Evetrona's old stories

Eluren patted her husband on the shoulder, seeming very dissatisfied with his behavior just now.

"Don't make such jokes anymore." Minxi took the box in front of Eve, and gave Comino a look.

"It's none of my business, it's that you always think things in the wrong direction. You see, Eve is the smartest in this room." Comino said.

After making such a fuss, Komino really distributed gifts to everyone.Everyone here has a share, including Weatherford and Smirn.

"Why do I have it too, you know I'm coming?" Min-hee got two gifts, one from Comino and one from her father Mochi.

"Even if you don't come, I will let Eve take it back. Not only you, but your brother Luge will also have a share."

The gift Mochi gave Eve was very heavy, and it was placed in a long box. Even if you didn't open it, you could tell that it was a sword.But Comino gave her a strange gift. It was a leather notebook with a metal frame. It looked very delicate. Once it was opened, the mechanism box inside would make a sound similar to a music box.

"What is this, it's so stupid." Eve closed the notebook, "While listening to music, keep a diary?"

"Isn't it good? What an atmosphere." Comino said, "Besides, this is also a kind of alarm function. If Nanfen peeps at your diary, as soon as she opens it, will you know it?"

"I don't keep a diary, and I won't keep a diary just because I have an extra notebook." Eve still insisted on her opinion, "It's too stupid."

"There is still a market for this thing in the eastern city." Komino was a little helpless at Eve's ignorance, "Forget it, give it away, even if you use it to keep accounts, it will be considered useful."

Comino gave Xilinya a silver watch with two rows of metal straps, which looked delicate and elegant.Xilinya looked very well-behaved today. She was sitting beside her mother, playing with the new watch with her head down.

Several people had a conversation, and Comino's youngest son, Oleden, also came, and he sat beside Smeren.

"Oleden is almost seventeen, and he will be ready to enter school in January next year. I plan to let him go to the knight training center for training." Comino said, "I donated money to the knight academy. I originally planned to send Storn to study there, but I didn't expect this kid to sign up for the army behind my back—what's the matter? I sent him to the knight academy because I didn't want him to serve in the army. He was lucky..."

Comino complained to Eve about this matter many times, and brought it up again today.Among his five children, perhaps Comino's favorite is the third child, Ston. He hopes that Stoun can inherit his career and study economics, but Stoun obviously has his own ideas.

Lunch was also eaten on the third floor, and Comino was determined not to contact the people downstairs today.

The lunch at Knaka's house is very rich, and the dishes are served round by round, so the table always maintains a refreshing look, as if eating a meal into a connoisseurship meeting, which makes Eve not very happy.

Comino also noticed it, so he said: "Our family eats cat food, and we are like two wolves. It must be a bit uncomfortable, but there is no way. I don't think I can say anything about this family."

From the beginning of the meal, the men and women began to chat about the topics they were interested in, so after the meal, the two groups of people naturally separated.Eluren took her two daughters to play cards, and took Minxi away by the way, while Eve stayed with the men and listened to them chatting about things in the Eastern City.

[82] The Knaka couple (Part [-])

In a small attic on the fourth floor, several people were sitting together. Comino and his son-in-law Weatherford sat sideways on either side of the window, holding a lighted cigarette in their hands, and puffing out of the window from time to time.

It's winter now, with a gust of wind blowing in through the small open window, it's really a bit cold.There is no fireplace in the attic, so it can only rely on the residual heat of the chimney for heating. If you want to stay here for a long time, you need to add a charcoal basin in the room.Eve sat in front of the charcoal basin. When she was bored, she put a small piece of apple on a skewer and roasted it over the fire.

Comino said to Eve: "You asked me what happened in the Eastern City." He pressed the cigarette butt into a small layer of snow on the window sill, "A few days ago, the Logos Academy sent people to the Geeksen Participated in a meeting with the purpose of establishing a new currency system. I followed suit. We held several domestic seminars in the Eastern City in June, mainly discussing the possible responses that may be needed in this meeting. .”

Eve sat up straight, and she asked, "Can these things be told to the outside world?"

