Chapter 547 The Cannibalistic City
Chapter 547 The Cannibalistic City
The Aurora Society's missionary work in the ferry area is nearing complete success.
Although the streets are usually bustling with people, the fact that a cult could spontaneously gather so many people in just a few minutes, even if some of them were just reluctantly praising the Aurora Society out of fear of the rumors of impending disaster, is enough to prove that the Aurora Society's beliefs are well-known to most residents of the ferry area.
This also proves that Chloe's judgment was correct—the Aurora Society has indeed set its sights on this "chaotic city," and the plan is close to success.
This is probably the ultimate goal of "Mr. Z" in wreaking havoc in various cities in East Bairan.
Upon arriving at Lanqiao, Chloe received bad news.
The horses' hooves clattered evenly and crisply, and soon they left the muddy ground and arrived at the hard stone road. However, the road conditions here were not as good as expected, barely passable—the road surface was covered with shocking cracks, and the freight wagons moved with extra caution and sluggishness.
As the Twilight District of the old city, it should have been the center of life for many Lanqiao residents. However, precisely because of this characteristic, the crowded and congested roads made it much slower for horse-drawn carriages to travel than for walking.
Finally finding a horse stable, Chloe finally had some freedom—it was almost noon by then.
"Take good care of my horse," Chloe said in Dutan as she dismounted, handed the reins to the attendant, and sang.
"Exquisite care costs 5 gold." The waiter looked Chloe up and down.
Five gold? Which gold? It certainly isn't gold pounds; five gold pounds could buy half a rather thin horse.
Chloe rummaged through her bag for a moment, then asked, somewhat puzzled:
"How much is Intisfield gold?"
The waiter frowned, his hand gripping the reins frozen in mid-air.
"Gold is gold coin - Byron gold coin".
Byron's patterned gold coins? These are coins that have long since disappeared elsewhere. In other cities of the Southern Continent, the currency of the Byron Empire era should now consist only of copper coins.
"How much is that in Felkin? Could you please exchange it for me?" Chloe pulled out a 20 Felkin note. "That should be enough. You should be able to take care of things for me for three days without any problem, right?"
The waiter shook his head:
"We only accept gold coins. The gold exchange is located two hundred paces to the east."
Chloe pondered for a moment before deciding to accept only gold coins and then promptly put away the banknotes.
A very clever strategy: accepting only gold as currency. This is perhaps one of the reasons why Lanqiao has remained strong among the many countries of the North Continent.
The numbers printed on paper are called banknotes, but in reality, they can quickly become worthless if the issuing country so chooses.
Lanqiao, on the other hand, clearly adheres to the tradition of the Byron Empire, using gold coins as its primary currency. This may be their solution to avoid being economically drained by the northern continent's colonial powers exchanging large amounts of gold for banknotes after relinquishing their occupied territories.
However, this inevitably leads to a lack of development in the banking industry. Chloe, who had read some economic books in Backlund, understood the current situation.
"It seems I still don't understand the local economic situation enough," Chloe sighed inwardly. She told the waiter to wait while she went to exchange the banknotes in her hand for some gold, silver, and copper coins from the Byron Empire.
A Byron gold coin had a purchasing power of about 2 gold pounds, while a silver coin was equivalent to 2 soula, and a copper coin was about the same as a pento. Of course, since paper money was not allowed to circulate openly, there were still many differences in some details, and the purchasing power only referred to the aspects of food and clothing.
This further highlights just how expensive the meticulous care provided to a 5-gold horse is.
Furthermore, the craftsmanship and gold content of the Byron patterned gold coins are clearly inferior to those of the Rune gold coins. This means that exchanging gold for Byron patterned gold coins is an absolute loss—Chloe suspects that there are likely some well-established, unknown practices involved in large-scale transactions outside of daily life; otherwise, such an economic system certainly wouldn't last long.
After settling the horses in, Chloe found a reasonably well-decorated inn and laid out five silver coins at the front desk:
"Find a single room with a table and stay there for a week."
The receptionist was a man with light brown skin. He sized Chloe up, his eyes darting around as he suppressed his inner desire, and said:
"We don't accept guests from other continents here. You can go to your country's consulate, miss."
