"I remember that Lord Yue Feng’s Mountain River Team was just established last month, so their strength shouldn’t be too strong. Hong Gang and Ying Xuan aren’t captains of any Hunting Team either. How did they get so many Contribution Values?"
"That’s something you might not understand. Yue Feng, Hong Gang, and Ying Xuan were all members of the first batch of Hunting Teams in Great Xia. It’s said that in the early days, they followed the leaders on hunts, earning a lot of Contribution Values which they hadn’t used, so that’s why they have so many."
"I see. I was just saying, Dragon Wu Team’s strength is also significant. How come Yuwen Sizheng isn’t buying land to build a house? He only joined Great Xia Camp last month, so his Contribution Values should still be insufficient."
"Hehe, just look at the sign in front of Plot No. 11."
Upon hearing these words, Xiao Hen and Xiao Lin quickly turned their heads to look.
In front of Plot No. 11 stood a sign with the words "Yuwen Dao" written on it, clearly indicating it’s already owned.
"Lord Chief is really impressive. It’s said he only arrived at Great Xia Camp on March 19th, and it’s been just over a month and a half since he established Dragon Wu Team, yet he could come up with 5000 Contribution Values. How many Cold Beasts must he have hunted?"
"After all, they are one of the only two Hunting Teams capable of hunting Intermediate Cold Beasts. It’s said if Dragon Wu Team hadn’t been reassigned to the Jing Valley recently, they might have been promoted to Intermediate level faster than Cloud Jiao Team."
"Cloud Jiao Team hasn’t been promoted to Intermediate yet, right?"
"Not yet, but they’re close. They’ve already hunted an Intermediate Snow Mane and an Intermediate Demon Sheep, just missing three more types of Intermediate Cold Beasts."
Xiao Hen and Xiao Lin looked at the two completed houses not far away, and the eight others under construction, their eyes filled with envy.
Both had no interest in the discussions nearby, with only immense longing in their hearts.
"Ah Lin, tell me, when can we move out and build a house truly of our own?"
Xiao Lin pondered for a moment, then replied, "5000 Contribution Values, my dad said it would take at least over four months to save up."
The camp currently still controls Iron Ore, allowing houses to be built only with wood, which can be entirely sourced externally, so the highest cost remains the land. Besides, there’s merely some labor fee to be paid to the Craftsmen Department, which someone calculated to be less than 300 points, almost negligible compared to land prices.
This answer clearly didn’t satisfy Xiao Hen.
He shook his head and said, "What I mean is a house that’s entirely ours, not one your father makes for you."
On hearing this, Xiao Lin stood there in a daze.
Just then, they heard the sounds of a group of children playing and shouting by the wooden building.
"Luo An, when will your house be ready?"
"My dad said it will be ready the day after tomorrow. By then, my mom and I can move in, and we won’t have to be crowded anymore, haha."
"Wow, that’s great. I wish I could move out too."
"Zou Ping, have your dad go build it outside too."
"My dad says we’re still a bit short on Contribution Values, so it probably will take a few more days."
"That’s soon too. Zhao Quan, is your house almost ready as well?"
"My dad said it would be done in three days, right next door to yours."
"Hahaha, then we can train and play together."
Upon hearing the voices of these six- or seven-year-old children, Xiao Lin’s face immediately turned red.
"Did you hear that, Ah Lin? Only these kids rely entirely on their fathers. We’re not so young anymore. I heard from my father that, two years ago, the chief was eighteen, and the Minister was sixteen. At that time, Great Xia Camp had just over a hundred people and only one logging team, all of whom died at the hands of the Deceitful Monster. The chief and Minister took command in that critical situation, and in just two short years, they not only grew immensely stronger, avenging their father’s death by slaying the Deceitful Monster, but also developed Great Xia Camp to such prosperity. If we were in such a situation, do you think we could manage it?"
Not to mention doing it, surviving such a predicament is questionable at best.
Xiao Lin merely shook his head. He had yet to see a Deceitful Monster, only having heard from his father that it was a terrifyingly dreadful creature, guaranteed death upon encounter.