"After a period of time, almost everyone in the country will know the general content of this meeting." Comino said, "Among us, Smirn and Weatherford are future participants, and Oleden is interested in this aspect."

"And me?"

"Don't you want to hear it?" Comino asked her back with a smile.

"I want to hear it because I want to hear it. I'm just afraid of the impact you will have on outsiders when you say these things."

"That's a small problem, you don't need to worry about it." Comino said, "I originally thought that people would only be interested in the economy when they didn't have enough money to spend, but it turned out that Oleden was an exception, so I I think you might also be interested in these things." He turned his head and said to Weatherford, "Let's talk about the background before the Magic War first, so that they can have a general impression."

Weatherford nodded, turned his body to the two young men, and said, "Then let me briefly talk about it... From the perspective of economy and currency. It may not be comprehensive enough, but the general idea should be correct."

He snuffed out the cigarette butt in his hand, and analyzed the war that had ended for more than 30 years from another angle.

"You also know how enthusiastic countries are about land and gold before the signing of the post-war agreement. Including Kriging - not only wage wars to annex neighboring countries and expand the country, but also develop colonies on other continents Looting of various resources. We called the system at that time mercantilism. Essentially, this development model was to sacrifice the interests of other countries to meet the stable needs and rapid development of the country. The demand for gold also reflected To meet the demand for currency within a country, the supply of gold needs to meet the rapidly growing economy."

Mercantilism has been described as beggar-thy-neighbor—using one’s country as a drain into which to pour one’s own flood—a zero-sum game in which there are winners and losers.

"Under this environment, aggression has probably become an act of self-preservation. The countries in the northern part of Yuji divided up the regions that can be divided in the world in turn, and those countries that did not participate in it will gradually become weaker because of the strength of their neighbors - Kell and Delanbon are examples. In the multilateral trade environment, countries with sufficient gold reserves have enough right to speak, while weak countries have to rely on the currency system dominated by strong countries to survive. In such internal and external conflicts, Kyle finally chooses to start a war. Of course, the mainstream view is that they and the base Lan's escalation of events over the capture of northern ports has caused an all-out war, but we're going to be discussing currency today, so I won't go into too much detail."

Kyle was initially defeated in the conflict with Kiran, and Kilan's fierce pursuit also angered the Kyle to a certain extent, making them finally violate the agreement and use offensive magic on a large scale on the battlefield.After expelling the Kiran people, in order to fight against the imminent breach of contract sanctions, the Kyle people began to secretly form a magic army, which was later the notorious Black Sword Army, and started their journey to the West.

"After the defeat in the war, Kyle and Delanbon signed a post-war peace treaty with other countries, which included a huge amount of compensation and war loans. According to the peace treaty, Kyle needs to compensate the victorious country with a total of about 1.2 tons of Fengluwei gold. Calculated according to the current exchange rate, that is 15.4 tons of gold—this is not counted as a war loan."

When Weatherford said this, Eve didn't find any problems, but Oleden beside him was very surprised. He asked: "15.4 tons? Now the world's Fengluwei and gold combined Isn't that enough?"

"Sounds like a wild asking price, right?" Weatherford smiled and didn't answer his question directly.He continued, "The indemnity of the Kingdom of Kyle is to be paid to the victorious country, and the victorious country needs to use this money to repay the war loan. In this very large-scale war, the Jikesen Empire collected debts from both parties as a neutral country and reaped the benefits. Taking advantage of this war, it took more than 70.00% of the world's gold into its pocket. The domestic economy recovered rapidly, and the compensation was paid year by year in a step-by-step manner according to the economic growth rate, until the seventh year. The main source of income for Kaier’s compensation came from taxes—such as tariffs, industrial and commercial corporate taxes, and monopoly taxes on tobacco, alcohol, sugar, etc.—and railway and port revenue. Such a plan made Kaier’s economic strength recover quickly, even surpassing most countries in Yudi, but even so, the heavy compensation burden still made Kaier on the verge of bankruptcy. The country has basically paid off its debts."

"Why do countries always use gold as their standard currency instead of Fengluwei?" Eve asked.

