"Red crystal rice, delicious and beautiful red crystal rice, five big knife coins can be exchanged for one hundred kilograms, come and have a look."

"Insect wax, the best insect wax, can heal wounds, cure diseases, and can also be used as an offering to worship totem gods. If you buy it back, the witch will definitely praise you."

"Animal leather clothes, animal leather clothes that are windproof, specially made by the Teng tribe, strong and warm..."

Qie Ye walked on the street of the Teng Tribe trading area. There were bustling crowds around him, solid bluestone pavement under his feet, tall and solid houses in front of him, and a wide variety of goods. He could hear all kinds of solicitations and bargaining sounds...

Although he had been here several times, the trading area of ​​the Teng tribe still gave him an extremely unreal feeling. When he was there, in addition to the attraction of various new things, he also felt a sense of fear in his heart.

Although they are both tribes, there seems to be an unfathomable gap between the Vine Tribe and the Ant Tribe. The gap is so huge that it is despairing.

The members of the Ant Tribe were in a similar situation, especially those who came to the trading area for the first time. It was as if they were dreaming, with a heavy head and light feet, as if they were falling into the clouds.

Everything in the trading area was new to them. Walking on the street, they could not take it all in and could hear excited discussions all the time.

Qie Ye's trance did not last long. When he heard the clinking sound of knives and coins in the animal leather bag, his mind suddenly became clear.

He looked down at the bag of knife coins that he was holding tightly in his arms, and realized that most of the prosperity on this street had nothing to do with him. So he looked at the locations of the grain shop, salt shop and pottery shop, walked forward quickly, no longer paying attention to those things that he could not get for the time being.

Soon, he arrived at the grain shop, which was also the largest shop in the entire trading area. Behind it was an entire granary with all kinds of grains piled up like mountains.

The clerk at the food store came up to greet him warmly: "Friends from the Ant Tribe, we meet again. What food do you plan to buy this time?"

Qie Ye looked around and asked in a low voice, "Which kind of food is the cheapest?"

"The cheapest?" The clerk in the grain shop was stunned for a moment, but he reacted quickly and started introducing the products immediately without making the customer feel embarrassed.

He pointed to a spot on the left and said, "If you want a good deal, you can take a look at these stone eggs. They are large and durable. One small knife coin can be exchanged for 20 kilograms, and one big knife coin can be exchanged for 200 kilograms."

Qie Ye looked in the direction of his finger and saw huge stone eggs piled up into a small hill. They were gray and looked like a pile of large oval stones.

Stone eggs are one of the food varieties brought by the Teng tribe from the north and successfully cultivated on a large scale in the central region.

It has strong adaptability, large size, and is durable in storage. It has many advantages, but its disadvantages are also obvious. That is, it has a hard texture and is difficult to chew raw, and it is not very delicious when roasted.

Especially when the food of the Teng tribe became richer and more diverse, people prefer to eat crispy, sweet round potatoes or soft and glutinous yams after being baked.

The clerk in the grain store pointed to another kind of grain and introduced it, "There is also fish scale fruit. This thing used to be only found in the Crocodile Tribe. Later, it was introduced by our leader and then planted on a large scale in the central region."

"The fish scale fruit is crisp, tender and delicious. The price is the same as the stone egg, one knife coin for twenty kilograms. However, it cannot be stored well. You must eat it as soon as you buy it. If you keep it for too long, it will rot."

After listening to the waiter's introduction, Qie Ye immediately understood why his father asked him to buy stone eggs and fish scale fruits, because these two kinds of food are really the cheapest.

As for the fact that stone eggs are unpalatable and fish-scale fruits are easy to spoil, these may be disadvantages for the people of the Vine Tribe, but they are not disadvantages at all for the Ant Tribe.

Just think about it: for a tribe that can’t even fill their stomachs, they don’t have to worry about whether the food tastes good or how durable it is to store. All they think about every day is how to fill their stomachs.

Qie Ye put down the animal skin bag and asked his servant to help count out two-thirds of the big knife coins and use them to buy stone eggs and fish scale fruits.

Afterwards, the warriors of the Ant Tribe carried the stone eggs and fish-scale fruits that had been traded and followed Qie Ye to the salt shop.

After arriving at the salt shop, Qie Ye set aside five big knife coins and used the rest to buy the cheapest coarse salt. As for the fine and white high-grade salt, he didn't even dare to look at it.

Finally, he came to the pottery shop, but stood at the door for a long time without going in.

Just then, Jiang Xuan happened to be patrolling here and saw Qie Ye and a group of people standing in front of the pottery shop, so he stepped forward and greeted them enthusiastically.

"Cut the leaves."

Qie Ye turned around and saw Jiang Xuan striding towards him. He was happy to see an old friend, but also a little overwhelmed. He even had the urge to turn around and run away.

Since the Ant Tribe became a subsidiary tribe of the Vine Tribe, the identities and status of the two have undergone tremendous changes. Although Jiang Xuan is as enthusiastic about Qie Ye as ever, Qie Ye's mentality can no longer go back to the past.

The strength and wealth of the Vine Tribe and the poverty and hardship of the Ant Tribe caused Qieye to develop a subtle inferiority complex, which became even more serious when he saw the friends he made in his youth.

Jiang Xuan walked up to Qie Ye and hugged his shoulders warmly: "It's been a while since we last met. Come on, come to my place. I'll treat you to a meal."

Qie Ye twisted his shoulders somewhat unnaturally, then took a half step back: "Thank you for your kindness, Chief Xuan, but the tribesmen are waiting for us to return, so let's eat next time."