"Therefore, we must strive hard. Great Xia offers such excellent conditions. If we remain complacent, we will surely be left far behind by others. We’re not aiming to rival geniuses like the chief and the Minister, but at the very least, we cannot be outpaced too far by our peers."
"I understand, Ah Heng!"
Noticing the seriousness in Xiao Hen’s tone, Xiao Lin nodded firmly, gaining some determination.
By all accounts, his talent was no match for Xiao Hen, and even Xiao Hen felt the pressure in Great Xia. If he didn’t work hard, he might live well now thanks to his father, but what about the future?
In Great Xia, everything is dictated by strength. Anything desired must be exchanged for Contribution Values, which are essentially a quantified measure of strength.
"Xiao Heng, why are you standing outside? Let’s head back together."
A soft voice suddenly sounded behind Xiao Hen, and he hurriedly turned around to see it was his elder sister Xiao Ning standing behind him, and he immediately broke into a smile.
"Big sis, you’re back!"
"Just returned from hunting. Father and others went to the Camp Supply Department to trade off the prey and told me to come back first. Fortunately, I ran into you."
Knowing that his father had returned, a smile appeared on Xiao Hen’s face. He pulled Xiao Lin beside him, and they returned to the wooden building together.
The Xiao Mountain Team was also required to go out hunting each night, and now it was just about dawn, the perfect time for them to return to the camp.
Following behind, Xiao Ning gazed at Xiao Hen, a look of gratification in her eyes.
Judging by his character during the Five Ape Mountain period, words like those would have never come out of Xiao Hen’s mouth.
He had changed immensely after being in Great Xia Camp for just over half a month.
"If father knew, he’d surely be very happy too."
Xiao Kangcheng with his wife and three children, made up a family of five.
Even though he led a hunting team and had a special relationship with Minister Xia Chuan, his status in the camp wasn’t low, but they didn’t enjoy any special privileges.
During the room allocation on the 21st of last month, his family also received a room alongside eight other households, according to Xia Chuan’s household registration system.
However, they were assigned to the third floor of the wooden building.
The rooms on the first and second floors of the wooden building had lengths of 10 meters, resulting in an area of 100 square meters each. The third floor, on the other hand, only had 100 rooms, so each room was 20 meters long, boasting a spacious 400 square meters.
This was a kind of special treatment, but not specifically for Xia Kangcheng’s family; rather, it applied to all families in the Earth-digging Realm in the camp.
It was naturally impossible for the nine households to live together.
Given the ample space, along with being Earth-digging Realm families with relatively generous means, they took the initiative to source boards and divide the large room into nine independent small rooms, leaving one-meter-wide aisles both horizontally and vertically.
Xiao Kangcheng’s family lived in the west-end room at No. 96 on the third floor.
Xiao Ning led Xiao Hen and Xiao Lin to the third floor, where they saw a dense crowd gathered at their doorstep before they even reached home.
"Congratulations, Captain Xiao."
"Where are your eldest and second daughters? The Minister has been here for a while. Why haven’t the two girls arrived?"
"They must be shy, too embarrassed to meet anyone, hahaha!"
"Minister, what’s this stage called, presenting betrothal gifts?"
"Yes, it’s presenting betrothal gifts. Haven’t you heard, Minister just mentioned that after presenting, upon agreement, the date for the marrying will be set, leading to the wedding."
"Is this whole process called Xia Li?"
"Not exactly, it’s merely a part concerning the wedding from the Xia Li etiquette section. The Minister mentioned he’s doing this as a template today; in the future, it’s up to us whether or not to follow it."
"Then I must have a good look, to see the difference a wedding makes, hahaha!"
"Today, many girls have come to see the date-setting. I heard it’s quite interesting."
Upon approaching, realizing what was being discussed, Xiao Ning suddenly blushed bright crimson, too embarrassed to approach her doorstep.
"Silly girl, what are you doing standing there? Hurry, come over here."
The sharp-eyed Lin Lan immediately noticed the eldest daughter at the back of the crowd. Smiling warmly, she walked over, pulling Xiao Ning from the crowd back home.
"The eldest daughter is back, the eldest daughter is back."
"Minister, the one who’ll receive the betrothal gifts has arrived."
"Hahaha, she’s here, she’s here."