High Above

Chapter 665: There is not just one stargazer (w-word update, please vote for me~)

"That's what you said."

Roland still respects the old man very much, especially Old Farr, although his reputation is not well-known, but his evaluation is very good.

After actually working, young people understand that those who can do things well without being hated or envied by others, and who can do things well and down-to-earth without even becoming famous, are truly powerful and capable people.

As the saying goes, after three and a half years in charge of a household, even dogs will dislike it. It is almost impossible to hope that no one will hate you when you manage people. However, Old Farr can ensure that taxes are collected and at the same time, he can also make many people willing to do so. satisfied.

Roland admired the methods. It was said that Old Farr would even give advice to poor households to help them get out of difficulties, but how to do it specifically was unknown territory for him as a young man.

Thinking of this, Roland suddenly became interested - since Old Farr could satisfy everyone with his usual work, how would an old tax collector like him answer the questions on the test paper?

he asked, and the old man put down his pipe with a chuckle.

"Definitely not accepting it."

The old man's golden pupils were dimmed due to old age, showing a dark golden color. He answered Roland calmly: "Although it may be a bit of trying to figure out the Lord's meaning, since this question is asked, it is to find out who will answer 'no' of people.”

"Moreover, if the poor have no money, they really have no money. Apart from their lives, what else can you expect them to have to pay taxes?"

"But the lives of the people in the lord are also the property of the lord in a certain sense...Young people like you may not be able to understand it, but this is the fact - you and I are both the property of the lord."

Old Farr relighted the extinguished pipe, took a puff, and said slowly: "So forcing people to death is something that only the stupidest tax collectors can do, and the lord does not allow them to do that."

"If the residents who have no money just because of the food disaster and are still able to work cannot repay the money for a while, then let them not pay it back. If possible, help them do other jobs, such as moving goods and digging. Point to the canal. Aren't there roads being built in the city recently? Asking them to dig some sand and asphalt to lay the foundation is the same job. With so much work, there is always a chance."

"The most important thing is that people can't just stay idle and not work, otherwise they will always be poor."

Roland was stunned for a moment, and the young mechanical engineer took a breath: "But, isn't this not in line with the rules? After all, they did not pay taxes, and the tax collector's job is to collect taxes. These things are really Is that what the tax collector should do..."

"If it was before, it would be true, but don't forget that the name of this exam now is 'Civil Service'."

Old Farr shook his head. He took a sip from his pipe and blew out a perfectly round smoke ring: "New lord, new rules, how come you young people are not smart enough like me? The names have been changed, so... Forget what you did before.”

"Don't forget the true essence of our work - serving the lord. What is the purpose of the lord? This theme and idea must be clarified. As long as it conforms to this idea, even if it is something that is not in compliance with the rules, the lord will think that you can do things."

Old Farr concluded: "As for our young new lord, he seems to be rich and wants to do big things - does he care about such a small amount of taxes? What he cares about is the rules and whether people help him. Contribute to your career.”

“As long as the general direction is correct, everything else is just details.”

Roland understood what Old Farr said, so he was surprised.

These words are not like what a mere old tax official from Xia Hui Ling could say - such profound and simple teachings, such clear and easy-to-understand teachings, Roland would believe him even if you said which college he was a tutor at!

and……

"Why are you telling me this?" the young man asked with some confusion.

After taking a puff of cigarette, Old Farr looked at Roland strangely: "Aren't you a top student from Luo Xing Hills? Moda has been talking about it for several years when chatting with us. It just so happened that the lord announced that a new territory will be built in the future. The 'Industrial Alchemy Zone', if a professional like you comes back, the lord will definitely reuse you."

"What's more, I have worked with your father for many years. Have you forgotten that I hugged you when you were a child and you peed on my collar..."

Roland was so ashamed that he never expected that the most classic incident of 'I hugged you when I was a child and you peed on me' would actually happen to him - and he had completely forgotten about it!

But he is indeed not someone who would remember such trivial things.

"We are most likely to be colleagues in the future, and it doesn't matter if we establish a relationship with our colleagues in advance."

