After the lords arrived at the bridgehead camp, Surdak took time to go to the iron mines of Invercargill Forest.

This time Surdak took Andrew to ride a horse to the iron mine not too far from the bridgehead camp, although the iron mine has been mining iron ore normally for a while, but this area is still very messy, the most obvious place is what kind of sheds there are, from thatched huts to exquisite wooden houses, many places on the hillside are still being planned, and those thatched huts are also included in the demolition plan.

However, the pace of construction in the living area has not kept pace with the increase in the population of the iron ore mines, and these dilapidated shacks are even more difficult to tear down in winter.

Because iron ore is much cheaper than copper, many of the buildings here look very crude.

Therefore, the environment of the newly built iron ore mines is also worse than that of the copper mines, and many places are full of building materials and construction sites everywhere.

Surdak saw the most and built the most light tracks on which ore wagons could roll back and forth, with which the mining area of the iron ore mine and the beneficiation grinding area could be closely connected.

This iron mine is home to a large number of young people from indigenous tribes, and the copper mine cannot accommodate so many miners, so almost all of them have now gone to the iron mine.

It's not an easy job, and digging ore every day requires a lot of physical energy, but it's still popular with young indigenous people.

For them, they can earn countless baked wheat cakes in the iron mines, they don't have to worry about any beasts in the jungle ambush, and they don't have to watch out for those poisonous insects, snakes and ants......

At the bottom of the living quarters of the iron ore mines is a low thatched hut, and it is easy to build this round hut in the style of an indigenous tribe, as long as you choose a sturdy tree and use it as the center, you can quickly build it with branches.

But the biggest disadvantage of this kind of shack is that it cannot withstand the wind and snow, and if you want to block the wind and snow, the outside of the shack must be covered with a thick layer of moss.

The inside of the shack was damp, puffs of black smoke came out of the exit, and the fire pit was almost close to the doorway.

Surdak found many indigenous women here, still dressed in simple furs, squatting in front of the fire with their children in their arms.

Not far away by the river, a group of girls from indigenous tribes squatted by the stream to wash their clothes, and the clear mountain spring water hit the pebbles by the river, making a tinkling sound.

Although the autumn mood in the mountains and wilderness is already very strong, they are still dressed very coolly, and their skin is not very white, but the surging wheat color is full of youthful vitality.

Surdak didn't wait for the person in charge of the iron mine to arrive, and walked directly into the very simple-looking mine canteen, which was a simple square shed, except for the roof, the surrounding walls were woven with wicker, and a trace of light could easily shine into it along the gaps.

The long tables and chairs in the shed were made of simple logs, and they looked like they had been used for a long time, and Surdak didn't pay attention to them.

He walked straight to the big iron pot in the cafeteria, and when the kitchen man was stunned, he picked up an iron spoon from the side and put it into the soup pot, scooped out some of the bottom of the pot, and poured it into the soup pot.

Faced with the unknown rhizome wild vegetables inside, Surdak asked the man next to him without any hint, "What are these?" ”

"The potato, which the indigenous women found in the surrounding woods, likes to eat it with boiled berries." Although the man didn't know Surdak, he was not stupid, and when he saw Surdak wearing gorgeous clothes, needless to say, he was a big nobleman, so he replied very honestly.

Surdak frowned and threw the spoon in his hand aside, seeing Surdak's demeanor, the guys in the cafeteria didn't dare to come forward to talk.

Surdak walked directly to the stone platform where the baked wheat cakes were made, and found that the baked wheat cakes made here were actually like meat pies like naan, and the meat filling seemed to be some yellow lamb and wild onions, and the aroma of roasting clearly entered Surdak's nose.

Seeing that there was meat in the prepared dinner, Surdak's face softened.

When the person in charge of the iron mine heard the news, Surdak was already sitting in front of the table, sharing a meatloaf with Andrew, and a bowl of sour potato soup in front of him.

"The cake is not bad, but this wild vegetable soup is too close to the taste of the tribe, do you think everyone can drink it?" Without raising his head, Surdak pushed the soup bowl in front of the person in charge.

The person in charge replied unhurriedly: "Almost all of the people who are willing to come to the No. 1 canteen are indigenous to the tribe, and this soup is a home-cooked dish that they usually drink. ”

Only then did Surdak raise his head, glanced at the person in charge, saw that his face was as usual, and drank the bowl of sour potato soup in one go, and then nodded.

"Not bad......

He said a word, and walked out of the humble cafeteria with Andrew.

"I know that the time to build the iron ore mine is tight, and I have to meet the supply of iron ore powder from the steel mill, and all other tasks here have to make way for it, but I think the most basic living needs of the miners still have to be met, which is very necessary."

"What are the most basic needs of life...... Eating, sleeping, labor uniforms, anti-smashing shoes, hats, etc. ”

As Surdak was talking, a group of miners had already left work, they were covered in dust, talking and laughing into the shed, and saw the mine manager standing at the door accompanied by the two big men, immediately lowered the laughter, and then walked to the dining area in an orderly manner, received the meatloaf and sour soup, and then sat down from the first row of chairs in turn, still very intoxicated.

