Chapter 40 Survival

On the second day of the journey, the Guangxian merchant group walked from noon to sunset without stopping. The Huajia merchant group walked for nearly 8 hours and walked 90 miles in one afternoon. Except for Hua Kai, everyone else walked all the way. They were almost exhausted following the carriage. All the horses took turns to pull the carts. Fortunately, the horses of Huajiabao were considered fine horses, otherwise they would have to use people to push the carts like other caravans.

There were more than 20 merchant groups from various counties and countries that joined Guangxian this time, with a total number of more than 200 caravans. Hua Kai saw only part of the caravans passing through Xinwen County in the morning. The goods sent by Qi to the north every year have to feed nearly 10 million grassland herdsmen!

In the evening, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the flag of the Hanjia merchant group finally stop.

While organizing the caravan members to find a place to camp along the way, Wei Baotou hurriedly asked people to unload the horses, give them concentrated feed and massage them.

Horses are the most important thing on the trade route. If the horses get sick on the road, it will be difficult for people to return home alive, not to mention delivering the goods to the grassland, unless there are other caravans to take you in.

After all the tents were set up, Erzhuang led people to start a fire and cook, and Grandpa came back riding Lieyan.

"Grandpa, how is the situation?" Hua Kai wanted to know the current competition among the counties.

"There are 21 caravans of all sizes. Now we are probably in the seventh or eighth position. We walked about 90 miles this afternoon, and there are about 140 miles to Jinan State. Today, several of our caravans are obviously unable to hold on. Now it depends on what the Han family decides!"

As Hua Xing was talking, a Han family servant came to the Hua family tent and said that he wanted to ask the head of the Hua family to talk about something.

Hua Kai came to the main tent of the Han family. The Han family was discussing the afternoon with other caravans.

"Now that everyone is here, let's discuss whether we will compete for the position of the merchant group. If we compete, some families can't keep up with the speed. If we don't compete, how should we deal with the horse bandits in the grassland? Today, I got accurate information that hundreds of horse bandits appeared in the grassland in the north of Linhu grassland, and the largest horse bandit group has more than 3,000 people." The person in charge of the Han family said here, and everyone looked horrified.

Those who can become horse bandits and live on the grassland are very few in strength below the Kaiyuan realm. Those horse bandits live on the edge of a knife and are much more powerful than ordinary mountain bandits. Moreover, they are all one person and many horses, and they are very fast. It is very difficult to escape if they are targeted.

This is why many caravans only go to Linhu country at most. The large horse bandit groups dare not appear near the Central Plains, but after Linhu to the north, because the land is vast and sparsely populated, the number of horse bandits and mountain bandits has increased dramatically. Of course, the profit of transporting goods there is much greater.

"Everyone, please report the situation of your respective caravans this afternoon! Then we will decide together how to participate in this competition next. Let me talk about the Han family first. The Han family has 32 carriages and 46 horses. Now all the carriages are intact, but 2 horses can no longer follow the caravan." The person in charge of the Han family said sadly.

"Let me talk about the situation of the Jia family. The goods in the 26 carriages of the Jia family are intact, but 3 horses are exhausted and can't pull the carriages without a few days of rest." The representative of the Jia family said.

Then everyone introduced the losses of their own caravans. Guang County, including the 14 caravans of the Han family, except for the Hua family, all suffered losses. Some families have strong horses pulling the carriages, so it is basically impossible to continue to sprint like this tomorrow.

When the Hua family said that they had no losses in their horses, everyone showed surprised eyes. Many of them saw that when other caravans were pushing carriages this afternoon, the members of the Hua family caravan were still sitting in the carriages. Originally, they laughed and thought that the Hua family had never walked a long way and didn't know how to be considerate of the horses. As a result, the Hua family caravan became the only caravan without losses.

"Everyone knows the situation of the entire Guangxian merchant group. Next, let's discuss how the merchant group should proceed tomorrow, whether to continue to fight or stop to rest tomorrow." The Han family leader's words actually made the Han family's attitude very clear, that is, the Han family must fight for it, not only for the benefit, but also for the face of the entire Guangxian Han family.

Many caravan leaders heard this and said that they must strive for the front position. If the Guangxian merchant group encounters horse bandits at the end of the queue, they may be swallowed up by the entire horse bandit group.

Some caravans were silent. They were thinking about their own situation. Even if they tried their best to keep up with the merchant group tomorrow, how many horses would they have left when they arrived in Jinan? Would they still be able to go to the Xiongnu Kingdom!

