Chapter 52 – Scheme
Translator: xiin
Editors: apricot & juurensha
The Big Bear Tribe had always traded for salt with the Green Hill Tribe. But now that something had happened to the Green Hill Tribe and their territory had been occupied by other tribes, it had become more troublesome for the Big Bear Tribe to trade for salt.
However, even if it had become more troublesome, they still needed to trade for it.
Salt could make people in the tribe more powerful; it could make the people of the tribe less likely to get sick, and it could be used to preserve food… The current Big Bear Tribe was no longer able to live without salt.
Since that was the case, they would need to go and try to find new tribes willing to trade salt with them, or perhaps even work out a deal with the people who had taken over the Green Hill Tribe’s territory.
Xiong He finished speaking his thoughts.
Xiong Qi was unsatisfied, “Chief, they killed people from our tribe. Do we have to go and trade for salt with them?”
The tribe that had taken over the Green Hill Tribe’s territory was called the Giant Tiger Tribe, and it was rumored that their tribal chief’s animal form was a very powerful saber-toothed tiger.
In the beginning, the people of the Big Bear Tribe hadn’t realized that the Green Hill Tribe had been replaced, so they had been very polite when they initiated the trade talks. Yet as a result, the people of the Giant Tiger Tribe attacked them without saying a word and killed several of their team.
These people had all been led there by Xiong Qi, and many of them had had a good relationship with him…
Xiong Qi, who had just been busy praising Xiong Ye on how good the flower wreath looked, had immediately gotten angry after hearing Xiong He’s words.
“The Giant Tiger Tribe has taken over the Green Hill Tribe and should also have obtained the Green Hill Tribe’s salt exchange route… If we don’t trade for salt with the Giant Tiger Tribe, who can we trade with?” Xiong He replied.
“We can bypa.s.s the Giant Tiger Tribe and trade for salt with the people who trade with the Giant Tiger Tribe instead!” Xiong Qi suggested, “Otherwise, we can go and trade with the Little Brook Tribe who traded salt with us last time.”
After being attacked by the Giant Tiger Tribe last time, they had finally ended up going to the Little Brook Tribe that wasn’t far from the Green Hill Tribe to trade for salt.
“That’s doable.” Xiong He said, “It’s fine as long as we can trade for salt.”
Xiong Qi heard him and replied, “Let me lead the team again this time. I will definitely bring back some salt!”
“We need more salt, and it’s best if we can establish a stable salt trade channel.” Xiong He stated.
“Not a problem!” Xiong Qi said.
“Who would like to go this time?” Xiong He asked the crowd.
Previously, Xiong Qi had also been injured when he and Xiong Ye had gone out hunting together, but they were all surface wounds, and he had recovered a lot after eating and drinking his fill over the past few days. The salt team would only depart after another ten days, which was enough time for him to heal up and lead the team.
Other than him…
Xiong Ye, who was still wearing the flower wreath that the priest had given Zhou Ji around his own neck, stood up. “I’m going too.”
Zhou Ji’s expression shifted.
Xiong Ye’s injuries were much worse than Xiong Qi’s, especially his broken leg.
Although Xiong Ye had been fed well these past few days, his injuries might not all heal in ten days.
Of course, the main reason why Zhou Ji’s expression had changed was because going out with the salt team was dangerous.
At this moment, Zhou Ji regretted a bit that he had helped Xiong Ye heal his injuries so quickly.
The tribe had quite a few people who were just as proactive as Xiong Ye. After Xiong Ye offered to go, a good few others also took the initiative to join the salt team. Most of them had n.o.body they had to take care of at home, and some of them were people who had gone out to trade for salt before, like Niu Er.
Xiong He: “Alright. I will discuss it with the priest and then decide who will go.”
The tribe meeting ended here, and after it was over, Xiong Qi went over to find Xiong Ye. “Xiong Ye, do you really plan to go? This time’s salt exchange is different from before…”
Before, when the salt team went to trade for salt, the risks wouldn’t be too serious even if they encountered danger. However, it was different this time.
Everything they would face this time was unknown, and n.o.body knew what they might encounter.
However, this time he had nothing pressing to do, and even if he was currently injured, he would be mostly recovered ten days from now.
Salt was related to the survival of the entire tribe. Xiong Ye felt that he should partic.i.p.ate in the trade in any way he could.
As for danger… There would still be danger even if he remained with the tribe and went out hunting on a regular basis. And he wouldn’t refuse to go out hunting just because it was dangerous.
“You’ve become stronger?” Xiong Qi looked at Xiong Ye in amazement. “Xiong Ye, you’re really impressive. You’ve actually grown stronger again! If this goes on, it won’t be long before you become the strongest person in the tribe!”
Xiong Ye felt a little helpless––Xiong Qi was really… He was always able to find a way to praise him no matter what!
When he first heard these words of praise, he had been both a bit embarra.s.sed and a little excited, but now there was nothing left but awkwardness.
“Xiong Ye.” Zhou Ji called over, “Let’s go back.”
