San Tian Liang Jue
Chapter 148 Earth Wasteland Arc (14)
The three moved quickly toward the village. Along the way, Feng Bujue kept asking Hank about the situation in the Blessed Village, while Crazy Blade silently listened.
Hank wasn't a tour guide, so he couldn't introduce the village's customs in a very organized manner. However, Feng Bujue was skillful in asking questions, cleverly guiding Hank to provide detailed information about useful things.
The residential area of the Blessed Village was roughly divided into four zones. The outermost area, closest to the exit, was the first zone, the slum. Hank's home was here, and his only family was his mother, who was over fifty. She worked in the laundry room, ten hours a day, with only one day off per week, for a meager reward.
Hank earned slightly more from his work in the scavenger team, but every time he went out, he might never return. His father and several older brothers were all scavengers, and they all met untimely ends.
The scavenger team's job was to search for useful materials in the dangerous environment of Old Earth. Exploring ancient ruins wasn't a regular task. Most of the time, they collected and transported natural resources growing outside the Blessed Village, mainly minerals, plants, and water sources with manageable levels of pollution.
With inventions like the anti-gravity catapult, this work didn't require much manpower. The scavengers packed things up, "lifted" them, and walked back to deposit them in the cargo hold of the Sand Shark Cabin.
This may not seem like a difficult job, but the risk factor was very high. Even the deserts of Old Earth, with their constant black sandstorms, had a few fierce animals. The jungles, swamps, and coastal areas were teeming with mutated creatures, making the environment and the creatures deadly threats to humans.
Most of the people living in the outer area were families like Hank's. The villagers here only received three years of education. The first two years were spent learning basic math and literacy, and the third year was spent learning knowledge related to work. From the age of ten, they had to learn to survive by their own labor, spending their lives doing monotonous and heavy physical labor, or some dangerous work. However, as long as they followed the rules and worked diligently, they could eat their fill.
Passing through the first zone, the second zone was the largest agricultural area with a moderate population.
The roads and house styles here were different from the outer areas. The main crops in the fields looked like corn, but the leaves were not green, but wavy golden yellow. There were also some tubers growing in the soil, with brown leaves exposed, and a fragrance could be smelled from afar. Feng Bujue asked Hank what these were, and the other party replied "Soumi and sweet fruit," these two were the staple foods on the villagers' tables. These two crops should have been created and named by the former villagers of the Blessed Village. There were no similar things on Earth before.
The people living in the agricultural area lived a little better than those in the first area. The living environment was more comfortable, and the colors of their clothes were also different. Each family had a plot of land to cultivate, and the crop yield was strictly monitored. All of it had to be handed over to the village, and the family couldn't keep a single grain of rice. Family income was based on the amount of grain turned in.
Relatively speaking, their lives were not too risky, the ratio of labor to rest was not inhumane, and the residents of the agricultural area had the opportunity to receive further education. If there were more than two children in the family, they could choose one with more talent in learning to continue studying and receive "higher education". If they succeeded, they would have the opportunity to enter the third zone.
The third zone belonged to technical personnel, and there were very few of these people. The population in this area basically remained at around three hundred. Some of the best of them were the promoters of the "public" technology of the Blessed Village, and the worse ones could serve as engineers or managers. Those who were older or lost their ability to work were responsible for teaching students.
The residents of this area were mainly mental laborers, with considerable income and a stable life. The space occupied by one person was equal to the area of a family in the outer area. Their clothes were white, and their social status was also higher.
As for the fourth zone, it was where the "priests," or nobles, lived. Their residences were considered luxurious to the villagers on the periphery. However, in the Blessed Village, even priestly families had to wear uniform clothing. Only the Kouben family could dress as they pleased. Everyone knew what they looked like, their portraits were everywhere, and children had to learn about the heroic deeds of the Kouben family members from a young age, and learn a few songs of praise to praise them.
The priests basically didn't have to do anything, and their lives were very comfortable. Their tables were often filled with ingredients that the scavengers had exchanged for their lives, which ordinary villagers could not enjoy in their entire lives. The tap water they used was drinkable, while the water used by the villagers on the periphery was "filtered" from polluted water sources brought back from outside the village.
The priests' duty was to maintain the "Son of God" and the Kouben family's rule. Regardless of whether their children had talent or not, they could and had the obligation to receive the most complete education and learn as much knowledge as possible. Some of the more intelligent ones could share some secrets that only the Kouben family knew.
All the heads of departments and management in the Blessed Village were held by priests or their family members, generation after generation. In some departments, even if someone didn't know anything about professional knowledge, they could still sit in the top position. Anyway, they could find someone from the third area to be the deputy. Moreover, that deputy had to ask this layman leader for instructions before doing anything. If they acted on their own initiative, the crime would be very serious.
Passing through these four areas was the deepest part of the village, the temple.
On the streets of the first three areas, there were patrolmen. Although there were few residents in the third area, the patrol was even stricter. In the fourth area, ordinary villagers were not allowed to enter. Other than those wearing priestly clothes and holding passes, the procedures for others to enter were very troublesome.
Outside the fourth area and the temple, patrolmen were no longer in charge. There were special guards there, all of whom had been strictly vetted and screened. A guy like Hank, who came from the outer area, would definitely not be selected. At least those from the second or third area would be qualified to join the ranks of the guards... How could they not be careful in guarding the sacred mission of the priests and the Son of God.
"The third zone is ahead." When they came to the intersection of the second and third zones, Hank said, "It's okay to stop here, right? There are many patrolmen in the third zone, in case they ask..."
"Keep going." Feng Bujue said decisively. Along the way, they had been questioned by several groups of patrolmen, and Feng Bujue had used the same reason to fool them, but Hank always looked apprehensive.
"Hey! Hank, is that you?" Suddenly, a woman's voice came, calling out to Hank.