A strong belch echoed through the wooden room, and Mitchelson had written another note, and he had made up his mind to admit defeat to the mayor, and no longer cared whether it was forty-nine or fifty-one.

Generally speaking, in a tug-of-war negotiation, if one party suddenly makes huge compromises and concessions, the other side will often wonder whether it can still get some more benefits, but this is a little unfair to the side that has already made concessions, and they will often turn the table in anger, and a lot of business will become a pile of bad debts. Fortunately, Hams was a very sober merchant, and after reading the new slip, he handed over to William the goods that he had just disposed of, which Hams had prepared for the nobles during the spring frontier, and he decided to let his son be the middleman.

William looked at his father with some respect, but Hams only smiled and said nothing. Needless to say, in this negotiation, he became the winner. The whole town was his sphere of influence, and the nobles had only one winter of fame and freedom, yes, the winters of the Northlands were long, but they would always pass, and these nobles would inevitably compromise with themselves before the spring came, and if they didn't, the time they would have to wait to become a lord would be even more distant.

After a long winter's hard work, the settlers piled up the town's warehouses with timber, pine and birch trees separated and stacked neatly. These northland timbers grow slowly, but the wood is quite fine, and if it is shipped to the south, it will definitely be a good price.

Among these people who provide wood, there are some people who work extra hard. Tom was one of the members who provided the wood, and although he was a servant of Mitchelson, he was not treated better than the others, and he had to trade his labor for enough food to feed his stomach.

As a twenty-five-year-old man, it was not difficult to obtain enough food to satisfy his stomach, and with a few swings of his strong arms he could cut down a large tree as thick as an adult's arm. But instead of living an easier life than others, he cut down more trees in exchange for more food, and with these black breads he cared for men and women who were not so strong, which made him a small leader among the immigrants.

During the two days of cutting down trees, Tom noticed some special changes.

The blade of the axe slashed into the trunk of a tall pine tree, and the whole tree shook violently, and the branches and leaves collided with each other with a rustling sound, like a man crying.

Nearly two months of working day after day had made Tom familiar with the sounds, but what really moved him was the clear water falling from the trees.

Yes, clear water, not snowflakes.

Tom couldn't help but put down the axe in his hand and pestle it to the ground, letting the cool water pour over his head.

After experiencing the endless blizzards in the Northland, and the cold winds that could freeze everything, even the icy water made him feel warm.

Tom looked up at the ball of light in the sky that was radiating mysterious power. He felt that the ball of light was closer to him, just like when he was roasting a fire at night, and when he was close to the flame, his body would be warmer, and when he was farther away, it would be the opposite. Some mysterious knowledge appeared in Ham's mind, which came from inexplicable, but it was real, as if he had studied and experienced it somewhere.

He was a little surprised, why did his mind suddenly think about this, he was not a priest, even if he understood this, what was the use. Tom shook his head, as if to shake out the water that had just been poured on his hair and the knowledge that had been spilled into his head.

When spring comes, the snow melts and the land begins to soften, which is a good time for everything to grow and the best time to open up wasteland.

Tom took his axe and returned to the longhouse, through the efforts of some time ago, he still had some food in stock, at least for a few days, and now, he had more important things to do.

When they first arrived in the town, the local governor promised them a new home, a new settlement, a new dwelling, and a new land when spring came. If nothing else, Tom will continue to follow his master, just like his father and his father's father, and spend his life serving the chief, or the current lord.

Now was the time to prove his loyalty, and Ham knew that the prestige he had invested over the winter was time to pay off, and he quickly woke up the men and women who were still resting.

"Go, I'll take you to my family. Then we'll be able to get out of this hellish place. ”

The immigrants were somewhat reluctant, but a winter's life had taught them to obey the command of "the most loyal servant of a certain nobleman," and under his leadership at least a dozen people lived a relatively well-fed life.

Tom narrowed his eyes and left the longhouse with some men, who had taken with them what little possessions they had now left: a dozen pieces of black bread, a few axes, and some blankets and linen brought from the south. In general, the expedition did not make these people rich, on the contrary, their mental state deteriorated.

They were close behind Tom, and perhaps some of them had some expectations for the future life, longing for the day of abundance, but most of them had almost been worn out by the rush and cold. When I think back to those times in the South, even the nights when I slept in the alleys were more peaceful than I am now.

Under Tom's leadership, most of them seemed to be unusually quiet, probably because they had been with the branches for too long, not only because they had the strong smell of branches, but also because they looked like walking trees.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Naturally, they became the object of ridicule of some citizens on the street. These citizens have not forgotten how ignorant they are, and now that they have this opportunity, they must be somewhat sarcastic.

Ham didn't really care about the cynical townspeople on the streets, and with the memory of having been to the city twice, he resolutely led the team behind him towards the city center, accompanied by a few "tree men".

