They had to admit that they were indeed surprised when the Flaming Horns brought out all these goods. They thought that the Flaming Horn tribe would still be living a tough life after being driven away from their home by the disaster, but they never thought that it was actually quite the contrary. Not only were they living a good life in their new environment, but they could also even host such a grand “show-off” feast!
They were curious. How much were the Flaming Horns actually hiding?
As a matter of fact, the Flaming Horn tribe was indeed hiding a lot.
These grains that they brought out were harvested in the Fearsome Beast Forest, even before the previous disaster. Now, besides the fact that they had a larger piece of land cultivating a new variety of seeds that had stronger adaptability, and besides these eight types of grains in the Eight Treasures Porridge, there were also other newly planted grains with high adaptability, but they were not yet ripe, so they could not be harvested and served to these people.
And as for the Thousand Grain Gold?
You wish! Those were specially kept for the Flaming Horn tribe! Those grains were even more precious than the grain seeds Ji Ju had gifted them! They didn’t even have enough of this for their own tribe, how could they serve it to these food-craving bastards?
Even if they were still hiding more things, the Flaming Horn tribe had already brought out enough to give them the confidence they needed. It did not make them lose any face. Besides the fierce beast hide and meat that everyone already knew about, the vegetables and porridge served today told everyone that they had their own agriculture and seeds. With seeds, they could plant many good crops. The Flaming Horn tribe didn’t need to say much about the quality of their crops. As long as these people were not idiots, they could tell. They didn’t need to prove it.
They also had seasoning powder and their self-made wine. Now, these people could no longer say that the Flaming Horn tribe knew nothing, and the Flaming River Trading Point will have plenty of these goods in the future. Since the Flaming River Trading Point could provide so many goods, and if the Flaming Horn tribe could guarantee their safety inside the trading point, it was not impossible for this place to become more crowded in the future.
Especially those tribes that lived in the Flaming River region. These tribes were constantly living in hunger and didn’t always have enough to eat. The existence of the trading point could ensure that they could get the most out of every future trade.
Many of them wanted to learn more about the trading point, especially the people from the Zhi tribe. They had already enjoyed enough of the service provided here. Now, seeing this situation, they saw a lot of potential in their future partnership together.
At least the Flaming Horn tribe didn’t lack meat. As long as the Flaming Horn tribe still had a rich supply of meat, they could continue to trade for more food from them.
Those grains that they just had were also not bad, but they would still choose the fierce beast meat over these grains. A crystal the same size could probably be exchanged for more meat than grains. The Flaming Horns didn’t say it directly, but judging by how Gui He labelled these grains as “precious”, they could tell.
Eight Treasures Porridge! “Eight” treasures! These were eight precious grains! They must’ve been extremely difficult to plant. The people of the Zhi tribe had no experience in agriculture. Once, they wanted to transplant a fruit tree with a strong vitality back from the mountains, but they couldn’t even manage to keep it alive after bringing it back, so this was why they always considered agriculture to be a lot harder than hunting.
Because it was so difficult and challenging to grow, it was obviously more expensive. They understood this fact from this reasoning. These grains were even more expensive than fierce beast meat. Tribes who were still striving to live a relatively more comfortable life and had always been living in poverty would only trade for normal grains, not these.
After the white cabbage and Eight Treasures Porridge soothed their insides, more meat and vegetables were served.
A plate full of giant roasted beast paws and claws were set in front of each tribe. The sharp claws were still connected to the beast’s phalanges. They had to tear the claws apart and hold the paws while they ate.
Following this, a plate of dumb bird eggs was served to each tribe. Many tribes that came from the central region were all familiar with this dish. Even the tribes that lived by the edge might have tried it when they went on expedition trips to other trading points. After all, the Lu tribe was known for their bred beasts and dumb bird eggs. The Lu tribe themselves, who were also present, were the most familiar with this dish.
But usually, these dumb bird eggs were either boiled or just eaten raw. Rarely did they use any seasoning to cook it. Especially for those people who often went on expedition trips. They would already be grateful if they had something to eat outside. How would they have the time to arrange for such bothersome things?
