The Provincial Governor's position in Najalil was roughly equivalent to the Governor of the Bailey Federation, but there were some differences.
Here, the Provincial Governor was an existence that could be easily grasped by the military and government, but he was not without opponents. His opponent was the High Priest.
The people obeyed the arrangements of power, but they believed in the gods more. This also allowed a strange balance to be maintained between the government and the gods.
Generally speaking, the Provincial Governor held great power, but he could not hide the truth from the masses.
"Didn't your boss come with you?"
Asr's father held his hand warmly and asked about Lynch.
Asr had mentioned in a letter last year that his boss might come here to invest. He knew his father very well. This old man was a person who could not hide his thoughts, or rather, a person who liked to show off.
He liked to show off his success to others. For example, he had a son who had the right to reside in a foreign country. For example, his son would send him some living expenses every month. For example, his son was a big shot in the company and was a manager …
He liked to say these things. This would make others respect him. Every time he went out on the streets, he did not need to bump into those lowly commoners. He enjoyed everything that only the old masters could enjoy, such as distance.
Hatred?
This was a local culture. Perhaps Asr's father used to think that the curse was effective, but now, it did not matter to him.
When the local officials heard from some people that Asr's boss was coming to invest, Asr's family status was significantly improved.
The officials kept asking when Asr's boss would come, what kind of investment he would bring, and what kind of factory he would build here …
Apart from these officials, the locals were also very concerned about these issues, because these issues would also affect their lives.
Forming a small ecological economy around a factory was the most normal situation in this era. Once the investment was confirmed, it meant that the factory would have to recruit outside workers. Some people would be able to hold onto their iron rice bowls, and more people would welcome some changes in their income.
Many people came to visit Asr's father, and he gradually became a somewhat famous person in the city. Sometimes, some festival activities, political activities, and religious activities would invite him to participate. He felt more and more that he was very important.
At this moment, the passenger ship that was about to set sail sounded its horn. The captain didn't seem to like staying in this place for even a minute longer.
Along the way, every time they passed by a supply point, the captain and the sailors would stay near the port to communicate with some native girls who needed help and leave something behind. Only here, they would leave immediately after replenishing their supplies. It was as if they hated this place.
The loud whistle made Asil turn around to look at the passenger ship that was about to set sail. When he turned around, he felt an indescribable sense of loss.
The father and brothers in front of him had also become a stranger. They were not as close as they had been in the letters. Every one of them was like a familiar stranger. The fake smiles on their faces and the greed in their eyes made Asil feel uncomfortable.
However, he still answered the question. "He'll be here around the middle of March. My boss still has some things to deal with …"
"So, two weeks later?"
Asner's father clapped his hands. "That's a good time!"
As for why it was a good time, he actually didn't know. It was just a habit of his, a habit that had begun to integrate into the upper echelons of society. He was used to affirming everyone and everything. This was also a characteristic of Nagalil.
"Let's go back first. You must be tired!"
Under Asil's surprised gaze, his elder brother drove a car that looked like it was produced ten years ago, or even longer ago.
It still retained the most bizarre and common aesthetic characteristics of the people of the previous era.
His elder brother patted the car. "You didn't expect this, did you? We're already driving …" There was a kind of pride in his tone that Asil didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He even asked Asil, "Did you have your own car when you were in the Federation?"
Asil smiled. His elder brother didn't continue to ask, but from his expression, he seemed to think that Asil didn't have his own car.
Sitting in the car, the stinky wind blowing against his face, Asil suddenly understood something.
When he returned home, the small run-down house in his memory had disappeared. In its place was a stand-alone house that looked no less than his in the Bailey Federation. It was even more exquisite and larger.
The religious culture of Nagalil had long been embedded in every corner of life. Even the buildings, every brick, every stone pillar, had a religious pattern or carving.
These things added together made the house look more than just luxurious. It was filled with a kind of dignified aura due to the power of the gods.
