As for whether the Valley Tribe would be retaliated against by the Sun Tribe, he was not very worried.

He knew the man who had come to exchange the MSG recipe. Although he was a leader and held a high position in the tribe, being the uncle of the Sun Tribe leader, he was not highly regarded by the leader and had limited resources at his disposal. Given the small number of people in the Valley Tribe and the man's arrogance and disdain for those from smaller tribes, he could only send twice as many people as the Valley Tribe.

He was going to take over a hundred men from the Shanyin Tribe away. By then, the combined number of men from the Shanyin Tribe and the Valley Tribe would be greater than that of the Sun Tribe. When the Valley Tribe was about to be defeated, he could lead his men to support them, saving some of them and gaining their favor.

This is also a good thing for him.

By this time, it was completely dark. Shu had two baskets of dried meat moved to Ming's stall, and then moved two more baskets to the Stone Tribe. He said, "Why don't you just help us exchange them? We'll give you some salt as a thank you later."

Electricity naturally agreed.

Chen saw this and muttered, "He's so careless! Isn't he afraid that we'll steal these two baskets of dried meat and pretend nothing happened? How can a man like him be fit to be a leader?"

Kuangfeng smiled and said, "Isn't this a good thing for us?"

Over the next few days, things went smoothly, just as Qiao Yu had predicted. The Valley Tribe, acting frightened, lowered the price of their pottery, and the remaining bowls and jars were quickly sold out over the next two days. Qiao Yu also asked the people of the Stone Tribe to exchange the dried meat for salt.

Qiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that all the dried meat he brought had been replaced with salt.

This salt, if used sparingly, would be enough for the Dragon Tribe to eat for a year and a half to two years. In two years, while the Dragon Tribe's population wouldn't increase much, its fighting power would likely improve significantly, allowing them to hold their own against the Sun Tribe.

As early as noon on the day the Sun Tribe targeted the MSG recipe, Guang had traded his yam seedlings for ten hemp seedlings. Because the man who exchanged the seedlings for the MSG was from a different faction than the man who had exchanged them for the MSG, Guang took a few more yam seedlings out that afternoon and quickly gathered information.

He explained the man's identity and said, "Ebony comforted me and told me that even if Kong spoke ill of us to their leader, since the Shanyin and Shen tribes were not peaceful, the Sun Tribe wouldn't be distracted by us small tribes, so they probably wouldn't attack us. He assured us."

"But Kong is a narrow-minded person. He will definitely take revenge on anyone who offends him. It's only a matter of time. I guess he will secretly mobilize some people to attack us. He is the chief's uncle, so there will always be people who will curry favor with him."

Qiao Yu nodded. "How's the situation in the Shanyin tribe? Have you heard anything?"

"I found out a little bit. Before the trade fair, Lei's men molested Ming's woman. Ming was very angry, and the two of them almost got into a fight. In the end, it was Ming's woman who held him back, and he finally swallowed his anger."

The information Guang found out was similar to what Qiao Yu had found out.

"Don't go out again these few days," she warned. "If Kong can't mobilize anyone, he'll suppress his anger and wait until the snow season to retaliate against us. But if he sends a few people to capture and execute any lone members of our tribe, we won't be able to go to him to ask for them. So stay in the stall and don't wander around anymore."

Guang was startled and quickly agreed.

Qiao Yu didn't rest for the next few days, often wandering out in the evenings. She was quick, alert, and adept at hiding herself. The stall owners from each tribe roasted meat over the fire and gossiped about their respective tribes, allowing Qiao Yu to gather a wealth of information.

She knew that after Kong went back home angry that day, he probably felt embarrassed and did not publicize the matter. He also ordered his subordinates not to spread the news. Therefore, the news that the Valley Tribe had offended the uncle of the leader of the Sun Tribe did not spread, and even the people of the Sun Tribe did not know about it.

The people of the Valley Tribe were all restrained by Qiao Yu. Even though there was nothing to exchange at the stall, they were too anxious to go out and stroll around, and could only stay at the stall honestly.

Two days later, the man who pretended to be sent back to the tribe by Dian to discuss the merger came back and brought good news to Ming: "Our leader said he is willing to cooperate with you."

Ming was overjoyed.

After what happened to the Valley Tribe, they had no choice but to agree, even if they didn't want to. So the key lay with the Stone Tribe. Since the Stone Tribe agreed, there was basically no problem.

"What did your leader say?" he asked again.

Dian hesitated for a moment: "The leader said he wanted to see the attitude of the valley tribe."

This means that nothing is final and everything can be negotiated. Ming is very satisfied with the attitude of the Stone Tribe.

He nodded and said, "Okay, then let's wait for a reply from the Valley Tribe. Their tribe is about the same distance from you, and the people they sent should be back soon."

Not long after he said this, two people from the Valley Tribe came back.

Qiao Yu brought Shu and came to find Ming, and also called Dian and Qiang.

She asked directly, "Given the current situation of our tribe, do you still want to leave with us?"

Ming was straightforward and nodded directly: "What I said a few days ago still counts."

"So do you want the three tribes to merge directly into one big tribe, or build a new small tribe near us and form an alliance with the three tribes?" Qiao Yu asked again.

Ming Yuan had no fixed answer, having originally planned to weigh the responses from both tribes before making a decision. He hadn't expected Qiao Yu to be so direct and direct, his questions hitting the nail on the head, leaving him no room for maneuver.

He glanced at Qiao Yu, then turned to look at Dian and Qiang, who had remained silent the entire time. "What are your two tribes planning?"

Dian Dao: "It's up to you. If you want to merge, then merge. But you can't be the leader. If you don't want to merge, then form an alliance."

"That's what we mean." Qiao Yu said.

Her promise not to lie to Ming didn't mean she'd reveal everything. No matter how sincere Ming appeared, he could change his mind at the last minute. The Dragon Tribe would need to trade salt with the Stone Tribe in the future, so Qiao Yu couldn't possibly tell him about the merger, let alone the relocation. If the news leaked, the three major tribes would definitely not let the Dragon Tribe off, and the Dragon Tribe would be in dire straits.

The two tribes merged into one, and she became the leader. This was all true. It was just a difference in time. One was in the past tense, the other in the future. Not much difference.

Ming didn't expect that the two tribes were so easy to talk to.