Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

On the southern side of Great Xia Valley, there was a giant three-story wooden house.

The wooden house was over a hundred meters long on each side, built against the stone cliffs on the southern side of the valley.

"Your father and everyone else from Wuyuan are housed in this wooden building. The entrance to the mine is on the south side of the wooden house. You'll likely be living here for quite some time."

A young man wearing a black animal hide cloak, with ordinary features, led Xiang Liang to the doorway of the wooden house, smiling as he introduced it to him.

"Thank you, sir, for showing me the way. I am endlessly grateful!"

"You're welcome. I just happened to have business here and was passing by."

Hearing his thanks, the young man smiled, waved his hand slightly, and then led the way into the wooden house.

Xiang Liang looked at the young man, his heart full of gratitude.

As soon as he left the wooden building, he discovered that his father and the others had disappeared. He started searching all over the valley, but there were simply too many houses in Great Xia Valley. There were at least several thousand inside and out, and he couldn't find them no matter what.

He did muster the courage to ask people, but everyone in the valley was celebrating the Cold Origin Festival, eating, drinking, and making merry with their bellies open. Hardly anyone was willing to pay him any attention. At most, they would point him in a direction, but he searched for a long time without finding the right place.

Just then, this young man appeared. Upon learning that he was looking for people from Wuyuan, he not only gave him directions but also thoughtfully brought him here.

The young man before him looked to be only in his early twenties at most. He was only wearing an animal hide cloak and didn't have any weapons on him. His status in Great Xia probably wasn't very high.

From the moment he entered Great Xia Valley, Xiang Liang had been hit by wave after wave of shocks. Just now, when he went up to the main hall on the third floor, he had seen so many important figures. Now, suddenly, a person with a relatively lower status appeared, who wasn't so aloof and was so kind to him. Naturally, he felt much closer to him.

"Big brother, how long have you been in Great Xia? Were you also captured and brought here like us?"

Xiang Liang had observed that most of the clothes worn by the people of Great Xia were made of a combination of animal绒and cotton cloth, which was not only warm and lightweight but also aesthetically pleasing, clearly better than animal hide cloaks. That's why he guessed that this person might have joined Great Xia later.

The young man smiled and said, "That's right, I joined later. I also served a year of corvée labor before becoming an official member of Great Xia. Most of you from Wuyuan should be the same, right?"

Hearing the young man say that he had also served a year of corvée labor, Xiang Liang immediately felt a sense of shared suffering. His expression turned slightly somber as he said, "In our Riverpeak camp, except for my father, Xiang Ping, the remaining 28 Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators were sentenced to a year and a half of corvée labor. Their 122 family members were also sentenced to half a year of corvée labor. Since the family members basically don't have Earth Burrowing Realm cultivation, the corvée labor still has to be added to the 28 Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators. So, it actually works out to about four years of corvée labor for each of them."

Spreading the 122 family members over the 28 people meant that each person had to bear about four to five half-year corvée labor periods, which, added to their own year and a half, did indeed come out to about four years.

The young man nodded, looked at Xiang Liang, and asked with interest, "Your father wasn't sentenced to corvée labor. What's going on?"

A look of relief appeared on Xiang Liang's face as he replied, "Fortunately, our Riverpeak camp had a treasure. I presented it to the leader, that Steward Si, and that's how my parents and my younger sister and brother were exempted from corvée labor."

"Treasure?"

The young man turned his head slightly, glanced in the direction of the main building, and then immediately smiled and turned back, looking at Xiang Liang for a while before saying, "So, you're worried about those other twenty-eight Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators in your Riverpeak camp, right?"

This big brother is too perceptive.

Xiang Liang was amazed in his heart, and then said with a troubled tone, "The Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators in our camp are basically very old. The oldest is almost forty, and the younger ones are around thirty. Four years of corvée labor is really too long."

The average lifespan in the Ice Abyss World is only forty-some years, and Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators haven't yet escaped this range. Given the age of these people in the Riverpeak camp, four years of corvée labor is indeed too long for them.

