Staying in a relatively confined space for several hours with a group of animals that smell bad and occasionally urinate and defecate everywhere is definitely not a comfortable experience.
What's more, other members of the team must always pay attention to Aberdare, who may go crazy, lose control, and transform into a killer, slaughtering the entire vehicle and animals together.
The only thing that makes them feel that the ticket price is slightly worth it is that they can hardly feel the strong bumps while sitting on this huge carriage.
Moreover, at noon, the coachman also provided each human passenger with a piece of hard bread for free as a lunch mat.
If it had been a rich time in the past, even Dru Yinjahira, who was the least picky about food, would never have eaten something like dried sea vegetables with a lot of wheat bran and a little salt sprinkled on the surface.
But the problem is that the team's current funds are only a dozen gold coins, and they still have to deduct part of the city entrance tax, and leave some money for the expenses of staying in a hotel if they can't see Zuo Si himself.
In addition, the armor and weapons worn by everyone also need to be repaired, maintained and repaired after experiencing the fierce battle in Dulag Tower.
All of this requires money.
Therefore, Aimeng, who was in charge of accounting in the team, wished he could break a copper plate into two halves.
Therefore, no one dared to complain at all about the free bread provided by the carriage. They all lowered their heads and gnawed on their own small piece.
Minsk even broke off a piece of his own bread and gave it to his animal companion, Bubu the hamster.
In contrast, the well-prepared farmers and peasant women had a much richer meal.
They took free bread as their staple food, and then took out small pieces of bacon, sausages, cheese, fruits and vegetables and home-brewed wine from their pockets to eat.
The driver who was driving the carriage even opened a small metal can and took out a portion of still warm clam and bean soup.
Judging from the strong taste, most likely a little pepper, ginger and other spices were added.
It can be said that except for Aberdare and his party who were teleported to the countryside out of thin air, everyone else in the car had a pretty good meal.
Thanks to Ascatra's increasing prosperity, developed handicraft industry and trade, these farmers living in the surrounding villages can clearly feel that their lives are getting better and better.
Some farmers are even keenly aware of the huge demand for meat, eggs, milk, wine, etc. in big cities. Therefore, they no longer simply sell food, but transform into more profitable and higher value-added breeding industries.
Their monthly income is dozens of blocks higher than that of farmers in relatively backward areas in the North.
This can be seen from the clothes a person wears, the shoes they wear, and the food they eat during the journey.
Generally speaking, farmers in poor and backward areas may only wear one or two sets of shabby linen clothing throughout the year.
When eating, let alone spices, meat, eggs, and milk, I don’t even dare to sprinkle more salt on bread or pancakes.
But what about the farmers in front of us?
Not only can they afford meat, eggs, and milk, but they can even put a little spice into some dishes that only wealthy people could enjoy in the past.
As for the clothes on my body, except for the strong smell due to the large number of livestock in the carriage, they are generally clean and have no patches.
Unfortunately, this change was not noticed by anyone in the team.
Because guys like Aberdare and Minsk, who are faster with their hands than with their brains, will naturally not pay attention to such changes in people's livelihood.
Aimeng was wondering whether he could hold on with the little money he had until he met Zuo Si.
Sancho's mind was filled with the situation of being imprisoned in the Tower of Durag, trying to figure out what Irenicas wanted to do, and who was the dark elf Viconia who finally let him out.
.
Only Jaheira, a harpist, has such sensitivity, but her entire being is immersed in the sadness of the death of her husband Khalid.
Just like this, listening to the noise of livestock and poultry in the car in silence all the way, the magic carriage finally drove through the long rural dirt road and set foot on the recently built "highway" near Ascatella.
This is a dedicated three-train track connecting nearby villages and small towns. It is twelve meters wide and is entirely made of asphalt.
Even if measured by the standards of modern society, there is no problem.
As for the asphalt, it all comes from a natural asphalt lake in the Chelimba Swamp at the source of the Snake Tail River.
Since it is a typical borderless land, it only needs to send a steady stream of airships to transport and process it.
Almost all roads under construction now use this kind of asphalt road that is basically the same as in modern society.
On the one hand, the mining and transportation costs of natural asphalt are very low. On the other hand, it is easy to build. You don’t have to wait for several hours to dry and harden like cement, which can save a lot of time.
You must know that in Faerûn, there are a lot of wild animals after leaving the town.
