() Sequoia County, shrouded in continuous drizzle, is moist and melancholy, full of hazy smoke and water, like a mistress who has just had a good time, with beads of sweat still on her skin.
Dozens of farms are scattered across the countryside like scars, with sparse oats growing there. The summer wind blows, causing the golden ears of wheat to bend.
Downton checked the cowhide-wrapped mail again, and after making sure there was no leakage, he wiped the raindrops off his face, tightened his cloak, and quickened his pace.
Every summer during the harvest, trolls, goblins, and werewolves living in the Dragon Hills would appear in groups, part-time as bandits, and plunder villages and towns on the border like locusts.
If you are caught, you won't even be able to become a prisoner. After all, in the eyes of these races, humans are just food that can satisfy their hunger.
The red pine sentry tower had entered the field of vision, and Downton breathed a sigh of relief. Looking closer, he even saw two sentries wearing Frankfurt standard armor standing on the tower, pointing towards him.
.
The two soldiers who were hiding in the tower for shelter from the rain did not even take their weapons. They came out cursing and shouting at Downton, preparing to extort a few silver coins. This was already normal.
"Damn it, I know I can't escape."
Downton was in a depressed mood. Although he cared about the silver coins, he was more worried about them opening the mail package. You must know that the quality of these soldiers is as bad as their reputation as the borers of the West.
"Something bad has happened. More than a dozen ogres have attacked Pisa Town and are moving to Morning Mist Town. The Sheriff asked me to notify the town mayor immediately so that the militiamen can take precautions."
Downton lowered the brim of his cloak, and after making sure that his appearance would not be seen, he suddenly started running, his voice full of panic and helplessness, as if he was being chased by death.
The two sentries who came out stopped, looked at each other, and were stunned. They were obviously shocked by the sudden news.
"Shall we inform the centurion?" the sentry called towards the tower.
"Where is the ogre?" The shirtless soldier who was taking a nap got up in a panic. He didn't bother to put on his shoes, grabbed his two-handed sword, and hurried out.
"In..." The sentry realized that he didn't know either. He was about to question the guy who tipped off the information, but he saw a vigorous figure rushing past the checkpoint and quickly disappearing into the rain.
"Idiot, you were deceived." The soldier angrily raised his sword and smashed it on his subordinates, "Follow me."
"Sir, this road is too bad. Even if we catch up on horseback, that kid would have already run into Chenwu Town and hid." The sentry looked helpless. Seeing that the captain was about to take action again, he quickly promised, "Next time, I will definitely do it.
Catch him and double the blackmail."
"Fart!" the soldier waved his hand and slapped his subordinate, "You can't even see what he looks like, how can you blackmail him?"
A bunch of sentries were silent, no one saw it, what a blackmail!
"I remembered. Recently I heard from other colleagues that there was a boy in a cloak who used all kinds of weird ways to get past the checkpoint. He ran away without paying attention, and not a single copper was extorted from him." The soldier walked for a few days.
Stepping forward, he suddenly gritted his teeth and cursed a few words, "Keep your eyes open for me. Next time I catch him, I'll frame him for a crime and hang him on a wooden pole for three days."
Downton didn't stop until he saw the outline of Morning Mist Town. He looked at the mud on his legs and sighed. Fortunately, the parcel was not damaged, otherwise the mean clerk Ballmer would find various excuses.
Deduct money.
Downton is only sixteen years old this year, but he has been a postman for three years, so he is considered a veteran. However, the new clerk took office two months ago and is always looking for trouble to repair the postmen, making everyone's life more and more difficult.
Already.
"There are still thirty-seven gold coins left to buy an Orleans Highland horse. Then I can carry more letters and deliver them faster, and naturally I will earn more salary."
Downton looked forward to his future life and couldn't help but laugh.
"In addition to the tuition and living expenses saved for my sister, I can also save the travel expenses to the Heroic Corridor in the Secret Realm."
Thinking about the fullness of the small vault, Downton ran excitedly across the water-stained stone road, splashing water droplets from his footsteps.
As the largest town on the border of Sequoia County, Chenwu Town has a population of ten thousand people. Mail from nearby areas will be gathered here and then sent out. However, the post office is eerily deserted on rainy days.
After running up the steps, Downton took off his cloak, folded it and placed it by the door, and then opened the door with peeling paint. He would try to avoid any behavior that might be scolded by the clerk.
In the hall, sixteen busy young postmen were sorting mail, all with depressed expressions on their faces, and one even muttered curses.
