Chapter 211 Trading Village Women for Winter Food

After listening to everyone's discussion and thinking it over carefully, the village chief said, "Half of you stay in the village to take care of the others, and the other half, take your hunting tools and come with me into the mountains."

Everyone was shocked to hear this and hurriedly tried to dissuade the village chief, saying that he was too old to withstand any more trouble.

The old village chief said that he was the most experienced hunter among them, and only he could lead the way and find a way to survive in this desperate situation. Otherwise, if they, the young men, went into the mountains in the blizzard, they would only be throwing their lives away.

"Village chief, how about we go to Zhenhuangguan to borrow some food?" a villager suggested.

The old village chief frowned. "Niu San, don't we know what kind of people those government troops are? It's already a good deed that they haven't come to rob our grain! You still expect to borrow grain from them!"

The villager, nicknamed Niu San, said, "Perhaps we can take something and trade it with them."

"What will you trade?" a villager immediately interjected. "A few broken earthenware jars or tattered straw mats from our homes?"

Niu San chuckled, "Aren't there still young women here..."

Upon hearing this, the other villagers immediately paled.

The old village chief slapped him hard across the face.

With a snap.

Niu San's mouth was slapped crooked.

"Using the women of our village to exchange for grain? How could you say such a thing!" The old village chief's face turned ashen with rage as he roared, "We'd rather freeze or starve to death than do something so heartless!"

Niu San covered his face and hurriedly said, "Village chief, everyone, don't be angry. I'm doing this for your own good. Think about it, if we send the women over, our village can get food to get through the winter. Those women will suffer a bit when they go to Zhenhuang Pass to serve those soldiers in the wilderness, but at least they'll have food and be able to survive..."

"Bullshit!" The old village chief was even angrier. He grabbed a wooden stick and started hitting Niu San on the head, cursing as he did so. "Do you think young women suffer any hardship in their hands? They are tortured and abused to the point of wishing they were dead!"

Niu San covered his head and ran away, arguing, "Maybe the women in our village would be willing? Better to live a wretched life than die a good death!"

"You still dare to talk back!" The old village chief almost choked on his breath.

Seeing this, the other villagers quickly helped the old village chief up, and kicked Niu San a few times and scolded him.

"Niu San! Stop talking nonsense!"

"You're a bachelor, with no parents, no wife, and no children. You make it sound so easy!"

"If you have a wife and daughter, would you really want to send them to those bastards to be abused?!"

"..."

Niu San was kicked into the snowdrift, shivering from the cold. He crawled back to the fire, rubbing his hands together and chuckling awkwardly, "Don't put it so harshly. Those are our Great Wilderness's soldiers. Although... they usually act arrogantly, they are... very powerful. If I had a wife and daughter, I could exchange them for food rations for our village and have them serve the soldiers. That would be their honor. Why wouldn't I be willing?"

His words almost provoked the crowd to attack him again.

The old village chief calmed down and said with a stern face, "Stop wasting time, just do as I just said."

Niu San immediately said, "Village chief, I have difficulty walking, so I won't go into the mountains with you. I'll stay in the village to take care of others and wait for you to come back."

The old village chief sneered, "If someone else had difficulty walking, they could stay, but you? Even if your leg is broken, you'll still come with me!"

Niu San's face immediately turned ugly.

The other villagers were eyeing him menacingly, as if they would kill him if he dared to disobey them.

The old village chief was filled with mixed feelings. He vaguely sensed that Niu San was a menace, but the village was desperately short of labor, and considering that Niu San alone couldn't cause much trouble, he softened his tone and advised:

"Back then, your parents died, and you almost died from an illness. It was the villagers who raised you together. You mustn't say anything that offends people and angers everyone. I always tell everyone that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. I don't expect you to do that for us, but you shouldn't either—"

"Yes, yes, I know I was wrong," Niu San lowered his head and apologized, a cold displeasure rising in his eyes, but he still pretended to be honest and said, "I will do whatever you arrange, village chief."

"That's more like it," the old village chief ordered. "Alright, everyone, hurry up and get your gear, and come with me into the mountains!"

Not long after.

