NOVEL NEXT Chapter 538: The Great Chief 56
Although Feiyu only used a little strategy, Yan Shuangshuang was still a bit surprised. She was used to seeing primitive people who only knew how to use their fists, not their brains, so this leader, who had a decent character and a clever mind, was a pleasant surprise.
In the future, when Yan Shuangshuang wants to expand the tribe, she'll need people to help manage some trivial matters, which requires brains. Counting carefully, there are only three smart people around her: Yu, Zhi, and Yun. Originally, she thought that by taking over the Ling Tribe, she could gain their Witch, but unexpectedly, this leader gave her a pleasant surprise.
After eating, the people of the Ling Tribe happily carried the Giant Hammer Bird given by Yan Shuangshuang and left. Yan Shuangshuang and the others continued their journey under Yan's leadership before the sky turned dark.
It must be said that Yan is indeed Feiyu's son, with a mind as agile as his father's. Throughout the journey, Yan was quite talkative, sharing knowledge about the animal species and their habits in the vicinity. His hands were equally busy. Though he couldn't help with hunting, he was adept at handling tasks like roasting meat and preparing beds, never hesitating to lend a hand.
Yan aimed to please Yan Shuangshuang the most. He smartly noticed that everyone from the Yanhuang Tribe followed her lead, even the highest status Witch Yu listened to her. So, these days, Yan was focused on gaining Yan Shuangshuang's favor.
When the group was tired and needed rest, as soon as Yan Shuangshuang was about to sit down, Yan had already laid a beast skin mat for her. When she was thirsty, he quickly brought over the water shells. During meals, he personally took care of her roasted meat, almost wanting to feed her himself.
Yan Shuangshuang could see that although Yan was overly attentive, his gaze was clear; he was merely trying to please them, particularly her, with a hint of humility because he hoped they would have a good impression of him and remember to take back the Ling Tribe when they returned.
Even though there was some ulterior motive, Yan Shuangshuang didn't dislike Yan's cunningness. In fact, she was pleasantly surprised that Yan wasn't someone with nothing but muscles in his head, which gave her another useful person for the future.
Since Yan wanted to help, and Yan Shuangshuang couldn't train Yu easily now, perhaps she could train Yan, like teaching him how to sell things, persuading people to desire and buy his goods, and purchase more of his goods. Yes, Yan Shuangshuang had already decided to let Yan help sell Sweet Potato at the Mutual Market.
Originally, Yan Shuangshuang planned to go herself. She feared the impulsive tribe members would sell without thinking and end up losing all the capital, though there wasn't much capital, the manpower was still very precious.
Yan was indeed clever, and in his effort to please Yan Shuangshuang, he learned diligently. Now, when Yan Shuangshuang pretended to be a difficult customer, Yan could handle it smoothly.
Yan Shuangshuang's various eloquence and logic training for Yan left the surrounding onlookers stunned. They never realized that selling stuff required so much knowledge.
Under Yan's guidance, everyone traveled another day and night, finally reaching the long-desired Mutual Market. It must be said that the Mutual Market's location was well-hidden, in a large artificially cleared out space within a dense jungle.
On the other side of the clearing was a vast sheer rock face with countless naturally formed caves. Reaching this point, Yan, who had previously visited the Mutual Market once, began introducing the place to Yan Shuangshuang.
Pointing to the caves, he explained: "These are the dwellings for those attending the Mutual Market. Any tribe that comes with goods can choose a place to live inside; you can live wherever you like, without having to pay meat jerky."
No requirement for meat jerky, how rare! Yan Shuangshuang and others tentatively went forward into the caves. Indeed, when they entered, no one stopped them or behaved strangely, and they were even lucky enough to find a cave near the outside that didn't require climbing. Such a spot not requiring meat jerky surprised Yan Shuangshuang.
In this world, meat jerky is the hard currency. Whenever anyone wants to purchase something, it's always a direct trade for meat jerky, as outlined in the tribal books; Yan Shuangshuang and the others had prepared some when coming.
This jerky wasn't salted—salt was an even rarer hard currency, unobtainable by any tribe. Only a few powerful Super Tribes could produce salt themselves.
The jerky was made during the hot season, sliced, laid on rocks, and sun-dried. Although such jerky wasn't salted, with the hot season's sun, the jerky could be dried until completely devoid of moisture. As long as they regularly checked and sundried it, it could be preserved for a long time.
Tribes that could sun-dry jerky in the hot season were undoubtedly well-fed. Small tribes struggled to survive, lacking the capability to sun-dry jerky; it required at least a moderately wealthy tribe to do so.
Regarding the jerky's size, the tribal books had proportional diagrams of sun-dried jerky. Judging by the diagrams' sizes, this jerky weighs around half a pound. This is the type of jerky people used to make transactions at the Mutual Market.
Of course, if traders had something other than jerky to trade, simple exchanges were also fine; no one interfered. However, the Mutual Market was established by great Super Tribes responsible for its security, so everyone attending the market had to pay ten pieces of jerky as a fee.
Yan Shuangshuang had never been to a Mutual Market before and was unaware of the cave dwelling rules. Yan had been to the market but was just a laborer following a Great Tribe, in exchange for a chance to barter for salt. At nights, he stayed with the Great Tribe people, not knowing much about the cave dwelling customs, naturally thinking whoever occupied a spot could stay there.
So at this moment, seeing more than ten warriors, arrogantly claiming they wanted their cave, and telling Yan Shuangshuang and her group to leave quickly, Yan's face turned quite ugly. He hadn't expected such open robbery in the caves.
The expression of Yan Shuangshuang and the others was equally grim, especially Yan Shuangshuang. She knew that primitive society was ruthless, but she didn't expect to encounter such an incident on her first day at the Mutual Market.
The man opposite clearly didn't respect the young, thin girl standing before him, who looked too young to bear children. Arrogantly, he confronted Mang Mountain, the obvious leader, saying: "This place is now claimed by the Tiger Tribe. While I'm in a good mood and won't beat you, you better pick up your stuff and find another place to live."