Surdak then turned around and walked out of the cafeteria.

Under the leadership of the mine manager, Surdak took another turn around the excavation site, the ore transport truck, and the screening grinder.

At present, the first and second areas of the iron ore mine have begun to excavate normally, and the third and fourth areas are currently being expanded, mainly because the mine truck track has not been built, and a large amount of ore is piled up on the site and cannot be transported.

However, Surdak is also quite satisfied with the fact that the iron ore mine can be managed like this in such a short period of time.

……

For the arrival of the lord, the young people of the indigenous tribes in the iron ore fields gave Surdak the highest level of welcome ceremony.

In the evening, a bonfire ceremony was held.

An indigenous tribal patriarch happened to be on the side of the iron mine, so he accompanied Surdak, invited Surdak to taste the fruit wine of the indigenous tribe, and arranged for two young girls with flowers on their bodies to accompany Surdak.

In the evening, the welcome dance party was very lively.

Surdak curiously asked the two beautiful indigenous girls, "Is your sweetheart dancing underneath?" ”

The personalities of the two indigenous girls were also very upright, and when they saw Surdak ask like this, they also nodded very generously, and showed him their own fingers.

Surdak patted them on the shoulders and said to them, "Go, dance with them, and let me talk here with your patriarch for a while......"

The two native girls had surprise on their faces, and without hesitation, they quickly ran into the crowd around the campfire.

The indigenous patriarch laughed and picked up a glass of slightly sour fruit wine when he saw Surdak behave like this, and he stood up and held his glass high, and the whole campfire dance party immediately became quiet.

I heard the indigenous patriarch say in a loud voice:

"In the past, we only knew how to gather herbs and hunt wild animals, and if the hunters who went out hunted and brought them back to the tribe, we would have a good meal, and if we couldn't bring back the prey, then we would eat berries and wild vegetables, and if we didn't have berries and wild vegetables, we might go hungry."

"Now we don't rely on hunting, and every family can still have a crockpot, and we can store a little wheat flour in it, so we can eat fragrant wheat cakes every day."

"Although there are a lot fewer prey in the jungle, the same dangerous monsters are almost extinct in this jungle......"

"Almost all the newly-born children in the tribe survived, and if this continues, the population of the tribe will double in less than ten years."

"Who brought us everything we have?"

The young men of the indigenous tribes shouted at the top of their voices, "Lord Surdak......"

The indigenous patriarch continued to say in a loud voice: "Now, Lord Surdak has gathered a large number of lord armies from other planes, so that we do not have to suffer from the beast tide, and prepare for war with the ghost red ants in the north. Let's raise a glass together and toast to a better life tomorrow. ”

The bonfire dance in Invercargill Forest was ablaze......

……

Although the berry wine was not very good, Surdak was still a little drunk.

After the bonfire, he and Aphrodite were chilling off on the platform of a wooden house, and Andrew's loud snoring could be heard next door.

"If it weren't for the tribal patriarch who said these toasts, I don't seem to think that you came to the Bailin Plane to make so many changes here." Aphrodite leaned in front of the colonnade, looked at the bright lights on the hillside, and smiled at Surdak.

Surdak shook his head and said casually: "Actually, I just opened up a new territory here, in order to occupy more fertile land, so that I can not have any armed conflict with the local indigenous tribes, I have carved out some territories belonging to their tribes on my own territory, and in order to be able to make the wallet bulge a little, I also built two mines here, and hired some young people from the local natives as miners, these are the things that every noble lord will do." ”

"Those lords are not like you, and they can still be supported by the local natives." Aphrodite turned her head to stare at Surdak, and said with a smile on the corner of her mouth: "More lords are thinking about how to manage the indigenous tribes in the rear territory, how to squeeze out all their bone oil, and how to limit the strength of the indigenous tribes and reduce their danger. ”

"And in order for you to make them support you, and even willing to help them develop and grow, aren't you afraid that after they grow stronger, everyone will unite against you?" Aphrodite asked.

Surdak replied calmly: "What is there to worry about, the land of Invercargill Forest is here, it is just so big. ”

"I see that your vision is different than before."

Surdak rubbed his somewhat groggy forehead and asked Aphrodite, "Do you have any good ideas for those red crest giant tortoises?" They usually hide at the bottom of the lake and don't come out, and the adventure group is powerless to hunt them, but if they don't manage it, it can't be regarded as a pioneer area for the lord army. ”

"And what do you want to do about hunting them all down?" Aphrodite asked.

Surdak nodded and replied, "Surrender or die." ”

Aphrodite smiled and held her slightly bulging lower abdomen, and said to Surdak, "If you can convince Selena to help you over there next spring, maybe I can do it." ”

"Wait until next spring?" Surdak asked, confused.

"Yes! When the weather gets cooler, they have to go dormant, and it's not a good thing to wake them up on such a cold day. Aphrodite said with a smile.