The frozen sea surface gradually melts in the rising temperature, and the once thick ice surface cracks everywhere. In the cracks like spider webs, there are pieces of floating ice of different sizes. The floating ice ripples with the sea water, as if it is close and far away.

There is a large settlement on the shore, which is the settlement of the Kuyue tribe. The people of the ministry are busy repairing the fishing boats hanging on the beach, busy repairing the wooden houses they live in, busy feeding the pigs and sheep in captivity, busy chopping wood, and busy dealing with various chores.

On a big tree, there was a man sitting. Like other men, he braided his hair, wore his lips (through his lips) and his teeth, and a cocktail on his head, but he did nothing. He sat on the tall tree, staring blankly at the sea.

It's morning now, it's cloudy and breeze, and there's no fog on the sea, so the naked eye can clearly see the movements on the sea.

The man looked west like a father, looking at the sea, hoping that his son who went out to sea would come back safely.

The Kuyue tribe lives in the north of the "Kuyue" island on the sea, and is across the sea from the Hei Shui entrance.

The northern part of the "Kuyue" island has been in the snow for half a year. Only in summer and autumn will the sea surface return to normal, and in winter and spring, the sea surface is frozen.

It is late spring now, and the ice on the sea is gradually melting, so it is time for the short hair to come.

The man thought so, looking at the sea calmly, hoping to see the shadow of the sailboat.

Every spring and summer, large sailboats will appear from the sea in the south. When they arrive here, the "short hair" who come by bring a large amount of precious living supplies and treasures to the Kuyue tribe who lives on the "Kuyue" island.

The Kuyue tribe also spent half a year preparing a large amount of fur and seafood to exchange for these things from the "short hair".

For the members of the Kuyue tribe, they wore animal leather jackets for generations, mostly used bone arrowheads for hunting, used iron knives handed down from their ancestors when they were peeling animal skins, used homemade pottery jars for cooking, and used bone needles for sewing clothes. Life was very hard, but it was the case for generations.

When "short hair" appeared, everything became different. We relied on a large number of marten, deer skin and other fur to exchange warm cotton coats and exquisite cloth from each other, and exchanged them for iron tools such as axes, shovels, hammers, scissors, sewing needles, awls, fish hooks, nails and other iron tools.

Not only that, the short-haired people also have beautiful glass beads, glassware, full-scale iron pots, exquisite porcelain, unforgettable wine after drinking, and a large number of iron arrowheads.

There are a large number of marten, fox and rabbit on the "Kuyue" island, so the Kouyue tribe, which is good at catching these prey, has enough fur to exchange for treasures in the hands of short hairs, build a stronger residence, cut down more wood, and warmer clothes to protect the cold, help them through the long winter.

Various iron tools have brought many conveniences to the lives of the people of the Kuyue people. The iron knife that has been passed down for many years is no longer useful, and the iron arrowheads also allow the Kuyue people hunters to shoot various prey faster and increase their hunting income.

Not only that, the "haired" doctors who came with the ship also brought herbs to the settlement (in the summer and autumn), treating the people of the Ministry on weekdays, and many diseases that cannot be cured by witches. However, these "haired" doctors can cure them, and have "Feng Po" who can deliver babies to pregnant women.

Such transactions and such benefits have lasted for several years, so whenever spring comes and the frozen sea surface begins to thaw, the men, women, and young people in the Kuyue tribe begin to look forward to the arrival of short hair.

The lookouts take turns looking at the sea from a high place every day, hoping that the sea boat with white flowers and flags will appear.

Time passed, and the sun rose above my head. The man looking at the sea suddenly rubbed his eyes, then stared at the sea: several white dots appeared on the sea.

It was a big sailing boat, a big sailing boat that only short hair could ride!

The man was extremely excited and was about to get up but almost fell down because he couldn't catch the branch. He picked up the conch hanging around his neck and blew it hard.

The sound of the conch horn "Wuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwu

......

Several large sea boats stopped outside the ice floes and put down several small boats. The crew on the boat rowed their oars to let the boats shuttle through the cracks, carefully avoiding the ice floes and approaching the coast as close as possible.

There was a barking sound from the shore, which was the people of the Kuyue tribe who were riding a dog sled from the shore and galloping on the ice.

The dog pulling the sled, under the command of the driver, flexibly bypassed the cracks and piles of ice, and approached the ships sailing in the cracks.

The distance between the two sides gradually approached, and the people on both sides cheered at the same time, as if an old friend who had not seen him for many years had met again.

There are more and more dog sledding from the shore, finding a safe route for guests from afar that can be safely close to the near shore, and also finding a channel for iron pots, cloth, cotton coats, glass beads, fine wine, various handmade products, and various well-made iron tools.

On a small boat, the shopkeeper Zhao Yingchun looked at the people of Ku Yuebu who were cheering enthusiastically on the ice, and smiled and waved his arms to the other party. This scene reminded him of the scene when he visited the Junlibu at the mouth of the Hei Shui River two years ago.

The subordinates of the Junli tribe also cheered and welcomed the caravan, as if an old friend who had not seen him for many years was almost crying with joy. However, when the company proposed to build a trade stronghold (fortress) near the Junli tribe's settlement, the other leader was unhappy.

In fact, this requirement is indeed inappropriate, because it is the territory of the county vassal department, and no one likes to sleep on their own. There is an outsider squatting there, which makes people feel restless.

But no matter how inappropriate the fortress, it must be repaired, because Beiyang Trading Company wants to open up a new fur trading zone. The Blackwater Basin is the fattest trade zone. As long as the Blackwater Basin is controlled, the annual fur output there will bring a lot of profits to the company.

The trade stronghold located at the mouth of the Hei Water Sea can become a distribution center for furs. Fur produced in the Hei Water Basin can gather here and be transported to the destination by means of sea ships.

As compensation, the company is willing to give the county department a certain amount of free goods every year, such as iron pots, cotton coats, iron tools, etc., but the negotiations collapsed.

The company's messenger was killed, so there is nothing to say next. The current Blackwater estuary has changed its owner. When the fortress equipped with artillery is built and the new rules of the Blackwater Basin are slowly spread along the upstream coastal areas, it will be considered to be established.

In contrast, the Kuyue Ministry, which is across the sea from the Junli Ministry, made completely different choices and strongly required the company to set up a trading base on the "Kuyue" Island to facilitate both parties to do business.

However, for Beiyang Trading Company, this big island, which has been frozen for nearly half a year, has no meaning to establish a trade base for the time being. The caravans can come here regularly every year to purchase furs.

So no matter how enthusiastic you are, you can't keep us!

The court knew that you were really intimate, so it changed "Kuyue" to "Kuye", the Kuyue Ministry was renamed Kuye Ministry, and the Kuyue Island was renamed Kuye Island. The new name sounds so good.

Zhao Yingchun thought so, and the wooden boat leaned on the thick ice surface. With the help of the Kuyue people, he climbed onto the ice surface, sat on the other party's dog sled, and headed towards the settlement on the shore.
Chapter completed!