However, the dumb bird egg that was served on this feast was cooked. They removed the eggshell and cooked it with spices and seasoning, so it carried a light-brownish red colour.
On the steaming stone plate,
The brownish-red dumb bird egg was cut into eight small petal-like slices and arranged on the stone plate. Layers of egg broth were poured on top.
The cooking method was recommended by Shao Xuan. Back when they were preparing for the feast, the dish was prepared under strict supervision throughout the entire making process.
In the middle of the dish, there was even an eye-catching bright yellow flower set on the brownish-red egg, and in the centre of the four petals of the flower was yet another bud carrying sharp thorns.
Shao Xuan said nothing.
This he did not recommend. He wondered who came up with the genius idea and even knew how to plate a dish. Although the flower smelled sweet, it was actually a wild carnivorous plant that could swallow an entire adult man.
Speaking of which, even though more than ten years had passed since he came to this world, he still had memories from before that he didn’t forget. Shao Xuan could still give them more instructions to make the plating even more exquisite, but regardless of the taste, the plating itself was enough to surprise their audience.
However!
The tribespeople had their habits. Even if they were the few major tribes from the central region, they did not know how to appreciate exquisitely prepared dishes and professionally sliced meat, so if the Flaming Horn tribe overdid the plating, it might even have a rather negative effect. No matter what they did, they should always do it in moderation and have interchanging phases of excitement and relaxation. This dish that the Flaming Horn tribe brought out today was perfect. It did not require any more fancy decorations.
And as to why they only had dumb bird eggs and not green duck eggs.... This was the same reason why they didn’t bring out the thousand-grain gold. The more precious something was, the more they had to keep it to themselves. Although the purpose of this “showing-off” feast was to brag about their wealth, they should never show everything they had to the other tribes. The Flaming Horns were actually hiding a lot more. Even the Veins of the Sky was a secret. They never wanted to make it public. The egg, wine, meat, cabbage, and grains, a mixture of both vegetables and meat. These were more than enough to fill their tummies.
Rounds of dishes were served one after the next. The people who were hungry before the feast were now struggling to stand up. They were so tired from eating that even another bite was laborious. They wanted to change their posture and continue eating again after resting for a while.
The tribes that were sitting in the front rows did not lack food in their tribes. Compared to the other tribes, they did not eat as much. Food was merely an eye-opening experience for them. Their main purpose here was not to eat. Instead, they wanted to know the Flaming Horn’s true strength. But after they came here, they had been surprised and shocked by the Flaming Horn tribe’s actions that they lost their appetite.
But for those who came here merely to eat, they had already begun to roll their eyes.
The standard of success for a grand feast was the amount of food leftover after the end of the feast. This was a rule acknowledged by all on this continent. Now, although the people present were all reaching their limit in food intake, the dishes continued to be served.
Abuli, the chief of the Zhi tribe stood up and took a deep breath. He walked around for a few steps, switched different postures, and looked for a posture that could allow him to maximise his food intake. The stone plate in front of him was constantly being refilled with newly roasted meat, and it smelled delicious. Because of the variety of fierce beasts, the meat now looked even more fine and smooth than the ones before. It even had striped marks made by the roasting process, but he could no longer eat any more.
Now, he had already passed his safety limit for food intake. This safety limit determined his capability to escape and react to dangerous situations, but now he had already passed it.
When he reached the line of limit in his body, he had already thought about it, but his desire and craving for food and the rare opportunity was on the upper hand, so he continued to eat. Now, he was panting as he walked.
“Ch—chief, what should we do?” a warrior who followed Abuli to attend this feast looked at him with a saddened expression, “There’s still so much meat. What can we do?”
They could see it, but they couldn’t finish it.
This used to be something that had made them smile even in their dreams, but now, although their dreams had come true, they felt a sudden sense of helplessness. There was still so much meat, but they couldn’t finish it. If they were to leave it here, what a waste it would be. Just looking at the unfinished food made their hearts ache.
“Can’t we take these leftovers away?” someone asked.
Abuli also wanted to bring the leftovers back, but this was the Flaming Horn’s territory. They had to follow the Flaming Horn’s instructions. A small tribe like them did not have much say under these situations.
