At the border between the Northern Plains and the Central Plains, a group of refugees were sitting by the Shenmu River with a campfire next to them.
This place was located on the northern border of the Wang Clan Consortium and bordered the Northern Plains. However, there were very few people here, and the Wang Clan's troops rarely came here to patrol.
A group of people were gathered around the campfire to keep themselves warm. The clothes they were wearing were obviously patched up and did not seem to be washed often. They were also carrying homemade guns in their arms. It was obvious that they were bandits who roamed the wilderness all year round.
A middle-aged man with a protruding mouth and ape-like cheeks said, "Boss, do you think they'll come? The date we agreed on has already passed."
"I don't know." A burly middle-aged man rubbed his hands together. "Who knows what's going on in the steppe? I heard it's quite chaotic over there. Some of the small tribes were wiped out just like that."
"Then are we still going to wait? We've already waited for two days." The middle-aged man with a protruding mouth and ape-like cheeks cursed, "If the goods they brought aren't as good as they claim, we'll have made this trip for nothing."
"Wang Ergou, can you stop talking for a while? I've been listening to you for the past two days. If you don't want to wait, you can go back by yourself." One of the men spat on the ground after he said that.
The leader of the bandits did not say anything else. The reason he had waited here for two days was not because he had integrity or anything like that, but because his family was about to run out of money.
They lived on the road leading from the Central Plains to the Northwest. However, the trade route between the Northwest and the Central Plains had been cut off for many years. The bandits who used to enjoy their glory now had to farm their own fields every day.
Although they had heard that the trade route would be reopened, it was still not open yet, was it? They had encountered a few caravans before and wanted to rob them. But the caravans that could travel between the Northwest and the Central Plains were all big merchants, and their weapons were much better than theirs.
Moreover, he was a smart man. Who was the one who opened the trade route? It was Fortress 178!
Fortress 178 was different from the consortiums. If they continued to rob caravans in the future, those bastards from Fortress 178 might very well send their troops to trample them to the ground.
The leader of the bandits thought to himself, 'Since being a bandit is risky, can I take advantage of this opportunity to start a business?
But what business could he do? He didn't have any goods on hand …
Therefore, some time ago, a herdsman rode from the north and said that he wanted to do business with them. The leader of the bandits, Su Lei, was immediately tempted.
The herdsman rode on a very tall horse and said that they had a lot of fur from the game on the grassland, as well as beef and mutton to trade.
Be it the Northwest or the Central Plains, these things were scarce!
In particular, fur was one of the favorite things of the dignitaries in the stronghold. It was the same reason as wild game. If you could wear a set of beautiful fur obtained from the wilderness, you would be the most dazzling presence at the banquet.
Of course, Su Lei had only heard about it from others. He had never seen it with his own eyes.
But it was true that in the town of the Soong Clan stronghold, there were grocery store owners who bought furs all year round.
No, those strongholds already belonged to Fortress 178.
The Shenmu River was very shallow, and because of the cold weather, it had completely frozen over.
Part of the reason why the nomads always chose to travel south in the winter was probably because the river was passable.
While the bandits' leader, Su Lei, was deep in thought, the faint sound of hooves could be heard in the distance. He looked up and was surprised to see a group of people approaching from the frozen river. Leading the group was a young man.
Su Lei stood up. "I'm Su Lei. You're late."
The young man on horseback said with a smile, "Good things always come a little late. We've brought a lot of furs, and they look really good too. Did you bring the things we wanted?"
At this moment, Su Lei thought of something very strange. In his opinion, the things the nomads in the north wanted to trade should be salt or weapons. But the other party was very strange. They actually asked for tea leaves, cabbage, coriander, onions, ginger, garlic, pepper, and other seasonings.
Of course, they also asked for antibiotics and some ironware. However, the ironware they asked for were pots and pans, not sabers and swords.
Su Lei said, "Our goods are just a few kilometers away. We have to confirm your sincerity before we can take you there to collect them."
The dozens of people behind Su Lei silently sized up the young man, as well as the hundreds of young and strong men behind him. These people were all riding tall horses and following closely behind the young man.
When the young man heard Su Lei's words, he said with a smile, "Send someone over to inspect the goods."
Su Lei gave the monkey-like middle-aged man a look, and the latter shrank back a little.
Instead, it was the man who had reprimanded the middle-aged man who took the initiative to walk towards the herdsmen.
The young man looked at the man and praised, "You're quite bold. What's your name?"
Su Lei suddenly felt this young man had the confidence of a superior. The man did not mind and replied in a muffled voice, "Cui Qiang!"
As he spoke, the man walked up to the herdsmen. He was surprised to see that these people were all carrying stacks of furs on their horses.
Cui Qiang reached out and checked the furs. The furs were so well preserved that even the best hunters in the Central Plains could not do it. There were no bullet holes, only two tiny holes that looked like teeth marks. It was as if they had been bitten to death by wolves.
If these furs were sold to the Northwest or the Central Plains, they would make a fortune.
It would be best if they were sold to the Central Plains, where the people were richer!
Cui Qiang checked for half an hour before he finally finished. He turned around and shouted at Su Lei, "There's no problem."
Su Lei took a deep breath and said to the young man, "Come with me. I'll take you to the place where the goods are stored. We have vegetables, ironware, and medicine."
The young man smiled happily. "When I saw that you didn't have any goods with you, I thought you were planning to get something for nothing. But since you're sincere about trading with our tribe, you've made the right decision."
As they spoke, Su Lei realized the young man did not seem to be afraid of their guns. But these herdsmen clearly did not bring any firearms with them, so why were they so confident?
After all, no matter how crude a gun was, it was still a gun.
As Su Lei led the way, he wondered, "Why didn't you guys buy weapons or something? Why did you buy so many daily necessities?"
The young man smiled and said, "You make it sound like you can get me a weapon if I want one."
There was a hint of mockery in his words, but Su Lei really could not refute him. If he could get his hands on a better weapon, they would not have to run around with guns.
The young man glanced at Su Lei and said with a smile, "Don't mind me, I'm just stating some facts. After this transaction, you'll slowly become richer. At that time, it won't be too late for us to trade for other goods."
Su Lei was stunned for a moment. He realized the young man actually wanted a long-term partnership in the future.
The young man did not want to buy a gun now because he knew very well that Su Lei and the others could not get their hands on one either.
But just because they could not get their hands on one now did not mean they could not get their hands on one in the future.
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