my age of magic

Chapter 835 335. Distressed Rune Tablet Manufacturer
The most commendable thing about the imperial capital is that there are public pools in every street and alley in the slums. Dozens of faucets stick out from the stone walls and line up in a neat row. Below is a solid sink made of bluestone slabs. In summer, the pool is the busiest place in almost every street. Some industrious poor women gather together, holding a heavy and thick wooden basin full of all kinds of dirty clothes, squatting in the drain Next to the ditch, talking and laughing while washing clothes, the rough voice can be heard far away.

Those poor children will carry the baskets full of various vegetable leaves to the pool, pick out the edible vegetable leaves, rinse them with clean water repeatedly, and place them neatly on the stone platform , Whenever this time, those children will look around and compare with each other who has gained the most today.

In the scorching heat, you can only feel cool by the pool. A boy who has washed the vegetable leaves will put his head under the faucet, soak his withered yellow curly hair in the clear cold water, and then rub his face vigorously. In the end, he picked up a handful of clear water and sprinkled it on his chest to cool down his body. The girls on the side would also stretch out their hands to hold clear and clean cold water, and wash their faces vigorously. Some children simply climbed into the pool, stood in the pool and took a quick bath.

The slums in the imperial capital are one of the most densely populated neighborhoods. It is these clean domestic water that reduces the chance of infectious diseases in the slums to a very low level.

In the yard of a family not too far from the pool, a flat iron pan with a blackened surface was placed on a pile of firewood. Mi Du could feel the heat wave from the fire, and the whole iron pot was like a big water tank. Two poor men with shovels in their hands were surrounding the iron pot, cooking a big pot of thick soup.

This kind of poor food is to fry some special spices with boiled butter, then add some onions, small tomatoes, and red peppers, throw in four or five fat chickens chopped into pieces, and stir-fry until the aroma is released. Then pour several large pots of water to boil, and then continue to boil until the fragrance overflows, pour the whole bag of peeled tree rice into the large pot and cook.

This kind of chestnut stewed chicken cooked in a big pot has almost become a traditional delicacy in the slums. A big pot is enough for half a street of neighbors to eat together. People in the slums are under great pressure in life, not only at home The men had to go out to work, and often the women in the family had to find a job in a nearby workshop to supplement the family income, so lunch became a big problem in the slums.

I don’t know when this method of taking turns preparing food started, but this way of meeting meals has solved the lunch problem of these residents in the slums very well. This kind of meeting is usually half a street away from the neighbors When the neighbors get together, about [-] to [-] impoverished families take turns to prepare lunch in advance at noon. They will set up a large pot in front of their yard to cook delicious soup , and then throw the tree rice or wheat cakes into the pot to cook, use a large iron pot to make a lunch for hundreds of people at one time, and then wait quietly for the neighbors to gather in the cauldron to eat together after work at noon.

I always thought that this kind of big pot rice with chicken and chestnuts must be very delicious, but now it looks completely different, because the children by the pool, after cleaning the vegetables they picked up, put them in the baskets one after another. He carried it to the side of the big iron pot, and then an adult man took a hatchet and randomly rummaged through the basket, randomly cut two rotten leaves, and dumped all the picked vegetables. Cook together in a large iron pot.It turned out that the children in these slums picked up vegetable leaves in the vegetable market in order to make their lunches richer.

Afterwards, these children would gather under the shade of a tree not far from the iron pot, and each of them would hold a big bowl in their hands, staring at their big eyes and quietly waiting for the meal to be served.Just after the lunch break, some men and women came out of the workshop one after another. They merged into the alley, gathered by the pool and greeted the women who were washing clothes by the pool, and the whole public pool became noisy. The ground is like a lively vegetable market.

The first round of food was enjoyed by the men and women at work, followed by the children and the elderly who lumbered out of the house, and finally by the women doing their laundry by the sink.

This is the way of life of the people in the poor areas of the imperial capital. Most poor families are unable to send their children to the Warrior Academy. If these children cannot awaken the magic pool before the age of 12 and change their destiny, they will become leaf pickers. A member of the army, and then slowly grew up in this neighborhood.

Boys will serve in the military at the age of 16. They can only be auxiliary soldiers or heavy armored infantry called cannon fodder on the battlefield. Only those who can survive the battlefield have the right to enjoy life.

After the 16-year-old coming-of-age ceremony, the girls took their meager dowry and looked for a chance to marry a soldier who returned to his hometown from the battlefield.The ratio of boys and girls in the Green Empire is out of balance. Girls who have the opportunity to marry off are either rich in dowry or beautiful in appearance.Of course, there will also be some beautiful girls who are selected by the nobles to become their maids. Many girls yearn for that kind of luxurious life.

Girls who fail to marry themselves off in time must work hard, accumulate more and richer dowries for themselves, and strive to marry themselves off before the age of 25, otherwise the officials of the Civil Affairs Department of the Imperial Capital will take The household register registers older girls who have exceeded the age limit one by one. At this time, never try to guess your own fate. Maybe you will marry a homeless person, maybe you will marry a disabled veteran who walked off the battlefield, maybe Will be sent to a remote and barren plane, anyway, who knows?
Our lunch was settled in an aristocratic restaurant that looked fairly clean in the sixth street. The reason we chose this place was not because of the delicious food in this restaurant, but because it was marked on the notice board at the entrance of the restaurant. The minimum price of a pan-fried veal steak is above three silver coins, and the bottom of the notice board is clearly written: This restaurant refuses to use copper coins for transactions.