“Why not go ask them about it later?” Abuli’s wife suggested.
“Ah? Oh, alright.” Abuli felt weak and didn’t have much confidence, but seeing the plate of meat in front of him, he decided that he would give it a shot! If the Flaming Horn tribe did not agree, he would try his best to negotiate with them.
It was not until later when they noticed that there was still plenty of meat leftover on all the plates in front of all twenty-four tribes. At this moment, a few people from the Flaming Horn tribe glanced over at Gui He and nodded.
“Fellow friends!” Gui He addressed them with a loud and clear voice, “The Flaming River Grand Feast is about to approach its end, how is everyone feeling so far?”
“Great! Amazing!”
“Very nice.”
The people from the Hui tribe and Lu tribe loudly replied. Other people continued to praise the banquet from their seats, and even the Longboat tribe and the Tianshan tribe who disliked the Flaming Horn tribe had to admit that this “showing-off” feast was very well done.
Besides the amount of leftover food, other things also surprised them, like the golden wine cup, for instance. There was one placed in the seating area of each tribe. This was a sign of great wealth.
“Since it is so, before the end of our feast, I, Gui He, as the chief of the Flaming Horn tribe, would like to inform everyone here that the Flaming River Trading Point will officially open up from today on! Elder Zheng Luo will be in charge of reading out the rules of trade in the trading point.” Gui He raised his hand and gestured at Zheng Luo to speak.
Zheng Luo had already prepared a beast hide scroll. After unrolling it, he read out the words written on it.
The things listed on the scroll were all rules in the Flaming River Trading Point, and many of these rules were borrowed from the ones the slave masters used in their cities. Shao Xuan had already pointed out some of the rules’ shortcomings and made some changes to it. After improving it, they came up with the first edition of the Rules and Regulations in the Flaming River Trading Point. If they had new rules to add to the list or some they needed to amend, they would then come up with a new edition.
All in all, besides the rules regarding the set trading locations for each tribe, the rental fees of their houses, and the ones about the storage of goods, the most important point was that there should be no robbery or stealing in the Flaming River Trading Point.
When they reached this point, the tribes that lived in the Flaming River region felt suddenly at peace.
What were they most afraid of during a trade? The other party tricking them and using means of extortion!
But if the Flaming Horn tribe, such a powerful tribe, was here to protect them and enforce these rules, it would make trading a lot safer.
After Zheng Luo read out and explained the rules on the beast hide scroll in detail, he also ordered warriors to give a copy of the same rules to the chief of each tribe. There was still more details on the written document, so if they still weren’t clear about it, they could ask the person in charge of the Flaming River Trading Point.
After they finished discussing the trading point, they had accomplished their main purpose, and since this matter had already been clarified, this feast should be ending soon.
But right when everyone thought that the grand feast was about to end, the people of the Flaming Horn tribe said another two things.
First, every tribe was allowed to take away the unfinished food from the Flaming River Castle and let those who didn’t get the chance to join them also enjoy the same food. Of course, if they didn’t want to, the Flaming Horns would not force them.
This made Abuli and his people so excited that they almost jumped up. We can pack it all up! It won’t be wasted! Even if they couldn’t finish these today, they could continue to eat tomorrow! They would finish all the food before leaving the trading point. They were so relieved to hear this!
This did not surprise many people who were present, because the tribes that had also hosted “showing-off” feasts before had also said similar things. So they weren’t at all surprised when they heard this first point.
As for the second point, many people were confused and had doubts.
After addressing the problem about the leftover food, Gui He continued with the second point, “This marks the end of the Flaming River Grand Feast. All of you may choose to leave first. If you have matters to discuss with us, please wait in the resting area because we still need to hold a sacrifice. Of course, if you’d like to stay and watch, you may also do so, but I don’t recommend it.”
Just because the people of the Flaming Horn tribe said it like this, it made the others even more curious.
Sacrifice?
Here?
When they heard this, everyone in the crowd stretched their necks and looked around the area.
They didn’t see a fire pond! They had already been here for an entire day, but they saw no fire pond.
How could they hold a sacrifice without a fire pond and a fire seed? Were they going to start their own fire?