"My Lady, honored lady, please let my child stay and work for you! I’m begging you, My Lady, we eat very little!"
A male with a panicked look on his face rushed out from the crowd and knelt before Wu Yue. His gaunt face was filled with pleading as he kowtowed, banging his head repeatedly on the ground.
Wu Yue was a bit stunned. ’What’s happening?’
Seeing this, the stout male hurriedly ran over from behind the crowd, bowing repeatedly to Wu Yue in apology. "I’m sorry, My Lady. He just wants to be with his child, that’s why he rushed out. I’ll take him away right now."
With that, he reached out, grabbed the male’s arm, and prepared to drag him away.
Wu Yue frowned. "How old is his child?"
The male bowed. "His child has already lived through five Cold Seasons. He can still do so simple tasks."
The stout male looked a bit embarrassed as he said this. After all, the work a child who had only lived through five Cold Seasons could do wasn’t really enough to earn his keep.
But one could only say this male was very lucky. Chang Ye had also brought his child along, and Wu Yue didn’t mind taking on one more. It made no real difference to her.
In fact, if she let these young children stay, their parents would work even harder.
So she waved her hand dismissively. "It’s fine. Bring all the young children. I’ll take them all."
’Children were a good thing, a very good thing. As long as they were trained well, these young ones would be no different from the cubs born and raised in the tribe, and their sense of belonging would be even stronger.’
At this thought, the smile on Wu Yue’s lips deepened.
Because Wu Yue had taken all the able-bodied adults and their children, only so middle-aged and elderly Pure Humans remained.
"Why isn’t Uncle coming over?"
A small child asked in a piping voice, tugging on the grass vine tied around their parent’s waist as they looked at the tribe mbers left behind.
The man beside him sighed, gently stroking the child’s sparse hair without a word.
Wu Yue looked at the stout male. "Are these all that’s left?"
The male nodded with a wry smile. "The older mbers of the tribe aren’t as strong as the younger ones."
Wu Yue frowned as she looked at the remaining frail, middle-aged, and elderly mbers of the small tribe. She sighed. "Fine. The rest of them can co with as well. But I can only give you two Beast Skins’ worth of salt for them."
The stout male grinned from ear to ear, bowing again and again to thank Wu Yue.
The remaining middle-aged and elderly Pure Humans stood up in disbelief, a newfound gratitude in their eyes as they looked at Wu Yue.
’It was better to stay with their own people than be scattered among different tribes. They could still look after one another. Besides, this lady seed quite benevolent.’
After taking the mbers of the small tribe back and handing them over to Chang Ye, Wu Yue and Yuan Lang returned to the trading ground. The main event of the trade et was about to begin.
The chaotic scene of stalls scattered everywhere was gone. In the very center of the trading grounds stood a huge wooden platform, upon which were arranged jars of salt packed in bamboo containers.
mbers from so of the small and dium-sized tribes stared fervently at those bamboo jars. Among them, Wu Yue even spotted the Clan Leader of her forr tribe—that tall, sturdy male.
But it was obvious this Small Tribe Leader didn’t recognize Wu Yue. In his mind, that sickly Yue had probably gone to see the Beast God long ago, just like her Father and Amu.
"This salt has been provided jointly by us, the Four Great Tribes. It is only for trade with the mbers of the small tribes in the Polar Forest. You all know the rules: ten Beast Skins or so other precious items in exchange for one bamboo jar of salt.
Alright, those who wish to trade, bring your items and co forward."
Watching the mbers of the small tribes swarm forward, and seeing the tall, sturdy male scrambling to be first, Wu Yue felt a complex mix of emotions.
’When I first ca to this world, this man had wanted to kill for being too weak and wasting food. But now, here he was, fighting frantically over a single jar of salt.’
The one organizing the salt exchange was none other than Shi Lin. This normally shy Half beastman Warrior still projected the full authority of a Great Tribe when facing the mbers of the small tribes. His handso face was tense, giving him a genuinely serious air.
"Yue, we should go."
Wu Yue nodded, gave the tall, sturdy male one last look, and walked with Yuan Lang in the direction of the tribe’s sacrificial altar.
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