Half an hour later, the people of Xiajiazhuang left the city in two horse-drawn carriages.
It was already dark on the grassland. Standing on the high platform behind the city wall, Song Liyun watched the departing lantern disappear into the night.
Three steps away from her, Jian Fangtong bowed and waited for instructions.
"Wait until we cross the Zabu River before we make a move, and make sure no one dies!" A faint female voice echoed in the wind.
The trade route now belongs to Mida City, so it's not advisable to cause any more deaths and affect other caravans.
Jian Fangtong was overjoyed and readily agreed, quickly gathering his two brothers aside to discuss the matter.
Having followed this young mistress for several days, he felt constantly uneasy, wondering what he, someone who only knew how to wield weapons, could actually do.
Upon receiving the assignment, he immediately understood.
Five days later, Jian Fangtong quietly returned: "Master, Xia Pu's leg is broken, but the others haven't been touched!"
He didn't say much, and he and his three brothers hid on the banks of the Zabu River.
When the people from Xiajiazhuang arrived, he broke Xia Pu's legs with a single blow, so that even if they were reattached, he would never be able to travel long distances again.
Although there were dozens of tenant farmers from Xiajiazhuang, they were so frightened by the masked bandits that they knelt down and begged for mercy.
Having received orders from his master, he did not harm anyone further, but only gave them a warning.
Song Liyun nodded: "That's good. They are innocent too; they just followed the wrong master."
After finishing his official business, Jian Fangtong took out a money box, which contained more than two hundred taels of silver, not a single coin missing.
Song Liyun took out five ingots and tossed them back to him: "You can give the brothers who are alive to share. As long as you are obedient, you will get what you deserve!"
Jian Fangtong was overjoyed to receive the silver. Here, he had food, lodging, and money to spend, and there was no risk of being wiped out. It was much better than being a bandit.
Xia Pu and his group recovered all their silver, so their trip wasn't in vain.
The two large carts and the four horses that were taken from Mida City can never be returned, and they are worth a hundred taels of silver.
Qin Huai, who remained in Mida City, did not receive any payment from Song Liyun. Instead, he was assigned road repair work in the city. He immediately realized that his group would not be leaving.
Song Liyun had only been there a few days when she encountered the monthly market in Mida City.
From the very beginning of the construction of the new town, the surrounding tribes set up their markets here. For the nomadic people, who were basically self-sufficient, the largest commodity trade was livestock.
The grasslands outside the city were filled with cattle, sheep and horses sent by various tribes.
In the town, several general stores and fur trading shops were crowded with people from various tribes, who were exchanging the livestock they had sold for necessities such as tea, salt, cloth, and fodder brought by other tribes to trade, in order to get through the last days of winter.
Lin Qingyuan had set up a shop early on, and several leather goods shops in Hecheng followed suit.
Risk always goes hand in hand with reward. The low-priced livestock obtained in Mida City can be multiplied several times over if they can be transported to He City in one go.
Mida City is not yet fully completed, and apart from Lin Qingyuan and the Wan family, there are few merchant caravans coming here.
Song Liyun's arrival brought new goods to the shop. Apart from the new fabrics, the rarest items were probably scented soap and cosmetics.
Unfortunately, nowadays only men come to the city, and no one comes to see the perfumes.
However, the cigarettes and alcohol that Song Liyun brought were all sold out.
She never intended to make money from scented soap and cosmetics; it was simply to increase the diversity of her products and also to subtly introduce hygiene habits to the Di people.
Mida City also has a special place, which is the Great Bath.
Located near the Mida River, the area has abundant water resources. In addition, the surrounding tribes provide a large amount of cow and sheep dung as fuel, ensuring hot water is available day and night.
The first to benefit were the Lei Battalion stationed there, as well as the laborers like Song Erlang.
After a long day, soaking in a large hot tub can relieve all fatigue.
Spring arrives on the grasslands silently, yet it also seems to come in a grand and dramatic way.
Overnight, the gray-yellow landscape turned green, though the grass was sparse, reflecting the saying: "The grass appears green from afar but is barely visible up close."
Along with the spring breeze came caravans.
Each caravan, in addition to five or six to a dozen large wagons, also had at least fifty guards.
They no longer need to guard against bandits and outlaws, but they must guard against wolves.
We received word when we set off from Hecheng that it was springtime, and the wolves on the grasslands were starving, making them most vulnerable to being surrounded and attacked.
These people knew that the grasslands were fraught with danger, but the bold would thrive while the timid would starve.
Seeing the sudden appearance of Wanjia Fur Goods bringing back live cattle and sheep all winter, the merchants in the city were already drooling with envy.
Wan Jia told everyone that there was a city in the grassland where they could buy and sell goods directly without having to risk going to each tribe and trading with the chiefs who spoke the Di language.
Small business owners would share information with each other, and several families would join together to form caravans to go into the grasslands to make money.
In the past, when the Qi family monopolized the goods of the Di tribe, ordinary merchants like them had no opportunity to enter the grasslands.
The arrival of each caravan necessitates the immediate construction of a prefabricated house.
Song Erlang and Qin Huai had to stop work and return to the city to build houses.
The plank walls had already been moved over and piled up in the city lord's mansion, so building a house now would be easy.
Moreover, the size, location, and even style were chosen according to the needs of each caravan.
Right under the noses of the caravan, houses sprang up like mushrooms after the rain, seemingly out of nowhere overnight.
Those who arrive early can build houses in the open commercial area, while those who arrive late can only build houses one by one on the edge.
As the commercial district gradually came to completion, and with groups of Di people from the surrounding tribes coming to select goods, the streets of Mida City became bustling and lively.
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