"That's because - Fengluwei can not only serve as a general equivalent, but also a kind of alchemy material. In a narrow sense, the main subject of alchemy is to study the efficiency of energy conversion into Fengluweijin." Weatherford replied, "The value of Fengluweijin is closely related to bulk commodities such as coal and sky ocher. Considering the cost of icebergs in long-distance transportation—that is, when considering loss and transportation costs—you only need to compare the value shrinkage caused by transportation with the loss of energy converted into Fengluweijin through alchemy. Is it cost-effective to transport coal directly, or convert it into Fengluwei and then transport it. This boundary is similar to the gold delivery point. If the depreciation of a country’s currency is greater than the sum of minting parity and gold transportation costs, then buyers in another country may choose to directly choose to use gold instead of currency. Fengluwei can be produced by consuming energy, and in turn, can also be used as fuel through alchemy circles, or as energy supply for magic tattoos. , Its reserves before the war probably exceeded 4.4 tons. At that time, the exchange rate of gold to Fengluwei was about 12.86. After the war, the exchange rate has soared to [-]. There are three main reasons for this: first, the demand for materials in the war increased the price of bulk commodities, which increased the conversion cost of Fengluwei;

Today, most of the gold is stored in the underground vaults of the Geeksen Central Bank, so other northern countries, including Klikin, will inevitably encounter the dilemma of insufficient currency liquidity.In order to solve these problems, the World Alchemy Association formed by alchemists from various countries began to develop a new Fengluwei gold coin to alleviate the liquidity tension in various countries.The fineness of the new currency is 99.9%, and the weight of the coin is 31.221 grams. Different from other Fengluwei gold coins, the new currency adopts a special packaging method to limit the reaction speed of Fengluwei gold and reduce the energy supply efficiency, making it unable to be used as a gold coin. Weapon core usage, so you don't need an alchemy license to trade the new currency.The new currency was named "Enablement Coin", and because of the double moon and boat emblem printed on the back of the coin, it was also called "Moon Boat Coin".In fact, the World Alchemy Association has been established for about [-] years. The original purpose of its formation was to establish a monetary supervisory agency in Hanoi, aiming to maintain a good currency market environment, which is equivalent to the International Monetary Fund in another world. Nowadays, the common fund pool of the World Alchemy Association is composed of Fengluwei invested by various countries, various foreign exchange reserves and gold, so that when necessary, certain loans can be given to member countries in trouble, so as to maintain the health of the monetary system Stablize.

Comino said: "The tragic scene of the magic war in the past is vivid. Every country does not want other countries to hold too much Fengluwei gold. In order to weaken this potential threat, each country puts a certain amount of Fengluwei It is a good choice to cast new currency in the World Alchemy Association according to the ratio. Since the new currency has greatly weakened its functionality, its correlation with gold is stronger than coal and sky ocher; and because the gold standard The market regulation of gold production costs, so the addition of Yuechuan coins is very important - because the total output of gold and Fengluwei will increase simultaneously with the economy, prices will always maintain a healthy low inflation level." He said from Another cigarette was picked up from the cigarette case, "In fact, Fengluweijin is a very ideal standard currency, but it is too advanced. As long as there are wars in the world, it cannot appear as a currency."

Comino took a deep breath on his cigarette, and then fell into deep thought.

"Why do you say that?" Seeing that he was silent, Si Mien could not help asking him.

"Fengluweijin is created by energy, which is a valuable commodity in itself. Its output will continue to grow with the development of economy and technology-by improving the alchemy circle, we can use waterwheels or windmills. Power production of Fengluwei, without having to rely on coal fuel; or improve its conversion efficiency, so that the conversion rate exceeds 50% or even more; more idle energy can be spared by optimizing the energy consumption of industrial production lines, and participate in In the production of Fengluwei. If one day, a kind of alchemy equipment is invented, allowing people without alchemy knowledge to also make Fengluwei gold, it is equivalent to democratizing the right to mint coins. A very tempting idea."

"If everyone can mint currency, wouldn't currency become worthless?" Oleden wondered.

