At this moment, Bai Suxian was kneeling on Zhang Tie's side and mixing drinks for him. After hearing Zhang Tie's words, she just revealed a faint smile as she threw an affectionate glance at Zhang Tie silently.
Bai Suxian didn't speak; however, the owner of the boat revealed a smile at the stern as he stirred the oars and said straightforwardly, "Childe Cui, you don't know about this. In Xuanyuan Hill, there are many major clans; however, most of them are commoners like me. Of course, commoners have to make a living. Most of the commoners want to make a living; however, they don't have any connections and don't want to leave Xuanyuan Hill. Of course, they have to work hard on food, clothing, housing, transportation and entertainment. Like me, Old Zhou, I also make a living in Xuanyuan Hill with this boat!"
Old Zhou was the owner of this boat who made a living on the Golden Water River. Zhang Tie and Bai Suxian were going to travel in the Golden Water River today. By the way, they hired Old Zhou to drive the boat. Zhang Tie found Old Zhou was a bit special among the other boatmen. Not only was he strong, he was also a LV 8 fighter. Additionally, he looked kind. After asking Old Zhou about the price of hiring boatmen, Zhang Tie and Bai Suxian didn't bargain with him. They only told Old Zhou that Zhang Tie's surname was Cui and Bai Suxian's surname was Bai. Therefore, Old Zhou called Zhang Tie and Bai Suxian Childe Cui and Miss Bai.
"Hoho, Old Zhou, what do you mean by not wanting to leave Xuanyuan Hill? Do you think someone dares force you to leave Xuanyuan Hill and do evil things in the public? " Zhang Tie asked out of interest. Perhaps, others would not be interested in these commoners' affairs at Zhang Tie's level; however, as Zhang Tie was born in a commoner, he was especially interested in these things.
These days, Zhang Tie had visited some places in Xuanyuan Hill. Although those legends of heroes and great figures and those tall buildings were interesting and magnificent, they were still a bit stiff for Zhang Tie. Not until today did Zhang Tie come to this Golden Water River and watch the boatmen coming and going, smell the fragrance of drinks in the taverns on the bank and listen to the hawkers with different accents gradually revive the image of Xuanyuan Hill in Zhang Tie's mind.
"Someone didn't force me to do it, I did it willingly!" Old Zhou was driving the boat in the Golden Water River flexibly. When he said that, he had just avoided a 2-storey gaily-painting pleasure-boat while the sound of stringed instruments and a woman's melodious song drifted from the gaily-painting pleasure-boat. This was also a commercial boat on the Golden Water River. When some men on the 2nd storey of the gaily-painting pleasure-boat passed by the boat, they all widely opened their mouths at the sight of Bai Suxian who was wearing an affectionate smile on the boat. Even when the boat was far away, they still turned around to look at her.
When Bai Suxian heard the song from the gaily-painting pleasure-ship was Zhang Tie's "Beloved Ones", she revealed a smile towards Zhang Tie as she blinked her eyes mischievously.
Golden Water River was an artificial canal which connected the three lakes and Xuanyuan Hill. Therefore, although this river was wide, it was always calm. Even a small boat could walk on Golden Water River as if it was on the flat land as long as it was skillfully maneuvered by a skilled boatman.
Hearing Old Zhou's words, Zhang Tie felt even more puzzled. "Voluntary? Who would want to leave here as long as they could settle down in such a place? "
"It's said that humans couldn't find another place that could match Xuanyuan Hill. If they could live a decent life in Xuanyuan Hill, who would like to leave such a treasured land? Of course, they have to leave." Old Zhou let out a sigh as he stirred the pulp, "However, people have to make a living. If they want to make a living, they have to make money. Otherwise, your family members could not live only by breathing air in Xuanyuan Hill!"
"You're right. Life consists of daily necessities, rice, oil, salt, clothing, food, housing and transportation. Money is not everything. However, it's impossible for us to live in Xuanyuan Hill without money; especially in Xuanyuan Hill!" Zhang Tie said with a smile.
"That's right! It's not easy to live in Xuanyuan Hill... "Old Zhou clapped his hands out of excitement, causing a crispy sound," All the lands and houses in Xuanyuan Hill are gifted by the imperial households of Taixia Country. According to the regulation, they couldn't be resold or traded. If nobody inherits them, they would be taken back by the imperial households. I mean, if you are willing to leave Xuanyuan Hill, you could rent your mansion in Xuanyuan Hill for a high income a year. Additionally, it would be a long-term income. With this income, even if you leave Xuanyuan Hill and come to the nine immortal provinces, your family could also live a rich life. You don't need to work hard every day. There are so many major business groups in Taixia Country who want to settle down in Xuanyuan Hill. Even though the rent of houses in Xuanyuan Hill is the highest in the world, a 1-meter house in a remote corner costs over 1,000 gold coins a year. It's still hard to find a house in the market even though it costs over 1,000 gold coins a year in Xuanyuan Hill! "
"Take my family's ancestral mansion as an instance, my grandpa told me that when my grandpa came back to Xunzhou Province to worship his ancestors, the provincial governor of Xunzhou Province would hold a banquet for him. However, after my grandpa passed away, with the blessings of our grandpa, our Zhou clan flourished for dozens of years. However, during the past dozens of years, Zhou clan didn't have any decent offsprings after two generations. When it came to my grandpa's generation, Zhou clan gradually declined. As a result, the relationship between Zhou clan and Xuanyuan Hill gradually faded. When it came to my generation, I was the eldest of the three brothers and inherited the ancestral mansion of Zhou clan in Xuanyuan Hill, a small courtyard. My two brothers had already left Xuanyuan Hill to make a living outside!"
