In the evening, the Jia people light a huge bonfire near the cave, take out the stored wheat beans and hunted wild animals, cook porridge and barbecue, and start a grand singing and dancing feast.
Xu Chen also gave some of the rock salt he brought to the Jia people and told them how to use this strange salt grain to cook barbecue food to enhance the flavor of the food.
There is no need to explain why supplementing metal sodium ions is needed.
The need for salt is the natural instinct of the human body. Because it was difficult for primitive people to hunt meat and they exercised a lot, most of them were actually in a state of salt deficiency for a long time.
Therefore, when these salty foods entered the mouth, everyone felt an unprecedented excitement. They gulped down the porridge and meat, and wanted to bite their fingers and clay pots and bowls into pieces and swallow them.
The wonderful feeling and taste brought by natural salt is an unprecedented sense of satisfaction, which is more exciting than eating raw meat and drinking hot blood.
Therefore, after eating and drinking, when the Jia clan chief asked excitedly about the origin of the salt grains, Xu Chen briefly introduced the conquest of the Yu Gong clan and explained the origin of the salt, indicating that the salt was produced
The place is far away and the environment is harsh, and the yield is not high. It is not yet possible to supply all tribes on a large scale, but as long as everyone works hard to farm, they can be exchanged for some grain and other items, including tung seeds.
Because of the sudden appearance of salt, this campfire dinner became rich and lively, and it also stimulated the entire Jia tribe to boil with excitement. They all shouted that they should burn down wasteland to cultivate fields in winter, and plant a large amount of wheat, beans and grains in the spring of next year.
Pottery is needed, salt is needed, cloth is needed, and more men and women are needed.
Because they are increasingly discovering that the most lacking thing right now is people. Only with enough manpower can we have enough development power. As for the temporary lack of food and clothing, it will pass after a while. Our ancestors have been like this for hundreds of years.
Got through it.
After staying one night with the Jia tribe, Xu Chen and others, led by the Jia tribe hunters, set off over the mountains and ridges dozens of miles away to the Kugou Alliance, led by the Jia tribe hunters.
There are five tribes in the Kugou Alliance, and their living habits are very different from those of the tribes that migrated from the northwest, such as the Gonghuo Tribe and the Wu Tribe.
Although they also live in caves, wear animal skins, and use stone knives, stone axes, and spears and sticks, they are basically at the same stage of civilization as the Gonghuo Tribe. However, this tribe has a strange habit, that is, they like to paint themselves like
Uniform color.
Five alliance tribes, five colors, just like real paint people, the distinction is very clear.
Regarding some of the behaviors and habits of the Kugou tribe, the members of the Kugou tribe had said something about them at the last shaman leader conference, but it wasn’t until he actually saw them that Xu Chen truly understood. This primitive tribe was so weird that it made people feel numb.
Because they came with great fanfare with flags and horns, the frightened five tribes almost came out in full force. A large number of hunters armed with weapons and carrying all kinds of messy beast skulls and even dead skeletons on their heads swarmed in from all directions. It looked like
A group of demons and monsters from hell made people feel chills all over their bodies. If it weren't for the Jia people's loud obstruction and translation, Xu Chen would have drawn out his dragon-tooth scimitar and launched a battle to slay ghosts.
If it really happens, the history books of later generations may record it like this:
"That year, in the tenth month of winter, the king came from the west and was blocked by five ghosts. His entourage was in panic. The king blew the horn of God, waved the divine weapon dragon fang, and slaughtered the five ghosts in the wilderness of Wulong. It is known in history as the Battle of the Cool Dog!"
Although the scene was chaotic, the battle of killing ghosts did not start after all.
Although the five Kugou tribes had a large number of people, they were frightened when faced with the well-equipped Ba coalition troops, who were uniformly equipped with flags and horns. After repeated explanations and persuasion by the Jia tribe hunters, they finally heard that the ones coming were those with pottery and linen.
After visiting the distant tribe, my mood slowly calmed down.
However, due to fear, the Kugou Alliance was still sufficiently vigilant against this distant visitor who had strict rules and regulations, and the hunters of the five tribes, howling like ghosts and wolves, carried Xu Chen and others into the cave where they lived.
This is an extremely spacious valley, and there is actually a hundred-acre lake in it. The rippling blue waves are refreshing. Around the lake, three streams of different sizes flow into it, and then flow out along a valley, which should eventually converge.
Entered the Wulong River.
Although it is winter, you can still see a large number of water birds on the lake. There are dense dry reeds all around. You can also see some dry lotus roots, chicken heads, water chestnuts and other aquatic plants on the water surface.
This is really a nice place!
The further to the southeast, the more Xu Chen felt that the Ba and Wu areas were barren and narrow.
As the saying goes, you can rely on the mountains to eat and the water to eat.
Guarding such a large lake, the unique environment is enough to support a large and medium-sized tribe.
This is indeed the case for the Kugou tribe. The five tribes are actually the same as the five families within the Wu tribe. They are scattered near the hillsides and streams around the lake. Their total number of people exceeds 300, which is a perfect match for a large and medium-sized tribe.
scale.
Although the people of the Kugou tribe did not allow Xu Chen and others to wander around in the valley and look around, Xu Chen quickly figured out the general situation of the tribe.
