The Origin of Arcane

　　 The winter in Solo City is very cold.

　　 Especially in late winter and early spring, the coldest time of the year.

　　The strong wind from the Gobi was wrapped in a layer of fine sand, hitting people like countless small knives.

　　 If it is blown outside the house all night, even if it is wearing two layers of leather, it will turn into a sieve, let alone a thin jacket. Every morning, it is normal to find a few people who died on the street with weird smiles.

　　 It may be that I drank too much rum, fell drunk halfway, and froze to death.

　　 There are also homeless tramps.

　　 There are also deserters who want to avoid war.

　　 Very many people have died of freezing this year. Every day it’s light, some corpse collectors are dragging two-wheeled carts, throwing these unknown corpses together indiscriminately, and dragging them to a corpse pit outside the city.

　　 If you meet a better-hearted corpse collector, you may be able to get a few handfuls of dust to cover it. If it is numb and hard, just throw it in the open air, without waiting for the night, it will become the food in the belly of the wild wolves.

　　 When Wendell went out to pour the black fire gravel, a corpse truck happened to pass in front of his door. He saw several figures on it that hadn't fully opened up, and couldn't help but curse in a low voice: "A sin!"

　　 The great rebellion caused by the failure of a large number of lord nobles to fight at the same time has been quelled, but the sequelae caused by it are far from over.

　　 There are still a large number of refugees still stranded in a big city like the capital Sauron. It is not that they do not want to return to their homeland, but that although the war is gone, the minor war has never stopped.

　　 Some of the lord and nobles who had not been completely wiped out became thieves after exile, seeking troubles everywhere.

　　 Duke Faerun’s immediate territory suddenly nearly doubled, his troops were stretched, and his situation was very embarrassing.

　　 If you use too much force, it is easy for the opponent to take advantage of the loopholes and lose the unstable city that was just laid down.

　　 If the troops are too low, they will go out to deliver food to others. In desperation, they can only guard the castle and the city and let them harm the leaders in remote places.

　　 The road is also not peaceful. There are a lot of bandits and robbers, most of them are formed after the aristocratic private soldiers fled. They have no place to ask for a living, so they can only live by robbery.

　　 In the past years, Wendell said that he must not lend a helping hand if he encountered such a thing. Although his ability is limited, if one can die less, he can be considered worthy of the gift of the Lord of Truth.

　　 But the impact of this year's war has been too great, and his small business can't be maintained. The food and drink of the family are all problems, so how can he be able to help others.

　　 Fortunately, before the winter, he found a new job, helping a big businessman dig black flint outside the city. After a hard day, he not only had three pounds of coarse grains, but also five or six copper wages.

　　 In these difficult years, this kind of wages can be called a conscience price, even if digging black flint is a hard job, every day is overtime, twelve or three hourglasses at every turn, Wendell is also safe.

　　 This is the trust relationship, and there are countless people outside who want to get this job.

As for whether the black flint dug by the big businessman was transported to the Andes Mountains to trade with the Andeans, Wendell should not be concerned about it. He only cares about whether the daily salary can be paid on time, if there is a delay. , Their whole family will go hungry together.

Unfortunately, this happened yesterday. The food truck had an accident on the road. I heard that it was spotted by those **** bands of thieves. Fortunately, the guards accompanying the group were still very powerful. A small portion of the food was delivered, but the convoy’s itinerary was delayed. When it rushed back to the mine, it was already midnight and the food could not be delivered on time.

　　 Fortunately, I also have a conscience in mines, knowing that everyone expects a day’s wages to survive, according to the market’s grain premium of 10%, and pays the wages with copper. If this is done in peacetime, most people will be happy.

　　 But just after a year of turbulence, the land was vastly barren. The army leader of Manyu was not a leader in grain production. Even in a good year, there was a big gap in grain. A large part of it needs to be transported from the plains of Asia Minor all the way.

