The return voyage and a stunning sight

The next morning, the dock at the Valley Tribe headquarters was bustling with activity. The sun had just peeked over the mountains in the east, and golden sunlight shone on the surface of the Fish River, making it sparkle. People came and went on the dock, and all sorts of sounds mingled together.

Yan got up early today. He stood on the dock and looked at the busy scene. He silently calculated the fleet's journey. The return voyage would take about twenty-six days, which was neither long nor short.

"Young Chief Yan," Jia Li walked over and stood beside him, "Our Fire Tribe is ready and can depart at any time."

Yan nodded. "Okay, we'll leave when the people from the Valley Tribe arrive."

As the two were talking, Yan turned his head and saw Fengren, who was leading several warriors from the Valley Tribe, striding over.

"Young Master Yan!" Fengren clasped his hands in a salute. "Our Valley Tribe's fleet is ready and can depart at any time!"

Yan smiled and returned the greeting, "Fengren, you've worked hard. We'll leave once Chief Daiyue and the others arrive."

Fengren nodded and stood aside. A moment later, a group of people walked towards the dock. Leading them was Daiyue, followed by the seven elders of the Valley Tribe, and then Qingsui and some leaders of the Valley Tribe. Yan and Jia Li quickly went to greet them.

"Chief of Daiyue! Elders!" Yan clasped his hands in greeting, "Thank you for coming to see me off. I am grateful for your warm hospitality these past few days!"

Daiyue stepped forward and took Yan's hand.

"Young Chief Yan, you're too kind. The Fire Tribe are honored guests of our Valley Tribe, and it's only right that we treat them with such hospitality."

He paused, then said earnestly, "When you go back this time, please give my regards to your father, Chief Jianshi."

Yan nodded. "Okay, I will definitely convey your message when I get back."

Daiyue nodded in satisfaction.

Yan then said, "Chief Daiyue, elders, please prepare for next year. Our Fire Tribe Valley Tribe have a great need for grain in the next two years. At the end of this year, our Fire Tribe will prepay eight million catties of grain in the equivalent of pottery as a deposit for our grain transactions next year."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of all seven elders lit up: pottery equivalent to eight million catties of grain! Fourth Elder Lin Feng couldn't help but laugh out loud, Fifth Elder Shuize nodded repeatedly, even the usually serious First Elder showed a satisfied smile, and Daiyue felt much more at ease.

"Chief Yan is truly a man of few words!" he exclaimed. "Please go back and tell Chief Jianshi that even if our Valley Tribe goes to the lower reaches of the Fish River to buy grain next year, we will definitely meet the Fire Tribe's demand of 20 million catties of grain!"

Yan was overjoyed. "That's wonderful! I will definitely convey your message!"

Daiyue nodded and looked at the Fengren not far away.

"This time, I will still send Fengren with a boat to assist you with the transport. You can look out for each other on the way."

Yan clasped his hands in thanks. "Daiyue, Chief Daiyue!"

Daiyue waved his hand. "It's getting late, you should set off soon."

Yan bowed again, then looked at Qingsui in the crowd. She stood there, quietly watching him, her eyes full of reluctance, but with a smile on her face. Yan nodded to her.

Qingsui nodded, then Yan turned around and boarded the ship with Jia Li. The sound of the Niujiao rang out, and the combined fleet slowly started moving, leaving the Valley Tribe dock and heading upstream on the Fish River.

Yan stood at the Chuantou, watching the group of people on the dock grow smaller and smaller as they moved further away. Daiyue and the seven elders were still standing there, as was Qingsui. She stood in the crowd, her figure slender yet striking. Yan kept watching her until she became a blurry dot and disappeared into the morning mist.

At the dock, Qingsui lingered for a long time. She stood on the shore, watching the departing fleet until it was completely out of sight. Only then did she turn and leave at the urging of her attendants. But after taking a few steps, she looked back again. On the river, only shimmering waves remained. She sighed and slowly walked back to the tribe.

On the boat, Yan also withdrew his gaze. He took a deep breath, turned around and looked ahead. Ahead was the road home. The fleet sailed upstream along the Fish River, heading south. This return voyage was also smooth sailing. The fleet was not slow. Fengren led the six large ships of the Valley Tribe with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties each, following behind the Fire Tribe fleet. Those giant ships moved slowly on the river, like several moving Little Mountain.

Every day, Yan stood at the Chuantou, looking at those giant ships, and silently thought that one day, the Fire Tribe would also have such large ships, not only ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties, but also ships with a carrying capacity of 100,000 catties.

Along the way, Fengren often came to Yan's ship. He enjoyed chatting with Yan, listening to him talk about the Fire Tribe, and especially coming over around mealtimes—because Yan's cooking was so delicious. Every time it was almost mealtime, Fengren would bring a few fresh fish or some rare ingredients to "share" with.

Jia Li, Feiyu, and Bailin were the same. Every mealtime, these people would appear on Yan's boat on time, sometimes bringing fish, sometimes meat, and sometimes some wild fruits they couldn't name. Yan was never stingy and would always prepare a good meal with care, and every dish would be praised by them.

