Perhaps it has rained in the past few days, and the roads in the town are a bit muddy. Livestock pens can be seen from time to time on both sides of the dirt road, and the smell is very strong. Qin Lun lowered the little felt hat he snatched from the traveler, slightly covering his face, bent over and walked towards the town with a small bag on his shoulders.
Like all immigrant towns in the North American continent in this era, the construction of Monte Town has just started, and the urban planning is neat and simple. For the time being, this is still an agricultural town mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. Except for the black slaves in the plantation, most of the other white townspeople own their own land and livestock.
The town is vast and sparsely populated. In addition to the main building for living, each household also has a fodder barn, a livestock barn and a tool house. Especially the fodder storehouse is almost more important than the granary. Without a granary, people do not necessarily starve to death. Without their own fodder bank, others will not use fodder to help you raise livestock.
As Qin Lun walked, he observed carefully. He found that there was only one main road in the town, and the dirt road ended with a church and a small square.
Compared with other buildings, this church is the most magnificent, a three-story Gothic structure with a bell tower on top. There are several wells around the small square, and a group of village girls with big arms and round waists gather into a few small circles beside the wells, chatting lively.
When Qin Lun came here, he had already discovered his goal. He paused and turned into a tavern with oak barrels carved on the signboard on the left side of the dirt road.
Probably because it was still early, there were not many people in the tavern, and the bartender behind the bar was wiping the purple-brown walnut bar with a dirty rag.
"Duh!" Qin Lun leaned against the bar and tapped on the table to remind the bartender of his arrival.
"What do you want?" The bartender was a young man in his twenties. He didn't stop what he was doing, but just looked up at Qin Lun and asked casually.
Qin Lun glanced at the young man. He was wearing a linen undershirt, which was full of stains that could not be washed off thoroughly. The rolled-up cuffs on the forearm exposed several thread ends, the tiger's mouth holding the rag was calloused, and the skin on the back of the hand was rough and peeled off.
No matter in terms of age or clothes, he doesn't look like a tavern owner, otherwise even if the management is not good, he will get himself some decent clothes. It's not uncommon for the owner of the tavern to not be in the store. It's not the peak season of business, and the owner may be catching up on sleep to prepare for the opening in the evening.
"Give me a glass of beer!" Qin Lun took out a 10 shilling silver coin and put it on the bar, pressed it with his fingers and pushed it in front of the bartender, "Besides the wine, answer me a few more questions, it's yours .”
The young man watched Yin Coin's throat move, with a flattering expression on his face, and said in a low voice, "You can ask anything you want, but the news I heard here are all rumors, and there is no guarantee that they are all true!"
This world is the image world of the earth, and it is the same in many ways. In English terms, a pound is equal to twenty shillings, and ten shillings in silver are nearly half a pound.
Don't think that the money is low. During the first industrial revolution, the weekly salary of a textile worker was almost one pound. In other words, they only had a little more than four pounds a month.
At that time, textile workers were also considered skilled jobs. Although they were female workers, they were paid more than a waiter in a colonial bar. Excluding the glass of beer, Qin Lun's 10 shilling silver coin is also the bartender's income for four or five days.
Taking Hyundai's monthly salary of 3,000 as an example, that's several hundred oceans. The price was only to answer the news circulating in several taverns, and the young bartender was of course secretly delighted.
"Hehe, my question is not difficult! Tell me, who is the richest in this small town, who is a veteran who has served before... cavalry, sailor or officer?" Qin Lun asked with twinkling eyes.
Although Dai Na, a black girl rescued by Qin Lun, found Carmen's body, she had never seen the murderer, so Qin Lun didn't know that the murderer who killed Carmen was a humanoid creature dressed as a gentleman. He could only use the clues at hand reasoning.
There are two fatal injuries to Carmen, one is a large hole dug out in the chest, and the other is the neck that was decapitated with a smooth incision. Judging from the beheading injuries alone, the murderer was obviously a person who was good at using sharp knives and had a certain understanding of human body structure.
There are many such occupations, the less conspicuous ones are cooks, butchers, doctors, soldiers and so on. If this person is in Monte Town, then he is most likely a veteran who has fought and killed people. The possibility of other occupations is much lower.
Monte Town is a small town in the New World developed by British colonists. Except for the manor owners and black slaves who came to start a business, the immigrants here are basically bankrupt farmers, small handicraftsmen, proletarians and so on.
Britain has already defeated many competitors on the ocean in this era, and has the embryonic form of an empire on which the sun never sets. The country is strong, and there is no war in the country. Chefs, butchers, and doctors all have special skills, and those with excellent skills rarely immigrate to the New World to seek a living.
