Chapter 140: The Big Brother

Chapter 140

The Big Brother

After completing her point exchange, Ellie received help from the Setter family to leave the institute. They took her directly to Set City. Although Ellie could have returned to her village, she chose not to. The reason was that the heroine of the story hadn’t returned yet. It wouldn’t be good for her to return alone without Nara, as everyone would question her.

Ellie chose to stay in Set City, governed by the Setter family. News of their conquest of the 6th and 4th-floor cities made Set City bustling with excitement. Ellie’s presence didn’t attract much attention, even though she was escorted by members of the Setter family. The current situation had Setter family members bustling about, along with many influential families trying to ingratiate themselves with the Setter family, both in the Tower of Eternity and Set City.

She parted ways with them and rented a small room. The rent had increased by more than 10% from before. Previously, a decent room cost around 2 silver coins, but now it was 2 silver coins and 30 copper coins, with a trend of continuing to rise.

Actually, the Setter family had offered Ellie a place to stay at their mansion, but she didn’t want to be too entangled with them. It wouldn’t look good if people knew she was staying with the Setter family as if it were her own home.

Moreover...relying on others constantly wasn’t her way.

Ellie needed to continue honing her skills, whether it was controlling spores, practicing thread techniques, training her body with the Soft Jade technique, or anything else she didn’t want the Setter family to know about. She also preferred not to have close followers. Although they still followed her from a distance for safety, it was nothing compared to having Setter family’s people openly protecting her.

The room Ellie chose was moderately priced, neither too expensive nor too cheap for the local poor to afford. It was typically used by hunters on missions or other tasks. This group of people had more money than the average villager, but it didn’t mean that they could stay in the most expensive lodgings.

After paying for 3 days’ accommodation, she didn’t go to her room immediately. Although she was originally from Set City, the old Ellie wasn’t the same as her who came from another world. This was one of the few times the new Ellie would explore her hometown. Previously, she had disguised herself as a mage to enter the city but hadn’t had the chance to explore. This time, she intended to walk around and enjoy it fully.

The first thing that caught Ellie’s attention was the city’s focus on agriculture. There were many fresh fruits for sale all around, but the prices were quite high compared to what she’d heard before. Well...it was understandable, the difference between wholesale and retail prices existed in any era.

Ellie looked for various interesting seeds to plant in her secret dimension. The vendors were more than willing to provide recommendations to the young girl. They saw Ellie as a girl with somewhat rough skin, though it wasn’t as bad as before since she hadn’t done any farming for nearly a year. However, that didn’t mean she wasn’t cultivating in her dimension. Therefore, everyone understood that this girl was actually not of high status, assuming she was just a farmer’s daughter like them. Recommending seeds to help her survive seemed like the right thing to do.

The villagers in Set City were very kind, much like those in her own village. They were mostly good-hearted and focused on their livelihoods, unlike the young lords and ladies who cared only about power and used various schemes to outdo one another.

After just a year at the institute, Ellie already felt exhausted by what she encountered. If it weren’t for the lessons learned from her previous life, it would be normal for a simple country girl like Ellie in the novel to blindly follow Nara without any independent thought.

Given Ellie’s naturally timid mindset, once she found a reliable friend, she would likely follow and obey them completely.

“Little girl, that will be 56 copper coins,” the vendor’s voice brought Ellie back to the present.

She had bought small quantities of interesting vegetable seeds that she had never seen in her previous world. The vendor suggested she start by growing easy-to-cultivate crops like potatoes, pumpkins, rice, and others. Ellie had to lie, saying she had already planted pumpkins and was just experimenting with the small amount of seeds she bought. Otherwise, the vendor would have been too worried to sell them to her.

“Thank you very much.”

“I’m giving you a special price for these seeds. But you’re buying seeds alone, where are your parents...”

“I’m on my own now. Both my parents passed away.”

“Oh, you poor thing. When your pumpkins are ready to harvest, bring them here to sell. I’ll give you a good price.”

“Really? Thank you so much,” Ellie responded, thinking about the many pumpkins she had and wishing she could sell them right away. But she couldn’t do that, or her sympathy would turn into greed in the eyes of the vendor.

However, just as Ellie was about to leave the vegetable shop, a group of more than 7 burly men walked in. Their presence caused the nearby vendors to avoid eye contact, and some even quietly put away their expensive vegetables from display.

The first man, who seemed to be the leader, was chewing a purple herb with a grandiose demeanor. In this era, there were no "cigarettes," but they had an herb called "Rillo" that offered similar properties. It was somewhat like a drug, not overly expensive but certainly not cheap either. Thus, it was seen as a luxurious indulgence by those who were less fortunate. These thugs used it to enhance their intimidating image. The more they chewed and the more purple juice the herb produced, the more frightening their mouths appeared. Occasionally, they would spit it out, adding to both the repulsiveness and the fear they inspired.

A middle-aged man strutted into the shop, and due to Ellie’s small stature, she was completely overshadowed by his large frame. His henchmen followed closely behind. Although some glanced at Ellie, they didn’t pay her much attention. Her petite and unremarkable appearance made her look like just another poor commoner.

