Chapter 396 (2/2)

First, he could fight with brute strength. Playing mind games? He could do that too!

They had seen in particular how Shao Xuan had set up a plan with a few people to set up traps. Deep in their hearts, they were glad that Shao Xuan did not use traps against them. Otherwise, they would go crazy if not dead.

After separating from the people of the Taihe tribe, Duo Kang walked on with the team with a smile on his face. He carried the big cauldron reflecting the golden rays of the sun. This time, they didn’t have to cover it with a cloth, and revealing its copper body was quite eye-catching.

Just looking forward, Duo Kang was carrying the cauldron, eager to show it off. Guang Yi, meanwhile, ordered the others to keep up.

As they walked through the woods, they finally saw the river on the outskirts of the tribe. On the other side of the river, the chief led the tribe, standing there to greet the trading team.

Duo Kang carried the big cauldron, almost flashing the eyes of the greeters blind.

When Chief Zheng Luo first saw the big cauldron, he did not dare believe it. He closed his eyes, then opened them again, but Duo Kang was still there, grinning with that glittering cauldron!

What could they have traded it with? Why did they get such a thing?! It’s still just a copper cauldron! Maybe for cooking, but it’s not as good as the big stone pot the ancestors left behind!!

Seeing that the cauldron’s body was unsteady, Chief Zheng Luo’s expression got even worse.

“What’s this?!” Chief Zheng Luo went up to inquire. If Duo Kang had traded weapons for this, he decided he would immediately hold a tribal meeting and dismiss Duo Kang.

Duo Kang put the cauldron down and stretched his arms, loosening his tight muscles. He then smiled and replied, “You mean this cauldron? It’s Shao Xuan’s.”

Once he heard it was Shao Xuan’s, the chief’s stiff face stiffened more, his breathing slightly slowed. He was still planning to reprimand Duo Kang. Why did he not persuade Shao Xuan to not exchange this cauldron? But he still listened to Duo Kang explain how it came about.

After listening, the chief collected himself as he smoothed a hand down his beard. He smiled. “Since it was given to us, then we should take it.”

But from what he heard, how could he not understand what really transpired?

As the tribe leader, it was clear to the chief what the team had experienced. For the slave owners, the cauldron was not a free gift to be given away. He can now guess An Yan’s face.

They did not steal anything! It was even openly given to them! That’s that! They deserved it!

He also heard from Duo Kang about the partnership with Black Bear, which made Chief Zheng Luo’s eyes crinkle even more from smiling. “Good! Good! Good!”

The good mood of the chief made him call Shao Xuan up the mountain, giving him some linen and silk fabrics and such. “Our other trading team received these. I have a lot here. You take some home.”

Although the other textile raw materials were rough, since they were cheap and easy to get, they used it more while the silk fabrics were used less. It was the slave owners who were very fond of glossy and smooth things.

After stuffing some linen and silk fabrics to Shao Xuan, Chief Zheng Luo then asked Shao Xuan about his experience trading. Duo Kang just briefly said some, but he still wanted to know more details about it.

When they had finished, the chief looked again at the cauldron that had been brought in.

“Those cloud patterns should be cast by the Xia people,” the chief said.

“Xia people?” Shao Xuan never heard of them from previous discussions.

“Well, it used to be the Xia tribe. The Xia people are good at casting, but later, the tribe scattered. They changed their surname to ‘Gong’ and mostly still cast for a living in different areas. Anba City has a lot of cauldrons made by them. A Xia person’s style was mostly to make a round cauldron with cloud patterns. In recent years, they also made it flatter. Most of the six big cities now mostly cast their cauldrons round, second is square, while flat was the least common, of which more than half casted by a Xia person’s hand. If coupled with the cloud pattern rather than the beast pattern, this cauldron should be casted by the Xia. It’s just that somehow, the casting of this cauldron was unexpectedly a failure.” Chief Zheng Luo looked at the flattened cauldron’s body, feeling puzzled.

Since he did not understand, he wouldn’t waste more thought on it, so the chief just advised Shao Xuan. “This cauldron is yours. You can use it as a furnace for smelting or for cooking soup.”

Shao Xuan carried the cauldron he obtained out there to return to his home. He put it in his own stone-making room, where it was big and spacious enough for the scrap of metal. It was also a convenient place for him to study the decorations on it.

The words on the cauldron were a little obscure with a few ancient writings. If it was other people, they’d probably be able to read it, though not smoothly, but they wouldn’t understand. However, Shao Xuan could still understand some.

The usage of this language on this side had changed for the past thousand years. Some words had even changed in meaning and grammar. However, what Shao Xuan had learned from those people in the desert was, in fact, the original writings here from thousands of years ago, which was closer to the ancient writings on the cauldron.

Shao Xuan would have to write all those words on the cauldron’s body on a piece of cloth, then study it carefully.