Therefore, while waiting for the cement to dry for a few hours, it is entirely possible that a group of animals running out of the woods and shrubs will trample on the potholes.
Looking out the window at the spacious and smooth asphalt road, as well as the extremely busy carriages and oxcarts coming and going, the curious Imond couldn't help but poke his head out of the car window, wide-eyed and asked without looking back: "Hey
!Sancho, has the transportation in Amn always been so developed?
Oh my god, this is unbelievable!
It will definitely cost a lot of money to build a road that is so long, so wide, and at the same time so hard and smooth.
Look, there is actually a big house on the edge of the road ahead, where passers-by can eat, rest, and feed livestock."
Imon pointed to a public rest stop not far away and exclaimed.
Compared with today's Amn, in her eyes, Baldur's Gate, which once represented a prosperous big city, is simply like a backward rural place.
Especially the carriages that come and go in a hurry, almost one after another.
The amount of traffic was beyond the limit that the girl could imagine.
The kind of prosperity that could be seen with the naked eye and transcended the times made her feel like she was in a dream.
To be precise, it is impossible for the entire Sword Coast, including Waterdeep, to have enough money to carry out such luxurious large-scale infrastructure construction.
Sancho glanced at the scenery outside the window, smiled bitterly and shook his head: "No, I think these changes should come from the time when we were arrested and imprisoned.
At least when I left Ascatra, I had not seen such black hard roads and public facilities.
If nothing else, this should be related to a series of policies after the establishment of the West Coast Empire.
After all, the teacher has repeatedly said that the things he hates most are ignorance, filth, backwardness and poverty."
"Are you sure?
The total time we were arrested was only a few months.
How could it be possible to accomplish so much work in just a few months?
If this is true, then everything is incredible.
You must know that it will take at least several years to build such a long, high-quality road in Baldur's Gate or other cities in the north."
There was strong doubt in Aimeng's tone.
In fact, we can't blame her, because without large-scale use of magic, the infrastructure construction speed of Faerun is so fast.
Coupled with the lack of a mature and efficient bureaucracy caused by the feudal aristocratic lord system, any infrastructure construction involving a slightly larger scale will usually calculate the project time in years.
After many cities have been devastated by various disasters, it is generally impossible to recover within ten or twenty years.
Some that couldn't be repaired simply turned into ruins.
But this time, before Sancho had time to answer, the driver in charge boasted proudly: "Little girl, you are talking about other places.
Our West Coast Empire is different!
Within the scope of the rule of His Majesty the Great Emperor Soth, from the cabinet to the bottom bureaucrats, they have always liked to pursue efficiency.
Whether it is the priests serving the gods in the temple or the high-ranking mages, when the empire needs it, they must put down other things at hand to serve a certain project.
Did you see this carriage under our butts used to transport farmers, livestock and grain?
It was participated and created by those mages.
What takes years to do elsewhere may only take us a few weeks or even a month or two.
You will understand this when you enter Askatra."
Another young farmer next to him immediately smiled and nodded in agreement: "That's right.
Once you enter Ascaltra, you will redefine the words city and prosperity.
Because it is more than ten times or even dozens of times larger than any city you have seen before.
And if you haven’t been there for two or three weeks, let alone months, you might get lost.”
There is no doubt that the extremely proud and proud tone of the coachman and the farmer left a very deep impression on the team members.
Because they feel that in emerging countries like the West Coast Empire that are forcibly integrated together, most people should identify more with their previous identities, such as Amn people, Kalimshan people, Tethyr people, etc.
But the actual situation is exactly the opposite of what was imagined.
Compared with the previous identity, civilians seem to be more willing to accept the new identity of "imperial subjects".
With strong doubts and confusion, the carriage drove quickly along the asphalt road, and in the evening it successfully stopped at a station a few hundred meters away from the city circle.
The farmers drove their livestock very skillfully to the agricultural products market not far away that was specially designated for trading.
After the prices are negotiated with the purchasers of various restaurants, hotels, pubs and butcher shops and the transactions are completed, the livestock and poultry will be killed and cleaned by professional butchers, and then transported into the city in raw meat for the citizens to enjoy.
Cereals, vegetables, dairy products and other items will be sold to institutions run by the city government, which will then be responsible for wholesale to lower-level retailers.
To be continued...