Chapter 2204 Waiting for my return home (Part 2)
Less than a minute after the rusty copper bell of this small settlement was rung, Hayes found that they were surrounded by Fitz's tribe.
These people generally have deformities. Recalling Fitz's appearance, Hayes found that Fitz was actually very normal in comparison. The average height of the fishermen of these Buyan clan was not high. They are over 1.5 meters tall, and their eyes are very big, some even have no eyelids. The pupils in the eyeballs are as small as pinholes, and the whites of the eyes are so big in the protruding eye sockets that they feel as if they will fall off at any time.
The second most conspicuous thing is the big mouth, which is also reflected in Fitz. At the same time, their skin also has psoriasis and markings similar to fish scales.
If it were in the past, Hayes would have been scared to death when faced with this kind of scene, but now he just answered each of their questions gently.
But they are all asking the same thing.
Where is Fitz?
Obviously, this means one thing, the death notice was not sent to them.
"Fitz. Fitz is back?"
Just when Hayes didn't know how to answer, an old voice made the crowd part ways.
The man who had been talking to Hayes earlier came over with a figure that was even more stooped than him. After reaching Hayes, the man opened the hood of his heavy cloak, revealing a head of slender white hair and a face eroded by the wind and rain. .
She looks relatively normal, and somewhat similar to Fitz.
But the old woman still has some mutant features, her skin is sunken and scarred, and her gray dead flesh shines Light, the distance between the eyes is wider than normal, and so is the mouth.
“You are.”
“Oh, sir, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Fitz’s grandmother, just call me Mwamaka.”
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Hayes didn't say anything, he just took out Fitz's expedition manual, the copper pendant he was holding before he died, and his nameplate.
The moment she saw these three things, the old woman suddenly started to shake. People around her hurriedly helped her, and then she started crying.
Hayes never thought that he would take on the role of a mourner. This made him feel sad, but also blamed himself. If it hadn't been for him, would Fitz's family have always held on to hope? ?
Even false hope
Later he learned that these could all be said to be Fitz’s family. Fitz's cousin, their family has settled here for hundreds of years, but has been suffering from mutations and deformities. Fitz is the young man with the lowest degree of mutation among them. In a sense, he is also the only "hope" for this tragic family. ".
In the eyes of others, such mutations often represent ungodliness and depravity. For the Buoyan tribe, which has little knowledge, the suffering they have suffered since birth has gradually formed a theory of original sin by blood under the subtle influence of their surroundings. , and this argument became a firm statement after repeated claims by the priests.
In order to atone for their sins, they often donate half of their harvest to the church in Linhu Town, hoping to gain salvation.
But for hundreds of years, redemption never came.
They still suffer from the mutation, and they still continue to donate their hard-earned catch to the church, and endure poverty and discrimination. Only Fitz hopes to change all this.
But Fitz also didn't understand anything. All he could do was listen to the priests' propaganda, and finally went to the battlefield with his deceased mother's pendant. After hearing this, Hayes felt very bad, but he could not describe his inner emotions in words.
The scene when Fitz died in battle rolled in his mind like waves, and all he could say was to tell these miserable people that their Fitz died like a hero, and everyone was fighting for He is proud that the God Emperor will take care of everyone.
That’s all.
Knowing that it would be difficult to use deposit certificates in the bottom nest, Hayes had already exchanged those precious metal currencies before coming, put them in a small sturdy bag, and gave them to Fitz's family, saying that this was Fitz left behind.
In order to thank Hayes, the Buoyan clan specially prepared the best food to entertain him in the largest and cleanest room.
Although Hayes was a little resistant to those "fish", he couldn't refuse them directly. Fortunately, there weren't many, just two or three.
His two wives were definitely not willing to eat it. He bit the bullet and peeled off the red shell that had been boiled, picked up the pale meat inside and put it into his mouth.
In fact, apart from a fishy smell, there is nothing else, and the taste is even quite tender.
But soon Hayes discovered that he seemed to be the only one in the village eating "fish", while the others were shrinking in the distance, gathering in the shadows.
When he walked over and took a look, he found that they were all eating something that was simply boiled in water, similar to algae and water plants, including the children. Then he curiously asked Fitz's cousin , but the other party was hesitant and unwilling to say anything. After his request, he finally told Hayes that fish was very precious and the only way for them to obtain various daily necessities, so they daily ate the salty algae fished from the water. ——As for the fish, part of it must be handed over to the church, and part of it must be handed over to the town. Finally, a little bit is left to be dried and eaten during certain festivals or sold at a good price in the town.
"We are used to everything. We can eat without hurting our tongues."
Hayes squatted down wordlessly. In their astonished eyes, he looked like something He picked up a piece of wet salty algae from the pottery basin in the filthy swamp and put it into his mouth.
At the moment of entrance, he seemed to have been given a mouthful of salt. After a moment of rejection, he felt that his tongue and upper teeth were almost numb, as if his mouth was not a weed but a whole dry hemp rope. .
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't swallow it. Even in the most difficult moments of the regiment, he had never eaten anything so bad.
But these people of the Buoyan clan have been eating it for hundreds of years!
Before leaving the Buoyan clan, Hayes repeatedly asked if anyone would come to deliver letters or anything during this period, but they all answered that no one would come to deliver letters here, and they would all deliver them to the church in the town. However, the church Then notify them to pick it up.
It has always been like this.
Hayes finally understood something, but he said nothing and said goodbye to these fishermen who looked ugly but were actually simple, kind and even a little cowardly.
When I returned to Linhu Town, it happened to be mass time in the church. The towering white church was already surrounded by people. The bishop in sacrificial robes stood on the high platform and chanted. The priests looked worried. Very strong and shiny, at the end of the mass, several people wearing military green uniforms walked up to the bishop and knelt down in front of the bishop to receive blessings. They were all children of prominent families in the town. After returning from the battlefield, they would become the leaders of the town. The protector, the magistrate, enjoys honor, status, and power.
(End of this chapter)