Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 445 Slave Village, Desperate Situation, Su Xing'er's Clever Mind

On the 25th day of the first month of the 297th year of the Caiqiu calendar, during the day...
For the four vassal states of Mo'aochuan, the territory of the nine towns on the southern slope was essentially transparent to them, at least in the case of the vassal states of Caiqiu and Chencang.

Moreover, the high-ranking officials of the three northern towns had close ties with the two feudal lords.

Xia Hong already knew these two points before he even arrived.

However, his thinking was clearly a bit too simplistic.

During his time in Changqing Valley, he discovered that the calendar systems used by Caiqiu and Jiuzhen were completely synchronized, except for the year.

The Mo'ao calendar was initially used by the three northern towns, and it was only later, with the integration of trade, that the other six towns followed suit.

It's normal for campsites to have different development times and different years. Dates might be set very close due to vegetation growth patterns or other coincidences, but it would be a bit strange if they were exactly the same.

For example, the date of the Great Xia calendar is four days different from that of the Nine Towns, which is normal. The situation in Caiqiu can only mean one thing: it began to have an impact on the Three Towns very early on.

From this, we can deduce that the relationship between the three towns and Caiqiu is far deeper than Xia Hong had previously imagined.

Despite reaching this conclusion, the mountains were high and the roads were long, and there was no way to send a message back. Xia Hong could only keep this matter in mind and deal with it later when he returned to the territory of Jiuzhen.

Similar to his time in Xia City, he initially went into seclusion to cultivate, basically ignoring the outside world.

Although the servants in the manor, including Zhou Qing, were very curious about their new master, they dared not disturb him in the quiet room because of their respect for his status and because Xia Hong had instructed them to do so. No matter what the matter was, they could only consult Su Jing and the other three.

This is quite a bizarre story.

Xia Hong arrived in Qinghua City on the night of January 18th. Although he became the master of the mansion as soon as he entered the city, he was invited by Cai Yunzhou to a banquet at the city lord's mansion that night. After returning, he entered the meditation room to begin his seclusion.

Therefore, Zhou Qing and the other servants had only seen Xia Hong once in the seven days since the banquet, on the night he returned.

It was fortunate that they had seen him once; otherwise, these servants wouldn't have recognized their master. This would have been unimaginable in the strictly hierarchical Caiqiu warlord region.

"Our new master is far too diligent. He's so young, yet already so powerful, and he still cultivates so tirelessly, neglecting sleep and meals. For seven consecutive days, the two deputy city lords and the four commanders have repeatedly invited him to banquets, but he hasn't accepted a single one..."

"Not only that, but last night, another maid from the City Lord's Mansion came to Steward Zhou, saying that she was invited by Miss Mengya, but she was turned down as well."

"Tsk tsk... If this were someone else, they probably wouldn't even be able to ask for it. Our master's composure is just too good!"

"What kind of self-control is that... You haven't left the manor much these past few days, have you?"

"I definitely didn't go out. What do you mean?"

At the entrance of the Hong residence, Du He and Wang Long, who were on duty today, were chatting.

Wang Long clearly knew more about the situation. He asked Du He if he hadn't left the residence for several days. After hearing Du He's answer, he looked around before leaning forward and whispering:
"It's not about composure, it's that our main family doesn't even look down on the deputy city lord and the four commanders. I just found out outside that when the main family entered the city seven days ago, they fought with the city lord, and the two were evenly matched."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Du He immediately asked a question, and then, seeing Wang Long nod in confirmation, his pupils were filled with horror, and his face instantly became filled with disbelief.

They fought the city lord, and the battle was still undecided...

"Not only in terms of strength, but also in terms of how young the master is, you saw it seven days ago, right? The day he entered the city, he called himself the heir of the Great Qin. I heard that at the banquet in the city lord's mansion seven days ago, the master gave a general description of the grandeur of the Great Qin. Not to mention those who attended the banquet, even the city lord was shocked. The nobles in the city are now discussing that the strength of the Great Qin vassal is unfathomable and is very likely to be far superior to that of my Caiqiu."

