It's autumn, the sky is a slight gray, like a curtain full of smoke and dust, and the golden leaves fall from the branches, turning the forest into a sea of gold, and a few squirrels are jumping from branch to branch, probing their brains to find food, they must stock up on enough winter food to survive the unusually cold winter in Scandinavia before the first snow comes.

However, with the gift of the forest, for these small animals, the nuts hidden between the branches, after removing the outer skin, only need a little to provide them with the energy of a day's activities, so that they can survive the winter chasm safely in the warm tree holes, as long as they are a little careful, avoiding predators such as wolves.

The squirrels looking for food suddenly raised their heads, pricked up their ears to listen for a moment, squeaked in panic, and quickly hidden, these small animals living in the forest have an extraordinarily sensitive sense of hearing and smell, only in this way can they survive and reproduce in this dangerous forest.

Ten seconds later, the forest heard the click of creatures stepping on dead branches and leaves, and two human women with baskets on their backs appeared in the forest, moving forward with unhurried steps, carefully observing the position of each next step, to prevent stepping on snakes hidden under the leaves, or traps planted by hunters.

These are two Scandinavian women dressed in traditional costumes, holding a hatchet to open the way, with a few throwing axes tied to their waists, their skin is very rough and dry from years of labor, and their delicate faces have wrinkles that are not easy to detect, and their long pale blonde hair is mixed with a few hints of silver.

Due to their years of hard work, they are exceptionally strong and tall, and it is difficult to distinguish their gender if they wear armor, and after a period of training, they will not be inferior to men on the battlefield, just like the Valkyrie Valkyrie worshipped by most Scandinavian women.

The basket on the woman's back was filled with nuts the size of her thumb, and small birds tied up with ropes, small animals such as squirrels and mice, which, judging by their bright eyes, were still alive, as well as herbs for healing injuries.

The poor could not afford to pay for the sacrifices of the gods, and they had no way to get the noble caster to do it, so cheap, simple, and effective herbs became the best choice for most people.

Although the faces of the two women were full of resolute expressions, they could still find a trace or two of helplessness and worry in their eyes.

If we compare the situation with previous years, then this autumn should also be a time of harvest in Scandinavia, when Scandinavian women should be in their yards, sewing winter clothes, and handling the game that men have brought from the forest, peeling the flesh and dividing it into small pieces to be dried and dried for winter food.

But now, in the forest, they carry baskets on their backs to find nuts and toys that were once unattractive and only used as snacks for children, to store them, and replace the previous air-dried meat as food for the winter.

There are several reasons for this.

First, the unification of the Baltic Sea tribes and the establishment of the Baltic Empire have made it impossible to see a single ship in the once busy port, and the livestock products produced in the Rus steppe are now transported to Zealand Island for sale, and the means of obtaining food by sea have been cut off.

Second, from the beginning of last autumn to the whole year, Scandinavia is in a state of war, continuous war not only makes hunting, planting, fishing activities can not be carried out normally, but also consumes a large amount of previously stored food, now most of the Scandinavian cities are competing for food to varying degrees, as far as possible to find a way to survive the coming cold winter.

Thirdly, and most crucially, the brutal war caused a large number of Scandinavian men to die on the battlefield, especially the battle in which the Goths conquered the Yeats, and finally the last battle of Wiglaf not only engulfed the entire city of Upland in flames, but also caused 90% of the Goths who invaded the city to be killed and wounded.

The women did not complain, as people who have been living in this cruel world, children, husbands, and fathers have died on the battlefield, and all the burdens of the family have been on their shoulders, and they have long been accustomed to such a situation, and they still live hard and strong every day for the rest of the day.

Their grandmothers are like this, their mothers are like this, and their daughters will be like this in the future, living this life of hard work for food every day.

"Look, here. ”

The woman who spoke walked to the foot of a tall pine tree, looked at the straight pine tree that was nearly ten meters high, she circled around the big tree twice, carefully observed, and then used both hands and feet together, quickly climbed, and in a short time arrived at the place where the squirrels disappeared just now, where there was a tree hole that was covered by branches.

Looking at the deep tree hole, a rare smile appeared on the woman's face, and she saw her skillfully handle go deep in, and quickly caught out a few squirrels hiding inside, as well as more than a dozen nuts that were finally transported back by the squirrel.

The woman moved her body carefully, sat down on the thick branch next to her, and then took out a few ropes from her bosom, and skillfully tied the squirrels, the reason why she did not kill them directly was because the smell of blood could easily attract wolves, bears, leopards and other beasts in the forest.

Scandinavian people, even women can hunt in the forest, but the current situation is that they dare not risk being injured to fight, the men in the family have been killed, disabled, or injured because of the war, they are already the pillars of the family, replacing the position of the men, if even they are injured now, Or if there is an accident, then the unsupported family will collapse, and their families will die, starve, or freeze to death in the coming winter.

"How's the harvest?" Annie?"

The woman guarding below asked in a low voice, "You can't speak loudly in the forest, because you don't know if your voice will attract the attention of predators and predators, especially those with a keen sense of hearing, who can catch the sound of a needle falling to the ground from a distance of several kilometers.