After speaking, Old Farr took out a pamphlet from his arms and wrote something. Roland didn't want to go home so early, so he shamelessly asked: "Uncle Farr, are you a tax collector?" What did you do before...feeling..."

"This."

Before Roland could finish hesitantly, the old man knew what he was going to ask - many people had asked about this, so he wasn't surprised.

Raising his head, the old man with gray hair looked towards the ceiling, his dark golden eyes staring at something above the ceiling.

Faldao: "My family used to be stargazers, and I learned to watch stars since I was a child... Then didn't the stars disappear? The nobles who supported stargazing stopped investing money, so they could only go back to their hometown and rely on their knowledge to become a tax collector."

Having said this, the old man looked at Roland with a smile, and his tone was filled with emotion: "To be honest, it's almost the same as you are now."

"But it was more difficult for me at that time, because stargazing really has no use anymore, and your mechanical engineering will definitely be reused by the lord."

——He is actually a stargazer!

Roland was slightly surprised. He didn't expect to hear such an ancient profession.

It is said to be ancient, but in fact it has only been a few decades in the past. However, because there is no news at all in these decades, it seems as long as the past hundreds of years.

Because Roland's teacher is a dwarf, he knows about this situation.

The dwarves were also a race that was very keen on stargazing. Their "Sky Seeking Sanctuary" even had another name, which was called "Pole Star Zenith". It was built on Ushtalaf, known as the Spine of Terra. The giant structure of pre-epochal civilization on the mountain range.

In fact, a hundred years ago, the kingdoms of Terra were quite interested in stargazing. At that time, there were a large number of stargazers in the empire and the capital of knowledge. However, as the stars were extinguished one by one, their inheritance gradually declined, even in In the past few years, there have been reports of a large number of stargazers committing collective suicide out of despair.

For ordinary people, it was just an afternoon joke with a sigh of relief, "It's so stupid." But Roland felt a little deeper...especially since his father Moda was now in a state of near-death.

Thinking of this, he felt a little depressed. After giving a deep salute to Old Farr, he said goodbye and left.

The old man also looked at Roland's leaving figure, nodded slightly, and stood up to leave.

He was waiting here specifically to say these words to Roland.

In the evening, Xiahui leads the lord's mansion.

Ian is leading his team here to personally grade the test papers, and by the way, Ian also asked Qingchao Scott, Adlbert and others to also do the test papers.

Ian's eyes were flashing with various data. The silver chip allowed him to clearly remember the names, ages, looks, and even past experiences and family information of all examinees. He relied on this 'information' to Compare the answers in the test paper to outline the image of each examinee from appearance to heart.

"Roland Silgen, the son of Morda Silgen, is twenty-eight years old and unmarried. His family has been the steward of the Ryan family for generations. He ran away from home twelve years ago and went to study in the dwarf gathering area of ​​Fallen Star Hills. Five years later, at the age of twenty-one, I received a diploma as a mechanical alchemist. Since then, I have been studying in Starfall Hills. Recently, I returned to my hometown due to the Leian collar incident."

"At home, my father Moda Silgen is still there, but he is still seriously ill. My mother has passed away. I have a brother and a sister. They have gone to Nauman City to open a small shop a few days ago. It seems that they are not Plan to return to Xiahui Ling."

"As for the results..." Ian whispered, Scott picked up a chapter of the test paper marked red from the side: "Full marks for mathematics and statistical tables."

"Comprehensive knowledge is 38 points, and agriculture and mining are full marks."

"Judgment of political leanings... Sir, please see this for yourself."

Ian took the test paper over and couldn't help laughing when he looked at Roland's answer: "This guy is quite interesting. He told the truth - and he really guessed it right. I also think Nauman City is indifferent. The attitude is to force the mountain people to rebel and trigger problems in advance... Marquis Barton is still a very cold-blooded person in nature, he doesn't care whether these mountain people live or die, he just wants to solve the rebellion factors in Nanling."

"As for the relationship between the Flying Flame Land and the Empire, it is more or less like this. How can there be permanent hatred between the two great powers? The relationship between the two parties is probably not as bad as the relationship between Archduke Thorin and the Empire. As long as the fifth energy level does not take action, the relationship between the two parties will be At best, the war is a 'total conventional war' and will not develop to the point of destroying the world."

