The story of the black silk female knight

"Little Sasha, you've become so diligent now? You're planning to work as soon as you arrive? I thought you'd have fun with Little Tia for a few days first."

Despite the unexpected turn of events, Ilana certainly wouldn't refuse Valensa's simple request. She quickly took Valensa and Tia on a carriage ride through the streets, giving them a brief introduction at each stop.

Information such as which family's territory this neighborhood belongs to, what kind of business that family mainly does, what the family members are like in terms of character and reputation, what kind of connections and influence they have in America, and so on.

Valensa and Tia listened attentively, and Tia even took out a notebook to jot down the key information.

While listening, Valencia also used her mental powers to enhance her memory and deepen her impression, while comparing it with the information she had heard from the scions of noble families at the party the night before.

In terms of reliability, the information from High Priestess Ilana is undoubtedly more reliable.

However, rumors among aristocratic scions can be valuable in time-sensitive intelligence that is difficult to verify but may contain important clues.

The three chatted and looked at the street scene from the carriage, the atmosphere was just right, but Valensa suddenly saw something that surprised her... or rather, an area that surprised her.

She quickly reached out and pointed to that spot through the carriage window:

"That's... a slum? There are slums here?!"

"Slums?"

Tia quickly put down her pen and looked over with some curiosity, a look of confusion appearing in her beautiful crimson eyes:

"Slums still exist? And in a big city like Gundia? With the blessings of Her Majesty the Sun Goddess, why do slums still exist?"

This is not a naive doubt on the part of the two noble ladies, but rather a reflection of the fact that all believers of the Sun Goddess who truly need help can receive basic living security from the Sun Church free of charge... Theoretically, there should be no such thing as a law-abiding but impoverished person who struggles to even have enough to eat.

Chapter 41 The Strange Poor

Compared to the various relief stations and charities Valensa knew in her previous life, the Church of the Sun provided far greater assistance to the poor.

In terms of food, there is an ample supply of bread of all flavors made from pure wheat flour, an ample supply of ordinary poultry, meat, and fish without any magical properties, an ample supply of seasonal vegetables and fruits, and even some mid-to-high-end ingredients with health-strengthening effects will be provided for everyone to enjoy during festivals.

Regarding clothing, the Sun Church's unconditional and unlimited donations to the poor are not old clothes, but all clean and tidy new clothes, at most some old-fashioned or not trendy enough... Most of them are goods that clothing stores have been sitting in their warehouses and can't be sold, which the Sun Church buys up in one go to help the poor.

In terms of accommodation, the Sun Church also provides housing for believers in need. The only difference is that the location and transportation may not be as good as those commercial residences, but the quality of the houses themselves is in no way inferior.

After all, this is a magical civilization. For a skilled earth-based magic architect, a large residence that can house hundreds of families can be built in just a few days. Houses for ordinary people are actually quite cheap in this world; what's expensive are the manors and villas.

In short, on the continent of Frenoia, as long as a person abides by the law and believes in the Sun Goddess, even without engaging in any work, they can enjoy a fairly good material life... Apart from a significant difference in entertainment and enjoyment, in terms of food, clothing, and housing alone, their conditions are even better than many of the early-to-late-to-work laborers in Valensa's previous life.

Therefore, places like slums, where homeless people and beggars congregate and where public security is very poor, should theoretically not exist.

Of course, nothing is absolute. The Sun Goddess is indeed great, but her glory may not truly illuminate every dark corner. In some small towns and villages without a Sun Church, there will still be vagrants and thugs.

In Sergintown, for example, there is a street with relatively poor security. Valensa even used the thugs on that street to test her skills when she first obtained the Divine Power Rune.

But Sergin is a remote town right next to the border in Franca, so it's not surprising that it has a street that looks like a slum.

It's strange that Gandia, America's second-largest city and largest port, a crucial transit point for the Fran and Four Islands Allies entering America, would have slums.

Moreover, after Valensa stopped the carriage and took a closer look, she discovered that the slum was quite large, with seven or eight crisscrossing streets, covering nearly a third of a square kilometer.

This isn't even outside or on the outskirts of Gundia... If we divide Gundia into areas like a target and position the city center at the 10th ring, this slum would be roughly at the 4th ring.

But that's still not the strangest thing.

The strangest thing was that Valensa could clearly see that there was a Church of the Sun relief station right at the entrance to the slum.

Three sweet and pretty nuns sat in the relief station, idly dozing off, surrounded by plenty of fresh wheat flour bread, fried chicken nuggets, and vegetable-wrapped steaks, as well as boxes and boxes of clean, new clothes that no one had ever worn.

These are relief supplies that you can receive free of charge as long as you consider yourself poor and pray for a moment in front of the nuns to prove your faith.

On the streets inside the slums not far from the Sun Church relief station, a group of people can be clearly seen gathered.

The group of people were all dressed in rags, some even barely clothed, and were extremely thin, clearly suffering from the effects of long-term hunger.

