Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 264: Peng and Chen are shocked by the Great Xia Martial Arts Competition
The 9th day of the fifth month, the second year of Daxia

The last half hour before dawn.

Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan and other eleven cold-resistant officers, together with the 1800 hunting team members who were transferred to Longyou half a month ago, all returned home safely.

It was time to go to bed as dawn approached, and the inner city, which had gradually returned to silence, suddenly became lively with the return of these 1800 people.

As soon as the 1800 armored hunting team members entered the iron gate of the inner city and heard the disbandment orders from their respective captains, they headed home in a dusty manner.

"Boss, you're back!"

"Dad, Dad, I'm here, I'm here."

"Big brother is back, Dad, big brother is back."

"Second brother, come in quickly."

"Boss, take off your armor quickly. I'm going to cook."

………………

Accompanied by sounds of surprise, coal lamps and bonfires were soon lit in hundreds of houses in the inner valley.

Those diggers who had returned from Longyou exhausted from the journey, saw their relatives waiting for them at the door of their home, all of them smiled happily, and the weather and fatigue on their faces seemed to have disappeared in an instant.

On the central street of the inner city, Yuwen Tao was walking towards the main building with eight Cold-Resistant Level warriors. They still had to report to their leader, so naturally they couldn't go home directly like the other Digging Level warriors.

"No wonder. These Diggers are husbands, fathers, or brothers... They are basically the pillars of their families. It's inevitable that their relatives who stayed behind in the camp would worry when they were away for such a long time!"

Luo Yuan's words immediately resonated with the others.

"I received a notice from Si Cheng on the 16th that I was going to Longyou. My wife was very noisy when I was about to leave, fearing that something might happen to me."

"In the past, when we went out hunting, it was only a few hours at most, and we would be back before dawn at the latest. Even if we went to Jinggu or Wuyuan, we could come back every few days. This time when we went to Longyou, it was different. The first group went on the 20th of last month, and it has been almost 20 days now. This is the first time we have been away from the camp for so long, it must be different!"

"You know what? After being away for so many days, I really miss home a little bit."

"Same thing, my kid just turned three, and I want to go back and see him."

Hearing what Hong Gang, Huang Yong and others said, Luo Yuan chuckled a few times, then noticed Yuwen Tao in front of him, and looked around the crowd. He thought of something, and said jokingly: "You all have wives and children, but there are three of us who haven't even married yet!"

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and then all their eyes were focused on Yuwen Tao, Lin Kai and Lu Yang.

"Yes, I forgot that our Si Zheng has not married yet."

"Lu Yang, too. I heard that many people are proposing marriage to you. Aren't you too picky?"

"Lin Kai, I heard that your sister brought several girls into your house in order to get you married, but you didn't like any of them?"

"Hahahahaha..."

…………

Speaking of which, although Yuwen Tao, the chief of the hunting department, was very powerful, he was the youngest among the nine people, only eighteen years old;

Lu Yang and Lin Kai were both only twenty-one or twenty-two years old.

The three of them were very capable on the battlefield or when hunting, but their age was there after all. After being teased by six married people, they all looked more or less embarrassed. They involuntarily quickened their pace and quickly walked towards the main building.

Seeing the three people's embarrassed posture, everyone immediately became more excited, and everyone started to tease them:

“Hahahaha, what kind of girl does Si Zheng like? Let me introduce you to her!”

"Do I need you to introduce me to someone? If Si Zheng were to say he wanted to get married, the door to his house would probably be trampled down immediately."

"Lin Kai, Lu Yang, I happen to have two nieces who are good-looking and have good personalities. I'll arrange for them to meet you some other day. How do you think?"

"One for each of my two nieces. Old Huang, you're dreaming. Lin Kai, don't be fooled. Looking at how ugly Old Huang is, how can his family give birth to any pretty nieces? My niece, Hong Shaojun, is really pretty, and she has a very high talent for cultivation. I'll introduce her to you."

"Old Hong, you look like a bear."

"Ha ha ha ha…………"

"Yuwen Sizheng, look at my daughter. She is so pretty."

"My daughter is plump, that's what we call a blessing, and she's a perfect match for Si Zheng!"

…………

"Okay, we're here now. Stop talking and follow me to see the leader!"

Seeing that the noise of ridicule was getting louder and louder, and even attracted jokes from residents on both sides of the road, Yuwen Tao became upset and interrupted everyone directly.