At this point, Ian sighed: "If you are not at the fifth level, you are still a chess piece after all. Even if you are at the fourth level, they are just chess pieces with some ability to act independently. After all, they cannot affect the order of the entire world."

He composed himself, continued to read Roland's test paper, and then raised his eyebrows: "It's interesting, this guy flatters me, he has a pretty active personality - but his analysis is all right, I think he can get a perfect score."

No one thought that Roland got full marks because he photographed Ian's horse. They could also tell that Roland did have his own opinions on the situation. Even if it was luck, this luck was worthy of a full mark.

Finally, Ian only glanced at the fifth part of 'Personal Moral Tendency', which had troubled Roland for a long time.

"Well, I still have some kindness in my heart, not so cold."

He nodded, and then handed the test paper to Scott: "Mark it, this person can be used, call him to the Lord's Mansion in a few days, I will interview him about alchemy, if he passes, our alchemy industrial park will have In charge."

"Could he be a spy? He suddenly ran over from Xingluo Hills. It doesn't feel right no matter how you look at it."

Qingchao complained that it was not like Ian knew Manager Moda and didn’t know that Manager Moda was so sick that he was about to die.

The swordsman is not correcting the test paper at the moment, but writing the test paper - Scott and Adlbert have already finished writing it. The former has almost perfect marks, and his political and personal preferences are consistent with Ian's.

After all, both parties have been in Harrison Port together for six or seven years, and those who should have assimilated have already assimilated.

"I feel like some of the questions this time should be the civil service examination papers from Nauman City."

This was Scott’s evaluation, and it was indeed the case. Ian nodded and said: “There are also some written by the Marquis of Barton himself – those topics are really unique.

Apart from being a little naive in politics, Adelbert could actually say, "Naumann City probably doesn't have that much budget" and "Flying Flame Land is extremely hateful, the most evil country in the world!" ’ In addition to the words ‘Xia Hui leaders all listen to Ian’, everything else is perfect.

As for Qingchao...

After Qingchao finished writing the paper, Ian picked it up and read it.

——Ian, angry!

"... Mathematics and Statistics scored 31 points, which is not bad. It can even be said to be quite good for you. I only got 25 points for miscellaneous subjects. You have worked hard, but you won't need it anyway. And starting from scratch, it would be good to pass. …”

The white-haired boy stood behind Qing Chao. It was obvious that the swordsman was taller, and Ian's tone was very gentle, but the swordsman felt a cold light on his back, and a feeling called fear climbed up his spine: "But this political What’s the tendency?”

"What does it mean that Nauman City deliberately retaliated against the rebellion of the mountain people two hundred years ago? How did you learn history? Two hundred years ago, the empire invaded Nanling. You want to say that the small riot more than twenty years ago was almost the same! And this political view You are so childish that you can compare with the old shadow!" (Adlbert tilted his head to the side)

"Neither the Empire nor the Flying Fire Land are good things. It's just dog eating dog... Do you really know what you are writing?"

"I'm from Jinggeya, boss!" Qingchao shuddered and exclaimed, "That's what we all said over there!"

Ian glared at Qingchao: "Now remember, you are from the Empire!"

"I understand!" Qingchao nodded clearly: "Only Feiyandi is a piece of shit!"

"You...sigh. Forget it, that's enough."

Ian sighed: "Finally, the development direction of Xiahui Territory is definitely not heavy militarism! It is useless for us to rely on the army to protect the territory. Supporting soldiers and raising bandits with self-respect is not our development direction!"

"Understood!" Qingchao answered energetically.

But the subsequent results were even worse - only 10 points in agriculture and mining, a complete failure, and personal moral tendency... It cannot be said that Qingchao is not a good person, but he directly wrote "debt cancellation" and " The words "tax-free" obviously take into account one's own family situation.

Qingchao's family had to repay a lot of debt back then. He must have hoped that someone could forgive their debt.

"Speaking of which, I remember you have a wife and children, right?"

Ian forcibly resisted the idea of ​​hanging Qing Chao up and giving him a good beating. He asked Scott to give Qing Chao more papers, and after writing an assessment every day, he said: "The territory is not very safe now. But if you settle down in the future, do you plan to take it over?"

