This location Shao Xuan decided on was located exactly on the intersection of two streams leading to the river. This was ideal for boats or ships to pass by, so when Shao Xuan drew his map, he made sure to mark out a location for building a pier.
People who weren’t assigned to tasks, didn’t have any shifts, or didn’t go on hunts were dispatched to this location to start construction.
In the hearts of these tribesmen, marking their territory was the most important task at hand. By drawing out their territory, they were telling outsiders that this land belonged to them.
So recently, people who lived nearby often saw Flaming Horn warriors carrying stone plates of different shapes and sizes on tough ropes to their newly marked territory.
The stone plates were cut at a nearby mountain. There were many mountains surrounding the area, but none of them belonged to any tribe, but sometimes some vigilant individuals from other tribes could be seen hiding amidst the trees and bushes, staring intently at the Flaming Horn tribesmen who came back and forth.
These individuals from outer tribes did not dare make a move on the Flaming Horn tribe. They knew that they had to be careful of anyone capable of moving such heavy stones so effortlessly. Every time they saw the Flaming Horn tribesmen walk by, they usually travelled in a group, so they had to be careful not to make any wrong move.
There were definitely people who were curious about what they were doing. Some tribesmen from smaller tribes hid in random corners. Although their villages were not obvious, they had their own way of living, or else they couldn’t have survived. Shao Xuan never looked down on these smaller tribes.
After he found out that these people were hiding behind trees and bushes watching them, Shao Xuan instructed some people to prepare a wooden sign, and with some plant-based ink, wrote some words on the board.
This sign told foragers and hunters in the area the following: First, this territory has been claimed by the Flaming Horn tribe. Second, the Flaming Horn tribe is planning to set up a trading point in this location, named the Flaming River Trading Point. This trading point will officially open when winter starts, so whoever wants to trade can come over and take a look. Thirdly, the Flaming Horn tribe has an ample supply of high-quality animal hide from both wild and fearsome beasts.
After some thought, Shao Xuan added at the end, “Trade Fairly, Deal Honestly.”
After he finished writing, Shao Xuan handed the wooden sign over to the warrior in charge of moving the stones, “Find a suitable place and put up this sign.”
The warrior looked at the sign and understood what Shao Xuan meant. He did not say anything more and walked away rapidly with the wooden board. They still had other stones to move.
Members of the Flaming Horn tribe were strong and fast in moving stones, so it only took two days to mark out their territory with stone plates. By this time, the outer wall was already half-finished. Shao Xuan said that the trading point could be open before winter, and this was true. He had already made the calculations.
Shao Xuan had also sent messengers to the Drumming tribe, Rain tribe, Pu tribe, and other tribes who lived nearby to inform them about the Flaming River Trading Point.
The Rain tribe had begun to prepare for trade. They had been keeping stock and planned to trade with the Flaming Horns in the wintertime, but as soon as they found out about the trading point, they became more excited. The Flaming Horn tribe and Rain tribe had different preferences. If they only traded with the Flaming Horn tribe, they might not be able to get what they want, but with the Flaming River Trading Point, they had more options, so they started working even harder to produce more goods for the trade.
Some craftsmen who had nothing to do after constructing the boats also came over to help. Even the stonemason Old Ke came to help. He was old and stiff and had trouble walking, but his skills in crafting wooden or stone materials were still decent, so he could help with building the houses. If Caesar was here, he would carry the old man over and cross the Flaming River along with the other warriors. If Caesar went out for a hunt, Chacha would carry the old man across the river. He didn’t even need to go on a boat.
The craftsmen who worked on the boats voluntarily asked to help out at this new location. They didn’t even rest after their previous construction and came over immediately. They loved to make new things, and because the Flaming Horn Trading Point was a good thing for them, they worked willingly and cheerfully on their new project.
The expedition team had already left. Before they left, Shao Xuan had already confirmed the location of the new trading point, so he had told them in advance so they could inform others further inland about their new trading point. He told them to tell the other tribes that the best animal hide was at the Flaming River Trading Point.
What? Was he wrong? It was the truth!
Definitely the truth!
The reason why the Flaming Horn tribe was able to boast about having the best animal hide was that it was the truth. They did have the best animal hide.
At the same time, Shao Xuan also instructed the expedition team to tell the other tribes’ expedition teams that if they wanted to trade the same amount of goods for more animal hide, they had to come over to the Flaming River Trading Point during the other seasons.
In the past two years, the winters were unusually hot, so they didn’t need animal hide as much, but now that the disaster had passed, the weather was becoming normal. Perhaps there might be other changes, but the weather would definitely not return to the disastrous state it was in immediately.
It would definitely snow in the wintertime this year in many places. It might even become colder than before, or else the birds would not just be migrating to this area and not other places. The demand for animal hide would surely increase this year, and the last disaster had already caused many tribes to suffer huge losses, so they might not even have enough animal hide to keep out the cold. Even if they did, how could animal hide harvested from bred beasts be compared with those of fearsome beasts?
Some people even used beast fur, feathers, and grass to stuff their linen jackets, but none of those materials could compare with fur from fearsome beasts. It was more convenient and sturdy and many people liked it.
The animal hide brought out by the expedition team would definitely be sold out. However, they could not be sure whether the people from the other tribes would come over to the Flaming River Trading Point to trade for more.
Shao Xuan did not intend to tell everyone about the Flaming River Trading Point and make it well known to everyone in the area. This was not an easy task to perform in a short period of time.
But with the birth of this new trading point, it would definitely attract customers from both upstream and downstream. This would allow the Flaming Horn tribe to receive new information from other places without having to travel anywhere else.
Only with people could there be communication, and only with communication could information circulate. The Flaming Horn tribe was not merely providing a communication hub.
Of course, if people with bad intentions come by to rob or steal, the Flaming Horn had only one way to deal with them: Kill!
Even if they were allies, the Flaming Horn tribe would not go easy on anyone who came to steal or rob their wealth.
Shao Xuan told the craftsmen about his plan for the construction and pointed the details out on his map. When they understood his plan, he went to the next location.
Meanwhile, the team in charge of moving stones had already brought Shao Xuan’s wooden sign to where they chiselled the mountain to get their stone plates.
As they walked through the woods carrying stones for two days in a row, the path they travelled had already become an obvious trail. The trees along the trail were chopped off, and the obstructions on the way had also been removed. The grass that used to be on the trail had become mixed with the soil due to high traffic.
“Let’s put the sign here,” Lang Ga drilled the sign into the ground beside the trail and scanned his surroundings. After a while, they left the area.
As soon as they left, a few figures walked over cautiously. They had messy hair and their faces were stained with dirt. Patches of strewn grass and vines covered their bodies. They took a few steps forward to listen, and when they were sure no one was around, they approached the sign.
They stood in front of the wooden sign, and their leader looked at the words with a frown. He seemed to have a hard time understanding the meaning of those words written on the sign.
Although there were shared languages between the tribes on the continent, not all tribes were educated and knew how to read these characters.
After a while, their leader finished struggling through the words on the sign and told the others what the sign said. They gathered in a circle and discussed what they were about to do next. One of them stood and watched their surroundings as the others discussed.
After their discussion, their leader walked up to the wooden board and with all his might, pulled up the wooden sign.
After he pulled it out, they ran away quickly as if a beast was chasing them.
When Lang Ga and the others came back after carrying their stones, only a hole was left where the wooden sign used to be.