Chapter 628 Merchants Carried by Bison
The sun turned over the mountain and shone into the open space in the valley. Rows of sheets and linen were hung horizontally on long poles, and occasionally they were blown by the wind, and some of them fluttered.
"Come on, that's it."
Tilan and Orles each held a corner of the sheet, pulled it up, and then hung it on the clothesline.
After hanging it up, Tilan shook it slightly to make the water droplets fall.
In this way, when the two hung up all the washed sheets and clothes, it was already noon.
After lunch, the two sat on the steps of the mountain wall, leaning on the slightly cold stone, looking at the field outside where the yellow and green were intertwined, the warm breeze blew from time to time, and the sky was also exceptionally clear and quiet.
Lying on the stone, the girl looked at the sky above her head, and her mood slowly calmed down.
Without those complicated and disturbing information, the struggles and disputes of various forces, the snobbish and changeable people's hearts, everything was a little too empty, making her feel a little unreal.
Lifting her finger, the ring with the six-sided wings was still on her finger. Tilan could feel the faint fluctuations coming from it, indicating that the ring was still working properly.
Theoretically, she could use this ring to locate the Four-Leaf Crystal Star Field from the Sea of Ekaka, but she was only at Sequence 6 now. Even if she used her power at her peak, there would be great risks. It was a fluke that she was able to survive with Orles this time.
If she wanted to use her power safely to travel across long distances and across the galaxy, she would probably have to reach Sequence Level 8. To advance to Sequence 8... the girl shook her head. It would probably take several years.
After she recovered in a few months, she could start trying to advance to Sequence 7. She was almost at this stage, and she had enough knowledge and theory.
During this period of time, she should just rest and recover. She just wanted to have a good rest. Since leaving college, she had been running around in various star fields almost non-stop, and she hadn't stopped for a long time.
"Ding ding dong dong~"
When Tilan and Orlesi were taking a nap against the mountain wall, a crisp bell sound woke her up.
This is... the bell on the observation deck. Tilan remembered something and stood up quickly. Orlesi was still sleeping beside her.
There was no time to wake Orlesi up, so Tilan decided to go and see the situation first. This place was not far from the high platform where she could see the outside of the col.
Her footsteps were light and fast, and in just 20 seconds, she came to a high place where she could overlook the outside of the settlement.
The wilderness with sparse grass was still boundless, but there were a few more small dots in the wilderness today. The walking speed was not fast. She focused her eyes and looked carefully, only to find that they were five bisons with luggage and packages hanging on them, walking slowly on the ground, and there was a person riding on the leading bison.
Tilan jumped down from the height and landed on the observation deck. At this time, Marula had stopped ringing the bell.
"I was too nervous." After listening to Tilan's description, he obviously relaxed.
"Don't you have to worry about the other party?" The girl was slightly curious.
"It shouldn't be necessary. You said that the other party only had one person, and he was carrying five bisons full of luggage. That should be a passing caravan."
"Can you notify Sura? She should not be asleep now."
"No problem."
Back in the cave, Tilan woke up Sura who was taking a nap. She rubbed her eyes and sat up.
"Hey? Caravan? That's great." She was obviously a little happy.
"I'll go prepare and think about what I can take out to exchange."
More than half an hour later, this miniature caravan slowly came to the outside of the col. The bell on the neck of the bison dinged like a doorbell.
The afternoon sun was very warm, and the wilderness was filled with the smell of dry grass and soil. Tilan, Sura, and Guy walked out together.
After approaching, Tilan realized that the bison in front of her was a bit tall. It walked on all fours. Its height was no less than hers. The total weight was probably more than a thousand pounds.
The brown fur was very rough and hard, with lumps of dry soil in it. The black noses of the bulls kept panting and exhaling hot air. They occasionally nibbled on the grass on the ground, but most of the time they stood there and chewed slowly, flapping their tails from time to time to drive away mosquitoes.
While Tilan was curiously observing the big bison, Sura and Guy were discussing things with the caravan members.
"Are there any good medicines?" This was what the two of them were most concerned about.
"Medicines are in short supply everywhere. Every settlement wants to stock up, but sometimes they are gone when they are urgently needed." As he spoke, he walked to a bison, untied the buckle rope on it, pulled open the leather hanging bag, took out an iron box, opened the iron lid, and inside was dried herbal powder.
"This is the herbal medicine produced in the northern Wolf Settlement. Their shaman witch doctor is very capable. It is basically the best product in this area. The best is the antibiotic bottle produced from who knows where. That thing is very precious. You probably have to try your luck at Stone Forest Fort."
