On this day, Shao Xuan came back from a hunt and heard that the Taihe tribe was there.
Although there were occasional conflicts between the two tribes, there were still interactions between them. After the trade trip at the end of last year, the relationship between the two tribes improved. They hadn't quarreled since then, at least the leaders of the two tribes didn't quarrel.
"Why are the Taihe people here?" Shao Xuan asked the person beside him.
"I heard it's about farming. They're at the field." The person who spoke was obviously unhappy.
The Taihe tribesmen were better at farming than the Flaming Horns. Everyone had to admit that the Taihe tribesmen could not only grow crops, but also herbs. Every year, many of the herbs they brought to trade were actually grown by themselves. The Taihe tribesmen had a much larger area of land. Unlike the Flaming Horns, the Taihe tribesmen placed a lot of importance on farming.
As for why the Taihe tribesmen came to visit the Flaming Horn tribe's fields, it was because the Taihe tribesmen had a sense of superiority when it came to farming. Every time they came, they would act arrogantly as if they were teaching the Flaming Horn tribe. This was the reason why there were so many small scale arguments.
But from the tribe's point of view, the shamans were happy to see this kind of "academic exchange". Although there were arguments, it was worth it if the Yanjiao people could learn more.
Thinking about the Thousand Grain Gold that Qi Qi planted, Shao Xuan put down his prey and walked towards the field.
Shao Xuan didn't ask Qi Qi to keep the Thousand Grain Gold a secret. Qi Qi even asked Shao Xuan if they should hide it if the Taihe people came.
Shao Xuan refused. It would be better if he could get some useful advice from the Taihe people. He didn't have to worry about the Taihe people playing dirty. At least until now, the Taihe people hadn't done anything like that.
After asking around, Shao Xuan went to a place near the mountainside. There were already many people there. Shao Xuan remembered that there was also a piece of land there that was used to plant the Thousand Grain Gold.
Qi Qi was in a good mood today. In the past, when people from the Taihe tribe came, they would always give them some 'pointers'. Their choice of words wasn't too tactful and they took pleasure in attacking them. It wasn't easy for them to find a way to attack the Yanjiao people, so they naturally wouldn't hold back. But today was different. Even though the Taihe people caught some mistakes, the incident with Li and the Thousand Grain Gold distracted them.
When Shao Xuan walked over, two Taihe tribesmen were discussing something around a plow. The others were with Qi Qi, standing beside a specially fenced field. There were only a few seedlings in the field. As for the people around the fence, their eyes were shining as they looked at the seedlings.
Seeing Shao Xuan walk over, Qi Qi bowed as usual and introduced the people from the Taihe tribe. After being ridiculed so many times, Qi Qi wanted to return the favor. When she introduced them, her expression seemed to be saying, "Look at these bumpkins, they haven't even seen a plow before!"
After being ridiculed by Qi Qi, the Taihe tribesmen's expressions froze. It was rare that they didn't retort back. Instead, they quickly put on a smile, as if they were close relatives. One of them coughed and walked forward. "Quan Bai from the Taihe tribe is here to make a deal with Elder Shao Xuan."
At the end of last year, they had already heard about the glowing crystals from their trading team. They had sent people to probe the Flaming Horns a few times, but the Flaming Horns kept their mouths shut. They couldn't find out anything useful at all. This time, the chief had the intention of letting them trade with the Flaming Horns. They wanted to exchange some glowing crystals for them to take a look.
Originally, they thought that if Shao Xuan wasn't here, they would look for someone else. The other Yanjiao tribesmen also had glowing crystals. They didn't expect to run into the Yanjiao hunting team today.
"You want the water sun stone? Of course. "Shao Xuan said." But what do you want in exchange? "
"What does Elder Shao Xuan want?" Quan Bai asked.
Usually, in a trade between two tribes, bronze wares were rarely exchanged. Most of the time, animal hides or other items were used. Taihe tribe had more herbs. Quan Bai thought that Shao Xuan would directly ask for precious herbs.
But after thinking for a while, Shao Xuan said, "How are the craftsmen of the Taihe tribe?"
Quan Bai frowned. He didn't understand why Shao Xuan would suddenly ask this. Did he think that the craftsmen of the Yanjiao tribe weren't good enough and wanted to ask the craftsmen of the Taihe tribe to make bronze wares?
In terms of craftsmen, the Taihe tribe was quite good.
Thinking about this, Quan Bai said proudly, "The craftsmen of my tribe are naturally very skilled. Although they aren't as good as the masters of the six tribes, they are still better than … "
Quan Bai was about to say, "Better than Yanjiao" when he saw Shao Xuan look over. He remembered that he had something to ask of him so he changed the topic and looked at the other tribes with disdain.
"But they are still much better than the Fox tribe and the other tribes." As for how many tribes were included in the word "other", he didn't say.
Shao Xuan nodded and asked, "The Taihe tribe has passed down their craftsmen for thousands of years, right?"
Quan Bai's heart skipped a beat. Was this kid trying to steal their craftsmen?! No way!
