Chapter 166: Sitting Down to Collect Goods

Seeing that Baifeng had taken a fancy to his gourd, he did not immediately take it down to show Baifeng; instead, his eyes darted around, and he clutched his gourd as if it were a hidden treasure.

Baifeng was somewhat confused by his actions. This was neither the precious gourd of Luya Daoren nor the innate treasure of Jinjiao Dawang; what was there to hide? It wasn't as if he were the only one who possessed such a thing.

"What are you hiding? I'm not snatching it. Even if I wanted it, wouldn't I use something to trade for it? Furthermore, you are free to refuse."

That man's eyes darted away: "I know you want it, but mine was picked from an incredibly high cliff where not a blade of grass grows, and only this one gourd was growing there. I risked my life to pick it."

He paused: "If you really want it, ten of those white Salted Fish of yours—not one less!"

Baifeng did not indulge this clumsy lie and shameless demand: "I didn't want your dirty, used thing; I only wanted the seeds inside. If you have seeds, one piece of salt for an equal amount of seeds. If you don't, then forget it."

The savage thought Baifeng was tricking him to drive down the price, so he shook his head and refused to budge.

Baifeng turned around directly: "Everyone here, no matter which tribe you are from, as long as you have the seeds of this thing, or even the uncut ones, you can bring them to our Baifeng Tribe to trade. Whether you want salt, Salted Fish, or Grass Seed, we can trade for them. Bring as many as you have, and we will take them all."

When the onlookers heard this, they quickly ran back to their own tribe's stalls to search. Some indeed had them but hadn't realized they could be used for trade, while others forgot if they had any and wanted to go back and try their luck.

The savage who intended to scam Baifeng finally changed his expression, realizing the Baifeng Tribe was not so easily fooled. He hurriedly took down his gourd and held it out to Baifeng: "I only need one Salted Fish for this one; one is enough."

His words were full of humility; after all, gourds grew wild in abundance on their tribal territory, but the chance to trade them for salt was a rare opportunity not to be missed.

Baifeng didn't even look at him again, walking straight past the man. The Soldier of the Baifeng Tribe also snorted, feeling the man was blocking the way, pushed him aside, and followed closely in Baifeng's footsteps.

Among the onlookers, there were also people sent by the Suiren Clan to keep an eye on the Baifeng Tribe. Seeing this scene, they felt it necessary to report back to their Tribal Chief, so they slipped away. The crowd that had just gathered around the savage vanished in an instant.

When Baoxi learned of this, he could generally confirm that the Baifeng Tribe was indeed terrifyingly wealthy. The gourd was also abundant on their tribe's territory, but no one cared about it. Sometimes they would take one or two to hold things, but they had never thought of using them to carry water when going out. If they were thirsty, they would just find a water source and drink; did they really have to drink the water from their own tribe?

Baoxi couldn't make this deal, which he found a bit of a pity, yet he also felt a bit relieved. If a dignified Suiren Clan member used gourds they never cared about to trade for supplies with their enemy, he would feel it was a bit shameful. Did they not know the value of their own goods?

In this matter, the Baifeng Tribe was just unlucky; even though gourds were widely distributed, there just happened to be none around their territory.

Before long, the area around the Baifeng Tribe was surrounded by people, either holding a few whole gourds, clutching a handful, or carrying gourd seeds in jars.

These people called it a "pao-gua," while Baifeng called it a "gourd," but this had no effect at all. When Baifeng called them gourd seeds, they immediately changed their tune and called them gourds too.

The whole gourds didn't need to be checked; they certainly weren't fake, so they were traded directly for salt or Salted Fish. The loose seeds needed to be inspected to prevent some from using fakes to pass them off. Sure enough, in some people's jars, real and fake were mixed. Baifeng directly blacklisted these people and would no longer look at anything from their tribes.

The price given by the Baifeng Tribe was so solid that it made them feel a bit embarrassed, so they all spontaneously brought them to the riverbank, saving the Baifeng Tribe people from having to make another trip.

With a new crop, Baifeng was in a great mood, so he announced on the spot that everyone could bring anything other than a few common types of Grass Seed; as long as the Baifeng Tribe needed it, they could trade.

It was a pure buyer's market, but everyone was very enthusiastic and hurried back to collect their tribe's Grass Seed. As long as one item caught the Baifeng Tribe's eye, their gathering this time could end early.

Baifeng and the others didn't need to walk around to look anymore; it saved effort and ensured nothing was missed. These people were likely so eager to trade that they might run into the forest right now to pick all kinds of unseen Grass Seed, even if they didn't know what they were themselves.

Representatives from various tribes crowded toward Baifeng just to have him take a first look at their items. Baifeng picked and chose through what they brought; most were things they already had, and some were truly useless wild grass seeds, even the kind that grew casually by the roadside of the Baifeng Tribe.

There was no help for it; that's just how hunting for goods goes. Even if he could find just one type, Baifeng would be very satisfied. Just for the gourd seeds alone, Baifeng felt the trip was worth it.

However, Baifeng really did discover something good: soybeans. They were round, and their yellow color was very eye-catching. Mainly, the grains were large, which was also striking among the crowd of grass seeds. Even if ordinary savages didn't know what this was, they all wanted to pick them to have a taste. After all, something this big—if it were edible, that would be great. Learning from Shennong for a while occasionally was no problem.

Baifeng immediately accepted the man's soybean seeds and gave him an extra piece of salt. At the same time, he gave the onlookers the same promise as he had for the gourd seeds, and so another massive crowd ran off to find their own soybean seeds.

In the following process, Baifeng also found sesame and seeds for several types of unknown pears. Sesame was obvious because of its shape, and the fragrance was right when one was bitten open. The pear seeds were easy to identify because Baifeng had some impression of them, and the man's description matched the characteristics of a pear, so Baifeng accepted them. He would try to cultivate them when he got back. Trading Salted Fish that no one ate for seeds—even if they might not grow—Baifeng felt it wasn't a loss.

Although it was still early, no one could bring out any more good things. Baifeng stretched and stood up to leave. The people around felt some regret that their items hadn't been chosen, but this also made them determined to collect various seeds in their territories after returning. If they weren't chosen this year, perhaps they would be next year.

Baifeng did not know that this unconscious act of his actually promoted the selection and breeding process of crops throughout the entire river basin.