If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

The fire in the dilapidated courtyard was burning brightly.

As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding, and he who takes another's money is bound

After the four of them finished several bowls of hot porridge, they couldn't bring themselves to refuse to help.

Tie Niu was strong and took care of all the work, such as chopping wood and carrying water; Hou San and Xiao Qi ran around carrying miscellaneous items; although Zhou Lao Qi had a limp, he was experienced and would help Bai Zhi whittle wood splinters.

"Finally, we're getting some popularity..."

Xu Qingshan looked at the bustling courtyard and nodded in satisfaction.

At this moment, Shen Qinghe, holding a flat piece of wood, walked to Xu Qingshan's side and spoke softly.

"Twenty catties of brown rice seems like a lot, but there are thirteen mouths to feed in the yard. Even if everyone eats sparingly, we can only last for three more days at most."

She looked at the accounts, a lingering worry in her eyes.

In a corner not far away, Qin Yuenu was examining a few rags, interrupting without looking up.

"Pear Blossom caught a chill while working in the courtyard last night and started coughing this morning. Without herbs to dispel the cold, she won't last more than three days in Black Stone Fortress. A minor illness will turn into a major one, and then it will spread to everyone."

Bai Zhi also stopped sawing and whispered the news.

"I've gathered enough wood, but to make a sturdy trigger point, wooden wedges alone won't be enough. I need iron nails, at least twenty. If I have any scrap iron or arrowheads, I can modify them into a short crossbow mechanism."

Xu Qingshan listened to these reports and rubbed his temples.

"This is difficult—"

Grain, medicine, and iron are all the most scarce hard currencies at the border.

His gaze fell on the pile of spoils covered with tattered sacks in the corner.

It's time to sell the loot we seized from the barbarian scouts last night.

Xu Qingshan looked up at Su Jinniang, who was sitting on the other side of the fire pit.

"Miss Su, this deal depends on you."

Su Jinniang stood up, dusted off the hem of her clothes, and walked forward.

Where should we trade?

"The black market outside the fortress," Xu Qingshan said.

As a border fortress, Blackstone Fortress has strict overt control over military supplies, but the private trade continues unabated.

Soldiers, refugees, merchants, and even bandits from beyond the Great Wall would barter for goods near an abandoned temple three miles outside the fortress.

Su Jinniang nodded, but did not set off immediately. Instead, she turned to look at Zhao Lihua.

"Pear Blossom, scrape some soot from the bottom of the stove and get some yellow mud."

Zhao Lihua was taken aback, but she moved quickly and soon brought over a bowl of black, muddy ash in a broken bowl.

Su Jinniang reached out and dabbed some mud and ash on her fair cheeks and neck without hesitation.

With practiced skill, she dulled her originally delicate features, tousled her hair, and then grabbed a handful of dry grass ash and sprinkled it on her head.

Then, she looked at Xu Qingshan.

"The black market is a mixed bag. We're carrying weapons and armor, making us easy targets. Your silver fish-scale outfit is too conspicuous. Take it off and put on this old cotton-padded jacket. You'll also have to smear your face with dirt."

Xu Qingshan agreed with her caution; in a lawless place, flaunting wealth is tantamount to courting death.

Without saying a word, he changed into a tattered cotton-padded jacket covered in patches, and let Su Jinniang smear mud and ash on his face.

After they finished getting ready, the two looked like two destitute refugees struggling to make a living on the border.

Xu Qingshan wrapped the two curved knives thickly in rags and carried them on his back. He stuffed the tattered leather armor into a sack, and the chipped woodcutter's knife was still stuck in his waistband.

He turned his head and glanced at the four veterans working in the yard.

"Tie Niu, Hou San, Zhou Laoqi, Xiao Qi, all of you stop what you're doing," Xu Qingshan said in a deep voice.

The four people stopped what they were doing and looked over in confusion.

"Take the sacks and come with me." Xu Qingshan ordered. "Tie Niu, carry the stuff. Hou San, scout the way. Lao Qi, you know the way, lead the way. Xiao Qi, keep an eye on the surroundings."

Hou San was taken aback: "Sergeant, are we going to the black market too? That place is a complete mess..."

"What? You ate my food, and now you don't even want to walk this short distance?" Xu Qingshan placed his hand on the chipped machete.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go now!" Hou San shrank back and quickly pulled Tie Niu over to get the sack.

