Novel Bin Chapter 44: Douglas's Astonishment
He didn\'t know the contents of the goods, but the yaks themselves were valuable.
They were gentle in temperament yet immensely strong.
They were perfect for transporting heavy loads and saving labor. Unfortunately, yaks typically lived in open grasslands, not in the jungle where they currently were.
After withdrawing his gaze, Enzo smiled and said, "Welcome, Mr. Douglas."
Then, he asked, "I wonder what goods you have brought?"
A self-satisfied smile spread across Douglas\'s face. Having traveled to many places, he particularly enjoyed hearing these words. It often meant he would soon profit handsomely and garner admiration.
Douglas\'s caravan consisted of twelve members and eight yaks.
He began unloading the first yak\'s cargo and untied the ropes of the bag, saying, "This is salt from the Gold Oak Tribe, highly prized. Just a pinch added to food can bring out extraordinary flavors."
"Salt?"
Enzo glanced at it, noncommittal.
While the Crimson Star Tribe currently lacked salt, Heru\'s Vanguard squad had discovered a rock salt deposit. Once the rainy season passed, they could send people to bring back large quantities of rock salt ore. At that time, they would be able to refine fine salt instead of the coarse salt Douglas had shown.
Who knew if there might be some toxic substances mixed in?
Therefore, Enzo glanced at it and asked, "Douglas, what about the other goods?"
Douglas was somewhat surprised. Was someone really uninterested in salt?
In the past, whenever he displayed salt, people would eagerly offer plenty of gold leaves to purchase it.
"It is Odd, truly odd. "
Douglas thought to himself as he untied the cargo on the second yak\'s back.
It was dried meat.
This was the first time Enzo had seen jerky made by people outside the Crimson Star Tribe. Obviously, tribes beyond the jungle had mastered methods of long-term food storage.
However, could jerky be considered a valuable commodity?
Enzo was quite perplexed.
Douglas cursed inwardly, calling them natives, and proudly explained, "Priest Enzo, this isn\'t just ordinary jerky. It\'s made from the meat of supernatural creatures. Consuming it regularly enhances one\'s strength."
Upon hearing this, Lupus couldn\'t help but laugh and remarked, "Is that so?"
Douglas immediately became furious, demanding, "What do you mean by that?"
Lupus replied, "Douglas, we have no shortage of jerky, even from supernatural creatures!"
"No shortage of jerky from supernatural creatures?"
That was quite a bold statement!
Douglas couldn\'t believe the audacity. He burst into laughter as if he had heard a joke. His eyes darted around, and then he seemed to remember something, shouting at Enzo, "Priest Enzo, I came here sincerely to trade with the Crimson Star Tribe. Jerky from supernatural creatures is an extremely rare commodity. How could your tribe possess such a thing? If you\'re trying to lower the price of my goods, sorry, I\'m not limited to trading with you."
Enzo\'s face displayed an intriguing smile. He leaned over and whispered a few words near Amy\'s fluffy fox ears.
Amy then ran off towards the warehouse.
Enzo continued, "Mr. Douglas, don\'t misunderstand. I agree with Lupus that the goods you\'ve brought are quite ordinary. In that case, I don\'t think we need to trade."
Douglas was about to argue further.
When Amy returned, she carried a large bunch of jerky in her hands.
Douglas was left speechless, staring incredulously at the jerky in Amy\'s hands, which faintly emanated the aura of supernatural creatures.
Behind him, Richard said with certainty, "This is not the meat of an ordinary supernatural creature!"
Douglas\'s mouth hung open in disbelief, struggling to form words. Finally, he managed to ask, "How did you hunt such powerful creatures?"
Lupus retorted bluntly, "That\'s the tribe\'s secret. There\'s no reason to tell you."
Douglas was frustrated.
However he felt there was little he could argue against.
At that moment, Enzo intervened, saying, "Mr. Douglas, you\'ve traveled a long way to reach the Crimson Star Tribe. Why not rest a while? Let\'s have these jerky cooked, and we can talk over a meal."
Douglas glanced at his accompanying caravan members, seeing their eager looks at the jerky.
He didn\'t refuse and expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Priest Enzo."
Enzo responded calmly.
He instructed someone to fetch clay pots and set up a stone hearth to start a fire.
Water was added to the pots, and the jerky was diced and cooked with vegetables and potatoes.
Soon, a rich aroma filled the air.
