Chapter 839: The Forgotten Liuhuangdi

Changle oversaw the unloading of all the cargo at the Matou, had them arrange for everything to be sent to the warehouse, and only then felt at ease to go see his father to report; he still felt quite exhausted from this journey.

All the Chinaberry Bark was still somewhat damp, having been pressed in the ship's hold the entire way, and with the temperature not very high and the humidity on the Dahe also being high, what Changle worried about most was this precious Chinaberry Bark getting damp and moldy.

It was late now, so he could only wait until tomorrow to lay it all out to dry; for now, all he could do was find a relatively spacious warehouse and spread the bark out to let the dampness dissipate sooner.

The Hospital needed the bark, but it also had to be dried and weighed in the warehouse before being allocated to the Hospital's Pharmacy; although the procedure was a bit troublesome, it was easier to supervise and could avoid some problems that might arise in the future.

As for the wax, there was no need to worry about it getting damp or moldy; it could just be piled up in bags in the warehouse, and since it was impossible to calculate its weight now, one should instead look at how much wax it could produce in the end. Huaxia currently had no one specializing in wax, but there were Workers who had made beeswax before, and with a little more training, they would be competent.

In the future, Huaxia would also need to design a small factory to boil candles, as the raw material for wax could now be obtained in a stable supply, unlike beeswax, which was only a little bit each year and had to be saved for sealing or filling gourds for waterproofing; in the future, candles would become a very common item for the people of Huaxia.

Changle found Baifeng with a bit of excitement, and after meeting, he immediately reported the results of his trading trip, and Baifeng was also very satisfied.

After a brief conversation, Baifeng told him: "The Shaman has died; you should go to his home to pay your respects, as this is a sign of respect for him, and you happened to be away when he died."

Changle was stunned for a moment, very surprised: "The Shaman, he died? His age, it wasn't that old, was it? How could it be so sudden?"

"Who can say for sure about matters of life and death? But fortunately, he didn't suffer; I went to see him on his last day and walked with him for a bit. By the afternoon, they said he had already passed away. When I went over to look, he was just sitting there properly in his chair; this way of dying is quite good," Baifeng said with some emotion.

Changle sighed: "Ah, alright, I will go see him now."

A Large Ship of Huaxia had already docked, and after unloading the cargo, it was guided into the harbor specifically built by Huaxia; if nothing unexpected happened, this ship would not be deployed again this year.

Now it needed to undergo a full cleaning and maintenance, then spend the Winter here, and set sail again after the ice thawed next year.

As for the other Large Ship, it had left Huaxia one after the other with the one Changle was on; it was going to Liuhuangdi to pick people up. Fan and the others were almost being forgotten by Huaxia, but fortunately, they would send letters to Huaxia on time to inform Huaxia of the current situation in Liuhuangdi, so that Baifeng could feel at ease ignoring them for a long time.

The weather was getting colder, and the Soldiers stationed at Liuhuangdi grew more anxious; they knew it was almost time for them to be picked up. Staying in such a godforsaken place every day with a group of Slaves was something no one could stand.

Moreover, it was not just desolate here; the fact that Sulfur was toxic was already well known to everyone, as the closer one got to the center, the stronger the stench became. Everyone in Huaxia understood that it was definitely poisonous, so they tried their best to avoid that area.

The self-governance rules established by Fan were also very effective; the Slaves worked diligently every day and returned on time, and one could tell by the harvest that they had not been slacking off.

Even without Soldiers watching on-site, except for the few who ran away at the very beginning, the other Slaves did not choose to escape again, because the longer they stayed here, the clearer it became that food was hard to find and the outside was dangerous, but following Huaxia to work meant food was not a concern, and safety was not a worry either.

Wild beasts would not come here, and even if they did, they would only become food for Huaxia; nor would other wild people come. The nearby tribes were all well-known, and they also knew that this was Huaxia's territory; daring to touch Liuhuangdi meant going to war with Huaxia, and they did not have such thoughts or courage.

The only bad thing was that the nights were too dull and lonely; it had been so long, and they hadn't even seen a woman. These wild people, born with the purpose of procreating, would naturally become gradually irritable.

However, Fan gave them repeated assurances that once Winter arrived, they would be able to return to Huaxia, and at that time, they could do whatever they wanted. What they needed to do now was work hard; not to mention these Slaves, even the Huaxia Soldiers were all alone, without having brought a single woman with them, weren't they?

The sheds for the Slaves were built very well, and when they had time, they could even dig into the walls to excavate a cave dwelling for themselves, as the tools were always left with them; at the beginning, they had to hand over their tools when the time was up, and then they would be counted and inspected.

Now that step was directly skipped, and they only needed to count the number of people once in the morning and once in the evening. A strange trust had developed between the Slaves and the slave owners, which also had a lot to do with the good attitude Fan and the others had toward the Slaves; plus, they never skimped on the Slaves' food, so the biggest conflict regarding survival naturally disappeared.

The cave dwellings for storing food were also built well enough, with no problems regarding waterproofing or fireproofing, and being situated on high ground made them easy to defend and hard to attack; the Slaves had no chance to attack and rob the place where the food was stored, even though they knew there was a lot of food there.

Huaxia had only sent them food once, because their numbers were very small, and there was no need to spend too much time or energy; sending it all at once was enough.

Now there was enough Sulfur stored, and the amount of food was also decreasing; Fan had sent out the carrier pigeon requesting to return a long time ago, and according to the time, it should be about right now.

Every day, the Soldiers would stand on the highest hill, gazing into the distance at the river surface, wanting to see the arriving ship from Huaxia; they did not want to stay in this place for even one more day.

Their biggest hope was that executing a one-year mission would earn them a Collective Third-Class Merit; this was something that had been agreed upon before they came. A Collective Third-Class Merit was still a Third-Class Merit, and it had an unimaginable help for their path of advancement.

Therefore, although it was dangerous, after being selected, they still came without hesitation; at least they wouldn't be here for their whole lives, and someone would come to replace them next year.