"Fengluwei is not only a currency, but also a huge amount of stored energy. If Fengluwei will become worthless one day, it means—" Comino looked at his son.

"Humanity has unlimited energy sources," Oleden said.

"And there is no need for currency anymore," Eve added.

"It's like a broad avenue of steady development. The question is how we can go on it." Si Mien shook his head.

"That's for our descendants, and the problem we need to solve now is how to return to the relatively stable currency system before the war and establish a new gold exchange standard world." Comino said, "Kriging once experienced a severe hyperinflation, which led to the complete collapse of the old Tork banknotes, and then the magic war came, so that the country had no time to deal with many domestic problems, and even returned to the original gold coin standard era. The main purpose of this meeting is to save the current fragmented economic environment and establish an international currency system dominated by the Geeksen currency. What we have to do in the Eastern City now revolves around currency reform. Most of the current affairs in the Eastern City have been taken over by Maoqi, and the original person in charge, Mien Ketti, has been dispatched to the southern colony to build a new fleet with funds raised from the public.

The stage of mercantilism came to an end in an agreement signed by various countries, and the subsequent state capitalism is actually still a continuation of mercantilism. It has been packaged in peace and civilization, and war aggression has evolved into capital aggression, making a comeback around the world.

On the window sill, more than a dozen cigarette butts were stuck vertically in the snow, neatly arranged in a row.During the two-hour conversation, Comino and Weatherford smoked a lot.Eve was a little engrossed in listening, and didn't even notice that the room was already filled with smoke.

After four o'clock, it was already getting dark, and Eve and Minxi were getting ready to go home.Minxi played cards with the mother and daughter all afternoon, and she was still reluctant to leave when she left.Comino insisted on seeing them off, and then dismissed Minxi and asked her to go back to the manor in a carriage.

"Take this ridiculous thing away." Comino pointed to the double saddle with a buckskin on the horse's back, and asked the servant beside him to replace it with a new one.

"It's from Nanfen, don't throw it away." Eve said hastily.

"Understood, someone will send you back later." Comino waved his hand, as if impatient because of Eve's long-winded words, "Look at what happened today, it's not easy to talk to you alone for a while."

The two rode horses and walked side by side on the small road in the direction of Bomeng. After they got out of the maple forest, Komino spoke.

"Do you think I'm being too harsh on Xilinya?" he said.

"You asked knowingly. Why didn't you mention this in your reply?" Eve asked him.

"I'm afraid you will show her the letter after I mention it." Comino took out the cigarette case from his pocket and lit another one for himself.

"Just because of this?" Eve found it funny.

"It's definitely not that simple, but I can't tell." Komino squinted his eyes and exhaled the blue smoke and white mist from his mouth. "Maybe he just finds it troublesome and doesn't want to mention it in the letter."

"Then you come to ask me... why?"

"I just want you to take care of it... Xilinya, and today's boy, Ori, he will also enter school next year." Comino's tone of voice seemed very free and easy, but to Eve's ears, it was mixed with a kind of helplessness.Comino said again: "I'm not worthy of their love. There was an Iminoen who hated me until now, so I don't care how these three brats hate me."

"How do you want me to look after it?"

"Don't ask me, you are an insider asking an outsider. Facts have proved that neither Eluren nor I are good at raising children... I feel that Silinya and Ori were quite lively when they were young, but now their tempers are getting worse and worse. It's boring." Comino sighed, "I don't understand."

Eve looked sideways at him and shook her head helplessly.Perhaps this conversation in the evening was the real purpose of Comino's invitation to her.

The snow-white field gradually turned blue, and the sky gradually darkened. A bat flew crookedly, fluttering its wings, appearing and disappearing from time to time; It seems to be in the distance; all the way back through the snow, the horse's hooves stepped on the stone bricks, making a kicking sound; two figures, one tall and one short, stood at the door and snuggled up, waving their hands towards the distance, laughing Constantly; behind him, the house is brightly lit, the lamb chops are tempting, and the golden custard is steaming.

