Urban Sims

Winter, early July.

A cold wave entered from the north, with bone-chilling winds and extremely low temperatures.

The heavy snowfall has not stopped. Since June, there have been at least five heavy snowfalls across the country in the Kingdom of Yadud, and there are countless localized light and medium snowfalls.

The roads were covered with ice and snow more than one meter thick, covering the entire kingdom like a thick quilt.

Under such harsh weather conditions, the messenger of the pardon issued by the king traveled for more than two months before reaching the southern border of the kingdom, which was two thousand miles away.

…

The southern border of the kingdom.

Black swamp area.

People call it the "demon cursed" place.

There is no grass growing here, the poisonous gas is permeated, and the environment is extremely harsh. No living thing dares to go too deep.

Even living on the edge of the Black Marsh can be unbearable.

Because the land near the black swamp is very barren and the yield is very low, only ten acres of land can feed an adult.

The groundwater under nearby land is also mostly polluted and contains toxins. Drinking it directly without filtering can easily cause diarrhea, poisoning and even death.

The average life span of people living within a hundred miles of the Black Swamp is much shorter than that in the mainland.

Therefore, this area is sparsely populated and has a low level of development.

It also became the best place for the kingdom to exile criminals.

On the edge of the vast center of the Black Swamp, there is a small place called "Black River Town". There are probably more than 100 families living there, with a total population of less than 1,000 people...most of them are exiles and their descendants.

Heihe Town.

One family entered the small courtyard with two children, built five three-story wooden houses inside, and enjoyed the purest well in the town. It was the Leilin family who had been exiled here for more than two years.

In the past two years and more, the Leilin family, which consists of more than 30 members, has been living a roller coaster life.

It was extremely difficult at the beginning, and the Leylin family was suppressed by countless nobles. Even after being exiled to a desperate place like Black Swamp, the impact had just begun.

It was difficult for them to buy food and drinkable well water. Gangsters in the town often made trouble for them. The farmland they were assigned was also the most remote and barren plot...it was close to the black swamp and had to endure the poisonous gas.

In short, they didn't know how they survived the first half year. Everyone including the head of the family, Cohen Leilin, lost more than 20 pounds, and several family members with poor health died immediately.

despair.

It was a very desperate time.

Cohen Lelling, the head of the family who has always had high prestige and has no say in the family, has been criticized by his wife Olenna, his sons Roger and Jon, and his daughter Ciri. Even his brother Philemon Lelling Everyone said that the decisions he made were too hasty and the reform plan he came up with was too radical, which offended all the nobles, and ended up like this.

Under so many accusations, Cohen Lelin felt regretful about his stupidity and asked himself why his head was so hot at that time. Bring the family to this field.

Because Cohen really didn't expect that the Leylin family would end up so tragically.

The only one who did not blame himself, but often comforted him, was his maid Villani who had served him for more than 30 years... This woman always stood by his side unconditionally.

Cohen also had deep feelings for her, otherwise he would not have had a relationship with her, and gave birth to a servant son with an embarrassing status——

Lemoton Relin.

At that time, after Cohen added the surname "Leylin" to the name of his newborn servant son, his wife had a big fight with him and ignored him for a long time.

In the end, the childless brother Philemon came to the rescue, hoping to adopt the child into his name... thus avoiding what his wife Olenna thought was "a humiliation to me."

As a result, this servant-born child received a better training environment, and was not put into a pile of servants to be nurtured like other servant-born sons.

Especially after discovering that he had a talent for learning magic, Cohen secretly spent some money on him without telling his wife to develop in that direction.

Lemoton Leylin was also very competitive and soon became a trainee magician.

Then he saw that his eldest son Roger and his second son Jon, both of whom were very talented swordsmen, were considered the best among their peers... Cohen was very pleased that his sons were so outstanding.

but……

After the Leylin family was suppressed by the nobles and the whole family was exiled, Cohen regretted having implicated his family and several of his children.

On the other hand, in the midst of extreme despair, he was also somewhat grateful.

"Fortunately, Lemoton is not in exile. At least one of my sons is safe and sound. I hope he..."

Thinking of this, Cohen's thoughts paused. What do you want him to do?

Want him to save himself?

This is impossible. He is just a trainee magician. He is no better than a junior swordsman. What can you expect from him?

"I hope he will always be safe, find a good job, marry an ordinary wife, have a few more children, and continue the Leilin family name...that's enough."

Cohen thinks so.

