Chapter 476: Exploration of the Kingdom in the Lake, Gem Trade and Setting Sail Again
Black and gray bituminous coal was spread all over the fields, buried deeper under the earth. The group stood on the coal mounds, staring at the flint field in front of them, discussing the trade between the tribe and the kingdom for the first time.
"Gemstones? Your tribe produces gemstones? Are there any colors?"
Hearing Chihuaco's words, Eagle Viho was a little surprised. He looked carefully at the simple clothes of the old militiamen and said hesitantly.
"If you really have red or green gems, the tribal leaders and priests will like them and be willing to exchange them for flints!"
The Yome tribe uses flint and respects the flames of their ancestors, so they like red or yellow jewelry. However, the tribe does not lack gold and copper. Yellow jewelry is very common, and red gems are precious. Ruby is also used by the eastern wasteland tribes.
Respected, represents the divine heaven and earth, just like the descendants of Guakili dogs.
As for emerald, it is a common preference among coastal tribes, mountain tribes, Mexican plateau tribes, and even Mayan tribes. It symbolizes eternal life and also contains the wisdom of the soul. It is highly praised by noble chiefs, priests and witch doctors! From this
To put it simply, no matter where they are geographically, these coastal tribes actually belong to the cultural circle of Mesoamerica.
At this time, there was not much cunning in the trade between the tribes. Most of the time, both parties confessed their needs to each other and directly exchanged things for things. Chihuaco nodded when he heard this, glanced at Puap, and gave instructions.
"Lao Pu, give me two of the gems you have!"
"Eh?! Old man Qi, how did you know that I have gems on me!"
Puap was shocked. He subconsciously stretched out his hand and pressed his chest, feeling the hardness and solidity of the gemstone under his robe.
"Ha! All the supplies traded along the way came from your hands. A mouse sneaked into the granary, how can he still be hungry?"
Chihuaco squinted his old eyes and curled his lips. Then, he looked solemn and said in a deep voice.
"Stop grinding. Get a red one and a green one, hurry up!"
"..."
Puap smiled coquettishly. He put his hand into his arms, touched a few gems, looked down at them carefully, and then put the two extra pieces back. Then, he slowly held out his hand and spoke in his mouth.
Gu Nang complained.
"This is a life-and-death journey, so getting some gems is nothing...you have to replenish them for me later!"
Chihuaco took the gem in his hand, looked at it for a moment, and then handed it to the Eagle Viho.
"Friends, this is the gem of our tribe in the lake. It is bright and lovely, pure and translucent, good!"
"Um?!"
Weihuo, the mountain eagle, took the two gems and looked at them over and over for a while, with a look of surprise on his face and a voice of admiration.
"Ancestors! The gems of your tribe are really good! The color is bright and pure, and they are so big that they look like quetzal eggs!"
Chihuaco smiled confidently. He carefully observed Weihuo's expression and did not see too much greed in his eyes, so he nodded secretly and felt slightly relieved.
In fact, he still had a few "top gems" the size of goose eggs in his hand. They were exposed only once in Trois-Rivières at the mouth of the Leman River, but they were attacked by the Northern Tekos tribe, and he never dared to take them out again.
Before the fleet set off, His Majesty gave him a bag of gems. He thought it was a small cloth bag, but when he got it, it turned out to be a large bag weighing dozens of kilograms, filled with gems of various colors, large and small! The color of these gems
They are all the same depth, the same purity, and the shapes are also very regular!
As the fleet moved forward, Chihuaco was cautious and would personally inspect these valuable belongings from time to time. After he saw more and recovered from the shock, he gradually began to have some guesses about the origin of the "jewels" in the lake.
.It’s just that he kept these thoughts silently in his heart and never mentioned them to anyone.
Chihuaco said with a smile on his face, looking at Viho's hand holding the gem tightly, and said kindly.
"Friend, if you like these two gems, I'll give them to you!"
"Ah? Give it to me?"
Hearing this, Weihuo's face showed joy. He hesitated for a moment and stuffed the gem directly into the quiver on his waist. Senior warriors among the northwest tribes generally know how to throw spears or hunt with bows. Relatively speaking,
, the hunting bow is slightly less powerful, but safer.
"From today on, you are my friend, Shanying Weihuo!"
"Friend, good, good!"
The old militiaman nodded repeatedly, his old smile turned into a flower, which made people feel very friendly.
"Good friends, then your tribe..."
"Change! Exchange flint for gems. The leader and priest of the tribe will agree!"
"Okay! How do I change it?"
"How to change..."
Hearing this, Weihuo thought for a while and scratched his hair. He was a little undecided.
