Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1353: Chapter 438: The Six-Class Registration System, Stirring Breakthrough, Direction_4

”Xing’er’s talent is originally much higher than ours. Previously, we could use only 4 to 5 pounds of normal Beast Blood at most, but she could use 8 pounds at once.”

”She increased her strength by 700 pounds in one go, so Xing’er’s top-grade Battle Body is surely stable, that’s fantastic.”

Upon hearing the praise from her three elder brothers, Su Xing’er naturally wore a joyful expression. She turned her head to find Xia Hong was looking at her, at first a bit shy, then involuntarily asked, ”How old were you, sir, when you broke through Cold Resistance Level? How many pounds of Beast Blood could you use when you broke through? Could you tell Xing’er?”

Su Jing and the three others also looked curiously at Xia Hong.

Not to mention Xia Hong’s strength, the key is that he’s young. Even ignoring his demeanor and expression, just his face looks younger than the three of them.

Such youth, such strength, obviously speaks of extraordinary aptitude. Xia Hong himself had previously said that, in his view, Su Xing’er’s aptitude was at most merely decent.

So the four siblings were very curious about how many pounds of Beast Blood Xia Hong could use when he broke through to the Cold Resistance Level.

Of course, they were equally interested in Xia Hong’s age.

Upon hearing Su Xing’er’s two questions, Xia Hong’s expression became quite peculiar. He stared at her for a few seconds, noticing something strange hidden deep within her eyes, then shook his head and said, ”I’m old enough to be your father...”

This year marks the tenth year of Great Xia. By calculation, Xia Hong has been in this world for nearly thirteen years, and he is actually 30 years old.

Su Xing’er is only 15 years old, so he’s certainly old enough to be her father.

Thinking of this, Xia Hong chuckled and added, ”Your personality is a bit like my daughter’s, and she’s only eight years younger than you.”

Upon hearing this answer, Su Xing’er’s pupils instantly dimmed quite a bit, but she concealed it well; apart from Xia Hong, the three brothers didn’t notice.

”As for how many pounds of Beast Blood can be used at once...”

Reflecting on his own early years breaking through the Cold Resistance Level, Xia Hong smiled and shook his head, continuing, ”Approximately over 100 pounds!”

When Su Jing and his three siblings heard this number, their expressions froze instantly.

In the following days, Su Xing’er continuously used Soaring Snake Blood to reshape her Skin Membrane, further increasing her strength. By the seventh day, her Basic Strength just breached 150,000 pounds, and the membrane’s ultimate state could no longer be restrained, directly breaking through.

As soon as Su Xing’er broke through, she possessed a strength of 3 manes, instantly surpassing her three elder brothers in terms of Basic Strength.

Su Jing and the three others were naturally overjoyed.

It was daytime, so the three brothers took their little sister out of the cave.

Su Xing’er experienced the daytime world for the first time, remaining excited even when night fell, and she returned to the cave.

”Come on! Come over and have a drink with me. All four of you have broken through; this jug of Qingyang Wine will be your celebration.”

Upon entering the cave, the four smelled the fragrance of wine and, hearing Xia Hong’s words, their eyes lit up.

In Cai Qiu, there is wine, but unfortunately, none of the four had the privilege to drink it, nor the money to buy it, so they never tasted it.

The four walked quickly to the table and sat down.

Xia Hong poured each of them a cup.

”Thank you for the wine, sir!”

Su Jing was the first to pick up the wine cup, thanking Xia Hong before downing it.

”Hey, slow down...”

Xia Hong hadn’t finished speaking before Su Jing drank it all in one gulp.

This was Top-grade Qingyang Wine, specifically for those of Xianyang Level. Those at Cold Resistance Level could only barely taste it, so Su Jing’s quick single drink led to predictable consequences.

His face instantly flushed and turned red, and his eyes quickly showed a trace of bewilderment. Within a heartbeat, his body suddenly fell heavily to the ground.

Bang......

Su Xu and the three others hadn’t even reacted, but seeing their elder brother fall, they hurriedly got up to help him.

”It’s alright, it’s alright, let him sleep for a while.”

Upon hearing Xia Hong’s words, the three hurriedly moved him to the wooden bed, then returned to the table, sipped the fragrant wine in small gulps under Xia Hong’s guidance.