[83] Winter Wind (Part [-])

The sword that Maoqi gave Eve was very beautiful, with a silvery white body, and I don't know what kind of metal it was forged with.The sword body has a snowflake-like texture with distinct layers, and it will reflect the light of the stars under the light, which looks gorgeous and delicate.Due to its exquisite workmanship, Eve thought it was a decorative sword at first, but after testing the sharpness of the blade, she dispelled such concerns.

This is a side sword with a narrow and long blade, which is very suitable for carrying around as a saber, but considering Eve's size, she is actually more suitable for carrying a small sword.

Swords are used for fighting and killing. Eve doesn't like fighting, but she also likes swords. It's hard to say where this love comes from.She likes to carry a sword with her, but she doesn't look forward to the day when this sword will come in handy.

One day in mid-December, a group of knights from Mount Shengfeng visited Boyun Manor.They were all riding horses, wearing metal armor and a gray cavalry cloak, and there was a magic guide rope hanging behind the horse's buttocks, dragging on the ground with a clattering sound.These people were wearing gray masks, all riding on horses, and holding a horse beside them. There were eight people in total, and they looked very oppressive.The leader was Luo Tilan, who got off his horse, lifted his mask, and walked in front of Eve.

"There will be a bandit suppression operation in the north in January. If you want to go, you can participate. Of course, I personally hope that you can go. After all, I made a detour for this purpose." Luo Tilan was still an old man. Looks like, always like to order people with the tone of request.

"What should I prepare? How do I get there? With you?" Eve felt a little nervous when she heard such news.

"This is the map. The location and route have been marked. You can ride there according to the above location." Lotilan had several things in his hand out of thin air - a roll of map, a roulette with a ruler, and a black booklet. "Passing through villages, towns and cities, you can show your identity to the authorities, and they will arrange accommodation and supplies for you."

Eve opened the booklet, on which was written her name and the stamp of the Holy Fengyue Knights, and her identity was written as an apprentice knight.

"I'm a knight now?" Eve asked.

"Temporarily yes, but only before the end of the mission. This thing has to be recovered and distributed to you after you become a real knight." Lotilan laughed, and said: "But it may also be because of your poor performance, It can never be taken back.”

Eve also couldn't tell whether Lotilan was joking or sarcastic, but Minxi next to her spoke first, "Then make a bet, if my sister really becomes a knight in the future, how about you slap yourself in the face in public?"

Eve nudged Minxi with her elbow, gave her a look, and told her not to talk nonsense.

Behind Lotilan, all the knights laughed softly, and Lotilan himself was not angry, he looked at Eve and said, "It's not impossible, if this kind of thing can really motivate you to move forward, what should I do?" Either way. Then let's make a bet, is it three years or a few years?"

"Okay, stop joking." Eve didn't answer Luo Tilan's words, she didn't want to put pressure on herself for nothing.

"That's up to you." Lotilan turned his eyes to Minxi who was beside him, and said, "Your sister is very confident in you." He stretched out his hand and threw a small carving knife with sheath to Minxi , "Well, you don't have to stare at me all the time, I was just joking."

As soon as Minxi saw that there was a gift, she immediately smiled, thanked Lotilan, and stuck out her tongue again.

A knight got off his horse, and took out a set of knight outfit and cloak from the bag and handed it to Eve.Luo Tilan said, "In addition to these, there is also a standard long sword and hand crossbow, which will be handed over to you later. Because you haven't received systematic training in firearms, such things as guns are not issued, so as not to hurt you Yourselves. You have to bring these things back to the Knight Academy after school starts, remember, nothing is missing.”

"How about I get a car?" Eve asked.

"No." Luo Tilan refused very simply, "You have to understand that this is an assessment, not for you to watch the fun. Not only the part that participates in the action, you also have to learn to read maps, learn to recognize the way, and learn how to deal with the people you meet."

"Will this be dangerous?" Nanfen hesitated, and finally spoke. She had been looking at Eve worriedly since just now.

