Chapter 200: Setting Off (Part 2)

The Carpenters did not fail Baifeng's expectations; working almost around the clock, day after day, they rushed to finish the Ice Blades and Sleds Baifeng requested in the shortest time possible, in a quantity sufficient for over a hundred people.

After receiving the items, Chinv selected over fifty people from her tribe who were willing to go to the Jiangben Tribe to mine Sulfur, and Baifeng then gathered those dozens of people to train them, as they had to master the use of the Ice Blades and Sleds.

Because their clothes were not thick enough, they shivered in this frozen world and could only rely on constant movement to keep warm; Baifeng could not provide them with better clothing, as they did not have enough supplies to use on Slaves, so he only gave them Boots, gloves, and hats to ensure their exposed skin would not be frostbitten and cause them to lose their mobility.

However, Baifeng still provided them with a solution, which was to use Grass; whether they wove the Grass into clothes like rain capes to wear or stuffed the dry Grass directly into their clothes, it was up to them.

These things could keep them warm, but Baifeng would not waste time and labor having his own tribesmen make them for them; if they wanted them, they could have their own people do it, as this was giving them a chance to change their fate, and Baifeng could not provide convenience for everything.

It had been over half a month since Baifeng proposed the idea of going to mine Sulfur, and now it was already the ninth nine-day period of Winter; if they set off now, they should be able to return before the Dahe thawed, but if they left too late, the Dahe might have already started to thaw when they returned, which would not only make it impossible to travel but also even more dangerous.

The food they carried was the universal treasure, Salted Fish, which could replenish both calories and salt, was very convenient to carry, was easy to make into a meal on the road, and to them, Salted Fish was also a relatively delicious thing in the resource-scarce Winter.

Besides Salted Fish, the food the tribesmen of the Baifeng Tribe ate the most was lotus root; the Baifeng Tribe was already harvesting lotus roots in large quantities, and combined with what their own tribe planted, the yield was quite impressive; Baifeng also planned to plant lotus roots on the mudflats by the river after Spring began, making lotus root a primary agricultural product.

However, they did not just eat the lotus root; after harvesting it, they also processed the lotus root into lotus root starch. After washing out the starch, the lotus root dregs could also be used to feed chickens and cows, which could be said to be a very high-quality crop.

Lotus root starch was even simpler to eat; grabbing a handful and pouring boiling water over it made a bowl of transparent lotus root starch, though it didn't have much flavor when just brewed, because they didn't have many seasonings to add to it; the people of the Baifeng Tribe at least had some nuts or the like that they could throw in, but those people from the Jiangben Tribe did not have that treatment, and the food given to them was even just Millet boiled with dried Salted Fish to make soup.

Of the dozens of simple Sleds, half were filled with things, carrying the equipment they would need on the road, such as Tents and various tools; if they didn't have a Tent at this time, it would be impossible for them to survive the nights here.

There was no need to worry about firewood, as wood was the thing least lacking on the road here, and cutting some at will was completely enough; the only thing Baifeng worried about was a blizzard, but they were confident they could survive ordinary heavy Snow, and if it were a disaster-level blizzard like last year's, they would just have to resign themselves to fate, but Baifeng believed in his heart that he shouldn't be that unlucky, after all, such a great snow disaster couldn't happen every year, right?

After everything was packed, Baifeng, as the leader, took them and set off; the group had over one hundred and twenty people, of which over fifty were from the Jiangben Tribe, acting as the coolies for the journey, while the Soldiers of the Baifeng Tribe were the overseers and also served as the combat force.

If their Soldiers went in too small a number, no matter how advanced their Weaponry was, once they reached the territory of the Jiangbenshi, a mutiny could still occur.

By now, Sui was used to Baifeng's frequent long-distance trips and no longer pestered him saying she wanted to follow him, not to mention that the Weaponry and equipment of the Baifeng Tribe were so sophisticated now that ordinary dangers could not threaten them.

Baifeng and the others traveled very smoothly for a long time, and they had not yet encountered any Snow, but they still felt that the Tents they brought were a bit too crude; no matter how big they built the fire at night, they would still feel cold, and even though Baifeng wore a thick Mongolian Robe, he would still be frozen awake while sleeping at night.

At this time, it went without saying for those people from the Jiangbenshi; they could hardly get a good night's sleep at night because it was just too cold, and they would just muddle through one night after another; if they were lucky enough to find a leeward hillside or a large cave, they could get a good night's sleep.

Baifeng knew how to exploit people; after skating for a few days, he felt it was too tiring, so he sat directly on a Sled and let others pull him along; it didn't take much effort anyway, but he could lie on it happily and cheerfully, feeling very leisurely and carefree.

More than ten days later, they encountered the first heavy Snow since they set off; the Snow fell at night, and when it snowed, the wind and Snow blew the Tent so hard it rattled and almost collapsed, and the temperature plummeted; by the time the Snow stopped in the morning, the Snow had already buried half of the Tent, but the Heaven had cleared.

Because everyone had not rested well at night, Baifeng and the others stayed where they were to rest for another day, and because there was Snow outside, it was even warmer in the Tent than usual, and everyone could get a good night's sleep inside.

When they were about to set off again, the Dahe was covered in Snow, and their Ice Blades were no longer viable, so they took out skis from the Sleds; this was a precaution, as Baifeng had long anticipated this situation.

It was just that the people of the Jiangbenshi did not have this equipment, so it was fine on flat ground, but as long as there was any slight uphill slope to walk on, it was very strenuous, relying entirely on the two sticks in their hands for force, and it could be said that they had absolutely no point of leverage under their feet.

After walking for a few more days, they reached a stretch of the river without accumulated Snow, and at the same time, the journey along the Dahe had ended; it was time to head toward that tributary, and they were getting closer and closer to the territory of the Jiangbenshi.

Baifeng was very much looking forward to the place he was going to this time; not only were there hot springs and Sulfur, but it was very likely that the volcano was an active volcano, although he had never heard any information about where there were active volcanoes inland in later generations.

A volcano was a treasure, and the output nearby was very high, especially things like sulfuric acid, which also had a very high possibility of existing, but Baifeng was a bit ignorant about chemistry, and even if the purity of the sulfuric acid was high, it was of no use to him.