"I've already asked around. There's no standard quota for the coal and iron ore collected during the corvée labor. In other words, four years is the standard four years. The key is that this four years of corvée labor can only be served by the direct relatives of the convicted, and no one else can. So… … … …"

Seeing the young man pondering with his head lowered, thinking that he was unhappy, Xiang Liang didn't dare to continue speaking.

The young man smiled and raised his head, saying, "It's okay. When I was serving corvée labor before, I also had many opinions in my heart. Just say what's on your mind."

Only then did Xiang Liang feel relieved and continued, "Isn't it too inhumane!"

Four years of time is equivalent to one-tenth of the lifespan of an Ice Abyss human.

It is indeed a bit inhumane!

"If the corvée labor could be quantified, for example, how much coal and iron ore needs to be mined each year to be considered up to standard, and if the restriction on others serving on behalf of them could be lifted, it would greatly reduce the burden on these people. Moreover, the final output of the corvée labor would still be the same. That would be much better."

After Xiang Liang finished speaking, he sighed softly. This suggestion was certainly good, but he couldn't figure out whether Great Xia's motivation for sentencing these people to corvée labor was for resources or to punish them.

Most importantly, his words carried little weight, and no one would listen to him.

Or, to put it more bluntly, he didn't even have the opportunity to speak.

What Xiang Liang didn't notice was that after listening to his last words, the young man's eyes lit up as he looked at him.

"With Great Xia's abundant resources, it shouldn't be too difficult for us to break through to the Earth Burrowing Realm. If it can really be opened up as I said, these corvée labor periods will soon be completed, and we can all obtain official Great Xia membership sooner. In the end, wouldn't we still be able to contribute to Great Xia?"

Remembering the mountains of animal meat on the table just now, as well as the rows of snow-white animal bones displayed on the open space behind the valley, Xiang Liang's expression flickered.

In fact, after witnessing the grandeur of Great Xia with his own eyes, Xiang Liang no longer had any resistance to coming to Great Xia. He believed that the five thousand people, including the main culprit, Wang Lie, were the same as him.

The living standards of the four camps north of the mountains were all about the same.

Even someone as fierce as Wang Lie had a strong yearning for a better life.

If they could live like this in Great Xia every day.

Who would still be willing to go to the north of the mountains and continue to live a hard life?

But the corvée labor weighing on their heads was too heavy for them.

The Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators in the four camps north of the mountains were generally older. They didn't know if they could complete such a long period of corvée labor. Even if they were lucky, they probably wouldn't have many good years left after completing the corvée labor.

This was indeed too unfair to them.

"Fortunately, that leader was kind enough to exempt us from three months of corvée labor. Adding so many people together, it's already very good. We still can't ask for too much, after all, we were in the wrong first."

Remembering that person shouting out the last edict just now, a trace of comfort still appeared on Xiang Liang's face. Exempting a single person for three months, including family members, according to that calculation just now, each person could serve more than a year less.

At this time, the young man looked at Xiang Liang and smiled, "I saw that you just came down from the main hall. Since you have such a good idea, why didn't you tell those people in the main hall?"

Xiang Liang gave a bitter smile and said, "Just now in that main hall, let alone letting me open my mouth to speak, I didn't even dare to make a sound."

Hearing this, the young man immediately shook his head with a chuckle. Just as he was about to speak, Xiang Liang happened to find his father, Xiang Ping, and the others in the wooden house.

"Big brother, thank you so much today. May I ask… … … …"

Xiang Liang wanted to ask the young man's name, but when he turned around, he found that the man had already disappeared, and his expression suddenly froze.

"Liang'er, come quickly. There are many people in this wooden house who are like us, who have only recently arrived. We have inquired about many situations in Great Xia… …"

Seeing Xiang Ping and the group of Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators beside him looking somewhat excited, although Xiang Liang was still wondering where that black-clothed big brother had gone, he still walked towards his father, wanting to know why they were so excited.

