Chapter 213

"Hey, guess." Olivia pretended to be profound.

"Guess your size!" Elsa couldn't help but patted Olivia lightly.

After getting along with each other these days, the relationship between the two people has become much closer, and such little jokes are still understandable.

"Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore, I'll tell you the truth." Olivia whispered something in Elsa's ear...

At the same time, Orson walked out of the room and after helping the villagers distribute the supplies, they gathered at the largest building in the village.

in a house.

The house in Orson's temporary residence is already big enough. If the weather is severe and the wood needs to be saved for heating, it will not be a problem to sleep ten people, but this big house is even bigger.

Orson made a rough calculation. If they were all standing or sitting, this room should be able to accommodate the entire village.

Of course, there are only young adults in the village now, so it doesn't look very crowded.

At this moment, some firewood was also lit in the house, and the temperature in the house was slightly improved compared to the outside, but it was definitely incomparable to the house where Orson and the others lived. After all, in order to save firewood, even for heating. The indoor temperature only needs to be enough to keep out the cold, it doesn't need to be too warm.

When it's time to rest, everyone will go back to their houses, burn some wood on the stove, drink a sip of hot soup, then get into bed, and try to stay up until the sun comes out during the day, unless they are too cold to bear. Then add some more firewood to the stove, otherwise you can only use it sparingly.

Orson found the old village chief Ilyich at the big table in the center of the house. He was holding a glass of hot water and drank it slowly.

Orson sat next to Ilyich.

"Old village chief, there are still some things I didn't ask you about just now."

"Oh, please ask."

"Are all the settlements here like yours that have stayed on the snowy plains for generations?"

"No." Ilyich shook his head. "How is it possible? There are only so many people here."

"Young man, remember, Laplanders will never abandon their relatives and companions unless they have to. In other words, even if there are only ten people in a village, there will definitely be some old and some young. If you are in If you encounter a village full of young adults outside, then they are definitely not Laplanders. They are desperadoes from the south who have committed crimes. It is best not to deal with these people. "

"That's it." When Orson heard this, he nodded and silently kept this advice in his heart. "Other than that, is there any other way to distinguish local aborigines from outsiders?"

"Let me think about it..." Ilyich touched his beard, raised his head and thought for a while, and then said: "I have few opportunities to interact with outsiders, but... if there are other ways to identify..."

"People here go hunting in groups. If you meet someone hunting outside, it's probably someone from outside. Don't believe such stupid things as being separated from your friends. We are hunting today. I also saw that there is no possibility of getting separated.”

Population is an extremely rare resource here. Going out hunting alone is extremely risky, and it cannot pass on the experience of old people to new people. Therefore, it is normal to choose to hunt in groups here, just like today. If today is out of town. As a human being, I'm afraid he would have been buried in the belly of a wolf.

Orson nodded and wrote it down.

"Have you ever dealt with businessmen? I see that there are animal furs hanging at the door of every house. They must be waiting for businessmen from other places to come to purchase from you, right?"

"Well, that's true." Ilyich nodded. "Travelers come here probably every few months, and we never use any currency in exchange for transactions. They send us meat, clothes, daily necessities, firewood, etc., and we use furs to Go and change.”

"Every time a businessman leaves, we have to hold a banquet here to celebrate. However, sometimes the businessmen come on time, and sometimes they don't. We can't place all our hopes on these businessmen."

"Same." Orson nodded. "They trade furs with you. What's the general transaction volume?"

"Looking at the quality, on average, a rabbit skin can be exchanged for three kilograms of meat, a wolf skin can be exchanged for fifty kilograms of meat, and as for a bear skin, it can be exchanged for a thousand kilograms of meat. If you replace it with grains, double the amount. , triple the firewood.”

When Orson heard this, his eyes widened in surprise.

"What? You think that's too much? Don't think so. We don't dare to touch wolves and bears, so we usually have to use rabbit skins in exchange."

But Orson's inner surprise was not because the value was too high, but because the value was too small.

