The sacred bone auction of "Muxi Mutual Aid Society" lasted from ten o'clock in the morning to five o'clock in the evening. The competition was fierce and the scene was so hot that Todd gritted his teeth and persisted for two hours. After two hours, he had to find an assistant to continue hosting on his behalf.
auction.
220 sacred bones were sold out, with the lowest transaction price being 18 silver moons per bone, and the highest transaction price even reaching 25 silver moons per bone. The total amount of funds raised from the auction totaled 4,349 silver moons.
In terms of holding ratio, the new residents of Muxi Town bought about 80% of the sacred bones, while local merchants only snapped up less than 20%.
The aide of the church reported to Todd based on the recent census. The permanent population of Muxi Town (people who own property in the town) may exceed a thousand people, and most of the newly moved people are
They were not poor peasants, craftsmen and craftsmen, but some wealthy squires and wealthy businessmen.
Todd found it a bit incredible. When Muxi Town was first established, the population experienced three major increases, but those were all poor people attracted by land and low taxes. Why did these squires and wealthy businessmen come to Muxi voluntarily?
How about settling in such a remote place as Xizhen?
After the auction, under Alfonso's introduction, Todd met Wilder, the knight who had once joined forces with him to fight against the enemy in the Keep, at the Interpretation Hall.
Todd was deeply impressed by this bearded middle-aged man, but he was deeply puzzled by the fact that he left the fortress where he was stationed and came to settle in Muxi Town.
"Knight Wilder, after that battle, I always thought that you would become the commander of Fort Watch due to your merits."
Hearing Todd's words, the bearded man shook his head in frustration: "They did give me a promotion - they asked me to manage the stables, a sinecure with little power."
Todd's eyes widened in surprise.
Wilder continued: "My former commander, the fallen Sir Adams, was loyal to the Silver Ring royal family and was incompatible with the nobles in the kingdom who were seeking power for personal gain. This personnel transfer in the Watch Castle just gave those worms the best
Taking the opportunity, they placed cronies in key positions in the fort. Most of the old factions like us were given some insignificant positions."
"So..." Wilder pointed at himself with his thumb: "I quit!"
Todd glanced at Alfonso, who was frowning next to him, and asked: "These nobles wantonly eliminate dissidents and install cronies. Doesn't the king stop them?"
"Stop it? The royal family itself is in a state of distress, how can it have the time to care about them?"
"What?!"
Wilder touched his beard: "I heard that there was a civil unrest in Silver Ring City a few days ago. The reason was that the residents in the city couldn't bear the increasingly complicated taxes. People burned shops and smashed statues. Thousands of people
He even ran to the palace gate and shouted insults, targeting the queen."
Queen Mary?
The woman who looked like a flower on the high mountains appeared in Todd's mind, and he asked strangely: "What does opposing taxes have to do with the queen?"
Wilder also looked a little puzzled: "I heard that the queen loves jewelry and famous paintings, is keen on dinners and dances, and asked the king to build a costly antique garden for her. The reason why the kingdom wants to raise taxes is to satisfy her.
Increasingly disrespectful demands.”
"This is completely a fabricated rumor..." Todd shook his head.
When Wilder heard this, he didn't feel like saying anything, so he just smiled and echoed a few words.
Todd thought about it carefully, but was stunned.
Although this is a rumor, the content is half false and half true. Although the request to build a garden and increase taxes is false, the love for jewelry and famous paintings is true, and the enthusiasm for dinners and dances is also true. This kind of mixed truth and falsehood is confusing.
It is absolutely impossible for people to make up huge rumors by themselves. It is very likely that someone deliberately spread them.
But what's the purpose? Why do the rumors point to the Queen?
Todd shook his head and laughed to himself. It had nothing to do with him anyway, so why bother thinking about it so much.
However, the wealthy businessmen and gentry in the towns of Yinhuan Kingdom finally found the reasons why they chose to settle in Muxi Town. One was that the taxes in the town were very light, and the other was that the people in the town were stable and the public security was good.
"Sir, all the coins have been put into the holy treasury. Here is the list..." Huggins knocked on the door and walked in. He was stunned when he saw there were guests in the room.
Wilder knocked down the chair under him and pointed at Huggins with trembling fingers: "You... aren't you dead?!"
Todd rolled his eyes, left his seat, patted Huggins on the shoulder, signaled him to entertain the guests, and left the room.
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That night, Todd held a dinner party. The guests at the dinner were the Raglan couple, whom they had not seen for a long time. They were members of a heterogeneous family but had only met once in an underground gathering.