Their eyes were filled with longing as they looked at the food and clothing at the Sun Church's aid station, but no one stepped forward to take them, preferring to gnaw on the hard bread in their hands.

This is so strange.

"What's wrong with those people? Why won't they accept the church's help?"

Tia was so surprised she couldn't help but cry out, but then she seemed to immediately realize something, and her expression became even more incredulous:

"Wait a minute... The conditions for accepting the church's aid are to abide by the law and have faith in Her Majesty the Goddess. Could the people in this slum be criminals or cult members?"

"Of course not."

Ilana's gaze at the slum was also complicated. After all, she had lived in Fran for decades and was quite surprised when she first came to America and saw the slums in various major cities.

Even though she already knew the reason, Ilana's tone was still somewhat strange when she explained it to Valensa and Tia:

"Of course there are fugitives and cult members mixed in with the slums, but they are only a very small minority... The rest of the poor people voluntarily refuse church aid because of a law of the Chamber of Commerce."

"The laws of the Chamber of Commerce?"

Valensa frowned.

America's full name is the American Business Union, and its legislative and executive bodies, known as the Business Union, are the official government of America.

It is not a feudal monarchy, but it is not as advanced as capitalism either. It is a special political system that lies between the two and has always enjoyed good popularity among the people.

"Yes, the regulations of the Chamber of Commerce."

Ilana shrugged:

"That decree stipulated that all Americans who had received free aid from the Church of the Sun would be subject to certain restrictions on their consumption... such as not being allowed to enter upscale restaurants, not being allowed to buy high-end clothing, not being allowed to buy alcohol, and not being allowed to enter brothels or taverns that provide sexual services."

Got it, it's about restricting high-end consumption.

Valensa nodded thoughtfully and asked in return:

"The people in the slums are unwilling to accept aid from the Church of the Sun because they dream of one day rising to prominence and living a wealthy life?"

"Is such that."

Ilana nodded in affirmation, then shrugged playfully:

"So the people you see in the slums are not lawbreakers or cult members, but mostly law-abiding and inspiring people."

"So that's it..."

Valensa pondered for a moment, then guessed:

"The Chamber of Commerce has no reason to oppose the Church of the Sun, nor would they dare to, yet they still enacted this strange decree. There is only one possibility... they are doing this to protect their own interests."

Considering that the business alliance is controlled by large chambers of commerce and powerful families... could it be that the church's gratuitous aid has affected their businesses?

"more or less."

Ilana shrugged again:

"The most basic needs of an ordinary person in their lifetime are nothing more than food, clothing, and shelter... If everyone can easily obtain these things for free, what will happen to people in the food, clothing, and real estate industries? It's not like all the businessmen in America can go into the entertainment industry and open casinos and brothels, right?"

Chapter 42 Self-Rescue of the Catering and Clothing Industries

The problem Ilana mentioned also exists in Frankfurt.

Because the Church of the Sun distributes basic necessities of life free of charge and in unlimited quantities, businesses dealing in food, clothing, and shelter are indeed much more difficult than in Valensa's previous world, since the demand is much lower.

So how does the flange solve this problem?

France, being a feudal monarchy, would not directly issue decrees to protect the interests of merchants like America did; it could only conduct macro-control through guidance.

In the food and beverage industry, the food culture is entirely led by food associations.

The free food provided by the Sun Church is plentiful and plentiful, which is great. The fresh and soft wheat bread and various kinds of meat, poultry and fish are definitely not bad. However, like the food in a canteen, the taste is always the same. You'll get tired of eating it every day, morning and night.

In addition, Franco has abundant food resources and a wide variety of delicacies. Most people are willing to spend money to improve their diet. Except for those who are really struggling financially, Franco residents with stable incomes almost always eat relief meals only two days before they receive their monthly salary.

This is also why Valencia's Chinese cuisine quickly became popular among the public... It's cheaper than mid-to-high-end food, yet tastes better than ordinary popular food, making it a top choice for ordinary working people to satisfy their cravings.

Simply put, the way for the French food industry to save itself is to improve quality... As long as a variety of delicious local snacks flourish, people will still be willing to spend money to enjoy good food, rather than going to the Sun Church to receive relief meals every day.

In the clothing industry, Franco merchants have almost completely abandoned the low-end market, relying entirely on two words to make money: trendiness and high-quality products.

Simply put, if you just want to stay warm and cover yourself in Fran, it's easy: just wear the clothes that the Sun Church provides for free.

But if you want to dress with charm, style, and style, and attract the attention of outstanding men or women, then you have to be willing to spend money.

When Valensa was an adventurer in Sergin Town, she had high-quality quests that Melina gave her first, and her income was already quite good among adventurers, so why was she still poor?

Besides spending money at the Dimensional Hardware Store, the biggest reason is that the clothes are too expensive... After all, Valensa is a noble lady. Even if she is down on her luck, she can't dress like a common girl, right?

Even black stockings, which are considered consumables, cost close to one gold coin per pair when on sale, which is about 300 yuan in Valensa's previous life's currency. And this is just the entry-level, high-quality black stockings.

