Volume 3: Fellow villagers, let’s farm together~ Chapter 83 The Straightforward Iron-Headed Kid
The elves are a very stubborn race.
The kind that no matter what you say, it's useless, and no matter how you persuade him, he won't stop.
Besides, it's not comfortable to be among a bunch of snow werewolves... I was already on guard against the snow wolf tribe, and now these snow werewolves are only wearing shorts, with their bare arms and . This look is so backward, barbaric, and eye-catching in the eyes of the elves...
Eat the food you provide? No no no.
Of course, the elves were still able to be polite on the surface, and they didn't say anything about not being interested in "indescribable" food. Kai just firmly rejected Hongye's enthusiastic invitation, and turned around and left, dragging his friend Hailin, who wanted to eat ready-made food.
"Can't we just make do with a meal? Are you still afraid that the Snow Wolf will poison your food?" Hailin complained.
"What are you thinking about? Do you think the food they eat is tasty? You know that even the salt they use is black mud salt." Kai was very determined.
Hailin had no choice but to follow him reluctantly.
The goblins all know how to poke rabbit nests with thorns, so the elves naturally have a way to catch rabbits. They pour some smoke into the rabbit nest, and once the rabbit runs out, they draw their bows and arrows and pull lightly, and lunch is in their hands.
Then when they returned to the river construction site... they found that people had already eaten.
Xiao Yun is not a person who has a strong demand for delicious food. He is happy to just fill his stomach when he is busy. Only when he has a little free time or when he needs delicious food, will he remember to cook something delicious. The chefs at Dahe Niujiao are not as "unsophisticated" as he is. They are very demanding and enjoy spending their time on cooking. So, in addition to the three usual dishes of steamed buns, cold dishes and vegetable soup, today's lunch also has an extra dish: braised pork.
The pork belly is fat and lean, with an attractive color. Each piece is as big as half a human child's fist. Counting based on the number of people, each person can get a small bowl. The portion is the same for all gray dwarves, goblins, cats, and snow werewolves. After all, a pig is killed each time the pork belly is made, so it is impossible to supply it in unlimited quantities.
Of course, the gray dwarves and goblin cats cannot finish a small bowl. After all, this "small" is relative to the snow werewolves, so there is no problem in sharing it among the three human friends.
Kai and Hailin, each holding a rabbit, watched with their own eyes as the cats holding a clay pot scooped out five or six pieces of pork belly that looked particularly meaty with a long-handled wooden spoon, put them into a clean clay bowl, and handed it to an elderly goblin. The goblin took the bowl, licked his lips, estimated the amount of meat in the bowl, and nimbly picked up the meat with two small wooden sticks and shared it with the snow werewolf sitting next to him... Two pieces of braised pork of this size are enough for a goblin. Any more will make him too sick of it to eat the steamed buns.
"Give me one too." Dan Claudy, a nobleman of the kingdom and a knight with a real title, unceremoniously handed his bowl to... the old goblin who was considered "unspeakable and untouchable" by all races.
The old goblin then put the second piece of meat into Dan's bowl...
Dan didn't know how to use chopsticks, so he clumsily inserted the chopsticks into the meat skin, held it upright, bit off a small half, chewed it for a few times, and then took another bite of the steamed bun in his hand, eating the dough and filling mixed with the meat. Some of the soup in the filling leaked out and stained the bun. The greasy soup looked very tempting...
Kai's eyes widened and Hailin swallowed.
"This filling is really delicious, better than what I had last year." Dan turned and said to the cat tribe who was holding a winnowing basket and distributing steamed buns.
The black cat tribe that distributed the steamed cakes was familiar with these humans. He smiled when he heard this and said, "Dahe added pork skin and pig's trotters to the filling. It tastes much better than before. Last time, he added fish bones to make it even more delicious."
The cat holding the pottery scooped a circle of braised pork, and when he saw that there was still some left, he looked up and shouted, "There's still some meat. If you don't have enough, come and scoop some."
The Snow Wolf Warrior, who didn't mind the greasy meat, immediately carried the bowl over...
Foods with high starch content can reduce the consumption of meat. With more oil and salt, the consumption of starchy foods will also decrease. Add in vegetable side dishes, and on average, the snow wolf warrior with the largest appetite will have more than enough for one meal with one pound of wheat flour, three ounces of meat, two pounds of vegetables, and half a bowl of oily vegetable soup - it would be good enough for humans and cats to eat one-third of the amount.