"Previously, the ancestral mansion of Zhou clan had been favored by someone in my father's generation. Additionally, it was said that a noble in a subcontinent would like to rent our ancestral mansion at 20,000 gold coins per year. After renovating it, he would live in Xuanyuan Hill. At that time, our Zhou clan was already a bit poor. With 20,000 gold coins per year, our life could be improved at once. However, my father didn't agree with that. Before my father passed away, he even called us three brothers to his bedside and told us to keep the foundation of Zhou clan well and not leave Xuanyuan Hill."
Zhang Tie became curious, "Sorry for my disrespect. I've not imagined that you're a descendant of a general. But 20,000 gold coins per year is not a small figure. Your family situation was not good at that time. Why didn't you agree with that?"
Old Zhou revealed a smile as he didn't sound like a boatman at all, "It's very easy for us to leave Xuanyuan Hill and live a peaceful and stable life; however, as long as we leave Xuanyuan Hill, it would be impossible for our descendants to be outstanding in Xuanyuan Hill in the future. However, as long as we stay, our clan would have a hope. As long as one of our descendants could be outstanding in Xuanyuan Hill, they would be able to bring honor to their ancestors at once. Hehhehheh, although it's a lot of gold coins, there's no other place in the world like Xuanyuan Hill which is full of powerhouses and opportunities!"
"Xuanyuan Hill has the best school for humans, the best education for humans, the most powerful human knights and the most opportunities for humans to be outstanding. As long as we stay, as long as our descendants could be outstanding, the relationships left by our forefathers could be revived in the future. By then, a bit money is nothing! As an ordinary family, if we want to stay and make opportunities for our descendants, we have to find a way to make money so as to support our family. To be honest, in order to support our family, this Old Zhou steers the boat on the river while my wife sells liquor. The peach blossom liquor that you're drinking on the boat is made by my wife by picking peach blossoms in the courtyard … "Zhang Tie didn't make fun of them; instead, he became solemn.
What Old Zhou and his wife did was almost the same as what his parents did in Blackhot City. Hua parents could almost sacrifice everything for their children. From the perspective of Old Zhou, this mansion in Xuanyuan Hill was almost the first school district among humans. In order to provide a chance for their descendants to be influenced in the circle of Xuanyuan Hill, many parents and families like Old Zhou across Xuanyuan Hill had given up the chance to be rich and insisted on doing humble jobs in Xuanyuan Hill so as to wait for their children to be outstanding and glorify their ancestors one day.
Of course, not all the families were like Old Zhou. Each family had its own situation. However, given the scale and population of Xuanyuan Hill, there were definitely many families like Old Zhou, which even accounted for the majority of the population. It was already rare for an ancestral family to last for 100 years. However, Xuanyuan Hill had existed for over 800 years. Very few families across Xuanyuan Hill could still enjoy the ancestral family's glory after so many years.
The ancestors of these families were glorious; otherwise, they would not stay in Xuanyuan Hill. Therefore, it became the biggest obsession and pursuit of many generations of people of these clans to recover their clan's glory even to a higher level.
"Old Zhou, how many kids do you have in your family?"
Speaking of the kids, Old Zhou's face turned a bit brilliant as he raised his voice unconsciously, "We have 8 kids, 3 daughters and 5 sons. 3 of the 5 sons are honest and average; 2 of them have some abilities now. The 6th son has a talent in making instruments. He's now an apprentice in the headquarter of Rune Instrument Masters Union and helps people to run errands; the eldest son is good at practicing martial arts and looks decent. Therefore, he joined the headquarter of Rune Instrument Masters Union. Now, he's already a corporal and knows how to send money to home!"
Zhou Clan's persistence finally paid off in the next generation of Old Zhou. The headquarters of Humans Rune Instrument Masters Union and the headquarters of Rune Instrument Masters Union in Xuanyuan Hill could never be easily admitted in other places.
"According to your words, Old Zhou, those families whose lands and properties in Xuanyuan Hill were taken back must have suffered a great loss …"
"Hehhehheh, rules are dead; people are alive. Could living people be suffocated to death? Childe Cui, as you've just come to Xuanyuan Hill, you might not know that. You can ask around about it. Over the past hundreds of years, which land and properties in Xuanyuan Hill have been taken back?" Old Zhou smirked …
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