Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1097: Chapter 381: Hongmen, Taking the Opportunity to Demonstrate, Allies and the New Nine Towns, the Powerful Great Xia, Shamelessness

Looking at Xia Hong’s excessively youthful face, Xiahou Zhang’s expression was somewhat complicated, but he quickly understood something. He directly cupped his hands and bowed deeply to Xia Hong, speaking sincerely: "Last year, during the emergency situation at Peak Mountain, Lord Xia Hong saved my life, and I have yet to express my gratitude. My old debts are not repaid, and now Great Xia has helped me reclaim my homeland, adding new favors; Xiahou Zhang is truly ashamed!"

Seeing Xiahou Zhang lower his posture so much, Xia Hong was somewhat surprised, but soon a slight smile appeared on his face. He stepped forward to help Xiahou Zhang up and said with a smile: "Lord Xiahou speaks too highly. Last year’s life-saving grace, I do not deny, but this time Great Xia assisted Jiangxia in reclaiming its homeland entirely based on the principle of mutual benefit. No need for the mention of new favors."

Upon hearing these words, Xiahou Zhang immediately understood. He cupped his hands and replied solemnly: "Lord Xia Hong, rest assured, Xiahou Zhang understands."

The decision for Jiangxia Town to lean toward Great Xia was not unexpected for Xia Hong, especially since he had been planning and laying out strategies for half a year, coupled with the fact that Nine Towns were not striving for themselves. Yet, Xiahou Zhang’s wise comprehension was still beyond Xia Hong’s expectations.

"Great, with Lord Xiahou’s words, Xia Hong can be at ease. Please take a seat!"

Xia Hong walked to the slanted staircase of the round platform and extended an invitation to Xiahou Zhang.

Xiahou Zhang nodded, cupping his hands, and followed him up the round platform.

Jiang Xinfan and the other two also followed behind him.

As they reached the round platform, a peculiar fragrance immediately wafted into their noses, making the expressions of the four of them slightly startled. Looking closely, they discovered that the nine tables on the platform were already filled with various exquisite dishes that they had never seen before.

Nine Towns have the resource-rich Moao Mountain at their disposal, and Xiahou Zhang and the other three are certainly amongst the top echelon of Nine Towns. Naturally, they are not people who haven’t seen the world. At a glance, they could tell that the main ingredients of the dishes on the table were all high-level beast meat.

Significantly, these high-level beast meats were entirely new to them.

Despite the large population of Nine Towns, the mainstream cooking methods are currently only steaming, boiling, and roasting, with limited types of seasonings and auxiliary materials available. Yet, these dishes presented by Great Xia ranged from crispy golden exterior, meat pieces stewed into a thick soup, brightly colored dishes, to those with a charred exterior exuding a strong exotic fragrance... a stunning array of diverse options.

Not only were the types of beast meats unfamiliar to them, but the variety of seasonings and auxiliary materials, as well as the specific cooking methods employed by Great Xia, were evidently far more abundant than those in Nine Towns.

"What’s inside that pot..."

Xiahou Zhang’s nose twitched sharply, suddenly noticing the table with three very attractive long-necked pots. The pots were in red, blue, and yellow colors, with the pot bodies being crystal clear and adorned with many patterns, appearing as though made of jade, with an exquisite and eye-catching appearance.

Of course, Xiahou Zhang’s attention was not only drawn to the appearance. His sensory ability far surpassed that of Jiang Xinfan and the other two, allowing him to clearly perceive a strong exotic fragrance in the air emanating from these three pots.

"Placed together with the dishes, they should be drinks similar to Monkey Alcohol and Ape Fragrance Liquid. Could Great Xia really bring out three varieties at once!"

Upon realizing this, Xiahou Zhang was slightly shocked. Beishuo’s Monkey Alcohol and Jin Mountain’s Ape Fragrance Liquid are both categorized into lower, middle, and top grades, respectively corresponding to the realms of woodcutting, earth digging, and cold resistance. Consuming them not only aids in blood circulation and enhances cultivation efficiency but also rapidly raises the body’s temperature, proving life-saving in extremely cold environments.

Crucially, the taste is impeccable.

Anyone who has tasted it once basically will not forget it for a lifetime.

Such precious medicinal liquids, compounded by Beishuo and Jin Mountain’s intentional control of production, naturally come with a shockingly high price. Taking Beishuo’s Marquis Puree as an example, one jin of lower-grade Marquis Puree can sell for 20 taels of silver, the middle grade requires 100 taels per jin, and the top-grade reaches an astounding price of 10,000 taels.

This price essentially makes it unaffordable for anyone outside the mid to high-level personnel of Nine Towns. Xiahou Zhang, being extremely fond of drinking, only indulges in 50 jin of top-grade Monkey Alcohol a year and occasionally supplements with the middle-grade.

Even he is like this, not to mention others, where many at the Cold Resistance Level, driven by craving, have to resort to using lower-grade substitutes.

Besides the dishes and medicinal liquids, the tablecloths spread across the nine tables also have an extraordinarily smooth texture to touch and an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Even the frost-white beast bone-carved chairs appear remarkably exquisite...

This banquet was clearly arranged with great attention to detail.

Looking at the items on the table, Xiahou Zhang finally glanced slightly at Xia Hong on his right, immediately harboring some speculations.

"It’s here!"

Xia Hong, who had just sat down not long ago, suddenly looked up at the sky.

Xiahou Zhang also sensed it and immediately looked up. Around the round platform, all the people of Great Xia raised their heads to look at the sky.

Above Hongguan Camp, a total of twelve figures were suspended.

The twelve were scrutinizing the entire Hongguan Camp with their gaze. Since the floating altitude was less than a hundred meters, the people below could clearly see the expressions on their faces.

After surveying the entire Hongguan Camp, the twelve visibly wore expressions of amazement. Finally, they cast their gaze downward to the round platform and saw Xia Hong at the main seat. Their pupils contracted suddenly, and their expressions turned noticeably apprehensive.

Xia Hong did not stand up throughout the entire observation. While the twelve were scrutinizing the camp, he was also raising his head to examine them. After roughly identifying each person’s identity, he wore a faint smile and slowly spoke: "Are you all planning to stay in the sky without coming down? I have specially arranged this banquet here tonight. Would the Lords of Six Towns be willing to grace us with your presence and come down for a sit?"