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As a father, he certainly knew what his two daughters were like back then. They were both very smart and the kind of children who didn't require much care. But a hundred years have passed, and people can change. Among the children who are still "alive," his two daughters are the most suspicious.
Sometimes, life is just so frustrating. When you wake up, your first opponent is the stepson you've poured the most love into, and your next opponent will most likely still be your own child.
Ronan would rather face a nation, or those top superhumans.
Ronan shook his head to dispel his annoyance. "Come on, let's take a shower, and then change into another set. You haven't had enough yet."
Chapter 1148 Ronan's Daughter's Country: A Blend of Theocracy and Science, a Relaxation
The Persian Republic, founded by sisters Menar and Mushir in the Iranian region, is a very special country.
In Ronan's words, the country has taken an unthinkable path.
It is first and foremost a theocratic state, and secondly, a country that highly values science.
But this god is different.
In this world, in the Iranian region, Zoroastrianism had long since declined; otherwise, Canaan would not have been born in India.
Before the World War, Manar and Mushir had already restructured Zoroastrianism and established a new Zoroastrianism, which became the faith of their violent revolutionary group. After the organization led by the two of them completed an armed seizure of power, the new Zoroastrianism naturally became the state religion.
Of course, it's not called the New Zoroastrianism, but the Church of Light, which is the oldest and most authentic Zoroastrianism.
It's really just a superficial change.
The area was then "transformed," meaning that no living heretics were allowed to exist there.
However, their cult of light is progressive in a certain sense.
The highest, only, and eternal God of Light has been deified, that is, "truth" has been shelved.
What is truly celebrated is the spokesperson for humanity, and this spokesperson is not a "savior" but a "liberator," someone who guides people to dispel darkness and move towards the light. Note that it is "guides." The Church of Light opposes and rejects all forms of saviors.
The theology of the Church of Light does not emphasize reflecting on the world, but rather focuses on transforming it. Only by transforming the world can one understand what true liberation is, and then continuously practice to dispel the darkness of oppression and exploitation of the people, thus leading them toward the true path of light.
The church should unite with revolutionary action, not be a divine arbitrator, and should never take maintaining the existing production relations as its main purpose. Therefore, the autonomy of trade unions and farmers' associations should be preserved, and similarly, parliament should not abolish them.
In Ronan's view, it had the flavor of liberation theology.
Even so, Menar and Mushir were still considered prophets, even gods, within the Persian Republic.
Unfortunately, Iran is a region that is both high plateau and desert. The only places suitable for agriculture are along the northern and southern coasts, namely the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, as well as some valleys in the middle of the country. And that's about it. In other places, people can either barely grow some drought-resistant, fast-maturing crops, or they can only engage in nomadic herding.
Having inherited the legacy of the "Land of Ships" and a great deal of technology, Manar and Mushir brought high-yield crops, top-quality livestock breeds, and even pioneered a large number of water conservancy projects.
That's how the country's agriculture developed.
Developed agriculture forms the basis for spontaneous industry.
If a country lacks a developed agricultural sector, then under normal circumstances, it can only develop industry by introducing external forces and engaging in brutal internal exploitation. In fact, most countries in the world cannot meet this condition.
Manar and Mushir accomplished all of this by force using human power.
It's perfectly normal for people to regard him as a "god".
Moreover, the two men can be said to have perfectly inherited the traits of their mother Falek and father Ronan. They were both skilled in technology and adept at political maneuvering. If they hadn't voluntarily abdicated, it's unknown how long they would have ruled.
Aside from religion, this country also reveres science, and the fact that "truth" is relegated to the sidelines is one of its foundations.
If there is such a thing as "truth," then there must also be a "science of truth."
The uplifting, friendly, and open social environment, coupled with a relaxed and free academic atmosphere, has attracted many scholars from the Middle East who were previously frustrated with their careers, as well as some exiled scholars from other regions, who are willing to come to this poor and fledgling country.
This force propelled the country to transform itself in just a few decades.
"...That's about it."
Ronan briefly explained to Ravana what he knew about the country his two daughters had founded.
In February, Ronan and his group set sail from Guangdong to India, and then prepared to cross India and head north to their destination.
Instead of taking a boat directly, the main reason for this trip was to relax and, incidentally, to obtain a new identity—an Indian identity.
Indians can enter the Persian Republic very easily without encountering strict scrutiny.
As for how to get Indian citizenship, it's very simple; you can get it by donating money to temples.
Ronan and his group did not rush, but traveled and enjoyed themselves along the way.
