From the fake emperor to the concubine

At first, neither of the two children dared to eat it; they just held it and looked at it as if it were some kind of treasure.

Zheng Yi stood aside, watching this scene, and finally felt a sense of peace.

This road is a viable route.

And we have to go.

The matter of White Bone Lake is a matter of life and death on the edge of a knife.

Trade is a matter of fate in life.

The former must be defended, and the latter must also be done. Only when both sides move forward together can this northern land, these tribes, and the Snow-Swallowing Cave and the Old Mansion of Fushan that he is about to explore truly have a foundation.

The old woman walked up to him and whispered, "This time, you've won back their hearts too."

Zheng Yi looked at the people who were circling around the cloth, salt bricks, and pots, and smiled slightly.

"It's still a long way off."

The old woman snorted, "Good that you know you're far from good enough. When's the next trip?"

Zheng Yi looked up and gazed further south.

Beyond Qingshi Town lies an even larger border town.

Then it was Hongyun City's turn.

He didn't say this to everyone right now, but slowly said, "First, let's divide up the tasks for this round and establish the rules. Then we'll go through the second round."

The old woman nodded: "That's more like it."

Not far away, the campfire had been relit.

This time, the large pot wasn't just cooking meat and roots. The Bone Granny personally pinched a pinch of the newly acquired spices and sprinkled it in. Before long, the aroma wafting through the entire tribe changed.

It's still meat broth.

But for the first time, it wasn't just a monotonous fishy and salty taste.

After returning from Qingshi Town, the Black Rock tribe was bustling with activity for three whole days.

The first day was for sorting the goods.

Wu Chen summoned everyone to the large open space inside the stone wall and, according to the rules agreed upon at the bonfire meeting, began to distribute the goods one by one. Thirty percent of the public goods were to be set aside for the next trade trip, tribal patrols, and emergency use at White Bone Lake; another ten percent was to be given to the wounded, the elderly, and small families without able-bodied men; the remainder was to be distributed according to the amount of leather, tendons, horns, medicine, and manpower each family contributed this time.

At first, some people were hesitant.

After all, this was the first time they had walked this path, and no one knew how to fairly calculate what they would get in return. But when thick cloth, fine linen, cotton wadding, salt bricks, spatulas, needles and thread, iron nails, and spices were laid out one by one under the firelight, many people even suppressed their desire to compete.

That's too realistic.

Unlike leather and horn, whose value isn't known until they're used, these things can be touched, seen, smelled, and even used that very evening.

Several women huddled together, first touching the cloth, then the cotton, and finally, when they reached the new iron pots, their eyes lit up. In the past, the tribe had pots, but they were either cracked at the edges or too shallow and thin, causing the bottoms to bulge after prolonged use. The pots Zheng Yi brought back were heavy and sturdy, with even rims; one glance was enough to tell they could withstand a fire.

Several children clung to the bag of candy, refusing to leave, but the old woman chased them away with her cane. She herself broke off a tiny piece and put it in her mouth. After tasting it, she gave a soft "hmm" and then turned to have it distributed to each household.

Red Fang was the most glorious.

Because he had accompanied the entire trip to Qing Shi Town, whenever someone asked, "Was this cloth really obtained by trading wolf pelts?", "Is that pepper really that fragrant?", "Are there many shops in the south?", or "Is there a whole street in town that sells things?", he would rush to answer, spitting as he spoke, as if he had suddenly grown ten years older.

“There’s a whole row of copper spoons hanging outside that shop!”

"Do you know what sauce is? It's a black stuff that smells really good when you spread it on!"

"And there's cloth, rolled up in bolts and stacked there, more than all the fur robes in the tribe piled up together!"

"When Manager Du saw our hides, he initially tried to lower the price, but Zheng Yi's words shut him up so badly his face almost turned green..."

At this point, Chi Ya's eyebrows danced with excitement, his imitation was particularly accurate, even mimicking Manager Du's squinting smile, which made everyone around him laugh.

After laughing, many people realized something.

This road, it really is a road.

It wasn't just a pie in the sky that Zheng Yi casually painted, nor was it a pipe dream he talked about by the fire to boost morale. It was a real way to turn a wolf skin, a bag of animal bones, and a roll of animal sinew into cloth, salt, cotton, needles and thread, and a pot.

Starting the next day, more changes slowly began to emerge in the tribe.

Several of the most skillful women first cut up the newly acquired scraps of soft cloth and fine linen to sew undergarments for the children. For the first time, the children, who had always run around in their old adult robes, had undergarments that could cover their bodies, with sleeves that weren't too long and hems that wouldn't drag in the snow. Although they were still in their simplest form, they made the children look much more agile when worn under their fur robes.

Several hunters studied the skinning knives and fine-toothed saws until midnight.