Du He's pupils trembled upon hearing this, and he immediately recalled the night seven days ago when he welcomed Xia Hong back to the mansion. He suddenly realized and said, "No wonder. There are fewer than two people in the entire Qinghua City who are qualified to ride in the Purple Bell Carriage of Miss Mengya. I've been wondering these past few days how the new master's family can have such great influence."

Not only is he young and strong, but he also has such a powerful background. No wonder he has the confidence to refuse so many important people's invitations. Even the city lord sent his most beloved youngest daughter to curry favor with him. What are two deputy city lords and four commanders compared to that?
An opportunity, a chance to rise to the top in one step!

As his confusion was resolved, Du He instantly realized what was happening, looked up at Wang Long, and his face was full of gratitude.

"Hehe, He Zi, not many people in the manor know that we came from the same slave village. Don't say I didn't take care of you!"

Du He's face was full of gratitude. After thinking for a moment, he bowed deeply to Wang Long and said excitedly, "Brother Wang, I will remember your great kindness forever. If I am fortunate enough to transfer my slave status to your name in the future, I will definitely repay you."

Nuji Village, as the name suggests, is a village inhabited by people who have been registered as slaves.

The slaves of Caiqiu usually came from three sources: first, people without social status or of low social status who voluntarily sold themselves into slavery, which accounted for the largest proportion; second, people who originally had a social status of fourth class or above were demoted to slavery due to crimes; and third, new people captured by Caiqiu when it fought with the outside world or explored new territories were usually also classified as slaves or of low social status.

Since they are slaves, they naturally have masters.

However, not all slaves were so lucky as to find a master who wanted them. Therefore, the first master of most slaves was actually the local official in each of the cities of Caiqiu.

Before they found a master, all the books were in the hands of the local officials and were managed by them. This included their personal freedom and all hunting and gathering activities, all of which were under the control of the local officials.

Of course, the local authorities couldn't just keep these slaves around for nothing; they had to do mining, gathering, hunting, fishing, and so on.

The so-called slave villages were usually built around major cities or near some large resource gathering areas. They were managed by officials from the local authorities, and all the ownerless slaves lived and worked in these villages.

Caiqiu has far too many slaves!
There was no shortage of high-ranking officials and nobles. Apart from a few who were talented, beautiful, or even lucky, most slaves basically worked their way up from birth to death in these slave villages.

However, on the other hand, since it is their own property, the various city administrations have provided certain guarantees to the slave villages. At the very least, there is no need to worry about safety. Furthermore, they can enjoy certain supplies, and even cultivation resources. Compared to those lowly people who can only engage in lowly professions, they are still much better off.

There is only one way to escape the slave village: someone has to spend money to buy your registration certificate from the local authorities. To put it bluntly, you have to be bought by someone.

Du He, Wang Long, and the other two hundred-plus slaves in the mansion are only temporarily assigned to the Hong family by the local authorities. Their registration documents are still in the hands of the authorities. If Hong Yu, the master, does not spend money to buy them, the Hong family will have to pay a rental fee to the authorities every month.

For slaves like Du He and Wang Long, the best way out is, of course, to find a powerful master and serve him faithfully. Their lives would be much better than in the slave village. If they were lucky enough to meet a kind and generous master, they might even have the chance to escape slavery and become civilians.

"With such strength and such a powerful background, there are probably only a handful of such powerful families in the entire Caiqiu. We must find a way to become the master's servant..."

Even though Cai Qiu was just an ordinary slave, Du He was well aware of the weight of the name Cai Yunzhou, the city lord of Qinghua City. To be able to spar with Cai Yunzhou and receive such treatment, one could imagine Hong Yu's strength and background.

"The master seems difficult to approach, and since returning to the manor, he has been in seclusion, so there has been no opportunity. We can only try to find a way through the three young masters and the fourth young lady. Rou'er happens to be serving by the fourth young lady's side, so she has a good chance of getting close to her!"