Douglas was completely taken aback.
What did he see?
Pottery!
Yves was right—The Crimson Star Tribe indeed possessed pottery.
And there were not just a few pieces, but a large quantity.
Each person, including Douglas and his caravan members, had their own clay bowls for the meat soup, along with delicate spoons...What kind of tribe was this?
Douglas couldn\'t calm his mind for a long time.
He even suspected that he had come to a powerful totem tribe, but he did not feel the presence of totems in the tribe camp, nor did he see corresponding markings.
After taking a sip of the meat soup, Douglas\'s astonishment eased a lot, and his arrogance disappeared with it.
He apologized, saying, "Priest Enzo, I apologize for my arrogance. The Crimson Star Tribe is indeed a powerful tribe."
After that, he continued to introduce other goods, saying, "Among the goods this time, in addition to salt and jerky, there are also several iron knives, seeds of ornamental plants, fruit cores, and some animal skins. The Crimson Star Tribe is not our first stop for trading. So many goods have been sold along the way."
Douglas was somewhat embarrassed.
Looking at it now, his goods were just rubbish.
Enzo was also disappointed. He didn\'t expect Douglas to offer such meager goods.
Douglas realized this and hurriedly added, "I still have many other goods in the Gold Oak Tribe, much more valuable than what I have now. Frankly, even supernatural creature essence, as long as you offer enough reward, I can get it."
Enzo frowned and stood up.
The essence of supernatural creatures was indeed good stuff.
Unfortunately, Douglas did not bring such things on this trip.
Among those goods, the only things that interested him were the animal skins and those seeds and fruit cores.
After the rainy season ends, winter will arrive in just a few months. The tribe has added over three hundred new members and needs more animal skins for warmth.
Despite Douglas not carrying much, Enzo doesn\'t mind, acknowledging that every little bit helps.
As for the seeds, it\'s a matter of chance. Perhaps some useful crops can be found among them.
So, Enzo speaks up, "Mr. Douglas, show me those seeds, please?"
Douglas naturally agrees and retrieves the seeds from the back of the yaks.
Enzo took them and examined them.
They are mixed together, and most of them Enzo cannot identify—he doesn\'t know everything. However, he is pleasantly surprised by some of the small, flat seeds.
Seeing this, Douglas felt somewhat reassured and immediately explained, "These are seeds of ornamental plants."
He went on to describe them in detail—they grew short and bore green fruits, some red, but very spicy and inedible, which convinced Enzo they were chili pepper seeds.
This was an extremely important seasoning!
As for eating them raw, they were indeed very hot, not something most people could handle. Delighted to harvest chili pepper seeds, Enzo casually put them back and said, "These seeds are good, but the other goods are worthless."
Douglas didn\'t argue at this point.
He also saw that the Crimson Star Tribe clearly didn\'t lack what he brought.
However, establishing trade relations with such a powerful tribe was a basic skill for every traveling merchant.
Douglas quickly calculated in his mind before saying, "Priest Enzo, I can sell you these goods at an extremely low price of three hundred gold leaves. As it\'s our first trade with your esteemed tribe, I\'ll even discount it further to two hundred seventy gold leaves. What do you think?"
Douglas maintained a humble posture, completely shedding his previous air of arrogance.
Establishing trade relations with Douglas offered several advantages for the Crimson Star Tribe, despite them not particularly needing the goods. Enzo still gave Douglas a trading opportunity.
He instructed Amy, who promptly went back to the warehouse.
Shortly after, Amy returned with several pieces of pottery.
These were the latest batch fired in the industrial district, dyed with juices from various plants during the firing process. Now Douglas was looking at several pottery jars adorned with vibrant patterns, leaving him stunned with wide eyes fixed on them. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "Priest Enzo, how did you manage this?"
Enzo glanced at Douglas, smiling but withholding an answer.
Douglas realized he had lost his composure and forcefully regained his composure, saying, "For such exquisite pottery, I can offer three hundred gold leaves!"
Enzo shook his head, remarking, "Mr. Douglas, it seems you lack sincerity."
Hearing his own words echoed back at him, Douglas felt awkward, his face contorted in a mix of embarrassment and frustration. Finally, he sighed deeply and said, "Five hundred gold leaves! Priest Enzo, this is the highest price I can offer! After all, I still need to transport these goods back, and the costs are not insignificant."
Enzo didn\'t even look up, responding calmly, "Seven hundred!"