In addition, he also made another important discovery: most of the people in this tribe look very similar and are very ugly.
It's not because they paint themselves in different colors and bear the visual impact of all kinds of strange animal bones and skeletons, but because their appearance is not normal.
They have crooked mouths, flat noses, protruding eyes, big ears, and even a lot of cleft lips. In addition, there are also huge differences in height and body shape. Some are very tall and strong, while others are extremely short. Many of them look like they move very differently.
There are some inconveniences, lameness and bent arms, like a disabled person.
But after careful and close observation, these people did not seem to be injured, but were born with disabilities like polio.
Could this be heavy metal poisoning?
This was Xu Chen's first reaction.
People from the Kugou tribe like to smear mineral powder all over their bodies to create the effect of distinct ethnic groups, especially the Hagou tribe, which is covered with galena, and the Creeping Dog tribe, which is covered with cerusite. These abnormal looks and body shapes can be seen
It becomes more obvious.
In the past, Xu Chen speculated that this Kugou tribe should be called the Five Ghosts tribe based on the descriptions of the Jia tribe. Now he was more certain of his judgment. This tribe was indeed like a group of demons and ghosts that had begun to develop abnormally. No matter whether they were dressed or looked like ghosts,
It's ghostly and makes people's scalp numb.
The word ghost appeared very early. The pictogram is a person with a scary face, which means a very scary human being. Later, it was extended to mean the soul of the dead and mystified it. At present, the concept of ghost has not yet been completely formed.
, the shape of the Five Ghost Alliance perfectly interprets the meaning of this word.
Although Xu Chen and others came with good intentions, the Five Ghosts obviously did not appreciate it. They also liked the Ba tribe's pottery and linen very much, but they did not want Xu Chen and others to stay in their territory for a long time, let alone
The foreigners came with such great fanfare.
I don’t know if it’s because they don’t like to deal with foreigners, or if they are deliberately hiding something. Anyway, the Five Ghosts gave Xu Chen a very bad impression, and they felt that it was difficult to get close to them and deal with them. This was similar to what the Jia Clan warned them in advance.
You want good things from me, but you don’t want to communicate with me properly, so what can you do?
The purpose of Xu Chen's trip was to find out the location and approximate reserves of lead mines in the Five Ghost Clan's territory, so as to prepare for subsequent development.
Lead is a poisonous heavy metal. He will not leave it to the Ba tribe for smelting and processing. Smelting it into metallic lead on the spot in the Five Ghosts tribe is the best option. Moreover, transporting pure metal consumes less manpower than transporting ore. After all,
It's not easy to travel such a long distance.
However, the Five Ghosts were very nervous and wary of their arrival from the beginning, with obvious hostility. Even if the Jia Clan repeatedly negotiated with them, there seemed to be no substantial change, saying that as long as the Ba Clan brought pottery and
Linen can be exchanged for ore, but they are not allowed to see where the ore is produced.
During the back-and-forth negotiations, more than an hour passed by in a flash, and the sun was about to set.
Not only Xu Chen was a little annoyed by the wait, but a group of leaders such as Lei and Mo were even more angry. A large group of hunters who came with them were even more furious and started making noises by the lake. Especially a group of Gonghuo tribe's legions, raising their weapons.
Roar loudly and kill all these sneaky ugly guys.
The noisy roars of Xu Chen and others also aroused the tension of the Five Ghosts. Hundreds of people gathered around, holding spears and clubs, shouting and threatening, and the emotions of both sides gradually became tense.
It seems that there is no fight between these dogs. The savages don't know that the pot is made of iron.
Seeing the sun gradually setting in the west, Xu Chen couldn't hold himself back any longer.
If they wait any longer, the situation will become even more difficult to control once it gets dark. People around here are unfamiliar with the place, and it will still be a big trouble if the savages don't let them spend the night here.
What made him most unhappy was that from beginning to end, the other party's clan leader and great witch did not show up. Those who came out to negotiate were only a group of men. Even women and children were rarely seen. They could only watch from a distance near the cave where they lived.
Xu Chen frowned and called back the hunter leader of the Jia tribe who had been making friends with the Five Ghost tribe. He asked him to make a request to the Five Ghost tribe and wanted to see the other party's great witch. He also personally delivered a small jar of rock salt.
As a gift.
Salt is definitely a very mysterious and rare item for any tribe. After getting this jar of rock salt and tasting it under the reminder of the leader of the Jia tribe, the attitude of the Five Ghosts improved slightly and said that they would
Go and ask their great witch for advice.
After a group of leaders of the Five Ghost Tribes painted in gold, green, red, white, and black colors left, and after waiting for about half an hour, the sun had completely set, and the entire valley became very dark, and a group of people came back to express Xu Chen's wishes.
You can take no more than ten people with them to see the great witch.
The reason why there are ten people is probably because these people can only count to ten with both hands.
However, the scale of ten people is indeed too small, and safety cannot be guaranteed at all.
Therefore, not only the Jia clan members were worried, but a group of officers such as Lei and Mo were even more furious. They all persuaded Xu Chen not to take risks and simply leave here to find a place nearby to spend the night. Wait until the war starts tomorrow and completely beat the Kugou Alliance to death.
You won't have to suffer from this cowardice anymore.