The dusk was already deep, and the red clouds in the distance outlined the silhouette of the school. Luo Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the school in sight. She was dressed very neatly at this time, with her hair tied in a small bun at the back of her head, carrying a travel bag and holding a walking stick, walking on the mountain road.
"Teacher Luo, our team has achieved a great success this time. Who could have known before we came out that we would be able to discover three different minerals along the way. And they are all not far from the school." Ji Yijun walked happily beside Luo Ling, throwing a grayish-white stone in his hand.
Luo Ling smiled slightly, "Thanks to Teacher Qin's carefulness and knowledge, otherwise we would have missed the opportunity to discover quartz stone."
"No, thanks to everyone." Qin Mu is an associate professor of the school's environmental science department. He is in his early thirties. He is of medium build, but with a well-proportioned figure. His gestures are very powerful. His long and straight eyebrows give people a sense of decisiveness, and people don't notice his slightly small but bright eyes. He is also dressed in hiking clothes, walking at the front of the team, holding a rifle in his hand. However, what attracts more attention is the small roe deer on his shoulder.
This team only had five people, nearly half the number of Xiao Chen and his team. In addition to the three of them, there was also a guide and a warrior.
"Teacher Qin, I usually don't admit defeat. But after going out with you this time, I am convinced. Not only did I exceed the task requirements, but I also made extra money! Great!" Ji Yijun said, glancing at the roe deer.
At this time, the guide also said something, and Luo Ling translated: "Our guide said that Teacher Qin is a good hunter. If he is willing to go into the mountains to hunt, he can teach him all the skills."
"It's just a trifle, not worth mentioning." Qin Mu put the roe deer on his shoulder again and said to Luo Ling with a smile: "I think the most urgent thing is to pass the language test. When the time comes, I will have to ask Mr. Luo for advice."
"I learned Spanish as an amateur, and I'm afraid I might teach you the wrong way. Don't worry, the school will have a special language class soon." Luo Ling replied with a smile.
"I'm afraid we still have to go through some days of climbing mountains and crossing rivers. I don't have time to attend classes seriously for the time being. Besides, I don't have much talent for languages, so I have to be the first to fly. Mr. Luo, please give us some special lessons while we rest on the way." Qin Mu seemed very sincere. "Don't worry, I will pay the tuition. How about a piece of game each time?"
"How many of us? I want to learn too?" Ji Yijun asked with a frown.
"Of course!" Qin Mu put his hand on Ji Yijun's shoulder and whispered, "Did you stare at the native girls a lot these few days? How can we not communicate?"
Ji Yijun sneered, "Teacher Qin, you are insulting my taste. These local girls have not been well taken care of since childhood. How many of them are good-looking? Even if one finally passes the test and smiles, her teeth are like a rabbit's."
"It seems that our little Ji has high standards."
"Not as good as Teacher Qin." Ji Yijun laughed, but when he saw Luo Ling's glance at him, he quickly said seriously: "Teacher Qin, now that we have coal and iron, shouldn't we start building furnaces to make steel and forge weapons?"
Qin Mu was stunned and said, "It's not that simple. Steelmaking alone involves many steps such as exploration, mining, transportation, coking, sintering, and ironmaking. Each step involves various equipment and details, and there are many difficulties in the middle. We are just some book knowledge, who has really done these things? So now the school leaders have different opinions. If it weren't for Principal Guo's insistence, our expedition team would not have come out."
"I see. It must be those small vendors causing trouble again." Ji Yijun punched his palm and said somewhat depressedly.
"Some committee members think that solving the problem of having enough food is the most important thing first. They have all kinds of ideas, some even want to open restaurants and hotels. They also say that the Chinese have opened restaurants all over the world, so why can't they open restaurants in other worlds? The more reliable ones also think that we should first produce simple, easy-to-use, and profitable things to trade with the surrounding natives. Look, this one in your hand will definitely be very popular." Qin Mu pointed at the quartz stone in his hand.
"Making glass?" Ji Yijun looked at the rough ore in his hand.
"In fact, it's not a debate about anything, but a question of determining what is the foundation of our existence. Guns have their power, and coins have their convenience, but between guns and coins, I believe in guns more." Qin Mu patted his gun and looked at Luo Ling.
Luo Ling smiled and said nothing.
At this time, they had already walked out of the forest and headed towards the main road leading to the school gate. In front of them was a convoy coming from the town of Floro. The four horse-drawn flatbed carts were not very high with food piled on them. The people on the carts saw Luo Ling and her group coming and waved to greet them. The people here also waved their canes and weapons. The leader of the convoy saw his own expedition team coming down from the forest and probably wanted to give them a ride, so he hurriedly asked the team to stop.