”This wine can foster the growth of my flesh!”

”It has the effect of enhancing cultivation!”

”No wonder, no wonder only registered people can buy wine.”

Upon hearing Su Zhi’s final comment, Xia Hong thought of Cai Qiu’s Six-class System, shaking his head slightly.

Earlier, more than four months ago, he learned through the mouths of County Guard Army soldiers about this so-called Six-class System. With the additional information from Su Jing and the four local siblings over this period, he basically understood all about it.

”You told me earlier, the entire Evergreen Valley, with a population of over 1.2 million, has at most 5,000 people with civilian and military registration. Among those with military registration, most have long since moved to the County City and never returned. Besides, there are 70,000 to 80,000 people who are either of Slave Status or lowly status, some serving as slaves for others, some doing lowly or shady jobs in the city. Where did you hear these figures? Accurate?”

The three drank slowly, only mildly intoxicated. Upon hearing Xia Hong’s question, they looked at each other for a moment. Then the third brother, Su Zhi, nodded and replied, ”These figures were told by the leader at our old village. His entire family had civilian registration, and they settled in Qinghua City. Even if there’s some disparity in numbers, it shouldn’t be too large.”

Qinghua City is a town located at Evergreen Valley’s outlet, under Bai Shui County. Its name and position clearly indicate its role in controlling Evergreen Valley, giving it a special status. The Cai Qiu Feudal Town has fewer than ten similar towns.

”Nobles, elites, military, civilians, slaves, lowly statuses - Six-class System. First-class is nobility, the direct lineage of Caiqiu Fan and six surnames. They can wear brocade and three silver ornaments, and can have one ring with two jades; Second-class elites include high-ranking officials and military generals from various counties and cities. They can wear silk and two silver ornaments, and have one ring with one jade; Third-class Military Registration is essentially military households. They can wear satin and one silver ornament, and can have one jade; Fourth-class Civil Registration wears damask; Fifth-class Slave Registration wears gauze; Sixth-class lowly statuses wear linen......”

Recalling the four siblings’ description of the Six-class System and the corresponding behavioral norms and constraints associated with each rank, Xia Hong showed a faint smile, raised his wine cup, and gently asked the slightly drunk three siblings, ”Do you think Cai Qiu’s Six-class System is good?”

The three were momentarily stunned by the question.

Su Xu was the first to set down his wine cup, replying in a deep voice, ”For us, in lowly statuses, of course it’s not good! But it’s different for those above. Some business activities are only allowed for them; many can even receive money annually without moving; they can freely move, hunt, and gather, while the quota they need to submit is far lower than ours; and when it comes to cultivation resources, the higher the registration rank, the more they can buy. We, the unregistered ones, cannot buy even if we have money...”

After Su Xu finished speaking exhaustively, Su Zhi couldn’t help but add, ”It’s pure exploitation from top to bottom. The good gets better; the bad gets worse. For ordinary people without connections like us, you either serve as slaves to others or register as lowly statuses. There’s no other path. But if you choose these two paths, to overturn them in this life would mean always gauging others’ moods.”

Su Xing’er also nodded, her expression dimmed, ”Our parents lost their lives trying to gain registration.”

After hearing the siblings’ words, Xia Hong nodded faintly.

Not entirely oblivious, indeed the good or bad of the Six-class System depends on who you ask.

For Su Jing and his siblings, and the vast majority of the 1.2 million people in Evergreen Valley without registration, it’s certainly bad; but for those with Civil Registration and higher, it’s entirely different. And looking up to the Military, Elites, and Nobles’ above, it’s a different world altogether. These folks are likely to fight tooth and nail to maintain this Six-class System.

”Cai Qiu, Chen Cang, Hezang, Wei Bo - the four Feudal Towns are basically all using this Household Registration System. The remaining Lulong will probably be the same, so the camps in the same area are likely to have similar systems...”

Xia Hong pondered for a moment, a glimmer flashed in his eyes.

”Then the matter becomes simple, just focus on the population ratio under the Six-class System, and you can roughly estimate these feudal towns’ colors. With exploitation comes resistance, maintaining such a system is no easy task!”