This Jade Mine Was a Charging Station for Those Trees

When Zhou Wanwan opened her eyes, she saw thousands of horses galloping towards them.

Once they reached the woods, they dismounted and said, "Let's rest here for a bit. The Second Prince has given a strict order: we must capture them and bring them back."

"But so far, we haven't seen a single one of them. We only know of a five-year-old child. How easy is it to find them?"

Zhou Wanwan sat on the treehouse, which was situated in the center of the tall Old Scholar Tree Old Scholar Tree.

Most people wouldn't be able to see it, let alone imagine that there's a hidden world up there.

She sat on top of the treehouse, swinging her legs incessantly.

The group continued, "But if we don't bring them back, the Second Prince's wrath is something no ordinary person can withstand."

"This place is quite close to the Second Prince's jade mine. This mountain road is very remote; most people wouldn't find their way here."

"That's true. The Second Prince owns more than twenty jade mines, and this one is relatively small. Let's not go there."

Even if they went, it would be pointless, since the place is full of the Second Prince's men; they wouldn't be able to escape anyway.

The group turned around right there. Zhou Wanwan's eyes lit up. A jade mine?

What she lacks most right now is jade, but the second prince has a lot of jade in his warehouse this time, and they are moving very fast along the way.

It's all because of these jade stones, but wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have a jade mine?

This jade mine is like a charging station for those trees.

Why are they resting here?

Because Zhou Wanwan has been too tired lately, she can't keep up with the speed at which she transforms jade.

Zhou Wanwan drank a cup of Lingbao's bathwater and said, "My strength has recovered a bit. We traveled a long way this time, and I'm a little exhausted."

Zhou Wanwan was so tired last night that she felt dizzy and her vision was blurry; she was definitely exhausted.

Lingbao looked at her and said, "Shall we go and see the jade mine? I'm quite curious, what are the jade mines like here?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "Okay, we definitely have to go and take a look."

Since we're here, let's make the best of it.

Moreover, this second prince has a grudge against them.

They'll settle accounts with us sooner or later, so we might as well exhaust their resources first.

This second prince is no pushover.

Gu Sinian looked at her and said:

"Wanwan, I don't think it's a good thing for us to offend the Second Prince."

"After all, he's colluding with the prefect. What if he comes after us?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled coldly:

"This second prince disregards human life and commits all kinds of evil deeds. In just one year, he tortured and killed hundreds of women."

And it wasn't just women; there were over 200 children too. How can someone like that be worthy of being called a prince?

Even if he doesn't come looking for me, I will come looking for him.

Zhou Qingyan looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "We've offended the prefect and the magistrate now. Will they just wipe out Black Wind Stronghold?"

After all, they're considered bandits now.

Zhou Qinghe sighed and said:

"It seems we'll never be able to participate in the imperial examinations in this lifetime."

Given our current status, if we were to participate in the imperial examinations, we'd probably be arrested on the spot.

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said:

"Brother, don't worry. You know, money makes the world go round. What's a prefect compared to that?"

It's uncertain whether he can remain in this position as prefect!

And what is Cheng Xiao, a county magistrate like him?

Selfishness and greed will lead to downfall sooner or later. What we need to do now is accumulate wealth.

We must find a way to farm. This is just the beginning of a year of disaster. Our opportunity will come when there is a severe drought across the country.

Zhou Qingyan frowned and said:

"A nationwide drought? Is that even possible? Wanwan, I always feel you shouldn't believe what that old lady is saying."

She's a fraud. I'd never heard of her being able to tell fortunes before."

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said:

"Brother, there are actually clues to it. I'm not just blindly believing what I hear. It's just that when she mentioned the locust plague, a locust plague actually happened."

She also mentioned many details, some of which, upon analysis, prove to be true.

This drought will indeed take three years, and possibly more; it's a protracted battle.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a hurry now. I set my sights on Black Wind Stronghold because I was thinking of slowly developing my Black Wind Stronghold there.

I wasn't just trying to save myself; I was thinking about how to save more people.

In the next few years, chaos will inevitably ensue, and countless lives will be lost.

She has now found sweet potatoes, and she knows how high their yield is.

If she could find a way, she could plant more sweet potatoes, and then she could also find water resources, which would allow her to save more people.

Gu Sinian and her three brothers exchanged glances; they had never considered things so far ahead before.

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said:

"If we can save many people here, at least the danger to Black Wind Stronghold will be greatly reduced."

After all, there's strength in numbers. Have you considered that if a drought really strikes, Black Wind Stronghold could easily become a target?

At that point, we won't be able to escape even if we wanted to; the only thing we can do is keep absorbing fresh blood.

The more people gather, the safer our Black Wind Stronghold becomes.

In addition, we have many tree people who can help us, so not only can we survive.

These trees can also survive.

Don't assume that these trees will survive just because there's a drought; that's impossible.

During droughts, people will eat anything edible on the ground, even clay.

Not to mention the wood.

Besides, this wood can be used to make charcoal, or it can be cut down and used as firewood.

These trees won't survive either; the Old Scholar Tree has fallen silent. It has to be said that Zhou Wanwan's plan was very thorough.

She made a very big move.

Looking at the mine in front of her, Zhou Wanwan said, "This is a jade mine?"

As far as the eye can see, all you see are slaves.

"Hurry up, you guys need to speed things up, don't slack off, or you won't get any food."

"The food you're giving us isn't even for pigs. Release us immediately! I'm a citizen of Great Xia!"

"Hahaha... We're capturing people from Great Xia Great Xia. Your slaves are the cheapest. Once they die, we'll just buy another one."

Suddenly, I heard a child crying.

"Oh, oh, oh! Where did this child come from?"

"This woman is carrying a child on her back, a four-legged sheep! My mouth is watering!"

"I haven't eaten meat for ten days to half a month, how about we eat this child tonight!"

A group of people snatched the child from the woman, who then knelt down and kowtowed, saying:

"My lords, please, please spare her! She's only one year old! Waaah..."

She lost her father when she was young, and I was kicked out by my in-laws.

A man, gazing at her beauty, swallowed hard and said:

"Young lady, how about I be her father?"

"This woman is indeed beautiful. Someone, wash her clean; this old man can't wait any longer."