And the black-clothed young man who puzzled him, without knowing when, had already stood on the top floor of the wooden house, first scanning the thousands of people below, then looking at the mine on the south side of the wooden house, and finally turning his gaze to Xiang Liang, chuckling softly, his expression thoughtful.

"This kid is quite smart. The corvée labor has to be changed. The iron mine in this valley is about to run dry. These people serving corvée labor are about to be dispersed to several other iron mines. If the resistance is too great, the management costs will skyrocket, and in the end, it will still be a loss outweighing the gain. I have to talk to Xia Chuan… …"

… … … … … …

Unlike the joyful and noisy atmosphere of tens of thousands of people in Great Xia Valley.

At this moment, the main hall on the top floor of the main building was silent.

None of the tables and chairs on both sides of the hall were occupied. More than a hundred people all stood in the center of the hall in turn, with solemn expressions, their eyes fixed on the high platform, their faces filled with anticipation.

"What, are you all waiting for me to start the banquet?"

Suddenly, a voice sounded from the high platform.

Everyone below immediately showed joy on their faces.

But as a figure appeared on the high platform, their expressions froze at the same time.

A young man wearing a black animal hide cloak, with ordinary features, walked out abruptly from behind the high platform.

He even plopped down into that golden chair.

Everyone's faces subconsciously revealed anger, but then they realized something, carefully examining the young man staring at the high platform, their faces full of suspicion and speculation, but they didn't dare to confirm.

"Hahahaha… … … …"

Seeing everyone's expression of not daring to confirm, the black-clothed young man in the chair suddenly burst into laughter, and then fiddled with his face for a while, immediately tearing off a pale vermilion mask.

Behind the mask, who else could it be but their leader, Xia Hong!

“Hahahaha, this Zhu wood mask is quite effective. None of you could recognize me.”

Below, the hundred-plus people, upon seeing Xia Hong's true face, first revealed smiles, then bowed respectfully towards the high platform, saying:

“Welcome the leader's return from seclusion!”

When the crowd shouted these six words, they clearly increased their volume intentionally. Not only the main hall, but the entire wooden building, and even the valley outside the wooden building, instantly fell silent.

On the three main roads of the valley, the originally bustling tens of thousands of people also quieted down in an instant, turning their heads to look at the top floor of the main building, realizing that Xia Hong had emerged from seclusion and was currently in the main hall. They all stood up from their seats in unison, bowing respectfully towards the main building.

“Welcome the leader's return from seclusion!”

Listening to the sound echoing inside and outside the valley, lingering for a long time, the smile in Xia Hong's eyes grew even richer. He focused his energy in his throat, and spoke slowly to the people below and the tens of thousands outside the valley, his voice carrying a hint of solemnity:

“As the new year begins, I wish you all health and peace. The first year of Daxia has passed. May our Daxia camp expand its territory and become even more prosperous in the coming year. And may all of you reach new heights in your cultivation and have better and better days. Tonight, we drink until we drop! Everyone, cheers!”

The hundred-plus people in the main hall and the tens of thousands in the valley all raised their cups and shouted loudly towards the main building:

“Long live the leader! Long live Daxia!”

“Long live the leader! Long live Daxia!”

“Long live the leader! Long live Daxia!”

… … … … … …

Nine consecutive, impassioned shouts echoed through the sky, shaking the heavens, not only dispelling the snowflakes in the sky above the valley, but also signaling the slow opening of a new chapter in the second year of Daxia.

… … … … … …

Inside the main hall of the main building, Xia Hong put down his wine glass, leaned back in his chair, and said with a smile:

“I've been in seclusion for more than four months. What's the situation in the camp now? Xia Chuan and the heads of the six departments, stand up and talk about it. Everyone else, sit down and listen with me. Taking this opportunity, you all should also get a good understanding of what exactly our Daxia is like now!”

The hundred-odd people in the main hall immediately sat down upon hearing this.

Everyone's gaze converged on Xia Chuan and the other seven people in the center.

“Then I'll start!”