　　 This kind of abnormal year, the price of food is rising steadily. It is no exaggeration to describe it as a one-day increase. Today, it is a premium of 10%, and tomorrow, you may not even be able to buy 90% of the food today.

　　 The key is that there is no market. Those lord and nobles who have the most food have black hearts. In order to search for more wealth, the food released every day is very limited.

　　 They are very experienced about this, and they will not let the leaders starve to death. That will arouse a lot of people's grievances, will be detrimental to their rule, and will not make everyone full, so that some people will buy high-priced black heart food.

　　 When Wendell came back from the cold wind yesterday, it was already dark, let alone cheap food, even high-priced food, he couldn't buy it.

Fortunately, there is a virtuous woman who takes care of the house. When her life is good, she always picks up a little grain from the corner of her mouth and saves it. Last night, the whole family had a full meal of porridge. Although it is clearly visible, there are only a handful of grains inside. I can only lie to my stomach temporarily, but it is better than drinking a stomach of water and shaking my stomach.

But the stomach is not that easy to deceive, especially after a day of heavy work, he woke him up before the rooster croaked, and his gurgling stomach woke him up, tossing and turning for half a night until dawn, and then he went out, and then he encountered this place in front of him. Bad things, this made him feel bad and heavier.

　　 The strong smell of rice made him a little unable to move his feet. You don't need to ask to know that the smell came from a strange neighbor who had just moved in less than three weeks ago.

The reason why 　　 would label the other party with the word weird is because the other party's behavior is completely beyond Wendell's understanding.

　　 After all, the other party and him are in the same business and do business, but the other party's business is unheard of, such as the name of the other party's shop-the medical clinic.

He knows the three words 　　, and knows the meaning of each word, but they are a little bit incomprehensible if they are connected together.

　　After observing for nearly a week, I realized that feelings are a place for people to heal patients, but isn’t that a business of church priests and monastic monks?

　　 More inexplicably, the other party opened a restaurant next to the medical clinic. The reason why he called it a restaurant instead of a pub is because the other party mainly sells all kinds of food, supplemented by drinks, which is completely inverted from the pub.

　　 But this is also stealing business from the tavern in disguise. Recently, there are always some inconsistent people dangling around and provoking troubles, which is caused by the other party.

　　 But there are only a handful of people who really dare to come to the door. After all, when this kind of food is in short supply, they can still do related business. If there is no deep background, no one will believe it. The source of food is a big problem.

What is commendable is that the things made by this restaurant are really good. Whenever they start to catch fire, the whole street is filled with a strong smell of food, which makes people move their index fingers. Everyone comes out of it. The customers are full of praise, and the price is relatively fair, only to follow the food market.

Wendell hesitated at the entrance of the restaurant. He gritted his teeth and pushed the door to go in. He had to rush to work. He couldn't wait for his family to buy the food. But he is now engaged in high-intensity physical work. He can read and write a little, and the mine head will give him a little bit of preferential treatment, but it is relatively limited.

If you go to work hungry and insist on not being black, it would be bad. Without food and wages, you will have to go hungry tomorrow and return empty-handed. He still understands this vicious circle. Today is the harvest festival. , I also recognized it after spending a few more coppers.

　　 The food hall is bigger than Wendell imagined. The two or three houses around it have been opened up. There are five wooden tables and thick wooden benches on both sides. It is no problem to squeeze the number one hundred and ten.

It may be due to the location. He is an early guest. There are only three or five people in the restaurant of Nuo Da, but they don’t look like guests. They are the waiters in the restaurant. They are eating Zhengxiang. Some guests come to the door. , Stood up one after another.

　　 Seeing clearly the appearance of the person closest to him, Wendell turned to leave, because he was an acquaintance, a very familiar person, a young waiter Eller who had worked in his small shop for two years.

　　 The meeting on this occasion made him feel very embarrassed, because the store was poorly managed. Before closing, he fired the other party and always felt that he owed him something.

　　 "Boss? Mr. Wendell? You are here, please inside, please inside."

