieces of news, the first one is related to the passenger just now.
The reason why he looked so anxious was because the workers in his textile workshop were on strike.
The reason is said to be related to haunting, and several stall owners in the trading post are discussing this matter, and they are also discussing whether to close business for a few days to avoid bad luck."
Is it haunted?
Matthew didn’t pay much attention:
"What about the second one?"
Laila said:
"There are several merchants from the south discussing the coup in Hongtu Mountain, which is what happened in the territory we passed yesterday.
There are rumors that the son of the lord of Red Earth Mountain killed his father and became the new lord.
On the first day he became lord, he announced that he would increase taxes on incoming caravans.
Not only that, he also wants to set up a special patrol team to catch smugglers.
Although the specific decree has not yet been issued, businessmen have confirmed this from multiple channels.
Convoys entering and exiting Hongtushan have accelerated their movements in the past few days, and they are very worried about this, fearing that Hongtushan’s move will affect the flow of people at the South Trading Post.”
Speaking of which.
She added:
"But these have nothing to do with us. No one dares to provoke you, and the tax gate of Hongtu Mountain cannot collect from me. At worst, they can't catch me if I walk on the mountain road."
Matthew nodded.
Red Earth Mountain is the only way for Gunshi Town to develop trade in the south.
The main reason is that the "Shady River" that runs from east to west is so fragrant.
The Shadi River's round-the-clock carrying capacity all year round attracted countless cargo flows. As a result, Hongtu Mountain prospered, and its lord family became rich because of the business going south and north.
The cargo flow is huge.
There are naturally many smugglers.
Even Matthew, who has been planting trees in Rolling Stone Town, has heard about the rampant smuggling phenomenon in Red Earth Mountain.
Now that a new lord has come to power, there seems to be no problem in raising taxes and cracking down.
So he opened the car window to let in the air, cleared his mind, changed a book and read it carefully.
The time on the carriage was very long.
Although the South Trading Post is located in Rolling Stone Town, Rolling Stone Town covers an area of approximately 17,000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to a city in Matthew's previous life.
More than two hours passed.
The scenery outside the car window gradually became familiar.
The carriage drove all the way into the town.
Matthew did not go home immediately, but went to the Lord's Mansion to report on his work.
The result surprised him.
Today in the administrative hall of the Lord's Mansion, Zeller, who has always been known as a workaholic, is not there. Only Rega is sitting there drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.
After hearing that Matthew was going back to work.
Rhaegar put down the coffee cup and raised his eyebrows:
"Are you sure you won't take two months off?"
Matthew smiled:
"I've had enough rest on the carriage."
Rega pouted, stood up unhappily, led him to a small room next door and introduced:
"This is the office assigned to you by Zeller. He hopes you can come and sit there more often when you are free."
"Your office is very close to mine. This is also Zeller's arrangement. He hopes that the two of us can communicate more. Of course, this is his wishful thinking. I will not communicate with you except for official matters."
Matthew asked:
"What about the Oak Chamber of Commerce?"
Rhaegar said of course:
"That's another thing. As one of the shareholders, of course I will also be concerned about the development of the Oak Chamber of Commerce."
Said.
He pointed to an old lady who had just passed by the corridor and introduced:
"This is Mrs. Wesley. If you have any chores, you can ask her to do it, but remember to speak louder. She is deaf and can't hear very well."
"Just remember it...forget it, there is no need to remember it too clearly, because I will fire her next week."
"Don't look at her old look. Her new boyfriend is only 34 years old."
Immediately from the other end of the corridor, Mrs. Wesley cursed:
"Save some money for Rega! Isn't it because the coffee I poured for you in the morning was not filtered cleanly?"
"You're fifty years old, don't be so petty!"
Rega immediately jumped to his feet and said:
"You admit it? Is it unfiltered? It tastes like I'm drinking a glass of scalding mud!"
"Look, when I had a nice talk with her this morning, she pretended not to hear!"
