In Beihai Town next to Beihai, even though it is summer, the temperature here is not high. In the morning, there is even a hint of coldness, which wakes up Sun Xue from his deep sleep.
Opening the window, what comes into view is the endless, clear and translucent lake. There are early risers driving small boats to start fishing in the North Sea.
There are dense primeval forests on both sides of the lake. The trees here are different from the trees in Huairou County. They are mainly coniferous forests, including birch, fir, larch, etc. When you look over, you can't see the end at a glance.
Dense forests as wide as the North Sea.
Looking into the distance, the North Sea is very calm with few waves. There are eagles in the sky called Gaoxuan. From time to time, seals can be seen freely feeding on the lake, and groups of fish can also be seen.
The scene of swimming to the lake to get some air was so dark that it looked like a huge whale or sea monster, and then it quickly dispersed under the pursuit of seals.
On the shore of the lake, at the edge of the forest, there is lush water and grass. You can see deer with huge antlers foraging freely. From time to time, they look curiously towards Beihai Town, and they are not afraid of people.
“It seems like a good place~”
Looking at the scenery in front of him, Sun Xue was still in a good mood. Since they had all been exiled here, they could settle down as soon as they came.
After washing up, Sun Xue began to wander leisurely in Beihai Town. It seemed like he was here to have fun, but it didn't feel like he was exiled here at all. After all, it takes time to change the status of a young lady and an exile.
The town is small, with only a few streets. All the houses are neatly planned, and every household is the same. It is obvious that this was planned and constructed by the imperial court.
The streets in the town are hardened with cement so that they are not all mud. It can be seen that the court invested a lot in this aspect.
There are several shops in the town, mainly selling some daily necessities, but the prices don't seem to be cheap. There are no restaurants or teahouses here. Everything looks simple and depressed.
However, what surprised Sun Xue was that there was a specialized fur merchant in this town who specialized in harvesting all kinds of furs. There were some fox skins, mink skins, deer skins, etc. hanging at the door, and there was also a medicinal herb shop.
The store specializes in purchasing medicinal materials. It seems that it is rich in furs and some special and precious medicinal materials.
"Girl, are you new here?"
Just as Sun Xue was strolling leisurely in the town, a figure suddenly sounded beside him.
Sun Xue quickly looked over and saw that she was a woman in her forties.
"Yes, I just came here yesterday."
"you are?"
Sun Xue lowered her head and replied.
"Everyone calls me Aunt Xue. I have been here for a year."
"I see that you are very beautiful, girl, and you have tender skin and tender flesh. You must be a lady among the people. Why are you exiled here?"
Aunt Xue looked at Sun Xue carefully. She knew at a glance that Sun Xue was a lady. Although she was wearing very ordinary clothes, her temperament, coupled with her thin skin and tender flesh, definitely did not come from an ordinary family.
.
"I……"
Sun Xue didn't want to talk about what was going on at home, so she could only lower her head.
"If you don't want to say it, just say it. Anyway, the people here are all the same. They all committed crimes and were exiled here."
"My son saw some local gangsters beating me, so he helped me, and he accidentally died, so he was sent to Beihai. I am an old man and it doesn't matter where I go, so I followed him to Beihai.
Already."
"If you don't understand something, you can ask me. If you need any help, you can also tell my son. He is an honest man, but his life is not good, otherwise he would not have been sent to Beihai.
"
Aunt Xue looked at Sun Xue, sighed slightly, and then said warmly.
Hearing Aunt Xue's words, Sun Xue felt warm in her heart. Since the fall of the Sun family, she has seen people who add insult to injury, and she has also seen ungrateful people who have experienced the warmth and coldness of the world.
"Aunt Xue, how can everyone in Beihai Town survive?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Xue thought about it and asked.
I have been exiled here and will have to live here for a long time in the future. If I don’t understand this place clearly, it will definitely be difficult to live in the future.
"Girl, this Beihai Town is actually a pretty good place."
“It’s extremely cold here, but other aspects are pretty good.”
"Look at the North Sea, there are many kinds of fish. Usually in the summer, we catch more fish and make them into dried fish for eating in the winter."
"And look at this vast and vast forest. In the summer, we have to cut down more trees to prepare enough wood for the winter. Otherwise, in the winter, if there is no firewood, we will definitely freeze to death."