Yan'ao spread a freshly skinned animal hide on the wooden frame, looked at it from left to right, and finally stammered, "It wasn't that we were clumsy before, it was that our knives were terrible."

Wu Chen didn't say anything, but just held the new knife in his hand and tried it out. The next morning when he went to patrol White Bone Lake again, there was a small leather holster on his waist to hang the knife.

The bone marrow woman was most concerned about the spices and ginger slices.

That evening, she personally tended the pot, having someone cut a few pieces of the fattest mutton from the ice horn and add different ingredients, tasting them one by one. When the broth was ready, the monotonous, gamey smell that had plagued the tribe before was for the first time replaced by a warmer, richer, and more enticing aroma.

Chi Ya's eyes were practically glowing from drinking so much.

"This tastes ten times better than the previous pot."

The old woman sneered, "It tastes good because you were naive before."

But while she was cursing, her hands didn't stop; she was clearly already planning what other seasonings she should bring back on her next trip.

On the third night, the chieftain of the Black Rock tribe finally showed up.

The word "finally" is used because the chieftain was not actually away from the tribe before; he had been patrolling the camp of another small team in the eastern snowy mountains for the past few days. After the White Bone Lake opened up, several hunting grounds and guard posts near the Black Rock tribe had to be rearranged. As the chieftain, he had more and more things to keep an eye on than Wu Chen.

Zheng Yi had met him twice before, but both times it was brief.

It wasn't until that night, when the fire was lowered and the wind had subsided, that the clan chief finally sat down opposite Zheng Yi and spoke to him about the matter.

The chieftain of the Black Rock tribe was named Shi Lie.

Approaching fifty, he was still extremely tall, but his shoulders and back were heavier than the flamboyant muscularity of a Fiery Hound, like a piece of black rock honed by years of wind and snow. There was an old scar between his left brow bone and cheekbone, which would make half of his face look even stiffer when he smiled, so most of the time he simply didn't smile.

When he arrived tonight, he was still covered in the chill of the snow. Upon entering, he placed a large wine flask by the fire, but only took two sips himself before looking at Zheng Yi.

"I heard everything from Wu Chen about this trip to Qing Shi Town."

Zheng Yi nodded: "It's just a trial run."

"To have tested the route to this extent is already very good." Shi Lie's voice was not loud, but very steady. "In recent years, there haven't been many things in the tribe that have made everyone's eyes light up. What you brought back is not just goods, but a sense of pride."

Zheng Yi didn't mince words, simply saying, "This road is passable."

Shi Lie stared at the flames for a moment, then said, "I came tonight not to praise you, but to formally entrust you with something."

Upon hearing this, even the old woman sitting next to him raised her eyes.

Shi Lie continued, "The Black Rock Tribe is willing to treat this road to the south as a serious matter. It's not just about exchanging salt and cloth once or twice, but about continuing to do it until fewer people die in the tribe during the winter, children have clothes to wear, the elderly have medicine to eat, and hunters have more decent knives and ropes."

As he said this, his gaze fell on Zheng Yi's face.

"But we can't do it ourselves." "Why?"

“Because all we know is hunting, guarding the pass, knowing the way, and surviving the winter,” Shi Lie said. “We don’t know as much as you do about how to negotiate with people from the south, how to prevent them from ripping us off with every word, or how to transport goods to bigger cities and bring them back safely.”

The wood in the brazier popped and sparked.

Shi Lie slowly pushed a bone wine bowl in front of Zheng Yi.

"Therefore, Chief Shi Lie of the Black Rock Tribe, on behalf of the Black Rock Tribe, formally requests your help to guide us out of this path tonight."

This is not a casual request.

It's more like a kind of adoption that's quite important in tribal customs.

There was a moment of silence by the fire.

Wu Chen sat upright and remained silent.

The old woman squinted and didn't say a word.

Chi Ya's heart was pounding so hard he almost jumped out of his chest, but he dared not move and could only press his hands tightly against his knees.

Zheng Yi stared at the wine bowl, remained silent for a few moments, and then spoke: "Just the Black Rock Tribe?"

Shi Lie was taken aback.

Zheng Yi raised his eyes: "Since you are speaking as the clan leader, you should understand that if this path is to be truly established, it will not rely solely on the Black Rock Tribe. The Fire Mane Tribe, several nearby smaller tribes that can be connected, and even more distant scattered tribes may gradually have to be involved. The more stable the goods are, the more stable the road will be; the more stable the road is, the more the south will believe that this is a business that can be done in the long run."

Shi Lie's brow twitched slightly.

"You want to make it that big?"

“It’s not just a wish, it’s a necessity,” Zheng Yi said. “The Black Rock Tribe can only manage to exchange for some clothing, salt, and iron on their own, which will make their lives a little better. But if they want to truly connect with the major cities and the trade routes further south, the volume of goods from just one tribe is not enough. You must first gather together a source of goods from the north.”

