Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1355: Chapter 439: Hu Brothers Enter the City with Cai Yunzhou (Part 2)

Hu Tiejiang heard the sound and immediately took out a few pieces of coal stone from the leather bag hanging behind the carriage. Then he slowly lifted the curtain, using his body to block the cold light from outside. Once the curtain opening was almost ready, he carefully slipped inside, swiftly closing the curtain with a backhand motion.

Seeing her eldest brother Su Jing’s face full of curiosity, Su Xing’er immediately leaned over and whispered, "I saw it yesterday. Inside that carriage are Uncle Hu’s brothers’ wives and children. Among the five children, the oldest is only seven years old, and the youngest is still being held in arms."

No wonder!

The children are so young; they certainly have no cultivation and can’t be exposed to light.

Su Jing’s confusion was resolved, and he immediately nodded. But then he looked up at the bright sky, his expression slightly tense, and his face suddenly turned much gloomier.

Not only he but Su Xu and Su Zhi also heard their little sister’s words. Naturally, they weren’t foolish. Seeing the change in their eldest brother’s expression, they pondered for a moment and quickly reacted, and their expressions likewise became gloomy.

Meanwhile, inside the second carriage.

Hu Tiejiang first put the coal stone into the stove to burn, then turned to look at his wife Fang Jing and sister-in-law Wang Qing. Seeing their nervous expressions, he immediately leaned in closer and whispered, "Jing’er, sister-in-law, don’t be afraid, we’ll soon reach Qinghua City. Once we enter the city, we’ll immediately go to the Subordinate Bureau to first remove the Slave Status and lowly status and then re-register as citizens. Fei and the other five are going to the Subordinate Bureau for the first time. As soon as we’re registered as citizens, they’ll automatically become citizens."

Each of the two women held a baby, approximately in their thirties, with pleasant-faced appearances, clearly not people who have hunted outside for a long time.

Upon hearing their husband’s words, Fang Jing and Wang Qing’s nervousness quickly dissipated a lot.

Hu Tiejiang took out two paper documents from his bosom, looking at the word "Slave Status" at the top of the document. He clenched his fist and said in a deep voice, "Leader Zhang is too much. We had agreed before; I and Tiechuan would hunt for him for free for two years, and he would give me your two Slave Status documents. The two years are up, yet he refuses again.

He might have done as he pleased initially, but he can’t blame us for doing likewise now. These two Slave Status documents should have been ours by rights. If he really pursues, I’m not afraid either..."

After speaking, he turned to look at the two women’s children in their arms, and the three six or seven-year-olds behind them, his expression firm as he continued, "If we don’t remove the Slave Status and lowly status, the five children of Fei will end up like us. Only by becoming citizens can they truly count as human..."

......

"5 Mane strength, and still of lowly status. Cai Qiu is truly strong!"

Inside the leading carriage, after hearing Hu Tiejiang’s words, Xia Hong’s eyes first flashed with disbelief, then he marveled at Cai Qiu’s powerful strength.

That’s the only explanation!

Cai Qiu really isn’t lacking at the Cold Resistance Level. At the very least, he doesn’t lack those with 5 Mane strength.

"It’s not surprising. I saw the County Guard Army soldiers four months ago, all of them had strengths above 6 Mane, and they were the weakest types of soldiers. The entire Cai Qiu has over 300,000 troops, so thinking about it this way, 5 Mane strength is really nothing here.

Moreover, the minimum cultivation requirement for citizenship is 5 Mane. In other words, only with strength above 5 Mane do you qualify to be an ordinary person."

Of course, it’s just a qualification!

Registering as a citizen requires spending money, and not a little.

You can infer from Hu Tiejiang’s words just now that removing status is obviously a cumbersome affair, requiring money and also the owner’s consent.

"So the Hu Brothers are of lowly status; their wives are Slave Status, presumably slaves in the household of that Leader Zhang they mentioned. The brothers were duped into working two years for free, couldn’t stand it anymore, so they stole their wives’ Slave Status proofs, intending to rush to Qinghua City and remove their status..."

Xia Hong quickly figured out the sequence of events in his mind, looked down at his black summer clothes, and instantly understood why the two brothers had wanted to set off with him last night.

Hu Tiejiang evidently has been worried that Leader Zhang might catch up or something unexpected might happen along the way. Last night at the Yakou Village rest stop, he noticed some signs from Xia Hong’s attire. To be safe, he feigned friendship with Su Jing and the others, then hitched a ride with them.

After understanding this, Xia Hong laughed lightly. Hu Tiejiang’s behavior is merely a survival strategy of a small person; it’s not really anything egregious.

The problem is...

"There hasn’t been anyone chasing after us the entire way. Either they’ve yet to realize the Slave Status was stolen, or they’ve already devised a strategy, relaxed enough not to bother chasing."

The former is fine, but if it’s the latter, the Hu Brothers’ dream of removing their status might only last until the moment they enter the city.

After traveling a good distance, the convoy made it to the dark of night. Given the rugged landscape around Qing Valley, they covered a mere five kilometers in nearly an hour.

"We’ve arrived!"

"Ahead is Qinghua City’s gate."

"This is Qinghua City; what a big city wall!"

"This is Qinghua City’s South Gate, directly facing Evergreen Valley."

"There’s only one exit from the entire Evergreen Valley."

...

Before long, as the convoy issued bouts of exclamations, a fifteen-kilometer stretch of Black Iron Wall slowly appeared in everyone’s view.

Hearing the amazement from the convoy, Xia Hong couldn’t resist lifting the curtain.

Seeing the city wall, his eyes slightly brightened.

This Black Iron Wall, with its east and west ends directly connecting to the mountainside on both sides, rather than a city wall, it’s more like the gateway to the entire Evergreen Valley’s pass.

"Built right at the pass for both access and defense, Qinghua City, in terms of geography, is essentially the southern stronghold of the entire Cai Qiu territory. Besides here, Longqing Valley has only one outlet to the south, the Bone-Eroding Path. With no external threats and no outflow of people, controlling this is equivalent to controlling the entire Evergreen Valley..."