Niutou, the leader of the Niupi tribe who was delivering coal, unexpectedly received a bag of salt from the Hai tribe. What a surprise! Don't underestimate this bag of salt; it can be used to make a lot of meat and fish soup.
Besides, it's becoming increasingly difficult for your Niupi Tribe to trade salt with the Sea Tribe. Again, the Sea Tribe has everything it needs. Reselling wildebeest and sheep, and being unable to compete with the three major tribes in Sun City, undoubtedly puts the Niupi Tribe in a difficult position.
"One cart of coal in exchange for three bowls of salt..."
“Five bowls!”
"Three bowls, plus a rabbit."
"Five bowls, and we don't want rabbit."
"Four bowls, plus a rabbit, if you don't want it, forget it!"
"Deal!" Only a fool wouldn't do it. If they didn't, the Niupi tribe would have so many strong men, and they wouldn't even have enough to eat during the winter. Fifty wildebeest snowmobiles, each round trip would produce two hundred bowls of coarse salt (twenty bags of salt), forty bags a month, and for three months of winter, that's one hundred and twenty bags...
In open-pit coal mines, there is no need to dig, it is as easy as picking it up.
Ma Yue believes that as long as the Niupi tribe leads the way, any tribes around them, big or small, will be eager to capitalize on this opportunity. As the saying goes, salt is a necessity for everyone, and the price of salt exchange is simply too high. However, if it's free, requiring only physical effort, many more people will be willing to trade.
If you want to haul coal in winter, first of all, you need wildebeests.
What does a tribe without wildebeest do? Rent! The Sea Tribe has this business. Rent, no big deal. Just deduct the profit from a bowl of salt, and that's a good deal, right?
In winter, is it more profitable for young men to go hunting or deliver coal to the Sea Tribe? It's a matter of opinion. The Sea Tribe isn't forcing you to do it, so it's up to you. (How lucky do you have to be to get a good harvest hunting in winter?)
For a small tribe, if they can bring back three or four bowls of salt in winter, that is a huge harvest, and it may even save some lives in their own tribe.
In primitive society, people were not well-informed. This year, there may be fewer tribes participating in coal transportation. However, next year, when the news spreads, the situation will probably be much better.
The relatively larger tribes were more informed. After half a winter, the "Red" tribe, "Summer" tribe, "Spring" tribe and the Sea tribe gradually joined the coal transport army.
We've fought before, but the Sea Tribe is generous and doesn't mind. War is war, business is business, and the Sea Tribe is the most disciplined. The larger tribes have wildebeest owners, and since they don't have enough wildebeest snowmobiles, they've rented some from the Sea Tribe...
The Hai Tribe isn't worried at all that you might not replace your Wildebeest snowmobile after renting it. Why don't you try it? The Hai Tribe is strong enough to have this confidence.
Of course, the surrounding tribes, big and small, wouldn't be so foolish as to give the Sea Tribe a reason to go to war just for some wildebeest snowmobiles. The Sea Tribe, with a population of three to four thousand and a formidable fighting force, was truly formidable.
"The Hai tribe is so wealthy that even the wildebeests pulling carts have cornmeal to eat."
That's right, whether you rent five or twenty wildebeest snowmobiles (the minimum is five; if less, the Hai Tribe won't serve you), you'll be accompanied by a strong breeder, concerned that the rented wildebeests will become starving and thin. Wildebeests, who pull heavy loads, need corn to maintain their strength.
It's just like a strong man coming as a breeder. The Hai tribe is worried. What will this poor tribe do if they compete with the wildebeest for corn?
"Each breeder has salted dried radish to eat." Even the able-bodied breeders have to ensure their physical strength when traveling far away. It is a cold winter, and Ma Yue's management is still quite humane.
Fortunately, the Hai tribe is fair. If a strong man breeder follows you, it will not take up the food rations of your user tribe. The strong man breeder can bring his own food rations for half a month.
The high priest will settle the accounts. You can't go out for free. If the strong man breeder brings two more strong men, you can at least pick up a cart of coal, right? So, the rented caravan also includes one of the Hai tribe's own wildebeest snowmobiles.
It took three strong men to go out for each trip. This was due to the emergence of coal. There was no need to cut down more trees and firewood, which greatly saved the workload of the strong laborers in the Hai tribe.
Even though some able-bodied men were freed up to work, the efficiency of salt boiling was greatly improved. The more than 2,000 large concrete basins and stoves were all put to use. Boiling salt with coal was indeed faster, and the direct consequence was an increase in the output of crude salt.
The high priest felt that the number of large concrete basins and stoves on the beach must be increased next year.
In winter, both the grasslands and forests are frozen. However, due to the emergence of vehicles with extremely large load capacity, such as wildebeest snowmobiles, trade volume is actually the largest in this season.
Ma Yue didn't know anything about axles and couldn't build a carriage wheel, which was unavoidable. Relying solely on the cargo capacity of individual wildebeests and donkeys was far too limited. A single wildebeest could carry about 200 kilograms, while a snow sled pulled by two wildebeests could carry over 1,000 kilograms, more than double the weight.
"What's going on with the Purple Tribe?" Ma Yue asked.
"The latest news is that the Purple Tribe has moved." said the high priest.
"Relocated? To the beach?"
"Yes! The Purple Tribe's headquarters is too far from the sea. I guess they think boiling salt is more important. A few days ago, they exchanged a lot of pottery basins from us. They are going to do a big job." said the high priest.
"What a waste of so many natural caves." The Purple Tribe's settlement, similar to the string of underground caves at Seven Hundred City, was a crucial winter shelter for livestock. Caves were, after all, warmer than outdoor pens, and they saved a lot of firewood.
"If the Purple Tribe can boil enough salt by the sea, it would be profitable." The high priest certainly understood the huge profits of coarse salt. "The Purple Tribe can build a wooden wall by the sea, imitating the wooden cabins we built. It should be able to withstand the winter."
Even if the conditions at the seaport over there are poor, it is still much closer. As long as there is enough labor and enough firewood, it is not impossible to boil salt at the seaside.
The conditions are much worse than those in the Sea Tribe. It takes more than half an hour to transport the cut wood back and forth. However, the primitive people are hardworking enough.
That's right! What Ma Yue thought was excessive was considered normal by primitive people. Moreover, most primitive people were very self-conscious and thought it was natural to do heavy work even when they were hungry.
The Sea Tribe boils salt in winter and slaughters a couple of sheep every now and then to improve their lives. But what about the Purple Tribe? You still want to eat sheep? Hot fish soup and fish are good enough.
For the elderly and weak, there is not even a hint of salt in the fish soup. The elderly and weak are just corpses waiting for winter. If you can't make it, you can just die.
Primitive society is so cruel. Where does respecting the elderly and loving the young come from? Ensuring that as many able-bodied men as possible survive is the most important thing for a tribe.
"During the large-scale migration of the Purple Tribe, many livestock had difficulty migrating, so they were brought to us for exchange." The high priest continued.
Why winter migration? Again, wildebeest snowmobiles are convenient for travel. They're fast and have a large payload capacity, so if you can carry more pots and pans, you can. If the Purple Tribe didn't have hundreds of wildebeests pulling the snowmobiles, migration wouldn't be possible. The Purple Tribe is a long way from the coast.
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