Their faces are also full of numbness, people who can come this far, even if they have a sensitive and lively heart, I am afraid that at this time it has dried up into a wasteland, a few people try to take out a few gingers from their pockets to make themselves smell better, but they have been in the forest for too long, even the ginger on their bodies has been soaked with the smell of branches.

Tom was a little surprised by these actions, and he reached out and tried to greet a few people who were still trying to change their scent, and although they didn't know each other well, they could be regarded as fellows at this point.

"Friend, where are you going?"

Several "tree people" turned around slowly, their faces were yellow and thin, but their eyes barely shone with a bit of sanity.

"Go to the center of town, good friend, today is the day of clearing the wasteland and farming, and your family will be there. ”

One of the "Treants" replied.

After Ham confirmed the information, he didn't have any more politeness, but silently followed the footsteps of these people, although he didn't know where they got the information, but following them was more or less a direction.

Behind Ham, there were many more "treemen" who were slowly and stiffly following suit, the kind of leaderless stragglers who were having a worse time, many of whom had been out of cooking for days, and who could be called "challenging" just walking from the longhouse to the city center.

Looking at these tree people coming and going, Yubang stood on a high platform in a square and asked with a frown

"Lord Hams, I brought these people here with all my hard work, and that's how they ended?"

Hams also looked at the treemen, and answered unhurriedly in the face of Yubon's questioning

"Is there anything wrong with that, since they are prepared to open up new territories, they have to be a bit of a pioneer, and if you can trust me, friend, they are much more capable of working than they were at the beginning, and the noble boys will be more convenient to use. ”

Yubon still shook his head, he couldn't answer Hams's explanation, but in the experience of caravans in the south, a nimble farmer could earn at least twice as much as such a fool, and he could even be worth four times as much as a fool.

Looking at Ebon's skeptical look, Hams didn't bother to explain more, since everyone is a businessman, then they must have their own set of measures of value, this is a habit accumulated from years of life experience, this is not something that can convince each other in a few words. He patted the deerskin coat on his body so that he could take pictures of the dust that wasn't real.

Speaking of the origin of the coat, Hams is still grateful for the trade with the Wigand people. Compared to the Great Prus, they were masters of handling these leathers, and they would use their own method to clean the hides, which they called tanning, which is said to be the application of stones with a special smell to the leather. Although there will inevitably be a slight smell in the process of processing, as long as it is hung up and dried naturally, within two days, the peculiar smell of the animal skin will be expelled cleanly, leaving only a clean skin, just like the pig skin raised by those southerners, which is as tough as those pig skins raised by southerners, and it is more strong and difficult to use.

Hams approached a seamstress in town and asked him to make the processed deerskins into garments worn by the mayor. The old craftsman worked hard, and after half a winter's hard work, Hams finally put on this fur coat that looked extraordinary, and this coat really set off the appearance of a kind middle-aged man as a mayor.

On this somewhat special day, Yubang also wore a fancy printed and dyed garment, the fine linen was dyed in advance, and then these colored threads were made into clothes, and his one was even woven with three different colored threads, which formed some very complex eye colors, and when he wore this dress, it was enough to make many small businessmen with less capital than him obediently close their mouths. Gorgeous clothes are a status symbol.

The crowd in the audience slowly became denser, in addition to those tree people, there were also many refugees from the Northland who had immigrated spontaneously, and the eyes of these people were somewhat frightened. In a sense, they didn't come here as freedmen of the Great Prussian Empire, their real identity was actually fugitive slaves, and if the lord of the land wanted to capture them, they would have no room to resist.

Of course, in fact, although most of the lords of the northern land were unhappy with their farewell, they did not intend to pursue it, and sometimes the grain that a serf could produce was not enough for him to eat, and even if it was smooth sailing, he could not get much food, and it was not worth fighting for them.

These people did not know, they were told that they were going to come to the underground of this square on this day, but no one told them about their upcoming fate, they wanted to ask the surrounding "tree people", but the tree people were extremely silent in today's day, and after standing still, they were almost no different from a tree, for various reasons, they did not speak rashly.

In a short time, the number of people in the audience has far exceeded 600.

Hams frowned, he looked up at the rising sun, now the supporting roles have arrived, but several of the leading actors of the singing drama have not yet been seen, which makes him somewhat puzzled.

Finally, among the stinking figures, several young people in gorgeous costumes came out.

"William, why are you so slow, hurry up to the stage, our meeting is about to begin. ”

There was some complaint in Hams's tone, but William's face was smiling with excitement.

"Father, you probably don't know what's going on our way. ”

The young men behind William also had a slight smile on their faces, but unlike William, they restrained the emotions on their faces more than William, and their eyes still flashed with excitement.

They have the capital to be happy, because today is their spring.

With a subtle smile, Hams nodded at the young men behind his son, after this ceremony, they were really grasshoppers on a rope.