novelraw Chapter 301 Lotus Root and Bone Soup
Chapter 301 Lotus Root and Bone Soup
Chapter 301 Lotus Root and Bone Soup
After confirming that there was no movement on the Xuemu River and measuring the snow depth on the Mulan Plain, Ling Chengen and Bai Qingyu felt their heads were about to freeze and immediately decided to head back.
As soon as we flew over the city wall, we could see the beastmen inside the city from mid-air. They looked like tiny black dots, struggling to cocoon in the vast white snow. We could hear screams and shouts everywhere, but if you listened carefully, you could tell that there was no fear in their voices, only the joy of rolling around in the snow. Occasionally, we could also hear adults scolding their naughty children.
Bai Qingyu saw that a section of the city wall had already been cleared, greeted the guards who were clearing snow, and landed directly on the cleared ground.
Ling Chengen glanced at the closed greenhouse on the city wall and asked, "Has the heating on the city wall been working properly these past few days?"
The city gate guard, holding a shovel, smiled and said, "Young city lord, it's been quite warm in the guardhouse. We've been taking turns coming out to stand guard these past few days, and when we can't take it anymore, we go in to relieve us. There haven't been any unusual situations."
Ling Chengen nodded and said, "You've worked hard. It's freezing cold. I'll have the kitchen send you lotus root and pork bone soup and steamed buns at noon."
"Thank you, Young City Lord—"
The guards shoveling snow on the city wall beamed with joy upon hearing this, their gloved hands gripping the handles of their shovels as they thanked Ling Chengen.
Ling Chengen pushed the snow off the top of the wall, glanced down at the city wall, and reminded, "Don't pile the snow directly under the city wall. If the snow is piled up too high, it will be trampled down, and once the enemy attacks, they can jump directly onto the city wall, rendering it useless."
"Okay, we'll split our manpower into two groups, one above the other, and clear the snow off the city walls and below first."
Looking at the snow piled up below the city walls, making it difficult to walk, Ling Chengen turned to Bai Qingyu, grabbed his arm, and said, "Take me a little further. I'm going to the northern camp to ask Chang Tianchen to allocate manpower for snow removal."
Bai Qingyu watched as she lifted her foot and then withdrew it, a frustrated expression on her face. She couldn't help but chuckle softly, transforming into her beast form and flapping her wings at her: "Come here..."
She had begged him so much, how could he bear to refuse?
The situation at the North Camp was much better than Ling Chengen had anticipated.
At least the snow here looks like it's been cleared.
Most of the soldiers in the camp were dressed less warmly than those in the city, and steam was rising from their bodies and heads as they used various tools to clear the snow from the camp with both hands and feet.
Ling Chengen searched most of the camp before finally finding Chang Tianchen, who was also in Qingxue.
He was wearing a thick northern animal skin hat, his long hair was braided into a single braid, and he was dressed rather thinly underneath, but his animal skin coat looked very warm. At the moment, he was using his supernatural ability to heat up the frozen ground while breaking up the ice with a pickaxe. Clouds of smoke were billowing from his mouth and nose, making his face difficult to see clearly.
Upon seeing him, the nearby soldiers immediately dropped their grinning expressions, stood up straight, and bowed to her: "Greetings, Young City Lord!"
One voice after another rang out. Chang Tianchen turned around and looked at Ling Chengen, who was wrapped up like a rice dumpling, and said with a smile, "How many layers did you two wrap up? You can't even be seen as human anymore."
Ling Chengen pulled down his mask and snorted, "Mind your own business, I have my own style."
Chang Tianchen handed over the ice axe, laughing, "Come on, give it a try. Do some physical work, and I guarantee your body will be all warmed up right away..."
Ling Chengen reached out and took the ice axe, then tapped it once, and the ice on the ground immediately cracked like a spider web.
Chang Tianchen was slightly surprised. He turned his head to observe her expression and found that she had probably just knocked casually, but she was somewhat shocked.
That's really powerful.
The bloodline of the Boshan Giant Tiger is indeed powerful; it's not even an adult yet.
"Has your ability level increased again?"
"Hmm." Ling Chengen didn't seem to care much, nodded perfunctorily, and handed the ice axe back to him. "I need to talk to you about something."
Chang Tianchen handed the ice axe to the soldier beside him, shook off the ice shards from his clothes, and strode off, saying, "I already guessed that. Let's talk over at the barracks; it's still pretty cold outside."
Moving around keeps you warm, but if you stop, you'll freeze and your bones will ache after a while.
Ling Chengen watched as he casually pushed open a door to a room, lit the kerosene lamp and charcoal brazier inside, and turned to look at the two people standing in the doorway: "Why don't you come in?"
"You've been living here all this time?" Ling Chengen asked疑惑地. "Didn't you take the yard next door from us before?"