Quan Bai was cautious but he didn't show it on his face. He only said, "Before Yanjiao came here, the Taihe tribe had already made our own tools. But compared to the people of the six tribes, we are still far behind. "
"Can I talk to the craftsmen of your tribe? I have some questions. " Quan Bai and the other Taihe tribesmen were on guard. Shao Xuan said, "Don't worry, I'm not asking about craftsmen. I'm asking about other things."
Quan Bai and the others relaxed when they heard that he wasn't asking about craftsmen. But they were still on guard. Some things could be brought out for discussion but other things should be kept in their hands. For example, they would never tell anyone about the cultivation methods of their tribe's precious herbs. Craftsmen were one of them. They could process it but they wouldn't reveal anything about it.
Seeing that Shao Xuan only wanted to talk to the craftsmen, the matter of the glowing crystals was settled. They could go back and report to the chief. But … Quan Bai and the others glanced at the few seedlings inside the fence.
One of them poked Quan Bai's back, signaling for him to bring it up.
Quan Bai thought for a moment and said to Shao Xuan, "Elder Shao Xuan, do you have any more Thousand Grain Gold?"
Shao Xuan glanced at them. "What? Do you want it? "
"If you do, we would like to trade with Elder Shao Xuan." Quan Bai's eyes were filled with anticipation. Quan Bai had even pinched an inconspicuous part of the seedling when Qi Qi wasn't paying attention. Then, he sniffed it and tasted it. His eyes widened, but he suppressed the desire in his heart and tried his best to calm down and negotiate.
"Sure, I'll make a decision after I talk to your craftsmen." Shao Xuan said.
He wanted to talk to them before making a decision?!
Quan Bai and the others panicked. Who knew how long this would take? If they missed the best time to plant the seeds, it would be a huge failure! They would be letting these people down!
But Shao Xuan had made up his mind. He couldn't change it. They knew that Shao Xuan was forcing them to arrange an exchange with the craftsmen but they had no choice but to follow.
The Taihe tribesmen wanted to drag this out but after a discussion, they arranged for an experienced craftsman to talk to Shao Xuan. Not only was this craftsman better than others in terms of skill, he also had to be smart. If he was a little stupid, he might accidentally let Shao Xuan use all his skills. Then it would be too late to cry.
The craftsman had also done his best. He was extremely alert when he met with Shao Xuan. He was thinking about how to avoid the Flaming Horn elder if he brought up the matter of forging. What he didn't expect was that Shao Xuan didn't ask about the craftsmanship but about the Xia people.
Since it wasn't about forging, the craftsman relaxed and told him what he knew. As for the cloud pattern Shao Xuan mentioned, the craftsman didn't know much about it.
Thinking of something, the craftsman said, "I remember that in the records left by my ancestors, there was something about the Xia people's cloud pattern."
Shao Xuan was disappointed but perked up when he heard this. "Your ancestors studied the Xia people's cloud pattern?"
The craftsman nodded. "It seems so. But after they passed away, no one paid attention to the Xia people's cloud pattern."
In fact, the craftsmen of the Taihe tribe wanted to imitate the Xia people's products because they could sell for a high price. The Xia people's most typical cloud pattern was the complicated cloud pattern. But when it came to forging, they realized that the seemingly simple cloud pattern was extremely difficult to imitate! Just a little bit would result in a much worse product. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it was fake.
The craftsmen studied for their entire lives but couldn't figure it out completely. But they did find some clues and wrote down their findings in the notes they left for their descendants. But the descendants of the Taihe tribe weren't interested in imitating other people's products. Gradually, they stopped paying attention to it and only glanced at the notes occasionally.
To the Taihe people, the Xia people's cloud pattern belonged to other people and not their tribe so it wasn't classified as a secret. These were items that could be traded. However, the notes couldn't be given out so easily. The craftsman promised to go back and sort out the notes and write a copy for Shao Xuan.
When Shao Xuan saw the notes, he was overjoyed and gave him three glowing crystals. This was something that the Taihe tribe had already discussed. They even felt that they were getting a good deal.
As for the Thousand Grain Gold that Quan Bai and the others wanted, Shao Xuan took out 50 of them and the Taihe people exchanged for it with herbs. Shao Xuan asked Duo Kang to discuss the rest with them while Shao Xuan took the notes back to study the cloud pattern.
One had to admit that the craftsmen of Taihe had indeed wanted to carry on the path of imitation to the end. Unfortunately, they had kicked an iron door and could not open it. The cloud patterns of the Xia people looked simple, but it was always difficult to understand.
Luckily, the notes they left behind inspired Shao Xuan. Although they couldn't completely decipher the cloud pattern, their ideas and the questions they answered made Shao Xuan's mind light up.
In the following days, Shao Xuan locked himself in his room to decipher the Xia people's cloud pattern. Then, Qi Qi came to him dejectedly.
Seeing Shao Xuan's bloodshot eyes, Qi Qi was shocked. "Elder Shao Xuan, you … did you fail too?"
"Fail what?" Shao Xuan rubbed his eyes and asked in confusion.
"The things I planted."
"Huh? Planted what? "
"The Thousand Grain Gold, of course."
Shao Xuan: "…"
He was so busy deciphering the cloud pattern that he completely forgot about the Thousand Grain Gold in his backyard.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