Everyone looked up and saw that they were indeed not far from the main building. They immediately calmed down and followed Yuwen Tao upstairs, preparing to go to the main hall to meet Xia Hong.

As soon as they reached the third floor, they ran into Qiu Peng who was walking out of the main hall.

"They're all back!"

Qiu Peng first smiled and greeted everyone, then found that only nine people had returned, and immediately asked curiously: "Where are Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan?"

Yuwen Tao replied: "Those two are anxious to see their families, so I just let them stay in the outer city. They should be able to come in soon."

The families of Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo had arrived in Xiacheng more than ten days ago. Considering the great changes that had happened to the two families, it was normal for them to worry about their families, so Qiu Peng did not continue to ask.

"The leader is waiting for you inside, go in quickly!"

He was obviously a little anxious. After talking to Yuwen Tao and others, he hurried downstairs.

Although Yuwen Tao and others were curious about why Qiu Peng was in such a hurry, they thought that Xia Hong was waiting for them inside, so they walked into the hall first.

………………

When Yuwen Tao and nine others entered the main hall to meet Xia Hong.

Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan from the outer city also met their relatives.

The top-floor room of temporary wooden house No. 1, which is closest to the iron gate of the inner city.

Seven-year-old Liu Ming and Qin Feng saw Peng Bo again after half a month. They couldn't help crying with joy and rushed into his arms.

"Grandpa, you're finally back!"

Peng Bo picked up the two children with an emotional look on his face. His two sworn brothers, Qin Gu and Liu He, were all killed, leaving only these two children. No matter what, he had to raise these two children to help his two brothers continue their bloodline.

"Where's Xiaozu?"

Before the two children could answer, a middle-aged woman walked out from the bedroom behind them, holding a baby in her arms. Who else could it be but his grandson Peng Zu.

"Greetings, Master Peng Bo. I am Zhu Mei, arranged by the Quartermaster Department to take care of the three young masters."

The woman first handed the baby in her arms to Peng Bo, and then bowed.

"Grandpa, Aunt Mei is very good to us. She has been taking care of us and Xiaozu all this time."

Peng Bo didn't pay attention to what his two grandsons said. His eyes were focused on his grandson Peng Zu in his arms. After looking for a while, he turned to look at Liu Ming and Qin Feng, and a hint of surprise suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Your basic strength..."

"I almost forgot, Grandpa, our basic strength is now 1500. How about it, isn't it amazing?"

Before Peng Bo could finish his words, he was interrupted by Liu Ming.

Qin Feng, who was more calm, couldn't help but take over Liu Ming's words at this moment, and said with a little excitement: "In the past half month, Aunt Mei has given us a lot of good things to eat, including beast essence pills, salt, and preserved fruits... Aunt Mei's cooking skills are very good. The beast meat she cooks is especially delicious, and the beast fruit milk she brought is something I have never seen before. Xiao Zu stopped crying after drinking it, and his health is getting better and better. He is not afraid of the cold during the day..."

Hearing his two grandsons talking endlessly about Zhu Mei's advantages, Peng Bo couldn't help but smile and nod, but when he looked at Zhu Mei, his eyes remained calm.

As a master of cold-resistance, it is normal for my three grandsons to enjoy special treatment after joining Da Xia.

You can tell from where the three grandchildren live.

This temporary wooden house has only two floors. At least 500 people are crammed on the first floor, while his three grandsons live in a separate room on the second floor.

In Peng Bo's opinion, the woman named Zhu Mei was obviously sent deliberately by the top leaders of Daxia. The reason why she was kind to his grandson was, after all, to win him over.

This Zhu Mei was most likely a servant sent to serve him.

After all, Peng Bo is the leader of Yanglu and has been in a high position for many years. Naturally, he would not give a good face to a servant.

But Zhu Mei's next words made him immediately realize that his idea was extremely wrong.

"Since Master Peng is back, it's time for me to take my leave."

Although Zhu Mei called him "sir", her tone was very calm, without the slightest attitude of a servant. After she finished speaking, she continued, "These three children must have suffered a lot outside. When they first came here, they were injured and had a lot of coldness in their bodies. I asked the quartermaster department to exchange some heat wind pills for them. They felt a little better after taking them, but they still need to continue recuperating. It's best not to stop taking animal meat and heat wind pills.

