Chapter 340: Answers Are Not Free

"So your meaning is, aside from Wild Rice, everything else can be handled this way?"

Baifeng did not answer him directly: "I have already made that previous question clear. Right now, you still owe me two hundred and fifty types of plants. If you want to know more, wait until next time you bring the items and continue asking. Of course, you could also bring more plants at once, and I could answer more questions for you at once. You know the answer now; how about it, worth it, right?"

Xuanyuan's words were choked in his throat and he could not get them out. He also could not say it wasn't worth it, because this answer was truly very important to him. However, he wanted to know more detailed content, but he hadn't expected Baifeng to directly classify it as the next question. It seemed that next time he must think very thoroughly before asking.

"Then can you answer this question of mine, and next time I will bring the plants for you all at once."

Baifeng shook his head: "For the previous question, you were already allowed to owe it. You should also be clear about our trades; they have always been settled on the spot. That I could let you owe it this time is, first, because of our long-term trading, I trust you; and second, it is to let you understand that you will not be at a loss."

Everything Baifeng said was the plain truth, and Xuanyuan had no way to refute it, but this way, they would have to spend more time figuring it out themselves.

This was also a means for Baifeng to restrict Xuanyuan. If one wants to figure out the mysteries of agriculture one question at a time, even if you come to ask twice a year, the key questions alone would be enough to consume over a dozen years of your time. Although they could research it themselves, it is very difficult to find the knack through self-exploration.

Their grain varieties are so numerous—self-pollination, cross-pollination, whether it is insect-pollinated or wind-assisted—the knowledge points within this are too many. If you plant two types of self-pollinating plants together wanting to see if you can hybridize them, it is basically a wasted year of effort. In this era, there is no corn on this land, but people who grow corn in later generations are very clear about it: two completely different types of corn, planted in adjacent fields, the corn that grows out may have different corn kernels on a single cob, yellow and white mixed, or multicolored.

Xuanyuan was silent again, pinching the rice grains in his hand, not knowing what he was thinking about. Perhaps he was thinking about the feasibility of hybridizing other crops, but there was no time left this year; he could only attempt it next year. Knowing a great secret but being unable to immediately verify its truth—this feeling was truly, too damn frustrating.

However, Baifeng gave him another piece of good news. Baifeng also held a handful of rice ears in his hand and said: "I want these rice ears you brought. How about we trade using our grain seeds? One grain for one grain. Of course, not rice seeds, but Sorghum seeds. They aren't as tasty as rice, but they are definitely much better than your Sorghum."

Xuanyuan's eyes lit up, but he still bargained: "If we are to trade, it must be the same kind to trade."

Baifeng stared into Xuanyuan's eyes and said: "Think for yourself, why would I trade better things for your worse ones? If I traded my Stone Knife for your Bronze Ware, would you trade? Of course, if you insist on rice seeds, it's not impossible. For this many rice seeds, how about trading for five of our seeds?"

Xuanyuan also knew it was impossible, but asking this question was still wanting to obtain a higher bargaining chip. The Huaxia rice seeds were truly a great temptation to him, but with only five grains, wanting to use these five grains to cultivate until there was enough quantity for their entire tribe to plant would take an unknown number of years. Moreover, he had to worry about whether these seeds could all germinate, and if they germinated, whether they could successfully bear fruit; the risk was too great.

However, if he traded for Sorghum, the risk would be much smaller. With over a thousand rice seeds here, trading for an equivalent amount of Sorghum, in just a few years, their entire tribe would be able to plant higher-yielding Sorghum.

Therefore, after a brief thought, Xuanyuan agreed. Subsequently, both sides began to count the quantity; not a single grain could be off. Xuanyuan even picked up the rice that had fallen to the ground while he was rubbing it.

The Sorghum seeds Baifeng brought were still of very high quality, plump and large-grained; Xuanyuan was very satisfied.

Of course, as mentioned before, the Sorghum seeds Baifeng brought out were fodder Sorghum they had cultivated. Although they were also large-grained, the yield was half that of their food Sorghum. However, for Xuanyuan, it was enough; it was better than their own anyway. Xuanyuan had also never seen Huaxia-grown Sorghum and did not know the yield.

Afterward, they conducted trades for other items. Xuanyuan was very satisfied with the quality of Huaxia goods, but he was also very curious why Baifeng wanted that kind of tree bark, and the quantity was increasing. Previously, they were trading Tea Leaves, and Baifeng had clearly told them the use of Tea Leaves.

Now he also wanted to ask, but was afraid Baifeng wouldn't say. After all, it was now clearly a buyer's market; they couldn't not sell, and it was of no use at all sitting in their own home.

He couldn't help but ask. Baifeng, unsurprisingly, did not say, and even retorted to Xuanyuan: "We want it, so it must be useful, and I have also clearly stated that it is also useful for you. As for how to use it, you should learn from your ancestor Shennong, and figure it out yourself. If you can't think it through, come next time with a sufficient quantity of plants to ask."

Baifeng was not afraid at all of Xuanyuan trying to figure it out; Baifeng even specifically released such words to lure Xuanyuan. That kind of tree bark was used by them for papermaking, but the process was complex, and the raw material was not just that one kind. After the raw materials Xuanyuan brought were processed by them, they were sold back to Xuanyuan at a higher value.

Let Xuanyuan struggle with it; in any case, he wouldn't be able to get a result. Being able to waste a portion of his energy on this tree bark was also a very beneficial thing for Huaxia.

Finally, the trade ended, and Xuanyuan was about to leave. Before leaving, Xuanyuan said: "I have a question here, it is about this 'State' of yours. I have always been unable to understand what the difference is compared to a tribe; isn't it just changing a name? You could completely call it the Huaxia Tribe. Of course, I will not spend plants to trade for this question. If you are willing to answer, then answer; if you want to collect items, then don't answer."

Baifeng did not hide anything. In any case, their state structure would be figured out sooner or later. What's more, the current Xuanyuan Tribe had already learned seven or eight tenths of it; they were just one step away from being able to completely establish the prototype of a state. Furthermore, the earliest state was something Xuanyuan himself had created. If Baifeng wanted to hide it, how long could he hide it? It was better to speak it out generously now. First, it would add a bit of trouble for Xuanyuan, letting him set up another mess; and second, when Xuanyuan truly established a state, the communication and interaction between the two sides would be much more convenient.