"There is no danger at all. People eat two or three meals a day, and every meal has the risk of choking to death." Luo Tilan said not very politely, "I understand your worry about your daughter, but the child will grow up one day, and the day will be old. When she is no longer young and beautiful, at least she will not regret that she has not accomplished anything. If she can do it, she must do it earlier."

"You let her enter the training center without telling me, do you have the right to make decisions for her?"

Seeing that Nanfen was a little angry, Minxi walked around to her side and tugged at her hand, but she pushed her aside.Minxi pouted her lips unhappily, and looked at Luo Tilan with some complaints.

"That wasn't my idea." Lotilan said, "It was your husband's idea, and Eve herself also had the same idea."

Eve wanted to deny it, but finally felt unable to speak.

"Eve, if you don't want to go, we won't go." Nanfen pulled Eve into her arms, and looked at Luo Tilan unkindly, "Our family is rich, even if we sit here and do nothing, we can live a happy life."

The scene at this time is a bit weird. If people who don't know it see it, they may think that this group of knights is robbing civilian women.

"Then let her decide." Lotilan nodded, he smiled at Eve, and said, "But I don't think she is the kind of person who is willing to be mediocre."

"Don't provoke her with words!" Nan Fen said loudly.It was the first time Eve heard Nanfen speak like this, and she was also a little frightened.

Luo Tilan smiled apologetically, he took a step back and looked at Eve in Nanfen's arms.At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Eve's face, waiting for her to make a choice.

If Lotilan is rejected at this time, perhaps she can really live comfortably in the manor as before, and spend her whole life in peace - this is what Eve has always dreamed of.

"I'll go." After Eve finished speaking, she felt the arm around her tremble a few times—she had let Nanfen down.

I can't even tell why I agreed.Under such uniform eyes, she couldn't make the second answer.Maybe it was the thinking inertia of being a male, maybe it was because she was stronger than she imagined, in short, she didn't want to show weakness in front of such a group of heavily armed knights.Compared to disappointing Nanfen, she didn't want them to laugh at her - but in fact, who would laugh at such a delicate little girl?

Lotilan got the answer he wanted.Instead of showing off to Nan Fen, he bowed to her and said: "We all have good intentions, but we can't decide her life arbitrarily. Life is a very subjective experience. Only her Only then do I understand what I need, and I hope you can understand."

Nanfen stared at him without saying anything.

After the goal was achieved, Lotilan and a group of knights left the manor on horseback. At this point, Nanfen didn't say that he would keep them for dinner or overnight.

Eve felt like she was kidnapped by Luo Tilan just now, and she just made a decision against her will in a moment of excitement.But this matter has become so troublesome, but she can no longer explain it to Nanfen. She made a promise under the eyes of everyone, and the rest is to obediently fulfill the promise.

After Luo Tilan left, Nanfen was a little reluctant to talk to others, and even her own daughter Minxi was also affected.

Seeing Nanfen sitting in the room sulking, even ignoring the half-made snacks, Eve felt ashamed, so she picked up a random topic to talk to her: "Nanfen, what are we going to eat tonight?" She said it cautiously with a smile on her face.

"No more, no food." Nan Fen turned her head away, unwilling to look at her again.After a while, she said again: "Eat less, don't choke to death like that old bastard said."

It was the first time Eve saw her so angry.

Minxi heard that there was no food to eat at night, so she stopped working immediately, and started to make a noise with her arms around her mother's neck, but Nanfen remained unmoved.

"If you don't do it, then I will do it tonight?" Eve asked.

Nanfen glanced at her, but didn't speak.

Eve left the room and went directly to the villa's kitchen.It was around three o'clock in the afternoon, and the two cooks were already preparing the ingredients for dinner. When they saw Eve coming, they didn't stop their work.

Eve breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that even if Nanfen couldn't come, there would still be something to eat at night.Of course, one less meal will not kill people, but what matters is Nanfen's attitude, maybe she is not as angry as she seems on the surface.

There was a sound of running from outside the corridor, and the sound came from far to near. Minxi pushed the door open and entered the kitchen.

"If Nanfen doesn't come, shouldn't you delay the meal?" She looked at the situation in the kitchen and asked while holding Eve's hand.