"Red crystal rice, delicious and beautiful red crystal rice, you can exchange five Dadao coins for a hundred pounds, co and have a look."
"Insect wax, top-quality insect wax, can heal wounds, cure diseases, and can also be used as offerings for the Sacrificial Totem God, buy it back and the Witch will definitely praise you."
"Beast hide clothing, windproof beast hide clothing, specially made by the Vine Tribe, sturdy and warm..."
Qie Ye walked along the streets of the Vine Tribe Trading Area, surrounded by bustling crowds, treading on the solid Qing Shi pavents, with tall and sturdy buildings before him, and a dazzling array of various goods, with voices beckoning and bargaining echoing in his ears...
Although he had visited a few tis, the trading area of the Vine Tribe still gave him an extrely unreal feeling. Being there, besides the attraction of all the new things, a sense of bewildering fear arose from deep within him.
Although both were tribes, it seed as though there was an unfathomable chasm between the Vine Tribe and the Ant Tribe, with such a gap that it made one feel hopeless.
The people of the Ant Tribe were much the sa, especially those visiting the trading area for the first ti, it was as if they were dreaming, feeling dizzy and weightless, like they were floating in the clouds.
Everything in the trading area was fresh to them, and walking along the streets, they couldn't stop looking around, and the excited discussions were endless.
Qie Ye's daze didn't last very long; when he heard the clinking sound of Dadao coins in his beast hide bag, his mind suddenly beca clear.
He looked down at the bag of Dadao coins he was tightly holding in his arms, realizing that most of the prosperity on this street had nothing to do with him, so he pinpointed the locations of the grain shop, salt shop, and pottery shop, quickly walked forward, and stopped paying attention to those things he couldn't get for now.
Soon, he arrived at the grain shop, also the largest store in the entire trading area, connected behind to a whole granary, with various grains piled like mountains.
The shopkeeper greeted him warmly: "Friend from the Ant Tribe, we et again. What grain are you planning to buy this ti?"
Qie Ye looked around and asked in a low voice, "Which grain is the cheapest?"
"The cheapest?" The shopkeeper was montarily taken aback, but he quickly recovered and began to introduce without making the custor feel embarrassed.
He pointed to a place on the left: "If you're looking for affordable prices, you can check out these Stone Eggs, they're large, durable for storage. One small Dadao coin can exchange for twenty pounds, and one large Dadao coin can exchange for two hundred pounds."
Qie Ye looked in the direction he was pointing, and saw huge Stone Eggs piled into a small mountain, grayish, like a pile of large oval stones.
The Stone Egg is one of the grain varieties brought by the Vine Tribe from the north, successfully cultivated on a large scale in the central region.
It has strong adaptability, is large, durable for storage, and has many advantages, but its disadvantages are also obvious, as it is relatively hard in texture, difficult to chew when raw, and not very tasty even when roasted.
Especially after the Vine Tribe's food beca rich and diverse, people preferred to eat the crispy, sweet Round Potato or the soft, glutinous sweet potato when roasted.
The shopkeeper pointed to another type of grain and introduced: "There are also Fish Scale Fruits, which used to be exclusive to the Crocodile Tribe, but were introduced by our chief and then cultivated on a large scale in the central area."
"Fish Scale Fruit is crisp and delicious, priced the sa as Stone Eggs, a small Dadao coin for twenty pounds, but it doesn't store well, so you must eat it quickly after buying as it spoils quickly."
After listening to the shopkeeper's introduction, Qie Ye imdiately understood why his father wanted him to buy Stone Eggs and Fish Scale Fruits, because these two grains were indeed the cheapest.
As for the tasteless Stone Eggs and the perishable Fish Scale Fruit, these might be considered drawbacks for the Vine Tribe, but they were not regarded as such for the Ant Tribe.
After all, for a tribe that couldn't even fill its belly, there was no need to consider whether the food was tasty or easy to store; all they thought about each day was how to fill their stomachs.
Qie Ye put down the beast hide bag and asked the shopkeeper to count out two-thirds of the large Dadao coins to purchase all the Stone Eggs and Fish Scale Fruits.
Afterward, the warriors of the Ant Tribe carried the Stone Eggs and Fish Scale Fruits after the transaction and followed Qie Ye to the salt shop.
Upon reaching the salt shop, Qie Ye set aside five large Dadao coins, and bought the cheapest coarse salt with the remaining Dadao coins, without even daring to glance at the fine white high-end salt.
Finally, he arrived at the pottery shop, but stood at the door for quite a while without going in.
Just then, Jiang Xuan happened to be patrolling and saw Qie Ye standing with a group in front of the pottery shop, so he enthusiastically went over to greet them.
"Qie Ye."
Qie Ye turned around and saw Jiang Xuan striding over, feeling both the joy of seeing an old friend and a bit of unease, even an urge to turn and run away.
Since the Ant Tribe beca a subordinate tribe of the Vine Tribe, the identities and status of the two had changed drastically. Although Jiang Xuan remained as warm as ever to Qie Ye, Qie Ye's mindset could not return to how it was before.
The strength and wealth of the Vine Tribe, and the downfall and difficulty of the Ant Tribe, instilled a subtle inferiority complex in Qie Ye, which beca more significant when eting friends from his youth.
Jiang Xuan ca up in front of Qie Ye and warmly patted his shoulder: "It's been a while since we t, co to my place, I'll treat you all to a al."
