Sights of the Fish Tribe
After settling in briefly at the temporary camp and instructing Dazhuang to lead the others in keeping a strict watch over their supplies, Chief Jianshi took Dali, Wang Yan, and five of their steadiest, most capable tribespeople, along with carefully prepared gifts, to the heart of the Fish Tribe to visit his elder brother-in-law-the tribe's current chief.
As they walked through the Fish Tribe's settlement, the disorder of the outskirts gave way to increasingly orderly surroundings the closer they drew to the center, giving Wang Yan a more direct sense of the resources and prosperity of this large tribe of over a thousand people.
Beneath their feet lay a relatively flat alluvial plain, its slightly elevated ground protecting it from direct incursions by the river. Two or three hundred houses of varying designs clustered together as far as they could see, forming a settlement of considerable size. Most striking of all were the several stone houses in the central area! Though simply built from stacked stones and only a story and a half tall, they looked squat and sturdy. In an age when wood and grass were the main building materials, stone houses undoubtedly symbolized power, wealth, and a higher level of technology. Wang Yan noticed that some even had open-fronted structures resembling "shops," where people had laid out goods and seemed to be conducting small-scale trades.
Around the stone houses, the vast majority of buildings were wooden houses a story and a half tall, raised on tall timber stilts. This design was clearly meant to suit the damp, waterlogged environment, keeping out moisture as well as some snakes and insects. They were more than a step ahead of the Fire Tribe's shacks.
What shook Wang Yan even more deeply were the stretches of carefully tended rice paddies beside the settlement! It was autumn, and the rice had already been harvested, but the remaining stubble and neatly arranged paddy embankments clearly showed that rice was being grown here on a large scale! By his rough estimate, these paddies probably covered four or five hundred mu!
"Father, look!" Unable to hide his excitement, Wang Yan spoke quietly to Jianshi. "That's grain! If each mu yields two hundred jin, this could produce nearly a hundred thousand jin of grain! Enough to feed a great many people!" Since transmigrating, this was the first time he had seen genuine agriculture on any real scale with his own eyes, and the shock he felt could not have been greater.
Though Jianshi had no clear concept of the actual yield, those broad, orderly fields also brought home to him the enormous gulf between the Fish Tribe and the Fire Tribe. This was not merely a difference in population and military strength, but a generational gap in their ways of surviving.
Their gazes turned to the great river nearby. On its waters, seven or eight large wooden boats, much bigger than dugout canoes and seemingly able to carry more than ten people each, were casting nets. Their movements were coordinated and uniform, their efficiency clearly very high. Dozens of small boats darted around them like swimming fish, filling the river with a busy, lively fishing scene. Such powerful capabilities on the water meant that the Fish Tribe had access to fishing resources far beyond the Fire Tribe's reach, as well as a wider range of activity.
"Yan, what do you make of it?" Jianshi asked quietly as they walked.
Wang Yan took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and laid out his thoughts quickly and clearly. "Father, the Fish Tribe's strength rests on three things: boats, rice, and skills!"
He explained further, "With large boats, they can venture deep into the river, catch more fish, travel farther to trade, and even... transport warriors. With rice, they have a steady, abundant staple food. They don't have to rely entirely on fishing and hunting, and they can feed more people. But the skills to build stone houses and large boats and grow rice are their true foundation!"
He looked at his father with blazing eyes. "This time, we can't focus only on grain seeds. We have to find a way to trade for boats! Even just one or two large boats, or more small ones, would be crucial for our fishing and exploration downstream! If possible, we must spare no cost to trade for craftsmen who know how to build boats and grow rice! Even if only one or two are willing to return with us, the changes they bring will be enormous! As for everything else, we should also trade for as many kinds of edible seeds as we can!"
As Jianshi listened to his son's analysis, keen light flashed repeatedly in his eyes. His main objective had originally been grain seeds, but Wang Yan's words immediately made him grasp the crux of the matter. Objects were easy to obtain; skills were hard to come by! If they could learn even one of the Fish Tribe's special skills, the Fire Tribe's development would surely accelerate greatly!
"Good! We'll do as you say! We'll act as the situation allows when we get there!" Jianshi clapped Wang Yan hard on the shoulder, his regard for this son deepening another degree.
As they spoke, they arrived before the largest stone house at the center of the stone-built area. This was clearly the Fish Tribe chief's residence and seat of power. Strong warriors in crude hide armor stood guard at the entrance, holding fishing spears.
Once their arrival had been announced, a tall, middle-aged man soon came out to greet them with hearty laughter. His features bore some resemblance to Qingye's, but his brow carried more dignity and the air of a man accustomed to command.
"Hahaha! Jianshi! My dear brother-in-law! What wind has blown you here? Have you been missing me?" His voice was loud and warm. This was Canglan, the Fish Tribe's current chief and Qingye's elder brother.
"Brother-in-law!" Jianshi smiled as well, stepping forward to embrace Canglan firmly. "I should have visited long ago, but tribal affairs kept me tied up. Only today did I find the time."
Canglan's gaze swept over the group behind Jianshi, pausing briefly on Dali as he nodded in greeting, before finally settling on Wang Yan. A trace of curiosity and scrutiny flashed through his eyes. "So this is my nephew, Yan? I hear your Fire Tribe has been making quite a stir lately. Even I've caught wind of it over here."
"Just a child messing around. Nothing compared to what you've built here with the Fish Tribe, brother-in-law." After this modest reply, Jianshi had his people present their gift-a massive pottery vat, something eminently practical.
Sure enough, Canglan's eyes immediately lit up! He circled the vat twice, clicking his tongue in admiration. "Good! What a fine thing! This pottery is every bit as good as what we trade for elsewhere! It seems the rumors are true. Your Fire Tribe really has stumbled upon some good fortune!"
He warmly ushered Jianshi and the others into the stone house. The interior was spacious, its floor laid with flat stone slabs and furnished with a few wooden and stone pieces. Crude though it was, the beginnings of civilization had already taken shape.
Once both sides were seated, Canglan instructed his people to bring dried fish and clean water. After a few pleasantries, Jianshi came straight to the point and explained their purpose. "Brother-in-law, to be honest, we've mainly come to attend the Great Autumn Market in three days and trade for supplies our tribe urgently needs. In particular... I've heard the Fish Tribe has high-yielding grain seeds. Might you be willing to part with some in trade?"
At this, Canglan's smile remained unchanged, but a barely perceptible gleam of shrewdness flashed through his eyes. Grain seeds were one of the strategic resources that allowed the Fish Tribe to maintain its advantage.
"Seeds... we do have some," Canglan said leisurely. "But they're precious things. We barely have enough for our own planting. What were you thinking of offering in exchange, brother-in-law?"
With that, the sparring over the trade began. Wang Yan's heart, however, had long since flown to the large boats and rice paddies outside. He knew that the pottery and hemp clothing they had brought were probably still far from enough to obtain anything truly central from the shrewd Chief Canglan. They would have to demonstrate greater value-or discover what the other side truly needed.