Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 386 Is Anyone Else Laughing?
"In the past, the chaos in Rainy Harbor was so severe that even the nobles and government officials did not dare to live in the city, fearing that they would be killed in their beds by assassins hired by their enemies. So they went to work in the city during the day, and hid in villas and castles in the suburbs at night, like a turtle hiding its head in its shell. They had to hire a hundred guards to help them watch the door and another hundred guards to patrol the city walls, so that they could sleep well. These tall, delicate guys might even need someone to accompany them when they got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. They must have learned from my three-year-old nephew, because he also said: Mom, I'm scared...hahaha!"

Mr. Gwilly described vividly the ugly behavior of the nobles and government officials. Although he had never seen such scenes with his own eyes, nor suffered their exploitation and persecution, the people of this country were born with a contempt for authority and cynicism. Arrogance and contempt for those in power were the eternal personality flowing in their veins. It is said that Leo Mascherano, the most famous thief in history, was a Metsch. When he was beheaded in the New Gate Market, more than 100,000 people gathered to watch, and more than 50,000 flowers were thrown onto the gallows, which once drowned the executioner.

Alice had changed her posture and was lying on the haystack, listening attentively. The two aardvarks were still pulling the carriage slowly, leisurely walking on the muddy and wet country road after the rain. At this speed, can we really reach the Rainy Harbor before dark? Linger expressed deep doubt.

Fortunately, the aardvark pulled the cart slowly but relatively steadily, so there was no big bumps. This slow pace, coupled with the cool breeze after the rain, the moist and full water vapor in the air, and the clear blue sky above, really gave people a feeling of comfort and peace.

Lingge simply stopped worrying about the profound mystery of speed and time. He leaned back, looked up at the sky, and continued to listen to the conversation between Alice and Mr. Gwilly.

"The security environment in Port of Desolate Rain is really bad." The golden-haired maid sighed sincerely after listening to Mr. Gwilly's description. There is no need to find specific cases. Just listing the nouns such as robbers, pickpockets, drug addicts, rapists, gangsters, killers, etc. together can make people deeply appreciate the simple folk customs of this city.

Then she asked curiously, "What happened next? You said the situation now is different from the past, so it must have gotten better, right? How did it get better? Could it be that all the criminals—"

She stretched out her hand like a knife and wiped her neck: "Kill them all?"

Why do you say such a horrible thing in such a happy tone? Don't you have any other solutions in your mind except Tutu? No matter how you put it, it can't be so extreme, right?
Lingge was speechless.

Mr. Gwilly nodded in agreement. "Yes, almost all of them were killed."

Alice asked curiously, "So, the residents of Port Bleak Rain trust the Inquisition?"

"Since then, the stinking rats in Harbor of Rain have all crawled into the sewers, hiding in places where the Vatican can't see them, and no longer dare to kill or rob openly. The gangsters have also been scared out of their wits, and have honestly huddled in their own territories. Without the permission of the Vatican, they dare not even hold normal gatherings. They are more honest than the nest of wild pheasants on the third fig tree from the left in my orchard. Even so, the Vatican does not show mercy and picks a good day every year to hold a surprise party for these guys, ha!"

He was beaming with joy, and it was obvious that the "surprise party" was indeed surprising, but not necessarily joyful.

He swore solemnly, but Lingge didn't pay much attention to it and thought it was just a somewhat exaggerated metaphor.

Alice shouted, "I want to go too. The execution of a thousand people is really a grand spectacle!"

"During that period, the streets were full of arbitrators of the Scales of Order searching for evidence of crimes. Everyone was wondering how the Vatican would end it. Would it be like before, with a fine and release, or something more severe? As a result, on the day of the trial, it was announced that all criminals would be executed by hanging. At that time, the number of people crowded at the city gate to watch the execution was more than the olive trees you can see in the olive grove now. My grandfather was one of them. He later told us that if you didn't see such a scene once in your life, your life would be full of regrets.

Linger's eyes showed a thoughtful look. He thought of a possibility. Perhaps, the Inquisition Church - or the people of the united church, were searching and eliminating aliens in the Harbor of Rain in the name of combating crimes? After all, the Shiqilia Peninsula was once the most active area for aliens in Metoxu, and Harbor of Rain was the largest city in the Shiqilia Peninsula. In the hidden dark corners, there were traces of aliens everywhere.

Even more speechless.

Of course, the activeness of the religious union has objectively improved the city's security environment, so they cannot be accused of having ulterior motives. Moreover, some evil-minded people will mix with gangsters and other criminals, making their law enforcement behavior more legitimate.

"That's not true for all of them. At least those who were hanged certainly didn't think so." Mr. Gwilly laughed. "Ordinary people like us definitely support it. The Inquisition not only washed away the dirty blood for the Port of Desolate Rain, allowing us to hold our heads high and speak a few words when facing foreign travelers like you; it also brought light to the Port of Desolate Rain! Before they arrived, this city was only dark!"

