Diqin Designer

Chapter 303 Who is greater than me, Qin?
The middle-aged local resident also had the same feeling. Could it be that the Qin tribe was really powerful? He returned the greeting to Yao Zhi and said something that might be a welcome to Yao Zhi and others.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Yao pointed at the wooden box in the hands of Gan Yu and the other two, and said to the middle-aged local citizen with a smile: "This is the treasure given to the leader!"

As he spoke, Yao Zhi opened the wooden box that Gan Yu was holding, and the contents of the box were immediately revealed to everyone. It was a sculpture. Due to the distance, it was difficult to see the specific details, but from its general shape, it should be an elephant.

But what material is this elephant made of, and why is it so transparent and pure? Under the sunlight, it seems to be flawless, clean and transparent, with a kind of sacred beauty.

Everyone who saw the elephant sculpture had the same idea in their mind: this was an invaluable treasure, including the middle-aged local resident.

Joy appeared in the eyes of the middle-aged local resident, but he was also a little surprised. These outsiders were going to give him such a treasure?
He was already impatient to admire this treasure up close, to see its specific details and its material, but he held back, as there were still two wooden boxes that had not been opened. Perhaps the treasures inside were not inferior to this elephant sculpture.
Yao Zhi noticed the change in the middle-aged local's expression, and opened the wooden box in the second man's hand. The box also contained a sculpture, but this time it was a sculpture of a horse, cast in bronze, in a running posture, with three legs in the air and the right hind foot stepping on something.

The middle-aged local resident's reaction to this treasure was not as pleasantly surprised as when he saw the elephant sculpture. The elephant sculpture really surprised him and attracted his attention at the first moment. He thought it was rare and precious and felt happy.

The third wooden box was also opened. This time the treasure inside was no longer a sculpture, but a flat object. Because of the distance, it was impossible to see what it was, so naturally there was not much surprise.

But even if the last two treasures are not that great, the elephant sculpture treasure is enough, the middle-aged local resident asked Yao Zhi.

Yao Zhi guessed that these treasures were all for him. He nodded to the middle-aged local and said, "These three treasures are for the chief!"

Seeing Yao Zhi nod, the middle-aged local citizen smiled and immediately asked six guards to walk towards Gan Yu and the other two. He couldn't wait to take a closer look at these three treasures, especially the elephant sculpture.

In fact, only three people were needed to retrieve the wooden box, but he sent six people so that the other three could keep an eye on it to prevent the wooden box from falling and damaging the treasures inside.

Soon, three guards carefully returned to the platform carrying the wooden box and presented the three treasures to the middle-aged local resident at close range.

The middle-aged local resident immediately looked at the elephant sculpture. He was at a distance just now, so he could not see the details of the elephant sculpture clearly, but now he could see it clearly.

This elephant sculpture is not big, but the workmanship is extremely exquisite. However, he cannot tell what kind of craftsmanship was used or what kind of materials were used. The elephant sculpture is lifelike, as if it were alive. The whole sculpture is transparent and pure, without a single flaw. It is simply perfect.

The middle-aged local resident liked it more and more as he looked at it. Looking at such a pure and transparent treasure, it seemed as if his heart also became pure, calm and spotless.

"This item must be a top treasure in the Qin tribe. The outsiders in the Qin tribe are very thoughtful."

The middle-aged local people thought to themselves that it was difficult to find the materials to make elephant sculptures, let alone carve them into shape.

Such a precious treasure was actually given to him by outsiders from the Qin tribe, which showed that outsiders from the Qin tribe did not despise him and respected him very much. This feeling of being respected and valued made the middle-aged local resident feel very comfortable.

But the fact that the people of the Qin tribe gave him such treasures also shows one thing, that the Qin tribe might be really powerful and wealthy, because only when they have enough of their own would they be willing to give to others.

The middle-aged local took the elephant sculpture out of the box and showed it to the local people who were looking at this side from the wooden wall. He also deliberately walked around on the platform. When the local people saw the treasures in the chief's hands, their eyes were immediately attracted and they exclaimed in surprise.

After showing it off to others, the middle-aged local resident carefully put the elephant sculpture back into the wooden box, handling it with care for fear of damaging it.

Then, he looked at the horse sculpture in the second wooden box. When he saw it from a distance just now, he thought that this treasure was ordinary and far less precious than the elephant sculpture. Now that he saw it up close, he found that it was not what he thought.