When they got closer, Luo Ling saw an acquaintance in the last car, so she called out, "Li Jia? Aren't you supposed to be in charge of the internal affairs and logistics at school? Why are you following the trading team to trade?"
Li Jia sat there, holding the shell chain in his hand in a daze. The encounter between the two teams in front of him did not make him perk up. He seemed to be frightened by Luo Ling's sudden appearance, and explained nervously: "The trading team... The trading team's business has not been as good as before in recent days. I... I just represent the logistics team to see how the situation is."
"Hey, Li Jia, you've been following us for a few days, what have you seen?" A girl sitting in the car in front said with some sarcasm, "If you're not in a daze, you're running around the town. What else do you do? You don't listen to the discussions, you don't go to the village to collect grain, and you're not there when everyone shouts in the street. I don't understand, what are you doing? You didn't secretly fall in love with a local girl and you went there every day to stalk her, did you?"
Li Jia blushed with embarrassment after hearing this, but did not refute. The girl continued to sneer at him, causing a burst of laughter in the convoy, and several people followed the girl's words and spoke. The captain in front couldn't stand it anymore, so he turned around and said, "Xiao Li, you and Li Jia are relatives, maybe you can even trace your ancestor to the same ancestor, so just be more polite." Luo Ling looked at the man and found that she also knew him. He was Chen Hansheng, who had made contributions in doing business with the natives before.
The girl surnamed Li didn't let Li Jia go, "Captain, don't try to make me a relative. Everyone knows that our business team is taking a big risk when dealing with these natives. Not only did they come here without helping, but they also ran around and caused trouble. Who knows when they will be implicated by such people. The logistics team is really sitting in the south. It's only been a few days, and they have raised lazy uncles who spend their good time in a daze. No wonder we are always out of stock."
Li Jia's face turned red and white with embarrassment, and he lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly. After gritting his teeth for a long time, he blurted out, "I quit." He turned over and jumped out of the car, running all the way to the school.
Seeing this scene, Qin Mu sighed, "Many students nowadays are still not practical enough and can't stand being bullied. Small things can also be turned into big things." He glanced at Luo Ling and asked, "It seems that you know him, why don't you stop him and persuade him?"
Luo Ling shook her head: "It's useless to rely on others to persuade you about some things."
Chen Hansheng in front also saw Luo Ling clearly, and also saw Qin Mu who was standing next to her. He was a little surprised and said, "Teacher Luo, you also joined the expedition team? You are better than me, Old Chen. I still don't dare to enter the forest. Why didn't Xiao Xiao stay with you this time? Is he not qualified as a flower protector?"
Luo Ling smiled and said, "Given his physique, I'd be more reliable as the grass protector."
"Come and sit in my car. You must have had a hard time on the journey. Tell me if there is anything interesting happening." Chen Hansheng patted the space on the grain bag behind him with his whip.
Luo Ling nodded and got on Chen Hansheng's car. Qin Mu followed, but heard Chen Hansheng say to the girl surnamed Li: "Xiao Li, make some room in each car so that everyone can rest. Look at this teacher, he has a gun and prey on his back. Let him get on the last empty car, it will be more comfortable."
Qin Mu didn't know what to say when he saw this, so he could only walk back. Chen Hansheng winked at Luo Ling, making her laugh again.
The convoy started moving again. Luo Ling put down her backpack, untied her hair, took off her shoes, and lay down on the car in a rather unpresentable manner. She rubbed her legs and asked Chen Hansheng, "Old Chen, is business bad recently?"
"Well, after all, there are still not enough people in the surrounding villages, and the yield of crops here is not good. In addition, the lord here also collected grain earlier. As a result, we can buy less food. In the few days since we started trading, the price of grain has risen by 20% to 30%. "
"We are collecting grain here. Aren't there any merchants from the surrounding areas coming?"
"Yes, but this place is a remote area with no one around. It's surrounded by deep mountains and forests. There are no big businessmen. So it's impossible to rely on businessmen to come here on their own initiative."
"It seems like it's time to go out?"
"Yes. I want to organize a team to go to the nearest city in a few days. It's a place called Suero. Xiluo told me that it is the largest trading city in the surrounding area. Many small merchants in towns transport their goods there for trading. If we can get in touch with the big merchants there, we won't have to worry about food for the time being. And the raw materials needed by the other groups can also be purchased from there."
"I trust your judgment."
Chen Hansheng grinned and said, "There is one more thing I want to ask of you. I would like to ask you and Xiao Chen to go with me when the time comes."
"You really trust us." Luo Ling was not surprised. She looked at Chen Hansheng who turned around with a smile.
"I'm a rough man, but I also know that if you want to do dangerous things, you have to find reliable people. You two are the people I've met since I came here." Chen Hansheng gave a thumbs up and continued to drive the carriage forward.