Snow Leopard Rosemary distributed the meat to the warriors who came over to scoop it up. There was still a layer of meat left at the bottom of the jar. Just as she was about to speak, she noticed two elves holding rabbits standing not far away, staring at her blankly.
"Hey, who are they?" Rosemary looked at Qingyan.
Qingyan was also confused and shook his head.
"They are the elf warriors who escorted us." Dan finished eating the steamed bun (flour and fillings) which weighed eight taels. He was so full that he burped, but he was still strong enough to continue eating the cold dishes and drinking the soup.
Qingyan was very surprised: "So... they don't eat together?"
"Maybe they want to eat rabbits?" Dan stared at the rabbit in the elf's hand.
After these words were spoken, the cats who were delivering food became even more confused... Is rabbit meat delicious? Doesn't it feel better than pork?
Hongye squatting next to him: "..."
The two elves carrying the rabbit: "..."
Hailin turned to look at her companions, her face expressionless.
Kai: "...Let's make a fire and roast the rabbit."
"You roast it yourself." Hailin stuffed the rabbit into his hands and strode into the middle of the snow werewolves. "I don't want to eat rabbit anymore. Do you have any more food?"
Kai: “???”——You traitor!
Qingyan subconsciously looked at Hongye. Hongye nodded, and Qingyan called out, "Are there any more tableware?"
"Yes, I brought extra ones in case they get broken." The snow wolf cub in charge of the tableware brought over the set meal... four items in total, a small bowl for meat, a large bowl for soup, a plate for cold dishes and steamed buns, and a pair of chopsticks.
Hailin immediately reached out to take the cutlery, but the cub gave it to him and stared at his hands: "Have you washed your hands?"
...Hai Lin went to wash her hands beside Hong Ye as instructed.
After washing hands, the cat tribe member in charge of distributing food came over and used a large pair of chopsticks to pick up some cold dishes for Hailin: "Cold-mixed bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, elm money, and radish. Eat a bite of this when you feel sick."
The one scooped vegetable soup for Hailin: "How much soup can you drink? Do you want more or less vegetables?"
Qingyan came over with a winnowing basket, picked up the steamed buns with a large rack, hesitated for a moment and asked, "How many buns can you eat?"
Hailin noticed that the slightly yellowish (wheat bran was not removed thoroughly) and round pancake looked even more amazing up close, and swallowed her saliva: "One is enough."
Rosemary looked up and down at the size of the elf warrior... It was about the same size as a larger cat, but thinner than a cat. After thinking for a while, she scooped three pieces of braised pork for him and added half a spoonful of soup: "The steamed buns will taste better with some of this soup. If it's not enough, come to me again."
Hailin sat cross-legged with two bowls and a plate placed in front of her. She imitated Dan and used a small wooden stick to pick up a piece of meat and took a bite. Her eyes narrowed immediately... It was soft, tender and smooth, with a sweet and sour taste and a rich flavor. No wonder the human knights didn't mind sharing it with the goblins!
When eating the steamed buns, the filling under the dough also has a full taste. It seems to be a mixture of minced meat and vegetables, and some of the shredded vegetables taste slightly sour (that is, sauerkraut), which is very appetizing.
The meat and fillings were a bit greasy, so I picked up the plate and clumsily took a bite of the salad... Oh, this is refreshing~
The appetite of the elves is indeed smaller than that of the larger cats. Hailin was so full of food compared to the cats' portions that he could hardly eat it. The cats and the werewolf cubs took away other people's bowls and plates, and he finally cleared the bowls and plates with great reluctance.
After eating and drinking her fill, and pinching her nose to hold back a burp, Hailin glanced outside and saw Kai had just started a fire and was silently skinning a rabbit.
"Hahahahahaha!" Hailin pointed at Kai very unscrupulously. Others were embarrassed to laugh at him, so he was not polite.
The snow wolves and gray dwarves sitting nearby almost all knew what was going on with the elf. Seeing that Hailin was so rude, they also laughed quietly and covered their mouths with their hands.
Kai turned around silently and faced everyone with his butt.
Hongye wanted to laugh, but she forced herself to hold it back: "Well... there are still some steamed buns left, how about...?"
"It's okay, it's okay. Kai likes to eat rabbits." Hailin waved her hand.
Now, even Tim and Darren, who had been pretending to be invisible, couldn't help but turn their heads away... The two elves had been bickering all the way, and Helin was taking revenge.