Chloe frowned:
"No, I'm going to stay here. I don't have a good relationship with either the country or the church."
It's strange that a city in such chaos doesn't accept guests.
Even pirates and cultists can roam freely here, so she doesn't believe the hotel has any rules against accepting guests.
Surprisingly, the man at the counter did not insist and accepted the few coins from the counter.
"Is this your first time here?" he asked cautiously, lifting his eyelids.
He was certain that he had fallen in love at first sight with this girl of Northern Continent descent—but his inner cowardice prevented him from taking the plunge, so he dutifully continued his work as a hotel receptionist.
"Yes, it was during my travels." This was Chloe's most frequently used excuse in the Southern Continent. She waited for the key at the front desk, then asked, "I know absolutely nothing about Lanqiao. Is there anything you can teach me?"
The man at the front desk looked at her with pity, and paused for a moment:
"Leave now, this is not a place for you—I've heard too many stories of people who think they can act like they do in other cities just because of their looks, but Lanqiao taught them a lesson."
"Some emptied their pockets just to escape, some successfully left, but by taking a slave ship, while many more stayed here forever, selling their bodies and strength, or even undergoing mortification here."
"Those who are lucky can have their names engraved on the tombstones in the cemetery, while those who are unlucky become water ghosts in the ferry area, their brains smeared somewhere unknown."
"A hundred years ago, those armies didn't gain any advantage from Lord Nash either. That war only deepened the hatred of the Lanqiao people for you Baipi. Let alone now."
"This is a city that devours people without spitting out the bones. If you don't have any powerful backers, you'd better leave quickly before dark."
He seemed genuinely concerned for Chloe. Chloe could sense the helplessness and despair in the man's tone—there must be some basis for his words.
Chloe had heard plenty of rumors about Blue Bridge being unfriendly to travelers.
Of course, she is not here for travel.
Despite the hotel receptionist's advice, Chloe remained unmoved, pausing for a second before speaking:
"Anything else? Private rooms with tables?"
Seeing that she didn't seem to care, the man felt pity and withdrew his extra enthusiasm.
"Five silver coins can cover half a month's stay. I advise you to spend another one gold coin, so that when the village head comes to see you tomorrow, I, as the head of the household, can put in a good word for you."
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Copyright © 2022 - wtr-lab.comv1.10.15Chapter 548 Baojia System
Chapter 548 Baojia System
"Village head? Village head? What are these?"
Chloe was convinced that the "Language Proficiency" charm she had obtained by praying to the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" was effective, and as a mid-series Beyonder with enhanced intelligence, she had fully mastered the knowledge contained in the "Language Proficiency" charm in the past few months.
Therefore, she was also certain that the two unfamiliar words "baozhang" and "jiazhang" were definitely not in the normal Dutan language knowledge system.
It's mostly due to the unique system of Lanqiao—truly deserving of its reputation as the most unique "chaotic city" in both the North and South of the continent.
So she directly voiced her question. Incidentally, she also took out a patterned gold coin from her handbag and placed it on the hotel counter.
In short, it's about having a "willingness to cooperate with the work" attitude.
The counter's "chief" took the gold coin and then gladly told Chloe the inside story:
"This is a rule established after the declaration of independence in Lanqiao. Every ten families would be designated as a 'jia', and every ten jia would be a 'bao'."
"In Lanqiao, taxes were collected in this way. Each Jia and Bao paid a fixed amount. The Jia head and Bao head were responsible for collecting taxes and managing their subordinates."
"Well, I am the owner of this hotel, and I also have six or seven permanent tenants, so I have been given the position of head of the household. If you insist on settling down here, you will most likely become one of my subordinates."
"Um, my name is Sean Matthew. Let's get to know each other first."
It sounds like only locals are subject to this Baojia system, so why am I included? Does living here automatically make me a resident?
Chloe suppressed her doubts and listened as Captain Sean continued:
"Above the village head is the 'big village head,' and above that, there are tax officials who directly contract to collect taxes in their district. Ha, they're getting trendy now, calling their gang 'tax companies.' Above that might be the Nash family, or maybe something else—I don't know. For us ordinary people, the village head is already the highest-ranking official we'll ever see."