"If Mrs. Wesley ignores you in the future, just remember to say a few bad words about her."
After one round of face-to-face instruction.
Rhaegar stretched:
"That's all. You can get used to it. If you have any other questions, don't come to me. I'm very busy."
As he said that, he walked outside.
Matthew joked:
"Too busy reading the newspaper?"
Rhaegar turned back and corrected seriously:
"No, next is the more important nap time."
…
It was already afternoon when I left the Lord's Mansion.
The carriage drove into the mage area and slowly stopped.
Matthew jumped out of the car.
Laila followed closely with her luggage - the largest of which were three body bags. They were purchased from White Rock City before Matthew set off. Each body bag can carry 8 corpses and allow them to be transported.
Maintains quality and freshness in the short term.
The treasures contained in the body bags are Matthew's biggest gain from this trip to the south, besides part-time jobs, advancement and plague fields.
Matthew just opened the door.
Peggy rushed out of the house.
She looked at Matthew in surprise and gave him a warm hug.
"Okay, Paige, okay, your sternum hits you so hard that my head hurts."
Feeling Peggy's joy up close, Matthew was very moved, but also a little helpless.
The Minotaur skeleton is too tall and powerful.
He, the master, was like a little bird when he was held in her arms.
"Oh, Matthew, I'm so glad to see you alive!"
"A lot of things have happened since you left, and I have to talk to you in detail, but before that I have to tell you a secret, hehehe, you won't be able to guess it."
Peggy said proudly.
Matthew looked up and asked:
"Have you upgraded?"
Paige's swaying soul fire suddenly stopped shaking:
"How did you know?"
Matthew shrugged.
Paige still wanted to ask, but at this time, Laila had already followed in carrying three body bags.
"Matthew, you can't go out and bring back just one woman. You know, the number of women in our family has exceeded the quota!"
After seeing Laila, Paige quickly raised her voice, and she looked full of vigilance.
Matthew Xindao: When did the family have a quota for the number of women?
He introduced himself:
"This is Leila, she's going to be working for me. Leila, this is Paige, and well, for the most part, Paige means what I mean."
Laila looked a little embarrassed.
At first, her eyes were full of surprise when she saw Peggy, but then she felt relieved when she thought of Matthew's identity.
At this moment, facing Peggy's condescending gaze, she put down the body bag and greeted with a low eyebrow:
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Paige."
As soon as this statement came out.
Paige was immediately elated. She threw away all her vigilance and rejection just now, took Laila's little hand and walked into the house:
"Oh, no need to call me madam, we are all friends, I will show you around."
Matthew was left alone, looking at the heavy body bag on the ground, lost in thought.
Half a moment.
He shouted helplessly:
"Bing, work."
Go into the house.
A familiar and warm feeling came over me.
Matthew slumped on the sofa regardless of his image.
Huge fatigue surged into my heart, and my eyelids began to fight crazily.
Matthew made no resistance and fell into a deep sleep.
Until half an hour later.
He was shaken awake by Peggy vigorously:
"Mind your appearance, Matthew, stop drooling! Get up and eat."
Matthew rubbed his sleepy eyes and came to the dining table.
I found that in addition to Peggy's freshly prepared meals, there were also some strange dark dishes, which looked like a mixture of mushrooms and fish heads.
So he asked curiously:
"what are these?"
Paige replied:
"This is an invention invented by Sif and I, a potion that can quickly upgrade the undead."
Matthew said in surprise:
"It actually has such an effect?"
Peggy said proudly:
"Otherwise, how do you think I upgraded? It can't be because of you! I haven't upgraded since I followed you!"
Matthew, who was enjoying the food, almost choked when he heard this.
Considering that there was Laila next to him and Paige's face had to be taken into consideration, he changed the subject and said:
"Does Sif come often after I leave?"
Peggy nodded and said:
"Here most of the time."
Matthew frowned:
"She shouldn't think of this as her home."