Several thoughts flashed through Du He's mind in an instant. When he thought of his younger sister Du Rou serving as a personal maid to the Fourth Miss Su Xing'er, he immediately realized that this was an excellent opportunity to break through.

"Who is it, stop!"

Du He, who was deep in thought, was suddenly awakened by Wang Long's shout. He looked up and saw a middle-aged man in blue robes carrying a long spear and covered in wounds rushing straight toward the gate of the mansion.

"Trying to barge in broad daylight? Are you crazy?!"

Du He dared not slack off and quickly drew his sword to rush forward and stop the other party.

However, there was no need for him and Wang Long to stop him at all. The middle-aged man in blue had no intention of barging in. When he was still five or six meters away from the two of them, he knelt down with a thud.

"I, Hu Tiejiang, have urgent business to discuss with Prince Hong. I beg you two gentlemen to convey my request. I implore you..."

Hu Tiejiang looked extremely flustered. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed, ignoring his injuries and begging Du He and Wang Long to pass on his message.

Upon hearing this, Du He and Wang Long's expressions immediately darkened.

Both of them were assigned to guard the gate, and their status among the servants of the Hong family was quite low. Let alone entering the inner courtyard to see Hong Yu, they even had some trouble seeing the steward Zhou Qing.

"Get out of my way! What kind of scoundrel are you? How dare you even see the young master?"

Wang Long immediately ordered them to leave, but as soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen people dressed in white robes quickly ran up from one end of the street.

"The legal department's people!"

Upon seeing that team, Du He and Wang Long's pupils both narrowed slightly.

The governance of Caiqiu mainly relied on the Three Offices and One Pavilion. The Pavilion was the Treasure Pavilion, and the Three Offices were the Jurisdiction Office, the Enforcement Office, and the Slaying Office.

As the name suggests, the Enforcement Division is specifically responsible for criminal punishment in various regions. From those with military status to those without, all five categories of people who violate Caiqiu's laws will be arrested and punished by them.

Although Du He and Wang Long worked for the Hong family, they were ultimately slaves, and they couldn't help but feel intimidated when they saw the people from the Enforcement Division.

However, what happened next made both of them pause slightly in surprise.

The group of white-robed law enforcement officers stopped immediately at the gate of the mansion. Then, the middle-aged man at the head of the group walked up with an extremely humble posture, bowed to Du He Wanglong with his hands clasped, and said apologetically, "I am Zhang Yiping, the captain of the fifth team of the inner city law enforcement team. I am here to pursue the fugitive and have disturbed your mansion. I am truly sorry!"

Du He and Wang Long remained frozen for more than ten breaths before Wang Long was the first to react. He quickly returned the greeting and said, "Captain Zhang, you're too kind. It wasn't a disturbance at all, and no one was bothered."

Clearly surprised that Wang Long was so agreeable, Zhang Yiping was initially taken aback. After quickly recovering, he gestured to the people around him before smiling and saying, "Thank you both for your understanding. In that case, I will take my men back to report."

Several law enforcement officers immediately rushed out and detained Hu Tiejiang, who was lying on the ground.

"This humble one truly knows Prince Hong and Su Xing... um... um..."

The law enforcement officers were exceptionally ruthless. Seeing that Hu Tiejiang was still talking incessantly, they pulled out a dagger and pierced his face, dragging him away.

Wang Long watched the enforcement team leave, and remained in a daze for a long time. After finally calming down, he turned around and sighed, "I used to hear the old people in the slave village say that noble people have no servants in their mansions, but I never understood what that meant. Today I finally understand."

The enforcement team member, who was also the captain, actually saluted the two of us.

If we told other people this, they'd probably think we were crazy, right?

