In about twenty-five days, winter will be here.

They entered Qin territory along with the laborers and mercenaries who were unloading the goods.

"Hey buddy, your laborers have done a pretty good job cleaning the streets! The employer must be treating you well, right?"

The laborers were free, but seeing such a clean, tidy, lively, and warm place that they had never seen before, they couldn't help but gossip and ask questions, just like workers gossip about their wages.

Wherever you go, you're a laborer. High wages, good benefits, plenty of manpower, and job security. If you can get into a big company, you've found a lifelong home!

"So you have this much?" The men carrying the goods came over and whispered among themselves, immediately shocked.

He often takes long-distance bus rides in Storm City, and even working himself to the bone for a month is considered good. But other people are just adult orcs, and they only get this much work in their territory!

"Do you have any cargo hauling services in your territory? Besides being a truck driver, I can also drive a big truck. I'm very experienced. When it's busy, I haul cargo, and when it's not busy, I also do the local grocery business! I work very hard!"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask that gray rabbit. She's in charge of the territory's personnel. Let me tell you, don't let her being a girl fool you. She produces so much low-pollution food every day! She's the breadwinner of her family!"

The rabbits coming and going had their big, bright eyes wide open.

"You two over there, get to work! Stop chatting and interfering with the lord's business, or you'll lose points on your performance evaluations!"

Upon hearing that performance points would be deducted, the raccoon, who was still chatting, quickly grabbed the box and rushed forward.

"I'm done chatting, I'm done chatting, I'm getting to work!"

Then he called out to the gray rabbit, "Working on it, working on it! Don't deduct anything! I'm currently in the top three this month and get extra rewards, I can't fall off!"

The little raccoon ran with its short legs (1.7 meters is short compared to the orcs).

"You stinky fox, don't try to take the boxes from me!"

"Damn it, that stinky elephant snatched all my boxes! Taking advantage of its long trunk, it reverted to its original form and used one trunk to carry three boxes to the warehouse, which is three points! Damn it, no one is more greedy than that stinky elephant. He's definitely going to be number one again this time!"

The sounds of grumbling filled the air, but the work was in full swing.

After handing over their tasks, the mercenaries planned to rest in the territory for the night before returning by car.

Mercenaries who risk their lives through violence naturally don't need to do manual labor.

The only tavern in the territory was half-open, as there were no outsiders in the territory, so only one person was temporarily guarding the tavern.

The tavern also posted quests, which could only earn territory points, not money or other items.

The mercenaries glanced at it and then sat down.

"Do you have any steamed buns or porridge? I've been eating multigrain pancakes on the bus for the past few days. I haven't eaten any low-pollution food for three days, and the pollution index has gone up!"

A gorilla-like orc came out to greet them. You could see that this male orc's hair was particularly coarse, but fortunately, it was only his legs that were more hairy. His beard was clean-shaven, and he was wearing gloves and a transparent mask to protect his face from splashes.

He was a prisoner of war slave who had been bought before. Although gorillas are a decent orc unit in terms of combat strength, he prefers cooking. The lord took his preferences into consideration and then let one of the gorillas guard the tavern.

"Yes, we do. Want some drinks? We have rum and wine. It's okay if you get drunk, buddy! There's a hotel next door. You can pay to stay there, or you can stay in the tent area next door. But you need to book the tent area in advance, it's quite crowded there right now!"

"Give me a big jug of strong-smelling rum, I love the taste."

"Isn't there any vodka? I've been working so hard for the past three or four days, all I want is a sip of vodka!"

The gorilla-like beastman pulled a small bottle of vodka from the bar.

"Want a cocktail? This single sip isn't cheap!"

After he finished speaking, several silver coins appeared on the table.

"Just one sip, just one sip. The liquor in this empire is getting more and more expensive. After winter, I must go to the Federation with a caravan. Prices there are much lower! I'll stock up on a few more bottles of vodka then!"

A dozen or so mercenaries gathered together and sat at three tables. The tables in the tavern were all quite small, so they put them together.

"Hey, it looks like not many outsiders come to your territory. Do you think your tavern will stay open?"

The gorilla-orc poured the liquor into glasses at the bar, then poured a large jug of rum into a large glass. The glass was upside down and had a tap at the bottom; anyone who wanted to drink could just turn it on.

He effortlessly carried the large glass cup—or perhaps it should be called a glass bucket—and placed it on the table by the handle.

"That's because the surrounding area is desolate and wild. Apart from the Misty City, Chaotic Territory is not a big city. There are many refugees there, and they are fierce, so there are not many people coming and going. Moreover, outsiders don't know how good our territory is, so not many people come."

And most importantly, their spending power is insufficient.

Most of the refugees in this area are laborers who stay in the territory and are enslaved, so not many people know that a treasure territory has been opened here.

The mercenaries laughed heartily.

The gorilla-orc was holding the dough.

"Would you like some low-pollution pancakes? I'll also make a steamed bun with some wild vegetables. They're all real white flour buns, each weighing two ounces, and a plate of wild vegetables. It'll only cost three silver coins each!"

Each of the dozen or so mercenaries had at least one, and with the rum, today's meal would cost at least several dozen silver coins.

The other party seemed to be a mercenary leader, as he tossed out a gold coin.

"This is the cost of two steamed buns per person, plus the cost of the rum. As for the rest of their food, especially the one who wants to drink vodka, let them pay for it themselves!"

The gorilla-orc took the gold coins, chuckling to himself, "He can make a profit for the lord too!"

"Thank you, boss. We'll take care of the rest of what we need to eat ourselves; we don't need you to pay for it!"

“Brother, you also have a family to support. You don’t have to give us money for a meal every time! Your wife and children are at home and you still have to pay taxes! Life is getting harder and harder these days. We still have six months of winter to get through, and we can’t take any work during those six months!”

The orc was stirring wild vegetables, adding a few drops of the sesame oil given by the lord, and the aroma immediately filled the bar area.

"Wow, you even put a few drops of sesame oil in the wild vegetables? Aren't you afraid your lord will punish you for doing that!"

While stirring the wild vegetables, the gorilla-orc said without looking up, "The sesame oil was given by the lord. He said that a few drops must be added when mixing the vegetables."

"However, if you find life too difficult, you can live in our territory. The slaves in our territory live very well... their daily rations..."