What's more, although chefs, butchers, and doctors all know how to use knives, kitchen knives, boning knives, and scalpels cannot beheaded people cleanly. The knives used for decapitation are generally long knives. Although short knives can also decapitate people, it requires a lot of strength and extremely skilled killing skills.
Therefore, the murderer is most likely to be a veteran who has fought in the war, and he is a cavalry, sailor, and officer wearing a cavalry knife or a scimitar. Ordinary soldiers in this era used muskets and spear stabs, and the spear stabs of long daggers were not convenient for cutting people.
"Oh, then Lord Wilson must be the only one. He is not only the richest and most powerful person here, but I heard that he has fought against the French and Austrians before." The young man blurted out without hesitation. He felt This question is surprisingly simple.
Only those who have money can arrange the venue for the ceremony, and those who have the skills to kill can prepare the sacrifices. The Sir Wilson that young people talk about completely fits Qin Lun's profile of the murderer.
"Master Wilson? Lord, or Sir?" Qin Lun asked cautiously with a flash of his eyes.
The British aristocrats in this era are different from those centuries later. The titles are still relatively valuable. Unlike in the future, any cat or dog can get a title from the British royal family.
However, lord and jazz are different. The former is an honorary title that has made a significant contribution to the country and is chartered by the royal family and cannot be hereditary, while the latter is a hereditary title. As for the high-ranking nobles above the jazz, it is obviously impossible to come to the New World to be a farmer in person.
"This...it seems to be a jazz!" The young man was a little uncertain, he hadn't noticed what kind of formal address others used to greet that big man. Even if I heard it, I was not impressed.
Qin Lun nodded, the Sir was right. Although jazz is a hereditary title, this lowest-ranking nobleman often has a poor family, so it is possible to start a new business in the New World. Although the lords are not hereditary, they are generally big figures who have gained both fame and wealth by virtue of their major contributions to the country in the contemporary era.
This kind of big man's property in the New World may be just an investment, and I will not stay for a long time. Moreover, his every move attracted people's attention. It was hard to imagine that he would personally perform some kind of cult blood sacrifice ceremony.
"One last question... where does that big shot live?" Qin Lun released his fingers from the silver coin, showing an elegant smile.
After more than an hour, Qin Lun saw a country manor.
Wilson Manor is located five miles outside the town of Mont. It is a small building complex consisting of a four-story Gothic main building and a bungalow. There is a small hill behind it, and on the left is a sugar mill and a small racecourse. To the right and in front is the lush sugarcane field.
In front of the manor there is a paved dirt road leading to Monte Town, and Qin Lun came along this road. Along the dirt road, he could always see dark-skinned slaves working hard in the fields.
The Gothic manor is probably where the master's family lived, and those rough bungalows should be where the slaves lived. Judging from the size of this sugarcane garden, it would take at least a hundred slaves to take care of it.
Qin Lun stared at the Wilson Manor from a distance, and did not approach any further. The clothes on him came from a traveler, and the rough workmanship and texture showed that the clothes were not so decent.
Wearing this outfit, he can be sure that the butler of the manor will not introduce the master for him.
Sir Wilson, whose full name is Thomas Wilson, is nearly 40 years old and in his prime. Just as Qin Lun speculated, the Wilson family had fallen into ruin more than 20 years ago.
In order to reorganize his family business, Thomas Wilson chose to join the army when he was young. However, because there is no money to manage up and down, even if he has a hereditary title, he can only start as a low-level officer.
After working in the army for seven or eight years, and also participated in the brutal Seven Years War, he still couldn't climb to a high position, so he chose to retire in frustration.
I just didn't expect that after retiring, he would change his luck. After disappearing from the eyes of acquaintances for several years, when he reappeared, he was married to the only daughter of a big businessman, and he had a son and a daughter. He inherited a family in South Carolina. Huge sugar cane plantations.
"Will such a person really become a perverted killer? What kind of mysterious power exists in him?" While being very interested, Qin Lun couldn't help wondering if he had found the wrong person.
"What method should I use to get close to this big man?" Qin Lun glanced at his inconspicuous attire, and curled his lips involuntarily. Because of time constraints, he obviously could no longer prepare properly and had to take more direct action.
"With such plain clothes, he is a white man. He can neither be a guest nor a slave..." Qin Lun rolled his eyes, "It's not okay to pretend to be a doctor or a civil servant like before. Monte Town is too small, Wilson I must know all the important people in the town, so I can only choose an unobtrusive character who can definitely enter the manor."
Qin Lun glanced around aimlessly, and finally stopped his sight on the stable on the left side of the manor.