Let Me See Your Goods!

Chen Mo was not as greedy as John Jacob Astor, who drove down the price of furs so low.

After all, compared to the enormous profits from these furs, the value of the daily necessities traded with the Native American was negligible.

That day, the three of them traveled through the forest for a long time, but Chen Mo did not find any personnel from the American Fur Company. However, they did find an Indian tribes, so Chen Mo led Victor and James there.

The tribe is located on a hill with flat and open terrain. Through the woods, conical tents made of tree trunks and bison hides are scattered in this open area. Many Native American men and women, dressed in rough leather clothes and trousers and wearing traditional Native American decorations, are busy in the tribe.

The appearance of Chen Mo and his two companions initially put the Native Americans on high alert. Nearly ten burly and fierce Native American warriors quickly arrived and surrounded Chen Mo and his companions with weapons in hand.

In this wild forest, unfamiliar outsiders usually mean danger. The most frequent visitors are armed purchasing teams from the American Fur Company. These men are fully armed, arrogant, and more like bandits than businessmen.

However, after they saw the person's appearance clearly, they couldn't help but relax a lot.

Of the three unfamiliar intruders, only one adult appeared to be somewhat capable of fighting. However, his appearance and skin color were not those of the white people; rather, he resembled them more closely, which made the Native Americans feel much more at ease.

The other two people following behind this man were white, but they were two children around ten years old and did not appear to pose any threat.

Moreover, all three of them were unarmed, carrying no weapons except for the three large backpacks on their backs.

So although the Native American warriors surrounded the three men, they did not attack them, but simply kept an eye on them.

Soon, the tribe's chief received the news and rushed over.

"Outsiders, what brings you to our tribe?"

Wearing a magnificent black and white feathered crown, the burly middle-aged chief walked through the crowd to the three of them. He looked sharply at the tall Chen Mo and asked in a deep voice in the Native American language.

Chen Mo and his two companions had long been accustomed to this scene, and they remained calm even after being surrounded by a group of fierce Native American warriors. Only after the chief appeared and asked a question did Chen Mo slowly reply in Native American language, which he had only recently learned but was very fluent in.

"Buy furs!"

The middle-aged chief's eyes lit up when he heard Chen Mo's standard Native American language, and he felt much more favorably disposed towards him. However, when he heard that Chen Mo had come to buy furs, the chief couldn't help but glance at the two little guys standing behind Chen Mo, and his gaze toward Chen Mo became somewhat complicated.

"Young people, you'd better leave the jungle as soon as possible. If those armed acquisition teams find you, they won't let you go."

Seeing that Chen Mo was young and had two teenagers with him, the middle-aged chief assumed that Chen Mo was unaware of the situation here and the existence of the American Fur Company, so he kindly offered some advice.

Chen Mo smiled slightly at the chief's kindness.

"We have already encountered several acquisition teams."

"Then you..."

The middle-aged chief was taken aback upon hearing this, but then stopped himself from speaking.

We encountered several of them, yet they are still standing here intact. What does that mean?

The middle-aged chieftain didn't know if Chen Mo was bragging, but it was clear that the other party didn't intend to abandon the deal as he had said.

Having said what needed to be said, the chief said no more and turned to look at the three men's enormous, sorrowful backpacks.

"Let me see your goods."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo nodded slightly, took off his backpack, and started taking things out of it.

Sharp knives, sturdy and durable metal utensils, high-proof liquor exuding a strong aroma, and many other things they had never seen before.

At first, the middle-aged chief's expression was relatively normal when he saw the items in front of him. The previous purchasing teams had also had these things, but the quality didn't seem to be as good as these. However, as Chen Mo and the two little ones kept taking things out of their backpacks, the chief discovered that there were many things he had never seen before. This made his eyes light up, and the surrounding tribal warriors couldn't help but show their joy.

Since the American Fur Company monopolized the fur trade in the Missouri region, it began to drastically lower the purchase price of furs, and the goods exchanged with them were always the same: apart from some daily necessities, they mainly exchanged consumables such as liquor for furs.

Because they completely monopolized this area, no other fur traders dared to come in and trade with them, so they were forced to accept these prices and the goods exchanged.

In any case, these furs are just byproducts of hunting for them. They don't use much of them themselves, especially the furs of small animals like beavers, which will eventually be thrown away if not traded. They might as well exchange them for something more useful.

However, this tribe is different from other tribes. Their chief discovered that liquor does not elevate their spirits as other tribes believe. Instead, it numbs their nerves and bodies, impairing their fighting ability. Therefore, they never drink alcohol. Over the years, their trade has provided them with enough supplies, and they no longer need to trade with the American Fur Company.

At this moment, the large number of new things that Chen Mo and the other two brought caught their attention.

"What's this?"

The middle-aged chief pointed to a structure about the size of a human head, surrounded by a sturdy metal frame, with a stable, round base underneath. It had a curved handle made of thick iron wire, and in the center was a nearly round, transparent glass sphere, which was firmly fixed in place by the frame above and below.

"This is a kerosene lamp."

As Chen Mo spoke, he gestured to Victor understood, picked up a box from the side, lit the kerosene lamp, and handed it to the middle-aged chief.

The chief first glanced curiously at the match that Victor could light with a flick of his wrist, then took the kerosene lamp and examined it closely.

"This lamp uses kerosene as fuel, can be used for a long time, and the flame is protected by a glass cover, so it is not afraid of bad weather such as wind and rain."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged chieftain's eyes lit up. He took the kerosene lamp in his hand and examined it carefully from top to bottom. He even blew hard on the flame a few times and found that it could not be blown out. He was overjoyed.

They usually use torches for lighting, but if it's windy or rainy, they can only hide in the dark in their tents and can't do anything. With these kerosene lamps that are not afraid of wind and rain, things will be much more convenient from now on.