The caravan to Anba City encountered a lot of robbers along the way. They probably knew that there were more grain shipments at this time, so when they saw the large bags of suspected grain in the caravan, even if the robbers were afraid of the Black Bear Caravan, they were still greedy and risked their lives.
The caravan never showed mercy to robbers. If they let them go this time, they would continue to be beaten next time. If they knew that they were from the Black Bear Caravan and still came out to rob them, then sorry, they would kill them. Therefore, in order to reduce future trouble, the caravan's people were absolutely ruthless. However, there were many robbers every year. When one group was slaughtered, another group would come out.
Some robbers weren't forced to make a living, they just felt that robbing was easier.
The giant bears of the Black Bear Caravan, although they looked a little timid in front of Shao Xuan, were ferocious in the face of robbers. Shao Xuan saw the giant bears directly tear people in half several times, but they rarely ate human flesh.
If the giant bears were hungry, the caravan's people would find food for them. These giant bears had a wide range of food, from grass shoots, berries, ants, bird eggs, river fish, and so on. Sometimes they would follow the caravan's people to eat the prey they brought back. They would even eat a little of the half-rotten beast's corpse that had been bitten to death by other beasts on the road.
Fortunately, most of the places they passed through were mountains and forests, and there was a lot of food around, so they would not starve on the road.
After two or three days of rest, Shao Xuan had almost recovered. Some of the prey he hunted was also given to the caravan. The giant bear that carried him for three days was also rewarded a lot, so much so that the giant bear would approach Shao Xuan to ask for food when it saw him.
The caravan walked all the way to the Black Bear Caravan's stronghold outside Anba City. The giant bears carried the goods up the mountain. The caravan's people would not enter the city immediately. They would first unload the goods they brought back from the Royal City here, then transport them bit by bit into Anba City.
Shao Xuan brought eight bags of grain from the Royal City this time. Ji Ju gave Shao Xuan ten bags of golden grain from the Golden Grain Fields, sold two bags to the Black Bear Caravan, and brought the remaining eight back. Of course, the most important thing was the good seeds he brought back from Ji Ju. These had to be kept well. There were also some axes from Gongjia Heng. They had to bring back a lot of goods.
"Let's wait for a few days. It's almost winter now. The tribe will come to Anba City again to sell the animal skins they've stockpiled. Then we'll go back with them," suggested Guang Yi.
Guang Yi was worried about being robbed. He and Shao Xuan would not be able to take care of the goods. The Black Bear Caravan would not escort them all the way to the tribe so it was best to wait here for a few days. They should be able to meet the tribe's trading team soon.
Shao Xuan thought about it and agreed. He had followed the trading team out around this time last year.
If Duo Kang brought a trading team to Anba City, the Black Bear Caravan would definitely know. Shao Xuan asked Maoda to help ask around. So far, no trading team had come.
"Then let's continue waiting," decided Shao Xuan.
They left the goods at the Black Bear Caravan's trading point outside Anba City. It was safer here than inside the city.
When Maoda brought the goods to Anba City, he said to Shao Xuan, "You guys stay here for now. If I see any Yanjiao people, I'll send a message."
There was nothing much to do in the city so Shao Xuan and Guang Yi stayed at the Black Bear Caravan's trading point outside Anba City. However, they were not staying for free. During the day, Shao Xuan and Guang Yi would go hunting and bring back some of the game to the Black Bear Caravan.
Five days passed just like that. There was still no news from the trading team.
"Did something happen?" Guang Yi was worried.
In the past, although the time of the tribe's trading team was not fixed every year, it was always the same few days. In the past, the trading team was rarely delayed for too long, unless something happened that delayed their travel time.
Luckily, they did not see any Taihe people. If they only saw Taihe and not Yanjiao, then something must have happened to Yanjiao.
"Let's continue waiting. If we still don't see them in five days, we'll go back first," decided Shao Xuan.
On the fourth day after Shao Xuan said that, Maoda finally sent someone to inform them that Yanjiao and Taihe's trading team had arrived. There did not seem to be anything wrong. Shao Xuan was slightly relieved.
The messenger led Shao Xuan to a place outside Anba City. There were also people who went to transport the goods. Yanjiao and Taihe's trading team brought a lot of furs. They had to move the goods.
At the same place, in the same forest, Shao Xuan saw Duo Kang's team.
Seeing that everyone was safe, Shao Xuan and Guang Yi sighed in relief.
Seeing Shao Xuan and Guang Yi, Duo Kang was overjoyed. "You're finally back!" The rewards were secondary. Coming back alive was the most important thing.
"What's wrong? Why are you guys so late?" asked Shao Xuan.
Duo Kang's joy faded as he shook his head. "Just a small matter. We'll talk about it when we get back. Oh right, what are you guys carrying? "
Guang Yi ordered his men to move the grains and weapons over from the Black Bears. When he heard Duo Kang's words, he couldn't help but smile. "These are all good stuff!" Then he shouted at the Yanjiao men, "Be careful!"
