Chapter 468

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Chapter 468: Why Don’t Adults Have Picky Eaters?

Little snake girl began to talk about her own abduction.

Human trafficking is not uncommon in Liu State. It would be impossible for her to travel from the imperial court to Xiangliu country alone. She would have to pass through far distances, so it would be reasonable if someone handled the transportation, just like the screening process for logistics and delivery.

The entire network of human slave trade has spread throughout the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, especially within the chaotic Liu State. Many people here cannot eat enough or keep warm. Every winter, they starve or freeze to death. If they don’t want to freeze to death, they have to move from the northern regions to the south. Many people bring their families along. Either they die on the way due to lack of food, or they carry too much and slow down the process, becoming easy prey for others.

People are also resources. In an agricultural society, having too many people is a burden. But in the industrial age, these people need to be quickly utilized.

Just like in Amelia’s Civil War, the essence of it is that industrial development requires a large population. For this reason, people are further liberated from small farms.

However, what’s interesting is that once the industrial age begins, the wealth accumulation rate of capital is much faster than in the agricultural age. Exploitation and oppression may still exist under a different disguise, and the situation may not necessarily improve. Announcing freedom to the black people in Ancheng essentially means finding another way to make them work like oxen or horses. In this era, due to the lack of population and production value, there is a frenzy to expand production and consumption, which somewhat eases social contradictions.

If this set of patterns is applied to Liu State, it is bound to work.

But the people inside Liu State are not being sold for industrialisation, so most of them are expensive goods. Strong men are considered expendable and not worth much. Only little snake girls like Little Snake Girl are considered valuable. They can be well taken care of and their appearance can be improved over time. When shipping becomes smooth, they will also be sold to other countries directly. Although the dragon clan doesn’t participate in this business, they don’t interfere with it either.

As for the lower class population, whether they starve to death, freeze to death, or survive for a year and then get sold to the non-blood mainland to work themselves to death in sugarcane fields, either way is a brutal reality.

The reason why this kind of trafficking has not appeared at this stage is simply because the ash tide has not receded yet, and the human traffickers don’t want to waste food.

When the ash tide subsides and the spring planting has not yet begun, and many people are starving and can barely hold on after a long winter, then they will force the other party to sign a contract to sell themselves or deceive these ordinary people into going to "San Francisco," saying it’s a good place where gold is everywhere. But the reality is that they end up picking cotton and planting sugarcane. Moreover, the demons have excellent physical constitution and strong recovery ability, much more valuable than black slaves.

These are all speculations based on a leaf, but with such rampant trafficking, it will inevitably form a certain scale of market. Some take the high-end route, while others take the low-end route, but both should die.

The one who rescued little snake girl was someone who couldn’t tolerate this kind of business. She wasn’t very clear about what happened at the time. The whole slave group was set on fire, and many guards were killed. She took the opportunity to escape and then mixed with several others in a merchant group, supporting each other and trying to find a chance to return to the imperial court. But halfway through, they encountered betrayal among themselves. stumbling and faltering, they walked to the vicinity of the pass and encountered Bai Wei and Chao Lu, and that’s when the story continued.

She didn’t mention these things before, and Bai Wei didn’t ask about them either. It’s not considered valuable information.

If Bi Fang successfully restores its kingdom, there will naturally be no ground for these human traffickers to exist. They will be cleared out shortly, and when farming recovers, every household will be able to afford meals. Who would still sell their children?

Nalan Qingshu mentioned this to Chao Lu during their chat, with a voice that was either bitter or sad.

She said that the population of Bai Ze Kingdom is almost equivalent to the entire strength of a country, and they are currently in a fierce battle against Lord Qiongqi. From the common people to the nobles, they have endured for five years and it has become almost unbearable.

She also said that the population of Bi Fang Country is at least ten times larger than Bai Ze, but when Bi Fang fell, they lost all their fighting spirit and became like a dead pig waiting to be slaughtered. In their peak, they had nearly ten million people, but now it may be less than five million. How many of them died in battle, or from mutual harm, hunger, and freezing?

One is a poignant death, and the other is like cutting flesh with a dull sword, both are tragic.

Bai Wei interrupted Yan Yubing’s murmurs and asked, "What is the main point you want to make?"

The little snake girl finally stopped chatting. She had rarely been outside the palace in her entire life, and when she did, she was kidnapped and taken thousands of miles away. But she had also experienced enough hardships, so after every meal, she would always have some sweets and snacks. She quickly finished the pancake in her mouth and then started talking about the important matters.

"I saw the foreign slave group," said the little snake girl cautiously.

Bai Wei pondered and asked, "Outside?"

"At the city gate," Yan Yubing replied.

Bai Wei raised an eyebrow and said, "They’re asking for trouble by coming here."

Human trafficking is not something normal merchants do. The Exotic Slave Gang is a completely illegal industry. When entering the city, unless you bribe in advance, it is very easy for the authorities to discover the goods. Additionally, finding a place to stay in the city is also necessary. It is impossible to hide from the vigilant ones. Longyao City is both Nalan Qingshu’s relative and one of the funders of the national reunification project. Allowing the Exotic Slave Gang to enter the city will definitely have a negative impact on the city’s business reputation.

