River valley, gurgling water.

Melting snow water comes from afar, clear and transparent, flowing through the river valley, bringing life to both sides of the valley.

On each side of the river, there are dozens of simple cabins, which are scattered and of different heights, and the roofs are covered with snow, blending in with the white world.

The afterglow of the setting sun casts a soft glow over the snow on the riverside.

The smell of dinner wafts through the river valley, and the aroma of rice has a bit of warmth.

"This is where we stand."

Sergei smiled and introduced Susha, he walked in front of everyone, his tall body like a grizzly bear.

Upon entering the valley, some of the rest of the squad can be seen, mostly with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Everyone lives here and knows each other.

After seeing them, those team members greeted them with a smile: "Sergey, why did you come back so early today?" Is the mission accomplished? ”

"Of course it's done! When did I Sergey fail? Sergey laughed, his laughter was rough, and there was a different kind of contagion.

"Are there any guests?"

Someone had noticed Susha, and any unfamiliar face to the River Valley Residency was something to be wary of.

Su Xia has the face of a southerner on the mainland, which is very different from the appearance of the northland.

Half a year ago, there was a station that had to be transferred because of bringing back strangers and revealing its location.

"Guests, of course!" Sergei said with a smile, in the same tone as usual.

Seeing that he was so sure, the rest of the people didn't have any doubts, and they all said hello and left.

In this station, Sergei is an older and more senior group of people, and everyone knows that he is old and serious, and has a delicate heart under his rough appearance, and will not do anything that harms the station.

The team, led by Sergei, walked through the front of the valley, past small cabins, and came to the middle of the valley.

"This is it!"

In the middle of the valley, on the banks of the river, there were seven or eight cabins, which were none other than Sergei's squad.

The area of the river valley is not large, so naturally one person cannot have a wooden house, and usually four or five people are basically crammed into a small wooden house.

With a smile on his face, Sergei walked along the riverbank to the first cabin, opened the door of the cabin, took out a large bundle of firewood from it, and told the rest of the team to also carry some firewood out as firewood for tonight's dinner.

"Haha, you can't be casual tonight, you have to make something good to eat!"

"Go, get the good stuff!" Sergey patted several of the squad members on the shoulder and said with a smile to them.

Resources are scarce in the northern region, and living materials are not abundant.

They usually keep their good things for various festivals or special days that need to be celebrated, and today is that special celebration day.

Everyone had a festive smile on their faces, including the joy of escaping death today and the joy of being about to eat delicious food.

"Let's go, let's get food!"

"Let's go!"

Little Peter was especially pleased, and hurried to the room where the ingredients were stored, and took out half of the frozen venison from it.

The team's liaison officer carried a large bag of potatoes, which were a staple food for the inhabitants of the North, and were inseparable from this food almost every meal.

The team's Demoman took out a bag of onions, carrots, and a small bag of green peppers, and stacked them next to the potatoes with a happy face.

There were also a few team members holding some bottles and cans, which contained vegetable oil, coagulated animal oil, some seasonings, and more cans of pickled cucumbers.

Sergei lit a fire under a wooden shed on the riverbank and set up a pot stove with great skill.

Another team member set up a grill next to him and washed all the tools needed to grill the meat.

The team members put the ingredients outside the wooden shed, and then returned to the cabin where the ingredients were placed, and continued to take out smoked sausages, dried meat, pork ribs, canned fruits, all kinds of alcohol, etc., all with bright smiles on their faces.

Looking at so many ingredients, the sniper in the team looked happy and couldn't help but sigh: "Oh, I can finally have a good meal tonight, if I don't eat something good, my poor stomach will go to the mechanical clan!" ”

Another member of the team said: "My poor belly has long since taken refuge, only my will is still here." ”

Swallowing saliva and with excitement on their faces, the team members began to wash the ingredients and walk around the riverside with them.

Sergei was in charge of putting the finishing touches on all the ingredients, a bearded middle-aged man with a good knife and a chef's apprentice for a time before the war.

After more than ten minutes, the ingredients were basically sorted out.

"Zila-"

The venison that has been cut into pieces is sizzling in the boiling oil, and the rich aroma permeates with the heat, like an invisible hand, hooking everyone's noses, making people salivate.

