After chatting for a while, feeling that Shu had relaxed his guard, Shuocai asked casually, "You brought so many things, it seems that you had a good hunting harvest this year."
He used declarative sentences rather than interrogative sentences.
If an ordinary simple-minded person heard what he said, he would definitely smile smugly and brag about the situation of his own tribe.
However, Shu admired Qiao Yu very much in his heart.
Qiao Yu not only guessed that Shuo would ask him questions, but also guessed what he would ask. Qiao Yu had taught the twenty or so people how to answer these questions.
His face suddenly fell, and he sighed with sorrow. "Oh, forget it. It's not good. We're all worried about how we're going to get through this snowy season. Don't look at how much stuff we brought; it's not all dried meat and animal skins. We really had no other choice, so we brought some wild fruits and other things to try our luck and see if we could exchange them for some salt to tide us over."
"Ah? It's not all dried meat and animal skins?" Shuo looked at the rattan basket in surprise, and his expression suddenly became much more relaxed.
He said the Valley Tribe's situation was similar. Their lives were so difficult that they had even resorted to bringing women out for trade. How could the Valley Tribe possibly come up with so much meat and hides?
He glanced back and saw that although the people from his own tribe and the Valley Tribe weren't talking together, they were following closely behind. However, because of the men from the Valley Tribe, the four women had fallen behind, some distance away from him and the tree.
He whispered, "If that's the case, why don't you bring a few women out for exchange? At least we can get some salt back with a few women. By saving the meat we'd have to buy salt with, we can also save a few people from starving to death this snowy season."
With the exception of the Sun Tribe, most tribes were short of women. Women fetched a higher price than meat of similar weight, and could be exchanged for a considerable amount of salt. Trading them for salt saved both dried meat and their rations for the snowy season, making it a truly cost-effective option. Therefore, when a tribe was struggling, they would offer their women as a barter.
The reason why the Sun Tribe has no shortage of women is that they exchanged them for salt.
Shu shook his head and sighed, "There are no suitable women in our tribe for exchange. Also, there are too many men without women in the tribe, and they wouldn't be happy to offer women in exchange. If my brother wasn't injured, I could still convince them. But my brother is injured, and I'm worried that some people in the tribe will disobey him. If everyone is unwilling, he won't be able to say anything."
Shu was an honest man, and what he said was very logical. Shuo had no doubt that he would lie, so he believed what he said without a doubt.
"I see." Shuo patted Shu's shoulder with a sympathetic look on his face.
Qiao Yu was quite interested in Shuo and had been following them closely. He couldn't help but laugh when he heard that Shu, an honest man, had tricked Shuo into feeling sympathy for them.
The other members of the Stone Tribe were also trying to get information from others, but they had all been instructed by Qiao Yu, so they all spoke in unison and gave answers similar to the tree's.
At night, the two tribes separated and rested at a distance. Qiao Yu didn't make a fire, and no one mentioned it. They just spread out straw and animal skins and went to sleep.
"Yu." Man walked over to Qiao Yu and called her to a place farther away from the Stone Tribe. He whispered, "Several people asked me to ask you if they can exchange women from the Stone Tribe for you."
Qiao Yu frowned. "Have they asked the people of the Stone Tribe today? Are they willing to exchange?"
"No, no," Man said quickly. "You've told me time and again not to ask around. Naturally, no one would ask without your permission. So now, aren't you asking me to ask you?"
"Who are they? Call them over and I'll tell them," said Qiao Yu.
She had carefully selected these people. She avoided bringing along any single men whose families had not yet split up. But there were also some whose fathers and brothers could not be replaced. She knew which men were thinking of replacing women.
Man stood up and called out, and soon two young men stood in front of Qiao Yu.
Qiao Yu looked up, but there was no sign of Liu Shui and Liang.
She said to Man, "Call Liushui and Liang together."
When Liushui and Liang arrived, she said to them, "Do you think I would agree to you exchanging women?"
Both of them lowered their heads and said nothing.
Liushui and Liang didn't know what was going on at first, but when they heard this, Liushui couldn't help but get anxious. He said to the two men, "Didn't Yu tell everyone to wait until the spring trade fair is over? We only have to wait for half a year, and you're so impatient? We just told the people of the Stone Tribe today that we'd starve during the snow season. Now you're offering so much meat in exchange for women. Isn't that telling them we lied?"
"I..." one of the young men named Li said, "We all know what Yu told us. It's just that those four women seem pretty good. And the Stone Tribe is similar to ours, so they'll definitely adapt well there. Also, we've considered what you said. As long as we switch privately and tell the people of the Stone Tribe not to tell anyone, and the people of the Sun Tribe don't know, there shouldn't be any danger."
Qiao Yu was so angry that he laughed at this stupid remark.
"If the Sun Tribe doesn't know, we won't be in danger? Then why did I tell you to lie to the Stone Tribe? Do you trust them so much? Besides, if you marry a woman from their tribe, can she go home to see her parents? Once they go home, won't the Stone Tribe know everything about our tribe?"
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