Customs

The Provincial Governor Nagaril a position roughly equivalent to the governor of the Bayer Federation, but with some differences.

Here, the Provincial Governor holds both military and political power, but he is not without rivals; his rival is the High Priest.

People obey the arrangements of power, but they believe more in gods, which maintains a strange balance between political and divine authority.

In general, the Provincial Governor wields great power, but he cannot control everything.

"Didn't your boss come with you?" Asier's father asked warmly, taking his hand and inquiring about Lin Qi's situation.

Asier had mentioned in a letter before the new year that his boss might invest here. He knew his father well; the old man was someone who couldn't keep secrets, or rather, someone who liked to show off.

He likes to show off his success to others, for example, that he has a son with foreign residency rights, that his son sends him living expenses every month, and that his son is a big shot in a company, a manager...

He liked to say these things, which earned him the respect of others. Whenever he went out, he didn't have to bump into those Lowly People people and enjoyed everything that only gentlemen could enjoy, such as distance.

hatred?

This is a local culture. Perhaps Asier's father used to believe that the curse was effective, but now he doesn't care anymore.

Asier's family status improved significantly after local officials heard from some people that Asier's boss was going to invest.

The officials kept asking Asier's boss when he would arrive, what size of investment he would bring, and what kind of factory he planned to build there...

Besides these officials, locals are also concerned about these issues, as they will also affect their lives.

In this era, it is perfectly normal for a small-scale eco-economic environment to form around a factory. Once the investment is finalized, it means that the factory will need to recruit workers. Some people can secure stable jobs, while many others will experience changes in their income.

Many people visited Asier's father, which gradually made him a well-known figure in the city. He was invited to participate in festivals, political events, and religious activities, and he increasingly felt that he was very important.

Just then, the passenger Passenger Ship, having finished its resupply and about to set sail, sounded its horn. The Captain seemed unwilling to stay in this place for even a minute longer.

It's worth noting that along the way, at each supply point, the Captain and sailors would have in-depth conversations with some indigenous girls who needed help near the port and leave something behind. But here, they left immediately after resupplying, as if they hated this place.

The loud blast of the ship's horn made Asier glance back at the Passenger Ship that was about to depart, and he felt a sense of inexplicable loss as he turned back.

The father and brothers before him had become strangely unfamiliar, nothing like the warmth they had shown in their correspondence. Each of them seemed like a familiar stranger, their warm, fake smiles and greedy eyes making Asier feel uneasy.

However, he still answered the question, "I'll probably be here around mid-March. My boss still has some things to take care of..."

"That's two weeks from now?" Asier's father clapped his hands. "That's a perfect time!"

As for why this timing was good, he didn't really know. He just said it out of habit, a habit of starting to integrate into Upper Class society, habitually affirming everyone and everything. This was also a characteristic of Nagaril.

"Go back first, you must be very tired!"

To Asier's astonishment, his older brother drove up in a car that looked like it had been produced ten years or more ago.

It also retains the most bizarre yet common aesthetic features of the previous era.

His older brother patted the car body. "Didn't expect that, did you? We're already driving a car..." His tone revealed a kind of pride that made Asier both amused and bewildered. He even asked Asier, "Did you have your own car when you were in the Federal?"

Asier smiled, and his older brother didn't press the matter further. However, judging from his expression, he seemed to think that Asier didn't have his own car yet.

As Aser sat in the car, feeling the pungent wind blowing in his face, Asier suddenly understood something.

When I returned home, the small, dilapidated house I remembered was gone, replaced by a detached house that looked no less impressive than the one I owned in the Bayer Federation, and perhaps even more exquisite and larger.

The religious culture of Nagaril has long been deeply ingrained in every corner of life; even buildings, every brick, and every stone pillar have patterns or carvings imbued with religious themes.

All these elements combined make the house look not just luxurious, but also imbued with an aura of nobility derived from divine authority.

The house was in a courtyard, Asier was a little curious. "I remember we had some neighbors next to us."

