Chapter 62: The Human Caravan
With a flash of white light, Chu Feng appeared in Crescent Moon Village.
Illya looked at him. “You arrived six hours earlier than last time.”
“Really?” At this rate, he figured he’d be able to travel between worlds every two days soon.
Illya glanced at him and asked, “You brought Mao Tai again?”
Under Chu Feng’s guidance, Illya had learned to recognize various types of alcohol.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
Last time, he’d brought several kinds—cheap beers, mid-range liquors, and the more expensive Mao Tai. After tasting them all, the dwarves unanimously agreed that Mao Tai was the best. Of course, they didn’t waste the others either—everything was taken.
Illya frowned. “Actually, the other ones aren’t bad. If you’re low on money…”
Chu Feng laughed. “It’s fine.” Though pricey, Mao Tai wasn’t a problem for someone worth over 100 million yuan.
“You mentioned the woodcarving shop opened—how’s business?” Illya asked.
“Pretty good.”
Illya nodded, looking excited. “Really sold something? That’s great! I was worried no one would buy the carvings. We just sent more from the village. Take them next time!”
Chu Feng smiled awkwardly. “Sure.”
In truth, sales had barely started. But seeing Illya happy, he didn’t want to disappoint him.
“I brought cake for you,” Chu Feng said.
Illya beamed, then hesitated. “You really didn’t have to.”
Chu Feng smiled. “It wasn’t a bother.” Unlike before, when his life was unstable, now he had more freedom. He even had this one delivered to his home via food app, unlike the time he had to buy it himself due to no delivery service in rural areas.
Illya looked puzzled. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’m not the same as before.” He was no longer a corporate drone—he was a boss now.
Illya nodded. “You do seem different.”
Chu Feng brought the cake inside and sliced it.
“Hey, Illya?” a head peeked around the door—Shaya, cautiously peering inside.
Chu Feng grinned. “Hey, I heard you cried the other day?”
Shaya scratched his head sheepishly. “Well…” When the vehicle broke down, it had scared him, though the thrill of speeding around had been worth it. Illya had known it was just out of gas and didn’t say anything, letting him panic for nothing.
“What’s that you’re eating? Cake? Can I have a bite? I’ll work for free for seven days—no, fifteen!”
Chu Feng leaned his chin on his hand. “How long do you already owe me?”
Shaya scratched his head—he couldn’t remember.
Chu Feng shook his head and cut him a piece. “Make the road from the village to the castle wider.”
Shaya looked confused. “It’s already wide enough for three people to walk side-by-side.”
“Not enough.”
Shaya frowned. “How wide do you want it?”
“At least five people wide.” That way he could eventually drive a car in.
Shaya nodded. “Alright, I’ll get the villagers to help.”
Chu Feng nodded. Although Shaya wasn’t exactly reliable, he was well-liked among the beastmen. The road before had actually been built under Shaya’s leadership. Chu Feng gave him half of the cake, and Shaya left beaming with joy.
Staring out the window, Chu Feng glanced at Illya and asked, “Is the weather starting to cool down?”
Illya nodded. “Yes, autumn is approaching. It’ll get colder.”
“Really?” Chu Feng looked a bit surprised.
Illya responded casually, “Autumn is fine, but winter is tough. This year should be a bit better though. The harvest was much better than usual, and we don’t need to trade furs and grain for salt. Hopefully, no one will freeze to death.”
Chu Feng thought: Illya sure has low expectations—just surviving the winter is enough?
The climate here seemed to shift much faster than in his world.
“Do people freeze to death where you’re from?” Illya asked.
Chu Feng nodded. “Occasionally, yes.” Mostly elderly or those in poor health. “But it’s not common.”
“Is your winter very cold?” Illya asked.
Chu Feng smiled. “Not if you use a heater.”
“You mean that machine that controls the temperature?” Illya’s eyes lit up with envy.
Chu Feng nodded. “Exactly.”
“So jealous…” Illya muttered longingly.
