Trading for Grain at the Fish Tribe

The addition of nearly a thousand people from the Bison and White Pig tribes instantly made the Fire Tribe Valley even more crowded and noisy. There were more people available to reclaim land, build ships, and manufacture goods, but the most realistic and urgent problem weighed heavily on the minds of Jianshi, Wang Yan, and all the other high-ranking officials like a Dashi —food!

With a sudden increase of a thousand mouths to feed, the daily food consumption began to rise sharply. Although the Fire Tribe had accumulated a substantial fortune last autumn and winter, especially the hundreds of thousands of kilograms of rice, they could not sustain such a rapid depletion of resources. Including the original five thousand people, the entire tribe now had more than six thousand mouths to feed, and the pressure on food supplies suddenly became apparent.

This is one of the main reasons why, although Jianshi and Wang Yan hated the Wolf Tribe and wished they could immediately lead their troops north to completely eradicate this scourge, they had to restrain themselves and remain inactive. War, especially long-distance expeditions, consumes not only human lives but also massive amounts of food. Before there is a new and stable source of food, any large-scale military operation is risky.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness we made the decision to cultivate another 3,000 mu of new land at the beginning of spring!" At a high-level meeting, Jianshi wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling both relieved and apprehensive. "And thank goodness the bronze tools Yan made arrived in time! Otherwise, relying solely on those old stone and bone tools, we would have worked ourselves to death to make so many plows, harrows, Chutou, how could we have cultivated the new land so quickly?"

Wang Yan nodded, pointing to the bustling fields outside. "Father is right. Everyone is working hard right now. The newly cultivated 3,000 mu of paddy fields will all be ready in the next couple of days, and we can start transplanting rice seedlings right away! Once these seedlings are planted, we'll immediately organize manpower to cultivate another 3,000 mu! As long as we hurry, we should be able to plant rice on those 3,000 mu by summer."

He paused, then said confidently, "Once summer arrives and the first batch of rice from these 3,000 mu of new fields is harvested, our food supply pressure will be greatly alleviated! If we continue with this plan, by autumn, when all the grain from the fields has been harvested, our granaries will not only be full, but will have a large surplus!"

Jianya added, "Not only rice paddies, but the areas of vegetable gardens and orchards have also doubled. Vegetables can keep up, and fruits can supplement the diet. As long as we get through these few lean months, things will be easier from now on."

While the outlook is optimistic, the immediate pressures are very real. Wang Yan offered several specific suggestions:

"Father, uncles, we can't just let the two newly joined tribes sit around waiting to be fed. We need to make use of their strengths."

"The people of the Bison Tribe have dealt with cattle for generations; they know best how to raise and tame them, and they even help deliver calves. We can select a group of skilled individuals from among them to form a dedicated 'cattle-raising team,' entrusting them with the careful care and breeding of the tribe's existing cattle and horses, as well as any new ones we capture. Furthermore," Wang Yan's eyes lit up, "the Jijiao Chieftain and his people certainly know the migration patterns and frequented areas of the nearby Bison. We can organize a group of experienced hunters, led by members of the Bison Tribe, to selectively capture some strong Bison and calves to tame. Our farmland is expanding rapidly, and our existing draft cattle are simply insufficient; this is the fastest and best way to solve the draft cattle shortage!"

This suggestion was immediately agreed upon by everyone. Oxen are an important source of productivity, and the more the better.

"And then there's the White Pig Tribe," Wang Yan continued. "They're skilled at raising pigs, with a complete understanding of pig habits, breeding, feeding, and disease prevention. We can select experts from them to form a 'pig-raising team' to better manage our tribe's thousands of pigs, making them grow faster and fatter. We can also bring in experienced people to raise sheep, deer, chickens, and ducks, making our livestock farming more refined and producing more meat and eggs."

Jianshi nodded repeatedly, "Good! Make the best use of everyone's talents! Let's do it Yan's way. Jianya, you and the leaders of each production group, go to the two newly surrendered tribes as soon as possible to select people and put all the capable people to use!"

Then, Wang Yan made a more urgent suggestion. "Although our grain reserves are enough to last until summer, the daily consumption of over six thousand people is too high, which still makes us uneasy. I suggest that, now that spring plowing has just finished a phase, we immediately organize a fleet of ships, taking with us our newly fired batch of fine pottery and local specialties, to the Fish Tribe to find Chief Canglan and buy a batch of grain, even if it costs a high price! We should stockpile more, just in case. If the summer harvest is not as expected, or if other unforeseen circumstances arise, having grain on hand will give us peace of mind."

"Even at a high price, we're going to buy grain?" An elder in charge of the warehouse said with some pain. "Our pottery and local specialties are also very valuable."

Wang Yan calmly analyzed. "Right now, what's most precious to us? Time and stability! It's worthwhile to exchange our temporarily less scarce pottery for the food we urgently need to stabilize morale. Moreover, maintaining close trade with the Fish Tribe will also lower their guard, making them think we still depend on them, which is beneficial for our focused development."

After Jianshi moment's thought, Jian Shi made a decision. "Yan has considered everything thoroughly! Let's do it this way! Dali, you're in charge of selecting a group of elite warriors and skilled traders, taking the best goods, and preparing to depart for the Fish Tribe immediately! Dazhuang, you lead a team to escort them and ensure their safety along the way. Once we arrive at the Fish Tribe, how we negotiate is up to Yan and Jianya!"

"Yes!" Dali and Dazhuang answered in unison.

As orders were issued, in the fields, the newly incorporated tribesmen, under the guidance of experienced farmers, learned the more refined farming methods of the Fire Tribe, planting lush green rice seedlings into the paddy fields; in the breeding areas, the newly established "cattle-raising groups" and "pig-raising groups" began to take over the work, the men of the Bison Tribe stroked the docile oxen with shining eyes, while the women of the White Pig Tribe skillfully prepared pig feed; at the docks, new trading fleets were busily loading goods, preparing to sail down the great river again.