I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 136 Exchanging Ironware

Before the ironware was even brought out, a group of orcs rushed over, each trying to give way to the others and pushing their way to the front.

Zhan shouted, "Everyone line up properly, we can't sell if you don't line up properly."

The orcs at the front of the pack said as they pushed their way through the crowd, "Chief Zhan, we would like to queue properly, but you have brought so little ironware that we won't be able to get any if we queue properly."

“Yeah, hey,” another orc shouted, “Don’t push me, move to the back.”

At such times, none of the orcs would give way to the others; they all wanted to be at the front so they could exchange for a suitable piece of iron.

Those queuing in front included not only people from surrounding tribes, but also people from several central tribes. They had been waiting in front of the Gaoshu tribe's booth for a long time. When they saw the Gaoshu tribe members arrive, they immediately ran forward to try and get a good spot. Unfortunately, there were too many people with the same idea, and they couldn't squeeze to the front.

An orc from the central tribe shouted, "We are orcs from the central tribe. We have come all this way to get here, so please make way for me. I only need a small dagger."

He shouted this, but no orc was willing to give him face. The orc at the very front shouted, "What guest? Even if my father or father came, I wouldn't let him in."

The beastmen crowded together, but Zhan remained calm and placed his basket on the ground without taking out the ironware inside. He shouted, "Our tribe only trades ironware for dried meat. One long knife for three baskets of dried meat. If you don't have that much dried meat, don't bother queuing up."

Orcs rely on the weather for their livelihood, so saving up three baskets of dried meat is no easy feat. Many orc families can't even accumulate that much dried meat in a year.

Zhan shouted these words, but the orcs did not retreat. Some orcs did not have enough dried meat, but there were quite a few of their own people here. They could just pool their resources and exchange it for ironware, which would then be shared among several people and used in turns.

Zhan then shouted, "Ironware is only for members of the hunting team. Orcs who are not members of the hunting team don't need to line up."

The exhibition caused a commotion. The orcs, both in front and behind, began to shout. They didn't understand why the ironware was only sold to members of the hunting party. Was it because they were afraid that the hunters in the gathering party couldn't afford it?

Faced with the beastmen's questioning, Zhan took out a long knife from his basket. The blade was very sharp and gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

"This kind of iron tool is called a long knife. It's much better than a stone knife. When you go out hunting, you'll have a better chance of dealing with wild animals."

Zhan explained it this way, and the orcs understood immediately. With long knives, the orcs in the hunting party would suffer fewer injuries when fighting wild beasts. Long knives were more useful in the hands of the orcs in the hunting party than in the orcs in the gathering party.

The orcs who belonged to the gathering team in the tribe quietly withdrew, and Zhan then said to the orcs in the central tribe, "When you leave, I will give you some ironware, and you don't need to queue up anymore."

Upon hearing Zhan's words, the orcs from the central tribe silently withdrew.

Those setting up stalls here were all led by the chieftains of various tribes. Seeing Zhan doing this, Li, the chieftain of the Great River Tribe, laughed and said, "Zhan, why don't you just take out all your long knives? We can pick a few from each tribe."

She rolled her eyes at him, pretending to be angry, and said, "This is a treasure. It's not your place to choose. If you want to exchange it, then exchange it; if you don't want to, then forget it."

Li burst into laughter, and the surrounding orcs were also amused.

*

Zhan shouted again, "Alright, the Great River Tribe is over here, the Green Wood Tribe is over here, the Rock Turtle Tribe is over here, the Red Rock Tribe is over here, the Snow Mountain Tribe is over here, all of you line up properly. If any tribe doesn't line up properly, I won't sell to them."

When Zhan shouted this, the orcs crowding in front of the stall began to line up obediently. After the line was formed, Zhan took a long knife and handed it to the first orc in the Great River Tribe line: "Three baskets of dried meat."

The first orcs from all the teams—Greenwood Tribe, Rock Turtle Tribe, Red Rock Tribe, and Snow Mountain Tribe—exchanged dried meat for long knives. Zhan then started exchanging with the first person from the Great River Tribe team.

Zhan was responsible for handing the long sword to the orc who came to exchange it, while Bai Ling and the other two old men were responsible for collecting the dried meat on the side.

Besides the orcs lined up, many other orcs surrounded the stall, their eyes fixed on the longsword Zhan had taken out. After the longsword was exchanged, a hint of regret would rise in their eyes.

Why can't I exchange for something so good?

As the orcs stared at the longsword, they chatted with the orcs they knew. Bai Ling's identity was quickly revealed to them; it turned out he was the "Ling" who had created so many things.

Bai Ling was collecting dried meat when he suddenly felt many eyes on him. He subconsciously looked up and saw that many people were looking at him.

There was gratitude and curiosity in those gazes... With so many people watching, Bai Ling calmed herself down, lowered her head, and continued doing what she was doing.

He asked the elderly orc next to him in a low voice, "Why are so many people looking at me?"

The old orc chuckled and said, "Which orc in the surrounding tribes doesn't know Ling? Now that they've finally met him in person, of course they're curious."

Bai Ling gave a soft "oh" and then continued working.

The long knives were quickly exchanged. One long knife was exchanged for three baskets of dried meat, and twenty long knives were exchanged for a total of sixty baskets of dried meat. This dried meat was enough for the tribesmen to eat for a while.

Zhan waved and called over a few tribesmen who were strolling around, telling them to carry three baskets of dried meat back with them: "We'll eat this dried meat for lunch today."

The tribesmen happily carried the dried meat back home. Seeing that there was nothing else going on here, Bai Ling also wanted to go back. He wanted to go to the place where Yue had set up her stall to see if there was anything he could do to help.

Unexpectedly, Zhan stopped him: "Ling, don't go back yet. We're going to exchange salt with other tribes later. You stay here and keep an eye on things."

When summer arrives, the surrounding tribes send orcs to the salt lake to dry salt. The High Tree Tribe is too busy this year and simply cannot spare the manpower to dry salt. They had already made an agreement with the Great River Tribe before the exhibition, and the Great River Tribe would help with the salt drying. They can then exchange goods at the Chada Conference.

The High Tree Tribe has fewer than three hundred orcs. They don't usually consume much salt, but the tribe needs to cure the meat, which requires a considerable amount of salt.

Salt is precious to some tribes, but not so much to the surrounding tribes. Zhan and Li have already agreed to exchange dried meat for salt.

One basket of dried meat can be exchanged for three baskets of salt, but the Gaoshu tribe wants to exchange for thirty baskets of salt.