Chapter 833, The Tribe Chosen by the Gods

Translator: Silavin

 

“Of course, otherwise where do you think all that salt you see in the Central Market comes from?” Su Bai patted the fruit crumbs from his hands and continued, “Don’t you think our Tribe’s salt is far more cost-effective than your Tribe’s?”

 

“Cost-effective? Does the Shaman mean it doesn’t require too many things to exchange for it?” Lu Lin guessed. She didn’t know the meaning of the term ‘cost-effective’, but she could roughly infer its meaning.

 

“Clever. I imagine you’ll definitely be exchanging a great deal of salt to take back this time,” Su Bai said perceptively.

 

When he had previously gone to the Spotted Deer Tribe to trade, he’d felt their salt was priced extraordinarily high.

 

Fortunately, the Flame Dragon Tribe had the support of linen as a commodity, which allowed them to exchange for some from their Tribe.

 

If the Flame Dragon Tribe at that time had still possessed nothing, or could only take dried meat to trade each time…

 

Most likely each Warrior would only be able to keep a tiny amount, and the majority of people still wouldn’t be able to consume salt.

 

“Yes, our goal this time is also to exchange some salt to take back. Our Tribe’s salt is almost completely depleted.” Lu Lin’s expression showed some difficulty as she continued, “Next year, we would struggle just to maintain daily needs, let alone have any to trade with others.”

 

“Don’t worry. The Central Market currently has quite a lot of salt. You can exchange as you see fit, or exchange next time if you wish.” Su Bai picked up a cup of tea and continued, “As long as you can produce the goods for exchange, we won’t short you on salt.”

 

Ever since he had sent people to the coast to establish the salt fields, the Flame Dragon Tribe had gradually accumulated tremendous quantities of salt.

 

When salt drying first began, production wasn’t high. The salt produced was just enough for everyone in the Tribe to use. There was not any surplus to place in the Central Market for trade. As time slowly progressed…

 

The salt production at the coastal salt field had grown increasingly higher, and surplus salt began to be available in the Central Market for trade.

 

To allow people from other Tribes to also consume salt and come to the Flame Dragon Tribe to exchange for it, the price hadn’t been set particularly high.

 

It was just one small tube of salt for one bag of dried meat, with a small tube’s capacity roughly the size of an adult’s thumb.

 

Although it currently seemed to require a great deal of dried meat, the Spotted Deer Tribe had previously required two bags of dried meat; the comparison was self-evident.

 

“Shaman, may I know how your salt is produced? Have you obtained the method for salt production from another Tribe?” Lu Lin was particularly curious.

 

She understood that any Tribe mastering salt production technology could sustain development for an extraordinarily long time.

 

Even more critical was that the Flame Dragon Tribe had also mastered linen technology, and the linen they manufactured was many times superior to other Tribes’.

 

Beyond even that, what felt truly overwhelming was the Flame Dragon Tribe’s ceramics; these could also be considered an existence that defied convention.

 

“This is our Flame Dragon Tribe’s secret and cannot be disclosed to outsiders.” Su Bai said with a slight smile as he took a sip of tea.

 

He wouldn’t be foolish enough to tell others they could obtain salt by going to the coast; this was the Flame Dragon Tribe’s trump card for the next several decades.

 

No, if nothing unexpected occurred, for several centuries no one would know that salt was obtained from the sea.

 

As for the surrounding Tribes that obtained salt, they had most likely discovered salt mines or similar sources. Otherwise, they fundamentally couldn’t possibly know that the sea could produce salt.

 

Moreover, they didn’t live near the coast, so this possibility was even more impossible.

 

“…” Lu Lin also felt this made perfect sense. This was naturally a secret; how could it possibly be casually revealed to others? She’d only asked out of momentary curiosity, but she was truly filled with curiosity about the Flame Dragon Tribe.

 

“Shaman, may I know what your Tribe is currently doing? Why are people everywhere stacking stones?” Lu Lin turned around, pointing through the floor-length window, and continued asking, “And how are these cement houses constructed?”

 

Actually, when entering the Yong’an Building from outside, Lu Lin had been shocked by this floor-length window. She had never seen such a crystalline, transparent surface. Her heart had been restraining her curiosity from touching it.

 

Lu Lin had wanted to walk over and examine it several times, but felt that since they were currently in conversation, standing up abruptly to go over would be very impolite.

 

The city walls were currently under construction, but the wall construction hadn’t been deliberately concealed from others.

 

Because creating an enclosure would be an enormously massive undertaking. Moreover, they didn’t understand what grass ash cement was.

 

Even if these people saw grass ash cement being used to bond stones together, they fundamentally wouldn’t know how to produce grass ash cement.

 

Even knowing that this row of city walls was constructed from stone, they had no way to imitate it.

 

Never mind whether conditions permitted it, their knowledge in this area was fundamentally zero, so Su Bai wasn’t worried in the slightest.

 

The reason houses needed enclosures during construction was to avoid gathering too many observers, and also because the internal structure of houses couldn’t be leaked.

 

House construction couldn’t compare to city walls. Walls were just rows of stacked stones, but the internal structure of houses was somewhat different.

 

“We’re currently constructing stone walls to resist Ferocious Beasts. As for cement house construction, that’s also a Flame Dragon Tribe secret.” Su Bai still smiled faintly.

 

He was not angry about her probing into these aspects of the Flame Dragon Tribe. After all, few could resist such curiosity.

 

“Stone walls? Stone is certainly very hard, and walls made of stone could definitely resist Ferocious Beasts – but how is this accomplished?”

 

Lu Lin sighed and answered herself, “I know, these are all Flame Dragon Tribe secrets.”

 

She truly was excessively curious about the Flame Dragon Tribe, desperately wanting to know everything about it.

 

If she weren’t the Daughter of her Tribe’s Shaman, she’d probably want to reside in the Flame Dragon Tribe for an extended period.

 

“What do you think of the Flame Dragon Tribe?” Su Bai suddenly asked.

 

He hadn’t yet heard others discuss the Flame Dragon Tribe at close range. The voices he’d previously heard were all from Yan Hua, Sha Lan, and Yu Ying.

 

“The Flame Dragon Tribe is truly too miraculous. No, miraculous probably can’t adequately describe the Flame Dragon Tribe…” Lu Lin pondered seriously for quite a while before continuing, “It should be called the Tribe chosen by the Gods.”

 

When Lu Lin  spoke these words, she was particularly serious, without the slightest ambiguity, as if certain this was precisely the case.

 

“You’re saying it’s the Tribe chosen by the Gods?” Su Bai smiled faintly and continued, “Whether it’s a Tribe chosen by the Gods, I don’t know, but this is all built on my efforts.”

 

He naturally knew the Flame Dragon Tribe was not chosen by the Gods. It was all built through the power of science to reach this point.

 

But hearing these words was still very comfortable, and it was the first time he’d heard someone describe the Flame Dragon Tribe this way.

 

“The Flame Dragon Tribe truly is wonderful,” Lu Lin exclaimed again.