Bai Wei said, "This Exotic Slave Gang has gone crazy, wanting to enter the city…"

Little snake girl, with a mouthful of pancake, said, "Isn’t it Young Master Bai who blocked the road?"

Bai Wei, "Me?"

Yan Yubing nodded. Seeing her pointing towards the river, Bai Wei suddenly remembered the time when Black Dragon used a beam to block the river, leading to a big battle between him and Bai Wei. The river water flooded in, causing a series of boat accidents. It temporarily blocked the waterway, so the Exotic Slave Gang could not directly reach Leopard-eye City by water. They had to change to the land route, which required passing through the strategically important Longyao City… Even so, they shouldn’t have caught up with Bai Wei, but they happened to spend a few extra days here.

It’s really a series of coincidences.

Bai Wei asked, "If it’s true that the Exotic Slave Gang passed through the city, what do you plan to do?"

Little snake girl hadn’t thought about it, she just said, "I thought I should let you know."

Bai Wei laughed, "What’s the use of telling me? Do you think I’m some kind of heroic figure who saves the world and helps the people?"

Yan Yubing blinked her eyes, saying, "Isn’t it? But you’re talking about important things for our country."

"It’s just business," Bai Wei dismissed, saying, "I’m just a person from the Ming Country, all the love and hatred here doesn’t concern me."

"The young master only cares about Chao Lu sister," the little snake girl nodded repeatedly.

Bai Wei strongly agreed, saying, "Otherwise, who would be willing to clean up this mess? We are all forced into it."

While he was physically young, his spirit was not, and he didn’t have grand ambitions to make a name for himself or manipulate the country. Even if he did, it would be difficult to achieve within the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. At most, he could engage in some industrial and commercial activities, but that was the limit.

Wanting to achieve great things also depended on historical circumstances. Even if he learned the art of slaying dragons, it would be difficult to apply it in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Three Kingdoms, or the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Without the suitable environment, it would all be in vain.

Bai Wei said, "You should go back to sleep."

"Let’s go for a walk," the little snake girl stuck out her tongue and licked the sauce on her lips. Her forked tongue wagged outside, releasing hot steam, like a little cat that forgot to retract its tongue.

"You’re really greedy," Bai Wei glanced at her red tongue and her flat belly, saying, "How many Star Kirby cards can you finish in one meal?"

"There won’t be as much yummy food if we leave here," said the little snake girl seriously.

"When you return to the palace, there will still be plenty of tasty food," he replied.

"But, can we still go back?" she timidly asked, "I always feel like I’ll die halfway."

"Are you working so hard to eat your last meal?" he asked, surprised.

"Mmm-hmm," she unexpectedly nodded in agreement.

Bai Wei choked, unsure whether to admire her cleverness or intelligence.

"The young master is all alone, and if he wants protection, he’ll definitely protect Chao Lu sister. I might disappear at any moment," she compared and did some mental math, feeling like she was the smallest, weakest, most useless but able to eat the most, easily being optimized out.

Bai Wei suggested, "You could also hire a group of people to escort you back to the palace."

The little snake girl said, "No."

"Chao Lu will pay the deposit money, you just need to pay the remaining amount." Bai Wei didn’t have any money, and puppets don’t need to eat or drink, so they naturally don’t need money.

Yan Yubing still shook her head, like a stubborn Akita sitting in place and refusing to move.

"I don’t."

"You’re afraid of death and yet you insist on following us?" Bai Wei admonished, "The matter of restoring the country has nothing to do with you."

This little snake girl is like a pet Koi Fish (female), she will become thin if not fed, and her belly will turn over if not fed for a long time. Like a canary dependent on people, she will die if she leaves the cage. I don’t know if she knows this, that’s why she’s holding onto the cage even though it’s already open.

"Yes!"

"What do you have?"

"I just have!" She unexpectedly straightened her back, touched her small belly that had eaten a lot but didn’t seem to be bloated, and then burped.

Bai Wei, "…"

He rarely meets such girls anymore, who are small-minded and unreasonable. They seem a bit lacking in intelligence.

He pretended to be heartless and said, "If you follow me, I won’t care if you die."

Yan Yubing covered her ears and said, "I’m not listening, I’m not listening." She was acting like a rude little girl, and she actually was one.

Bai Wei walked ahead, and she followed behind like a little tail. After a while, she quickly forgot about their unpleasant conversation, behaving like a child who easily changes moods and doesn’t hold grudges.

"This isn’t the way back, where are we going?"

"The Invaders’ Group."

"Didn’t we say we won’t go see them?"

"When did I say I won’t go? I just want you to go back." Bai Wei displayed a contradictory attitude, "I can go, but you can’t."

"Why?"

"I asked you, why do children be picky eaters and adults not be picky eaters?"

"Because adults eat what they like?"

Bai Wei gave her a cold look, saying, "Because adults make the rules."

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