Sergey wants to make a very special stew, fry the meat pieces until they turn white, then take them out, and then use the oil to fry the meat, continue to fry small onions, potatoes, carrots, green peppers, etc., until they change color.

During this time, the fragrance became more and more intense, wafting throughout the river valley, and the stomachs of the team members began to rumble when they smelled it.

Then, add cumin, green onions, ginger, garlic, chili powder, tomato paste, etc., and throw the previously processed ingredients into a large pot and simmer.

The process is simple, crude, and not refined.

Next to it, on the other side of the wooden shed, other team members were preparing for the barbecue, skewering fresh meat pieces one by one, each skewer weighed at least half a catty, and the weight was quite sufficient.

Su Xia watched with interest.

He's a guest, so he doesn't need to do anything, just sit back and wait for the meal to start.

After a while, Sergei wiped his greasy hands on the rag, turned to Su Xia and said with a smile: "Friend Mask, you have to wait for about half an hour, you can taste our specialties here first!" ”

"What specialty?" Su Xia asked subconsciously.

"Birch sap, have you ever drunk it before?"

"No, I've heard of ......"

As he spoke, little Peter brought a large box of drinks.

Inside the boxes were transparent glass jars, and in the jars were exactly what Sergei said about the sap of the birch tree, a specialty of the northern plains.

Su Xia remembered that there was also this drink on the other side of the earth, but he never had a chance to try it.

The sap, as the name suggests, is harvested from the birch trees endemic to the northern Great Plains and is only harvested for about a month a year, and now is the right time to collect it.

Simply drill a few centimeters of hole in the trunk, hammer a hollow iron pipe into it at an angle, and hang an iron bucket under the pipe to wait for the sap to flow out of the trunk.

A similar method can be used to collect maple syrup from sugar maple trees.

Su Xia took out a transparent glass bottle from the box and shook it slightly, and the liquid in the bottle shook with it, which was very clear.

"This is birch sap."

He unscrewed the cap of the bottle, and he didn't worry about poisoning, so he took a sip and smashed his mouth.

It has a little sweetness and a woody aroma, which is not easy to describe.

Su Xia felt good, and pondered to bring some back and give them a taste for Hong Bafu and Lan Bafu.

"Mask-sama, try this again." Little Peter unscrewed a jar of pickled cucumbers and said happily, "This is my grandmother's own handmade, and everyone in the station likes to eat it." ”

"Good!"

Su Xia smiled, did not refuse, took out a pickled cucumber from the jar, and took a hard bite, the entrance was crisp, sour, and very appetizing.

"It tastes good." Su Xia complimented.

"Mask-sama, can you try this again...... Forget it, you may not be used to this......"

Little Peter took out a jar, thought about it, and put it back again, and the jar seemed to contain some kind of food as well.

"What's that?" Susha asked.

"Marinated meat."

“……”

This kind of food, Su Xia is indeed not blessed.

People living in this icy and snowy land seem to be in need of high-fat and high-calorie food to fight against years of wind and snow.

Little Peter changed to a special delicacy, a kind of smoked sausage, for Suxia to taste, and he himself was eating it.

The two of them chatted while eating, sitting on the edge of the wooden shed, the team members behind them were happily busy with the evening's food, and in front of them was the clear and transparent river, lively and quiet blended with each other, such a life is quite relaxing, and there is no feeling.

More than ten minutes later, an old man with a gray beard suddenly walked into the camp.

The old man grabbed Sergei, who was cooking, glanced at Su Xia who was sitting on the edge, and asked in a low voice, "This ...... Is that the one? ”

"Yes, that's the one." Sergei smiled and nodded.

"We've got word from Bear City." The old man is one of the people in charge of liaison with the Bear City headquarters in this station.

"What do you say over there?" Sergei didn't lower his voice and communicated in a normal voice, making sure Susha could hear.

"The Lord of the Castle asked me to convey his thanks and asked me to invite this to visit Bear City." The old man pointed to Su Xia's back.

"Go and ask for it yourself!" Sergei smiled: "This man has always liked freedom, you know it, even the Zero Tavern can't restrain him, if the city lord wants to recruit this, then he will probably be disappointed." ”

"Okay, I'll try ......"

The old man looked at Su Xia's back, a glimmer of light flashed in his cloudy eyes, and walked towards him.