The banquet was held in the side hall of the church, and Karin, Edgar, and Jerry were also invited to attend.
Todd sat at the head of the long table, with Mrs. Raglan and Karin sitting on his left, and Mr. Raglan, Edgar and Little Jerry on his right.
Karin, who was talking to Mrs. Raglan, accidentally glanced at Todd. The former quickly blushed and turned away. The latter was a little surprised. The girl who had been with Rachel for several months
, something was different compared to the past, but he couldn't tell what it was specifically.
Seeing everyone gathered together and laughing, Todd looked into the distance into the void, recalling the underground gathering when he had just traveled to another world, and he seemed to hear that old and warm voice again.
"I declare that as a mutant, he is now officially a member of our family..."
"Father? Sir?"
A female voice pulled Todd back from his memories.
Looking at Mrs. Raglan, who looked reserved, Todd smiled and signaled that there was no need to be nervous.
"How should I call you? Father? Master?"
Listening to the other party's inquiry, Todd didn't even have to think about it. It must be Edgar, the loudmouth, who told them about the Muxi Knights.
"The title is not important, Mrs. Raglan."
The Raglans were visibly relieved when they heard this.
The fat middle-aged woman sat on the chair, yawned slightly, and whispered: "I'll call you Lord Todd. I still remember the first time we met. When I saw you, I only had one thought in my mind. This is
This is the first time I have seen someone survive after being exposed to the "Sutherland Relic"..."
Todd laughed, recalling the scene at that time, and opened his lower lip with his right index finger: "Look, my teeth are still white, they haven't turned into gold."
Everyone laughed when they remembered the scene at that time.
Edgar stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth and said vaguely: "Mr. Raglan, Mrs. Raglan, tell me about your experiences during this time."
Mrs. Raglan nodded and said: "At first, my husband and I heard from others that there were many business opportunities in the south. Partly to make money and partly to travel, we sold the bakery and drove the carriage all the way to the south.
Kingdom travel…”
Karin asked the middle-aged woman beside her: "Southern Kingdom? Is it Lone Rock City?"
"No, we have to go further south. The place we finally arrived has a dry climate and is an endless desert. There is a wide river in the desert, and on the plain formed by the alluvial river, there is a huge city. There are hundreds of thousands of people.
The population lives in this city, and its edges are endless as far as the eye can see.
In that place, everything you can think of is sold in the market, ships taller than the ancient trees in the sky are parked in the port, and houses are everywhere like flowers and plants on the earth. The men wear long robes and have turbans wrapped around their heads.
White or colorful headscarves, the most talked about on the street are business, learning and philosophy."
Mrs. Raglan suddenly remembered something, she clapped her hands and said with a smile: "By the way, I also brought you gifts from the far south."
Karin was given a bright silk scarf, Edgar was given a wide-brimmed felt hat, and little Jerry was given a pile of candied fruits.
As for Todd, Mrs. Raglan gave him a small iron box filled with powder.
"Sir Todd, my husband and I know that you like alchemy. This is a box of alchemy materials that we bought at a high price."
Todd thanked him and took the iron box.
There was an Arabic sentence on the surface of the iron box. Upon questioning, Todd read out the sentence slowly.
"All praise belongs to Allah."
Using his fingers to remove the sealing wax and opening the sealed lid, Todd flipped through the layers of oilcloth paper inside. When he saw what was inside, his pupils shrank and his fingers trembled slightly.
He dipped his finger into some powder and smelled it. After a moment, Todd sighed heavily.
Black powder.
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The next morning.
Aiden Colm walked out of the church, a little excited and a little uneasy. What was exciting was that he did not expect that the Holy Son would still think of him after such a long time; what was uneasy was that the other party wanted the equipment he made.
Judging from the complexity of the drawings, I have never done it before, and there are many places where the parameters are not precise, and the words "maybe" and "maybe" are even used...
Rachel sat on one side of the table and watched the person opposite writing and drawing on paper. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked: "Todd, you look a little tired and a little... uneasy?
"
Todd raised his head, his eyes were bloodshot, and he smiled bitterly: "Rachel, sometimes I keep thinking, if only I knew everything..."
The woman also laughed: "Even the Heavenly Father in the Bible does not dare to say that he knows all things. In my opinion, the things you understand are beyond the reach of common sense."
Todd picked up the paper and suddenly said to the nun: "Rachel, I need your help."
The woman saw the contents on the paper. Apart from the numbers and calculations that were like a heavenly book, she only vaguely recognized the line of Latin at the top.