The horse sculpture is neighing and running, it is a galloping horse. The object that the right hind foot of the horse sculpture was stepping on was actually a flying bird. After being stepped on by the horse, the bird looked back in shock, as if it had not expected that it would be caught up by a horse.

The horses and flying birds are carved vividly, with the horses' spiritedness and the birds' panic all displayed vividly.

Although they still prefer the elephant sculpture, the middle-aged local residents have to admit that the sculpture of a horse stepping on a flying bird is also a rare treasure.

The outsider from the Qin tribe actually gave him two such rare treasures, which made the middle-aged local resident happy but also felt a little heavy.

Although they have never heard of the saying "If you want to take it, you must first give it", the middle-aged local people know this truth. If the people of the Qin tribe have any plans, they are probably big.

The middle-aged local resident showed the second treasure to the local residents below the stage, which caused another round of exclamations. This turned out to be another exquisite treasure.

He looked at the third treasure, and this one was indeed quite good. It was a treasure that could reflect one's own reflection. It was surrounded by green copper and inlaid in the center with something he didn't recognize. It was smooth and flat, and appeared silver, like the surface of calm water, and could clearly reflect one's face.

His eyes, nose, mouth, and eyebrows could all be clearly seen through it. When he blinked, the object reflected his eyes and he also blinked.

The middle-aged man played with the treasure in his hands for a long time before putting it back into the box. He looked at Yao Zhi and others and said something with a smile on his face.

Yao Zhi and others looked at the "village chief". The "village chief" gestured to translate for them and guessed: the leader of the local tribe was very happy with the gifts, thought they were guests from afar, and welcomed them to the market.

The wooden gate that had just been closed opened, and a team of local soldiers led Yao Zhi and others into the tribal market.

All they saw were local people who were looking at them curiously. A middle-aged local had come down from the platform and was standing in front to greet them.

When he came closer, he opened his arms, said something, and hugged Yao Zhi. Yao Zhi knew that this might be the local etiquette, so he did not hide.

After being hugged, the middle-aged local citizen kissed his cheek, then let go and invited Yao Zhi and others to visit him deep in the market.

As they walked, the middle-aged locals spoke enthusiastically and intentionally taught the local names for certain things, such as pointing at the sun and making sounds. Yao Zhi replied with the name for the sun in Daqin.

During the exchange, the two sides came to the residence of the middle-aged local resident. The middle-aged local resident wanted to show off his house and was very happy to introduce it to Yao Zhi, as if asking: Look, these are all my houses, aren’t they big and beautiful? Yao Zhi understood that the middle-aged local resident was showing off to them, and did not refute, but just smiled and nodded. These houses were not as good as some of the houses in Xianyang City.

After entering a large house, they saw that there were no chairs or stools inside, but there was a carpet made of animal skins. Everyone sat on the ground. A middle-aged local resident sat in the main seat. On the left side were the "village chief" and a group of local residents, and on the right side were Yao Zhi and others.

The middle-aged local people asked Yao Zhi questions, and the pronunciation of "Qin" appeared several times in his words, as well as the pronunciation of the local tribal name.

Yao Zhi guessed that the local people were asking where Daqin was and how far it was from here. They might also have asked which was bigger, Daqin or their tribe?

He was right. The middle-aged local asked: "You all claim to be from the Qin tribe. Where is the Qin tribe? How far is it from my tribe? Compared with my tribe, which one is bigger?"

How dare a small country compare itself with the Qin Dynasty? No, they were still in the tribal era and had not established a country. Even the concept of a country did not exist.

Yao Zhi smiled and asked Gan Yu to take out a paper map and showed it to the middle-aged local people. He pointed to the area with the word "Qin" written on it and said, "This is Daqin!"

When the middle-aged local people heard the pronunciation of the outsider's name "Qin", they realized that the outsider was showing them where the Qin tribe was located on this scroll.

But he didn't care too much. However, when Yao Zhi moved his finger down and pointed to a place, pronouncing the name of their tribe, the middle-aged local people were shocked.

In order to let the middle-aged local people know the difference between them and the Qin Dynasty, Yao Zhi was very considerate and drew a circle on the map with his finger to indicate the location of his tribe.

Seeing the size of the circle drawn by Yao Zhi, and then looking at the area where the Qin tribe was located, the middle-aged local resident suddenly became a little excited and said something to Yao Zhi, probably saying that he didn't believe it. How could his tribe be so small and how could the Qin tribe be so big.

