in2ebook Chapter 304 Transaction 1
Chapter 304 Transaction 1
As the sun rises, another day begins at Noor Farm.
Abbas is sixteen years old this year, but he has been the breadwinner of the family for two years.
Three years ago, when it was heard that the great sickle and hammer had been invaded by the far western country of Prussia, Kazakhstan, as the most loyal brother, naturally could not remain indifferent.
Abbas's father and brother rode on the war horses prepared by their family to serve the country for the great sickle and axe.
Abbas was only thirteen years old when his father passed away three years ago, and told him and his brother to take good care of their mother and sisters at home.
When his brother passed away two years ago, he said the same thing to Abbas, saying that he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and fight for the great sickle and axe.
All of a sudden, the family lost two pillars, his mother was in poor health, and his elder and younger sisters were women. The fourteen-year-old Abbas bravely took on the responsibility of the family.
Fortunately, the tribe has now adapted to collective farms, so the family will not be bullied or robbed. Although life at home is difficult, they can still barely support themselves.
Abbas got up early in the morning to help his mother with housework and feed the family's sheep.
As the horn sounded, Abbas ate a small piece of hard-to-swallow black bread, drank some hot water to clear his throat, and prepared to go to the collective pasture to herd sheep.
Speaking of black bread, it is the most disgusting thing that Abbas has ever tasted in his more than ten years of life.
The brown bread of today is the same brown bread of the past.
In the past, black bread contained not only rye and wheat, but also salt, cheese, butter, sugar, and the more advanced ones also contained nuts.
But now it is rye bread, in addition to adding grain scraps such as rice husks and bran, a large amount of sawdust is also added, and some even add some mineral powder.
A two-pound loaf of rye bread was good if half of it was grain, but it got harder and harder as it cooled, like a brick, which was terrible.
When Abbas was herding sheep, he heard from his friends in the tribe that this black bread was even used as a weapon of defense and fighting on the battlefield at the front, which was really outrageous.
In Abbas's memory, when he was a child, life in the tribe was not so difficult, and his family had many cattle, sheep and horses. At that time, there was cheese and butter in the bread, and meat was available every now and then.
But as Abbas grew up, life was sometimes good and sometimes bad, but it was never as good as when he was a child.
Especially after Prussia adopted the sickle and hammer three years ago, the farm and surrounding tribes paid too much to resist the invasion.
More than 20% of the adult males on the farm enlisted and went to the battlefield. Those who stayed behind were also busy, providing logistical support for resisting the invasion every day.
Most of the food on the farm was transported to the north to support the battlefield. The remaining young and strong people in the village entered the mines and factories, working hard to dig ore, smelt steel, and make artillery shells and gunpowder.
The remaining women, children, the elderly and the weak all grazed and farmed on the farms, just to grow more food and raise fat cattle and sheep and brave war horses.
Abbas is the one who is responsible for herding cattle and sheep in the village. Every day, he and dozens of half-grown friends on the farm are responsible for herding thousands of cattle, sheep and horses on the farm.
Abbas is already sixteen years old this year and is considered an adult, so he began to serve as the captain of the grazing team this year.
The work of herding is not easy either, especially in spring.
Spring is here, everything comes back to life, and it is also the mating season for animals.
Sheep are okay since they are small, but large animals like cattle and horses are much more ferocious when fighting.
Frequently, some ferocious horses and cows would fight each other for mates, resulting in minor head injuries and bloody wounds, and serious ones including physical disability and death.
The herders have to drive these large animals away at this time, but this process is often very dangerous.
Last year, Abbas witnessed with his own eyes a friend of his own age being pierced through the body by the horns of a mad bull and died on the spot.
Just as Abbas was riding his horse and whipping the bull's two horns apart with a whip, a younger brother came riding over from a distance.
“Captain Abbas, when I was herding the buffalo just now, I saw three large trucks and dozens of horses coming from the other side of the mountain, with flags. They must be the legendary caravan.
Captain, look, there are a few people coming down there." The younger brother pointed at Billy and his men running down the slope in the distance and said loudly.
"Go back quickly and ask people to get weapons for defense. Be careful in case it's the enemy on the farm." After Abbas said this, he took off the musket on his back and started whistling around.
As Abbas whistled rhythmically, the boys who were grazing not far away picked up their guns and gathered towards Abbas.
"Stop, who are you and where are you from?" Abbas felt more confident when he saw that there were more than a dozen companions with guns around him.
"Don't misunderstand, my friend. We are traveling merchants from afar and hope to do business with your farm." The white guy who could speak Russian looked at the group of people opposite who were pointing guns at him and his friends, and said quickly.
Although Kazakhs are a younger brother of the Axe and Sickle, not many of them can speak Russian, at least Abbas can't.
"Captain, who said they are traveling merchants and want to do business with us?" A child who could speak Russian came to Abbas and said.