After thinking for a moment, Xia Chuan bowed and spoke first:

“Reporting to the leader, as of this moment, the total population of our Daxia camp is 30,129. Besides the leader, there are 2 at the Frost Resistance level; those currently breaking through to the Frost Resistance level are Luo Yuan, Hong Guang, Yuan Cheng, Hong Tian, Meng Yi, and Zhu Yuan, 6 people; there are 63 people at or above the Earth Digging Realm limit who have started using beast blood; there are 2192 people at the Earth Digging Realm; there are 11924 people at the Lumbering Realm, and almost every day someone breaks through.”

Hiss… … … …

“More than two thousand at the Earth Digging Realm?”

“Twelve thousand at the Lumbering Realm, how can there be so many!”

“Six people are breaking through to the Frost Resistance level. If they all break through together, wouldn't our Daxia have eight… no, nine Frost Resistance levels?”

“Hiss… … … …”

Someone gasped, and a chorus of surprised voices rose and fell in the main hall.

Everyone looked at Xia Chuan in the center, their faces full of excitement.

Putting aside the Frost Resistance level for the moment, what was the concept of more than two thousand at the Earth Digging Realm?

It was equivalent to seven times the original Jing Xian camp.

The progress in these four months has been too great, right?

Xia Chuan in the center of the main hall smiled, deliberately waiting for everyone's reaction to calm down before continuing: “In addition, the six departments were reorganized three months ago. The reorganization mainly included three items:

First, the Collection and Lumbering departments were merged into the Logging Department.

The latest and most complete novels are all available on 6_9_shu_ba.

Second, the Land Reclamation Department was changed to the Garrison Department, which, in addition to being responsible for land reclamation, is also responsible for the other outposts within the entire territory of Daxia. Currently, two outposts, Jinggu and Wuyuan, have been established, with twelve hunting teams stationed in each. Yue Feng is the garrison envoy of Jinggu, and Xu Ning is the garrison envoy of Wuyuan.

Third, a new Civil Affairs Department has been added, responsible for the overall management of all household registrations in Daxia, as well as food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and all matters related to people's livelihood.

Currently, the camp has six departments: Hunting, Logistics, Logging, Craftsman, Garrison, and Civil Affairs. Next, the heads of the six departments will speak for themselves…”

After Xia Chuan finished speaking, he gestured to Yuwen Tao.

Yuwen Tao nodded, stepped forward, and bowed slightly:

“Of the 2192 people in the camp, 2012 have registered with the Hunting Department. As of now, my department has a total of 83 hunting teams under its jurisdiction, 16 intermediate teams, and the remaining 67 teams are low-level teams.

All teams are operating in good condition, and there are not many casualties. The hunting targets and coal and iron ore submission targets for the previous four months have all been normal. The Logistics Department should have records of that, so I won't say more!”

Qiu Peng, the head of the Logistics Department, nodded upon hearing this and stood up directly:

“The Hunting and Logging Departments have seen relatively large personnel changes, and the various resources submitted each month have gradually increased. There is currently no average number, so I will roughly report the total amount of resources for the past month…”

Saying this, he was not afraid of being laughed at by the people around him. He directly took out a small booklet from his arms, smiled, and then continued:

“In December, the total amount received by the Logistics Department from the Hunting Department was:

10,220 jin of beast blood; 2.1 million jin of beast meat; 280,000 jin of intermediate beast bones; a total of 1,621 beast hides; 7.1 million jin of iron ore; 14.2 million jin of coal.”

The numbers reported by Qiu Peng immediately caused a series of exclamations from the hundred-plus people present. Although these things were all turned in by them, they only had a vague understanding of the total amount. Hearing such large numbers so directly naturally surprised them.

However, Xia Hong at the head of the table reacted much more calmly than them.