"I would like to, but she may not come with me."

Qingchao himself was open-minded: "At least you have to wait until I am at the second level before talking, otherwise, there is no point in being embarrassed."

"Too."

Ian nodded slightly. Scott's potion materials were already being shipped because they were very cheap. Scott had also recently been training with the help of Qingchao and Adelbert, gathering source seeds to prepare for becoming an Ascended One. .

The hiccup passes.

Soon, Ian saw another paper marked red.

He looked at it and was startled.

"What's going on?" Ian picked up the test paper and looked at it seriously. He frowned: "Who wrote this test paper? There is not a single mistake in the entire article, and all the knowledge subjects are full marks... That's all."

"The political tendency written here is basically the same as the tendency I imagined. This is basically impossible. I definitely guessed my character and wrote the answer like this... As for my personal moral tendency, I even wrote down specific solutions. Different decisions made by different identities and situations are obviously experienced by experienced people who have encountered this kind of thing in daily life, and even encountered it frequently!"

"Talent?! How can Xia Hui have such talent?!"

Now Ian was really surprised - Roland was not considered a local talent in Xiahui Leader. He was a top student trained in Luo Xing Hills. His knowledge and knowledge had nothing to do with his hometown.

And this... seventy-six-year-old man from Far Fatih actually has such knowledge and culture?

"I have to meet him." Ian frowned. He had a hunch that the reason why such an old and sophisticated person performed so well in the exam he presided over was just to meet him.

Half an hour later, Ian saw Farr in formal attire, waiting for him in the conference room of the city hall.

"You said your previous family was a family of stargazers."

Without any politeness or pleasantries, Ian sat on the main seat and asked seriously: "Can you prove it?"

"Of course, my lord."

The old man stared at the youngest, most handsome, and most accomplished lord he had ever seen. He stood up and made a slight scholar's salute: "Pingcang, Mansen, Tianmo, Liquor..."

Ian listened to Farr say a series of words and names that seemed incomprehensible to ordinary people, and his expression was moved.

Because, these names are all the names of stars, or star names derived from very ancient mythological constellations!

Moreover, these stars are exactly the names of the stars that have disappeared from the Terra starry sky in recent years, from near to far!

"No need to continue."

Farr continued to report, and Ian raised his hand to signal the old man to stop. He said seriously: "I completely believe it. To be honest, this has far exceeded my level of stargazing. You are the real stargazer." Star Warlock."

"Now, I just have one question."

Ian raised his hand, raised his right index finger, looked at Farr, and asked seriously: "You have served two generations of Lord Ryan in the past, and although your performance has been excellent, you have never demonstrated stargazing. Knowledge. Of course, they may know your background in this area, but they don’t pay special attention to it, and you don’t show it specifically.”

"So, why are you showing me here? What are you going to do in my territory? With your ability, you can be reused even in Nauman City."

"Because I saw you looking up at the stars, my lord. Every night, you will definitely come to the top of the castle, sit on the armor and look up at the dark sky. Except for those who love the stars, no one will do this. Meaningless things.”

Far bowed slightly to Ian. His tone was calm, but he revealed true sincerity: "You are not the only one who does this. I just want to tell you this, rather than deliberately showing that it is useless. knowledge."

"As for my purpose...it's actually very simple."

"I want to be someone you can reuse, with money and power, and then build a stargazing tower."

"That's all, sir. I know it's useless. The previous lords will never support me, so I don't want to say anything more."

"But if it were you, I think maybe you could give it a try."

Saying this, the old man closed his dark golden eyes. His tone was calm, with a slight smile, as if he was narrating in the afternoon breeze: "After all..."

"This has been my dream since I was little."

Please vote for the next month~

The W word is updated every day this month, and the average subscription has reached 1w55. I feel that this is a big breakthrough for me. I will continue to work hard to update the W word, and I will live up to the support of all readers!

However, I may not be able to update so much next month. I have something to do at home, and I must slowly try to accumulate some manuscripts. Otherwise, some plots may be less thoughtful and there will be more typos.

In short, happy National Day everyone in October! I'll update as much as possible!

Have a good holiday everyone!