Chapter 522: Attacked in the Middle of the Night

However, the consumption of Tea Leaves in Huaxia is indeed a bit too high, and the current stock is not very large. Although they just finished a trade with the Suiren Clan, and the situation has eased slightly, the Suiren Clan still did not come to trade this year.

Baifeng feels that they cannot take the initiative to seek them out for trade; if they were to think that Huaxia has a high demand for these leaves and values them highly, they might take the opportunity to raise prices or use this to hold them hostage, which would be counterproductive.

This year, the Suiren Clan also had no time; Baoxi is frantically hunting, hunting, and gathering, determined to make everyone's life better, and the remaining time is spent building houses. Baoxi thinks that Huaxia should have traded for Tea Leaves with the Xuanyuan Tribe, so he did not go to pick any more.

After all, Tea Trees are scattered, and only so many leaves can be picked from one Tea Tree. Huaxia's requirements are getting higher year by year; in the past, any leaf would do, but now it must be tender buds, or the two or three leaves below the bud.

The yield is getting lower and lower, but the price has not risen much. In the past, they held the belief that earning a little is better than nothing, since the leaves were of no use anyway, but now they feel it is not very cost-effective and it is better to spend more time hunting in the distance.

The Xuanyuan Tribe does not care, and the Suiren Clan does not care either. Past Tea Leaf trades have been delayed time and again, until Baifeng had to reduce the supply of Tea Leaves. Fortunately, Tea Leaves are not yet considered a necessity; even if the inventory were completely empty, it would not cause panic in Huaxia, at most just a sense of being unaccustomed, and the intake of some substances in Winter would also decrease.

Baifeng had long ago given up the idea of planting Tea Trees in Huaxia; they cannot be grown, and one must go to a place further south.

To ensure everyone's nutritional balance in Winter, Baifeng has to take advantage of the current time to continue planting vegetables and then pickle them into pickled vegetables. The work of pickling vegetables naturally cannot be done by the state; the state can only guide, letting everyone exchange for vegetables themselves, then learn how to make them, and make a jar or two to ensure the family has something to eat in Winter.

After a few days of tossing about, the simple water diversion system was completed. At the riverside, bamboo was set up very high so that there would be enough force to transport water to the fields.

There are many waterwheels by the river, but they still cannot guarantee that all farmland can be irrigated. Fortunately, only wheat needs irrigation now, and other crops are relatively drought-tolerant, especially soybeans; in the current situation, the impact on them is not significant.

The team opening the road to Xiao Town is also progressing quite smoothly; in one day, they can open up a very long stretch of road. They estimate that they will be able to clear the road before Winter.

Therefore, the actual construction of Xiao Town is still not possible this year, but at least there is hope, isn't there?

The Artisans on the road dig the foundation, then take the cut wood that looks suitable, scrape off the bark, and let it dry for a few days. After the moisture dries out slightly, they use fire to roast it, let the surface slightly carbonize, and then start building the house directly.

The houses built initially can only be occupied by the arriving officials and Soldiers; the tenant farmers are still sleeping in the wilderness.

Just when they thought all the wild beasts would be scared away by their great commotion and the size of the team and would not dare to approach, something panic-inducing still happened.

That night, there were still dozens of Soldiers on night watch, but because the camp was truly too large, coupled with the snoring rising and falling, the Soldiers' observation of the surrounding environment was greatly restricted. They stared at the pitch-black forest, not daring to relax for even a moment.

There were mosquitoes everywhere, but fortunately, they were not too venomous. Even if bitten, the next day it would just be quite itchy and would not swell into a large bump; this could be considered one of the few benefits Baifeng discovered after coming to this era.

The native mosquitoes of Huaxia are all relatively small in size and low in toxicity. It is just that in later generations, due to the great exchange of the world, many small animals from other continents entered this continent. They were stronger than the natives and more adapted to the environment, and before long, they occupied all the living space of the natives.

Like mosquitoes, they almost all turned into long-legged large variegated mosquitoes, with loud buzzing, and after biting, it would be itchy and form large bumps. Some varieties would even cause the bitten area to turn black after the swelling went down. In places like ankles that are not well covered in Summer, a black ring would form due to mosquito bites.

Whenever a gust of wind blew through the forest, making the leaves rustle, the Soldiers' hearts would also tighten. Although there are many people here and it is relatively safe, the Soldiers are already somewhat exhausted. Their pressure is indeed quite high; they are almost working day and night in shifts. Those who worked the night shift sleep during the day, and then continue to stand guard at night. Over time, no one can hold up.

Just as their eyes were fixed on the depths of the forest where nothing could be seen, the sound of a Tent being torn apart suddenly came from the very edge, followed by human screams.

The Soldiers were greatly alarmed, grabbed their Weapons firmly, and rushed to the place where the incident occurred. Because the screaming was so loud, people in other Tents also started to turn over and get up one after another.

Now it was not just screaming, but also the roar of a wild beast, sounding somewhat like a bear. The Soldiers were very panicked in their hearts, but they had to muster their courage to go over because their mission was just like that. A Soldier must protect the clansmen; if they fled, they would be deserters. They had been hearing about what the fate of a deserter would be every day since they enlisted.

So, being a deserter means being caught and killed after torture, and one's family being implicated; it is better to go up and fight. Killing the enemy is a merit, and if one dies, one can be treated as a Martyr, and one's family can still receive some benefits. The choice was already extremely clear.

It was just that the screaming was gradually moving further away, as if being dragged by the wild beast into the depths of the forest.

When they arrived at the torn-up Tent, by the light of the fire, they could see huge bear footprints on the ground, as well as drops of blood scattered about. The screaming still kept coming from the forest.

There was more than one person living in that Tent; the one dragged away was the one on the outermost side. The other two were already so scared they couldn't even speak, and a smell of urine permeated the air.

A Soldier had just prepared to follow the screaming into the forest to save the person when he was grabbed by a companion. The leader of the Small Team also hurriedly stepped forward and said, "This person is already beyond saving. Look at these bear footprints; I dare say, in all the years I have lived, I have never seen such a large bear. Furthermore, with only this many of us, and it being night, if we go, not only will we not be able to save the person, but we will also throw ourselves away."

That young Soldier was a new recruit who had just finished training this year, and his sense of justice was extremely strong. He anxiously questioned, "Then what should we do? Just watch as the people we protect are snatched away by a bear like this?"