“Alright.” Xiong Ye agreed and followed Zhou Ji to head back to their cave.
There hadn’t been even the slightest trace of a smile on Zhou Ji’s face just now, and he knew that Zhou Ji was likely unhappy, but even if that was the case, he was still going to join the salt team.
If there was no salt in the tribe, they would have no way to preserve and store food. If they couldn’t store food, how would they survive the winter in the future?
If they couldn’t even prepare food for winter, then it was likely that the tribe’s elderly as well as the weaker members would perish during the cold.
This was why the Big Bear Tribe had had so few people in the past, and Xiong Ye didn’t want to see such a scene.
Speaking of which, Zhou Ji was also a weak person.
However, Zhou Ji would definitely worry about him.
Once they reached the cave, Xiong Ye said, “Zhou Ji, don’t worry. I’m very strong, and I’ll definitely be alright…”
“Something almost happened to you not long ago.” Zhou Ji said.
“That was an accident… In fact, if there had been more people, I would’ve been fine even if we encountered another such scene.” Xiong Ye said.
“Do you have to go?” Zhou Ji asked again.
“I’m going.” Xiong Ye was determined.
Zhou Ji looked at Xiong Ye’s expression and knew that Xiong Ye had already steeled his heart to go.
He no longer spoke. He brought out a pot and began to boil water.
Seeing Zhou Ji expressionlessly boiling water, Xiong Ye inexplicably felt his heart clench in guilt. He added, “In fact, accidents can happen anywhere… If I go out to trade for salt, I’ll definitely be able to bring back a lot of salt… Is there anything you want?”
Zhou Ji cut off a piece of the ginseng that the priest had given them and tossed it into the water along with some of the herbs he had brought back over the past few days.
Xiong Ye faintly sensed that something was wrong.
An unpleasant smell wafted out from the pot. All kinds of herbs were mixed and boiled together before it finally simmered down into approximately a big bowl’s worth of sludgy black water. Zhou Ji used a long-handled spoon to ladle the concoction into a bowl, then handed it over to him. “Since you’re so insistent on going, you should recover properly. Take your medicine!”
“You said before that I don’t need to eat it!” Xiong Ye said. That thing called ginseng was something the priest had given him. On the first day, when Zhou Ji had boiled it in water and given him a bowl, he had found it extremely nasty and didn’t want to drink it. Later on, Zhou Ji hadn’t urged him to drink it anymore, saying that it was fine if he didn’t drink any.
But now, Zhou Ji was actually telling him to drink it again!
Not only that, but Zhou Ji had also added a bunch of other things to it!
When Xiong Ye saw that bowl of blackened things, he really wanted to retreat and give it a wide berth.
“You’re going to trade for salt. Shouldn’t you take better care of your body?” Zhou Ji asked him, pushing the bowl of medicine over.
Xiong Ye drank the medicine with a bitter expression on his face; it left a strange aftertaste in his mouth…
He looked eagerly over at Zhou Ji––last time Zhou Ji had given him the ginseng to drink, he had given him some candy after.
The candy was made by taking the sweet cane and drying it out in the sun. It was very, very sweet, but Zhou Ji had only given him a small piece. Now, though…
Zhou Ji stuffed something into Xiong Ye’s mouth.
Xiong Ye reflexively tasted it, and then immediately scrunched up his face––It was really so, so sour! It tasted so, so horrible!
Zhou Ji hadn’t given him candy; he’d given him a very sour fruit instead!
It was so sour that Xiong Ye couldn’t help but frown.
The sun had already gone down, and it was very dark in the cave, but Zhou Ji could still see Xiong Ye’s face clearly. He sighed and stuffed a piece of sugar into Xiong Ye’s mouth. “Eat it.”
Xiong Ye was immediately all smiles. Zhou Ji added, “Go to bed early.”
Xiong Ye obediently went to bed. Sensing that Zhou Ji had also gone to bed, he pulled him into his arms and went to sleep.
The next day, the weather was good.
Over the past few days, the people of the tribe had brought back too much meat and hadn’t gone out hunting. Even today, they didn’t go out to hunt––Xiong He led the people of the tribe to begin dealing with the animal and dinosaur hides and insect sh.e.l.ls.
Dinosaur hide, arthropleura sh.e.l.ls, and all sorts of dinosaur scales and bones could be traded for salt. They had picked up a lot of these things over the past few days.
Now, they were going to sort through it all and organise it a bit.
The people in the tribe were still very busy, and Xiong Ye also went to help, dragging along his injured leg. Zhou Ji saw that everyone was working and went to find the priest.
“The Beast G.o.d sent me a dream last night.” Zhou Ji began.
The priest looked at Zhou Ji in surprise. Zhou Ji had said before that he had received the Beast G.o.d’s blessing, and that was already worthy of envy, yet now… Zhou Ji was saying that the Beast G.o.d had sent him a dream?
Why had he never experienced such good things?
Why would Zhou Ji receive the love of the Beast G.o.d? Was it because he was attractive?
Or was Zhou Ji trying to trick him?
