Chapter 409 Old Acquaintance
As we near Xishan, the afterglow dyes the town in the center of the lake a golden color, and smoke is already rising from the chimneys on the roofs of many houses.
In an office on the west side of the Lord's Mansion, Ladi Setia finished her day's work. She put various documents and files into the cabinet, carefully locked the doors and windows, and reported to the Lord's Mansion. Walking outside, Paul went to Fulan Port to inspect, so he didn't go to say goodbye to him.
Originally, she was just Paul's political and economic advisor, and her work was very leisurely. But later, Paul launched the "New Life Movement" and gave her the task of popularizing health knowledge. Since then, she has been in charge of the Education Bureau. After "Betty" left, the work of education also fell on her, and a series of changes made her even busier. There was nothing that could be done about it, after all, she was now the most knowledgeable person around Paul.
Before leaving, "Betty" formulated a large and detailed education construction plan. The first stage was to establish enough schools in various large towns in Alda, Baierding and Emden. Schools allow children from ordinary civilian families to receive education at low tuition fees. The second stage is to focus on cities and towns in various places and radiate educational resources to the vast surrounding rural areas.
However, hundreds of thousands of silver coins may have to be invested in just the first phase, which aroused the dissatisfaction of many officials in the Government Affairs Council. In the view of these people, although civilian education must be developed, spending such a huge amount of money is really too wasteful.
Although under Paul's influence, these old subjects of the Graiman family can be said to be the most enlightened people in the Northwest Gulf, they were used to living a hard life before. If four or five years ago, when Paul's father was still in power, the lord would have spent hundreds of thousands of silver coins just to teach the children of common people how to read, then someone would have been killed at the door of the lord's mansion and remonstrated with blood. After all, at that time, the lord's own income (including various taxes and economic output from the land), after deducting miscellaneous expenditures throughout the year, only had a pitiful surplus of a few thousand silver coins at the end of the year, and every disaster year there was a high probability of a surplus. Spending up years of accumulation.
With Paul's accession to the throne, the pirates who had been troubled for many years were wiped out, the sea route to the south was opened, various new industries with huge profits were established, and the tax revenue of the earldom of Bailding was also integrated into the Council of Government. Finally, Emden, which can be called wealthy compared to other territories in the northwest bay, was placed under the control of Lake Town. Alda's financial revenue increased exponentially year by year.
But the lord's spending speed also increased exponentially. In addition to building schools, the lord also wanted to expand the administrative system, raise a full-time army, build roads, water conservancy, and build public toilets and bathhouses. , to take in the refugees, and to offer high salaries to recruit those Jingyao guys who look down on others with their noses turned upward.
Everyone knows that this is a good thing in the long run, but spending money so lavishly is really unacceptable. This made them very uneasy. According to traditional views, it was the duty of a vassal to help their lord accumulate more wealth and leave it to the next generation. Even if you have to spend money, you should decorate your castle first. This is related to your dignity as a lord.
As a scholar, Ladi strongly agreed with the education plan left by Irene, but she was also very clear about the resistance of some conservative bureaucrats to this plan. Fortunately, these resistances were not worth mentioning with the support of Lord Graiman.
She walked out of the gate of the Lord's Mansion and walked south along the central street of Hudao District. She came to the bridge connecting the island district to the south bank. After crossing the bridge and walking for a while, she could reach Feilong, a restaurant run by her family. pavilion.
In recent years, the residents of Huxin Town who have saved some spare money have also begun to improve their material living standards. Therefore, the restaurant run by mother Xie La, which specializes in Jiaowan cuisine, has been very prosperous since its opening. Considering that more and more Cape Bay residents are moving to Fulan Port in the west, they are currently planning to open a branch there.
It is dinner time at this time, which should be the busiest time for mother and Lisa, so it is better not to cause trouble for them. La Di did not go to the main entrance, but turned into the side alley and walked towards the backyard of Feilong Pavilion.
"Have you really lived a comfortable life for too long? I didn't realize it until now..."
When she reached the corner of the alley, she suddenly said something self-deprecating, and then turned around suddenly.
A pedestrian in a cloak behind him also stopped, and now they were the only two in this alley.
"It seems that the vigilance you have developed during your years as an adventurer has not been completely eradicated."
The person following her spoke, and she turned out to be a woman.
“Who are you?”
Ladi asked coldly without any pretense. If the other party can say "adventurer", it is obvious that he knows his identity. It is not an honest visit, and there is probably something shady about it.
She was secretly preparing to call the police.
That’s right, just call the police. On the one hand, the policemen under Ruth Hayden, director of the Department of Public Safety, are very trustworthy. The public security in Huxin Town is very good under their maintenance. I just walked by There were police patrolling the streets. On the other hand, she didn't want to expose her hidden identity personally.
"I'm not an enemy, do you remember what I look like?"
The person pulled off his hood and revealed his face. Someone you know? Ladi looked at the other person's face carefully and searched her memory.
The other party smiled slightly, showing a hint of charm, "Let me remind you, the party in 1988 of the Holy Calendar...do you remember it? The Blue Witch."
La Di was shocked, The visitor actually knew his nickname in the circle of spellcasters.
"Are you...Assitini?"
She retrieved the name in her mind.
...
In the backyard of Setia's house, Ladi and Sevia sat opposite each other across a stone table. At this time, there was only a trace of afterglow left in the sky.
“You have done great things in Nisborg.”
Ladi had already known about a man named Assitini in the Cape Bay during Cecil’s regular briefing meeting. She was also amazed at the other party's courage when it came to the witch's prison robbery, but at the time, because of her vague memory, she did not connect this incident with an old acquaintance from many years ago.
"Haha, actually I also want to hide alone and live a leisurely life." Sylvia narrowed her eyes.
The accusation in the words stung La Di's heart, "Humph! I don't feel that I have any obligations to other spell casters."
"That's right, you are used to being alone, for Isn’t it normal to not feel the same feelings? Even though you are one of the most powerful spellcasters in the corner..."
Ladi frowned and said in a bad tone: "That's enough! Is Northwest Bay just trying to laugh at me?”
“Of course not!”
Sevia stood up with a smile. The two of them were not familiar with each other. The reason why she was so presumptuous in front of La Di. , because he has already grasped the other party's temper. When she was still in Kakuwan, in order to find allies against the church, she tried to find the mysterious and powerful Blue Witch, whom she had only met a few times, and collected all kinds of information about her. However, the witch herself was not found, but she was found. She met her former adventurer companions and gained a deeper understanding from her companions. However, her companions remained tight-lipped about the witch's whereabouts and refused to reveal any information.
Yes, that's it, first arouse her guilt.
Savia thought so, and slowly came to Ladi, leaned over her ear, and whispered:
"I heard from the locals that the lord here is very interested in Are you trusting?"
Her voice was low and pleasant, but it also had an indescribable meaning.
“The church here is not very strong, are you interested...”
Sylvia's eyes sparkled.
"Let this lord surrender to the power of magic?"
(End of this chapter)