Xu Qingshan turned to Xiao Hongluan and Shen Qinghe and instructed them: "After we leave, lock the courtyard gate from the inside. No matter who knocks, do not open it. If anyone tries to force their way in, use the wooden gun."

Xiao Hongluan gripped the sharpened wooden stick in her hand and nodded.

………………

In the wind and snow, Xu Qingshan and Su Jinniang walked in the middle, with four veterans scattered around them. The group of six left Black Stone Fortress and headed towards the black market three miles away.

The black market was located beneath the ruins of a collapsed city wall.

The broken walls blocked the wind and snow, and dozens of tattered tents and stalls were scattered around. The air was filled with the smell of cheap liquor, sweat and blood.

Most of the pedestrians were wrapped in old fur coats or tattered cotton quilts, walking hurriedly with wary eyes.

Zhou Laoqi lowered his voice and reminded him, "Sergeant, this place is a mixed bag. Try to speak as little as possible, or you might get spotted by the sentries."

Xu Qingshan nodded slightly, his hand still resting on the handle of the wood-chopping knife at his waist.

Su Jinniang pointed to a tent covered with black felt in the corner, with a broken iron shield hanging outside. This was the code for buying and selling weapons and armor.

The tent owner was a fat man who was blind in one eye. He was wrapped in a wolfskin coat and dozing off by the fire pit.

Hearing footsteps, he opened his one eye and looked Xu Qingshan and his group up and down. Seeing Tie Niu's burly figure, the fat man became a little more relaxed.

"I don't accept scrap metal unless you have something real." The fat man's voice was hoarse.

Xu Qingshan stepped forward, untied the tattered cloth strips from his back, and placed two curved knives on the wooden table, their blades gleaming coldly. Tie Niu also emptied several pieces of tattered leather armor from the sack.

The fat man sat up straight, picked up a curved knife, and flicked the back of the blade with his rough fingers.

A hint of disdain flashed across his face as he tossed the scimitar back onto the table: "Old stuff from the grasslands, the blade's chipped, the leather armor tattered. I have plenty of this kind here, worth at most five pounds of second-grade sorghum flour. Take it or leave it."

Upon hearing this, Hou San was so anxious that he was about to step forward to argue, but Xu Qingshan raised his hand to stop him.

Su Jinniang stepped forward, her voice hoarse and rough: "Shopkeeper, if your eyesight isn't good, we'll find another shop to do business with."

The fat man sneered, "In this black market, if I say it's worth five pounds, it's worth five pounds."

Su Jinniang remained calm and composed, picking up the curved sword: "The back of the blade is thick, the edge is curved, and the blood groove extends all the way to the hilt. This is not an ordinary cavalry weapon; it is the saber of the vanguard scouts of the Northern Barbarian Black Wolf Tribe, forged from fine steel and mixed with cold iron from the northern desert. Even if you took this kind of steel to the fortress, with a little polishing, you could immediately exchange it for ten taels of silver. You're telling me it's just scrap metal?"

The fat man's smile froze. He hadn't expected that this dirty-faced woman, who looked like a vagrant, could see through the origin of the knife at a glance.

Su Jinniang kicked the leather armor on the ground: "Although this leather armor is damaged, the lining is made of top-quality tanned cowhide, which is windproof and warm. If we take it apart and repair it, it can save our lives in a snowstorm. The heavy snow outside is going to last for another half month. You think you can fob us off with five catties of sorghum flour for such a life-saving commodity?"

She rolled the scimitar into the cloth and made as if to leave.

"Master, pack your things away, we're going to find another house up ahead."

The fat man panicked. He couldn't let the good stuff fall into the hands of his enemies. He could make a lot of money by melting down and reforging the Black Wolf tribe's swords.

"Wait! Let's talk this out! Twenty catties of brown rice, no more than that!"

Su Jinniang turned around and said calmly, "We don't want rice."

"So what do you want?"

"A bag of iron nails, weighing about two pounds. A bundle of good arrowheads, at least twenty. Two doses of herbal medicine for treating colds, plus a small bag of coarse salt and ten pounds of sorghum flour."

The fat man gasped, "Nails and arrowheads are strictly controlled by the military now, and herbs are incredibly expensive. This is robbery!"

"Since the shopkeeper feels it's a loss, then let's not do business." Su Jinniang didn't hesitate and gave Xu Qingshan a wink. "Let's go."

Just as the two men and four veterans turned around, the fat man's voice, filled with gritted teeth, rang out.

"Come back! Deal!"