The priest’s brows furrowed. “What did the Beast G.o.d say?”
“He said that our tribe will encounter some trouble in the near future. He was willing to help… He matured all the earth eggs around the tribe.” Zhou Ji said.
“That… that’s impossible!” The priest said. The Beast G.o.d was so busy; how could he spare time to concern himself with their tribe?
“I also don’t know if it’s true… Should we go outside the tribe and take a look?” Zhou Ji asked.
Since they had encountered a situation like this, of course they had to go outside the tribe and check.
The priest walked outside with Zhou Ji. As he walked, he also tried to emphasize earnestly, “You indeed had a dream, but it might not necessarily be true. I once dreamed that I became young again, but that was just a dream.”
Zhou Ji didn’t reply.
The priest and Zhou Ji soon arrived at the place where the tribe had planted the earth eggs.
They called it ‘planting’ in the tribe, but in fact, they actually let the earth eggs grow wild. In the past, they hadn’t even added fertilizer, so the earth eggs became smaller and smaller each successive crop.
Recently, they had added a little fertilizer to the earth eggs after Zhou Ji had suggested it, but the earth eggs still hadn’t grown very well.
At this moment, when Zhou Ji and the priest arrived, the people of the gathering team were busy weeding the area––this was also another one of Zhou Ji’s suggestions.
“Priest, why are you here?” The head of the gathering team was a little surprised to see the priest.
“I have something to do.” The priest said. He didn’t say that it had been Zhou Ji who had had a dream about the Beast G.o.d––if this matter was announced to the others but turned out to be false, it would be bad for Zhou Ji.
However, although the priest didn’t say anything, Zhou Ji had no such scruples, “I dreamed of the Beast G.o.d last night. The Beast G.o.d told me that he had matured all the earth eggs near our tribe.”
The head of the gathering team, “……”
The head of the gathering team, “Priest, Zhou Ji told us to fertilize the gra.s.s, and we did so. In any case, it wouldn’t hurt the earth eggs. But what he’s saying now is just nonsense, right? I looked just now, and these earth eggs are still all very small!”
Recently, the priest had attached great importance to Zhou Ji. Zhou Ji had become much more popular, but the head of the gathering team still didn’t like him much.
Zhou Ji only moved his mouth to speak, but the ones who actually had to do the work were them. How come the priest only valued Zhou Ji?
Additionally, regardless of whether it was smoking meat or fertilizing or weeding, these things weren’t necessarily useful!
Of course, the main reason the head of the gathering team was unhappy right now was because she felt that Zhou Ji was trying to trick them––she had just checked this morning, and those earth eggs were still very small!
When the priest heard the words of the gathering team head, he helplessly looked over at Zhou Ji. Zhou Ji had casually taken a dream and treated it as the truth; how shameful it was now!
Zhou Ji said, “I believe in the Beast G.o.d.”
Zhou Ji’s expression was very serious, which caused the head of the gathering team to have mixed feelings, half doubtful and half believing. But at this time, Yang Ying spoke up, “He’s just talking nonsense. How could the Beast G.o.d ever seek him out?”
Yang Ying and Yang Su’s life after Shi Li left… was still pretty good.
Xiong He had been too busy to take back their cave, and they had picked up a lot of meat over the past few days, which meant that they could eat as much as they liked.
However, all of this was temporary.
They knew that their future was doomed to be difficult.
In this kind of situation, they would naturally feel antagonistic towards Zhou Ji––Shi Li had been taken away by Zhou Ji’s father!
Of course, Yang Ying only dared to speak up now because she had secretly dug up an earth egg, and it was merely the size of a thumbnail.
Previously, Zhou Ji had told the priest many things. The priest had revealed a little of it to the rest of the tribe, but he hadn’t said too much.
Firstly, it was still too early, and the effect of the things Zhou Ji had spoken of couldn’t be seen yet. Second, Zhou Ji himself was too lazy to speak about it.
At this time, there were many people who were saying, “Zhou Ji, everyone dreams, but you shouldn’t take these dreams seriously!”
“The meat smoking method you thought of before was very good, but how could earth eggs mature ahead of time?”
“We saw them when we were weeding. They were indeed very small.”
……
Others went to the priest and said, “Priest, even if you like Xiong Ye, you can’t believe everything Zhou Ji says.”
“I think that Zhou Ji’s suggestion to use fertilizer isn’t necessarily correct. In some places, the earth eggs withered after we added fertilizer.”
“Weeding is useless, right? The earth eggs have always grown together with the gra.s.s.”
The priest had recently given them a lot of tasks. It was said that they had all been discussed with Zhou Ji… The people of the gathering team all had some opinions on that.
There was no point in pulling weeds at all… These kinds of gra.s.s couldn’t be brought back to be eaten after they were pulled up.
“The Beast G.o.d likes me a lot. He wouldn’t lie to me.” Zhou Ji insisted.
Everyone: “……” Wasn’t that too bold? If the Beast G.o.d liked you so much, why don’t you even have an animal form?