The conversation between the two just now, Su Xia naturally heard it clearly.

Su Xia also expected Xiong Cheng's reaction.

His current strength is extremely worthy of recruitment for any Terran gathering place.

"Masked Geek, my friend, I'm the head of this valley station, my name is Alexey, and I'm glad you're here at our station." A voice came from behind him, it was the old man.

"Hello, what's the matter?" Su Xia smiled, took a bottle of birch sap, and turned to look at the old man.

"My friend, the city lord is grateful for your help to us." Alexei smiled and said, "He really wants you to go to Bear City, he will personally show you the inside of Bear City, if he is not busy dealing with the affairs of the Lion City right now, he will definitely come and invite you personally." ”

"The Lion City? What's going on over there? Susha asked.

"They sent several spies to infiltrate our city, and we caught them, and they seem to be planning to subvert the rule of the city lord."

Alexei said: "Not long ago, the attack in Dragon City may also have something to do with them, and we are currently negotiating with them. ”

"There's an attack in Dragon City?" Su Xia's heart sank.

"Yes." Alexei nodded.

"Are there serious casualties?" Susha asked again.

"Three people died, more than a dozen were injured, and the Lord of Dragon City was seriously injured, this is all the news I know." Alexey did not hide it.

"The Lord of Dragon City is seriously injured......"

Su Xia muttered in a low voice, his brows furrowed, and he was a little more worried at the thought that it might be his old father's task.

Inside Dragon City, there will be an attack that seriously injures the city lord?

This kind of thing is really incredible.

Su Xia thought of the Dragon City Hero Medal he saw from Andrew's collection room, and thought of the recent situation where rumors were flying all over Dragon City, and he unconsciously felt a sense of urgency, he had to go to Dragon City as soon as possible.

"Trouble to tell the city lord, thank you for his kindness, I still have some things to deal with, and I need to go back to the south." Su Xia spoke softly and politely declined Xiong Cheng's invitation.

In this regard, Alexei was prepared, and said with a smile: "My friend, when you are free, you must come to us...... This is a bear city identity card, please put it away, with this identity card, you can freely enter and exit bear city, if you meet the soldiers who are checking, just show them this identity card, they understand the meaning of this card. ”

"Good!"

Su Xia nodded slightly, did not refuse this identity card, and reached out to accept it.

At this point, he already had identity cards for two large human gatherings.

One is the Dragon City ID card he got in the Commander's Last Wish mission, and the other is this Bear City ID card.

After exchanging a few more words, Alexei said goodbye, did not disturb everyone's dinner, and invited Su Xia again and again before leaving, so that Su Xia must go to Bear City when he is free.

After he left, Su Xia turned around and faced the gurgling river again, his face a little heavier.

"At the moment of the great enemy, these human gathering places still have internal contradictions, beware of each other, and even send spies to each other, if this continues, when will they launch a counteroffensive?"

At this time, Su Xia finally understood the plight of some famous people in history.

With such a group of insects, when can we achieve great things?

Su Xia sighed silently, and the birch sap in his hand was replaced by a high spirit, and at this time a little wine could relieve his worries.

After more than ten minutes, little Peter came over with a skewer of barbecue, his thin cheeks were full of satisfaction, and said to Su Xia, "Lord Mask, dinner is ready!" ”

"Good!"

Looking at this energetic young man, Su Xia regained a smile on her face and got up to join this sumptuous dinner.

……

Meanwhile, in the far south, Coral City.

Old Street, pharmacy.

A dark figure flashed through the back window of the shop, fluttering like a ghost.

In the shadows, a voice sounded: "Are you sure?" That damn Susha is still in the store? ”

"It's confirmed!" Another voice appeared, "That bastard was so scared that he didn't dare to go out, and he hid on the second floor of the store all day, and didn't even go downstairs to eat, so he was sent food." ”

"Hmph, just to make him feel enough fear! That's the price of betraying Daddy! The previous voice snorted coldly.

"Daddy saved us a few times, and now it's time for us to repay him! Let's help him clean up the division! ”

"When to act?"

"Three days later!"

"Okay, write a few more letters in the next two days to scare him, and I'm going to spend the last few days of his life in a panic!"

(End of chapter)