"Five squirrels, and more than a dozen nuts, not bad, Jenny, this is our best harvest of the day. ”

After coming down from the tree, Anne's face was filled with a smile that could not be hidden, and she gave half of the nuts and squirrels in her hand to Jenny.

Although this little harvest does not seem to be much, it is enough for the two families to eat for a day, and if they save a little and eat it with other wild vegetables, they can eat it for a longer time.

"The sun is going down, Anne, let's go back. ”

Jenny looked up to the west, where half of the red sun was still exposed, and in less than an hour the night would fall.

"Well, let's go back. ”

The forest in the dark is the most dangerous place, and in addition to the beasts that like to move in the night, you have to watch out for other things, such as ghosts, and other evil things that normal people can't even name.

"Let's hope this winter won't be so cold. ”

In the winter of Scandinavia, in addition to food, it is also very important to keep warm, and it is also necessary to reserve a large amount of firewood for burning to ensure heating, otherwise you will not be able to survive the winter by relying only on clothing.

"I hope the winter won't be so cold? I hope that His Majesty Siegel will be able to collect a little less tax and fight a little less this winter. ”

When talking about the man who founded the Scandinavian Empire, both women had hateful expressions on their faces, as both had family members who had lost their lives to that damn war.

The sky was getting darker, and the howls of wolves and birds came from the forest, and occasionally the sounds of wild beasts fighting and screaming could be heard in the distance, which was the sound of the strong preying on the weak, and the animals of the forest were also seizing the time to accumulate fat and store food when this winter was about to bring.

I don't know when, the two stopped talking, they quickened their pace, and left the way they had just entered.

Even without looking back, Anne and Jenny could sense a deep malice in the gaze placed on them.

Passing through the woods, a small village built on the plain came into view, houses made of wood and stone were scattered along a small stream, a trickle of water flowed through the village, white cooking smoke rose, the old people were cooking food in their homes, and the children were driving the cattle and sheep back to the railings to finish the hard day.

After saying hello to the people around them a little, the two didn't stay much, and after saying goodbye to each other, they returned to their respective homes with today's receipt.

Opening the pine door, Anne stepped into the warmth of her home, where she had taken care of the day's harvest, put the nuts in the cellar and stored them, and then changed her clothes and took over the work of her elderly mother in the kitchen.

He skillfully killed the prey with a knife, peeled off the skin, eviscerated it, placed it in a basin, and poured a little salt to pickle.

Because of the Baltic trade blockade, even salt has become a luxury, and if Siegel is not trying to solve these problems, then without salt intake, his warriors will not even have the strength to hold their weapons.

"Alright, it's time to eat. ”

Dragging her tired body, Anne brought the food to the table, where her mother and two sons couldn't wait.

Dinner is a soup of dried meat and wild vegetables, and some fern rhizomes, which taste very bad but fill the stomach.

They had already counted it here, and they could still see meat on the table, but the people on the other side of the Baltic Sea were even more unlucky, they had not seen meat for a long time, whether it was fish or anything else.

Because Semiramis's blockade of Scandinavia was not limited to trade, she also sent some sea beasts to patrol the seaside of the seaside villages day and night, one to prevent them from going out to fish, and the other to prevent the fish from approaching the area.

"Mom, we pray like a god. ”

Anne's youngest son glanced at the food on the table and asked in a whisper.

"Pray to Loki, the god of fire. ”

Anne was silent for two minutes before speaking.

Because Siegel led the Goths to unify the entire Scandinavian Peninsula and establish the first Scandinavian Empire, even the beliefs of the common people below changed and changed to Loki, the god of fire among the Aesirs.

Chewing vigorously on the dry food in her mouth, Anne turned her head to look at her elderly mother.

"Mom, there is a lot of food in the forest now, Jenny and I will definitely be able to get a lot back if we don't get lost today, don't worry too much about this winter, we will definitely be able to get through it safely." ”

Anne was afraid that her elderly mother would die because of the harsh circumstances, and that because of the food, her mother would disappear one morning when she got up.

"Don't worry, Annie, if I'm gone, who will take care of the children for you. ”

"Grandma, we've grown up. ”

"It's, it's like, we've grown up, don't always treat us like children. ”

The two little ones sitting on the other side of the table heard their grandmother's words and retorted without beginning.

"Okay, well, when you grow up, you can help your grandmother and mother. ”

Looking at her two grandchildren, Anne's mother's wrinkled face couldn't help but squeeze out a smile, if it wasn't for the time when she really had no choice, she couldn't bear her two grandchildren.

After eating and packing up, Anne drove her two sons to bed, and she huddled with her mother.

Because firewood is still kept for the winter, you can save a little, and the weather is not enough to light a fire to keep warm.

"Mom, what's going on? Are the people in the city still collecting taxes?"

"I just came here yesterday, how can I come again so soon. ”

"Mom, let's get a new cellar when you have time. ”

"Hmm. ”

Because of the fire in Upland and the blockade of the Baltic Sea, the Scandinavian Empire, which had not yet been established, fell into a financial crisis, and had to increase taxes to get more from the people underground.

Food, weapons, medicinal herbs, magical materials, furs, everything of value was collected as taxes, which made life even more difficult for the Scandinavians, who were already grieving because of the war.

In the newly established empire, there are many, many problems to deal with, and the contradictions hidden under the table are also emerging one by one.