Chloe could no longer contain her doubts and said:
"What's this? I need to be insured too?"
Sean shrugged and scattered five silver coins and one gold coin on the counter, as if waiting for Chloe to take them:
"Yes, that's why I told you to leave Lanqiao as soon as possible. You still have plenty of time to leave this city."
"As long as you sleep here and it's past midnight, you're considered insured."
"Unless you can find a company or embassy that is not part of the Baojia system, even if you want to leave later, it will not be allowed—neither by us nor by Nash's personal guard."
Sean further explained the origin of the "Baojia" system. Once someone entered the Baojia system, others would actively monitor them, because if they escaped, both the Shen and Bao units would be punished.
Moreover, even if they are not afraid of punishment, the local rulers, the Nash family's personal guard, have the ability to capture the escapees.
In short, there is some influence from mysterious forces.
However, these roundabout methods mostly apply to ordinary people. With Sequence 5 strength and the power of three different source elements, even in Morora, the "City of Exile" where no one has ever left, I still managed to escape. At the very least, I could consult Mr. "The Fool" to divine the problems existing there.
Chloe muttered to herself for a moment, then chuckled softly:
"I understand. Take this money and tell me where the room is. I'm too lazy to go out of town to find a place to stay."
You really—
"No need to say anything more." Chloe gathered the coins arranged on the counter together again and pushed them toward Chief Sean. "Let's take it one step at a time—didn't you say that at least there's still a possibility of breaking away from this Baojia system?"
Some people have to go bankrupt to leave this city, so money is one way to solve the problem.
For Chloe now, money is the last thing she lacks.
When Sean handed the keys to Chloe, the joy in his eyes was almost impossible to hide.
This traveler from the northern continent, this girl who could make one's blood boil and one's heart yearn simply by sharing the same air and exchanging words with him, was determined to bring her into his possession.
This was fantastic news for Sean.
Although he had a decent hotel and a dozen or so men under his command thanks to his family's wealth, he was able to sit back and enjoy the benefits of his family's wealth.
But deep down, he still felt unworthy of such a beautiful girl from the Northern Continent. Generally speaking, he wouldn't even have a chance, but this was an opportunity, a tremendous opportunity.
The head of the household has jurisdiction over the residents under his jurisdiction—theoretically speaking, Miss Chloe, who has decided to move in, should have to obey him.
Hmm, let's keep it from the village head for now. We can't let him see her, lest he get the idea that Kai might just handle the household registration transfer for Miss Chloe. Hehe, this is better for everyone.
Sean held the patterned gold coin Chloe had given him to persuade the village headman in his hand, already having made a good plan in his mind.
Of course, the specific procedures will take some time to implement. We can't be impatient, lest some large company, church, or consulate comes to bail us out.
The Baojia system in Lanqiao is very complex and cannot be explained in just a few words—many people have not taken the time to study it, which is why they have fallen into the predicament of being bound by the Baojia system for generations.
That makes sense, since everyone is busy trying to make money so they can pay their insurance premiums on time. Who has time to study those vague and unrealistic things?
Sean swallowed hard, half-closed his eyes, and began to plan which girl he should vent his pent-up desires on tonight.
After settling into her room, Chloe's first action was to pray to Mr. Fool and divine the threat that the so-called "Baojia system" posed to her—the result was that there was absolutely no threat.
Chloe was relieved.
She had originally planned to flee overnight if Mr. Fool's divination indicated potential danger, but now it seemed unnecessary.
After midnight, the Baojia system would begin, and Chloe could feel a slight chill seeping into her body.
The feeling was similar to being invaded by the "River of Eternal Darkness" in the underground mausoleum of Morola—but much less intense, and it couldn't shake the balance of the three elemental powers within Chloe's body.
After confirming this, Chloe was relieved and rested.
She is waiting for her meeting with the "village head" tomorrow.
Chloe's visit to Lanqiao wasn't solely about resolving the Aurora Club's problems.
She simply realized that if the aurora could take over the city, so could she.
Before that, it is necessary to understand the city's operating model—integrating into the Baojia system, and meeting with the "Baozhang" is an important part of this process.
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