I Live on the Land in Global Games-Chapter 191 - 190: Boiling Wine and Eating Meat (300 more, 1/3)

Chapter 191: Chapter 190: Boiling Wine and Eating Meat (300 more, 1/3)

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Xie Sen’s house was surrounded by a fence made of logs, each with a cross-section about the size of a palm.

After knocking on the wall to test its sturdiness, Mu Ying said to Xie Sen, "Such a fence could really use some Binding Vines, it’s a shame not to. Once the Transmission Array is up, you must bring enough money to Qingshan Town to have a look, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed."

"I’ve heard of Binding Vines. While I do fancy it, the price is so steep. Covering this fence—it’s not small by any means—would be adding insult to injury for my already less-than-wealthy household. And keeping Fool is already icing on the cake of expenses. You really won’t give me a discount?" Xie Sen pleaded pathetically.

"No discounts. Maintaining the territory has already made me poor enough, not to mention having a Gungun, oh, right, and a Running Bull, a pack of Sky Wolves, a nest of Jumping Rabbits, a flock of Fire-breathing Chickens, and a group of Petrified Lizards. I can’t afford to give discounts, can’t afford to," Mu Ying shook her head with a face that screamed ’I’m so pitiful’.

What a joke, Xie Sen, able to stay out in the wilderness and even build a sizeable homestead, how could he not make money? Mu Ying believed he was capable of contributing a good sum of money to the struggling territory’s unique products, and that’s why she had recommended it. There was no way she would give a discount.

"Are you a Pixiu or something?" Xie Sen said irritably.

Taking the comment seriously, Mu Ying said, "Pixius are great, they attract money!"

Zhan Qing touched his nose. It seemed Mu Ying truly was this kind of person, and the chance of convincing her to waive the Transmission Array fee for Lingtian Town for a while was absolutely nil.

Inside the fence was a round wooden house with two stories, surprisingly spacious.

Outside the house was a vegetable garden, planted with things like cabbages and radishes.

It looked just like a little farmyard.

The house interior was surprisingly nice too, with furniture like tables and chairs all in place. The hall even had wooden boards and tools scattered about, and there was a half-finished chair nearby.

Now Mu Ying believed that Xie Sen had built the house himself. He turned out to be quite the craftsman, nothing like Mu Ying’s traveler’s abode that could utilize a Storage Pouch for transporting materials and the Shaping Wood Skill for molding wood. Probably all done by himself, no wonder his Profession Level was increasing slower than others.

To undertake such a large project while still ranking near the top in the Xia Country Region in Profession Level, Xie Sen’s Attributes and Talent must also be quite high.

He arranged for Mu Ying and Zhan Qing to sit by the fire pit in the hall, and then went to a small room to bring out a smoked deer leg and a barrel of barley wine.

They lit a fire, nibbled on roasted meat, sipped on barley wine, and watched the snowflakes fluttering outside, chatting about everything under the sun—a truly comfortable moment.

"This must be the first snow of the year. It’s hard to believe it’s almost a year since the apocalypse," Xie Sen said as he stroked his plump hawk.

"Sigh, I’m afraid many in the territory will struggle to get through this winter," Zhan Qing sighed.

"We’re all professionals now, our physical fitness is much stronger than before, it shouldn’t be that bad," Mu Ying drank some barley wine. Xie Sen had said it was premium barley wine, but it couldn’t hold a candle to Senior Reni’s brewing, it’s a pity that in the Emerald World, her Constitution was the kind that gets drunk with just one sip.

"A large number of people at the bottom in Lingtian Town might not even have enough money to buy a thick beast hide coat for themselves," Zhan Qing said with a slight frown.

Xie Sen also sighed and glanced at Zhan Qing, "Lingtian Town’s development is really quite distorted, with a huge disparity between rich and poor, a vicious cycle. Sure, the rich have their issues, but the poor have significant problems too. You, as a Lord, sure have a tough job! If it’s too much, just throw in the towel and come join me. We can live carefreely, not dealing with anything, and it’s pretty comfortable that way."

"I can’t let go as easily as you, I dare not forget the old commander’s entrustment," Zhan Qing replied.

Zhan Qing and Xie Sen always spoke vaguely, but Mu Ying had a speculation.

"No one in Lingtian Town dares to face the dangers of the wilderness and fight just because they can’t afford the entry fee, right?"

That was the only possibility, otherwise, it wasn’t likely for them to be unable to defeat even ordinary wild beasts and struggle for winter clothing.

Seeing Zhan Qing nod, Xie Sen sighed again.

"If someone really freezes to the point of death this year because they can’t afford warm clothes, what will you do as the Lord?" Mu Ying asked again.

"I suppose there would be charity and disaster relief," said Zhan Qing, "You can’t just watch them die."

Mu Ying was truly dumbfounded, "You know, just outside Qingshan Town there was a group of people who said they had no money. At the critical moment when our territory’s people united to lure the zombies for the siege, they knelt down and begged for charity, morally blackmailing us. Then I harshly whipped them and left them to survive on their own. Guess what happened to them afterwards?"

"Surrounded by zombies, no money to enter the territory, they must have all died," Zhan Qing frowned.

"Wrong, after being harshly whipped, they still sneaked into the camp. The troublemakers who had organized this initially have now turned over a new leaf and can afford to live in the residential homes in the territory on their own. Your heart of protecting the people isn’t wrong, but you must understand, the ones you should protect are those striving to live, not those who rely on sympathy and refuse to improve themselves. It’s better to have less charity without a price,"

Mu Ying enlightened him.

Zhan Qing and Huo Shaobai were the same, soldiers before the apocalypse; too kind to the average people, whose bad nature is endless. The ones in power can hold a compassionate heart, but cannot give and take at will. Huo Shaobai and his colleagues also suffered a lot in the early stages, and Zhan Qing was still trapped in it.

"Well said!" Xie Sen clapped his hands fiercely, "That’s exactly right!"

Seeing Zhan Qing deep in thought, Mu Ying told him about the early days of the apocalypse when it rained continuously, the territory’s residents had no income and barely maintained the entry fee, and they were starving. She helped by growing vegetables in the territory.

"I, too, felt pity for the territory’s residents, but I only took it upon myself to help, to use my own ability to address the urgent needs, without taking from the territory’s income and giving it directly as charity.

If the territory’s residents hadn’t joined my vegetable growing activity, hadn’t offered help, then no matter what, as a single person, I could not have done it so quickly or grown so much.

So, I only played a guiding role, offering everyone a chance and hope. It was their own efforts that saved them.

Actually, at that time, there were more vegetables in my plantation than we could eat. Wouldn’t it have been easier to give away the excess for free? But human desires are endless. If you give them once, they will beg for a second time, a third time. No matter what, I couldn’t support so many people on my own.

If you use the income of a territory to support those people, it may last a bit longer, but are such people worth saving?

I’ll say it bluntly, I will definitely not offer the Transmission Array for free, and I even need to reconsider the half-price I mentioned earlier. If you’re intending to transport those who are morally blackmailing and unwilling to make progress to my territory, then they might just starve to death in a different place. I won’t offer them charity,"

Mu Ying spoke frankly, but that was the reality.

She didn’t care about conventional morality.

Truth be told, Mu Ying had not anticipated that the ethos of Lingtian Town would be this poor. She feared complications after opening the Transmission Array and was starting to regret it.