Qiao Yu was carrying the load and talking to Shan, Shi and others about what had happened in the past few days as he walked. From time to time, he turned back to greet Yue and introduced Yue to Shan and others.
"Build a boat? Better than a raft?" Shan Helu and others didn't think much of it when they saw Qiao Yu bringing back a woman. But now they heard that Yue could build a boat, and that a boat was something more powerful than a raft, and their eyes suddenly became eager when they looked at her.
Although Yue, a beauty, had always attracted attention wherever she went, this was the first time the focus wasn't on her looks, but on her abilities. This unfamiliar life experience suddenly made her feel incredibly grounded, and a surge of pride welled up in her heart. Yue felt brimming with strength.
In order to avoid trouble, she has been extremely cold since she was a child, especially towards men, and she doesn't talk to them easily.
Now she took the initiative to explain to Shan and the others, "A boat has sides and water doesn't seep through from below, so it's safer than a raft. A boat of the same size can hold heavier things than a raft."
"You live near water, so do you eat fish?"
"Yeah. Not only fish, but also crabs, shrimps, shellfish, and other aquatic animals..."
Seeing the elders asking and answering questions with Yue and getting along very well, a smile appeared on Qiao Yu's face.
She said to Shan, "There is another house next to the elders' residence. Let Yue live there."
Shan nodded: "You can arrange it." He glanced at Yue who was chatting enthusiastically with Lu, leaned close to his daughter, and whispered to her, "But she probably won't live in that house for too long."
Qiao Yu looked at the mountain, blinked, and suddenly understood what the mountain meant.
Yue was only seventeen or eighteen years old, young and beautiful. The tribe already had many bachelors. A beauty like Yue would definitely have a long line of suitors.
Although the status of women in the Dragon Tribe has changed, and women no longer rely on men for hunting as before, and cannot survive without men, they will quickly remarry. However, in the eyes of these straight men in Shan, the status of women has not changed much.
He believed that Yue would soon choose a man from the tribe to marry. Since she was not an elder, she would naturally move into the man's house. The house allocated to her would then become vacant.
She turned to look at Yue and shook her head: "Not necessarily."
Yue was young, but she had experienced the destruction of her tribe, the murder of her parents, her sister's self-immolation, and her own captivity. She had experienced life and death. Qiao Yu had seen hatred in her eyes. Unlike the innocent girls in the tribe, who only thought about marriage, she had her own path to follow.
"I'm usually busy, running around everywhere, and I don't have time to take care of Yue. Father, please take better care of her in the future. If she wants to get married, we're happy to see her do it. If she doesn't want to get married, please tell the bachelors in the tribe not to bother Yue too much. We must respect her choice."
She spoke without lowering her voice, and just then Yue and Lu finished their conversation. Not only did Shan hear her words clearly, but Yue, Lu, Shi, and the others who were walking ahead also heard them.
Yue's nose felt sore and she turned around to look at Qiao Yu. The last bit of uneasiness in her heart completely disappeared.
She wants revenge, she doesn't want to get married.
Qiao Yu glanced at Lu Heshi and the others who had also stopped and said, "I'm a woman. You don't look down on me, nor do you dictate my behavior just because I'm not getting married. I also hope you'll give Yue the same respect. Don't let her regret coming to the Dragon Tribe, and don't let her regret teaching all her skills to the people of the Dragon Tribe."
Although the elders had some respect for Yue, they didn't really take her too seriously. They saw Yue as just a woman, and even if she knew some new things, that was all. Once she got married, she'd be like the other women in the tribe, gathering and raising children, with little future.
Now that Qiao Yu had expressed his attitude solemnly, they had no choice but to put themselves in the right position.
"Haha, don't worry. We in the Dragon Tribe respect all capable people." Lu was the most tactful and immediately said to Yue with a laugh, "Yu is only fifteen years old, and because of her ability, she became the leader. There are four or five hundred people in our tribe, and no one disobeys her. If she says go east, not a single one of us will go west."
"So, Yue, don't worry. You can teach us the skills of shipbuilding. If anyone in the tribe dares to disrespect you, tell Shan and the elders, and we will teach them a lesson for you."
"Thank you very much." Yue put her hands on her chest and bowed deeply to Qiao Yu; she also bowed to all the elders with a face full of gratitude.
"Okay, let's go quickly, the road is going to be blocked." Qiao Yu said with a smile.
Seeing that the people carrying loads behind them had caught up, everyone hurried forward and soon arrived at the residential area.
"Where should we put these ores?" Shan asked.
"Put it in the warehouse." Qiao Yu said.
"The warehouse is still empty now. Once we collect the raw potatoes and chestnuts in a while, I'm afraid it won't be able to hold more." Shan said, taking a few quick steps and running to open the door.
The last time Qiao Yu came back, he had brought some copper ore with him. After studying it for a while, he finally made a copper lock. This precious copper lock was now hanging on the warehouse door. Shan opened the door with the only key in his hand.
Qiao Yu dumped the load of ore he had carried into the yard, went into the house to get a mattress and quilt made of animal skins, picked up a few more pieces of animal skins and some dried meat, took Yue to her house, and introduced her to Ming's wife Qiu next door.
"Qiu, I'll trouble you to take care of Yue. If she needs anything, please take her to my father to get it. She needs bone needles to sew animal hides, so please lend them to her. Yue will lead the tribe in building boats soon. When she gets the dried meat, she will return any that she borrowed from you."
Qiu was grateful for the job Qiao Yu had arranged for Ming. She also hoped to maintain a good relationship with Qiao Yu, hoping that he would consider her if there were any good positions in the future. However, Qiao Yu was always busy and had no time to spare. Even if she wanted to get close to him, she had no chance.
Seeing Qiao Yu taking such good care of Yue and even coming to ask for help personally, Qiu was flattered and kept saying, "No need to repay, no need to repay. We are all from the tribe, and it's only natural to help. Don't worry, Yu, I will definitely take good care of Yue."
Then she said to Yue: "If you have any problems in the future, feel free to come to my house to find me."
"Okay." Yue said gratefully.
Qiao Yu gave her freedom and a large house with several rooms, surrounded by a walled courtyard to block out prying eyes. She was absolutely delighted with the house. He also let her earn some meat jerky by using her boat-building skills and thoughtfully let the women in the neighborhood take care of her...
Yue's nose felt sore and she tried hard to hold back her tears.
She never imagined that she could still live such a life after the Water Tribe was destroyed. She felt lucky countless times that she had met the people of the Dragon Tribe and met Qiao Yu.
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