"Outside the town, there are large tracts of wasteland that can be reclaimed at will. Whatever is reclaimed is your home. It is very cold here and you can only grow wheat and potatoes once. But you came too late this year.
The time to open up wasteland for farming has been missed.”
"In this forest, in addition to trees, there are also a large number of deer, bears, foxes and the like. Hunting is also very important. The furs can be sold to fur merchants, and the meat can be kept for eating.
Make it into dried meat for the winter."
"In addition, there are all kinds of mushrooms in the forest. There are many types and there are many edible ones. In summer, you can pick more and dry them to sell as dry goods, or you can keep them for winter.
eat."
"In general, although it is very cold here, it is a bitterly cold place, but as long as you are willing to do it, you can still live a good life. At least, here, eating meat can be something to do every time.
"
Aunt Xue is very talkative, and the more she watches Sun Xue, the more she likes him. The main reason is that his son is still a bachelor, and it is not easy to find a wife in Beihai Town.
You must know that the people exiled here are basically men, and there are very few women. This has led to the scarcity of women. Therefore, some slave traders have also spotted this business opportunity and regularly bring some female slaves here to sell, but often
The prices are very high.
In the Beijing-Tianjin area, a white slave from Europe only costs a few dozen taels of silver. But here, those black-hearted slave merchants often raise the price to hundreds of taels. A good-looking one can even cost several taels.
One hundred taels of silver.
When Sun Xue and others came yesterday, they had already attracted a lot of attention in the town. Naturally, Aunt Xue noticed it early, and she also came to create opportunities for her son.
After all, it is not easy to marry a wife here, not to mention, it is best to find a Ming Dynasty. After all, slaves are slaves, it is not convenient to speak and communicate, and the children born will look out of shape.
Hearing Aunt Xue's words, Sun Xue's face turned pale. She is a young lady who has always stretched out her hands for food and opened her mouth for clothes. Now she wants to chop wood, fish, hunt, and farm?
She doesn't know anything, and most of the people in the Sun family are similar. They don't know anything. How can they live here in the future?
"Girl, if you have any difficulties in the future, just come to me."
"My son is very powerful. He is the best hunter in the whole town. He is the best at hunting. If you need any help, just come to me. I am the third house in the first row to the east of the town."
Aunt Xue seemed to immediately see the embarrassing situation Sun Xue was facing, and said with a smile.
"Thank you, Aunt Xue~"
Sun Xue could only show up to express her gratitude, then hurriedly bid farewell, and wandered around the town with a complicated mood.
There were many people talking to Sun Xue, and some even teased Sun Xue directly in the street. Fortunately, there were many kind-hearted people, and some came out to help and scold him, so there was no big trouble.
From time to time, you can also see people using four-wheeled carriages from outside to drag carts of wood back. Wood is a very important thing here, it can be used to build houses and can also be used as firewood.
Sometimes you can see hunters bringing their hounds back with their prey, such as deer, foxes, seals, and even bears. Pheasants, rabbits and the like are even more common.
It was even busier when we arrived at the dock of the town. We could see many tall and strong women. These women looked very different from those of Ming Dynasty people. They were all blond and blue-eyed, with tall noses and deep eyes. They were obviously all
She was a white slave from Europe who was sold here by slave traders and sold to the exiled prisoners here as wives.
When it comes to work, these women are no less powerful than men. They are very strong and help their men carry boatloads of fish to the shore, slaughter them cleanly, and then dry them neatly.
Take a closer look at these fish. They are very different from the fish in Guanhai. The fish here are very big. They are all cold-water fish such as salmon, salmon, and white fish. They are big in size and have good meat quality.
There are few bone spurs, light fishy smell, and high fat content. The main reason is that the yield is large.
It can be seen that the harvest of these fishing boats is very good and the catch is large.
If someone wants to buy their fish, the price is also very cheap. You can buy a big fish for a few copper coins. If you want to buy some fish to dry and dry for the winter, the price can be even cheaper if you buy a large amount.
Two silver coins are enough to buy thousands of catties of fish.
"This is Beihai~"
Sun Xue looked at everything in front of her and couldn't help but sigh.
It is a bitter cold land, but the products are extremely rich. Forests, fish, deer, bears, foxes, minks... make up everything here. If you want to survive, you have to deal with these.
It's just that she, a young lady, knows nothing and understands nothing. How can she survive here?