Hongye couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing, but she was still very kind and advised him in a roundabout way: "We will go back to the tribe after a short rest. We can't wait for him to roast the rabbit. Why don't we take the rabbit with us and roast it for dinner in the evening?"
Hailin then asked Qingyan for a steamed bun and half a plate of cold dishes, and brought them to Kai, who was embarrassed.
The two elves exchanged silent looks with their eyes, sparks of fire were flying everywhere. Kai, who was starving, pretended to be very reluctant to take the plate, grabbed the huge steamed bun and took a bite.
…smells so good.
The cold dishes made with salt, vinegar, sauce, wild garlic, pepper powder and chili powder are also very delicious.
Kai scraped the plate clean with mixed feelings... He didn't get to eat the braised pork and didn't have any soup to drink, so he felt it was not enough.
After eating and resting for about 20 minutes, Hongye led them to the Snow Wolf Tribe. Walking along the artificial river, the three humans and two elves discovered that the Snow Wolf people were actually digging a river!
Tim asked Hongye in shock. Hongye nodded, and Tim was even more shocked: "Isn't there a river in front of your tribe?"
"Normally that river is enough, but it won't work when the water floods. Both banks will be flooded, so we dug out this river channel to drain water." Hongye said, "The ice on the snowy mountains above has begun to melt, and the river level has risen a lot. This river channel will come in handy when the river overflows, so we are rushing to work on it now."
"..." The three humans and two elves were even more shocked. No, you can say such a planned and logical thing. Are you a fake Snow Wolf Man? !
When they saw the connected fields on both sides of the river, the three humans who had been here last year were fine, but the two elves' eyes almost popped out of their sockets... Of course the forest elves also know how to plant, and their tribe owns large planting areas in the forest. However, compared with the square fields opened up by the snow wolves with canals running in all directions, they lose directly!
"The output from farming is relatively stable. After opening up these fields, our tribe no longer has a shortage of food, and we can even have surplus to help other tribes." Hongye smiled. The "salary" given to working soldiers in the tribe is a policy of helping fellow tribesmen. Ayun explained this point thoroughly to everyone last year. Unity is strength. If we can unite all the Snow Wolf tribe, then what do they have to fear on the grassland? These are Ayun's original words.
Hailin stared at the back of Hongye's head for a long time, then secretly pinched Kai with her hand. When Kai turned to look at him in confusion, Hailin glared back at him unceremoniously. Is this the aggressive and brainless snow werewolf you mentioned?
Kai...Kai is even more confused than him!
Xiao Yun, who was helping out at the cement factory, heard that Tim and his team had arrived, so he quickly left the workshop, changed his clothes, and ran back to the tribe. As soon as he entered the square, he saw Tim waving at him happily, "Teacher Ayun!"
"I haven't admitted that you are also my student." Xiao Yun walked over with a smile, stretched out his arms and wanted to hug Tim, the reserve disciple he had taken a fancy to. Suddenly he found that there were two elves standing behind Darren and Hongye, and his body was shocked.
Oh my god, Carlisle actually contacted the elves? Well done... No, why does this elf look familiar?
As soon as Kai entered the tribe, he was stunned by the buildings built by the Snow Wolf People. In particular, he couldn't tell what was used to pave the smooth ground of the square. He secretly stepped on it for a long time but couldn't find any seams between the stone slabs. His understanding of the Snow Wolf People was shattered to dust - what was going on? Were these Snow Wolf People fake or were the Snow Wolf People he had seen before not real? !
Kai, who was feeling anxious, finally saw the "Teacher Ayun" that the human prince had been thinking about many times along the way. His jaw almost dropped to the ground... Wait! Even if it wasn't an old snow werewolf, at least an adult one appeared. What the hell is a cub running out? !
You are indeed the fake Snow Wolf Tribe!!
Kai stared at the snow wolf cub that Tim was circling around to please for a few seconds in amazement, and suddenly found that... this snow wolf cub looked a little familiar... ?
"Hello, my friends from the elves. I am the snow wolf Ayun." The snow wolf cub walked over with a smile, greeted them in a friendly manner, and extended his hand to the two elves.
"Hello, my name is Hailin, an elven warrior." Hailin's reaction was relatively normal. Although she was surprised that the legendary Ayun was actually a cub, she was not shocked to the point of losing her composure. After all, the elves had never lacked geniuses.