It was a small mercy that they didn’t shove her out of the way!

"Today, we’ll choose your shop. Big Brother here wants to buy all your cabbages. The chef at our mansion needs a lot of cabbage for soup and dumplings. So, give us everything you have. Here’s the payment."

After the large man declared, he tossed a single silver coin to the vendor. The middle-aged woman turned pale, glancing around for help, but everyone pretended not to notice, just as she had done when others were bullied. Well...everyone knew the consequences of helping someone targeted by these thugs. Therefore, on days when trouble didn’t find them, they shouldn’t try to find trouble themselves. It’s their motto now.

However...if she lost all her cabbages for just 1 silver coin today, she wouldn’t be able to sell here anymore. The cost of her stock was over 10 silver coins, so how could she exchange it for just 1? The profit from selling vegetables was already minimal, and she also had to deal with the risk of spoilage, which was a significant part of her expenses. Letting this go would be impossible.

The woman raised her hands above her head, pleading with tears streaming down her face. She truly couldn’t accept this offer. At home, she had a seriously ill husband and 3 young children. If she incurred a loss today and couldn’t afford to rent her stall tomorrow, how would she continue?

"Big Brother, please, I really can’t sell all this for just 1 silver coin. The cost is already over 10 silver coins. Or if you would let me sell it at cost, that would be better. Please, otherwise I won’t be able to sell anything tomorrow."

Hearing the middle-aged woman’s plea, everyone’s expressions darkened. They openly showed their anger because no one had ever dared to negotiate with them before. If anyone dared to raise their voice even slightly, it would become difficult for them to sell anything here in the future.

In the past, vendors would always take the loss upon themselves. Many had to suffer financial loss due to their bad luck. However, few were like this middle-aged woman. If not for her dire family situation, it would have been sensible to let the thugs take the profit.

But now, she was at her limit. If she accepted another loss, how could she continue to live? She had to try to negotiate, hoping for some mercy or divine intervention to leave some money for her family!

Of course, the courage of this middle-aged woman came with serious risks. The group of thugs showing their displeasure caused other vendors and surrounding customers to back away. They didn’t want to get involved, nor did they want to witness such a disheartening scene.

"Hey, you!! Big Brother has already spoken, and you still don’t get it!? When our Big Brother chooses you, you should be happy to serve us. Others have done the same before. Now, when it’s your turn, you want to take advantage of others?"

One of the thugs said, stepping closer. His words made it seem like the middle-aged woman was selfish, disregarding the fact that others had complied before, while she sought special treatment.

They brazenly declared that it was the woman’s duty to present a gift to their Big Brother, even though such a demand was unjust from the start.

"But I have no money left. My family is currently..."

Slap!!

Before she could finish speaking, the Big Brother’s thick palm struck the middle-aged woman’s face hard. Her plump body collapsed to the ground from the single blow, tears streaming down her face, creating a pitiful sight.

Ellie raised her eyebrows slightly, observing the people around. No one stepped in to help, indicating they were accustomed to such scenes. It was peculiar—very peculiar—that such events occurred in Set City. Shouldn’t the city’s governor, the Setter family, handle this?

No, perhaps for the aristocracy...the lives of these middle to lower-class vendors were not significant enough to warrant attention.

Even the market areas differed. In the wealthy merchants’ market, resembling an economic zone, the goods were high-priced and renowned. There, soldiers from the Setter family constantly patrolled, ensuring no disturbances occurred.

On the contrary...this area belonged to the middle class, who paid a minimal protection fee. Just being allowed to set up their stalls within the city was likely seen as a huge favor for them.

Despite knowing this, despite understanding how cruel and class-divided this world was, Ellie couldn’t help but feel disappointed in the Setter family’s handling of the situation.

"Shut up and do as you’re told. Otherwise...you know what will happen, right? Huh!!" The thug’s shout made the vendor’s body tremble with fear. She knew exactly what "what will happen" meant. These men weren’t good people; they weren’t just demanding cabbages.

But who knew they could be this ruthless?

"And don’t act like we’re not paying! I already told you, we’re buying for 1 silver coin! Your cabbages are blemished anyway, how could you sell them for a high price? It’s fortunate that we know, so...sell them now while we’re still talking nicely..."

"I-I understand that Big Brother wants to buy all the cabbages. B-but the payment you’re offering is just 1 silver coin. For 1 silver coin, you can only get 10 heads. Th-that means..."

"Stop talking and give Big Brother the cabbages! Don’t you know what happens if you resist?"

"Yeah, it’s better to give them to Big Brother. A small loss today means you can still make a living tomorrow. If you keep arguing, you’ll only bring trouble upon yourself."

"A loss of 9 silver coins is just 9 silver coins. Don’t let your kids lose their mother over this!"

"Your husband needs care, and you have your children too. Are you willing to die here?"

Seeing the middle-aged woman continue to resist, others couldn’t help but intervene before she was dragged away and hurt. Several vendors voiced their concerns, even though their expressions showed they weren’t happy about the bullying. However, they had no choice.

At least losing money was better than losing one’s life, right?