"Chief Yan," Fengren exclaimed between bites, "Your cooking skills are even better than the best chef in our Valley Tribe!"

Yan smiled and said, "You flatter me, Chief Fengren."

Feiyu chimed in, "Chief Fengren, you have no idea, Chief Yan is renowned in our Fire Tribe for his excellent cooking skills. Everyone who's tried his food raves about it!"

Bailin nodded in agreement. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Fengren laughed heartily, picked up another piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth. In this way, the twenty-six-day voyage passed quickly amidst delicious food and laughter. Around noon that day, the Fire Tribe's main valley finally came into view.

From afar, Yan saw the familiar dock, which was crowded with people. Leading the group was Jianshi, followed by Qingye, Dali, Dabang, Jijiao, and other high-ranking members. Behind them were countless members of the Fire Tribe, a dense, dark mass.

But Yan's gaze was drawn to a ship moored at the dock. That ship was twice the size of the 10,000-jin (5,000 kg) cargo ship. It was wide and long, with a raised Chuantou and a flat, broad stern. In the sunlight, the tung oil on the hull shone, making it look exceptionally majestic.

"That's..." Yan was stunned.

Jia Li saw it too, and gasped.

A ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin?

Feiyu and Bailin were too excited to speak, their eyes fixed on the giant ship. The fleet slowly approached the shore, and Yan jumped from the ship onto the dock, striding towards Jianshi.

"Father!"

Jianshi went up to him and patted him hard on the shoulder.

"Good lad! You're back!"

Yan nodded, but his gaze couldn't help but drift back to the giant ship.

"Father, when was that ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin built?"

Jianshi smiled, his eyes filled with pride.

"It was just completed two days ago and has already been successfully tested. Our Fire Tribe now has the capability and technology to build ships with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin!"

Yan was shocked, then overjoyed. A ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin! And it was built by the Fire Tribe themselves! He walked quickly to the ship and examined it carefully. The hull was much thicker than the ship with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin, and the wooden planks were also thicker and stronger.

"Great!" Yan couldn't help but exclaim.

Jia Li, Feiyu, Bailin also gathered around, their eyes filled with shock. Although this ship was not as large as the Valley Tribe's ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin, it was built by the Fire Tribe itself! They could even sense that the Fire Tribe was not far from building its own ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin.

Just then, a small boat came from downstream, and on the boat stood a man, Fengren. He stopped the six giant ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties at the Fire Creek River Mouth. Although the dry season had passed, the water level of the Fire Creek River was still not high enough for ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties to pass freely. He could only have his men unload the grain there and wait for the Fire Tribe to transport it over by transfer boat.

At this moment, he came over in a small boat, ready to meet Jianshi. When he approached the valley dock of the Fire Tribe headquarters and saw the brand-new ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 catties, he was stunned. He rubbed his eyes and looked at it carefully again. Yes, it was a ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 catties!

The Fire Tribe built these themselves! Fengren recalled the Fire Tribe fleet he had seen more than a year ago. The first time, the Fire Tribe only had ships with a carrying capacity of 5,000 jin. Last year, the Fire Tribe Fire Tribe had even more ships with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin. Now, the Fire Tribe actually has ships with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin!

It's only been a little over a year! How many years and how much manpower and resources did the Valley Tribe spend to replicate a ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin? How much time did the Fire Tribe spend to achieve such a technological breakthrough! Fengren didn't even know how he got to the dock. He stood on the dock, staring blankly at the ship, and didn't move for a long time.

"Fengren Leader!"

A voice rang out, Fengren came to his senses, seeing Jianshi Shi standing in front of him, smiling at him.

"Thank you for helping our Fire Tribe transport food again," said Jianshi. "I've prepared hot food in the council hall. You must be tired from your journey, come with me and have something to eat."

Fengren quickly returned the greeting and followed Jianshi towards the council hall. All the way, his mind was still on that ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin. After entering the council hall, everyone took their seats, and steaming food was served—roasted mutton, stewed pork, fresh fish soup, rice... The table was full, and everyone ate and chatted, and the atmosphere quickly became warm. When they had almost finished eating, Fengren put down his chopsticks and looked at Jianshi.

"Chief of Jianshi," he exclaimed, "Your Fire Tribe's shipbuilding technology has made great progress again! To build a ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin in such a short time is truly astonishing!"

Jianshi smiled and nodded, but didn't say anything more.

"We've had to transport large amounts of grain from the Valley Tribe over the past two years; we were forced into it," he said.

Fengren nodded.

"The Fire Tribe has indeed faced significant transportation challenges these past two years, which I understand," he said. "But I still want to congratulate the Fire Tribe on your greatly improved shipbuilding technology!"

Jianshi raised his bowl. "Thank you, Leader Fengren!"

The two drank their beverages in one gulp and chatted for a while longer when someone came to report from outside.

"Chief, the grain on the Valley Tribe's ships has been counted and unloaded."

Upon hearing this, Fengren immediately stood up to take his leave. Jianshi led the group to the dock, where the ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin was still there, quietly moored. Fengren glanced at it again, then turned and boarded the small boat, heading downstream along the Fire Creek River.