Arknights' Lock of Heaven

More than a thousand gold coins! What a fortune that is! If only we could keep them…

“How could that be!” Looking at their expectant eyes, Chlor shook her head hard. “I… reached an agreement with them.”

"As long as they help us find the treasure and drive away the bounty hunters who are destroying the village, they can keep enough treasure to repair the village, and the rest can be theirs."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of most of the people dimmed.

So that's how it is. It turns out all this wealth can't be kept.

Some people sighed with relief.

Take Parker, for example.

"I knew it, I knew it," he kept rambling on, "Where in the world are there so many good people? Who would believe someone who doesn't take a penny?"

"But this is good, this is good, at least they will leave us enough money to repair the village."

“Korol,” old Parker stepped forward and shook Korol’s hand, “don’t spend too much money on the repairs, lest they be dissatisfied, and then…”

Old Parker continued his rambling, sticking to his usual cautious and meticulous rhetoric.

This person has been completely tamed.

Krol realized this, but she couldn't interrupt him.

All I could do was continue listening to his useless instructions.

She had never wanted to change the village as much as she did now.

People like Parker are undoubtedly obstacles to my own change.

They had lived a submissive life their whole lives and had become completely accustomed to this kind of life.

When someone looks up at the sky, they will come to you and tell you by their seniority that you shouldn't do that, but should crawl on the ground like them for the rest of your life.

"Back when you were little, thieves came to the village, and everyone who tried to fight back died..."

"Only by obediently handing over money like I have can one survive."

Korol really wanted to retort loudly.

But every time she tried to speak, she swallowed her words back.

These people have too much influence in the village. Even if I refute them now, how many people will listen to me?

"People like us should live our lives honestly and uprightly."

Korol's smile grew increasingly stiff.

That's not the life I want, nor is that the village I want.

Looking at the crowd listening intently to the old man, she felt a pang of sadness.

“My son, listen to me,” old Parker continued, “Don’t trust outsiders too much. Why would they leave their treasure here?”

"It's because they're so confident that even if we want to keep the treasure for ourselves, they can take it back."

"Maybe we can use this as an excuse to plunder the village! I've seen this kind of thing plenty of times!"

Putting aside whether they were trustworthy or not, Laura knew that the value of this box of gold coins alone far exceeded that of her dilapidated little village.

With this box of gold coins, would they really care about this poor, remote village?

Korol had countless ways to refute him.

But so what? They're our elders...

Although he is the village chief, how many people in this village will listen to him?

When they were being harassed by bounty hunters, he suggested that everyone fight back together.

But apart from a few young people, there were very few respondents.

Finally, even the young people couldn't stand their elders' cowardice and went out to make their own way in the world.

Only I remain here, in my hometown, hoping to save this small village.

But looking at these cowardly people in front of me, how can I save them?

Krol was completely bewildered.

She immediately thought of Grani, because Grani had been helping her all along the way.

But Grani... there's nothing he can do about this situation.

In a daze, a figure flashed before her eyes.

But if it's someone Grani respects immensely, can he tell me what to do?

159 A clumsy trick to deal with a foolish populace

"The right to speak".

Facing the nervous Carol standing before her seeking advice, Xia Yu replied, "First, you must wrest the power of speech from those old people whose backs have been broken."

It was already daytime the next day. In order not to frighten the villagers too much, only Grani, Big Bob, and Xia Yu returned to the village.

Even Skadi didn't come over.

After all, the villagers of Dishui Village must have been deeply impressed by her fighting style.

Upon arriving in the village, Korole, with her dark circles under her eyes, couldn't wait to ask for advice.

"And now, this is a great opportunity!"

Xia Yu squinted and said, "Those village elders told you to save money on village repairs to avoid angering us?"

"You're planning to do this?"

“I…” Korol hesitated for a moment before tentatively saying, “I don’t intend to listen to them.”

“The village must be completely restored, and I lied to them before, telling them that you would only leave us enough treasure to restore the village.”

"Take the rest with you."

At this point, she looked up at Xia Yu with some fear.

After all, they had clearly said they didn't want it, yet she told the villagers that... But Luo'er was afraid that Xia Yu would mind such a thing.

After all, he has always acted so virtuously, taking only one out of thousands of gold coins. He must be someone who values ​​his reputation a lot, right?

“Very good,” Xia Yu said, her fears of criticism not coming, only praise. “You did the right thing.”

“Even if you tell them and keep the money, will they really use it in the right way? If you distribute all the money, I guarantee the village will fall apart within a month.”

"Even if each person doesn't get much, it's still real gold coins. Distributing it will only make people more chaotic."

"Not to mention all the trivial matters that come with it, such as how much to divide among family members and what standards to use for the division. These things can drive you crazy."

"Moreover, for ordinary people, converting these gold coins into cash is not a simple matter. Without a trustworthy channel, it is easy to be targeted by others."

"That would be a catastrophe for your village."

"But not separating them will also cause problems."

"It's quite enviable that such a large sum of money is being guarded by a young girl like you with little prestige."

"When people are desperate for money, they'll do anything."

“That’s what I think too,” Chlor nodded in agreement. It was for this reason that she kept it a secret.

"So you can't tell everyone that you still have money left. At most, tell a few people you think you can trust, and use that to win them over."

"But you must be absolutely trustworthy."

"Then, let's talk about how you will establish your prestige."

Upon hearing this, Krol nodded repeatedly, sitting up straight with a serious expression.

“You’ll need to act in a few scenes,” Xia Yu pointed to Big Bob beside her. “Sorry, this time you’ll be playing the villains.”

“I have a pretty good idea of ​​how to act,” Big Bob said, shrugging. After last night, he wasn’t so afraid of Xia Yu anymore.

"But it's nothing, we'll be flying far away after we get the money anyway."

“Very good,” Xia Yu nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at Koro. “People are not worried about scarcity, but about inequality.”

"First, you need to divide the village reconstruction work into several parts. Remember, this part cannot be interfered with by others."

"Some of the villagers are beyond saving, some are young and energetic with some ambition, and some are just blindly following others."

"Of course, don't make it too obvious; mix in all aspects."

"Then, you go and tell the villagers that you are too young and inexperienced, and that you can't do so much work by yourself. You want the more respected elders in the village to help you."

"Let the most prestigious ones take charge of those who are young and energetic, and those who are less influential take charge of those who are less influential. You yourself will take charge of the village elders."

“The number of village elders must be the smallest among these people, and you can use your youth and inexperience as an excuse to get this part.”

Krol nodded repeatedly, seemingly about to take out her notebook to write it down.

As a result, Xia Yu slapped her hand as she reached for the paper and pen.

"Can this be written down?"

He rolled his eyes at Chlor.