After trading with the Black Bears, the trading team took a short break and headed back with the goods they had exchanged.
This time, the team was bigger. Shao Xuan was not worried about being robbed.
Although there were some robbers along the way, it was still considered smooth sailing. On the way, Shao Xuan and Guang Yi told Duo Kang about the Royal City. Other than the Thousand Grain Gold, they picked out a few details. Some things were better left unsaid on the road. Other than the Yanjiao people, there were also Taihe people around.
"Why did you guys delay the trade?" asked Guang Yi. He knew that Duo Kang didn't tell them because he didn't want others to hear. Now that the Black Bears were gone, Duo Kang didn't have to hide it anymore.
"It's about the salt," said Duo Kang. Duo Kang said, "It's because something happened at the salt mine that we and the people from Taihe had to postpone the trade."
Most of the salt used by the tribe was obtained from a salt mine. That salt mine was divided among the five tribes. Those who didn't get a share of the cake could only trade with these five tribes. Yanjiao and Taihe were two of the five tribes. It was the result of the battle for the salt mine.
Other than the Flaming Horn and Taihe tribes, the other three tribes were the Fox tribe, Mountain Wind tribe and Shen tribe. Shao Xuan knew about this.
"Is it settled?" asked Shao Xuan.
Duo Kang shook his head, "The Fox and Shen tribes want to take over the salt mine. Mountain Wind has already fought with them but they're very determined this time. Plus, they've found some allies. It's not easy to deal with them. No matter what, we'll talk about it when we get back. Let's see what the chief decides. If we're going to war, we have to prepare well this winter. "
"Mm." Shao Xuan and Guang Yi grew serious. War was no small matter, especially when it involved five tribes.
When they finally saw Yanjiao's not-so-tall mountain, Shao Xuan's tense nerves finally relaxed. Whether it was in the Royal City or on the road, he always had to be on guard. Here, he could finally relax, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
There were some children feeding ducks by the river. When they saw the trading team, they ran over to greet them. Some of their elders were in the team.
"Elder, Elder Shao Xuan!"
A child ran towards Shao Xuan, looking very excited. He couldn't even stop running when he reached Shao Xuan.
Shao Xuan picked the child up and put him on his shoulder. People in the tribe often did this, including the chief and Shao Xuan. Sometimes, Shao Xuan would do the same.
Shao Xuan knew this kid. He was the second person to get a duck egg from the river. Others rarely got one, but he got one on his first try. After that, he was very active in feeding the ducks.
Being put on Shao Xuan's shoulder, the child was a little embarrassed. Then, he excitedly took out an egg from his pocket.
A duck egg?
"Eggs are still around?" The duck eggs that could hatch had already hatched into ducklings. These wild ducks weren't expected to lay eggs often. After all, they weren't domesticated. Other than one or two times a year, they wouldn't lay eggs.
"I found it by the river!" The child's eyes were bright as he handed the egg to Shao Xuan.
Shao Xuan took the egg and looked at it carefully. It wasn't damaged, but it didn't look like it had been laid for a long time.
"Bai Dan, no, Bai Guo," Shao Xuan asked the child on his shoulder, "When did you find this egg?"
"This morning, in the bushes by the river." The child named Bai Guo pointed at Shao Xuan.
There were more ducks swimming there. There were also new ducks. Shao Xuan didn't know which one had given birth to them.
"There are still eggs at this time?" Duo Kang was also surprised. The ducklings were all grown up. They hadn't heard of anyone finding an egg in the tribe. How was this child so lucky?
"Bai Guo, you should just change your name to Bai Dan. You can find more eggs in the future," Duo Kang joked.
The child actually took it seriously. He was thinking about changing his name with his family.
"Speaking of eggs, Shao Xuan, go and see that green duck later," Duo Kang said.
"That fat green duck?" Shao Xuan was surprised, "What's wrong with it?"
If it could attract new female ducks, then the fat duck should be fine.
Duo Kang clicked his tongue and didn't explain, "You'll know when you see it. It's in the duck shed at the foot of the mountain. The shed you guys built for it. "
After crossing the river and entering the tribe, Shao Xuan put Bai Guo down. He didn't rush up the mountain. Instead, he walked towards the duck shed.
He noticed that while he was gone, another row of duck sheds had been built at the foot of the mountain near the river. There were ducks of different colors moving around inside.
He walked into the shed that was built for the green duck. Other than the small door for it, the door for humans seemed to have not been touched in a while. It was covered in a layer of dust.
As soon as he opened the door, Shao Xuan felt a murderous aura coming towards him. It wasn't strong, but it was obvious. It was more like a threat. However, the murderous aura quickly disappeared.
Shao Xuan looked over. In the nest made of hay, the fat green duck was squatting there. Its wings were spread open as if it was trying to hide something. However, there were too many things under its wings and it couldn't cover them all.
From the small part that was exposed, Shao Xuan knew that there were duck eggs under its wings.
This duck was incubating eggs!!
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