"Then let's vote by raising our hands... 9 families agreed to continue and 5 families abstained from voting. Then we will continue on our journey tomorrow morning and try to reach the border of Jinan within one day tomorrow..."

"Master Han, my Wang family may not be able to keep up with the caravan. 7 of the 21 horses of the Wang family caravan were exhausted today. Even if we insist on reaching Jinan tomorrow, we will not be able to reach the Huhan tribe!" The head of the Wang family interrupted the head of the Han family.

"Oh! Which family doesn't want to go to the Xiongnu? Those who don't want to go can stay and rest tomorrow. My Han family is not unreasonable. Although the pass fee cannot be refunded, you can give all your goods to their family..."

Then another family chose to give up like the Wang family. The pass fee is about 2.4 times the price of the goods. Transporting the goods to the Linhu grassland may only return the cost, so everyone hopes to dispose of their goods as much as possible on the spot, so that they can make a lot of money by buying horses, furs, animal bones, etc. on the Linhu grassland.

"Can you sell your caravan horses? I'll give you a 20% premium..."

"How about we leave you three exhausted horses from our caravan? I'll give you 1 gold difference in exchange for your three good horses."

...

The two caravans gave up halfway, and everyone rushed to share each other's horses to strengthen their own strength. Although the two caravans gave up this year's business, they actually made a profit of more than 5 gold after exchanging this series of horses, but none of their goods claimed it.

"Are there any friends willing to take over the Wang family's goods? The Wang family is willing to sell the goods in their hands at 3 times the price..." Seeing that all their horses had been exchanged, the representative of the Wang family wanted to deal with the goods in their hands quickly. These road permits were bought to go to the Xiongnu, and there was only 3 times the profit if they were transported to the Linhu grassland. It would not be a waste of effort.

In normal times, each family would want to transport as much as possible, and the Wang family had already paid 2.4 times the road permit fee, so they would make a profit if they bought it, and the Han family also looked at the heads of the various families sitting there with wide eyes, hoping that someone could take over.

"2.5 times, someone offers 2.5 times the price for Zhou's goods. We can choose any goods from the Zhou family. We can lose less. Is there anyone willing to take over?" After the Zhou family leader said this, no one on the scene said anything. The Yang family also said that they were willing to sell the family goods at 2.5 times the price.

The Han family leader began to frown at this time. If this matter could not be resolved, the reputation of the Han family would certainly be damaged, but he could not force anyone to take over the goods of the two families.

"Everyone, 2.2 times the price, if anyone is willing to take over, take it away. As long as this goods arrive in Daiguo, we can earn back the cost. It is considered to help my Wang family!" The voice of the Wang family leader was already crying. His goods were worth more than 100 gold, and the road permit alone cost 300 gold. The fate of their entire family may be gambled on this business trip. If he wants to deal with these goods on the spot now, he will lose at least 200 gold.

No one dared to say anything at this time. Their own caravan might have to fight hard to catch up with the merchant group tomorrow. How could they help others share the pressure at this time?

"Hua family, didn't you lose any horses today? Can you help Wang and Zhou families share a little... I will report to the head of the family to try to compensate you for your losses this time." The person in charge of the Han family was also in a dilemma. His main task was to complete this business trip safely, and he would consider other things later. But tonight's decision was too much for the losses of the two families, and the Han family must say something!

"Reply to Han, the head of the family! For the first time this year... the Hua family is willing to take part of the goods, but the family funds are limited and cannot pay for the goods for the time being!" Hua Kai wanted to refuse, but when he saw his grandfather nodding to him, he knew what his grandfather wanted to say.

If Huajiabao wants to be promoted to a noble family, the relationship with all the families in Guang County is the most important. If the Hua family can accept this batch of goods this time, the two families will definitely be very grateful to the Hua family, and the Han family must also thank the Hua family, because most of the road permit fees collected by the Han family are paid to Linzi City, and the Qi family in Linzi City will give a part of it to various countries and cities along the way, so as to show the sovereignty of the Qi family in Qi.

"We can find another way if there is no money. How many goods can you accept at most." The head of the Han family asked happily.

"At most, there are 2 trucks of goods. We must give up some food and grass to bring these goods." Hua Kai said.

Finally, it was decided that the two families could give two trucks of goods to the Hua family. Huajiabao got them at 2.2 times the price of Guangxian purchase, which means that the Hua family only paid 1.2 times the price of the goods for the road permit fees.