You know, the furs of the Dukedom of Lucia are famous for their quality. The high-end clothing and furniture of the entire empire are inseparable from Lucia's furs. Rabbit skins, wolf skins, bear skins and other animal skins, if according to Iri Qi said that the profits made by these fur merchants from buying and selling were ten times more than the cost.

Take a piece of rabbit skin worth three kilograms of meat. If it leaves Lucia, the price will be twenty times higher. Even if it is purchased at the inn, the price will be at least nearly ten times higher.

Orson wanted to speak out and reveal the truth about the profiteers, but after thinking about it carefully, he finally did not say anything.

After all, this is their only way to trade with foreign countries.

, now the Lison Chamber of Commerce has not yet completely prepared the topographic map and trade routes of Lapland, and various aspects still need to be taken care of by the previous fur merchants. If they are unhappy and the trade is cut off, many villages that rely on the caravan may starve to death.

Of course, most villages should still hold Ilich's idea and be ready to be self-reliant at any time.

"No, no, it's all earned by your hard work. A few dozen kilograms of meat... your village can eat it all in one day."

"By the way, I heard you mention those villages of outsiders before. Are they all desperate criminals?"

"Yes." Ilich nodded as a matter of course. "Don't you outsiders all think the same? Which good family would go to such a place?"

"So you really have this idea..."

"No, I didn't. I just said what you think in your heart."

"Besides, those villages are really not doing human things."

"Oh? Do you know something?"

"Well, they will trick ignorant outsiders into the village, and then use all kinds of coercion and inducement to make outsiders their slaves and collect supplies for them every day. Pah."

At this point, Ilyich cursed indignantly.

"They are nothing but inhuman things. They kill both fawns and mother deer. They have killed all the surrounding deer herds. We used to be able to kill one or two deer a week to improve our food, but now it's all gone."

From Ilyich's tone, Orson could clearly hear the hostility of the locals towards outsiders.

"Of course, young man, I'm not talking about you. You're a good person, and I believe you're good people."

"Haha, thank you for your trust, Village Chief Ilyich." Orson said with a smile, then sighed.

At this time, several strong men saw that the atmosphere was a bit depressing and started to make a noise.

"Hey, Village Chief, there's a distinguished guest in our village today. How do you think we should entertain him?"

As soon as he said this, Ilyich's eyes widened and he looked at the noisemaker.

"What do you think you're going to do?"

"I'm not doing that...folklore... thing. It just so happens that you told us stories before, so just tell us the stories you told us before."

"Okay." Ilyich nodded, then looked at Orson beside him, and asked with a smile, "Young man, are you interested in our stories here?"

"Yeah." Orson also smiled and responded. "It's better to say that I came here for this."

"Okay!" Ilyich said this, sat in the middle of the long table, and then patted the table.

"Children, come and sit down! I will tell you another story. Today, I am 30 years younger, and so are you! We are all little babies, no one is allowed to leave!"

The atmosphere in the room was very harmonious, and Orson could not help but blend in.

Perhaps this is the charm of a small society.

Here, there are no strangers, everyone is familiar, and there are no rules and regulations in the outside world when communicating with each other, which seems very free.

Chapter 14: Showing Fangs

Once upon a time, this place was not a place with abundant water and grass, and the wind and snow remained the same for thousands of years. However, compared with the wars and harsh policies in the south, this place can be regarded as a paradise.

People who escaped from the current situation and wars spontaneously gathered here in Lapland. According to rumors, there are more than 200,000 immigrants.

The land carrying capacity of the snowfield is obviously not enough for so many people to survive. After the initial development of the frozen soil was fruitless, most people chose to return to the south, while others chose to go deep into the snowfield and feed themselves with crops from nature.

Today, the number of this group of people is probably less than 20,000.

Everyone lived a very primitive life, but they were self-reliant, without labor and taxes. This was an equal society, where everyone lived in equal poverty, and they did not feel dissatisfied.

In this way, the Laplanders lived almost isolated from the world, and multiplied in the snowfield for thousands of years.

Then, it was an extremely important time node.

The demon invaded.