As for the baby, he hasn’t had breast milk for a long time. He must have been fed with fruit juice before. He is very weak. Sir Peng, please go to the quartermaster department to exchange some animal fruit milk when you are free. If he continues to drink it, he will get much better…”

Zhu Mei explained a lot in one breath, and finally she looked down at Liu Ming and Qin Feng, with a gentle smile on her face, and said: "Xiao Ming and Xiao Feng, you must listen to grandpa in the future. Aunt Mei's family also has a child of the same age as you, named Huang Tianxi. When he comes to the inner city in the future, Aunt Mei will let him make friends with you, okay?"

"Okay, Aunt May."

Liu Ming and Qin Feng quickly agreed and watched Zhu Mei leave with reluctance on their faces.

I'm leaving now...

Peng Bo stood there, his face full of surprise.

Isn’t this Zhu Mei the servant arranged for him by Daxia?

During these days in Longyou, Peng Bo was not completely ignorant of Daxia.

Si Cheng Xia Chuan, the six ministries of Da Xia, the military supply center, elixirs, clothing, contribution points and prisoner rules... He had already heard about this series of situations related to Da Xia from Luo Yuan and others.

Even when he was in Longyou, he already had his own contribution value record.

If I remember correctly, he was rewarded with contribution points by Xia Chuan for both chasing Wu Xiong and going to Hanqiong to rescue Xia Hong. The total should be 800 points.

Coming to Xia City tonight, Peng Bo saw the black city walls that stretched for miles, the colorful clothes worn by the people of Daxia, the various tools they used, and the detached houses they lived in. He admitted that his heart was indeed shaken when he saw this flourishing picture before him.

But no matter how shocked he was, he was also very clear that with his cultivation strength, he would definitely hold a high position in Da Xia. Similarly, his three grandsons would naturally be able to easily receive special treatment.

But now he found that this was not the case!
"Grandpa, Daxia is really good. Every day someone comes to the wooden house and gives all of us free meat. Aunt Mei bought some more because she saw that we were not in good health. She not only takes care of us, but also many orphans in this building. Sometimes she cooks something delicious and invites many people to come and eat together..."

Liu Ming might just feel that his grandfather is not very enthusiastic about Zhu Mei. However, the usually silent Qin Feng seemed to see what Peng Bo was thinking and slowly said, "Grandpa, Aunt Mei doesn't treat us specially. I went out to play a few nights ago. There are more than 60 temporary wooden houses in the outer city. I heard that there is a person like Aunt Mei in each wooden house, who is responsible for taking care of children like us who are not supervised by adults..."

Those who are over six years old and have not yet broken through the logging realm are considered reserve soldiers and will receive a free meat quota of 1 to 2 kilograms every day.

Once you break through the logging realm, you will have your own contribution value record. Everything in the camp, such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc., must be exchanged for contribution points. Except for the leader Xia Hong, everyone in Daxia is treated equally;
Once you break through the Digging Realm, you must register with the Hunting Department, or create or join a hunting team. There are minimum monthly submission targets for animal meat, iron ore, and coal, and this applies to everyone.
…………

As Liu Ming and Qin Feng recounted their experiences over the past half month, Peng Bo's understanding of Daxia became more and more comprehensive, and the shock in his eyes became more intense, and some inexplicable spirit rose in his eyes. Back in Longyou, when he heard Luo Yuan and others talk about Daxia, Peng Bo had already realized that Daxia was obviously stronger than Yangying Camp in terms of resources and systems, but he was still a little skeptical at the time, thinking that Luo Yuan and others must have exaggerated the facts in order to make him loyal to Daxia.

But now that I hear it this way, it doesn't seem to be the case.

Children's words are much more credible than adults', especially Liu Ming and Qin Feng, whom he has watched grow up. So the credibility of their words is definitely higher than that of other people.

"Wait a minute, I'm going to go to the inner city and meet the leader!"

In the end, Peng Bo interrupted his two grandsons' stories.

He decided to go and see for himself.

Is it true that the Department of Supply, one of the six departments, has an inexhaustible supply of animal meat, animal skins, iron ore, coal, etc. as Luo Yuan said?

Are the living conditions in the inner city really much better than those in the outer city?

There were also the elixirs and weapons that Luo Yuan had boasted about before, as well as the weapon and medicine refining workshops that made these things, and the mysterious martial arts hall that could improve people's training efficiency...

Peng Bo handed his grandson Peng Zu to the care of Liu Ming and Qin Feng, and walked out of the room and the wooden house. Seeing the iron gate of the inner city not far away, he walked straight over.

Coincidentally, a familiar figure came from the other side.

"Pengtou...Brother, do you want to go into the inner city to take a look too?"