Among them, 1.2 of the road permit fees will be paid by the Han family first, and the remaining cargo principal will be paid to the two families after the Huajiabao caravan returns. The money given by the Han family is considered to be borrowed by the Hua family, and the Hua family needs to pay interest.

When leaving the Han family's main account, the pass in the Hua family's hands changed. The amount of silk, sugar, tea, refined salt and other goods increased by two times.

The two families forced all the precious tea, refined salt and silk of their caravan to Hua Kai. These things were the most precious, with a total value of more than 180 gold. Hua Kai wrote an IOU of 180 gold, and these nearly three carts of precious goods were in his hands. The remaining fine wine of the two families would not lose money if sold on the spot, and the loss of other things would not be large.

The Hua family was already in debt to the Han family for 260 gold pass fees, and now the foreign debt is even greater. If this business trip fails, they may not be able to sell the entire Huajiabao to the Han family.

Hua Kai returned to the caravan and told others about his decision, and everyone was quite excited. This time, the goods given by the two families were higher than the total value of all the goods in Huajiabao. Originally, everyone's carriages did not have much stuff. Hua Kai used the carriage as a cover, and the good things were all in the portable space. This time, there were so many more things, and the Hua family team was still far from the limit! The main thing is that they can buy on credit, how can they live without taking advantage of this?

As soon as it got dark, the Hua family went to the two trading companies to count the supplies.

After transporting the goods back to their own caravan, Hua Kai saw the people of Huajiabao walking around outside the main tent after dinner. How could he not know what everyone meant?

"You are so tired today, but you didn't rest early... Come in! Let's finish the talk early and rest quickly. We will cross Hutuo Mountain tomorrow, and you will have a hard time then." After Hua Kai finished speaking, more than 40 people from Huajiabao rushed into the main tent and squeezed it tightly.

The two chapters of the story were quickly told. The first four chapters were told yesterday. Today, it was the time when the three heroes fought against Lu Bu. Hua Kai portrayed Lu Bu as a master of the innate realm. Although he was strong, he changed his master three times. Everyone in Huajiabao gnashed their teeth when they heard it. Many people in this world hate those who are unfaithful to their master the most.

The two chapters were told very quickly. Many generals of the Three Kingdoms began to appear one by one, and everyone was fascinated by their stories. When Hua Xing heard that Sun Jian dared to hide the jade seal, he couldn't help but stand up and curse the traitor. Everyone hated Sun Jian more than Lu Bu!

When everyone reluctantly left the main account, Hua Kai harvested some family luck points. He told the story much better today than yesterday, and the impression was more profound after telling it. And every time he told the climax of the story, this [Basic Copywriting Skills] would run fast. He felt that the speed of the true qi in his body was ten times faster than usual. The Heaven-level Heart Method was so terrifying.

The next day, Hua Kai woke up early and saw that the caravan had started to make a fire and cook. Before dawn, the Han family came to notify them to prepare to set off. Today was considered to be leaving the densely populated area of ​​Qi. Going west, the road became more and more rugged, and the caravan was difficult to go. Especially Hutuo Mountain, there are more than a dozen bandit strongholds hidden there, and caravans are attacked here every year.

When the Han family flag moved again, the sky had just brightened. The Hua family caravan packed up and started to set off. Hua Kai saw that all the accompanying personnel of the Han family caravan got off the carriage and walked behind the carriage today, so he knew that they would fight hard today, which made other caravans feel extremely stressed.

The people of Huajiabao continued to get on the carriage. As long as the road was flat, Hua Kai felt that his horses could still hold on. He carefully watched the situation of other caravans' carriages without shock absorption. It was so bumpy. Sometimes it was so bumpy that people needed to hold the goods. The horses consumed a lot of energy in this situation.

The behavior of the Hua family caravan surprised other caravans. They could only think that Huajiabao was too naive. It was lucky that the horses did not fall down yesterday. Since they dared to do this today, let's see how they gave up halfway.

No one could have thought that the Hua family caravan would make improvements in the shock absorption of the carriage. The Guangxian merchant group set off early in the morning.

On the way, Hua Kai saw many caravans on both sides of the official road and then they were packing up their things. The Guang County caravan overtook dozens of small caravans in succession, and it was almost noon when some caravans of the Guang County caravan could no longer keep up with the speed. They had to let the accompanying personnel push the carriages behind them, and only then could they barely keep up with the pace of the caravan. However, under everyone's attention, the Hua family caravan did not show any signs of being unable to move, which surprised everyone.