"I'll go back to live in that courtyard when I have time. But the courtyard is too big, I can't manage it all by myself. Plus, someone needs to keep an eye on the barracks, so I've been living in the camp for a while now. The rooms here are a bit small, but there's central heating, and there are a lot of people, plus someone is in charge of cooking, so it's quite convenient."
Chang Tianchen used to enjoy being alone, mainly because he disliked everyone equally, especially those opportunistic old fogies on Snake Mountain. But now that he has a military post under Ling Chengen, he's doing quite well, and he's starting to enjoy studying the daily training methods Ling Chengen proposed for soldiers.
Ling Chengen shook the snow off his shoes and legs before entering the small house.
This separate barracks is only about 15 square meters. The door is on the side, and on the other side there is a small kitchen, which is only a few square meters in size and can only be used to boil some hot water. The flue connects to the kang bed inside the room, and there is not even a separate toilet.
This was originally planned to be housing junior officers in the military camp.
Besides the bed, there was only a small window, a small table, and a wooden chair.
After Chang Tianchen moved in, he must have made some modifications.
In the far corner of the room, he built another fireplace and added a fireplace flue to the small space.
Although this renovation made the room feel even smaller and somewhat cramped, it must be said...
After Chang Tianchen lit the firewood in the fireplace, the temperature inside the room immediately rose by several degrees.
Chang Tianchen pulled out a few small stools from under the table and handed them to the two of them: "Find a place to sit. The seats are small, but they're very warm."
Looking at the fireplace, Ling Chengen sat down around it. Seeing that he had copied his bicycle-wheel-shaped grill, he couldn't help but chuckle and said, "You're quite clever. With this modification... the room is indeed very warm."
"Do you have enough firewood?" Bai Qingyu asked curiously.
Chang Tianchen shook his storage space and laughed, "It's here! Before it snowed, I went out for a walk and collected a lot of firewood. When I came back, I chopped it up, dried it all, and piled it in the space."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have changed the fireplace in the room.
"Have you been clearing snow every day during this period?" Bai Qingyu lifted the curtain of the front window, glanced at the bustling scene outside, and the flat, open black ground, and hesitated for a moment.
Chang Tianchen nodded slightly and said, "We're just idling around anyway. Every day, as soon as we open our eyes, we either eat or sleep. After doing this for half a month, we've become lazy and our energy has slackened. Uga might attack at any time, so I think waking them up every day, at least to go outside to shovel snow and exercise a few beasts, can prevent the heavy snow from blocking the camp and the gates, and also provide some exercise."
Ling Chengen withdrew his gaze and, before Chang Tianchen could make a move, poured himself a cup of hot water. Holding the cup, he warmed his hands as he said, "The city is blocked by snow, so in addition to arranging for the beastmen in the city to clear the snow, we also need to transfer people from your side. First of all, we need to clear the snow around the city walls and on the walls themselves."
Chang Tianchen nodded: "Actually, you don't need to tell me. Just by looking at the situation on the north side of the city wall, I know that the north side is thicker, while the situation on the south side might be better."
"Those prisoners of war were also brought out to clear the snow..."
"By the way, have any prisoners of war died during this period?" Ling Chengen asked.
Chang Tianchen nodded: "There must have been deaths. Some people were unwilling to give up and tried to escape during the blizzard. Several of them were caught by the guards at the military camp. After being warned, some still did not stop, so they were shot."
"About twenty or thirty people died, almost all of them from Ujah, and a few from other small tribes."
Sangqi and a few unfortunate crow-tribe orcs who were captured were led back by their tribal chiefs after their tribes moved to the beast city.
Chang Tianchen continued, "During the blizzard, only five or six people died from the disease. They were mostly people with large burn areas. Although they were treated by wood-type warriors, their condition kept fluctuating and they eventually couldn't make it through."
"However, after this blizzard, the prisoners of war have become much more well-behaved." This is because their prisoner-of-war camp also has heating.
It's not as hot as the soldiers' barracks, but it's still enough to keep them from freezing to death.
Although food was still scarce, the harsh weather prevented them from continuing to compete, leading to internal divisions. As a result, food was rationed daily, leaving them neither full nor starving. They huddled together for warmth, which helped them survive.
Chang Tianchen said thoughtfully, "These people from the south probably haven't seen the horrors of the cold season in the north, so they were frightened by this heavy snow... They've been quite well-behaved lately, so we can arrange for them to come out and have some fun."
"However, we still need to disperse them and not let them gather together, otherwise there might be a small-scale riot, and some people might even take the opportunity to escape."
Ling Chengen thought for a moment, then said to Bai Qingyu, who was standing there, "Go and run an errand for Zhilu. She's collected a lot of secondhand clothes lately. Have her prepare a batch and send it over here first. Also, have Su Weihua arrange for the foundry to make the snow shovel and ice-breaking tools as soon as possible..."
"We'll try to get it done today, and clear the snow from the main roads in the city and inside and outside the city walls in the next two days."