With just such a few words, most people are turned away.To open such an 'noble restaurant' in a poor neighborhood, the owner of the restaurant must be courageous enough. Just a rough calculation, I know that at least ten silver coins are needed for a meal here. I guess most poor people will definitely not come Eat here, and a meal here will cut their hard-earned salary by one-fifth for a month.

After opening the door and walking in, I found that the restaurant is definitely not as deserted as I imagined, and the decoration inside the restaurant is very delicate, the environment is elegant, and the guests are whispering, and there is a certain distance between each table , maintain a relatively private space.

The waiters standing at the door can ensure that every customer who enters the restaurant will receive meticulous service. The waiters are well-trained, not only polite when speaking, but also not looking around at Mrs. Alia. , when the waiter talked to Mrs. Aliya, he would consciously lower his eyelids, lower his head slightly, or just stare into Mrs. Aliya's eyes.

The inside of the restaurant feels very cool. After careful observation, I discovered that there is a block of ice hidden behind every hidden green plant. It is these melting ice blocks that make the environment in the restaurant very comfortable.Only then did I realize that what the owner of this restaurant sells is not delicious food, but the elegant environment and service here. He cleverly used high prices to keep ordinary poor people out, while most nobles He doesn't care about a few silver coins, so this place has become a restaurant dedicated to serving the nobles.

Many shop owners in the slums are the private property of some nobles. They will come here to inspect occasionally. It is inevitable that there will be people like us who need to settle their lunch here. They can find a place in the slums. An elegant and comfortable place is far more important than what to eat at noon.

The silver spoon made a clear sound when it touched the mouth of the goblet.

The same serving of red bean smoothie served in a goblet with a red cherry on top will be worth thirty times as much when it appears in such a restaurant.

The silver spoon was filled with soft red beans and finely crushed ice chips, which were put into the bright red lips, feeling the coldness and sweetness, and Mrs. Alia enjoyed the dessert gracefully.Katerina was sitting in front of the dining table, carefully appreciating the exquisite dessert in the cup, as if she couldn't bear to eat it all at once, her beautiful red eyes were filled with a little joy, but she didn't know that she and the people on the table This exquisite dessert has become a beautiful scenery in the eyes of others.

"Caterina should be at the age of marriage, right? Alas, 25 years old is every girl's nightmare in Green." Mrs. Alia sighed softly.

Katerina didn't answer in a hurry, but turned her head and glanced at me sitting opposite her, and smiled faintly, with a blush on her face.

"It seems that you are a little luckier than many girls." Mrs. Aliya said understandingly.

"Are you saying that Katerina is luckier than others, is it because of me?" I asked Mrs. Alia, then pouted my lips in self-deprecating manner, and then said: "The law of the empire doesn't say that magicians don't need to serve in the army , Obviously I don't have this privilege either, after I graduate from the Royal Academy of Magic, I also need to serve in the military."

Mrs. Alicia smiled and said, "Does it make any difference to you whether you do military service or not?"

"Huh?" I asked inexplicably.

Mrs. Alia stirred the melted ice water mixed with bean paste at the bottom of the goblet with a silver spoon, and said leisurely: "For you, Jijia, maybe after graduation, even if you don't have to serve in the military, it seems Need such an opportunity, take your followers to the battlefield to make some achievements! I know you are the kind of person who will not live a mediocre life all your life, and you are doing very well now! You are in El When I was in the city, I was a falcon, and I was able to hunt those strong barbarians in the ice and snow, so would I still be afraid of those natives on the plane?"

"Who would have expected what happened on the battlefield. There are powerful enemies lurking everywhere, and every step is like walking on thin ice. When I open my eyes every morning, I must thank Goddess of Luck for her blessing." I withdrew my piercing eyes , took a sip of the juice, and then said: "But even so, I will not be obsessed with longevity and fear death. Since the goddess of luck has chosen me and given me the ability to manipulate magic, I think I am destined not to live a mediocre life." life."

I was considering whether to tell the story of me and Katerina to Mrs. Alia, when I heard someone in the next seat seemed to be arguing about something excitedly. Although I didn't want to eavesdrop, our attention was quickly distracted by the arguing voice attracted to the past.

I heard someone at the next table say excitedly: "Hey, Brennan, listen to me, as long as you lend me another two hundred gold coins, I will definitely get through this difficult time. You have to trust me. At this time, rune metal The board market is in a downturn. I am not the only one. The entire industry is like this. Mining companies with more than [-] planes of Angela have been forced to close their doors. Now Mithril and Thorium are as rare as fine gold, and the factories are not at all. There is no way to start work normally, but there are so many people to support, what can you tell me to do!"

Hearing another tired and slightly hoarse voice, he lowered his tone and said: "But Nick, how long do you want me to wait? I'm just an employee in a small venture capital company. I need some performance to prove to my boss. I am still a useful person, after all, I have to prove that the work I do is worth the salary."

The excited voice obviously paused, and asked with some surprise: "Aren't the few investment prospects you found have always been good?"

"No matter how good the prospects are, it will be dragged down by this economic storm. I don't know when this damn plane war will end. Even if it is over, so what, then Douglin's economy will be restored in an instant. Is it?" The hoarse and tired voice was so weak, "If you think so, it shows that you are too naive. Nick, listen to my advice, don't be a philanthropist, put those workers in your workshop Disband it, every month you have to throw dozens of gold coins in it for nothing to feed them, but your workshop has stopped production, and there is no income in your workshop for more than two months, if this continues, you will become Overburdened pauper, old friend, please don't."

The tone of that excited voice became much louder again: "Is there really no other way?"

"Nick, listen to me and sell it, at least you can still have some money left, don't wait until you are penniless, and then think about solving it, can you still be ashamed to carry it on the airport pier in the future? Bao?" The tired voice whispered again.

(End of this chapter)