For works by renowned artists like Ms. Dana, a pair of pantyhose typically costs around 50 gold coins, while a set of lingerie can cost over 200 gold coins.

It can be said that the clothing in Franco that is known as exquisite or trendy is all luxury goods. And the main customers of the Franco clothing industry are people with middle or higher incomes, and even more so, the aristocracy.

By pursuing a high-end strategy, Franco's garment industry has successfully saved itself.

But the real estate industry is different... In fact, strictly speaking, there is no concept of a real estate industry in Frankfurt. Most villas and houses are sold in shopping malls. In Frankfurt, houses are just one of many commodities in the retail industry.

Because the construction costs in this world are so low, experienced earth magic architects can build a building in just a few days, with almost no cost for building materials; all they need to do is pay the people's salaries.

Of course, the price of a commodity is determined not only by cost, but also by demand and supply and demand, but the real estate industry has no advantage in this regard either.

The population density of most cities in Frankfurt is less than one-tenth or even one-twentieth of that of the major cities in Valencia's previous life. There is simply not that much demand for housing, so how could housing prices be high?

The only downside is that housing prices in the capital are higher, giving it a feel of a major city from Valensa's previous life... So when Valensa saw Friggia create a room in the shadows, she even considered using that technology to make a fortune in the capital's real estate market.

However, after learning more about the technology, Valensa abandoned that plan... The technology for expanding residential space is still too difficult and too costly for modern humans.

In conclusion, although the real estate industry in Fran was also sunk by the almost need-based relief measures of the Church of the Sun, the food and clothing industries in Fran were able to save themselves successfully.

As for America... she might be able to learn from Fran's methods to save herself in the clothing industry, but there's absolutely no way she can succeed in the food industry.

Because America's food resources are far less abundant than those of France, with a food self-sufficiency rate of only 70% and a very limited variety, it is impossible for it to develop a culinary culture.

While many ingredients were indeed shipped from Frankfurt to America via sea trade, the merchants, in pursuit of profit, brought almost exclusively mid- to high-end ingredients that were simply unaffordable for ordinary people.

Although America is rich in mineral resources and has a high production of magic crystals, the shops in the streets and alleys are full of all kinds of fun magical items.

But once people are well-fed and clothed, they start to crave wealth; people always need to be well-fed before they will pursue other forms of enjoyment.

This made it difficult for America's mass-market catering industry to survive, and even required the Chamber of Commerce to issue a decree to force people to spend money to buy food instead of relying on the free food provided by the Sun Church.

From a purely business-interest-driven perspective, Valencia could barely understand the law, but she still found it somewhat unacceptable.

Seemingly sensing Valensa's thoughts from her expression, Ilana smiled:

"While these are the main reasons, what truly made the Chamber of Commerce decide to enact the decree was that famous event in America's history... It's actually in our Sun Church's database, but it's rarely covered in history classes in France."

"What incident?"

Valensa quickly asked, and Tia blinked her crimson eyes curiously as well.

"That was... well, it was probably almost a thousand years ago. As you know, when the Church of the Sun came to the continent of Frenoia, the first place they landed was Fran, and later they spread their teachings to America. So at that time, America's understanding of the Church of the Sun's strength was not accurate."

Ilana smiled:

"Simply put, it was a case that the big merchants of that time joined forces one year to raise food prices through various means such as monopolization and hoarding, in an attempt to squeeze a lot of wealth out of ordinary people."

The result... naturally, was that the relief meals provided free of charge and in unlimited quantities by our Sun Church were completely wiped out. Many wealthy merchants' stockpiled grain ended up rotting in their warehouses, resulting in huge losses.

It was that event that made the people of America fully realize the blessings of Her Majesty the Goddess, and allowed the light of faith to truly illuminate every corner of America.

Chapter 43 The bigger the city, the bigger the slums.

"They actually hoard and raise prices for the food that people depend on for survival? Those merchants have no conscience whatsoever... They deserve to be slaughtered and bankrupted by the church, humph!"

Valensa pursed her lips, snorted, and then asked in return:

"So, after that incident, the Chamber of Commerce issued a decree that anyone who had received church aid could not enjoy high-end consumption?"

"Enjoying high consumption? Hmm, that's a very fitting term... Little Sasha, you still manage to come up with some interesting and fresh words from time to time."

Ilana smiled and hugged Valensa, giving her a puff of face wash before gently shaking her head.

"Of course it's not that simple... At first, the Merchant Alliance was completely frightened by the Sun Church's free and unlimited distribution of food. They seemed to think that their own business system would be shaken or even destroyed by the Sun Church, so their first choice was war... They actually wanted to use violent expulsion to drive the Sun Church out of America."

"Someone actually dares to declare war on the Church of the Sun?"

Valencia was dumbfounded. Having grown up in France, she could hardly imagine how much courage or how ignorant a person must be to openly declare war on the Church of the Sun.

The outcome of this battle is obvious... In the current universe, there is no being a match for the Sun Goddess, nor is there anything that can bully her followers.

"So."

Ilana shrugged again: