Chapter 136 - 128: Slaves and News

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The cold wind was howling.

To everyone’s surprise, Man Xiu arrived with a caravan.

At the gates of Frost Leaf Town, Luo De looked at Man Xiu in surprise,

"Winter has already come. I remember you said the next time you would come would be spring."

"It’s really cold."

Man Xiu rubbed his hands and wrapped his arms around his shoulders,

"It’s truly cold here. I thought I’d make my last trip before winter, but I didn’t expect the snow to come so quickly."

Luo De gestured to have the Guard drape a fur coat over Man Xiu.

"As a friend, I had to bring you the goods you needed as soon as possible,"

Man Xiu said boastfully, "This time, I’ve brought you slaves, a total of four hundred people!"

Luo De was visibly stunned and asked in surprise, "How come there are so many all of a sudden?"

He had already seen the dense crowd Man Xiu brought this time.

But he was still shocked by the sheer number.

Last time, Man Xiu only brought nine slaves over, but this time, there are over four hundred, just the cost of meals is a huge sum of money.

So Luo De was full of curiosity.

"Alas."

Man Xiu sighed slightly,

"The west is at war, a bunch of refugees have flooded into Oak City, and these slaves have grown to this number in less than two weeks,

To be honest, some were bought, some were picked up. Gradually, it turned into so many people."

Looking at these people, Luo De suddenly felt that storing food was the right decision.

If it had been before the harvest, Luo De felt he wouldn’t be able to support so many.

"In winter, it’s so cold I don’t want to come out of the house, yet these soldiers still climb out to fight, it’s really..."

Luo De hadn’t finished his sentence when he suddenly remembered, "Oh, right, the west isn’t as cold as us."

They should have just finished the harvest now; everyone has enough food and gets restless, starting a war is normal.

Other places aren’t like the Northern Wasteland, where everyone nests in log cabins through the winter.

Man Xiu nodded in agreement.

Luo De walked to the back of the group, looking at those ragged, emaciated slaves wearing very thin clothes.

Unlike people of the Northern Territory, they had long put on thick fur coats.

"Alright, alright, let’s go, don’t let these people get sick."

Luo De gestured with his hand, then had Lawrence bring the caravan inside.

These slaves had a tough journey getting here, not letting the cold weather freeze them was crucial.

That would be a loss for both Luo De and Man Xiu.

Luo De instructed Lawrence to arrange the slaves in the warehouse bunk at the back of the inn.

Inside were rows of heated brick beds, covered in straw, specially used for holding unallocated slaves, very warm.

Man Xiu had collaborated with Luo De before, so he was rather reassured, letting Lawrence take them away.

Bringing them here naturally meant selling them all to Luo De, as Man Xiu couldn’t possibly venture any deeper into the Northern Territory with the current weather.

Man Xiu followed Luo De back to the manor.

"Lord Baron, it’s really cold here; I truly don’t know how you make it through winter."

Man Xiu lamented.

The reason Man Xiu didn’t come to the Northern Wasteland in winter was because it was too cold.

Not only was it cold outside, but inside as well; every time he came back from outside, he had to warm up by the fire for a long time to feel normal again.

And when traveling through the wasteland, every night outside, Man Xiu would feel like he might freeze to death.

Luo De smiled and simply said, "It’s alright," then led Man Xiu into the hall.

"Something’s not right..."

As the Guard lifted the curtain, before Man Xiu stepped into the hall, he was already met by a wave of warmth.

And as he entered the room, his face was filled with surprise.

"There’s something wrong here! How can it be so warm?"

Man Xiu licked his lips involuntarily; inside the house was a completely different world from outside!

Luo De pointed to the nearby fireplace: "It’s because of this that it’s so warm."

Man Xiu shook his head: "No, the taverns in Border City also have fireplaces, but they’re not this warm. And the door is so far from the fireplace..."

Luo De stopped teasing him, looking at the nearby flue: "That’s for heating."

"What is this?"

Man Xiu curiously stepped forward, looked at the flue adorned with cushions, touched it with his hand, and was amazed at how warm it was,

"Is this a bench?"

Man Xiu sensed something amiss.

Because on the flue were a few frozen pears, slowly thawing.

"Could this be a table?"

"You can think of it that way,"

Luo De explained, "You can sit on it or lie down, it’s meant for heating."

"Why is it hot then?"

"Is it filled with firewood inside and burned?"

"But how can it reach in?"

"Wouldn’t it clog if burned for long?"

...

Suddenly, Man Xiu turned into a curious child, sitting on the flue and asking a barrage of questions.

Luo De was slightly helpless,

"It’s quite complicated inside, hard to explain briefly, and rather boring, you’d best not listen."

"Alright."

Man Xiu, slightly disappointed, then stood up, "Sorry, I was a bit disrespectful; this thing is really quite marvelous."

"No problem, if you like sitting on it, we can have our discussion here."

Luo De extended his hand to indicate for Man Xiu to sit, then had Leia bring over some hot tea.

"Thank you."

Man Xiu bowed slightly, then happily sat back on the warm flue.

These past days in the wilderness had been hard on the children.

"Let’s talk about the war in the west you mentioned before."

Luo De, watching Man Xiu with his tea cup, asked, "Judging by the number of refugees, the scale of the war seems significant; is it between those two great nobles?"

"It’s at the border of the Western Province, a war with the Alliance’s Duchy of Aeofin."