Peggy said confidently:
"I let her consider this place her home."
Said.
She looked at Laila with apologetic eyes:
"I'm sorry, there is already a mistress in this house, and there is more than one."
Laila quickly defended:
"I'm just Lord Matthew's follower."
"Really? Are you good at fighting?"
Peggy became interested.
Laila said awkwardly:
"Not very powerful."
Peggy must have just advanced, and her self-confidence is a bit inflated. She insists on dragging Laila and has to go outside to fight.
Matthew didn't care about her, he just ate hard.
Fortunately, Laila is very measured.
She repeatedly excused herself, using the excuse that she was tired from the journey and lacked energy, and finally gave up Paige's desire to be competitive.
Two women here are going back and forth on the table.
Matthew over there has quickly wiped out a sumptuous dinner.
"You're full, Peggy. This is the most delicious meal I've ever had."
Matthew first offered a few sincere compliments.
Then he said to Laila:
"You stay at home for a few days and learn about the situation in Rolling Stone Town with Peggy. I will make other arrangements for you later. Relax, Rolling Stone Town is not a dark place and it is safe enough here."
After saying this, Matthew happily ran to the east greenhouse.
After a while, Laila saw him going out carrying several sacks and a shovel.
"Where are you going, Master Matthew, at such a late hour? Aren't you going to rest?"
Laila couldn't help but ask.
"I'm addicted."
Peggy commented.
"ah?"
Laila was shocked.
"Tree addiction."
Peggy spread her hands.
…
Three days later, at noon.
Matthew lay relaxing in the shade of an oak tree.
He was tired and satisfied at the same time.
He looked towards the north, and there was a touch of majestic green on the previously endless land.
This is the result of his crazy tree planting these days.
Three and a half days.
100 freshly grown tall oak trees.
It represents not only 1,000 XP points, but also symbolizes Matthew's hard work and path.
"It's a pity that the growing green liquid has been used up, and the upper limit of tree planting per day is locked here."
Matthew stretched.
Start thinking about how to further improve efficiency.
If you want oak saplings to survive quickly, you need "Growth Green Liquid" or "Spell: Rapid Growth".
Matthew, the former, has no more stock on hand.
The latter can be used up to 10 times per day.
Matthew has the Oak Domain, which can forcefully break through the limit of 10 times, and can be used several times a day.
Adding the effects of the field itself, we managed to achieve 100 trees in 3 and a half days.
But I want to go further.
You have to break through the limit of "rapid growth".
"That guy Jeff hasn't shown up yet."
"I really can't go to Watcher's Highlands in person. I now have two transformations: raven and wind god pterosaur. Even if I encounter danger on the road, I should be able to deal with it calmly."
Matthew thought lazily.
But at this moment, a domain symbol suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
Matthew was surprised to find that the "immortal" who had been leading by a large margin was still standing still.
And the "Oak" field actually came to perfection for the second time!
The next second.
A strange wave came.
He came to that strange forest again!
But this time Matthew stayed in the field for a shorter time.
He just saw countless birds flying around in the canopy of a tree.
Then, that annoying hawk-faced man appeared.
He said to Matthew coldly:
"It's too early for you here."
Said.
He kicked Matthew.
Matthew fell backwards involuntarily.
…
"Tip: Plant 100 oak trees in 3 and a half days. Your outburst and persistence will acquire more oak elements, and you will get a second chance to enter the "oak field"!
Since this exploration is not in-depth, it is a pity that you cannot obtain more domain capabilities.
Your current exploration progress in the Oak Domain is: Getting Started (more than 2 times)
You gain a temporary status: Plant trees with revenge!
Description: During the duration of the status, for every oak tree you plant, you can gain 1 point of strengthening experience;
Every 15 points of strengthening experience can strengthen your summon "Zombie/Silver Moon Zombie"!
Duration: 30 days
…
Matthew was so excited that he jumped up from the ground!