Chapter 577: Table Etiquette

Guided by one village after another, they finally arrived at Baoxi's location. Upon learning that it was actually people from Huaxia who had come, Baoxi felt extremely surprised. The last population trade had been a last resort, and since Huaxia was indeed lacking in population, he had thought to seize the opportunity to see if Huaxia was willing to make a trade; it had succeeded very smoothly, but he had not expected Huaxia to specifically come looking for them.

Now, Baoxi was completely clear about the gap in strength between himself and Huaxia. As long as he did not go to attack Huaxia, Huaxia would not easily come to attack him, because Huaxia's greatest reliance was their city walls. Without the city walls, Huaxia would not dare to engage in battle with them at will. Furthermore, his Suiren Clan, though having suffered heavy losses, was still a huge, powerful tribe, unlike those small tribes of a few thousand people.

Baoxi also very enthusiastically received Zhigui and the others. They did not have Tea Leaves, but they followed Huaxia's etiquette, setting up huge wooden tables in the open space and using wooden stumps as stools to invite everyone to be seated.

The Suiren Clan lacked food, but they would not lack what these few people from Huaxia had. Moreover, this Huaxia delegation was large in scale, numbering several hundred, but most of them were carrying the items meant for trading with them, and most of those were grain.

Only a few people were able to be seated, while the others were settled in another open space. There was no cover around, allowing them to easily observe their movements. Although they all carried Weapon, Baoxi did not think that just a few hundred people would dare to attack his Suiren Clan.

Baoxi had a Slave serve Zhigui and the others roasted venison and a Pottery Bowl of clear water. Zhigui and his group were not reserved either; they ate a portion quite generously, but they maintained an elegant posture throughout, using a Small Knife to cut the meat into pieces before using bamboo chopsticks to pick it up and eat. The entire delegation was in this state; not a single person picked it up with their hands to gnaw on it directly.

This scene surprised Baoxi a little. He had not expected that the people of Huaxia could perform such delicate and skillful operations with just two bamboo sticks, while they still used their hands to grab.

Zhigui and the others only ate an appropriate amount. As guests, they could not eat all the food; they had to leave a small portion to demonstrate the host's generosity—that the food was so plentiful they could not finish it.

However, they also knew that the Suiren Clan would absolutely not waste a single bit of grain, and what was left over would eventually end up in people's mouths. This was the teaching from the Huaxia Ministry of Rites, and as one of the important figures of the Ministry of Rites, Zhigui certainly had to lead by example.

After finishing, Zhigui stood up and found a few leaves, carefully wiped the Small Knife he had used to cut the meat, and handed it to the person serving nearby: "Thank you, Tribal Chief Baoxi, for providing the food. As a token of gratitude, this Small Knife is a gift for you."

Huaxia strictly prohibited the outflow of large weapons, and even losing one had to be investigated strictly. However, this kind of Small Knife was nothing to worry about. Zhigui himself had many of them, and it posed no threat to them; it was merely a tool he used to cut meat.

Baoxi was shocked by Zhigui's generosity. He had always believed that Huaxia's Ironware was precious. Even though everyone he saw carried Ironware, once outside of Huaxia, the preciousness of Iron was self-evident. He had not expected that Zhigui would casually give a knife to him, so his favor for Zhigui immediately rose.

The current Baoxi was truly like a different person from before. He no longer had that aggressive posture and high-and-mighty state, but was instead much more peaceful.

Baoxi took the Small Knife with some excitement and drew it out of the leather sheath to look at it. There was still a layer of oil film on it; although it looked unclean, it could protect the Small Knife from rusting. He could not help himself and shaved the table with the knife, and a layer of wood shavings immediately came off. He could not help but exclaim: "Truly a good thing, very sharp."

Seeing that the situation had opened up, Zhigui went straight to the point and repeated his purpose again: "Tribal Chief Baoxi, we have come this time for trade again. The content of the trade is the same as what we traded naturally before; Tea Leaves are still the main thing, followed by animal skins. We have brought enough grain, as well as Cloth and Silk."

"Silk? Are you talking about the Silk of the Xiling?"

"Yes, but this is not from the Xiling, but from our Huaxia."

Baoxi stretched his neck, very puzzled: "But isn't Silk only available from the Xiling? How could you in Huaxia have it? How much do you have? I know the price of Silk is very expensive. Our tribe already has some, I don't need too much."

Zhigui remained kind-faced: "The Xiling has already perished, but it has nothing to do with us; it should have been a natural disaster. The Tribal Chief of the Xiling, Leizu, has long been in the Xuanyuan Tribe, and she has even given birth to a child with Xuanyuan. Our Silk production technology comes from the Xuanyuan Tribe."

"Moreover, Silk is not really that expensive. Its price is only equivalent to four times the size of Hemp Cloth, and it can be used to make clothes. Many of us in Huaxia have a set of Silk clothes, but for daily work and labor, Hemp Cloth clothes are more comfortable and convenient. If we were trading by the Dahe this time and didn't have to travel for so long, I would also be wearing Silk clothes."

This piece of news had a somewhat large impact on Baoxi. He had not expected to hear such important news for the first time.

Just as Baoxi was stunned, a member of the delegation placed the box they were carrying on the table. The eyes of the Suiren Clan members were immediately attracted to it, though the Soldier remained prepared to attack at any time.

Zhigui opened the box, which contained samples of the supplies for this trade. As he pushed it for Baoxi to see, Zhigui said: "As for the grain, it is Bean Dregs. It is delicious and hunger-resistant, and thin people gain weight after eating it. I believe you all know this."

No one present refuted this. The eyes of some of the Suiren Clan were already attracted by the fragrance of the Bean Dregs in the box; there was no need for too much introduction.

"Hemp Cloth is just Hemp Cloth, nothing special, but we in Huaxia do not lack Hemp Cloth; we lack animal skins. Therefore, trading for the furs of the Suiren Clan is what we need. You can touch the Silk yourself; for such a large piece, it doesn't cost much to trade for it. You can trade for some to take back and make yourself a formal gown to wear during sacrifices."

Baoxi took out a piece of cloth with a unique texture, plus its brownish-red color, it looked especially different. Baoxi touched it with his hand and confirmed that it was indeed Silk.

"Good, I need some of this Silk."