We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 30 News about Salt
The women were all taken aback by Xia Minghao's sudden reaction.

Wamu, in particular, thought he had said something wrong and angered the chief, and his heart skipped a beat.

Xia Minghao noticed the change in atmosphere and realized that he was getting a little emotional.

It was impossible not to be excited, because this news could change the fate of the entire Xi tribe!
The importance of salt goes without saying. Not only in this primitive era, but even in the Iron Age, salt was a top-tier form of hard currency.

The key point is that, according to Wamu's description, it seems to be a salt spring!
If this were a Paradox Interactive game, Salt Springs would probably be labeled with "Cohesion+" and "Population Attraction+".

Battles like the Battle of Zhuolu between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou, and the Battle of Banquan between the Yellow Emperor and Yan Emperor, were essentially struggles for control of the salt lakes east of the Yellow River.

After the Yellow Emperor's victory, the three dynasties of Yao, Shun, and Yu all established their capitals near the salt lake, and the core areas of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties always revolved around the salt lake.

Salt holds an irresistible attraction for all people, no, for all animals, including humans.

As long as one possesses the power to control this salt spring, one will not only have a continuous supply of salt, but also a continuous flow of people.

Having the salt spring not only solved the population problem that had kept Xia Minghao up at night, but also laid the foundation for the civilization he wanted to create himself.

“Wam, continue. Where did you find the water that you drink, the water that gives you strength?”

Concealing his excitement, Xia Minghao coughed twice and asked Wamu in a soft voice.

"Yes, it's in a forest, behind the mountain, where water flows from the rocks."

Having obtained a clearer description, Xia Minghao was now certain that this was indeed the Salt Spring.

"But there are terrible things there. When I was not yet the Great Mother, I went there once, ran away, and never dared to go again."

Xia Minghao had already begun to consider the matter of migrating to Yanquan and wanted to ask about the distance to Wamu.

But upon hearing this, he suppressed his urgency and encouraged her to continue.

"Terrible? What's scary?"

"It's a person, with a face like a person's, and very tall! Like that tree."

"A terrifying person, covered in hair like a wild boar."

Looking at the tree that Wamu pointed to, Xia Minghao was astonished.

Goodness, this tree must be twice my height. Where did such a tall person come from?
Giant savage?

And it even has hair like a wild boar?
No, Wamu was probably talking about a bear!

"That should be called a bear, not a person. Does it walk on its stomach, like, uh, Wangcai?"
After saying that, Xia Minghao patted Wangcai's head, making Wangcai, who was lying on the ground yawning, stand up and perform a four-legged feat.

"Bear……"

Wam heard the chief give those terrible "people" their names and recited them aloud.

The other women and children listened intently, and they also repeated the new term.

Everyone was waiting for Wam's answer.

Although Wamu was terrified when he thought about that terrible experience, he still tried his best to recall it.

Finally, he nodded affirmatively at Xia Minghao.

The other women were all astonished to see that their chief was so powerful and had even seen such a terrifying being.

"Chief, did your former tribe also have this, chest?"

Hearing someone ask a question, Xia Minghao understood it, even though the pronunciation wasn't perfect.

Seeing the fear on the women's faces, he thought for a moment and answered decisively.

"Of course, but in my former tribe, I could kill them with ease."

The women gasped in surprise, while Wamu, who had actually seen a bear, was so astonished that she lost her voice.

Xia Minghao was relieved to see that the women were no longer afraid.

The worst thing is to be cowardly before the battle even begins. We will definitely have to get this salt spring in the future, and we will definitely have to come into contact with bears. If we let this fear of bears fester now, then it will be useless to say anything more later.

Besides, what I said wasn't a lie. In modern society, if you had an AK47, you wouldn't care about any wolves or tigers.

Based on Xia Minghao's knowledge, bears are solitary animals, and their numbers near the salt spring are definitely not large. Of course, we will have to wait for actual exploration to know for sure.

Even if there is only one, the Xi tribe would face a high risk and high cost in dealing with such a ferocious behemoth.

We should play it safe and be patient, and wait!

Once the population and weapons are sufficient to kill the group of bear-faced creatures, they will be able to seize the salt spring.

With salt springs, increasing the population is a piece of cake!
Once the tribe grew strong enough and had a sufficient population, the glorious agricultural era began!
The key now is to take the first step well and complete the initial accumulation of population.

Looking at the earthenware pot, Xia Minghao thought to himself, "I still need earthenware."

Without this thing, how could we possibly swindle people from the Li tribe?

The most urgent task now is to solve the problem of pottery production as soon as possible and improve the success rate of pottery firing.

When the women saw that Xia Minghao stopped asking questions, they couldn't help but start whispering among themselves.

The discussion naturally revolved around the human-faced bear and, as Wamu said, the water that tasted like broth.

When the campfire was about to go out, the women returned to the cave.

Even after lying on the hay, Ye Zi was still savoring the taste of the broth.

Ye Zi suddenly felt that she should do something.

prayer.

She hadn't prayed in a long time.

Back when I was in the Wind Tribe, every night I would first thank the totem god for his protection and pray that I would be free from death and hunger the next day.

By the time they arrived at the Li tribe, this prayer custom had been forgotten.

But today, she not only got to eat her fill, but also enjoyed delicious food that she couldn't find even in the Wind Tribe.

This made Ye Zi want to pray again.

Of course, it is no longer an invisible and intangible totem god that only exists in the mouths of mothers and grandmothers.

Instead, it was this chief with yellow skin and black eyes, unlike anyone else.

"what are you saying?"

I had just murmured a few words when I heard a low voice enter my ears.

She was a woman from the Greek tribe.

"I am praying."

"pray?"

"We just hope the chief can keep us safe, prevent us from going hungry, and ensure we get to eat the delicious food we're having tonight."

“But the chief is right there, you can go and talk to him directly.”

The woman looked at Ye Zi with confusion, not understanding why she was doing this.

Ye Zi glanced at the tent, then looked at the woman who had spoken.

"The chief is sleeping in there," I whispered.

Not only the woman, but also several other women who were nearby and listening looked at the tent with awe.

"Then... I'll tell you secretly too."

"I also said..."

The women joined in, imitating the leaves and beginning what they considered "prayer."

It was less of a prayer and more of a blessing for Xia Minghao and himself.

The women's "prayer" ended with the sound of sneezes coming from inside the tent.

Ye Zi lay down on the bed, but even though she had prayed, she still felt somewhat unsettled.

Because she did so little in the Xi tribe.

The leniency shown to her by others only exacerbated her inner unease.

Suddenly, I remembered the conversation I had overheard between Xia Minghao and Xiya.

The clay dough needs to be dried and hardened first... before it can be baked.

Just like when meat is dried, it will harden...

In the Wind Tribe, she often worked with other women, using the power of totems to quickly dry meat strips.

Looking at the pottery blanks in the corner of the cave, Ye Zi decided to do more after thinking it over.

Like a prayer, secretly...doing something more.

(End of this chapter)