“Of course, this is only the income from the Hunting Department. The amount of resources submitted by the Craftsman and Logging Departments is also very large. Next, I will tell you about a few important things…”

After the crowd's surprise gradually subsided, Qiu Peng turned a few pages and continued with a smile: “My department currently stores a total of 12,152 finished weapons, the most common being the four types of Xia knives (儀, 橫, 陌, 障), accounting for half, and the rest include swords, spears, clubs, axes, and thirteen other types;

A total of 6,232 finished iron-backed bows are stored, including 10 hundred-stone bows, 100 fifty-stone bows, 300 twenty-stone bows, 5,000 ten-stone bows, and the rest are all five-stone bows. According to the current situation, there is no need to make bows for a long time;

Currently, there are 420 jin of salt, a total of 2,521 bottles of various elixirs, 820 jin of aged wine, 35 jin of Bloodchill wine, 90 meters of silk, 1,220 meters of cotton cloth, 29 jin of paper, Zhu wood, crystal fruits… … … …”

The function of the Logistics Department is to manage all materials in the camp, from basic raw materials to finished materials produced by the Craftsman Department, all of which are managed by it. Therefore, the various materials reported by Qiu Peng are not only huge in quantity but also diverse in variety.

From various materials from cold beasts to weapons and tools, to medicines, salt, and various fruits and bamboo silk products, there is almost everything. Except for a few precious materials, the reserves of most materials are also extremely terrifying.

This undoubtedly reflects the abundance of materials in Daxia at present.

After the Logistics Department finished speaking, it was the Logging Department's turn.

Cheng Feng stood up. After the Collection and Logging Departments merged, he became the head, and Bai Dongying became the deputy head.

“All 11,524 Lumbering Realm members in the camp have registered with my department, but my department's current focus is no longer on wood, but on the fruits and various medicinal herbs and vegetation in all areas of our Daxia.

As of now, the Logging Department has explored, identified, and recorded a total of 78 species, including 19 types of trees, 34 types of medicinal herbs, 14 types of fruits, and 11 other types of materials with currently unknown uses.

After determining the growth cycle of medicinal herbs and fruits, we will organize personnel to pick them regularly. Trees with special uses will also be reported to the Craftsman Workshop, and special felling will be done if needed. Various types have also been stockpiled.”

Next was Mu Dong's Craftsman Department.

“My department currently has 580 registered craftsmen, 180 Earth Digging Realm craftsmen, and 400 Lumbering Realm craftsmen, under the jurisdiction of four workshops: Forging, Alchemy, Xia Clothing, and Carpentry.

The Forging Workshop can currently forge weapons, including 17 types including the four types of Xia knives, 39 types of iron tools, and 120 types of iron products;

The Alchemy Workshop can refine a total of 18 types of elixirs;

The Xia Clothing Workshop has a total of 7 major categories of clothing styles and 21 types of various small items;

The Carpentry Workshop has 42 types of furniture and 210 types of wooden products.”

After Mu Dong finished speaking, he stepped back, and then Yuan Cheng stood up.

After the Land Reclamation Department was changed to the Garrison Department, considering that Shi Ping's strength was a bit weak, he was made the deputy head, and the head was replaced by Yuan Cheng.

“The Garrison Department currently only has two outposts under its jurisdiction, namely Jinggu and Wuyuan. Everyone has witnessed the achievements of the two outposts last year, so I won't say much. In the new year, I hope that the leader and the chief can lead us to continue to expand our territory and create a few more outposts, so that we don't just have two, which doesn't look good…”

“Hahaha, Head Yuan, you're complaining that you have too few people under your command.”

“Hahahaha, Old Yuan, you have a bit of ambition!”

“Haha, to expand the territory, Yuan Cheng, you have to go yourself.”

… … … … … …

After Yuan Cheng finished speaking, everyone in the main hall laughed and joked.

Xia Hong on the high platform couldn't help but smile softly.

“Alright, alright, you go down. Zhu Yuan, you continue!”

The last head of the Civil Affairs Department was Zhu Yuan.

Zhu Yuan stepped forward and said: “The Civil Affairs Department currently records a total of 6,621 households, with 800 new households added in the previous four months. In addition to the 241 newly married couples, the remaining 551 households are people who joined the camp later.”

Within the valley, a little over half of the 4200 plots of land have been sold, and residences have already been constructed. The remaining 2000-plus plots are expected to be sold out within the next six months. When that happens, we'll probably have to find a way to open up new land!”