Eight villagers, including the village chief and Niu San, donned raincoats, carried some hunting tools, and braved the increasingly fierce wind and snow to leave the village and enter the primeval forests of the Xuanhuang Mountains.

The group's footprints were quickly covered again by the heavy snow...

...

Deep in the mountains and forests.

Ning Jinli led the three people, wading through the snow-covered grass, until they reached a slightly flatter spot before stopping.

“Professors, let’s collect samples around here first.” Ning Jinli looked around. “This area is quite far from our base, and there are many places that haven’t been checked before you came. Please be careful.”

The three men were excited and readily agreed. They then took out various portable instruments from their bags and got to work on the spot.

Ning Jinli watched their busy figures, took out her phone, and started recording a video while laughing.

The older professor turned his head and asked, "Xiao Ning, what's wrong? What are you laughing at?"

Ning Jinli laughed and said, "A group of people dressed in ancient clothes are seriously looking for samples with modern instruments. It looks like a nonsensical time-travel costume drama, hehehe."

The three of them looked at themselves, then at their colleagues, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This scene is indeed quite interesting.

Originally, at Shangguan Ying's request, Ning Jinli agreed to bring several experts in paleogeology and paleoecological environment research to the Xuanhuang Mountains more than two thousand years ago for field research. She had prepared special clothes and shoes for these professors to use in the wild.

However, these professors said that since they had traveled back more than two thousand years, they had to experience what it was like to wear the clothes of ordinary people at that time. So, they ended up looking like this, and even the bags containing the collection equipment were made of cloth.

Although everyone was wearing thermal underwear underneath, with only a layer of clothing worn by ordinary people in ancient times during winter on the outside, the professors were still shivering from the cold.

Even so, they insisted on not wearing down jackets and warm boots.

They said that this would allow them to better empathize with the hardships of life for ordinary people in ancient times, more than two thousand years ago.

This valuable experience is also an important part of their scientific research and investigation.

Therefore, while ensuring basic safety, it is necessary to experience it firsthand to the greatest extent possible.

Whoosh—

A cold wind whistled through the woods.

The professors hunched their shoulders and continued to concentrate on the data collection.

Ning Jinli stood guard nearby, keeping a close eye on the surroundings.

After about two hours, Ning Jinli reminded the professors that the pre-planned time had come and it was time to return.

The professors carefully packed the various samples they had collected into packages. Their faces were red from the cold and their hands and feet were almost numb, but they were still not satisfied.

Just then, a rustling sound came from nearby.

A silver-white wild rabbit suddenly darted out, seemingly greatly frightened. After rushing in front of the group, it frantically bumped around like a headless fly.

"Xiao Ning!" the elderly professor said hurriedly, "Quickly help me catch that wild rabbit, we can take it back to study the local ecological environment."

Ning Jinli immediately made her move and seized the opportunity to catch the wild rabbit.

Just as she was about to hand the rabbit over to the professor, she noticed bloodstains on its rump. Upon parting the rabbit's fur, she discovered a broken arrow embedded there.

The rabbit, due to its severe injuries, died after struggling for only a few moments.

The old professor looked regretful. "Sigh, I was hoping to take it back to raise and observe it..."

Ning Jinli pulled out the broken arrow and immediately recognized it as a bronze arrow used by hunters for hunting.

The quality was far inferior to the arrows used by the army in that era. If the prey was not killed instantly after being hit by the arrow, the arrow shaft would often break during the escape.

"Everyone, let's hurry up and go," Ning Jinli urged. "There are hunters hunting here, so we'd better not attract their attention."

No sooner had he finished speaking than several people wearing straw raincoats ran out of the woods.

Before Ning Jinli could say anything, one of the young men nocked an arrow, drew his bow, and aimed it at her, shouting, "That's what we shot! Put it down!"

The others, also armed with hunting weapons, stared intently at her.

The three professors had never seen anything like this before and stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

Ning Jinli remained calm, placed the rabbit on the snow, and took two steps back. "Don't get excited. We're not here to hunt, we won't take it from you. Take it."

"Thank you, young lady." An aged voice rang out, and a hunched old man laboriously stepped forward from the back of the crowd, raising his hand to depress the young man's bow. "Please don't be offended, young lady. This rabbit was hard-won; the villagers are counting on us to bring back some food..."

