After returning from the river, she had been lying in wait by the slag heap, avoiding anyone who came to dump the mineral waste. Once they left, she would start picking up iron ore.
She had to bring back a bag of iron ore to test whether it was real iron ore and whether it could be smelted into iron. Otherwise, she would be a fool if she took such a big risk and spent so much effort to bring back a bag of real garbage that was worth nothing.
The next day she spent the whole day collecting until her animal hide bag was full, and then she prepared to go home.
She wanted to walk along the river back to the tribe and explore the terrain of the river along the way.
Qiao Yu had a strong sense of direction. She first used the characteristics of plants and the sun's shadows to determine her direction, then followed the river and headed decisively towards the direction near the Dragon Tribe.
Even if this small river could join the river near the Dragon Tribe, if there were a relatively rugged and narrow river channel or a very large drop in the terrain, the raft would not be able to pass through. The plan of transporting the slag by water would have to be abandoned and another method would have to be found.
No matter what, taking the water route, even if it was only for a short distance, was a good idea. After all, taking the land route would leave traces, which would attract the pursuit of the larger tribes. If the people of the larger tribes followed the traces and found the Dragon Tribe like she had done before, they would attack them.
The Dragon Tribe was currently lacking in all aspects of its capabilities and was not prepared to confront such a large tribe. Therefore, transporting the slag by water was the best option.
This time, her walk along the river was not as convenient as in winter. The river bank was not always straight, and sometimes she had to cross high mountains, and sometimes there were cliffs blocking the way, so she had to take a detour.
The stream continued for several dozen miles before merging into a larger river. Qiao Yu's sense of direction and her estimation suggested that this river might be a tributary of the Dragon Tribe's, or perhaps it was the same river. The further she walked, the more certain she became of this.
The only bad news was that after the small river joined the big river, about ten miles away, a waterfall formed at a place with a huge drop in height. Her plan to raft directly from the Dragon Tribe to the Big Tribe was not feasible.
Fortunately, there was only one waterfall along the way. By the time she reached the Dragon Tribe along the riverbank, there was no place the raft could not pass.
The riverbank connecting to the Dragon Tribe was a cliff, making it impossible to walk across from the river. Qiao Yu climbed over the mountain again and arrived at the entrance of the tribe from the main gate.
The man guarding the gate was originally from the Valley Tribe. Seeing Qiao Yu, he was so excited that he almost cried: "Yu, you're back. We were so worried about you."
Although Qiao Yu would disappear from time to time, this time she was gone for far too long: a full thirty days. With the exception of the newly joined Shanyin tribe, everyone else was incredibly worried, fearing Qiao Yu would never return.
"Is everything going well in the tribe these days?" Qiao Yu asked.
"Okay, all is good." The man nodded vigorously.
If the Shanyin Tribe hadn't joined them, they would have been utterly panicked. But with the Shanyin Tribe around, they were afraid these restless individuals might cause trouble, so they tried their best to control their emotions, not wanting them to notice anything. They feigned indifference, explaining that Qiao Yu was like this from time to time, going out to gather information, and that her disappearance for so long was normal.
They went about their daily tasks according to plan. Man, Liushui, Shan, and the various team leaders were stricter than ever. The former members of the Dragon Tribe all cooperated conscientiously with their team leaders, keeping a close eye on the Shanyin Tribe members and helping them manage and educate them, fearing any disturbances would arise during Qiao Yu's absence.
So the tribe is more orderly and well managed than ever before.
"Okay, you guard it carefully, I'm going in." Qiao Yu waved his hand and entered the tribe.
It was afternoon at this time, and each team was busy with its own affairs. The tribe seemed deserted, which was exactly what Qiao Yu wanted.
Instead of returning to her residence, she went directly to the stone grinding workshop.
Seeing Qiao Yu, Shi raised the hammer and almost hit his own hand.
"Yu, you are finally back. Do you know how worried we are about you? If you don't come back, we will send people out to look for you." Shi said excitedly.
"Haha, there's no other way. Since I want to find that kind of stone, I have to find the source, right?" Qiao Yu said with a smile.
"What kind of stone is that that's worth you spending so much time looking for?" Shi stood up and asked again, "Have you found the source?"
"Yeah, I found it." Qiao Yu took the animal skin bag off his back, "I brought some back."
She turned around and told Jian, "Go get some fire, and then go to the mountain and get some charcoal."
Road, stone, and fire all had their own tasks. Although the injury at the foot of the mountain had healed, he was still unable to move. Qiao Yu trusted him and assigned him a job as the tribe's warehouse manager.
The warehouse was built next to Shan's house, consisting of several large rooms. The pottery and charcoal produced by the pottery team were stored there. Qiao Yu needed a lot of charcoal for his smelting, so he had to go to Shan to get it.
Jian and several other people from the stone polishing team heard that Qiao Yu had returned and gathered around happily.
Hearing the order, Jian answered loudly and ran towards the top of the mountain, saying as he ran, "If Shan knew you were back, he would be so happy. He would definitely bring the coal here himself soon."
Qiao Yu hadn't thought it was a big deal that she'd been out for so many days. After all, she should be used to the mountain. Hearing Jian say that, she quickly stopped him and said, "Forget it. I'll go by myself. And by the way, tell my father I'm back."
Shi smiled and said, "You should go and tell your father in person, so that he can see that you are safe and sound, and nothing has happened to you."
Qiao Yu returned to the top of the mountain. Seeing Shan, Shan was indeed excited again. He asked in confusion, "What kind of stone are you looking for? And you actually went to that big tribe again. Did you encounter any danger?"
"No. I'm very careful in what I do, don't worry. As for the stone, I'm going to use it to make something later. Do you want to come and see it?"
"Okay." Shan stood up.
Qiao Yu filled two baskets of charcoal in a rattan basket and carried them on his shoulders. He slowly walked down the mountain and asked, "Is Xiaoquan going hunting with us now? How's it been these days?"
Speaking of his son, Shan's face showed a look of satisfaction. "Yes. The people in his team said that he runs fast and has quick reactions, especially archery, which he shoots very accurately. He puts in a lot of effort when hunting."
A smile also appeared on Qiao Yu's face.
Perhaps because his father is a leader and his sister is also a leader, Koizumi is very ambitious and has a bit of an idol image. He doesn't want others to say that he is not good enough and embarrass his father and sister, so he is very strict with himself and wants to do his best in everything he does.
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