Jiang Xuan looked at the Ant Tribe warriors who were carrying large and small bags, and then looked at Qie Ye who had an unnatural expression on his face. He has always been a thoughtful person, and it was easy for him to see that Qie Ye didn't want to go, so he didn't force him.

"Well, that's a shame, but it doesn't matter. We live close to each other anyway, so we'll have plenty of opportunities to eat together in the future."

Jiang Xuan glanced at the pottery shop again and asked Qie Ye, "Do you want to buy pottery? Why don't you go in?"

Qie Ye avoided Jiang Xuan's gaze, lowered his head slightly, and felt more and more uncomfortable: "I want to buy pottery, but I want to look somewhere else."

Jiang Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I still have some things to do. You guys look around first. If you need anything, you can come to me directly."

Qie Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Chief Xuan."

Jiang Xuan patted Qie Ye's shoulder, smiled at him, then turned and left.

However, Jiang Xuan did not go far. He went around to the back door of the pottery shop and quietly called the shopkeeper over:

"The Ant Tribe is having a hard time right now, but we can't just give them things as gifts. Otherwise, the people of the Ant Tribe will become lazy and they may even resent the Vine Tribe in the future. If Qie Ye comes in to buy pottery later, you can give him a lower price and give him a few pieces after he buys them. That will be considered as us helping the Ant Tribe."

The owner of the pottery shop nodded and said, "Don't worry, Chief. I know what to do."

"Well, just keep it in mind."

Jiang Xuan waved his hand, and the owner of the pottery shop bowed respectfully to Jiang Xuan, then hurried back to the counter.

On the street, Qie Ye hesitated for a long time, and finally plucked up the courage to step into the door of the pottery shop.

When he led his men into the pottery shop, the owner of the shop immediately came up to them with a smile on his face.

"Guest, what kind of pottery do you want to see? We have all kinds of pottery in the Teng tribe, for holding water, cooking food, viewing, and worshipping... As long as you tell me the purpose, I can find the corresponding utensils for you."

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Qie Ye took a quick look at the various beautiful pottery displayed on the cabinet. Many of the pottery were obviously new, colorful and very beautiful.

However, most of these pottery pieces were very valuable. Qie Ye tightly grasped the remaining five broadsword coins in the animal skin bag, and felt the urge to turn around and run away.

However, he eventually grew up and used reason to suppress the urge to escape.

He took a deep breath, raised his head slightly and said to the owner of the pottery shop, "Do you have a cheaper pottery tripod? It doesn't matter if it's a little broken, as long as it can cook food."

"A broken pottery tripod?"

The shopkeeper was slightly startled, but soon thought of the difficult situation of the Ant Tribe and Jiang Xuan's instructions, so he said enthusiastically: "Of course, we have too many pottery in the Vine Tribe. It is inevitable that they will bump into each other when moving them around. The broken pottery used to be piled in the corner of the warehouse. If you want it, then follow me."

Hearing the shopkeeper's words, Qie Ye was delighted. He told the soldiers to wait where they were, and then followed the shopkeeper to the warehouse at the back.

After arriving at the warehouse, Qie Ye saw many pottery pieces that were poorly fired or broken due to bumps.

These pottery pieces were just piled up randomly in the corner, some of them were even covered with dust.

The shopkeeper found a few relatively large broken pottery tripods and said, "Brother Qie Ye, take a look and see if these pottery tripods can be used when they are taken back."

Qie Ye went forward to look through it. One pottery tripod had its ears missing, one had a broken edge, and another had a broken leg...

The more he looked at it, the happier he became, because these were all minor problems. The main body of the pottery tripod was not broken and could still be used to cook food.

Qie Ye touched the pottery tripod with a broken rim and asked the shopkeeper, "How much does this pottery tripod cost?"

The shopkeeper smiled and waved his hand, saying, "The broken pottery tripod cannot be sold, and is not worth much knife coins, so I'll give it to you."

"Give it to me?" Qi Ye pointed at himself in disbelief.

The shopkeeper pointed at the broken pottery on the ground and said, "Yes, not only this pottery tripod, but also the broken pottery on the ground. If you like them, ask them to move them back. There is no point in leaving them here anyway."

"This... How can this be possible..."

Qie Ye was surprised and a little bit unbelievable, feeling as if he was dreaming.

The shopkeeper waved his hand and said, "It's OK. Even if you don't move out, I'll have to ask someone to come and clean it up after a while. There are guests in front, so I won't accompany you. After you've chosen, just ask a few people to come in and move it out."

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he turned around and left without even stopping for a moment, nor was he worried that Qie Ye might do anything bad if he stayed in the warehouse.

Qie Ye stroked the pottery tripod and stood there, not coming back to his senses for a long time.

He was not a stupid man. He vaguely realized that this was the care of the Teng tribe for him, and it might even be related to Jiang Xuan.

However, the broken pottery on the ground was indeed covered with dust, which meant that these pottery were not valuable, just as the shopkeeper said.

Qie Ye thought for a long time, and finally called in a few warriors from the Ant Tribe. He moved out the usable pottery tripods and some pottery jars, and kept an eye on the warriors throughout the process to prevent them from touching the intact pottery.

When leaving, Qie Ye resolutely stuffed all the five big knife coins in the animal skin bag to the shopkeeper, and did not really take them for free.

Perhaps this behavior may seem a little stupid to others, but Qie Ye follows his heart and insists on doing so. (End of this chapter)