"Uh... Kai." Kai stretched out his hand stiffly and shook hands with Xiao Yun. He felt something was wrong. This cub looked too familiar! Why was that? He had never dealt with the Snow Wolf Tribe before? !
"Please come over here." Xiao Yun led the guests to the activity room with a smile and signaled Hongye to follow with his eyes.
Hongye originally wanted to return to the engineering team, but when she saw that Ayun's eyes were not right, she was a little confused, but still very vigilant... and moved closer to the two elves.
Tim, Darren and Dan are all acquaintances, so Ayun kept her here only to guard against these two elves.
Kai didn't recognize Xiao Yun right away because Xiao Yun had matured a lot compared to two years ago. He was ten centimeters taller, stronger, and no longer looked as immature as he was two years ago. In comparison, Kai hadn't changed at all, and Xiao Yun had only encountered the elves once, so it would be strange if he didn't remember him...
This guy is such a bummer! How could it be such a coincidence that the one Carlisle and the others contacted was actually this guy!
Sitting down in the activity room, Xiao Yun looked normal, smiling and asking how everyone had been doing since he left. Tim had long been jealous of Teacher Ayun's guidance of Carlisle, and took the initiative to report everyone's actions after returning home, and secretly hinted at how good he was - the Bards' Association and the Alchemists' Association had a good relationship, and it was he who helped Prince Carlisle contact the Bards' Association, and it was he who suggested Prince Carlisle to connect the forest elves and the sea people and build the north-south maritime trade route. When Prince Carlisle's "good dancing" became the new policy vane among the nobles of St. Bridge, it was also him who made secret contributions...
Xiao Yun then realized that the original reason why Lei came to the tribe was because of Tim...
Only then did Hailin and Kai realize that it was the snow wolf cub in front of them who first proposed Saint Bridge's bold maritime trade policy. The way they looked at Xiao Yun changed.
Resisting the urge to stroke Tim's dog's head, Xiao Yun smiled and chatted with Darren and Dan about their ideals in life. Then he turned his attention to the two elf warriors: "I have to thank you two for your hard work in escorting our friend here safely."
"You're welcome, Mr. Ayun. We're just following the general's orders." Hailin bowed slightly. The Snow Wolf cub had a similar demeanor and temperament to the elf elder Zeila. After a brief contact, he won the respect of Hailin, an elf warrior... The elves don't necessarily worship the strong, because they are stubborn enough, but they do respect the wise.
From Hailin's attitude, Xiao Yun instantly realized one thing - the conflict between the Snow Wolf Tribe and the Elves Tribe thirteen years ago did not seem to be taken very seriously by the Elves. At least the Elves did not regard the Snow Wolf as an enemy.
Thinking about it this way, the Snow Wolf Clan was borrowed by someone else thirteen years ago, and the Elves are not stupid. They don't want to target the Beast King holding the knife. Why would they fight with a knife? With the size of the Snow Wolf Clan, not to mention that they are still a mess now, even if they really unite, they are not qualified to be the enemy of the Elves...
After getting a feel for the elves' bottom line, Xiao Yun had a plan in mind. He could go a little deeper if he tried to probe: "I am honored that Prince Carlisle has won the trust of your tribe. I believe that Carlisle will uphold the reputation of the Saint Bridge Royal Family in the cooperation with your tribe. We, the grassland tribe, also look forward to this maritime trade route based on the principle of north-south communication to enhance the connection between us grassland people and the Saint Bridge Kingdom and your tribe."
If it weren't for the overwhelming wisdom displayed by Xiao Yun, the people present would definitely feel it was strange; but since it was this cub who first advocated the North-South cooperation, it was quite appropriate for him to say this.
The starting point of this statement was a bit high. Helin did not dare to respond. She subconsciously glanced at her companion... and found that Kai, a guy who only knew how to brag, was actually in a daze at the critical moment. She had to bite the bullet and said carefully: "Her Majesty the Queen ordered General Kleist to be responsible for contacting Prince Carlisle. General Kleist... attaches great importance to this matter. I think everything will go well."
Xiao Yun raised his eyebrows. It turned out that the Queen of Forest Elf didn't take the Kingdom of Saint Bridge seriously and only sent a commander to take charge?
The same goes for that elf general. I don't know whether to say he is honest or he really doesn't take the grassland seriously. The people he sent to such an important connection node were not investigators to get a feel for the situation, but pure escort soldiers. Even his polite words were so unconfident.
