Chapter 122 Divisions

The three of them hurried towards the village. Along the way, Feng Bujue was asking Hank about the situation of Shenyou Village, while Kuangzong Jianying listened silently.

Hank was not a tour guide; 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 explain some useful information in detail.

The residential area of Shenyou Village was roughly divided into four areas. The outermost area near the exit was the first area, belonging to the slums. Hank's home was here, and his only family member was his mother, who was over fifty years old. She worked in a laundry, working ten hours a day with only one day off per week, and her pay was pitifully low.

Hank earned slightly more from his job in the scavenger team, but every time he went out, he might never return. His father and several brothers were all scavengers, and their endings were all tragic deaths.

The job of the scavenger team was to search for useful materials in the treacherous environment of Old Earth. Exploring ancient ruins was not a common task. What they usually did was to collect and transport back natural resources growing outside Shenyou Village, mainly minerals, plants, and water sources with pollution levels within the treatable range.

With inventions like the anti-gravity catapult, this job didn't require much manpower. The scavengers packed the things, "lifted" them up, and put them down in the cargo hold of the Sand Shark cabin.

Seemingly not a very arduous job, it was actually very dangerous. In today's Old Earth, even the deserts with constant black windstorms had a few ferocious animals, while the jungles, swamps, and coastal areas were rampant with mutated creatures, posing a deadly threat to humans in terms of both environment and creatures.

Most of the people living in the outer area were families like Hank's. The villagers here only received three years of education. In the first two years, they learned basic mathematics and literacy, and in the third year, they learned some work-related knowledge. From the age of ten, they had to learn to survive by their own labor, doing monotonous and heavy physical labor all their lives, or some dangerous jobs. However, as long as they followed the rules and did their job dutifully, there would be no problem with getting enough to eat.

Passing through the first area, the second area was the largest agricultural area with a moderate population.

The roads and house styles here were somewhat different from the outer area. 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 coffee-colored 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," which were the staple foods on the villagers' table. These two crops should have been created and named by the previous villagers of Shenyou Village. Anyway, there were no similar things on Earth before.

People living in the agricultural area lived slightly better than those in the first area. The living environment was more comfortable, and the colors of the clothing were also different. Each family had a piece 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 could not keep a single grain of rice. Family income was determined based on the amount of grain turned in.

Relatively speaking, their lives were not very risky, and the ratio of labor to rest was not too inhumane. Moreover, residents in the agricultural area had the opportunity to receive further education. If there were more than two children in the family, they could choose one of the more talented children to continue studying and receive "higher education." If they completed their studies, they would have the opportunity to enter the third area.

The third area belonged to technical personnel. The number of these people was very small. The population in this area basically remained around three hundred. Some of the top people among them were the promoters of the "public" technology of Shenyou Village, and the worse ones could also serve as engineers or managers. Those who were old or lost their ability to work were responsible for teaching students.

The residents in this area were mainly mental laborers, with considerable income and stable lives. The space occupied by one person was equivalent to the area of a family in the outer area. Their clothing color was white, and their social status was also higher.

As for the fourth area, it was the place where the "priests," or rather, the nobles, lived. Their residences could be described as luxurious for the outer villagers, but in Shenyou Village, even priestly families had to wear the same clothes, and there was no room for discussion. Only the Kouben family could dress as they pleased in the entire village. 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 an early age, and learn a few songs of praise to praise them.

The priests basically didn't have to do anything, and their lives were already very comfortable. Their tables were often filled with ingredients that scavengers risked their lives to obtain, which ordinary villagers could not enjoy in their entire lives; the tap water they used was directly drinkable water, while the water used by the outer villagers was "filtered" from the polluted water sources brought back from outside the village.

The priests' duty was to maintain the "Son of God" and maintain the rule of the Kouben family. Whether or not their children had talent, they could and had the obligation to receive the most complete education and learn as much knowledge as possible. Some of the more intelligent people could share some secrets that only the Kouben family knew.

The heads and management of all departments in Shenyou Village were all held by priests or their families, generation after generation. In some departments, even if a guy knew nothing about professional knowledge, he could still sit in the top position. Anyway, he could find someone from the third area to be his deputy. Moreover, the deputy had to ask this layman superior for instructions before doing anything. If he acted on his own, 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 fewer residents in the third area, the patrol intensity was even stronger. Once you reached 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 responsible. There were special guards there, all of whom were strictly screened. Guys like Hank who came from the outer area would definitely not be selected. At least those from the second or third area were qualified to join the ranks of the guards... Guarding the priests and the Son of God was such a sacred mission, how could they not be careful?

"The front is the third area." When they came to the intersection of the second and third areas, Hank said, "Is it okay to go here? There are many patrolmen in the third area. What if 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 looked nervous every time.

"Hey! Hank, is that you?" Suddenly, a woman's voice came, calling Hank.