Chapter 783: Hauling Coal for the Winter

Changle was already prepared to set off. He had originally intended to delay it a bit longer, staying in the Xuanyuan Tribe for a few more days until the Dahe was about to freeze over, but now he wanted to determine as quickly as possible whether the two types of plants he had found were useful things.

As for returning to the Xuanyuan Tribe once more after reaching Huaxia, he no longer had any such plan; after all, if he were to return to the Xuanyuan Tribe again, he feared he would not be able to make it back to Huaxia before the Dahe froze over, and as for letting him spend the Winter in the Xuanyuan Tribe, he wouldn't even think about it.

The conditions there were so crude, with nothing at all—only a dilapidated house, no heated kang, only wooden bed boards. How was he supposed to get through the Winter? Was he supposed to be like the others in the Xuanyuan Tribe, lighting a fire basin in the room and feeling that suffocating, thick smoke all day long?

If that were the case, he feared his life would be shortened by many years. How warm the Fireplace in Huaxia was! There was no smoke, only heat, and with high-quality coal, it didn't even need much tending; every time he entered the room, it was nice and warm.

Of course, Huaxia had repeatedly issued strict orders not to let people put coal in the Fireplace or the stoves they wrapped in mud themselves at night, including when filling the kang; they were also not allowed to put in excessive coal, and once there was smoke, the kang had to be re-wrapped immediately.

But there were always some people who didn't believe in bad luck, thinking that perhaps Huaxia just didn't want them to waste coal—after all, the coal in Winter was provided for them to use for free—and if they used it at night, it would cause too much consumption. There were also some who were simply lazy and didn't want to relight the fire in the morning; sometimes, if the wind blew the wrong way, the fire wouldn't even catch, so there were always people who, for various reasons, would not listen to the advice.

The final result was that every year in Huaxia, there were many cases of coal smoke poisoning. If they were lucky, someone would discover them and they wouldn't die; if they were unlucky, the whole family would die. But this kind of inexplicable way of dying, in this current era, was easily categorized by ordinary people as a Spell or something similar. As for the officials' explanations... the ordinary grassroots officials did not have much prestige among the masses, unless they personally heard the King of Huaxia say that coal smoke causes poisoning and death.

The masses had a weak sense of prevention, and now it was almost time for the temperature to drop. Coal was being transported to Huaxia by the cartload. In Huaxia City, Lema City, and several surrounding towns, the coal yards had already begun to pile up coal, looking just like a small Coal Mountain.

The people at the Coal Mine were also at their busiest at this time; when Winter truly arrived, they would actually be much more leisurely. After all, the Snow and the temperature would affect mining and, even more so, transportation. If the coal was dug out but couldn't be transported, it was better to put in the effort during Autumn to dig out the entire amount needed for Winter.

The road was familiar and wide, and even though it wasn't covered in Cement, it had been leveled extremely well. Even a single blade of wild Grass rarely grew on it, and there were no forests on either side, as they had been cut down until they were bare, so even transporting at night posed no great danger.

The coal transport team worked in two shifts, but those mining could only dig during the day. Even if those Slaves weren't important, they couldn't be pushed too hard; for every extra day they lived, they created another day of value. In this regard, Baifeng was still not too shameless.

Reasonable rest, combined with sufficient dietary supplements, was the only way to allow those Slaves to exert the highest efficiency and do the most work. Wanting a horse to run fast while also wanting it not to eat Grass—that was something only a fool would do. The old farmers of Huaxia all knew that when Spring began, the oxen should be fed the best to keep their bodies in good shape.

As for the use of coal, those willing to listen to advice didn't need Baifeng to tell them; they would obediently extinguish the fire at night. With a heated kang and bedding—even if it was just rice straw or reed-flower quilts—it could provide them with warmth. Not burning a fire at night wouldn't freeze them to death.

As for those who always held onto a fluke mentality, they could only be left to their own devices; if they died, it was their own fault. The current Huaxia was no longer the small tribe it used to be, where the death of a single person could make Baifeng worry for a long time. Those who died of illness or old age would not even be known to Baifeng, and Baifeng did not want to know; only relatively major accidents might possibly be noticed by Baifeng.

Changle set off with the seeds, but what he didn't expect was that Xuanyuan had actually come along with Zhishou, and they were also followed by a squad of Soldiers. Changle had come by following their Boat; if he had wanted to wait for a Huaxia boat, it would probably have taken a while.

Changle only assumed that Xuanyuan wanted to go find his father to discuss something. After all, the Autumn Harvest had already ended, and everyone had plenty of stored grain. With grain in hand, one's heart was at ease; no matter what items Xuanyuan wanted to trade or what projects he wanted Huaxia to build, he had the grain to pay for it.

But Xuanyuan found Changle and asked a question that left him very puzzled.

"Changle, has your father ever mentioned Guangchengzi to you before?"

Changle was stunned for a moment. He recalled for a long time; this matter had indeed been spoken of, but it seemed to have been after Xuanyuan came to Huaxia. Therefore, it should have been that Baifeng was told about this person named Guangchengzi long before, and only afterwards did Baifeng tell them about Guangchengzi. Before that, it had not been mentioned at all.

Changle had no need to lie, so he answered Xuanyuan: "It has been mentioned."

Xuanyuan and Zhishou exchanged a glance and continued to ask: "Then has your father told you how he knew about Guangchengzi?"

That Baifeng knew of Guangchengzi was something that had always left Xuanyuan and Zhishou extremely puzzled, but Baifeng kept his mouth shut and acted mysterious. However, there were too many mysterious things about Baifeng—so many that they were almost reasonable. Their guess was only that Baifeng had met a Sage like Guangchengzi, and that Sage also knew Guangchengzi.

But the point that couldn't be explained was that Guangchengzi did not know there were people like him in this world. Only the people of the previous generations, such as Dachengzi and the others, existed, yet there wasn't a trace of Baifeng; even Guangchengzi didn't know Baifeng.

Changle already felt that this question was a bit off and a bit strange. Naturally, he couldn't tell these two unrelated people the secrets of himself and his father, so he said casually: "My father has not told me."

Xuanyuan naturally did not believe him, but since Changle was unwilling to say, he did not ask again. He only explained to Changle: "I am preparing to visit Guangchengzi once more, and Zhishou is also preparing to return to Kongtong Mountain. This time, I wanted to ask if your father is willing to go to Kongtong Mountain together to visit Guangchengzi."

Changle was greatly shocked in his heart, but his words remained steady: "So that's how it is. You should go back and discuss this with my father. After all, I am too young, I cannot touch upon these matters, and my father would not tell me about them."