"Right." Qiao Yu laughed, "You can throw it on the ground as hard as you can, it will definitely not break."

Shi didn't hesitate, he took the spike in his hand and threw it directly at a stone. In order to avoid accidentally hurting people, he walked a little further away, away from the crowd.

As Qiao Yu had predicted, there was only a "ding-dong" sound, and the stone was hit by the iron, and some gravel was knocked out. However, the iron was still intact. Shi picked it up and examined it carefully, and found that it had no damage at all.

"Good stuff, good stuff." He exclaimed in admiration, his eyes shining as he looked at the iron tool in his hand.

Stone's admiration for iron is just a stonemason's love for his tools.

As the former leader, Shan saw the strategic significance of this thing.

He asked anxiously, "Yu, where are the stones you're looking for? How many are there?"

When the ironware was smelted, Qiao Yu planned to go to the big tribe and transport the slag back at all costs. It would be best if he could find the big tribe's mining site to see if he could dig more ore.

She had to get the iron ore, and if possible, she also wanted the copper ore.

"In the big tribe in the north," Qiao Yu said, "they selected a kind of ore called copper and discarded this kind of stone. But I feel that this kind of stone is even more powerful than copper."

"Oh, yes, I call this iron." She picked up the ironware. "Iron is harder than copper."

Anyway, Qiao Yu has a lot of wild and imaginative ideas, and Shan often can't understand what she is thinking or why she does this or that. He generally understands that smart people think differently from ordinary people.

Just like when he was the leader, many of his ideas and practices were completely incomprehensible to some stupid tribesmen.

So he didn't ask why this thing was called iron, why Qiao Yu knew it was harder than copper, and why he knew that putting it on the fire and then hammering it with a stone hammer would soften it and thus change its shape.

"It's in the big tribe." He said disappointedly, "Then we can't get it back."

"No, I plan to get it back," Qiao Yu said. "They dumped the slag outside the tribe like garbage. I plan to take a few teams and secretly bring it back."

"Wouldn't that be too dangerous?" Shan was a little worried.

Getting in trouble with a tribe bigger than the Sun Tribe is no joke.

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to prevent those people from discovering us and transport us away secretly." Qiao Yu said, "But I won't be leaving in the near future. I'll stay in the tribe for a while."

Shan's heart relaxed again, a smile on his face. "That's right. You just came back and you've worked so hard for so long. Rest up in the tribe for a while. Wait until you're done. Anyway, since they're going to throw these stones away, no one will want them."

Qiao Yu nodded.

She thought so too. She also wanted to allow the slag to accumulate more before she could transport it. After all, this was a one-time opportunity. Once the tribe discovered the slag had been stolen, they would undoubtedly think it was a valuable asset and would never dump it there again.

If she can't discover the iron ore vein herself, it will be difficult to get iron ore in the future.

So she decided to take it slow and steady. She also took this opportunity to build up the tribe's defenses.

It was already evening and people who had gone out hunting or working had returned.

Upon hearing that Qiao Yu had returned to the tribe, Man and Liushui couldn't wait to meet Qiao Yu and report what had happened in the tribe during this period.

Because Qiao Yu had previously used swift and decisive measures to remove the Shanyin Tribe's two elders, Hui and Heiye, and had firmly told the Shanyin Tribe to leave, no one dared to cause trouble during this period, even when Qiao Yu was not in the tribe. Whenever someone started a fight, the Shanyin Tribe would resolve it internally before the Dragon Tribe could discover it, for fear of being expelled from the Dragon Tribe.

After all, the Dragon Tribe wasn't the small tribe they'd imagined. Everything from the housing to the amenities was vastly superior to their Shanyin Tribe. Most importantly, there was fairness and justice. Even the chief's assistants, elders, and team leaders had their own responsibilities and were required to work, earning the fruits of their labor based on the principle of "more work, more pay." Unlike the Shanyin Tribe, where the upper echelons did nothing but scheme against each other, yet their food, necessities, and accommodation were vastly superior to theirs.

Man and Liushui, as well as the team leaders, were fair and impartial, and would not bend the law for personal gain. If they did anything wrong, Man and Liushui would know immediately and deal with it.

In such a tribe, everyone feels very comfortable and motivated, so not only will they not cause trouble, but they will also exercise more discipline over their fellow tribesmen.

"Have the houses of the Shanyin tribe been completed?" asked Qiao Yu.

"It's already been built. I've already allocated space for them to move in," Man said. "We just want to build you a second floor, but we don't know how. Tomorrow I'll have the carpentry team stop hunting and stay in the tribe to build your second floor, okay?"

Qiao Yu thought about it, nodded and said, "Okay."

She wasn't in a rush, but the more she did for the tribe, the more they wanted to do something for her. If her little building were better, everyone would feel better. Everyone had already built their own houses and were living comfortably, while hers, the leader's, was still half-finished. If she delayed any longer, everyone would be unhappy. It would be better to finish the building.

Besides, if the second floor is not built, the first floor will not be convenient for meetings.

After all, she had been away for so long, it was time for her to convene a meeting of middle-level cadres.

She said, "After dinner, notify all those above the level of team leader to come to my place for a meeting."

"OK."

After finishing his business with Man and Liushui, Qiao Yu told Shan and Shi about the meeting and asked Shan, "Father, now that Xiaoquan has gone hunting, who will cook for us?"

Even after she moved to the Dragon Tribe, she still ate with Shan and Xiaoquan, just as she had in the Valley Tribe. Back then, Xiaoquan hadn't gone hunting yet, and he made the dried meat and broth at home.

Quan was out hunting; Shan was immobile, needing a cane to walk, and couldn't fetch water up the mountain or carry a jar down. Qiao Yu didn't know how the father and son managed to eat.

"Xiaoquan, come back and do it." Man said, "Now everyone in the tribe is busy except the children. They only start cooking soup and grilling meat after dark, and they eat late."

Qiao Yu looked towards the fire hall and saw many women coming in and out of the room where soup was being cooked and meat was being grilled. It was obvious that everyone was just starting to prepare dinner.

Qiao Yu couldn't help laughing when he imagined the young boy Koizumi cooking soup and barbecuing meat with a group of women in that room.