More than a hundred years have passed, and so many places in the world have changed dramatically. Take Seris for example. In the past, you could see many people wearing wide robes and long sleeves on the streets of the city, but now you can hardly see them anymore. Narrow sleeves and long trousers are more suitable for modern life. Even farmers in the countryside have several sets of clothes to wear. Houses are basically brick and wood structures. Bricks are no longer a valuable thing and ordinary people can afford them. There are also seven-story buildings like the Guanghan Industrial Office Building, which uses concrete and has large glass windows.
In India, apart from the Ganges Plain and a few major cities on the west coast, the rest of the central region seems to show no change.
It looks exactly the same as it did when Ronan first came here over a hundred years ago.
If we must pinpoint a change, it's that even in these places, the presence of both Western and Eastern devils has begun. The "Eastern devils" refer to the Seres. The Western nations, along with the Seres, were engaged in colonization in India.
With so many powerful nations serving it, India is truly fortunate.
In May, Ronan and his party finally arrived in the Persian Republic. They then spent another half a month crossing the central plateau to reach Tehran, the capital of the Persian Republic, a large city with a population of over one million.
It's not even summer yet, but it's already almost 30 degrees Celsius here during the day; it's very hot.
The people here dress completely differently from Ronan's impression of this place in his previous life, especially the women.
They wore no robes or headscarves, but mostly jewelry around their necks. They generally wore fitted, figure-hugging long-sleeved dresses with hems that were just below the knee. They wore light flesh-colored sheer stockings and flat sandals, most of which were similar in style, with a diagonal cross at the front and decorations around the ankle.
Even in modern Western society, such attire would still be considered somewhat indecent.
“That’s certainly quite revealing. Why don’t you guys get one too?” Ronan suggested.
“No problem,” Madam Zhao replied.
She still couldn't forget about her son, but after a few months, she had recovered from that low mood.
"Pfft, we probably don't have the right size for several of them."
Falek said, "Besides, I don't look good in flesh colors."
Her buttocks are too big, Lu Jianling is too tall, and Lavana is the same, so flesh-colored stockings don't suit her.
“You can wear black, and Lavana can wear dark brown.”
Guo Hanlu added from the side, "With her tall and slender figure, she's a true clothes hanger and can pull off all kinds of styles of clothing."
Canaan shielded her eyes from the sunlight. "As for the dress, we can just find a place to order it." They weren't short of money anyway.
"Shouldn't we discuss where to stay first?" Faith interjected.
Chapter 1149 A talkative female apprentice, a troublesome female soldier, money is the universal language
Tehran is an ancient city, but a new capital.
After Menar and Muhir rebuilt Persia, they established their capital here.
This place was not very suitable as a capital in the past, for a simple reason: Tehran is bordered by plateaus to the south and mountains to the north, and a city built on a valley like this would be difficult to establish.
In the agricultural era, the surrounding areas were not very suitable for farming, and the population carrying capacity was too limited, so it was difficult for it to serve as the capital of an agricultural country.
However, this valley was a natural transportation hub and an important node on a trade route, so a city was formed there a long, long time ago.
It was only during an era of thriving industry and commerce that it qualified as a capital city.
Tehran's old city is a residential area, general commercial area, religious site, and government office area, while the new city contains industrial areas, college areas, technology areas, and military areas.
Ronan and his group are currently inside a women's clothing tailor shop on a commercial street in the old town.
Even though there have been extraordinary women in this world since ancient times, and even though industry has sprouted and blossomed around the world, and women have begun to own their own property under private ownership, thus achieving a leap in status compared to the past, such a large, publicly open women's clothing tailor shop is still rare.
Upon entering, a female apprentice came to greet Ronan and his party.
While male apprentices might have the opportunity to begin their formal training, female apprentices must start as waitresses.
Interestingly, this female apprentice was also a superhuman, but her level was very low; she was merely an unorthodox individual.
Seeing that Ronan and his group were clearly foreigners, after exchanging a few warm greetings, the female apprentice casually asked them if they wanted a discount.
This isn't some kind of membership card scam; it's a genuine discount.
In the Persian Republic, some female soldiers were issued food, clothing, and transportation vouchers worth a certain amount. However, it was obvious that some female soldiers wanted to exchange them for cash. Since they couldn't wait for this opportunity in various stores at any time, they cooperated with some stores. For example, if there were a total of ten vouchers, three vouchers would be used to give customers a discount, the store would take three vouchers, and the female soldier would get four vouchers.
"I bet many female soldiers here are pursuing her," Falek said casually.
The female apprentice shook her head, saying, "It's already a major problem for female soldiers to get married; the government and the church are both concerned about it."
Then she started chatting, but the conversation went on to ramble on.