The house was in a courtyard. Asil was a little curious. "I remember there were some neighbors next to us."
His father nodded proudly and said, "Yes, but because we built a new house, they left here!"
To Asil's father, driving away those neighbors wasn't shameful. Instead, he was proud of it. Most people in this society couldn't do this, but he could. This was what he was proud of.
Asr froze for a moment. The culture and education he had received in the Baylor Federation had given him something even more precious, and that was morality. He didn't feel that this was something worth showing off. In order to build a better looking house and have a bigger yard, not only did he push down other people's houses, but he also wanted to drive those people away. How cruel and terrible was that?!
But these people in front of him thought it was something to be proud of. He was getting more and more uncomfortable with everything here. His father, his brothers were completely different from how they were described in the letter.
He silently followed his father and brother into the house. His mother and his brothers' wives were already kneeling at the door to welcome the return of the male leads.
Najariel was a typical patriarchal society. Women had no status at all. Asil couldn't get used to it. He let his eldest brother's wife take off his shoes, washed his toes with water, and put on new shoes for him. All of this made him feel very awkward, but everyone else thought it was normal.
The men in the house came to the living room and sat on benches made of green vines. These green vines were very resilient after being dried. Some high priests or people in power had these rattan benches in their houses.
The men sat while the women knelt in a row to serve them spiced boiled milk and some local delicacies. They weren't the mistresses of the house, but rather, they were the servants of the house.
"Why did your boss suddenly want to invest in our place? Is there anything worth investing in here?"
Asil's father asked a question that had been in his heart for a long time.
Everyone knew how poor Najariel was. Although many people said that there were rich mineral resources hidden here, no rich mineral reserves had been discovered so far.
The only thing that was worth mentioning was probably spices. Many, many years ago, Najariel's spices were very famous. But with the development of chemistry, some of the expensive spices were replaced by fragrances, and they became less valuable.
Except for a few top rich people who had a need for natural spices, ordinary people didn't care if the smell they tasted came from grass or chemical additives.
Asil was silent for a while before he followed Lynch's words and said, "The labor here is very cheap …" As he spoke, he took the cup from his eldest brother's wife. It was filled with boiled milk with some spices.
Before he even tasted it, he could smell a very strange smell.
The milk was freshly squeezed, and the spices were all fresh. The smell was very strange. It was fishy, pungent, and fragrant. Looking at the leaves of the spices that kept churning in the milk, Asher didn't want to drink it.
Although he didn't want to drink it, he still said, "Thank you."
In Najariel, if relatives came to visit, it was usually the eldest son's wife who came out to entertain the guests. This was a rule, a custom.
Asil was used to being cautious in the Bailey Federation. His words of thanks made his father and eldest brother's face change slightly.
The two coldly glanced at the woman who was kneeling on the ground. Asil's father smiled and said, "You don't have to thank her. That's what she should do."
"She eats our food, drinks our water, and wears our clothes. We gave her shelter. Everything she did was what she should do."
"I know this is a habit you developed in the Federation, but you're back home. You don't need this!"
As he spoke, his father casually took out some black and yellow powder from the seasoning jar and sprinkled it into the cup of milk in Asil's hand. "Drink it quickly. It won't taste good when it's cold."
Enduring the messy taste, Asil took a sip of the boiled milk and almost spat it out. He endured the discomfort and swallowed the milk in his mouth. He didn't want to touch this thing anymore.
His father asked again, "What is your factory going to do? How many people do you need?"
As he spoke, he began to show off again. "I'm now a person with some reputation. There are some things I can solve for you. Do you understand what I mean?"
Asil nodded and said some things that Lynch asked him to do.
The more he talked, the more unfamiliar he felt with this family. It wasn't just this family. The entire Najariel seemed to be different from what he remembered.
What made him even more uncomfortable was that when he was about to go to bed at night, his eldest brother's wife came into his room wearing thin clothes with a red face …