After saying this, he sighed, feeling quite regretful that he was born at the wrong time.

He gave up thinking.

"I do feel quite regretful now. I wish the people from the Vatican could do it again and arrest all those stupid officials who stood on the podium but could only quack like drakes and sentence them to death by hanging. Then I would squeeze in to watch even if it meant squeezing in. Then I could say the same thing to my grandchildren and let them know what a great man their grandfather was."

"Not a thousand people." Mr. Gwilly corrected her: "Five thousand people! My grandfather said, at least five thousand people! Their meat alone fed all the fish and shrimp in the river, so that year, the fishing harvest in Rainy Harbor was very good. This is the only contribution those damn scum can make to this city, tsk!"

"Since the Inquisition moved their headquarters to the Port of Desolate Rain, those stinky rats who used to be able to walk away from the prison with a little bail have all met their end, just like entering a barn without rice in winter." Mr. Gwilly laughed gloatingly: "The law enforcement officers of the Holy See are not living statues who can only sit in the office and pose. It only took them a short time to wipe out the two largest gangs in the city at that time: the Wiggs and the Five Guineas, and also arrested many nobles and government officials who supported these two gangs.

These two guys... Ling'er's eyes jumped. It was fine that Alice was an antisocial person, but why was Mr. Gwilly also one of them?
Well, the people of Metosh have the genes of violence and anger in their blood, so it is normal for them to be tough.

Ling Ge: “…”

The people of this country are very strange. They have the genes of riot and anger in their bodies, but because of this, they have a more sensitive mind than others. Therefore, the changes and expressions of emotions are richer and more direct. In layman's terms, they are emotional. Sometimes they can dance and sing without paying attention to others, and sometimes they are sentimental, full of artistic atmosphere, which is unpredictable.

The "Fragmentary" and "Emotional" styles that were popular in the 17th century both originated here. When Artists Weekly selected the "Top Ten Artists with the Greatest Contributions in Western Continental History", more than half of them were from Metso. Therefore, it is not surprising that an ordinary farmer who is randomly encountered can come up with such a vivid metaphor.

However, the young man will soon realize that Mr. Gwilly is not exaggerating in this one statement. …

The cart left the country road and swayed onto the main road. On both sides were large expanses of olive groves. The lush green leaves were dripping with water drops from the morning rainstorm, giving off a fresh green vibe. Several peasant women were working in the olive groves, cutting off rotten branches and roots, trimming excess branches and leaves, watering and fertilizing, etc. Some of the olive trees still had white cloth tied to their branches for identification, which must have been newly grafted.

They work just as well as men and are even more skilled.

The wandering fields, the open roads, the warm sunshine, the clear blue sky, the endless olive trees, and the singing in the wind, that is Mr. Gwily singing a classic folk song of the region. Although Alice seems to have no interest in chatting, this thin man always has a way to keep his mouth busy -

"Oh, dear Mr. Josiah, I have decided to go to town today.

Take a bale of hay, two eggs, three cans of milk, and four guineas.

He's going to sell something.

After selling the fodder, he bought a new ball for his son.

Ah, I've wanted this for a long time.

He would say: Hey, Dad, let's play together!

After selling the eggs, I bought a skirt for my daughter.

Ah, this style is from many years ago.

She would frown and then smile: But I still like it, thank you dad!
Oh, dear Mr. Josiah, decided to go into town today.

He sold a bale of hay, two eggs and three cans of milk.

Including the four guineas he had brought with him, there were twenty-four guineas left.

Oh, dear Mr. Josiah, what else do you want to buy?

I think I'll just buy a bunch of flowers -

Give it to my most beloved girl.
Because she's still waiting for me in the olive grove.

I'll give her son a new ball when I get back.

Give her daughter an old-style dress.

Give her a beautiful bouquet of flowers!"

When he sang to this point, he stood up from the car seat excitedly and shouted to the women in the olive grove: "Hey, my dearest girls, can you tell me what flowers you want? Roses? Chinese roses? Or purple hibiscus? Oh no, of course not olive flowers, because the girls in our Śikiri Peninsula have long been tired of them!"

In response, a burly peasant woman in the olive grove winked at him, while another younger peasant woman shyly picked up a piece of what looked like solidified cow dung from the ground and threw it at the cart, but the agile driver dodged it in time.

Alice burst out laughing on the haystack, and Saint Shallia couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Huh?" Mr. Gwilly showed a puzzled expression: "Did I hear other people laughing just now?"

“No.” Lingge replied expressionlessly: “You heard it wrong.

In front of him, one step away from his shoes, lay a pile of cow dung.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)