Qiao Yu continued, "Then everyone should gather up all your things and put them together. Those going to the trade fair should each only carry two baskets."
Seeing everyone gathering their belongings, Qiao Yu said, "I emphasized repeatedly the day before yesterday that the amount of meat and hides traded this year shouldn't exceed that of previous years. While we've hunted a lot lately, we've been short on time, and much of it has been delivered to the breeding team. The meat we've been given isn't much, just enough to keep you fed during the snowy season. If anyone chooses to starve rather than trade, and your tribe becomes the target, don't blame me for punishing you."
In the past, when the leader said he would punish them, no one would be afraid. Because the leader didn't have much control over them, and he couldn't expel them from the tribe for minor mistakes. At most, he'd give them a few mild reprimands, and as long as they didn't care, it was fine.
But now, everyone was thinking about the meat handed over by the hunting team. Even if some of it was distributed to Mang and others, there was still a lot left, and Qiao Yu planned to take it out for trading; then they thought about Tao, who belonged to the tribe, and Yu would share some with everyone after he came back from exchanging things. Everyone felt a sense of restraint, fear and expectation in their hearts.
Someone secretly took the meat out.
Qiao Yu pretended not to see it.
After waiting for a while, she saw that everyone had stopped moving things. The twenty or so people who had set out with her were left with only two wicker baskets and branches used as shoulder poles. Qiao Yu walked over and checked the wicker baskets one by one.
Huo was already angry at Qiao Yu for not letting Qinglang go to the trade fair, and now seeing this scene, he couldn't stand it anymore. He frowned and said, relying on his seniority, "Yu, what are you doing? No leader has ever searched other people's things like this."
He looked at Shan who was sitting beside him and said, "Shan, aren't you afraid that Yu will cause dissatisfaction among others?"
Shan's brows were slightly furrowed, but he said calmly: "Yu is the leader now, and I am just a useless person."
The implication is that he can't control Qiao Yu.
He was extremely angry, but what made him even angrier was that everyone else remained silent. Some even took the initiative to take out the things in the basket and cooperated with Qiao Yu's inspection.
The reason why Qiao Yu checked was because he saw some people behaving abnormally when he was moving things around just now. They seemed to be afraid of others seeing what was in their baskets.
There were only a few things in the tribe that could be traded, and except for Tao, they were all things she allowed to trade.
Thinking about where those pottery pieces went, Qiao Yu immediately knew what this person had hidden.
In order to make it less obvious, she started by checking the person next to him. Now it was his turn.
She ignored the fire and ordered the man, "Put the things in this basket."
This man, called Han, was a thin man in his early forties. He was clearly a simple man, and even in the freezing cold, beads of sweat covered his forehead.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Huo said that no leader would search other people's things. Why are you searching ours?"
The people in the tribe lived together day and night and knew each other very well. Seeing Han like this, everyone was worried. Shu winked at Man, and without saying a word, they emptied Han's basket.
"What are you doing? Don't touch my things." Han pounced on the baskets and hugged the two wicker baskets.
"If you don't allow inspection, you can't go to the trade fair." Qiao Yu said.
"If you don't want to go, then don't go." Han stiffened his neck and called his sons, each holding a wicker basket and walking towards his cave.
"I've said many times that trading good pottery is like inviting wolves into the house. What do I mean? It means inviting wolves into our tribe, which is more hateful than trading more meat. Whoever violates my orders again will not be allowed to join the hunting team in the future. I think everyone knows what is in Han's wicker basket. If he doesn't let us check to prove his innocence, then starting from spring, Han and his son will not be allowed to go hunting with us." Qiao Yu said lightly to the backs of the father and son.
Han paused, turned around, and his face was pale.
"I, I just used the two bowls I got in exchange for my meat. I didn't bring any pottery jars," he said. "They weren't particularly good ones, so they wouldn't attract outsiders."
Qiao Yu glanced at the crowd. "If everyone just listens to my orders but doesn't follow them, then given the greed and stupidity of some people, disaster will come sooner or later. Since Han has pleaded guilty, his family won't be able to go hunting with me next year."
"Yu, we were just confused for a moment. Please forgive us this time." Han threw away the wicker basket and wanted to come over to beg Qiao Yu, but was stopped by Shu and others.
"If everyone says that they were confused and asked me to forgive them when they made a mistake, then everyone in the tribe can be forgiven for making a mistake? Do you think I should forgive them this time?" Qiao Yu asked everyone.
Everyone shook their heads.
"No mercy."
"That's right. We told him not to take Tao out, but he didn't listen. What if he attracts others to attack the tribe? What should we do?"
"Yes, I can't forgive you."
Qiao Yu glanced at Han, ignored him, and continued to check the remaining wicker baskets.
Huo stood aside, looking embarrassed, and felt his old face burning with pain.
No one except Han dared to take the pottery out, so they were not afraid of the inspection. As long as Qiao Yu stood in front of them, they would take the initiative to move the things out for Qiao Yu to see. As a result, the process was very fast. By the time the sun rose, all the wicker baskets had been inspected.
"Okay, since there is no problem, let's pick up our loads and get ready to go," said Qiao Yu.
She turned around and told Xiaoquan to take good care of the mountain, then she picked up a load of wicker baskets and followed everyone out of the tribe.
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