The Handover and a Private Talk

Early the next morning, the dock at the Valley Tribe headquarters was bustling with activity. The sun had just peeked over the eastern mountains, casting golden sunlight on the river, making it shimmer. People came and went on the dock, and various sounds mingled together. In the Fire Tribe's temporary camp next to the dock, Yan had already gotten up. He stood at the camp gate, watching the busy scene on the dock, silently calculating the progress of the handover between the two tribes that day.

This time, the Fire Tribe needs to transport 2.5 million catties of grain Fire Tribe. This quantity is larger than ever before. Although the Fire Tribe and the Valley Tribe have cooperated many times and are already very tacit, it will still take the two tribes at least a day and a half to complete the handover of such a large amount of grain and pottery.

"Young Master Yan."

A voice rang out, and Yan turned his head to see Jia Li, who was wearing a brand-new linen robe and looked very energetic.

"Chief Jia Li, up so early?" Yan asked with a smile.

Jia Li smiled and said, "This is the first time I've come out to handle something this big, I can't sleep."

Yan nodded without saying anything. As the two were talking, they heard footsteps outside.

"Young Master Yan! People from the Valley Tribe have arrived!"

Yan strode out of the Fire Tribe's temporary camp. Outside, a group of people from the Valley Tribe were walking towards the Fire Tribe's temporary camp. The two leading figures were Fengren, the Valley Tribe's chief Daiyue's most trusted confidant, and the Second Elder Hefeng. Behind them were dozens of the Valley Tribe warriors and leaders. Yan quickly went to meet them.

"Good morning, Leader Hefeng! Elder Fengren!"

Hefeng nodded with a smile and said, "Chief Yan, your Fire Tribe is transporting 2.5 million catties of grain back this time, a larger quantity than ever before. Although our two tribes cooperate well, it will still take more than a day to complete the handover."

He paused, then continued, "We know your Fire Tribe wants to transport the grain back as soon as possible, and we also want to complete the grain handover quickly, so we came early."

Yan's heart stirred; Elder Hefeng was indeed efficient in his work.

"Elder Hefeng, you've gone to so much trouble!" Yan clasped his hands in a respectful greeting. "Shall we begin now?"

Hefeng nodded. "Okay!"

After a brief discussion, the two quickly determined their division of labor. He Hefeng and Jia Li were responsible for counting and handing over the pottery, while Fengren, Feiyu, and Bailin were responsible for counting and loading the grain onto the ship. The two sides worked simultaneously without interfering with each other. Yan stood aside to coordinate. The dock immediately became busy. On the dock, the warriors of the Fire Tribe began to unload the pottery from the ship, stacking it neatly on the dock, one load at a time.

The people of the Valley Tribe began to count, check, and register the grain. Meanwhile, the grain began to be loaded onto the ships. Loads of grain were carried out of the Valley Tribe's warehouse, placed on the ships, and stacked neatly. Everything was done in an orderly manner. Yan watched for a while and nodded with relief. This kind of cooperation was indeed very tacit. He walked to the dock, looked at the ships, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

If the Valley Tribe's dock were larger, or if the Fire Tribe's boats were all 50,000 jin each, the handover would have been much faster. This time, the Fire Tribe led eighty boats with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin each, two hundred boats with a carrying capacity of 5,000 jin each, and two hundred large Muzhou with a carrying capacity of 2,000 jin each—there were too many boats for the Valley Tribe's main dock to handle at once, so they had to be loaded in batches.

If the Fire Tribe were to send ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin, a few dozen would be enough, and the Valley Tribe's main dock could accommodate them all at once. He shook his head, temporarily setting aside the idea; it was too early to think about such things now. Building so many ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin was not so easy.

On the dock, Quyong was standing to one side, watching all this. He was the defense chief of the Valley Tribe's main dock, in charge of all affairs of the Valley Tribe's main dock. At this moment, he was squinting at the Fire Tribe's ships that were loading grain. The Fire Tribe's ships were indeed increasing in number and size.