His father nodded proudly and said, "Yes, but they left because we built a new house!"

For Asier's father, driving away those neighbors was not shameful, but rather something to be proud of. Most people in this society would not do that, but he could, and that was what made him proud.

Asier paused for a moment. The culture and education he had received in the Bayer Federation over the years had given him something more precious: morality. He didn't think it was something to brag about. To build a better house and have a bigger yard, not only did they demolish other people's houses, but they also had to drive those people away. How cruel and terrible that was! Yet these people in front of him thought it was something to be proud of. He was becoming more and more uncomfortable with everything here. His father and his brothers were completely different from the people described in the letters.

He silently followed his father and brothers into the room. His mother and his brothers' wives were already kneeling at the door to welcome the men's return.

Nagaril is a typical patriarchal society where women have absolutely no status. Asier was somewhat uncomfortable and asked his elder brother's wife to take off his shoes, wash her toes with water, and then put new shoes on him. All of this made him feel very embarrassed, but everyone else thought it was normal.

The men of the house came into the Living Room and sat on long benches woven from rattan. These rattan vines were very resilient after being dried, and some High Priest or rulers would have these rattan chairs in their homes.

The men sat while the women knelt in a row, serving them spiced boiled milk and local pastries. They were more like servants than mistresses of the household.

"Why did your boss suddenly want to invest here? Is there anything worth investing in here?" Asier's father asked a question that had been on his mind for a long time.

Everyone knows how poor Nagaril is. Although many people say that it hides rich mineral resources, no large Mineral Deposit have been discovered so far.

The only thing they have to offer is spices. Many, many years ago, Nagaril spices were very famous, but with the development of chemistry, some expensive spices have been replaced by flavoring agents, and they have become less valuable.

Apart from a few ultra-wealthy individuals who have a demand for natural flavorings, ordinary people don't care whether the flavors they taste come from herbs or chemical additives.

Asier was silent for a while before speaking according to Lin Qi's words, "Labor here is very cheap..." As he spoke, he took the cup handed to him by his elder brother's wife, which contained boiled milk with some spices.

Before you even take a bite, you can smell a very strange flavor.

The milk was freshly squeezed, and the spices were fresh too. The taste was very strange, fishy, pungent, and with a hint of spice fragrance. Looking at the spice leaves bubbling in the milk, Asier didn't want to drink it.

Although he didn't want to drink, he still said "thank you".

In Nagaril, when relatives come to visit, it is customary for the eldest son's wife to greet them.

Asier was used to being cautious in the Bayer Federation, but his words of thanks caused his father and elder brother to change their expressions slightly.

After giving the two men a cold glance at the woman who was already kneeling on the ground, Asier's father smiled and said, "You don't need to thank her, it's what she should do."

"She eats our food, drinks our water, wears our clothes, and we provide her with shelter from the wind and rain. Everything she does is what she should do."

"I know this is a habit you developed back in the Federal, but you're back home now, you don't need these things!"

As he spoke, his father casually plucked some dark yellow powdery crystalline seasoning from a spice jar and sprinkled it into the cup of milk in Asier's hand. "Drink it quickly, it won't taste good when it's cold."

After enduring the awful taste, Asier took a sip of the boiled milk and almost spat it out. He forced himself to swallow it down and never wanted to touch that stuff again.

His father then asked, "What will your factory do? How many people will you need?" As he spoke, he began to boast again, "I'm a man of some standing now, and there are some things I can solve for you. Do you understand what I mean?"

Asier nodded and told him some of the things Lin Qi had told him.

The more he talked, the more unfamiliar he felt with this family. Not just this family, but the whole of Nagaril seemed completely different from what he remembered.

What made him even more uncomfortable was that when he was about to go to bed that night, his elder brother's wife, dressed in light clothing and with a flushed face, entered his room...

Stop arguing about what country this is. I've said it so many times: the entire story, the content, the country, the faction, the characters—everything is fictional, it's all fake, fake, nonexistent. Don't get involved, don't feel burdened, just enjoy reading.