Just then, Yan'ao came in from the doorway and overheard this. Without any politeness, he replied, "The Firemane Tribe has no objections."

Shi Lie glanced at him, snorted, but didn't refute him.

Zheng Yi continued, "There's a second thing. If you let me lead this route, it won't be just one-time decisions. How to receive, inspect, record, and distribute the goods; who can and cannot accompany the team; how much public goods to take; how much private goods to allow; and who will be held responsible if something goes wrong—all of these must be regulated."

Shi Lie asked, "Will you stand here?"

“I’ll start. In the end, those of you who can make decisions need to work together to enforce the rules.” Zheng Yi paused. “Otherwise, once the road becomes wider, everyone will want to add an extra layer of skin and a larger share of salt. The internal chaos alone will be enough to kill the road.”

These words were quite harsh, yet they made Shi Lie nod in agreement.

"you're right."

He pushed the wine bowl forward again.

"So, are you going to answer it or not?"

Zheng Yi looked at him and said, "Take it."

With just this one word, the expressions of the people by the fire relaxed slightly.

Shi Lie then picked up his bowl and gently tapped it against the one next to Zheng Yi's.

"From this day forward, the Black Rock Tribe will recognize you as their guide on this road to the south."

Wu Chen, Yan Ao, and Gu Po didn't say any of those fancy, empty words; they simply raised their bowls, as if to acknowledge the matter.

Chiya originally wanted to raise his cup, but he didn't have any wine in his hand. He could only hurriedly grab his meat soup bowl, but was knocked back by Bone Granny with a stick.

"You drink yours."

A burst of laughter immediately filled the room.

After the laughter subsided, the matter didn't end with that bowl of wine.

For the next seven or eight days, the Black Rock Tribe and the Firemane Tribe were truly in a frenzy.

This time, instead of just taking a dozen or so people and carrying a few bags of goods to test the waters like in Qing Shi Town, they were going to travel to a larger city further south.

This great city is called Beining City.

Although it is far from being a large city like Hongyun City, it is already a place on this northern border that truly has officials, markets, warehouses, taxes, and trade routes. Many goods collected in border towns like Qingshi Town are often transferred to places like Beining City, and then transported south by larger caravans.

Zheng Yi's initial thought was indeed of the more distant Hongyun City.

Only when that connection is made can one truly enter the game in one step.

But he now understands that he can't get fat overnight. The northern tribes haven't yet learned how to "stabilize" their goods, and the people in the south haven't truly seen the quality of their products. Going directly to Hongyun City, bypassing a major transit city like Beining City, is too hasty.

Therefore, this second trip became a test of Beining City.

The best course of action would be to open up the road in Beining City first, and then gradually expand further south using Beining City's caravans, guilds, and official documents.

Shi Lie personally oversaw the operation this time.

Instead of traveling far with the group, he inspected the best things the tribe could offer.

If the skin is not completely intact, it will not be used.

If it's not tanned thoroughly enough, don't use it.

If the tendon has a break, do not use it.

We won't use scraps that are too worn.

Those cold-region herbs and bone materials also had to be personally inspected by the Bone Woman to distinguish between medicinal use, utensil use, and those that could only be kept by the tribe for its own consumption.

The same applies to the Firemane Tribe.

Although Yan'ao was rough with words, he was decisive in his actions. He picked out the horns of the Frostmane Bull, the pelt of the Blackback Wolf, the shoulder bones of two Tundra Bears, a bag of Frostbite Grass that could dispel cold and boost blood energy, and several pieces of frozen iron ore dug from the slopes of the Firemane Tribe's mine.

Zheng Yi was also busy.

While he was overseeing the receipt of goods, he taught them the most basic methods of recording shipments.

What does "high, medium, and low quality" mean?

What are bulk and loose goods?

What should be sold by the piece, what should be sold by the pound, what should be sold in sets or pairs, and what is best sold separately?

The people from the Black Rock tribe frowned at first.

In their eyes, a piece of skin is just a piece of skin, and a tendon is just a tendon; there's no need for so many twists and turns.

But when Zheng Yi placed a wolf pelt with neat fur and undamaged winter coat next to a wolf pelt that had been peeled with torn edges and a bald patch on its back, and then told them, "When we get to the south, the former will be worth two and a half of the latter," everyone fell silent.

Wu Chen asked, "Is it really that much different?"

“It’s more than that,” Zheng Yi said. “People who buy leather in the south use it for various purposes: some to cut it, some to make linings, and some to make protective clothing for cultivators. The price difference is huge depending on whether it’s neat, even, smooth, free of bloodstains, or without holes. You used to use rough leather in the tribe, thinking that as long as it could be worn, it was fine. But outside, it’s not that simple.”

Flame Hound's face immediately darkened. (End of Chapter)