An Unexpected Invitation

As night deepened, the campsite gradually quieted down. The embers of the campfire still emitted a faint light, occasionally crackling and sputtering a few sparks. From the nearby dock, the sound of water lapping against the hull of a boat could be heard, like a soothing serenade. After finishing their grilled fish, everyone gradually went to rest.

Daya yawned, patted his bottom, and stood up. "Brother Yan, Uncle Dali, I'm going to sleep now. I have to get up early tomorrow."

Yan nodded. "Go ahead, get some rest."

Daya crawled into the tent, and soon soft snoring could be heard. Feiyu and Bailin also said their goodbyes and returned to the Fish Tribe's temporary camp. By the campfire, only Yan and Dali remained. The firelight reflected on their faces, flickering on and off. Yan stirred the campfire, making it burn brighter, and sparks flew, drawing a few brief arcs in the night sky.

"Uncle Dali," Yan said, his voice low, "What did you find at the Valley Tribe headquarters today?"

Dali scratched his head. "I discovered that the Valley Tribe has cultivated all the fields that were on fallow, piece by piece, and cleaned them up neatly, just waiting to plant crops next spring."

Yan nodded. "I saw it too. They're determined to make that deal with us for 20 million catties of grain next year."

He paused, then continued, "I've estimated that the paddy fields at the Valley Tribe headquarters and the Little Valley Camp on the other side of the river total at least 80,000 to 90,000 mu. If each mu yields over 300 jin a year, that's more than 30 million jin. After deducting what they eat and what they save for seed, giving us 20 million jin shouldn't be a problem."

Dali's eyes lit up. "That's great! Next year's food supply will be guaranteed!"

Yan, however, was not so optimistic.

He looked at the flickering flames and slowly said, "But Uncle Dali, if we plant like this for two consecutive years, the soil's fertility will drop drastically. The year after next, and the year after that, the grain yield of the Valley Tribe will definitely decrease significantly."

Dali paused for a moment, then scratched his head. "Then... what do we do?"

Yan said, "The Valley Tribe is currently trading pottery with us, which they then sell downstream, making a fortune. They definitely want to continue doing grain business with us, but with the soil fertility declining, they have to find other ways."

What method?

"Either you convert your vegetable garden into paddy fields, or you buy grain downstream and resell it to us," Yan said. "But neither method is easy."

Dali nodded thoughtfully.

After a while, he asked again, "Yan, you said that the elders of the Valley Tribe were arguing so fiercely not far from us today, was it because of this?"

Yan laughed, "What they're arguing about is how to divide the profits from next year's 20 million catties of grain, but fundamentally it's because of their worries about the future. On one hand, they want to give more to their tribesmen, and on the other hand, they want to buy more weapons to defend against the Bear Tribe Tiger Tribe. They each have their own reasons, and neither can convince the other."

Dali sighed, "Being the chief of the Valley Tribe is really tough."

Yan nodded. "Yes, it's really difficult."

The two remained silent for a while.

Yan added, "However, although the Valley Tribe has internal disagreements, they all Dali support trading grain with us. You saw the attitude of Chief Daiyue and the seven elders today."

He nodded Dali: "That's true. The elders' eyes lit up when we talked about exchanging pottery for grain next year and making a large advance payment for pottery."

Yan smiled and said, "It's all about mutual benefit. As long as we can bring them advantages, they will support our cooperation."

He paused, then his tone became serious. "Uncle Dali, when we get back, we need to have the tribe build more ships. Transporting 20 million catties of grain next year is no small matter. Our Fire Tribe's current transport capacity, plus the assistance of the Valley Tribe, is barely enough, but if something unexpected happens, it will be troublesome."

Dali patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry! I'll tell Dabang when I get back to work and tell him to work harder and build more ships. By the way, when you went to the shipyard last time, you said that the 20,000-jin ship was already under construction?"

Yan nodded. "The model is finished. If all goes well, a ship should be able to be launched next year."

Dali's eyes lit up. "A ship weighing 20,000 jin! That's much bigger than a ship with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin! With a big ship, we can transport much more grain at once!"

Yan laughed, "Yes, but it's still far from certain, so we can't be too optimistic."

The two chatted for a while longer, and then Dali suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Yan," he lowered his voice, "How are those pottery pieces to be delivered tomorrow?"

Yan shook his head. "Last time we moved them ahead of schedule, and a lot of them got damaged. This time I sorted the pottery into categories and put them on different boats. When the people from the Valley Tribe arrive tomorrow, they can just go to the boats to count them and unload them."

Dali's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea! It's convenient, quick, and causes minimal waste!"

Yan nodded. "Yes, the delivery of grain and pottery should be mostly completed by the morning. As for the miscellaneous tasks in the afternoon..."

Before he could finish speaking, Dali interrupted him.

"I'll handle those chores this afternoon!" Dali patted his chest. "You rarely come here, so spend some quality time with Qingsui. You'll both be fifteen soon, almost adults. I'm looking forward to holding my niece's grandchild!"

Yan blushed after hearing what he said.

"Uncle Dali, what are you saying!" He was a little embarrassed. "Let's prioritize the tribe's affairs and finish the grain and pottery handover first."

Dali chuckled and didn't argue, but he had already made up his mind—tomorrow he must get everyone moving quickly and finish the job as soon as possible so that Yan could get some rest and spend more time with Qingsui.