"Is he really a traveling merchant?" Abbas' eyes lit up.
After confirming the situation, Billy asked one of his men to throw two packs of cigarettes to the other party, and the relationship between the two sides immediately eased.
"Ram, ask them what products they brought." On the way back with everyone, Abbas asked his companion next to him to act as an interpreter.
"Honey and tea! Please lead the way, two little brothers." Billy followed Hou Xiaoge's instructions and handed Abbas the small gift of tea bricks he had prepared in advance.
Abbas must be smart to be the leader of a herd of dozens of people. He said politely but honestly took the pound of tea brick.
Regardless of the era, tea is a luxury on the grassland, and one pound of tea bricks is enough to exchange for a sheep.
As the few people returned to the farm gate, they found that the farm, which had been living quietly before, had been armed like a hedgehog, with more than a dozen machine guns, a heavy machine gun, and two mortars.
"Abbas, who are these people?" the farm boss shouted outside.
"Grandpa Balza, don't be nervous. These people are traveling merchants from afar. They brought tea and honey." Abbas shouted to the farm leader in Kazakh.
Since the war began, very few caravans have gone deep into Kazakhstan. When they heard about the caravan, the distant memories of the old man on the farm seemed to be awakened.
When the elders were young, countless caravans from the far east came here every year to do business.
Countless teas, porcelains, and silks could improve their lives, and they even served as middlemen because of their tribe’s geographical location.
However, with the decline of the ancient empire in the east, I heard that there was war everywhere, making cargo transportation more difficult, and often there would not be a caravan for one or two years.
It was not until seven or eight years ago that we heard that the fascists invaded some ancient empire in the East and the caravans disappeared completely.
"Abbas, where did this caravan come from? I think they are white people. Is this tea from India or Persia?" The farm manager simply ignored Hua Xia.
"Grandpa Balza, they are from Eastern China." Abbas asked Billy and then said.
"Aren't those people yellow over there? Why are they white?" The old man looked alert.
After some explanation, the old man reluctantly believed the story. However, since they were not familiar with each other, the two sides decided to trade outside.
“Mr. Balza, you should know that the East is also resisting fascism, and our mercenary group’s employer, the Yanhuang League, is a Chinese commercial company.
We will only exchange the tea and honey we brought this time for cars. We don't want weapons, money, or furs.
I wonder if Nur Farm can provide these things?" Billy asked, just as Hou Xiaoge said.
“Mr. Billy, we can provide some of the weapons. We have our own gunpowder workshop on our farm and can also provide some gunpowder.
Can we trade the rest for some dairy products? We also have some felt carpets, can we trade some of them?" Balza asked excitedly.
"Our deputy leader is not far away, you can discuss it with him!" Although Billy's mind is a little more meticulous than the other big guys, he really doesn't understand business matters and is annoyed.
"Mr. Bart, you should know that the most useful thing right now is a weapon, and other things are not the most scarce.
I will take these things this time, but not in the future. I hope you can understand." Hou Xiaoge said with a slight bow.
"That's great. May the ancestors bless your caravan." Balza's face was full of excitement.
As Hou Xiaoge expected, these tea bricks and honey were really luxury goods, especially the honey, which the other party could not afford.
Hou Xiaoge also understood what the other party meant. Compared to tea, honey did not seem to be such a necessity.
Hou Xiaoge's truck is an American heavy-duty truck, which can carry ten tons and can be overloaded even more. However, the grassland road surface is not good, so it can only carry eight tons.
In addition to the 200 surplus Mauser rifles distributed by the sickle and axe, the Nur farm also took out all their belongings, including two tons of gunpowder, thirty artillery shells, one thousand kilograms of dried milk lumps, and one hundred felt blankets.
A pound of low-quality tea bricks costs only RMB 1.5 in the country, but the price increases by at least five times when shipped here.
A truckload of eight tons of tea is worth 120,000 oceans, and all these things combined are not enough to exchange for a truckload of tea.
After the bulk transaction, the farm also suggested whether it could hold an exchange meeting to allow villagers to bring out their items for exchange.
Hou Xiaoge did not refuse this small request. Every family has their own savings and little secrets, which is normal.
Hou Xiaoge received less things from these private individuals, but instead gained a lot of gold and silver jewelry and sold hundreds of kilograms of honey, which was a small surprise.
"Deputy Captain, can you give our brothers a day off tonight?" It was getting dark, and Billy came over quietly and said embarrassedly.
"What's wrong?" Hou Xiaoge had already seen what was happening outside with his mental power, but he wanted to point it out.
"Brothers, we haven't seen meat for several months. We have some food in our hands. There happen to be quite a few widows in this village, you know." Billy said with a grin.
"Ahem! The caravan will only stay here for three days, and only ten people at most can leave at a time. We must leave after three days." Hou Xiaoge said pretending to be unhappy.