"Justin, if you don't want to be expelled, you'd better keep silent. I can feel your resentment even outside the town." Downton lowered his voice and reminded his friend.
"What are you afraid of? Ballmer can't hear it anyway!" Justin threw the letter on the table and groaned, "I've been really unlucky lately."
"I'm even worse off than you. The clerk has found various reasons to deduct half of my salary. If this continues, I will starve to death." Matt sniffed and quickly glanced at the envelope with his small eyes.
The ink marks on the mailbox were then removed without leaving any trace.
Postmen are paid according to the number of letters they deliver, and Matt's small actions allow him to earn at least two extra drands every month.
This is a method that only experienced veterans can understand and learn, and Downton will naturally do it, and he can play it even more skillfully than Matt.
"You're not the only one. Everyone except Downton has had their money deducted."
The postmen complained and cursed the clerk.
"If we work as hard as Downton, Ballmer won't be able to find an excuse if he wants to deduct money." Matt rolled his eyes and directed the conversation to Downton.
"Impossible, the boss is deliberately trying to cause trouble, and you will definitely not be able to escape." Justin shook his head, "I think Downton is going to be in bad luck recently. He is regarded as a direct descendant of his predecessor. If the secretary doesn't suppress him, there will be no way.
Ways to establish authority."
Downton walked to the workbench silently, opened the leather mail bag, and started working.
"Look at how careful he is. Not a single letter has gotten wet. No wonder he is the one with the best reputation and the most money among our more than 100 postmen."
The postmen looked at the hundreds of wet letters hanging by the window and felt ashamed. They had all gotten wet accidentally.
Downton was assigned to deliver letters every month. This regularity also alarmed the former clerk, who admired him very much. If he hadn't been too young, Downton would have been promoted long ago.
"How are you going to deal with the clerk? If you drive him away, it will definitely do a great service to our postman." Matt complimented Downton, and the topic he mentioned made all the postmen get excited and look at him expectantly.
You must know that Downton is the No. 1 postman and has helped many newcomers.
"I'm worried about how to avoid being driven away by him, and you all, please keep silent and concentrate on sharing the message!" Downton put on a troubled expression and glanced at Matt from the corner of his eyes.
Downton didn't take the bait, and a flash of regret flashed across Matt's face. This kid was too cautious and always missed the opportunity.
"If nothing else, Matt should be the guy who snitched to the clerk, causing Duren to be expelled." Downton frowned. This guy really tried his best to deceive his colleagues in order to flatter him.
Bang, the door was knocked open, and Will, covered in mud, smashed the parcel on the ground.
"What's wrong with you?" Justin was startled.
Will's left eyelid was swollen, leaving only a slit, and the corner of his mouth was cracked. Blood stained the clothes on his chest scarlet, and he walked with a limp.
"Next time the sentry asks for money, just give it!" Downton sighed, "Unless you enter the soul level, activate your talents, and become a magic user, don't resist."
"How do you know he was beaten by a sentry?" Justin was puzzled, "It could also be a robber!"
"If it's a robber, he won't even be able to keep his clothes." Downton pointed to the parcel, "Besides, do you think the robber will not open it? What if there is valuables hidden inside?"
The postmen nodded. The desperate robbers were not gentlemen. They wanted to squeeze all the oil out of every lamb they encountered. After all, every time they did a job, they had to take a big risk, so they naturally wanted to ensure the maximum profit.
"Drink some!" Downton stood up and poured a glass of hot water for Will.
"Is there another reason?" Melissa from the Human Resources Department walked over with a graceful catwalk, bent down and wiped Downton's chin.
She was a famous beauty in the town, and some teenagers who were in love often sneaked outside the wall of her house to spy on her every move. If they got a smiling eye, they would happily show off to their companions for a long time.
Melissa was wearing a low-cut corset dress that was popular nowadays, and her lower half of her breasts were already bare, but when she leaned over, they swayed and almost fell out of the dress.
Justin and Matt both looked straight and swallowed subconsciously.
"If he encounters a robber, Will will definitely go to the Sheriff's Department, so the time to wait for the acceptance and make a record will take at least twenty minutes, which is enough for his clothes to dry, instead of being so wet now!"
"Really being blackmailed?" Melissa's charming gaze fell on Will's cheek.
"Well, the sentries took all my money!"
Will had never received such attention from a woman before. He felt like he was being touched by his lover's delicate hands. His face was itchy and his whole body was twisting uncomfortably.
"How miserable!" Melissa stretched out her hand.