Qie Ye turned his shoulder a bit unnaturally, then took half a step back: "Thank you for your kindness, Chief Xuan, but the tribe mbers are all waiting for us to go back, let's have a al next ti."
Jiang Xuan looked at the Ant Tribe warriors carrying large bags, then at Qie Ye's sowhat unnatural expression. Being soone with a delicate mind, he could easily tell Qie Ye was not very willing to go, so he didn't insist.
"Alright, what a pity, but it's okay, we live close by anyway, there'll be plenty of opportunities to have a al together in the future."
Jiang Xuan glanced at the pottery shop and asked Qie Ye, "Are you planning to buy pottery? Why aren't you going in?"
Qie Ye avoided Jiang Xuan's gaze, lowered his head slightly, and felt increasingly uneasy inside: "Yes, I want to buy pottery, but I also want to look at other places."
Jiang Xuan thought for a mont and said, "Alright, I have so things to take care of. You can look around for now. If you need anything, feel free to co to ."
Qie Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief internally: "Thank you, Leader Xuan."
Jiang Xuan patted Qie Ye on the shoulder, smiled at him, and then turned and left.
However, Jiang Xuan did not go far. He circled around to the back door of the Pottery Shop and quietly called over the shopkeeper:
"The Ant Tribe is having a tough ti right now, but we can't just give things away, or we'll make the Ant Tribe's people lazy, and they might even resent the Vine Tribe in the future. If Qie Ye cos in to buy pottery later, give him a discount and offer him a few extra items. Consider it our help to the Ant Tribe."
The shopkeeper nodded: "Don't worry, Leader. I know what to do."
"Good, as long as you understand."
Jiang Xuan waved his hand, and the shopkeeper respectfully bowed to Jiang Xuan, then hurried back to the counter.
On the street, Qie Ye hesitated for a long ti, finally gathering the courage to step through the door of the Pottery Shop.
When he and his companions entered the shop, the shopkeeper imdiately greeted them with a beaming smile.
"Welco! What kind of pottery are you looking for? Our Vine Tribe has all sorts of pottery: for holding water, cooking food, ornantal, or for sacrifices... just tell the purpose, and I can find the right item for you."
Qie Ye glanced briefly at the various beautiful pieces displayed on the shelves. Many were clearly new, brightly colored, and very attractive.
However, most of these pottery pieces were quite expensive. Qie Ye clutched the five large knife coins left in his beast hide bag and felt an urge to turn around and leave.
Yet, in the end, he grew up and rationally suppressed the thought of escaping.
He took a deep breath, raised his head slightly, and said to the shopkeeper, "Do you have any cheaper pottery cauldrons? It's okay if they're damaged, as long as they can cook food."
"Damaged pottery cauldrons?"
The shopkeeper was slightly stunned but quickly rembered the tough situation of the Ant Tribe and Jiang Xuan's instructions, so he enthusiastically said, "Of course we have. We have so much pottery in the Vine Tribe that chips and cracks are inevitable from moving them around. All the damaged ones used to be piled up in the warehouse corner. Since you want them, co with ."
Hearing the shopkeeper's words, Qie Ye was delighted inside. He instructed the warriors to wait in place and then followed the shopkeeper to the back of the warehouse.
Upon reaching the warehouse, Qie Ye indeed saw many poorly fired or chipped and damaged pottery items.
These pottery pieces were just piled in a corner, and so were even covered in dust.
The shopkeeper found a few larger damaged pottery cauldrons and said, "Brother Qie Ye, take a look and see if you can use these pottery cauldrons."
Qie Ye ca forward to examine them. One cauldron had lost an ear, another had a chipped rim, and yet another had a broken leg...
The more he looked, the happier he was, because these were all minor issues, and the main body of the pottery cauldrons was still intact and usable for cooking.
Qie Ye touched the cauldron with the chipped rim and asked the shopkeeper, "How much is this pottery cauldron?"
The shopkeeper waved his hand with a smile and said, "Damaged pottery cauldrons don't sell and aren't worth much, so you can have it."
"Have it?" Qie Ye incredulously pointed at himself.
The shopkeeper pointed at the dusty, damaged pottery on the ground: "Yes, not just this cauldron. You can take any of those damaged pieces you fancy, since they are of no use just sitting here."
"This... how can this be..."
Qie Ye was both pleasantly surprised and sowhat incredulous, feeling like he was dreaming.
The shopkeeper waved his hand and said, "It's no problem. Even if you don't take them, I'll have soone co to clear them out eventually. I have other custors to tend to, so once you've made your pick, just call your people in to carry them out."
Having said that, the shopkeeper turned and left without the slightest pause, not worried at all about what Qie Ye might do in the warehouse.
Qie Ye caressed the pottery cauldron, standing where he was, unable to co back to his senses for a long ti.
He was not a fool. He vaguely realized this was the Vine Tribe taking care of them, possibly related to Jiang Xuan.
However, the dusty, damaged pottery indeed indicated, as the shopkeeper said, that they weren't worth much.
After pondering for a long while, Qie Ye finally called so Ant Tribe warriors in to carry out the usable pottery cauldrons and jars, watching them closely to prevent them from touching the undamaged pottery.
As he left, Qie Ye resolutely stuffed the five large knife coins from his beast hide bag into the shopkeeper's hand, not actually taking them for free.
Perhaps, this action seed a bit foolish to others, but Qie Ye followed his heart and insisted on doing it this way.
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