"What is this?"
Night Sange approached, watching Weng Ling bend down in the wild grass, picking some small red berries the size of quail eggs. He couldn't help but ask in wonder.
"Nameless wild berries, but everyone calls them wild strawberries. When I was a child, my mother took me to pick them many times, using them as snacks and fruit for me."
Weng Ling placed the two largest and reddest wild strawberries in her palm, blew on them, and then handed them to Night Sange.
"Although a bit sour, they are still delicious. Give it a try?"
Night Sange took them, but noticed that Weng Ling carefully wrapped the last wild strawberry in a handkerchief.
By the way, there were only three berries in the thicket.
"Aren't you eating?"
Weng Ling shook her head, gently placing the wrapped handkerchief in a small pouch at her waist.
"I'll savor the memories of my childhood through the fragrance."
Night Sange lowered his head, picked up one wild strawberry, sniffed it at the tip of his nose, only catching a faint grassy scent. Then he bit into it.
A strong sourness instantly filled his mouth, saliva uncontrollably secreting, but after the sourness faded, a faint sweetness lingered in his mouth.
"How is it? Is it delicious?" Weng Ling asked expectantly.
"After leaving the Lolan territory for a long time, I haven't seen such wild strawberries. Is it very sweet?"
"Well..." Night Sange touched his nose.
"Yes, quite sweet. It's the first time I've tasted berries this sweet."
"See! I told you they are delicious!"
Weng Ling's eyes and eyebrows curved, happily bouncing out of the thicket, continuing to walk forward. It could be seen that her steps were much lighter.
While Night Sange looked at the remaining wild strawberry in his hand, sighing softly.
Even with his weakened taste, the sourness of this fruit was almost unbearable. It seemed that Weng Ling didn't have a particularly good childhood either.
But since her memories remained in the beautiful childhood, Night Sange naturally wouldn't spoil the mood by pointing it out.
After some contemplation, he took out the handkerchief containing the seed Weng Ling gave him last time, mimicking her, wrapping the small wild strawberry and placing it in a crevice in his coin pouch.
...
White Rock Village was only about 30 kilometers from Lolan City. It was apparent on the way that the farther from Lolan City, the better the vegetation. The leaves of the same plant varied from thin to wide, the plants from short to tall. Even the wheat ears in the fields that had begun to ripen were much larger than those below Lolan City.
Night Sange estimated that the yield per unit area would at least double, and coupled with the villagers of White Rock Village working harder, they not only set up scarecrows in the fields to drive away birds but also repaired some guard huts for farmers to rest and prevent theft.
Seeing a farmer sitting by a hut, smoking dry tobacco, a shiny pitchfork leaning against the wall, his eyes vigilant towards him and Weng Ling, Night Sange shook his head.
No wonder Lolan City declined. It seemed that the undead calamity more or less affected Lolan City. The spirits of the people in the two places were completely different.
This farmer's combat power was probably even more courageous than those soft Lolan City soldiers he initially saw.
"We're almost there." Weng Ling suddenly turned back.
"Oh, we're here."
White Rock Village was called a village, but from the outside, it completely exceeded Night Sange's expectations. It was surrounded by a two-meter-high wall made of white rocks, and the buildings inside were mostly white stone houses.
Looking at the white stone path underfoot, Night Sange fell silent.
Lolan City didn't even have so much stone to build houses. Who was the village, and who was the city?
It seemed that sensing Night Sange's confusion, Weng Ling turned back to explain to him.
"Just like our Lolan territory is rich in timber, Tian Shi territory is rich in stone mines and some iron mines. Especially stone mines, the main output comes from White Rock Village here."
"Wasn't White Rock Village part of Lolan territory before?" Night Sange was even more puzzled, and inadvertently raised his voice, attracting the attention of several passers-by who giggled and pointed at him.
Weng Ling supported her eyebrows, sighed, "Since Lolan City flourished by trading wood, most residents are lumberjacks. They are not adept at mining and don't value it. It was only after losing White Rock Village to the Tian Shi territory that they regretted it."
"Oh, I see..." Night Sange nodded and fell silent.
Indeed, logging was much easier than mining, and the Lord of Lolan City failed to discover the lucrative profits of the industry. It was a bit short-sighted.
Looking at this small village, you could tell that they were living a comfortable life. Although it was a small village with only two or three hundred people, the buildings in the village had everything.
Just within Night Sange's sight, there were many restaurants, cloth shops, and some street vendors selling snacks. More were some open courtyards with stone carvings and stone tablets.
Seeing those shirtless men sweating profusely, wielding hammers and chisels on white stones, with a large area of white stone fragments and powder on the ground, while on the other side were several fat-looking businessmen picking and choosing finished products.
Night Sange nodded. This should be the appearance that an industry should have. From mining to processing and exporting, it also attracted the development of related industries such as food and accommodation. This could be seen from the densely packed inns and restaurants.
If one were ruthless, perhaps even some unspeakable entertainment industry could be brought up. Unfortunately, no matter how good the ideas were, they were useless because they belonged to someone else.
"Let's buy the quilt when we return. How about choosing some food now?" Weng Ling said to Night Sange.
"Oh, good, your decision."
Night Sange nodded, followed behind Weng Ling, and walked into a seemingly vacant shop.
Crossing the stone threshold, which seemed to be polished by shoes or observing the shop, Night Sange looked around.
The shop was very small, but the floor was neatly arranged, and the shelves were simple, consisting of five or six half-open sacks. Inside the sacks were different grades of wheat.
"Why is it all wheat?"
Night Sange frowned, and at this moment, a woman carrying a two-year-old boy walked over.
"The guest wants to order... Ah! It's you..."
Weng Ling ran over with a smile, "It's me, Xiao Qu, haven't seen you for more than ten years, and you've even had a child?!"
The woman blushed, put the child down somewhat flustered, and then hurriedly wiped off a stool.
"Lady Weng, please have a seat. I apologize for the simple shop."
Weng Ling was a little stunned, sighed, "Even you are making fun of me..."