　　 The young waiter Eller also recognized Wendell and greeted him quickly, smiling.

"It's a coincidence. I heard that you live nearby, and I always wanted to take time to visit you. I was afraid that it would be too abrupt. I didn't expect to meet you for the first time. I didn't feel used to it the first time I came. It’s been a few times. We have all kinds of noodles here. They are delicious and inexpensive. Large bowl of noodles, whole grain steamed buns, rice porridge and pickles. I strongly recommend large bowls of noodles. Only two coppers are enough for you to eat. It will be useful for a day. Endless strength."

The young waiter was as enthusiastic as Wendell remembered. The other party was born to do this stuff. If it weren’t for his own shop that couldn’t sustain it, he was reluctant to fire him at the beginning. Everyone would recognize it. If he left again, it would be even more embarrassing. Up.

　　 Wendell sat down nearby and said with a slightly stiff smile, "Thank you very much. Just a big bowl of noodles you mentioned. I'm still in a hurry. I'd better hurry up."

　　 "Okay, you will be there soon."

　　 The young waiter Ayler had very numb hands and feet. Before Wendell sat down, he wiped the spotless wooden tables and wooden stools with the linen cloth on his shoulders, and greeted them at the same time.

　　 "A big bowl of noodles, more noodles and less soup, enough oil and water. This is my former boss, my family, and I must not lose it."

The young waiter Eller quickly ran to the corner where they had eaten, brought a small plate over, and said in a low voice: "Sir, this is the pickle soup just made. This owner takes care of it for free. It hasn't moved yet. If you feel uncomfortable, just drink some pads first. I know what it's like to be hungry. This time of the day is the hardest to endure."

　　 "This can't be used, it can't be used, I have eaten, what are you eating?" Wendell repeatedly declined.

"Sir, this is not an outsider, what are we doing here? The restaurant, I have been running back to the kitchen all day long, and the relationship is familiar. I can always take a bite out of me. Look, I just came for a week. , The whole person is fatter."

　　 The young waiter Eller stroked his thin arm.

"My current boss is as kind as Mr. Wendell. He doesn't care about the stuttering of our own people. UU read www.uukahnshu.com and taste it. The salty soup tastes good. I watched from the back and couldn't let those cunning guys cut corners. Take a few bites."

　　 "Thank you." Wendell felt his body warm, not sure if it was because of the black flint fireplace burning in the restaurant.

　　……

The currency of the Byron Empire was on the silver standard. Although gold coins were also in circulation, they were of higher value. Most of the large trades existed between the nobles. The ordinary citizens did not necessarily have the opportunity to deal with gold coins. They used silver coins more often. And copper coins, because they look like a flat stone, they are also called copper.

The exchange rate of copper coins and silver coins fluctuates between 100:1, and the ratio of silver coins to gold coins is 12:3:1. The floating situation is directly related to the casting level and content of silver and gold coins, although the silver and gold coins circulating on the market are collectively referred to as It is a Byron silver coin and a Byron gold coin, but there are still obvious differences between the prints of different military leaders.

The most popular and recognized by the whole continent are not the royal gold coins printed by the Lancelot, the actual ruler of the Byron Alliance, but the twin gold coins of the Harrison family from the North Island of the Twin Island. There is a witch secret society. As the backstage, they have the best purification and printing technology in the whole continent. The Gemini Gold Coin is also called the Witch Gold Coin.

Not only silver coins and gold coins have good and bad points, but also copper coins. There are exchange differences between copper coins produced by different military leaders. For example, the Manyu copper coins produced by the Manyu Army have poor technology, more impurities, and are easy to break. , Is not popular in other territories, and its value is relatively low.

It is normal for a thousand Manyu copper coins to be used as 900 or even 800 local copper coins in other territories. However, this kind of trouble is only for those merchants. Ordinary people have long been accustomed to the purchasing power of copper coins in their own territories. Realize the difference.