The two chatted for a while longer before returning to their tents to rest. The next morning, before dawn, Yan woke up. He lay in his tent, listening to the sounds outside. People in the camp were already up, starting a fire and cooking, preparing to welcome the new day.

Yan sat up, dressed, and stepped out of the tent. Outside, the sky was just beginning to lighten. A thin morning mist floated on the river, shrouding the distant Valley Tribe headquarters in a hazy veil.

"Brother Yan, you're up?" Daya ran over, carrying a bowl of hot soup. "Have some to warm yourself up."

Yan took the soup, drank a sip, and felt refreshed after drinking the hot soup. Just then, footsteps came from outside the camp. Yan looked up and saw a group of people walking towards them. The leader was Fengren, the leader of the Valley Tribe; the other person with a kind face was Hefeng, the second elder of the Valley Tribe.

"Young Master Yan!" Fengren greeted from afar, "Good morning!"

Yan put down the soup bowl and quickly went to greet him.

"Leader Fengren, Elder Hefeng, you've arrived so early!"

Hefeng said with a smile, "Come early and finish your business quickly, you're all eager to go back too."

Yan nodded. "Yes, yes, let's begin then?"

"Good!"

The two groups quickly met up. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they began to divide the work. Dali Feng and Yan were responsible for the handover and counting of the pottery, while Hefeng and Fengren were responsible for the counting, loading, and transporting of the grain. The two tasks were carried out simultaneously, making the process more than twice as efficient as before. Yan led Hefeng to inspect each ship one by one. Each ship was neatly stacked with pottery, categorized and clearly arranged.

As Hefeng looked around, he had people take notes, and his smile grew wider and wider.

"Young Master Yan, your method of categorizing is truly excellent!" he praised. "It's clear at a glance, easy to count, and less prone to damage during handover."

Yan smiled and said, "We learned from our mistake last time. Last time, we tried to move things ahead of schedule, and a lot of things got damaged."

Hefeng nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, that's good, that's good."

The two men and their crew worked busily on the boat, checking each vessel one by one. As the sun rose higher and the morning mist slowly dissipated, by noon, all the pottery had been counted, and not a single grain of grain had been exchanged. The entire transaction was completed. As for the grain, it was almost done as well, except for the batch of grain that the Valley Tribe had assisted in transporting—less than 200,000 jin—which was still being loaded onto the boat.

"Young Master Yan, you should go eat first," Fengren said as he walked over. "We can finish loading the rest this afternoon."

Dali also came over and winked at Yan. Yan knew what he meant—there was nothing to do in the afternoon, so he could go and keep Qingsui, but he was still a little worried.

"Uncle Dali, can you manage by yourself?"

Dali patted his chest confidently. "Don't worry! This is nothing, how could I not handle it? You go and get some rest!"

Yan hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. He left the dock and first found Qingsui's attendant who had been left there. He asked him to pass on a message to Qingsui that he had finished his business. Then, he returned to the temporary camp, washed up briefly, changed into clean clothes, and tidied his hair. He looked at himself in the basin and felt that he looked quite refreshed before preparing to go out.

Just as they reached the camp entrance, they bumped into someone: Qingsui.

She wore a light white linen dress, her hair was tied in a simple bun, and she had a faint smile on her face. In the sunlight, she seemed to glow.

"Qingsui?" Yan was taken aback. "Why are you here?"

Qingsui smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

She took a few steps closer. "I knew you just sent someone to deliver a message, and since I had nothing else to do, I came straight over."

Yan looked at her, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

"I was just about to look for you," he said. "I didn't expect you to come so soon."

Qingsui tilted her head and looked at him. "So, where are you planning to take me?"

Yan was about to answer when Qingsui waved her hand.

"But not now," she said. "My father wants to see you."

Yan was stunned.

"Your father? The leader of Daiyue?"

Qingsui nodded. "Yes, he asked me to call you, saying he wanted to talk to you and strengthen the ties between the two tribes."

Yan was startled. Strengthen the ties between the two tribes? Daiyue's words didn't sound like casual remarks. He recalled the suggestion he had made to Daiyue last time—to strengthen trade and even establish a military alliance. Although Daiyue had shown interest at the time, he hadn't immediately agreed due to concerns within the Valley Tribe.

Now that Daiyue has taken the initiative to talk about this, what does that mean? Does it mean there might be changes within the Valley Tribe? Or is Daiyue feeling greater pressure? Several thoughts flashed through Yan's mind, but he quickly came back to his senses.

"Okay," he said to Qingsui, "Let's go now."

The two left the temporary camp side by side and headed towards the Valley Tribe's council hall.

On the way, Qingsui asked softly, "Yan, what do you think my father will talk to you about?"

Yan thought for a moment, "It might be about next year's grain trade, or... it might be something else."

Qingsui looked at him with concern in her eyes.

"No matter what we talk about, you don't need to worry too much," she said. "Although my father can be serious at times, he approves of you. He often praises you in front of me, saying you are capable and competent."

Yan felt a warmth in his heart.

"Thank you, Qingsui."

Qingsui laughed, "Why thank me? I was just telling the truth."

The two quickened their pace and headed towards the Valley Tribe's council hall. Sunlight shone on them, casting long shadows.