Chu Feng noticed her expression and thought about bringing an air conditioner over—but without electricity, it would be useless. Maybe if the dimensional portal kept expanding, he could eventually bring in a generator. But that was a plan for the future.
Then Illya smiled and said, “There’s something happening soon that you might find interesting.”
“Oh? What is it?” Chu Feng asked.
“A merchant caravan is coming.”
“A human merchant caravan?” Chu Feng asked, intrigued.
Illya nodded. “Yes. They might have those luminous pearls you like.”
“Will they pass through here?”
“No, but they’ll be nearby. Human caravans come around this time each year. Several tribes prepare goods in advance to trade. The Crescent Moon Tribe used to take it very seriously and would get ready early.”
“This year, we’re not lacking anything, so it’s not as important. I almost forgot about it until Hughes from the Dwarves reminded me. Their tribe used to trade weapons for good liquor.”
“But this year, they’ve used most of their weapons to trade for food grown by our village. Seems they don’t plan to trade with the caravan.”
“I see. Do caravans really carry luminous pearls?” Chu Feng asked with interest.
“They mainly deal in grain, weapons, and salt, but they sometimes carry rare treasures for trading with local nobles.”
Chu Feng thought to himself: What I really want is something I can convert to cash.
“Do they trade in gold?”
Illya looked at him. “You want gold?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not desperate.”
Gold was universal currency—easier to sell than jade.
“We’ll see what they have,” Chu Feng added.
“Alright,” Illya agreed.
“How long would it take to get there?”
“We can ask Fei Ying to fly us over. It won’t take long.”
“Fei Ying?” Chu Feng asked curiously.
“He’s a bird-tribe beastman,” Illya said.
“A beastman who can fly?” Chu Feng asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Illya confirmed.
“How come I didn’t know there was a flying beastman in the village?”
“He’s only sort of part of Crescent Moon Village. He wanders a lot and just returned two days ago,” Illya explained.
After returning, Fei Ying was shocked at how much had changed and said he’d missed too much.
Chu Feng nodded. “Makes sense. If he were around before, I would’ve noticed.”
“If he wanders so much, will he leave again soon?”
“Probably not for a while. Winter’s coming, and it’s hard to travel. He’s a foodie—he roams to taste cuisine from everywhere. Now that our village has so much good food, he likely won’t leave.”
“We have that much food now?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya nodded proudly. “Definitely!”
Recently, the tribe had acquired many new ingredients. Chu Feng had brought cookbooks and seasonings, and the food had drastically improved. Illya believed even noble humans wouldn’t eat as well as their village now.
Chu Feng nodded, thinking: The meals have definitely improved since I first arrived—it used to be just grilled meat or fruit.
“What kind of snacks does Fei Ying like?”
Illya thought for a moment. “Gray said he loves those garlic green peas you brought.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Figures—he’s a bird, and birds do love beans.”
Then he asked, “Will the dwarves or Highlanderss trade with the caravan?”
“Probably not.”
“Really?” Chu Feng asked, puzzled.
“The Highland Tribe sees humans as deceitful and prefers not to trade with them. In the past, they had no choice because of the need for salt and grain, but this year things are different. As for the Dwarves, they mainly traded weapons for alcohol. But now…”
The alcohol Chu Feng had brought was far superior to the mixed wines from the human merchant caravans. The Dwarves had likely lost interest.
“What about your village?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya shrugged. “People in the village aren’t very interested in what the caravan has to offer.”
Chu Feng was puzzled. “Don’t you all like seeing new things?”
Illya thought for a moment. “The caravans are always the same. Everyone’s probably just used to them by now.”
Chu Feng rolled his eyes. The Crescent Moon villagers may not find it novel, but I do!
“There will be people in the caravan, right?”
“Of course, they’re human caravans.”
Chu Feng smiled. “Since I arrived, I haven’t seen any humans.”
He had met elves, beastmen, dwarves… but no ordinary humans. Finally, he’d get the chance.