Peng Bo looked up and saw that Chen Yingyuan's face was full of obvious curiosity and surprise. He immediately guessed that the other party's purpose was the same as his own.

Chen Yingyuan must have also listened to the descriptions of his family members.

"Let's go! Let's go and see if Daxia is really that good!"

Chen Yingyuan nodded, and walked into the inner city side by side with Peng Bo.

"Have you heard? The price of beast meat has been lowered. Now it's 1 point of contribution for 1 kilogram. If there is no major change in the future, the price will not change again."

"That's good. I thought 1 kilograms was too cheap before. Those new lumberjacks can earn 2 or kilograms a night just by logging and gathering."

"Our leader is really good. Anyone over six years old who hasn't broken through the logging realm is considered a reserve and given animal meat every day. The camp can't afford this. It's dangerous every time my husband goes out hunting!"

"My husband is the same. He is in the hunting team and wants to be promoted to the intermediate level recently. Every time he comes back, he has injuries on his body. It's scary to look at him."

"Congratulations, Intermediate Team. Your family will live comfortably from now on."

………………

It was night time and the main road in the middle of the inner city was bustling with people. There were also bursts of conversations coming from the houses on both sides of the street, mostly from women and children. Naturally, these sounds could not be hidden from Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo.

The two deliberately slowed down their pace, listened carefully to the conversations, and observed the houses on both sides of the street, from which they analyzed the current policies implemented by Daxia and the living conditions of the people in the inner city.

The more they heard and the more they saw, the more frightened they became. They looked at each other from time to time and could see shock and horror in each other's eyes.

Clothes, food, houses, iron trailers can be seen everywhere, not to mention the Digging Realm, the inner city is just filled with toys in the hands of some children, all made of iron, and there are some teenagers in their early teens who have the cultivation level of the Logging Realm or even the Digging Realm.

"this…………"

"How come there are so many ten-year-olds in the Woodcutting Realm? Those kids are probably only sixteen or seventeen at most, and they are all in the Digging Realm?"

"Isn't there too many geniuses in this Great Xia?"

"Some women have reached the Digging Realm!"

…………

The two were so shocked that they couldn't help but speak out loud.

Peng Bo is the leader of Yanglu, and Chen Yingyuan is the leader of the Beehive. Both of them are well-informed. They have seen loggers in their early teens before, but the fact that there were so many of them was completely beyond their understanding.

There are quite a few digging masters in Longyou who are sixteen or seventeen years old, but each family has only two or three at most. But here in Daxia, they have encountered at least a dozen on their way here.

What is this concept?
Is Daxia a place where geniuses gather?
"Brother Peng, think about the Xia Hong and Xia Chuan brothers, Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, and the other cold-resistant-level warriors in Da Xia..."

It was Chen Yingyuan who reacted first and gave a hint.

When Peng Bo heard this, a look of understanding suddenly appeared on his face.

By the way, not only are the people at the Digging Realm in Da Xia young, but even the Cold-Resistance Realm are incredibly young!

The two walked forward for a while and just as they saw the outline of the main building, the already bustling street suddenly became even noisier and more lively.

A large crowd of people walked out of their homes and headed towards the main building.

They looked excited and were obviously looking forward to something.

"The Camp Supply Department is going to hold another competition!"

"what match?"

"It seems that it was made by the leader himself, and it is called the Great Xia Martial Arts Competition."

"It's the same as the previous mining competition. Contribution points will be awarded based on ranking!"

"This time it's different. It seems to be a competition in the ring. I heard the rewards are huge."

“It’s been a while since we held a competition.”

"In a martial arts competition, there should also be mining and archery competitions, right?"

"I don't know. I heard that a lot of people gathered over there to watch."

"Hurry up and check it out. Someone just informed me that the people from the Quartermaster Department are posting notices. Master Qiu Peng will come out to make the announcement in person."

"Let's go, let's go and have a look."

…………

Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan looked at each other and quickened their pace.

When the two of them walked to the bottom of the main building, they were immediately dumbfounded.

There are just too many people.

It seemed that all the people from the more than 4,000 households in the inner city, men and women, young and old, had come. Many people from the outer city had also come. At this moment, there were at least 30,000 people gathered in the square in front of the main building.

After all, both of them were at the cold-resistant level, so they used some tricks and quickly squeezed to the front row. Then they saw that a seven or eight meter high platform had been built in the square of the main building, and Qiu Peng was standing on the platform talking.