Their tribe was not big, and there were tribes bigger than theirs. For example, in the south there were said to be tribes with tens of thousands of people, or even tribes with more than 100,000 people. But none of these tribes had as much land as the Qin tribe.

This outsider from the Qin tribe must be deceiving him!

Yao Zhi smiled and said, "You may not believe it, but this is the truth. I am not lying to you. The power of our Great Qin is unparalleled in the world. It is the strongest country in the world. In terms of population..."

Yao Zhi explained the concept of "population" to the middle-aged local people, and then explained by gestures on the stalls: "If the population of your tribe is one, the population of my Great Qin will be as many as several thousand."

When Yao Zhi explained the population ratio of Daqin and theirs with great difficulty through words and gestures, the middle-aged local resident and others were shocked, with only one thought in their minds: If what this outsider said was true, how many people would there be?
The most powerful tribe they knew of had only over 100,000 people, but this outsider said that the population of the Qin tribe was a hundred times that of the strongest tribe they knew of.

Is there such a powerful tribe in the world?

If there really were so many people, then the land of the Qin tribe would be that large, which would make sense. More people require more land and can occupy more land. Compared with the Qin tribe, they are so small that they are not even as big as insects in the forest.

The more the middle-aged local resident thought about it, the more he felt that this outsider might not have lied to him, and that the Qin tribe might really be that powerful. It was no wonder that this outsider was so confident in the tribe they came from, and no wonder they could give him such a precious treasure.

The treasure that seemed extremely precious to him might not be a big deal in the powerful Qin tribe. What Amin from Wata Village said might be true. The people of the Qin tribe could eat snow-white salt and make delicious food...

What kind of powerful tribe was that, and what kind of land was that? Was it covered with beautiful jade, with honey flowing in the river, and gorgeous clothes growing on the trees?

That might be a beautiful place like the abode of gods, where people had no worries about food and drink, and even the most ordinary people there could enjoy things that were unimaginable for him, the tribal leader.

These people of the Qin tribe left the Qin tribe and came to their remote place, probably under the order of the leader of the Qin tribe, to convey the existence of the Qin tribe to the outside world and spread the gospel of the Qin tribe.

Judging from the performance of these outsiders, his guess might not be impossible. Even if the Qin tribe is not that good, it is definitely not a tribe they can afford to offend.

The middle-aged local people had several ideas in their minds: First, they must not be enemies with these people from the Qin tribe. Not only must they not be enemies, but they must also treat them well, because the Qin tribe is behind them. If they attract the Qin tribe, they will not be able to resist; second, they must try to get close to the Qin tribe and make friends with them. Maybe they will have to rely on the strength of the Qin tribe in the future...

After thinking about it, the middle-aged local citizen showed a friendly smile on his face again, which was much more friendly than before. The thought of joining Qin came to his mind, and the world became wider in an instant.

He had no idea that although the Qin was far more powerful than them, they would not be able to directly help them if they encountered any problems. Although they were not far away, the road was too difficult to travel and they could not send troops or supplies.

The middle-aged local citizen asked, "Your tribe is so powerful, why are you all here?"

After some guesswork, Yao Zhi replied, "We are following the order of His Majesty the Emperor to go to the Peacock Kingdom, which is a country to the west of you. Leader, do you know any news about this country? How can we get there?"

Yao Zhi gestured on the map. After the middle-aged local understood what Yao Zhi meant, he said, "You guys want to go to the Peacock Tribe in the west? I do know something about it. It is said that the people there call their tribe the 'Peacock Country' and believe in the god 'Buddha'."

"There are Buddhist believers from the Peacock Tribe in the south. They wear very strange clothes and shave their heads very bald. They spread Buddhism in the south, and many people in the south followed them and believed in Buddhism. I learned this from the people from the south!"

As the leader of the tribe, he knew more than the villagers of Wata Village. As the middle-aged local resident spoke, he also gestured, imitating the action of shaving his head and putting his hands together in a solemn manner.

Yao Zhi and others quickly realized that this was telling them news about the Peacock Kingdom. They were very happy to receive the news: it was good to have news, they could find the Peacock people based on the news, and then let them lead the way to the Peacock Kingdom.

But this news also surprised them. People from the Peacock Kingdom were also sending envoys abroad?

Little did they know that many years earlier, Buddhist monks from the Maurya Empire had arrived in the southern part of this land and spread Buddhist ideas to the people.

(End of this chapter)