"Let me see." Guy came over and took out a small part of the herbal powder with his fingers. He sniffed it carefully, twisted it with his hands, and then licked it to taste and observe it carefully.
"Pah." He spit out the herbal powder in his mouth and nodded.
"The goods are really good, and they are not damp."
"Of course, I specially store them in an iron box, otherwise I can't carry them so far."
"Buy a box." Sura also touched it with his hand and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, according to the old rules, you have to exchange it with half a bucket of flour." The man with a felt hat raised his finger.
Guy and Sura looked at each other. According to yesterday's inventory, there are still eleven buckets of flour in the settlement. It is enough for six people to eat, but it is still a bit reluctant to use it to exchange for things.
"Are there other things like iron blocks, muskets, etc." Sura asked.
"Iron blocks are too heavy. I only have five oxen. It's too tiring to carry them. If it was a large caravan, I would probably take them." He shook his head.
"As for muskets, I definitely needed them in the past, but I don't need them now." After saying that, he took out an iron-gray semi-automatic rifle from a bag beside him.
"This thing is much more useful than a crossbow or musket." He knocked on it with his hand.
After seeing the gun, Sura's eyes lit up and he wanted to take it for a closer look, but judging from the man in the felt hat, he was definitely unwilling to give it to him.
"Where did you get this? The workmanship looks great, and the corner burrs are handled very well." Sura also knew the design of the automatic rifle, but unfortunately there was no suitable lathe and materials around.
"Recently, a group of people came from the east. They claimed to be from the 'Heshan Rescue Society'. They were all dark brown in appearance, and each of them had a fully automatic firearm in their hands. It was said that there were also cannons. They had a lot of people and were short of food, so they took out a lot of firearms to exchange with the surrounding forces. It seemed that they produced them themselves, but unfortunately they were quite xenophobic, and no one had ever entered their base."
Rescue Society? Tilan turned around when she heard the word.
"Are they sure it's called the 'Heshan Rescue Society'?" The girl's voice was particularly nice, which made the man stunned for a while.
"Yes, what's wrong with this name?"
"Nothing, I heard that the people of the Rescue Society are not the same as the new race." Tilan thought about it and explained.
"You're talking about this, there is indeed a big difference." The man in the felt hat answered casually.
"Is this lady here for a holiday?"
Compared with the simple and everyday clothes of the people around her, Tilan's appearance and clothes seemed too clean, which was very conspicuous and special on such a grassland.
Tilan was about to answer, but Sura spoke first.
"Yes, this is Miss Heshia from the central part. She passed by here with a few servants recently and stayed in our settlement for a few days."
"I see." The man in the felt hat quickly believed it. After all, at first glance at Heshia's white and clean fingers and face, she didn't look like someone who was struggling to survive on this land.
"I wonder what Miss Heshia wants to buy. I have a lot of good things." He began to think about how to do business.
"Do you have any clean cloth?" Hearing this, Tilan immediately thought of what he was missing.
"Clean cloth..." The man in the felt hat recalled the goods he brought, then came to another bison and untied the hanging bag.
"Here are some well-kneaded, sun-dried sheepskins. As for the cloth, I'll look for it underneath. I think I've collected some before." As he spoke, he searched for a long time before finding a slightly musty gray linen cloth from the bottom.
"I remember that I exchanged this with a foxtail settlement in the west last year. They won the battle at that time and sold the things they couldn't take away from the enemy settlement at a low price. I just happened to catch up."
"This cloth is not cheap. Many people only have a few clothes in their lifetime. If you want to exchange it, I'm afraid you have to pay some hard currency." He meant to add money.
"This thing..." Sura took the linen cloth, smelled it, and showed a disgusted expression.
"It has a strange smell, and you still sold it to Miss Heshia. Are you kidding me? It's a bit dirty to use it as a foot cloth for our Miss Heshia."
"This... Actually, just wash it." He wanted to explain, but when he looked at the girl next to him, he was indeed a little unworthy, and his momentum was a little weaker.
"Come on, I'll trade you a few weapons from the settlement. You said before that iron blocks are hard to carry, so ready-made weapons are always convenient." Sura continued to bargain.
"I'll have to take a look at the goods first." The other party was still persistent.
"Wait a minute." After that, Sura asked Guy to continue to deal with
the other party, and he returned to the valley to move things. Guy, who stayed behind, talked to the man in the felt hat with a smile, and then asked about other things.