The barren land of Lapland was not even favored by the demons, so the Laplanders miraculously escaped the pursuit of the demons, but this did not mean that they were safe.

The arrival of the demons still changed some creatures deep in the snowfield of Lapland.

A monster called "Snow Monster" raged on the land of Lapland, and the Laplanders who lived here for generations lived completely under the shadow of this monster.

The walls of the house that could be used to resist wolves and wild bears

were fragile when facing the snow monster.

The harpoons, bows and spears used for hunting could not cause any damage to the snow monster's body.

Just like all legends, the appearance of a monster is inevitably accompanied by the arrival of a hero.

The hero with three wings on his back appeared in the legend of the Laplanders.

His gender and appearance have always been a mystery, and everyone has different opinions, but the only constant is his three snow-white wings.

His arrival helped the Laplanders blow the horn of counterattack, and the snow monster was driven into the depths of the snowfield, and its servants were also killed by the brave Laplanders.

According to the Laplanders, the three-winged hero forced the snow monster into the depths of the snowfield, and fought the final battle with the snow monster on the top of the towering snow mountain. The snow monster was finally sealed in a cave in the snow mountain, and peace was restored in Lapland.

At the end of the story, the Laplanders also followed the agreement they made with Him, staying in the snowfield for generations and guarding this land.

This is the information that Orson extracted from Ilich's story after he finished telling it.

Compared with Sherni's fairy-tale description, Ilich's narration is full of epic feeling, which makes people feel refreshed.

…

On the other side, Litt and the other two followed the hunter Olaf's footsteps and came to a village.

From a distance, this place is very dazzling in the dark snowfield.

There are about twenty houses here, and every household has a light on. The chimney is also smoking, indicating the vitality of the village.

"Everyone, wait here for a while, I will go to report the situation to the village chief first." Olaf turned around, looked at the three people, and said with a smile.

"Ah, okay, thank you for your hard work." As the person in charge of external communication in the team, Lienka nodded politely, and then waited on the spot with Litt and Lena.

At this time, a family next door opened the door, and a young man looked at the three people with a complicated look in his eyes.

"Hello, may I ask..." Lianka saw the other party open the door and was about to ask something, but the other party immediately closed the door.

"..."

Seeing this scene, Litt and Lena were stunned for a moment. Litt came to Lianka and whispered in her ear:

"Lianka, why do I feel that this village is not normal?"

"Yeah, I feel the same way. The man just looked at us and immediately closed the door. It seems that he doesn't want to communicate with us." Lianka nodded and agreed.

"Isn't that Olaf very enthusiastic? Why do other people in the village become..."

"I can't say."

Just as the two were still whispering, footsteps sounded not far away.

Olaf brought his beloved dog Rado and a middle-aged man to the three people.

The man smiled when he saw the three girls. Monthly fee group

"Guests, are you from other places? I've heard from Olaf that since you have difficulties, we naturally can't turn a blind eye. It just so happens that my house is quite big. I'll live with Olaf today, and you can live in my house."

"Eh? Is that okay?" Lena said, covering her mouth.

"Uncle, you're such a good person!"

"Haha, don't call me uncle, just call me Rice."

"Mr. Rice." Litt was not as excited as Lena. She and Lianka had already talked it over and felt that there was something wrong with the other party.

At this moment, the other party was so warm and hospitable, and this attitude made Litt more suspicious.

"We are guests, how can the host vacate the room for guests to live in? Are there any vacant houses in the village? We can live in the vacant rooms, as long as we can avoid the wind."

"Sorry, there really aren't any. The wood we spent on building a house is enough to keep others burning for several days. In addition, there are really no outsiders coming here, so..."

As he said this, Rice showed an embarrassed look.

"Ah, I understand." Litt nodded.

"We usually share the same room with the locals when we receive outsiders, but after all, you are all girls, and there are differences between men and women, so it's best to leave a room for you..."

As they said this, Lianka and Lena both looked embarrassed. Lianka poked Litt and whispered:

"Do you want to explain to them?"

"No need." Litt replied in a low voice.

"Okay."