Hunting, provisions, logging, craftsmanship, defense, civil affairs – as each of the six department heads spoke in turn, the atmosphere in the great hall grew lively.

“Did we accomplish so much this year?”

“There are over 2000 houses in the valley already? I hadn’t even noticed!”

“The provisions department has so much stuff. I only ever go to the entrance. I definitely need to go inside and take a look one of these days. They must be running out of space to store everything, right?”

“Are there really that many kinds of weapons? Besides the Xia blade and its four forms, I’ve only seen four or five other types.”

“There are over 200 kinds of wooden products? I haven’t seen many of them.”

“Heh heh, you don’t have kids at home, do you? My little brat is always eyeing the wooden toys in the craftsman's workshop. He’s always pestering me to buy them, and it gives me a headache when I get home.”

“There are so many kinds of clothes too. No wonder my wife always wants to buy more.”

… … … … … …

This is a classic case of not seeing the forest for the trees. The hundred-plus people in the hall are at least hunting squad leaders, making them some of the highest-ranking people in Great Xia right now.

But even they only have a vague understanding of the overall situation of Great Xia. If Xia Hong hadn't gathered Xia Chuan and the six department heads today to give a comprehensive overview, they probably would have remained unaware.

So, Great Xia has unknowingly developed to this extent!

Everyone in the hall wore expressions of pride, and a sense of unprecedented satisfaction and joy arose in their hearts.

After all, these achievements are partly theirs too!

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard throughout the past year!”

Xia Hong’s voice immediately brought the focus of the hundred-plus people below back to him.

“Chieftain, we haven’t worked as hard as you have.”

“That’s right. If it weren’t for the chieftain hunting so many frost beasts, we wouldn’t be where we are today. If we’re talking about hard work, the chieftain has worked the hardest in the entire camp.”

“Four months ago, the chieftain hunted so many intermediate frost beasts and brought them back. We’ve been enjoying the benefits of the beast blood without doing anything. We’re too embarrassed to say we’ve worked hard.”

“Chieftain, don’t say that!”

… … … …

Hearing the sincere rebuttals from the crowd below, a warm current flowed through Xia Hong’s heart. He didn’t say much, but simply raised his wine cup and said with a smile, “Alright, you’ve worked hard, and I’ve worked hard. Then let’s drink this cup together and wish Great Xia even greater heights in the coming year!”

The hundred-plus people below raised their wine cups and stood up at once.

“Long live the Chieftain! Long live Great Xia!”

“Good, may Great Xia and everyone here live for ten thousand years!”

Xia Hong laughed heartily, leading the hundred-plus people to drain their cups of fine wine!

The atmosphere in the great hall became more lively, and Xia Hong, as the chieftain, naturally couldn't escape the crowd's repeated toasts.

For the first Frost Origin Festival, to show its importance, the provisions department took out almost half of its stored vintage wine. Those who could come to the great hall were given about a pound of free vintage wine each.

Xia Hong, as the chieftain, naturally received special treatment. Two pots of vintage wine and a pot of Blood Frost Wine were placed on his table.

As the atmosphere in the great hall gradually climbed to its peak, Xia Hong quietly opened his system page while no one was toasting him.

【Camp: Great Xia (Level 0)】

【Lord: Xia Hong】

【Cultivation: Frost Resistance Level】

【Territory Population: 30129】

【Resources: Wood 2.3 million, Coal 3.24 million, Iron 2.46 million, Silver 0, Gold 0】

【Activated Buildings 6: Blazing Sun Cauldron (Level 3), Martial Arts Hall (Level 3), Alchemy Workshop (Level 2), Forging Workshop (Level 2), Green Bamboo Fence (Level 1), Record Board (Level 2)】

【Unactivated Buildings 3: Loess Land, Small Wooden Table, Coarse Iron Chain】

“So many resources. Before I leave, I can upgrade all the buildings one last time. Let’s see what big surprises that will bring!”