Chapter 78: A Glowing Stone?
*Bang!* Da Gua and Wa Ming placed thirty rolls of linen cloth on the table, removing the dry grass covering to reveal the intact linen.
Lu Lin widened her golden eyes, surprised that they really had thirty rolls of linen cloth, which all looked to be of good quality.
“Please have a look, Miss Lu Lin.” Su Bai gestured.
“Oh, okay.” Lu Lin came to her senses and began inspecting the linen cloth.
She separated the rolls one by one, spreading them evenly on the table, carefully examining each roll. She would even unroll them to completely check for any damage.
Yan Jiao and the others watched nervously from the side. This was their first time exchanging linen cloth for goods. No one knew what flaws the other party might find.
But in their view, this linen cloth was extremely good, and would surely fetch a substantial amount of dried meat and salt.
“You can rest aside for a while. The inspection might take some time,” Lu Lin gently said.
“It’s fine, take your time,” Su Bai waved his hand. After all, as long as they found the quality good, it would bode well for future trades.
Lu Lin blinked her golden eyes and suggested, “Why don’t you look around the market? It will really take some time.”Su Bai thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright then, we’ll go and look around.”
“Su Bai, I’ll stay here. After all, someone should keep watch,” Hei Ya volunteered.
“En. I was thinking the same. You stay here then,” Su Bai nodded and led the way out of the Teepee.
Yan Hua kept looking back at the deer antlered girl, worrying, “Su-Su Bai, is it really okay for us to leave like this?”
“Yes, I’m worried they might do something to our linen cloth, which would reduce what we can exchange,” Yan Jiao asked, also concerned.
“Don’t worry. Based on what you said before, the Spotted Deer Tribe has been able to host this market for so long because of their integrity. I believe they won’t do such things,” Su Bai stretched and continued, “Besides, Hei Ya is still there. For the sake of long term trade with us, they’re even less likely to do anything that horrendous to us.”
“But the market is already every fifteen days. How much longer is long term?” Yan Hua said, puzzled.
“You’ll understand later. Let’s just look around for now,” Su Bai said with a relaxed expression. He looked at the cow horned girl and asked, “Didn’t you say you wanted to bring something back for Xiao Yu?”
“Right, right, I promised her. I need to bring something back for her,” Yan Hua nodded repeatedly.
Hearing Su Bai say this, Yan Jiao, though full of questions, did not ask anything. He just vigilantly scanned the surroundings to watch out for danger.
They circled the entire Spotted Deer Tribe Market, glancing at stalls of various sizes.
After about fifteen minutes, Su Bai and the others came to a stone tool stall. A faint green light reflected from a stone in the sunlight caught their attention.
“What’s this?” Yan Hua crouched down and curiously asked.
The stall owner was a Humanoid with a pair of dog ears on his head. He said, “I don’t know either. I got it in exchange from someone. I think it’s pretty. If I wasn’t out of dried meat, I wouldn’t be offering it for trade.”
If others did not recognize it, that was understandable, but for Su Bai to not know would be inexcusable! After all, this green stone that shimmered a little was none other than raw Jadeite.
Su Bai was surprised and curiously asked, “Who did you get it from? Is there a lot of this?”
The stall owner shook his head, looking clueless, and said, “Someone from the Lion Mane Tribe gave it to me. He was also here, at this market, to trade. I don’t know where it came from.”
“What does he look like? Do you know his name?” Su Bai continued asking.
He was interested in this raw Jadeite. To discover Jadeite in this primitive era was an extremely lucky event. Although it might not be as valuable as on Earth, having it was better than not. It might prove useful in the future.
“I only remember he had very long brown hair and a scar over his right eye. I don’t recall anything else,” the stall owner shook his head.
Su Bai nodded thoughtfully and asked, “In return for this stone, how much dried meat do you want?”
Seeing someone interested, the stall owner got excited and extended his hand, “I want thirty large pieces of dried meat…”
“Why don’t you just rob us?” Yan Jiao suddenly flared up, saying, “Su Bai, let’s forget about this worthless stone.”
Su Bai of course knew the other party was asking for too much. He nodded and said, “You’re right, let’s go.”
The stall owner panicked. As he saw them about to leave, he quickly called out, “Twenty pieces, twenty large pieces of dried meat at least.”
Su Bai turned back, showing three fingers, and said, “Ten pieces of dried meat. I won’t take this stone for even one piece more. You should know, it’s just a stone.”
The stall owner thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, “Fine. Ten pieces it is. Where’s the dried meat? You can take the stone right away.”
Su Bai clapped his hands and smiled, “It’s time for us to head back. Lu Lin should be about done with the inspection.”
“Hey! Didn’t you want it? Why are you leaving?” the stall owner called out hurriedly.
“Just wait here. We’ll bring it to you soon,” Yan Jiao rolled his eyes.
*Tap tap tap…* Ten minutes later, Su Bai and the others returned to the large Teepee, approaching the deer antlered girl to check on their progress.
Yan Jiao blinked his red eyes and asked, “How is it? Is the linen cloth inspection done? Our linen clothes are all in perfect condition.”
Lu Lin had just rolled up the last piece of linen cloth and gently said, “It’s all checked. Your linen cloth has no damage at all, and the quality is excellent.”
“I told you our linen clothes are good. So, can we have the salt and dried meat now?” Yan Jiao asked.
“Alright, wait here. I’ll have someone bring them for you,” Lu Lin said softly.
“Wait. I have something else I’d like to discuss with you,” Su Bai suddenly called out to the deer antlered girl.
Lu Lin stopped turning and asked, puzzled, “Hm? What else do you need?”
[noscript][/noscript]