"Then we arranged for people to clean the snow off the streets every day."
"So as not to affect intelligence transmission and the delivery of supplies within the city."
"I also need to notify the Crow Clan to come over and send a few people with me. I may need to make some arrangements, and I need their help to pass on the message."
Bai Qingyu listened patiently to her instructions, then nodded slightly and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll head over now. You can return to the city by yourself later?"
"Let Wu Zhuo come over, I'll pay his salary." Ling Chengen finally remembered that her friend, whom she hadn't contacted for a while, had mentioned it to her during dinner last time. She remembered it, but hadn't had time to deal with it.
Now that I have the chance, I naturally want to think of my little follower first.
After all, as the proper owner, she felt somewhat ashamed that he had to pay out of his own pocket to support that gluttonous Bao Bao.
……
The crow people were the first to arrive. They were small in size, fast, and already knew the terrain of the city like the back of their hand.
Bai Qingyu simply mentioned a location, and the Raven Clan Chief hurriedly led his people out to work.
When Ling Chengen saw Ya Xiao, the first thing he arranged was to notify the kitchens in various parts of the city to start cooking the lotus root and bone soup for today, and then steam the steamed buns.
Today's work will be all physically demanding. We must make sure everyone has enough to eat so they don't get cold or hungry.
They have plenty of lotus roots; they dug up a lot of them in the Thousand Lakes region of the far north.
Many orcs previously thought that eating this raw tasted strange and were mostly unwilling to eat it.
Since the military camps and the kitchens supplying various public departments in the city started serving lotus root soup, the reputation of lotus root has finally spread.
The orcs who previously refused to eat lotus root and instead traded it in the market are now filled with regret.
However, the distribution of supplies is limited.
Therefore, we will no longer stop providing lotus root as a regular portion.
However, given the precedent of free market trade, Ling Chengen thought for a moment and decided to transfer a batch of lotus roots from the warehouse and have them traded in the market. This would gradually guide the beastmen's lifestyle and help them get used to market trading, which would facilitate the future implementation of currency.
The sale of lotus roots is also related to the promotion of weights and measures.
She had already determined the weight to be one jin or one kilogram, and planned to follow the method of later generations, as it would be more convenient.
The small and large scales for weighing have been made and are all piled up in the warehouse.
Ling Chengen said to Ya Xiao, "The work of selling lotus roots in the market will be handled by Xia Sheng."
Ya Xiao didn't recognize Xia Sheng and asked, "Who is she?"
"Xia Sheng is a female Pallas's rabbit beastman. She used to be from our Stone Forest tribe. Some time ago, she worked at the textile factory with Zhi Lu. Her calculation skills are just as good as Zhi Lu's. I even taught her how to weigh things and how to sell them. She lives in..."
Ling Chengen gave an exact location and said to Ya Xiao, "Let's test the waters by transferring 5,000 catties of lotus root from the warehouse first."
Ya Xiao immediately summoned a young member of his clan and made the arrangements.
Ling Chengen occupied Chang Tianchen's small room and began issuing a series of instructions, while constantly checking for any omissions or deficiencies.
Chang Tianchen had already left to arrange things for the soldiers in the camp, as well as a host of other matters at the prisoner-of-war camp...
……
Since the snow stopped, Ling Chengen has been on high alert every day, constantly on guard against Ujah.
But the Uja remained silent, and even after another blizzard struck, not a single Uja could be seen on the Mulan Plain.
Ling Chengen was completely baffled until December when he finally figured out the reason.
Ujah is facing a shortage of supplies, making it impossible for them to support their expedition during the cold season.
It is said that an army must first prepare its supplies before it can move.
The wisdom of our ancestors is truly invaluable.
Ling Chengen turned around and thought about it carefully. He realized that the shortage of supplies in Uga was not accidental.
Although they fought a battle with Beast City, thousands of them failed to return.
However, because several other tribes fought alongside them, they suffered heavy losses.
Some small tribes have lost a third of their population, so Ujah had to use supplies to silence their constant complaints.
After the Sangqi tribe and Ling Chengen reached an agreement on surrender, before leaving, they kept thinking about getting the subsidy first.
So they secretly exerted all their efforts, using tactics such as feigning poverty, crying, and playing the victim, until Ujah no longer dared to wander into their territory.
After the old clan chief of Sangqi cried again about his son being arrested and how so many clansmen could not be brought back.
Ujah finally couldn't stand their grumbling anymore and took the initiative to deliver a large amount of supplies to them.
What's this called?!
This is what they call "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"!
Sang Ting looked at his father, who was sprawled on the kang bed with a smug smile on his face, and said speechlessly, "Father, aren't you really going to go out and take a look?"
"No, no, I'm too old. It's so cold outside, my head will ache from the cold."
"I've already entrusted the clansmen to you. Go about your business and don't disturb my rest..."