"The Great Xia Martial Arts Competition begins on the first day of June every year. The competition is divided into three groups: cold-resistant level, digging level, and wood-cutting level. Anyone who meets the cultivation requirements, regardless of gender, can participate.

There are fewer people in the cold-resistant level, so only the top five will be selected.

The top ten in the digging realm and the top hundred in the logging realm.

I won't tell you exactly what the rewards are, but I can only say they are extremely generous. They include a huge amount of contribution points, a place to practice at the martial arts hall, fine wine, elixirs, beast meat, weapons... and even the chance for the leader to personally instruct you in your practice. Even I am envious!"

As soon as Qiu Peng finished speaking, the originally noisy square suddenly became quiet.

Everyone kept repeating Qiu Peng's words in their minds, their eyes were burning, and their breathing became heavier.

Who is Qiu Peng?

He was one of the six chief ministers of Daxia, and also the richest chief minister of the Ministry of Supply.

The meaning of this reward, which even he covets, is self-evident!

"The specific rules of the competition will be posted later, and those who want to participate can prepare in advance now."

Qiu Peng was very satisfied with the reaction of the crowd and clapped his hands. Soon three people from the quartermaster department came out and posted some information about the competition on the door of the main building.

At the same time, Qiu Peng continued to speak.

"In addition, there is one more thing I want to inform everyone of today. I will tell you all about it here first, and the people from the Quartermaster Department will go to the outer city to inform you again later. That is, the reserve forces are going to start the restructuring..."

Upon hearing about the reserve force restructuring, many people in the inner city clearly didn't care much, but a small number of people from the outer city became nervous.

Qiu Peng continued, "The previous rule was that anyone over six years old who had not reached the logging level could receive 1 to 2 kilograms of animal meat every day. Now that Daxia's population has exceeded , if this continues, the demand for animal meat will be too great, so it must be changed.

From now on, only orphans over the age of six, or families without a relative above the level of logging, can enter the reserve force and enjoy a daily quota of 1 to 2 kilograms of free beast meat. Everyone, this should be ok, right?"

"Of course I have no objection. It is our duty to take care of orphans. The camp is now overpopulated. We cannot continue as before. We need to control the amount of animal meat."

"That's right. If you have a relative in the logging realm, it's not difficult to exchange four or five pounds of meat every day with the current price of beast meat in our quartermaster department. It's even easier if you have a relative in the digging realm. I support the reform of the reserve force."

"I agree. As the number of people increases, the dosage must be controlled."

………………

Hearing everyone's support, Qiu Peng's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction.

The suggestion he just raised with Xia Hong was about the reserve forces.

This time the population has skyrocketed to 11. If it continues as before, everyone over the age of six who has not broken through the logging realm will be considered a reserve. The daily consumption of meat in the camp will be horrific.

Qiu Peng had made a rough estimate with Xia Chuan in Longyou. Not counting the consumption of the cold-resistant, digging and logging levels, the daily consumption of beast meat for the reserve alone would be more than 130,000 kilograms.

Taking other consumption into account, it is estimated that more than 20 kilograms are consumed every day.

This consumption is really terrifying!

The existing hunting team in the camp is obviously no longer able to provide supplies.

Therefore, reform is imperative.

The price of animal meat has been lowered, but it is still twice as expensive as before. This is what must be done to meet the current population consumption needs of the comprehensive camp.

In fact, Qiu Peng had long expected that these people in the inner city would be happy to accept the reform.

Those who can live in the inner city are considered elders of Daxia.

On the one hand, they remembered the good things about the camp, so they could understand the difficulties of the camp;
On the other hand, there are actually very few reserve forces in the inner city, and since it has nothing to do with their own interests, they will naturally accept it with pleasure.

"The next step is to coordinate with the people in the outer city. It shouldn't be a big problem. Not to mention that 1 contribution point is worth 1 kilogram, even 5 points is worth 1 kilogram. Compared with the three families in Longyou, Daxia's treatment is much better. Not to mention that in addition to the basic resource of animal meat, Daxia also has many things that their original camp did not have."

After Qiu Peng said this in his heart, he scanned the crowd, raised his voice to the maximum, and continued: "Okay, that's all for today. Registration for the martial arts competition will start on the 15th, right over here in the main building, everyone disperse."

Then he looked directly at Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo in the crowd, stepped down from the platform and walked in front of the two of them, saying with a smile: "Come with me upstairs, the leader is waiting for us."

Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo nodded and followed him upstairs.

(End of this chapter)