Chapter 357: Horse Herd Returns to the City

The members of the Scientific Expedition Team originally wanted to drink some Wine together to celebrate, but fortunately, the captain still knew right from wrong and understood that this was the moment they could least afford to let their guard down; they had to maintain a state of extreme caution. If something went wrong at this time, not only would their more than half a year of hard work be wasted, but it might also bring great trouble upon themselves.

Everyone agreed with this logic upon hearing it, so they set aside the idea of drinking together, saying that they could drink recklessly and boldly after holding out for a few more days. By then, they would surely have a few days of vacation, and those with close relationships were already making plans with each other to set up a drinking stall, or even more extravagantly, to trade for some meat from the state-run store. Eating a little meat and drinking a little wine—that would be the real treat.

Their station actually had something very special right now, which was Tiger Blood Wine. At the time when that white tiger was killed, all the tiger blood had been collected with the choice of not wasting it. Those who had been there back when it was still the Huaxia Tribe had experienced the Tribal Chief using tiger blood to soak in Wine, and the effect was something he still remembered very clearly; it was a sleepless night...

Those white tiger bloods were all soaked into Wine. Initially, they wanted to try it, but they were stopped by that experienced person. After all, a room full of grown men drinking it would lead to a different kind of sleepless night.

By the afternoon, the tethered horses were much less restless, because they also discovered that they seemed to be in no danger of losing their lives, only that they were unable to leave.

Meanwhile, those horses in the distance were now also gradually approaching. They had no Leader and nowhere to go, so in the end, they could only lean toward the herd. The person on guard duty discovered this situation and secretly told the others inside, but no one could come up with a good solution for it.

If they tried to catch them when the horses came over, they feared that the horses might already be on guard, and they would fail, leading to no next opportunity. But if they didn't catch them, these horses might not obediently follow them.

After discussing it back and forth, they finally decided to take a gamble, but they had to wait until these horses had completely joined the herd before doing anything. At that time, whether dead or alive, they would just catch them all.

Those horses approached and found that the herd was safe and sound, so after scouting the situation, they mixed into the herd. Thus, all the horses were present, and everyone did not make a move; they were waiting for the right moment.

It was almost evening, time to feed the horses Grass and water, so they walked out openly and took out the forage and feed, throwing them on the ground together. Watering the horses was a major project; they had to carry buckets and feed them one by one. Fortunately, there were enough buckets, so it wasn't too tiring when distributed.

Those few horses had no intention of escaping. There was nothing on their heads to restrict their freedom, but they also squeezed in among the tethered horses, eating and drinking at will.

Seeing this, everyone felt quite relieved; at least they didn't have to take action. However, those that needed to be tethered still had to be. In front of every free horse stood a person holding a halter and reins in their hands. While feeding them water, they would suddenly slip a rope loop onto their necks, then with the help of a teammate, put on the halter, and subsequently untie the rope loop from the neck. Now, the whole herd was neat and tidy, not a single one missing.

However, when they took action, it still startled the herd. Those that were drinking stopped, and they began to get restless, but after being tied up, they went back to drinking.

At this point, everyone had no more worries. As long as they successfully made it through tonight, according to the speed of action in the city, the people coming to receive them would definitely arrive tomorrow, and their pressure would be completely released.

Just as they had expected, a team of three hundred people arrived in a grand manner in the afternoon. Originally, there was no need for so many people, but these horses could not have a single problem or accident, so the safer, the better.

They brought their own Tents to camp in the wild for the night, and at the same time, they came to clear out the stored grain of the Kexiaozhan. Although they couldn't finish it all, they could consume some so that they would have less to pull the next day.

That night, the people of the Scientific Expedition Team packed up their things, organized everything, and loaded it onto the carts. Their own bedding just needed to be bundled up when they got up in the morning.

At the crack of dawn the next day, everyone was already packed. The horses were covered in dew, and so were the people. Their Tents were not waterproof, so when they got up in the morning, their clothes were wet, and it was a bit cold when the wind blew. Surely some people would get sick after returning, but everyone had no time to worry about that.

The entire procession was very long, with a distance between each horse, still afraid of being kicked. Each horse was pulled by two people, one tugging the reins and one tugging the halter, with Soldiers guarding on both sides—first to prevent the horses from suddenly struggling to escape, and second to guard against wild beasts that might suddenly appear.

The ox carts pulled the supplies, distributed at the front and back of the procession. Just like that, a grand procession left the Wasteland, and the entire Wasteland instantly became quiet, as if these large creatures had never existed.

The horse team arrived at the New City smoothly the night before. Various departments of the New City did their best to settle the entire team. A small problem would be fine, but if a major problem occurred, their political careers would end there.

The team rested in the New City for one night and got up quite late the next day, because they were very close to the Old City, so there was no need to rush.

The New City did not send anyone to accompany them, but it temporarily stopped the ox carts heading from the New City to the Old City in the morning; the entire road was requisitioned by this horse-transporting team.

When the horse team entered the gate of the Old City, everyone who saw the horse team cheered. Under the repeated narrations of Baifeng, they had long known the importance of horses to Huaxia. Some parents even named their newborn children "Horse." Of course, this was a very normal thing in this era; some were called Bear, some were called Tiger. Baifeng's son was called Yulong, Bear's son was called Shaoyin, and it was not strange for their sons or daughters to be called Horse.

And the most excited ones were also these children. Yulong was already quite steady, but the excitement in his heart still could not be covered up. Shaoyin was different; he inherited his father's powerful physique, grew up big and burly, and his height was almost catching up to his father.

In the herd, he took a fancy to the tall and sturdy lead horse at a glance. He was extremely excited and pointed at the lead horse, saying to his companions beside him: "I want that horse. I must make that horse my mount. I said it, even if my dad comes, it won't change anything!"

Just after the big talk was finished, his head was slapped. He turned his head angrily, wanting to see which blind person dared to hit him, and he had even clenched his fists, ready to give them a punch, but he saw his father's dark face. He quickly loosened his clenched fists and then guiltily called out "Dad."