After asking, Wang Long didn't receive a reply from Du He for a long time. He turned his head and saw that Du He was deep in thought. He immediately guessed what was going on and said with a strange expression, "You don't actually think that guy just now knows Lord Hong, do you? Look at his clothes, his age, and his strength at level 5. He's not even as good as the two of us. He probably found out the names of Lord Hong and Fourth Miss from somewhere and was forced into a corner by the enforcement team. He was desperate and tried his luck."

Upon hearing this, Du He nodded slightly, his brows slowly relaxing.

...At midnight, on the left side of the main building of the Hong residence, in the fourth annex building...

"Yu'er, are you going to deliver food to Miss?"

"Yes, Miss hasn't eaten her last meal yet. I just went to the kitchen to heat up some food to bring to her."

"I'm free right now, I'll take it over for you!"

"Thank you, Sister Xiaorou."

Du Rou took the lunchbox from Bai Yu and walked gracefully into the annex. After passing through the main hall of the annex, she arrived at the door of the quiet room, where her expression revealed a slight hint of unease.

"Miss, the food has been brought over."

"come in!"

Du Rou picked up the lunchbox, pushed open the door, and went inside. She saw Su Xing'er still sitting cross-legged on the soft couch, cultivating. Her face first showed a hint of admiration before she put the lunchbox on the table and took out the food one by one and arranged it.

The master is impressive, and his four little apprentices are no simpletons either!
From the 18th until now, neither Su Xing'er nor the three Su brothers have ever left the meditation room. Their dedication to cultivation has almost reached the point of neglecting to eat or sleep.

Working tirelessly, forgetting to eat and sleep, is not just an adjective, but a genuine expression of dedication.

Su Xing'er eats only one meal a day and sleeps for a maximum of two hours a night, almost pushing her body to its limits in the cold resistance level.

Su Xing'er was naturally unaware of Du Rou's thoughts at that moment. After slowly finishing her practice, a hint of sorrow appeared in her eyes before she walked to the table and began to eat at a breakneck pace, showing no trace of ladylike manners.

Before she could even finish two bites, Su Xing'er noticed Du Rou's hesitant expression and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong, Rou'er? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Miss, I..."

Su Xing'er frowned and pondered for a moment, thinking that Du Rou was thinking about the matter of her status as a slave, and shook her head, saying, "Rou'er, as I told you, I can't make the decision to buy your slave certificate myself. I can only wait for Master to come out of seclusion and ask him for permission..."

At this point, she paused slightly, thinking of how Du Rou had taken such good care of her over the past seven days and how gentle and kind she was, and couldn't help but continue, "Don't worry, I will talk to Master properly. Your degree isn't expensive, it's only 30,000 taels of silver, Master should agree."

The master-disciple relationship was something Xia Hong fabricated on the spot so that the four of them could focus on their secluded cultivation. Su Xing'er didn't mind at all and got used to calling him that.

As for 30,000 taels of silver, Su Xing'er would never have said "not expensive" before, but things are different now. Before going into seclusion, Xia Hong had handed over part of the Hong family's financial power to her to save trouble. She now has more than 3 million taels of Caiqiu silver notes in her hands, so 30,000 taels of silver is indeed not much to her.

Although she had only spent seven days with Du Rou, among all the maids in the Hong household, Du Rou was indeed the one who suited her taste the best. As long as Xia Hong nodded, she would definitely be willing to buy Du Rou.

However, Su Xing'er was clearly mistaken. The reason Du Rou hesitated to speak was not about buying slave status.

“Miss, how could Rou’er dare to trouble you with the matter of slave status? The main thing is that I just heard something and I don’t know whether I should tell you.”

Su Xing'er frowned slightly, looked up at Du Rou with a scrutinizing look in her eyes, and said in a low voice, "What is it? Just say it!"

Although she is only 15 years old this year, when it comes to intelligence, Su Jing's three older brothers are all ashamed of themselves. Du Rou's hesitant expression was clearly a deliberate attempt to entice her to ask questions. How could she not see that?