Last year, the Fire Tribe mainly used boats with a carrying capacity of 5,000 jin, but this year there are so many boats with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin. Will there be boats with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin next time they come? Quyong wondered to himself. Then he remembered the news he had heard last night - the Fire Tribe now has 85,000 people.

Eighty-five thousand people! This number shocked him. In the Fish River Basin, besides the Tiger Tribe at the very bottom of the Fish River, which other Fish River Basin had so many people? The Fire Tribe's development speed was simply too fast, unsettling! But then he thought, the Fire Tribe's large population increase meant a huge need for food. The Fire Tribe would then have to buy food from the Valley Tribe, which was extremely beneficial to the Valley Tribe. The more people the Fire Tribe had, the more food they needed, and the more money the Valley Tribe could make. As for the future...

Quyong shook his head, no longer thinking about it. Anyway, the Fire Tribe was still a friendly trading partner of the Valley Tribe. On the first day, the Fire Tribe's ships were loaded with 1.8 million catties of grain. As the sun set, the people on the dock gradually dispersed, the warriors of the Fire Tribe returned to their camp to rest, and the people of the Valley Tribe also left one after another.

Yan stood by the dock, looking at the ships of the Fire Tribe fleet that were already loaded with grain. He nodded in satisfaction. If the handover proceeded at this pace, all the grain the Fire Tribe needed this time would be loaded by noon tomorrow. He turned and walked back to the Fire Tribe's temporary camp.

The next morning, the two tribes continued the handover. By noon, the last batch of grain needed by the Fire Tribe was loaded, 2.5 million catties of grain, neatly stacked in the ship's hold. The pottery was also handed over. After the Valley Tribe people counted it, they left satisfied. Yan stood by the Valley Tribe's main dock, looking at the fully loaded ships, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Young Chief Yan," Jia Li approached with a broad smile, "The handover between the two tribes is now complete! Only some miscellaneous matters remain."

Yan nodded. "Thank you for your hard work, Chief Jia Li."

Jia Li shook his head and said with a smile, "It's not hard work at all. I've learned a lot from coming with the Valley Tribe this time."

As the two were talking after having lunch together, a figure walked towards them. It was Qingsui, wearing a light-colored linen dress, her hair tied in a simple bun, and a smile on her face.

"Yan!" She walked up to him. "Are you almost done with your work here?"

Yan nodded. "Yes, we just finished."

Qingsui said, "My father wants to see you and has a talk with you. Come with me to the council hall first. After you've seen my father, we can go play."

Yan's heart skipped a beat. Daiyue wanted to talk to him alone? There were too many people at the banquet in the Valley Tribe's council hall last night, and it was indeed difficult to say many things. Today was a good opportunity.

"Okay," he said. "I'll go explain, then I'll go with you to the council chamber."

Yan turned around, found Jia Li, Feiyu, and Bailin, and gave them a brief explanation.

"Chief Jia Li, once you're finished, go back to the camp and rest. I'm going to the council hall; we can discuss anything when I return."

Jia Li nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

Yan followed Qingsui toward the council hall of the Valley Tribe. Along the way, Qingsui walked beside him, speaking softly.

"Since I turned fifteen last year, I've been basically following my father around every day, learning how to manage the tribe and handling various miscellaneous tasks," she said. "I'm much busier now than before."

Yan nodded. "Learning more will be beneficial for the future."

Qingsui smiled and said, "My father invited you over this time because he wanted the two tribes to have a deeper exchange. After all, there were too many people in the council hall last night, so it wasn't appropriate to discuss many things."

Yan said, "I understand all of this, and our Fire Tribe is willing to have more in-depth exchanges with the Valley Tribe."

Qingsui looked at him, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes. The two chatted for a while and soon arrived at the entrance of the Valley Tribe's council hall. Two guards stood at the entrance, holding spears and looking solemn.

Qingsui stepped forward and said to one of the guards, "Young Master Yan of the Fire Tribe has arrived. Go and inform my father."

The guard nodded, turned, and strode quickly into the council chamber.

Qingsui turned around and said to Yan, "You go in first, I'll wait for you outside."

Yan nodded, and soon the guards came out.

"Young Master Yan, the leader requests your presence."

Yan took a deep breath and strode into the council chamber.