Xiao Yun pondered for a moment and decided not to rush to label him as honest. He asked again, "Did the respected General Kleist mention that the warriors of your tribe should be involved in the transportation of goods on the grassland?"
Kai was still in a daze. PASS. Hailin did react a little, but she looked confused...
Xiao Yun... Xiao Yun pinched his thigh to stop himself from laughing - OK, these stubborn kids are so honest that they refuse to bend even though the opportunity to monopolize the market is right in front of them and their muscles are huge!
He was also worried that Carlisle's fleet and the Snow Wolf Tribe combined would not be able to compete with the elves, and that the elves would interfere with the grassland... It was too much. He was used to dealing with those cunning merchants on Earth who were smarter than hairless monkeys and looked like foxes if they had a tail. Everyone looked like a thousand-year-old fox spirit to him. This was not acceptable.
"We, the grassland tribe, naturally dare not trouble your tribe too much. It would be too much of an inconvenience. We can rely on your tribe to fight for a free trade port for us. This is more than enough. I am very grateful." Xiao Yun said with gratitude, "Well, you two have worked so hard all the way. We don't have anything to thank you for. We can only let you rest in our tribe for two days, and then go back with our warriors. Are you willing to do me a favor?"
Helin nodded subconsciously. General Crest didn't ask them when to go back anyway.
Xiao Yun immediately asked Hongye to instruct the canteen to add a few more dishes in the evening, and then took the two elf warriors to visit the Snow Wolf Tribe's warehouse in the name of entertaining them. They were too lazy to send the porcelain plates to the caravan for trading, and they couldn't sell them on the grassland anyway (and they were worried about being targeted by the tiger tribe). It would be better to see if the forest elves would eat them... He was very interested in the elves' sun cloth. He heard that it was very strong and durable, and was suitable for making clothes for the snow wolves.
The white porcelain tableware made of kaolin was more beautiful, smoother, and more upscale than the ceramic tableware commonly used in the tribe. The two elf warriors couldn't take their eyes off it when they saw it. When Xiao Yun tentatively proposed to exchange these porcelains for sun cloth from the elves, the warrior Hailin immediately let Xiao Yun touch his clothes. He was wearing sun cloth, which had certain waterproof properties, was durable, and of just the right quality!
Xiao Yun went around in circles and told Hailin about the elves' sun cloth production and the upper limit of their affordability for tableware. He estimated the approximate price in his mind and immediately liked Hailin... Tietou Wa was good and honest, and he liked her!
After bombarding the two elf warriors with gourmet shells for two days, Kaidu, who looked at him with increasingly uneasy eyes, was fed so much that his mouth was drooling. Only then did Yu and Hongye take the lead and lead the team of warriors to the seaside with them, taking away furs, cattle, sheep and porcelain for trading - porcelain was traded with the elves for sun cloth, furs, cattle and sheep were exchanged with the St. Bridget merchant ship for spices (mainly ginger, garlic, pepper and other edible spices) and white cotton cloth. Even though eating mutton on the grassland would make people get a sore throat, mutton is still very popular in the human kingdom due to the lack of livestock land.
They were also allowed to take away a lot of grassland "luxury goods", that is, the teeth, skulls, furs and other items of various beasts and even monsters. These things are useless on the grassland, and they are just artifacts for showing off when they are transported to the human kingdom...
As "friendly ambassadors", the two elf warriors also received gifts from Xiao Yun before they left: two palm-high porcelain ornaments and a Q-version flower fairy statue. It's not that Xiao Yun was reluctant to use the celestial maiden figurine to make a sugar-coated bullet, but mainly because once Tong Liya's face was made, Balk would come to the front of the pottery kiln and run away with it as soon as it came out of the kiln...
The returning team was slower because they were carrying a large amount of goods and driving cattle and sheep, but the two elves didn't mind at all. Along the way, Hai Lin took out the flower elf statue from time to time and laughed foolishly.
"Kai, you boasted before that you had met Ayun, but why doesn't Ayun treat you specially?" Hailin, who was eating and taking things and getting good business for the tribe, teased her companion.
Kai's face was serious: "..."
"Haha." Hailin rolled her eyes at him, feeling very happy.
Kai's expression became even darker...
He finally remembered when he had seen the Snow Wolf Cub Ayun, and also remembered the resolution he had made at that time. Then he felt terrible - was he going to ruin the tribe's deal of exchanging the sun cloth for porcelain tableware just because of his personal feelings? Not to mention others, General Crest would eat him alive...