While Su Xing'er took the initiative to ask, she had already sentenced Du Rou to death in her heart for the matter of redeeming her place. She had previously thought that Du Rou was simple, kind and innocent, but now it seemed that she had obviously misjudged her.

Du Rou was unaware of this, and continued, "Today, the city's law enforcement team was chasing a fugitive. They caught him at the gate of the mansion. The fugitive claimed to be named Hu Tiejiang. He not only knew the master of the house, but also mentioned the young lady's name."

Su Xing'er was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then quickly remembered the name Hu Tiejiang, and her expression changed slightly.

"He was injured and was arrested by law enforcement?"

Seeing the change in Su Xing'er's expression, Du Rou immediately realized that the person really knew her. She quickly nodded, her face beaming with joy, secretly delighted that she was about to make a contribution.

Su Xing'er received an affirmative answer, then lowered her head and pondered for a long time before quickly getting up and leaving, ignoring Du Rou completely.

Su Xing'er went to the other two annex buildings and woke up her third brother Su Zhi and second brother Su Xu. Finally, she went to the first annex building and found her eldest brother Su Jing. The four siblings gathered together in the main hall of the annex building.

Su Jing and the other two were a little confused. In order to achieve the goal set by Xia Hong, they were now trying to make one day last two days and were busy cultivating. Why did Su Xing'er suddenly ask them for something?

"Uncle Hu came to see us today..."

It wasn't until Su Xing'er revealed everything about Hu Tiejiang that the expressions of Su Jing and the other two turned slightly somber.

"Little sister, you don't actually want to save this Hu Tiejiang, do you?"

"In the end, we only traveled with him for a part of the journey. We know nothing about what he does or what he did wrong. There's no need to save him, is there?"

"Besides, even if we were to rescue them, we couldn't do it on our own. We would have to use the adults' name, which would only cause them trouble, wouldn't it?"

Hearing her three older brothers' words, Su Xing'er didn't rush to speak. Instead, she asked Su Jing, "Big brother, you traveled with Uncle Hu and his brother all the way. Do you think they seem like bad people? Besides, would bad people drag their wives and children along, braving the cold snow, afraid of being caught by bad guys, and rushing into the city?"

Upon hearing this, the three Su brothers' expressions tightened slightly, and their looks became somewhat evasive.

During their journey together, they had a deep impression of the Hu and Tiejiang families. For example, they had heard Hu Tiejiang mention the matter of changing their household registration when they were in Aikou Village.

The three of them were well aware that the Hu brothers were not bad people, and they could even guess that the trouble they were currently facing was most likely caused by their departure from the local household registration system.

Ultimately, the main reason they said those things was that they didn't want to cause trouble for Xia Hong; secondly, they didn't want to delay their own cultivation.

“Little sister, there are many tragic people in Evergreen Valley. If you can save them with your own abilities, your elder brother will never stop you, but…”

"Brother, Uncle Hu and his two families deliberately traveled with us in Aikou Village. Do you think Master couldn't see that?"

Su Jing was interrupted and paused for a moment when he heard his younger sister's question.

Hu Tiechuan struck up a conversation with them in Aikou Village eight days ago, and then set off for Qinghua City at the same time as them. Those actions were too deliberate, and even they could see it. How could Hong Yu not see it?

What he didn't understand was why Su Xing'er was asking this question at this moment.

Su Xing'er noticed the confusion in Su Jing's eyes, sorted out her thoughts, and continued to ask, "Big brother, second brother, third brother, we've been with Master in Changqing Valley for more than four months, including these seven days in Qinghua City. What do you think Master's attitude is towards the unregistered people in Changqing Valley, as well as those slaves and lowly people?"

Upon hearing this question, the three Su brothers immediately recalled the four months they had spent together with Xia Hong in Changqing Valley, as well as their conversation seven days ago.

"Compassion, pity!"

Finally, it was the third brother, Su Zhi, who spoke up and gave an answer.

Upon hearing this, Su Jing and Su Xu both nodded immediately.