Gudu, seeing the beautiful woman's fingers painted with red nail polish approaching, and even a wisp of fragrance drifting into his nose, Will swallowed his saliva, and his heart beat faster than expected, as if it was about to burst out of his throat.
"I'll ask for leave for you, go back and wash up, and be safe next time." Melissa took off a small branch stuck on Will's head, and a proud smile flashed across her lips, very satisfied with her own charm.
Will couldn't say anything because he was embarrassed. After all, these postmen were all fifteen or six-year-old boys and had not experienced much.
"You are worthy of being our number one postman in Morning Mist Town!" Melissa turned her gaze to Downton, looking at this handsome young man, and couldn't help but stretch her white neck and kiss his cheek.
Downton quickly stretched out his hand to cover Melissa's red lips, and felt a moist and delicate touch on his palm. However, he did not lose consciousness at all. Instead, he became even more vigilant like a cat whose tail was stepped on. This woman was in town.
The reviews are not good!
"Little guy, you're still shy, okay, bye, I'm going to have lunch!" Melissa chuckled, twisted her plump hips, carried a flower umbrella, and left the post office.
"What are you hiding from?"
The postmen were extremely envious, but then they secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Melissa didn't kiss him.
"The butt is so big, I really want to touch it!" Justin's eyes followed Melissa's plump back, and he felt his mouth was dry.
"I heard that she is a baron's secret mistress in the town. If you don't want to die for no reason, you'd better put away this idea!" Matt licked the corner of his lower lip.
"Have you been blackmailed too?" Will felt sorry for his silver coins and tried to find some psychological balance from his companions.
"You still have to ask? You think those Westland borers are calling for nothing!" Justin rolled his eyes at Will.
"No, I think Downton must have escaped. He is known as the most cunning Fox in the West!" Matt said Downton's nickname and asked expectantly, "Is there any way? Please share it with me.
!”
The postmen's eyes lit up, as if they had discovered a new secret place. They stared at Downton eagerly and tried to persuade him.
Downton shook his head and silently lowered his head to sort the letters.
"Tell us, we'll treat you to a feast at the Golden Ivory Tavern, and find a dancer to accompany you for the night!"
Thinking of Downton's excellence, the postmen became even more eager and pestered him vigorously. They had already concluded that he had a way to escape the sentry's blackmail and was just trying to protect himself.
"What's the fuss about?" A hoarse roar suddenly broke the atmosphere in the hall. Secretary Ballmer pushed open the maple door of the office and glared at the postmen, "Whoever told you to be lazy will deduct a silver coin from you!"
The postmen lowered their heads and looked ashen. One silver coin was enough for their living expenses for three days, but no one dared to complain. They were as docile as lambs.
"What are you still doing? Go back to work!" The short, fat Ballmer walked out with a big belly, and the iron shoe soles made a harsh copper sound on the floor.
"Will, you stay!"
Will was stunned for a moment, knowing that trouble was coming.
"Look what you did? The floor is stained. Another silver coin will be deducted." Ballmer stood in front of Will and scolded arrogantly.
"I, I didn't mean it!" Will was so frightened that he couldn't even speak. He didn't even dare to wipe the saliva that sprayed on his face.
"Still talking back!" Ballmer raised his leg and kicked Will on the stomach.
Will took two steps back, fell to the ground, bent over like a shrimp, clutching his stomach, sweating profusely in pain.
The postmen were helpless, even suppressing their breathing. Everyone was accustomed to the clerk's cruelty, and they just wanted not to get burned.
"What are you still doing lying down? Go mop the floor. If the floor doesn't reflect you, don't come to work!" Ballmer was making excuses. He wanted to erase the legacy of his predecessor and let these postmen
They no longer dare to disobey any of their orders, so all those who are dissatisfied will be removed.
The clerk is not worried about the manpower problem. There are many young people vying to be postmen in a dozen nearby towns. After all, this is a decent job, and when he recruits people, he can also earn a lot of bribes.
"No, I'll do it!" The blood on Will's face faded and turned pale. If he was fired, his father would beat him to death.
"Humph, I only care about the results!" The clerk didn't listen to these explanations at all. This guy was definitely going to be expelled.
"Sir, you have also seen that he was injured at work, and Melissa agreed that he left early." Downton stood up straight. He knew the poor economic situation of the Will family. If he lost his job, his sisters would be in need.
I'm hungry.
"Are you interrupting here?" the clerk scolded angrily, slapping Downton's cheek with his hand.