"Old man, are you really going?"
"Otherwise what?" A burly middle-aged man packed his luggage, glaring at his son who had asked the question. "Do you think such a good opportunity will last forever? Haven't you seen how difficult it is to get a household registration in Jiangnan? Those wealthy merchants from other places have spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and they still can't get one!"
"Didn't Coco say she would take care of us?" the honest eldest son said, looking aggrieved.
"Resettlement? Is resettlement here?" the middle-aged man said angrily. "It's overseas! I've heard that the latest batch of resettlers are on a new island, overrun with cannibalistic zombies. How can it compare to being here? You're useless! Your brother is a promising student; going overseas will ruin him!"
"And do you know how long we'll have to wait? We've been here for half a year, don't you know how many northerners are still unsettled? You're like a beggar collecting relief food every day, how long do you plan to live like this? Your sister is of marriageable age, and she doesn't even have a household registration. What kind of family do you expect her to marry into? She doesn't even understand how to beg!"
The burly man looked aggrieved upon hearing this. "Then, old man, shall I go with you?"
"You're going? Who's going to farm the land you're assigned?" The middle-aged man was so angry that he slapped him on the head. "What was the point of me risking my life to go back to that godforsaken place? Twenty acres of sacred land, who do you think it's for? You're no good at studying, you're a blockhead and you can't even run a business. If you don't have some land, how are you going to get a wife?"
The old man, a large man, had a bitter face and red eyes.
"Alright, stop dawdling like a woman." The middle-aged man lowered his head, slung his luggage over his shoulder, and turned to say, "I'm warning you, the land is yours, but you have to hand over your brother. The quilt I left and some of your mother's old jewelry are all your sister's dowry. If you dare to take any of it, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
Big Han: "."
"That's fine then." The middle-aged man took a breath and walked out of the room, looking at the wind and snow outside, his eyes slightly moist.
When his wife was swallowed by a snake, he wanted to join his boss, but he couldn't bear to leave those few good-for-nothing bastards behind. Now, he never expected that his old life could be exchanged for such good conditions; it was worth it, wasn't it?
Are you getting impatient, honey? I'm coming right now.
"Go north, this way!"
Upon arriving at the dock, Xu Bohan was slightly taken aback to see a large group of northerners gathered there. He thought there must be very few people like him who were willing to risk their lives for their children's future. After all, it's better to live a miserable life than to die. Although they faced discrimination in Jiangnan, they could at least have enough to eat and wear.
And as long as you're willing to wait, going overseas will also be a new beginning, won't it?
Despite how badly he and his son described life overseas, he had actually done his research and found that life there wasn't bad at all. It was warm Four Seasons, with abundant resources and fertile land. Several of his friends who had already settled there had written to him, saying that life overseas wasn't as bad as they thought.
They had ready-made houses to live in, plenty of food, and the protection of the West Sea Army. Although the environment and food were not as good as those in Jiangnan, it was much better than their previous life in the North.
With such days to look forward to, why would anyone risk their life going north?
But in fact, I was mistaken; there were probably thousands of people gathered at this dock!
"Hey, Brother Xu? You've come all this way too?"
"Oh? Brother Du?" Middle-aged Xu Bohan smiled upon seeing a familiar Laoda: "You're here too?"
"Haha." The other person quickly moved closer, then lowered their voice and said, "Hey you, you barely escaped with your life, what are you doing? Rushing to be sent back to your death?"
"Aren't you the same?" Xu Bohan frowned. "My whole family, I'm risking my old life for their future well-being, what's not worth it? Why are you getting involved?"
This guy surnamed Du is different from him. Back then, none of his wife and children managed to escape. He's all alone now. I wonder what he's thinking.
"I recently took a fancy to a widow, her figure is... wow!"
Xu Bohan: "."
"But she's a local from Jiangnan. Even if she's a widow, it's not my turn. Look, the official from Jiangnan said that if I go this time and come back alive with useful intelligence, he'll give me a house and a spot for my child to study at a martial arts academy for free. With all that, why would I be afraid that widow will look down on me?"