The maid Villani prays three times a day, and what she begs for is the hope that her son will be safe and nothing will happen to him.

However, the subsequent development surprised not only Cohen and Villani, but also his wife Olenna, son Roger and others.

The king's "care" came over.

His Majesty the King not only sent two intermediate swordsman-level warriors to protect him, but also sent a large amount of food, bacon, salt and 1,000 gold coins.

"Could it be that the king plans to pardon me and reinstate the Leylin family?"

That’s what Cohen thought at the time, but it happened too quickly, didn’t it?

It's only been a year.

"No, this is because of your son Lemoton Leylin. He became an intermediate pharmacist... He is very important to the kingdom..."

Warrior Kit explained, and took out a letter and handed it to Cohen's hand: "This is the letter written by Lemoton Lelin to you."

Cohen Lelling eagerly took the letter, tore open the wax seal, and read it quickly.

this night.

The entire Leylin family spent the most joyful and exciting night since their exile.

His wife Olenna snorted and said, "I didn't expect that boy to be quite promising and suddenly became a pharmacist."

The eldest son Roger shook his head and said: "That kid used to hide from me when he saw me. I didn't see how promising he was. Does he have a talent as a pharmacist?"

The second daughter, Xi Rui, held her face in her hands and said: "When I was a child, the mage holding the talent test stone said that I have both the swordsman talent and the mage talent. Ask me which one to choose? If I had known this, I would have chosen the magician. ”

The third son Jon's face was even more incredible, because he was the one who bullied the servant boy the most, especially after he became a trainee magician, and became his target for practicing swordsmanship, beating him until his skin was bruised and swollen many times... ..."A magician is nothing more than that", Jon would always say after beating him.

"Now that boy... actually said that we can be pardoned by the king? Is it him?"

Jon couldn't believe it.

As for the maids Verani and Philemon Lelin, one thanked the God of Light more devoutly, while the other smiled with relief.

That is, starting from this day.

The living conditions of the Leylin family have been continuously improved.

With the best house, the best well, the best farmland in Heihe Town, pocket money of four to five hundred gold coins per month, and the protection of two powerful thugs, the Leilin family has become someone that no one dares to provoke in Heihe Town. exist.

The days are getting better and better.

The hope is getting bigger and bigger.

Even more than half a year ago, a team of hundreds of people sent by the Continental Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said to be here to exploit "oil", settled in Heihe Town.

Cohen had contact with these craftsmen, and after learning about the importance of "oil" from his son Lemoton's letter, although he thought it sounded a bit fanciful, the devil's blood could have so many uses?

He didn't believe it a little, but he still used all the manpower and material resources at hand to cooperate with all his strength.

There is countless oil in the black swamp. In more than half a year, the work team of the Continental Caravan Company mined thousands of tons.

After water removal, high-temperature distillation, condensation and other processes, various by-products including gas, gasoline, diesel, paraffin, asphalt, etc. are obtained.

Cohen Lelin also discovered a huge business opportunity, because they made hundreds of gold coins after making candles from paraffin alone and selling them to the outside world.

There are also gravel roads paved with asphalt, which are particularly easy to walk on and are excellent road construction materials.

In addition, the gas, gasoline, and diesel fuel that can be burned can be sold to the Continental Chamber of Commerce or made into high-brightness glass lamps... Although the "devil's blood" in the black swamp is poisonous and harmful, after processing and utilization, it can be transformed from top to bottom. Everything is a treasure!

In addition, unlike crops that take half a year to harvest, the "devil's blood" in the black swamp is almost endless. How many years can it be mined?

In short, after being exiled, Cohen Lelin discovered huge business opportunities in his place of exile, and his mentality and thoughts about Black Swamp became completely different.

"It would be great if the Leylin family's fiefdom was here."

Standing in front of the window in the snow-covered sky and looking at the towering petroleum distillation tower, Cohen often had this idea that in the eyes of others was definitely "crazy".

Today, when the king's edict delivered the edict pardoning the Leylin family to Cohen.

He took the edict with trembling hands, and after roughly scanning the contents, the middle-aged man let out a long sigh of relief.

"The Leylin family is really about to rise for the fourth time."

"This time, no one can defeat the Leylin family!"

"This time, the Leilin family will become a family that will stand firm in the kingdom for thousands of years!"

"Because the Leylin family has produced the best family member since the family was founded."

"He is my son... Lemoton Leylin!"

Closing the edict, Cohen said in his mind.

At this moment, after going through tremendous ups and downs and suffering, his face was full of pride and pride.