"Where are you from?" Ning Jinli asked. "Why are you hunting in these deep mountains and wilderness even though it's already winter?"

The old man replied kindly, "We are villagers from a small village nearby. I am the village head. Alas, there's nothing we can do. Winter came earlier than usual this year, and we... don't have enough food to get through the winter."

Ning Jinli glanced at them briefly. There were eight people in total. Underneath their raincoats, they were all wearing only thin, worn-out clothes. In such cold weather, they were even only wearing straw sandals.

Judging from the situation, it was clear that not only was there a shortage of food, but even clothing for the winter was a problem.

Seeing that the old village chief showed no hostility, the three professors quickly exchanged a few words, then took off their coats and decided to give them to the village chief.

Anyway, I'm going back to camp soon, and the journey isn't too far; I can manage.

Although the three men's coats were also the most common coarse linen clothes of this period, they were much better than the old village chief's.

"Old man, these three coats are for you. They might be of some help." The elderly professor held up the coats and walked up to the old village chief.

The villagers' eyes lit up instantly.

The old village chief was also a little excited, but he shook his head and said with a smile, "It's already very kind of you not to steal our prey, there's no need to be so polite."

"Village Chief!" Niu San said, leaning closer, "If they're willing to give it to us, why not take it?"

The old village chief glared at him. "These four are clearly not tough country folk like us. How could they withstand this terrible weather? They gave us their coats, but we'll freeze on the way back if we're not careful! Besides, three coats are just a drop in the bucket for us. They wouldn't be of much use to us, and they would only make these kind people suffer!"

After saying that, he quickly explained to Ning Jinli and the other three, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to complain that you gave too little. Please don't misunderstand."

The old village chief's understanding and reasoning moved Ning Jinli and the three professors, leaving them both touched and sighing.

Without saying a word, the three professors took out all the food they were carrying.

It mainly consisted of chocolates, jerky, and a few pieces of bread.

"Old village chief, you can accept the clothes, and this food is all for you!"

The old professor put the food on his clothes and handed it to the old village chief.

The old village chief looked on in astonishment, his hands trembling slightly.

He had lived most of his life and this was the first time he had ever met such a kind person. Not to mention strangers, even people from the same village would often scheme against each other or even fight over a little food during difficult times.

"What are all these?!" Niu San immediately picked up a chocolate bar, touched it, and frowned, saying, "It doesn't look like anything edible. Are you kidding me?"

The old professor smiled and picked up a chocolate bar as well.

"This thing has a plastic bag on the outside, you have to tear it open like this—"

As he spoke, he demonstrated by taking out a chocolate from the packaging and putting it in his mouth to take a bite.

Niu San immediately did as instructed, tearing open the plastic, smelling the chocolate, then stuffing the whole piece into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he exclaimed, "Delicious! So delicious! I've never eaten anything so delicious in my life! Quick, you guys should try some too!"

Before the old village chief could speak, he grabbed all the food and hurriedly distributed it to the others. Then, taking the opportunity, he secretly slipped two pieces into his own pocket.

"Sigh, you..." The old village chief looked helpless.

But everyone was starving, and he himself was already stuffed with food, so he and the others ate everything up.

The other villagers were still immersed in the unprecedented taste experience after they finished eating.

The old village chief bowed deeply to the professor, saying, "Kind people, thank you so much. The snow seems to be getting heavier; you should hurry back."

"No way!" Niu San immediately said with a grin, "They've given us so many good things, shouldn't we repay them? Don't you think so, Village Chief?"

The old village chief was taken aback. "What...do we have that we can offer?"

“Yes, yes,” Niu San said, pulling the village chief along with six other villagers. “Come on, let’s discuss this. The village chief always says that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. They’ve been so kind; how can we be impolite?”

After the eight people walked a few steps away, Niu San turned back and smiled at Ning Jinli, saying, "Don't go yet, wait a moment."

Ning Jinli whispered to the old professor, "Let's go, let's go quickly."

"Xiao Ning," the old professor pondered, "these people are so pitiful. The old village chief seems like a very good person. Why don't we take them to our camp and give them some more supplies to take back to their village?"