The beast meat and hide were traded according to the number of crystals the Zhi tribe brought.
Some of the beast meat was recently slaughtered. The meat did not give out any unpleasant odour because the meat of fearsome beasts had a longer preservation time and the temperature at the time was not too high. Some of the beast meat that were not as fresh were brought over from a cave the Flaming Horn tribe used to store their food at their headquarters. When this meat was cut, it was hard and stiff.
Besides these meat, there were other marinated animal meat and jerky available, but they were more expensive because they were preserved with salt.
The people from the Zhi tribe mostly preferred fresh beast meat. They had disputes when they were choosing which meat to get, mostly because each of them thought a different type of meat “looked delicious”.
Most people from the Zhi tribe had never eaten the meat of any fearsome beasts. Even as the chief, Abuli had never even encountered any fearsome beasts, let alone eat their meat.
Therefore, when they heard that they could trade their crystals for fearsome beast meat, they were all so surprised they fell over. After that, they were all excited, and after all the excitement, they began to quarrel.
Shao Xuan asked the workers to cut some fresh beast meat for them to try. Even though it was raw meat, it was not uncommon to consume raw meat here. The people from the Zhi tribe took over the raw meat without any hesitation. Of course, only Abuli tasted the meat. After all, he was the chief who made the final decision.
After he saw all the beast meat, Abuli did not directly trade outside where the meat was but instead returned to the warehouse, where he told Shao Xuan about the types of meat he preferred. Then, he asked Shao Xuan to move the meat from the market into the warehouse and not outside.
Shao Xuan understood that the people from the Zhi tribe were very careful. Outside, there were many people from the Drumming tribe, Rain tribe, and Pu tribe. The people from the Zhi tribe were worried that other people might see what they got from their trade.
After the beast meat and animal hide were exchanged, Abuli used the leaves that the Flaming Horn tribe gave to wrap up the meat and placed them in their baskets. Even the beast hides were all carefully rolled up and packed neatly inside. After their rattan baskets were covered, they even tied up the baskets with straw ropes and made sure that the lids could not be opened even when they ran.
“Can we also come here to trade in the future?” Abuli asked expectantly after he packed up all the traded goods.
“Of course! The trading point is still not perfect at the moment. This is only a trial opening and we’ll keep trading here until it snows in the winter. We’ll definitely open up the market once again after winter. Whenever you want to trade, feel free to come over,” Shao Xuan paused, and then said, “As for the crystals you brought over, it would be nicer if there were bigger ones. Then you can exchange for more things.”
Abuli didn’t say a word. Instead, he dug his toes to the ground and looked as if he was thinking about something. The eyes of the warriors from the Zhi tribe brightened up when they heard that bigger crystals could be traded for more goods.
They did not delay their departure. The Zhi tribe left immediately after the transaction was made. When they came over to trade, they moved in small baby steps. Back then, the Flaming Horn guards grew anxious by just looking at them. But as soon as they finished trading, the Zhi tribe left with a swish, as if a wind carried them away.
These people left very early compared to the other tribes in the trading point. After all, in the trading point, the Flaming Horn had already guaranteed that there would be no stealing or robbing. A team of eighty people disappeared in the blink of an eye, and Kun Tu and others who were guarding the gate of the trading zone were dumbfounded.
“It’s good to run fast. It’s much safer that way,” Shao Xuan smiled as he looked at the flash of figures sprinting off into the distant mountains and forests.
There would be no stealing or robbing in the trading point because the Flaming Horn tribe was there. But in the forest outside the trading area, there were many people who waited with bad intentions. They did not have any goods to trade in the trading point, so they wanted to wait for others to finish trading to intercept them and rob their goods.
However, although the people of the Zhi tribe were not good at many things, they were capable of running.The people from the Flaming Horn tribe could only admire such speed. Their big feet actually served their purpose.
Not only were they fast, but they were also very agile and moved swiftly in the woods. The figures never stopped to rest.
Those who were hiding in the forest waiting to rob them could only watch as the Zhi tribesmen ran off into the distance with precious goods in their baskets.
After the trade, Abuli and others from the Zhi tribe celebrated excitedly as they ran back home. This trade had far exceeded their expectations, and when they were returning, they even made a few flips in the air to celebrate.
In the past, the Zhi tribe rarely interacted with other tribes. Most of the time, they stayed in the mountains by themselves. When they saw the words written on the wooden board, Abuli hesitated at first but finally decided to try once. He didn’t expect such success!
At that time, there were still many people in their tribe who opposed the idea of a trading point, saying that it was a conspiracy the Flaming Horn tribe plotted. Hmph! Once they see the stuff in our rattan baskets, who would object?! The more Abuli thought about it, the prouder he was as the leader of the tribe!
When the group of people finally returned to the tribe, many others were waiting expectantly behind the entrance between the mountain gaps. They craned their necks and looked from behind.
The first person who noticed Abuli and the others called out loudly, and very quickly, another group rushed out from the other side. They were all excited to hear the news from Abuli.
The chief had brought many others out to trade and this was a huge matter in the tribe, so many of them wanted to know the results.
“So?” the shaman of the Zhi tribe walked over on a purple cane crafted from crystals.
Abuli raised his chin and put on airs. He said, “No rush, let’s talk inside.”
Upon seeing Abuli’s expression, people who knew him knew that it was a success, but when he entered the village, they realized that the trade was even more successful than they had expected.
Those warriors who went along to trade could no longer hold back their tongues. They began telling others about their long journey. After all, they were the first batch of people who officially went out to trade. How could they not show off to the others?
Abuli didn’t care much about the beast meat. Instead, he took out the animal hide he had obtained and wrapped one around himself. Turning around in full view, he said, “How does this look? Beast hide! Fearsome beast hide! Haven’t seen one before, have you?”
Someone went over and touched the beast hide from top to bottom. Abuli waved him away with a stick.
“You can actually trade for these?!”
Those who did not follow along were now regretful. They thought that the trip would be extremely dangerous and yield no results. They did not expect…
The onlookers hesitated for a moment, and then, as if they had thought of something, they suddenly turned and ran towards their houses. There were many people who had crystals at home.
It’s just that most people had crystals that were about the same size as those Abuli and the others took out to trade. Some were even smaller. After everyone watched Abuli show off their newly traded goods and left for their respective homes, Abuli walked to a cave where treasures were kept collected by generations of chiefs from the Zhi tribe.
There, not only were there larger pillars and clusters, but some even glowed.