"Are there any new and rare things? It just so happens that we are relatively wealthy recently."
"Oh, speaking of this, I do have a few good things." After that, he took out a rusty thing from a hanging bag on the side.
"This is a radio that is still in good condition. The antenna next to it was repaired and newly added. Although the shell is a bit old, it actually has all the functions. It can listen to many channels, so you won't be lonely wherever you go."
"Radio, this thing needs electricity." Guy shook his head. It was too luxurious to use electricity under the conditions of their settlement.
"Isn't this just right? I have a small generator here." The man in the felt hat took out a small portable generator from the bag of a bison. Although it certainly couldn't carry large appliances, it was definitely enough for small equipment such as lighting and radios.
"But it needs oil. If the oil is of poor quality, it needs to be cleaned and dusted frequently. But you have Sura here, so this shouldn't be a problem." With Sura's technical means, repair and maintenance are very simple.
Looking at this small generator, Guy couldn't take his eyes off it. It was indeed a very useful and precious thing. For some small settlements, it could be a family heirloom.
"This... how much are you going to offer?" He asked carefully.
"Forget about ordinary things. You are also an old hand and understand the value of this little guy."
"I'll go back to the col to discuss this with the boss." Guy thought about it and delayed some time to wait for Sura to come.
A few minutes later, Sura came over with six or seven good weapons in leather, all of which were steel-forged knives and gun heads.
"These are indeed enough to exchange for linen." After taking a look, the other party weighed it and nodded.
Then Guy and Sura talked about the radio and generator placed on the side. After seeing these two things, Sura's eyes lit up, but unfortunately she couldn't think of anything to exchange for a while.
Although there were still many steel tools and daily necessities in the valley, the other party might not accept them. The two discussed with the man in the felt hat for a while, and many of their proposals were rejected by the other party.
"Why don't you ask Miss Heshia? If Miss Heshia came from the central part, there should be a lot of rare things." This was his idea, and the two soon understood.
But the two of them now roughly understood the real situation of Heshia. It should be that the vehicle fell from the sky and nothing was preserved.
"Me?" Tilan thought about it. If she could take things from the reserves in the space gap like in the past, there would be a lot of valuables.
Unfortunately, she couldn't use them now. It would take at least a few months to slowly restore the use of power, and she didn't usually wear any gemstone jewelry.
By the way, speaking of gemstones and jewelry, Orles had quite a few. When she was rescued, her skirt was decorated with many realistic silk flowers made by masters, and her hair accessories were also decorated with gemstones and pearls. Some of them were put away by Tilan when she took a bath.
"I'll go back and see if there are any in the things I brought." Tilan said, and returned with Sura.
On the way, Sura asked, and she told him her thoughts.
"Pearls and gemstones, if they are just ordinary ones, I'm afraid they are not worth much." After all, in this land, few people buy useless luxury goods.
Back to the cave, I found Orles, who was temporarily locked up in the house by Tilan. She was sitting at the table, watching the dough in the basin ferment, with a curious look, and touching it with her fingers from time to time.
"Orles." Tilan walked over.
"Tilan." The ice elf looked up and was very happy to see the girl back, although the two had only been separated for dozens of minutes.
"Can I borrow your hair accessories? I'll make new ones for you later, okay?" Tilan took two pearl hair accessories from the bedroom. They used exquisite craftsmanship to combine silver leaves and pearl stamens to form a lifelike pearl flower pendant. Below it was a half-finger-long delicate silver chain. It should be the master craftsmanship of the Central Star Region. After all, Orles' family is not short of money.
After listening, Orles didn't quite understand, but still nodded.
"Tilan, give me a new one." She only remembered the latter part.
"I'll remember it." Tilan touched Orlesi. To be honest, she had received a lot of jewelry from Orlesi before. The luxury goods at home of this ice elf lady were almost countless, and Tilan would be given a lot every time she went there.
After getting the jewelry, the two returned to the outside of the col again. On the way, Sura looked at it again and again, and was reluctant to part with it.
"This thing is so finely crafted and gorgeous. Even I don't understand art at all, I can see that it is a very beautiful treasure. Do you really want to exchange it for something?"
"Jewelry and the like, no matter how beautiful it is, it is just icing on the cake." Tilan shook her head. Although it was indeed very precious, it was not so pity compared to Orlesi and her. As long as they returned to the Federation, they would have as many of these things as they wanted.
"With the radio, it is important to understand the situation around this land."
(End of this chapter)
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