"That's right, it's out of sympathy and pity. He saved the four of us and helped us change our fate because of this emotion. Master has a compassionate and merciful quality. He must have been able to see that Uncle Hu was deliberately hitching a ride with our convoy, and he didn't object because of this emotion as well..."

Su Xing'er paused here, and then continued: "Before we set off from Changqing Valley, Master asked us whether Caiqiu's six-rank system was good or not. You should all remember that."
Seven days ago, before Master went into seclusion, he said something like this: "Cai Qiu controls all cultivation resources. There are over a million people in Changqing Valley, and many of them are in worse situations than the four of us, while there are also many with better talent than us..."

"Little sister, you mean..."

The third brother, Su Zhi, had already vaguely sensed something. He interrupted Su Xing'er, first showing a look of surprise, then lowering his voice and saying, "Master wants to cultivate us to rebel against Cai Qiu?"

Su Jing and Su Xu both froze upon hearing the last three words.

Upon hearing this, Su Xing'er's expression remained unchanged. She simply nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. When I was in Changqing Valley, I kept wondering what Master wanted us to do. I had asked this question before, but Master always brushed it off by saying that we were too weak and did not give an answer."

At this point, a glint of light appeared in her eyes, and she continued, "It wasn't until seven days ago, when Master said those words to us before going into seclusion, that I truly understood what Master wanted us to do in the future: to rebel against Cai Qiu!"

When Su Xing'er said the last three words, "Fan Cai Qiu," her tone was not only firm but also resolute, as if she had engraved those three words in her heart.

“Only this way can it make sense. Otherwise, there’s no need for him to invest so many resources in us. There are people everywhere who are more talented than us. If he really wanted to take on disciples, let alone the whole of Caiqiu, there would probably be a lot of geniuses coming to his door in Qinghua City alone.”

Su Xing'er clenched her fist and continued to coax, "Of course, with our current strength, saying those three words would only make us a laughing stock, but it doesn't mean we can't do anything. The slaves and lowly people of Caiqiu, including those without status like us before, are all people we should try our best to win over. People like Uncle Hu are one of them."

Perhaps those three words were too intimidating, because the horror and fear on Su Jing and the other two's faces lasted for a very long time. But when they thought of the more than four months they had spent with Xia Hong, they managed to suppress their expressions and then clenched their fists, clearly having made a decision.

Su Jing said in a deep voice, "Little sister, you've been smart since you were little, and your older brother agrees with your guess, but in the end, these are all just your own assumptions. We have no way of knowing whether Master actually thinks this way..."

"Then let's use the rescue of Uncle Hu as a test. We'll go and rescue him directly, and we'll know as long as we see Master's reaction after he comes out of seclusion."

Although it was called a test, Su Xing'er's confident words clearly proved that she already had the answer in her heart.

Su Jing and the other two were also infected by her confidence. After exchanging glances, they all nodded emphatically.

"Then we'll do as you say. We'll go to the Enforcement Division now and find out what really happened to Uncle Hu and his family. If they've really been wronged, we'll get them out of there."

After saying this, Su Jing couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

The four siblings had lived in Changqing Valley for over a decade and knew all too well the petty squabbles and schemes of the village. Based on their conversation that night, they could guess pretty much everything about Hu Tiejiang's affairs.

It's almost certain that this is another old story of a powerful village bullying its slaves. In the village-level camps of Evergreen Valley, things like this happen far too often.

Having made up their minds to rescue the person, the four siblings discussed it for a while, then immediately changed their clothes, found their steward Zhou Qing, and asked him to lead the way to the Enforcement Division in the inner city to find the person.

Unbeknownst to the four siblings, as they left the annex, Xia Hong, who was meditating cross-legged in the quiet room behind the main building, had a slight smile on his lips.

"Sure enough, the fourth sister is a bit more perceptive. She actually guessed most of my thoughts. Rebellion against Caiqiu...rebellion against Caiqiu, did she come up with those three words herself, or was it already there within Caiqiu..."

(End of this chapter)