Tribal flint, unlike gold ore and copper ore, is not too strenuous to dig. It is also mined in the open and there is no danger at all. As long as a few tribesmen are brought over and armed with stone shovels, dozens of baskets can be mined in a day.
.
However, according to the rules passed down from the tribe, the flint field is inherited from the ancestors and has always been patrolled and protected by warriors. Except for the needs of the tribesmen, it is not allowed to be mined at will. When trading with outsiders, sufficient remuneration must also be demanded.
After a while, Weiho came up with a number that he could decide on his own and felt was fair.
"Friend, after all, flint is a gift from the ancestors, and there are rules in the tribe... Then, one gem in exchange for two... no, three baskets of flint?"
"One gem, three baskets of flint?..."
Chihuaco looked surprised. This number was much higher than he expected.
"..."
Weihuo pursed his lips, thinking that Chihuaco was too little. After all, there were as many flints nearby as there was dirt, and it would indeed be too easy for the tribe to dig up the flints. He gritted his teeth and changed his words in embarrassment.
"For the sake of my friends, let's add half a basket! The leader is very strict about the flint trade... One gem, three and a half baskets of flint!"
"Uh...three and a half baskets, that's..."
Chihuaco scratched his head. A basket of flint is estimated to weigh around six to seventy pounds. Three and a half baskets is about two hundred or three hundred pounds?
Puap looked at old man Qi's expression and smiled.
"Lao Qi, why can't you figure it out?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Old Chihuaco blushed. After all, he was a militiaman, unlike Puap, who was a warrior, and had learned some math. He glared at Laopu, thinking in his heart
I was secretly angry and wanted to ask the priests in the camp for help when I went back and learn some math.
"Friend, good, good! One gem, three and a half baskets of flint, exchanged! We want to exchange twenty baskets, so I'll give it to you... uh..."
"Six gems!"
Puap answered with a smile, his face bright. In the entire fleet, except for the ship's priest Mecat, he was the most educated.
Weihuo broke off his fingers and estimated that it was about the same. There were six gems, so he divided them into two for the chief, two for the priest, one for the witch doctor, and the remaining one for himself.
"Okay! Friends, let's do it! Our ancestors have witnessed that when wild deer meet in the mountains, they will touch their foreheads... We are friends who exchange things, not enemies who compete with each other!"
As he spoke, Viho lowered his head and pointed his forehead toward Chihuaco. The old militiaman was stunned for a moment. Thinking of Chief Kallan's deer head, he suddenly understood. He also lowered his head, touched Viho's forehead, and pressed hard against it.
arrive.
"Ancestors witness! Friend, good deer, good friend!"
The two performed the local etiquette and came down from the coal hill. Then, the kingdom's fleet exchanged twenty baskets of coal and replenished some water, filling the three galleys to the brim.
After the transaction was completed, there was no celebration ceremony, and Chihuaco did not stay long. He just looked deeply at the large villages on the seaside and the thick black smoke from the burning flint.
Chihuaco murmured. He had a vague hunch that His Highness might value coal mines more than gold and silver. After a long time, the old militiaman sighed and gave orders to the sailors on the ship.
"Divide into two teams and take turns rowing! Next, stick to the coast and continue northwest! Praise the Lord God for letting us pass through the waves!"
"Praise the Lord God for letting us pass through the waves!"
The sailors and warriors shouted in unison, full of piety. Then, the kingdom's exploration fleet set off again, heading towards the unknown northwest, extending the boundaries of the world.
Three days later, the fleet arrived at the bay more than 200 miles away and met the Guaymas, a small coastal tribe. Chief Callan once mentioned that the Guaymas are a tribe of the Yaqui people and asked Yome
Although they were respectful, they intermarried with the Sri people. Their way of life was to settle down by the river and farm while sending out fishermen and hunters.
The Kingdom fleet stopped for a while, replenished some fruits, and with the help of the new guide Shantiao, asked for news about the northwest waters.
"The island covered with seabirds, the big island transformed by giant turtles, is not far to the northwest! You will see it along the coast. You will definitely!"
Hearing such news, everyone in the fleet was in high spirits. Chihuaco looked happy. As long as he discovered the holy land of seabirds, the way home would be right in front of him! However, he still had some doubts about the local tribe's words.
"You'll definitely see it along the coast?"
The old militiaman answered his question and continued to move forward with the fleet. The sea was calm in this area, the water was extremely stable, and the ship's speed was also extremely stable.
The fleet took another three days to travel three hundred miles. The birds in the sky, like clouds in the sky, caught everyone's eyes first! The sailors and warriors were so excited that they mustered up their strength and rowed faster. It only took two seconds.
Bell, a particularly spectacular gray-white island, appears in front of the kingdom's fleet like a giant turtle inhabiting the sea!