A special cultivation method is widely practiced in the Persian Republic. This method is particularly suitable for artificial superhumans who have been transplanted with locally made magical artifacts. It is thanks to these two factors that the Persian Republic has a powerful military, enabling it to dominate the Middle East and trade freely with other countries.
These female soldiers are part of the military force.
The female apprentice's conversation drifted further and further away.
She said that a food self-sufficiency plan had been proposed, but it was rejected by the two supreme rulers because the Persian Republic was very short of water and agriculture relied on groundwater. If food self-sufficiency were to be achieved, groundwater would have to be overused, which would cause soil salinization, exacerbate water shortages, and ultimately lead to a decline in agriculture.
Food self-sufficiency is ultimately a short-sighted solution that will lead to endless problems.
Food still needs to be imported, and imports rely on technology, guns, and pens. Technology can create excellent products to peacefully seize money, guns can make others accept your peaceful way of seizing money, and pens can bring self-comfort to the other side.
Ronan was puzzled. How could this female apprentice be so talkative, and yet she never got to the point?
Even if the female apprentice is a superhuman, she can't just take money for nothing and not do any work, right?
Falek and the other women saw through the scheme. The female apprentice looked plain, but she was actually very well-dressed. Her jewelry looked understated, but it was actually very valuable. She was probably a wealthy person herself, and she was just an apprentice to pass the time. Another possibility was that her parents were in this industry and had sent her here to train so that she could inherit the family business in the future.
"Uh, sorry, I've gone off on a tangent. Let's get back to the female soldiers," the female apprentice said.
Shouldn't we be getting back to the clothes? Ronan thought to himself.
The female apprentice then started talking about female soldiers.
Female soldiers enjoy good treatment and high status. They look down on male soldiers of the same rank and are fond of young officers or young church scholars, who are considered young elites.
But the young elites look down on them. It's not that they're not pretty or that they can't take care of their families, but that they find them difficult to get along with. They always try to be strong in unnecessary ways. It's all because these female soldiers want to prove that they are no worse than the male soldiers in some trivial things, which has gradually formed bad habits.
Having finished speaking, the female apprentice finally got back to the main topic: the clothes.
At that moment, Ronan noticed a long-standing stall not far away that seemed to be distributing food for free.
When the female apprentice saw Ronan looking in that direction, she got excited again, "That's the farmers' association's free food distribution. It's every two days, and all members of the farmers' association can come and get it. However, each person gets one serving, and it's only available in the afternoon. Moreover, the portion is definitely not enough to fill up a young and strong man who does farm work, but it can barely fill up an elderly person."
Ronan did not respond to the female apprentice
He was thinking about the free food.
It's wrong to genuinely work together and then eat for free every meal.
If a person's average standard is five dollars, and someone is assigned not much work today, he feels that three dollars is enough for him. However, since it is free, he would be at a loss if he did not eat the full five dollars. Even so, this person still feels that it is unfair because he feels that he has spent two dollars more. Others feel that this person did not work enough for five dollars but also ate five dollars, which is unfair to them.
But with division of labor and cooperation, how can they all be the same?
Here, however, all they can get is a free 1.5 yuan worth of food.
This involves limited collective labor and limited equal distribution.
This free food is probably just one small aspect of the farmers' association system here; there are many more crucial aspects that cannot be seen here.
"That's really interesting."
Ronan's secret passage.
Manar and Mushir seem to be experimenting with a combination of public and private ownership, and perhaps one day they will introduce it into the field of industrial production.
“You guys are doing your clothes here,” Ronan said, standing up. “I’m going to check on the farm outside town.”
“Sir, the people over there might not understand you,” the female apprentice quickly said.
She wasn't worried about Ronan's safety. On the one hand, Tehran was very safe, and on the other hand, Ronan himself was a superhuman.
Most people in Tehran speak a dialect derived from Persian. However, many in the city understand Suleimani, and even the female apprentice knows some French and Seres. She greeted Ronan and his group in Seres when they first met.
But in the countryside outside the city, the farmers only speak the local dialect.
“I’m just going to take a look,” Ronan said, then pulled out a silver coin. “Besides, I have one of the best common languages in the world.”
There are two universal languages in the world: money and guns.
After Ronan left, the female apprentice led Falek and her group of women into the shop, where they were personally served by the old tailor who had a gold-rated scissors.
Chapter 1150 Custom-made Women's Clothing, Military Cultivation Method, and Buying Another House
Copper scissors, silver scissors, and gold scissors are the ratings used here for tailors.
In most shops, having a pair of silver scissors is already considered good.
Golden scissors are very rare.
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