Xu Bohan's lips twitched, and he immediately became too lazy to reply. This guy had only been gone for half a year, yet he had already forgotten all about his ex-wife and children. He was quite carefree. But that was fine too; people always have to look forward.
"Move forward a bit, everyone. Take a piece of warm jade. It's freezing cold along the way, and each person only gets one piece, so be careful not to break it."
"It is the soldier leading the way!" the soldier shouted.
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.
"What a find!" The man surnamed Du looked at the pile of orange warm jade in front of him, his mouth almost watering. "A couple of years ago, when these things were sold to the north, even wealthy noblemen offered 200,000 taels of silver for just one piece. Now they're giving it away for free! What a generous gesture! If I come back alive this time, I can live a life of luxury just by selling these."
Xu Bohan hadn't originally planned to return alive, but seeing Nuanyu rekindled his hopes. If he could successfully bring her back, he'd have Sanya's dowry!
And so, each person, with different thoughts in mind, hunched over and carried the priceless warm jade in the cold wind and snow, once again stepping onto that huge icy path.
This time, however, the path ahead is no longer one of hope, but a dead end!
"Ah, quite a few people aren't afraid of death." Murong Yunji smiled as she looked at the long queue, then glanced at her companions.
The person accompanying him on this mission was none other than Yuchi Feihong, the current Wind Gate Battle God!
"In this life, there are always some people who are willing to fight tooth and nail for something, no matter what it is!" Yuchi Feihong grinned.
"Do you really think these people can become good soldiers?" Murong Yunji asked doubtfully.
"Why not?" Yuchi Feihong said, "Most of Xu Hu's Battle God Army members are commoners who rose to power. Nowadays, all the good bloodlines want to join the Battle God Army and the West Sea Army. If I don't find a way myself, am I supposed to just stay guarding the gates in Liuzhou forever?"
"Oh, taking a different approach, huh?" Murong Yunji said with a half-smile.
"Soldiers are forged in battle," Yuchi Feihong said in a low voice. "Any young man who ventures into the battlefield can command a large army from the start. Tian Heng's troops are his own men, while Xu Hu's troops were built up little by little over the years while defending Jiangnan and eliminating the living corpses. I am a newcomer, and my prestige is far inferior to those two. If I can only wait for the lord to find a way for me to recruit good soldiers, wouldn't I be a useless person?"
"The North is a good place. The people there are of very high individual quality, especially now that they are supposedly being raised on demon flesh by those giant snakes. Their physical fitness is absolutely top-notch, making it a good source of soldiers."
"You actually had this in mind?" Murong Yunji rolled her eyes.
"Could it be that...?" Yuchi Feihong said, "My Wind Gate Battle God is all about leading the vanguard, so naturally, I'll only choose the fiercest and strongest men. Take these brave men, for example. They've already experienced the terror of the giant serpent, and now they still dare to take a gamble. Just for that, they're qualified to be my soldiers. Just you wait, the soldiers I bring out later will definitely give you a shock!"
"Hahaha," Murong Yunji burst into laughter, her ample bosom jiggling with each laugh, which ignited a burning desire in Yuchi Feihong's eyes. "Really not considering becoming my deputy?"
"You're quite capable, and you know the Divine Wind Technique. You'd be perfect as my second-in-command, training scouts. Why do you insist on hanging out with that demon brat?"
Murong Yunji rolled her eyes. The demon brat the other party was referring to was none other than Nezha, the current God of War of the Thunder Division!
"Women, once they reach a certain age, they start to like younger men." Murong Yunji rolled her eyes at the other person. "I'm no longer interested in an old hunk like you."
Yuchi Feihong: "."
"However, it shouldn't be easy to poach soldiers from the Northern Wasteland, right? So many powerful families are eyeing them."
"The north is hard to dig in, but the Northern Lands are easy!" Yuchi Feihong looked ambitiously northward. "If the lord's intelligence is true, this is my chance!"