Chapter 347: Border

The Snow has been falling for two days with no intention of stopping, though it is gradually easing; the wind is still as strong as ever, and the herd of horses outside has not moved, huddled together in a circle, not seeking grass to eat—naturally, they cannot find any grass now anyway.

The circle where they are located has little snow accumulation, as they have trampled it all into slush, but this is certainly no solution in the long run, and they cannot go without food or water forever; the people of the Scientific Expedition Team have no intention of going out to save them now, and can only wait for the snow to stop, then bring out fodder to feed them when they have nothing left and are extremely hungry.

Of course, this time the transport team brought not only these grains and fodder, but also several jars of Wine, which is the newly brewed Five-Grain Liquid from the city, currently considered the best-tasting variety.

The people of the Scientific Expedition Team do not yet know that these things have happened in the city, so they sit together, listening to these new events in the city, especially when they hear that Wine is no longer so rare and precious, but can be traded for at the state-run store at any time, they cannot help but cheer aloud.

Now, while occasionally wiping the windows to observe the condition of the horses outside, they sit together in groups, bragging and chatting, boiling tea by the stove, or playing cards, drinking, and playing chess; in any case, there are many recreational activities, and they do not feel bored or lonely.

If this were in the past, could they have had this kind of life? It would be impossible; they should now be huddled in some earthen cave, shivering, or perhaps already buried by the Snow, with their fate unknown.

This is also the general situation of the Suiren Clan now; this cold wave has a great impact on them, but to them, people freezing or starving to death in Winter is very normal, it is just a matter of whether more or fewer die.

Baoxi naturally would not have such concerns; his residence is warm and comfortable, and he does not worry about food, and it is not that he has no concern for his tribesmen, just that the worry is relatively small.

The closer to the center, the worse their tribesmen live, while those further away fare better, especially those Villages around the Huaxia territory; for one, Baoxi's control over them is much looser, his hand is hard to reach, and their autonomy is much higher, though they still have to hand over supplies on time.

The tribes around Huaxia are the happiest, because they can secretly trade with Huaxia; Huaxia has fewer hunters, but they mainly rely on hunting for a living, and the meat and various furs they catch can all be traded with the people of Huaxia.

Originally, the meat they did not have enough to eat, if all exchanged for what they considered Grass Seed, could actually allow everyone to be full, but other than meat, they have nothing else to trade.

This kind of trade is naturally conducted behind the back of the tribe; the neighboring border Villages all know about this, but they keep it tacitly understood and conduct it stealthily; in any case, as long as the people in their own Village do not starve to death, it is fine.

At the very beginning, they did not think of this, and even had conflicts with the patrolling Soldiers of Huaxia, but later it was the Huaxia Soldiers who took the initiative to communicate with them, proposing to exchange grain for their meat.

As time went on, not only was there no conflict between the two sides, but they were very harmonious, especially the Huaxia Soldiers, who were very generous and always willing to give them some benefits during trade.

Furthermore, these Villages dare not have conflicts with the Huaxia Soldiers; in one of their Villages, men, women, old and young, total only a little over a hundred people, while the Huaxia Soldiers patrol in groups of twenty.

However, their patrols are irregular and unscheduled, because the Huaxia territory is relatively large, and their main activities are concentrated in the city, but this does not mean that the border and other places are ignored; instead, they send people to patrol.

There are garrison points everywhere in the territory, with houses built well; the patrolling Soldiers go out for days at a time and cannot return to the city every day, so they need to live outside, but because this task is relatively dangerous, they take turns.

Their border, which borders other tribes, is only the territory of the Suiren Clan, and it does not border the Xuanyuan Tribe; the place where they usually trade is actually now considered to be in Huaxia, or perhaps a place under no one's jurisdiction; after all, regarding this thing called the Dahe, you say it is within your territory, but do you dare to go onto the river to manage it?

Huaxia has the ability, and the Xuanyuan Tribe is also capable now, but the Suiren Clan is not; so even if Baoxi knows about this, he cannot manage it; Xuanyuan now only travels by water, going all the way upstream without passing through their Suiren Clan's land territory, so this matter does not touch upon their actual interests, and thus Baoxi lets them be.

The trade with the border Villages of the Suiren Clan is approved by Baifeng; this is also one of their foreign policies; such border Villages are the most easily influenced by them, and it will not be discovered by the Suiren Clan.

Giving them benefits and building good relationships forms a sharp contrast with the Suiren Clan's attitude toward them, and during trade, they can also talk about the good life in Huaxia, making these Villages have a beautiful yearning.

However, they will not ask the people of these Villages to join their Huaxia—a kind of irresponsible "scumbag" attitude—this is still out of consideration for the Suiren Clan; this kind of stealthy trade is harmless, and Baoxi will not know, but if they directly pull others into their own country, then the problem would be huge: firstly, the Suiren Clan would consider this a declaration of war against them, and secondly, it would make Baoxi strengthen his focus on the border, making it difficult for them to take action in the future.

Returning to the life of these Villages, under the guidance of the Huaxia Soldiers, they used mud-piled stoves, and the drafty places in their shacks were also plastered with mud; even if they do not go out to find food on snowy days, they are not afraid, because they have enough stored grain; although they almost never eat any meat all year round, they are not afraid of starving to death.

The people of Huaxia keep their mouths shut about building houses and building heated brick beds, and they certainly will not reveal a bit, because as long as they teach one Village, it would not be a good thing for them, but a devastating disaster; if a Leader of the Suiren Clan comes to inspect, their trading would not be hidden, but this simple method is easy to explain—saying they thought of it themselves—and no one would doubt it.

What's more, how could they possibly speak out about such confidential things and let the Suiren Clan learn them? Help is only given on the basis of being able to obtain certain benefits.

Furthermore, they did not help in vain; relying on trade, they added a very considerable amount of meat to Huaxia, and these people of the Suiren Clan are just like hunters they hired; both sides are very satisfied.