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

Chapter 36 "Commodities" Ten Thousand Years Later (Seeking monthly votes!)

"You, stay here and listen to me. The meat and the pottery are yours!"

"Listen to me, one day. I'll give you meat, one day!"

"Listen to me, three days. I'll give you a small pottery piece!"

Xia Minghao said it slowly and deliberately, and Li Ba's expression immediately changed upon hearing it.

"We will not join; the Power Tribe will remain the Power Tribe!"

Damn it, I knew these primitive people wouldn't understand me.

Helpless, Xia Minghao slapped his forehead and had no choice but to try his best to explain it repeatedly using primitive language vocabulary.

The limited vocabulary of a proto-language makes it difficult to express things clearly.

Moreover, what Xia Minghao was talking about exchanging was a commodity that Liba would never see, even until his death or the extinction of the Liba tribe—labor.

The purchase of labor only began to emerge in feudal society, took centuries to mature, and finally came to fruition in Xia Minghao's era.

This special production relationship could not have appeared in primitive times, because under normal circumstances, the productive forces that could support it could not exist.

But for Xia Minghao now, it has become the best solution to the labor problem.

This not only prevents a large influx of people from challenging one's power, but also allows for the rapid acquisition of available labor.

Fortunately, thanks to Xia Minghao's pioneering and painstaking efforts, they now have the material foundation to support the purchase of labor—surplus means of subsistence.

Like blackfish, pheasant meat, and wild boar meat.

This could meet the basic survival needs of this group of primitive people.

Since there is demand, the premise for this kind of cross-generational exchange naturally arises.

But that wasn't enough, because in this primitive era based on communal ownership, it was impossible for labor to be purchased in the first place.

The only missing element is the word "exploitation".

Without exploitation, there is no coercion.

This is the biggest difference between the purchasing of labor in Xia Minghao's era and the purchasing of labor in his time.

In primitive times, even if the men of the Liba and Li tribes ignored Xia Minghao and simply left, they wouldn't starve.

But in Xia Minghao's time, without working and selling one's labor, one could not support one's parents, raise one's children, or eat or dress well.

Xia Minghao chose pottery to address the problem of insufficient "coerciveness".

This is why the uses of pottery were shown from the very beginning.

They also decided to give the pottery to the men of this powerful tribe as payment for their labor.

If they obey for three days, the Li tribe can obtain a small pottery piece, which creates a gap in the supply chain.

A gap is a situation where there is a demand, but the demand cannot be met.

If they hadn't been given pottery, these primitive people might have forgotten about it once they returned to their tribe, preoccupied with survival.

If you give too much, then there will be no need to obtain this item.

This demand gap allows the "subjective initiative" generated by the men of the Li tribe to barely function as a so-called "coercive force."

The significance of doing this goes far beyond simply acquiring labor; it is also an experiment.

It's impossible to wait for the Xi tribe to have children, and then have grandchildren, and then have children again, to expand the population and labor force. If that were the case, Xia Minghao would be exhausted.

The subsequent rapid development will inevitably be achieved using the existing population from the primitive era.

The previous reaction of the Li tribe also showed Xia Minghao the cohesion within the tribe, which was based on blood ties.

It's definitely not feasible to directly exchange things for someone's relatives or children.

Xia Minghao is now experimenting with the feasibility of this "use first, pay later" labor acquisition method to accumulate experience.

This is so that we can quickly acquire useful labor when dealing with other tribes in the future.

As Xia Minghao patiently explained again and again, the anger on Liba and Lipa's faces gradually disappeared, turning into confusion, and then into bewilderment.

It seemed the two understood, and under Xia Minghao's command, Xima also brought over the meat drying rack.

Upon seeing the dried meat on the plate, Liba's eyes simply lit up with anticipation.

If we do as this strange man from the Xi tribe says, the meat will be ours?
"Meat, so much meat! Mommy!" Una was the first to see the meat she had been dreaming of!
And there was so much meat, which made her feel dazed, as if she were dreaming.

The excited little body immediately jumped up, pointed at the meat drying rack and shouted.

The sound naturally attracted Usa's attention, and when he saw what Una was pointing at, he sprang up from the stone like a spring.

After a brief moment of shock, Usa glanced at the women around Xia Minghao, a hint of relief appearing in his eyes.

If the women in this tribe are so strong, it's not unusual for the men to have so much flesh.

Perhaps the men of this Xi tribe could directly kill those dark-skinned, horned creatures they had once seen by chance.

In their own tribe, there were hardly any strong men left, let alone the old ones.

Usa's eyes revealed envy, even a hint of jealousy, and she gradually developed a covetous thought, conceiving the idea of ​​luring the men of this tribe to the Usa tribe.

Even if it's just to seduce one person, that would be great!
With this in mind, Usa asked Xia Minghao for details.

"How many fingers do you, the men of your tribe, have?"

Xia Minghao originally planned to deal with things one by one, first dealing with the Dingli tribe, and then gradually working on this newly contacted tribe.

Now that the other party has taken the initiative to speak, it has created an opportunity for communication.

Turning to look at Usa, he quickly understood what she meant after a moment's thought.

Of course, they weren't actually asking how many fingers someone had, but rather the number of men in the Xi tribe.

Xia Minghao smiled faintly, pointed to himself, and said to Usa.

"just me."

what? !

Usa's eyes, which had been harboring some thoughts, widened again, and he was so surprised that he could hardly control his voice.

I thought all the men in the tribe had gone hunting, but it turns out there was only one man in the tribe.

This tribe has so few women and only one man.

And his own Wu tribe had so many women, plus five men...

But this tribe had useful pottery and so much meat!

"Why do you have these, these, and these?!"

Usa's voice was still agitated, like a resentful woman denouncing the injustice of fate, as she pointed to the pottery and the dried meat on the drying rack and asked.

"It is the chief; without the chief, there would be none of these."

As Xia Minghao's biggest fan, Xia Ya immediately said with pride in her tone.

Everyone who heard this showed obvious pride on their faces.

As women themselves, they naturally sensed Usa's jealousy, which triggered their innate competitive nature...

The desire to compare oneself with others is very primitive. Essentially, it is about judging one's own advantages in the competition for resources through comparison, thereby gaining a rare sense of security.

This primal desire to compete may not be apparent between individuals, but it is very easy to foster within a group.

At this moment, the women’s pride seemed to be saying: We have a chief, you don’t, so be jealous!

Usa's expression became incredibly complex, and the shock in his heart intensified.

It was all because of this man!
It was this man who transformed this tribe, which consisted only of women, into something the Wu tribe could never have dreamed of.

If this man could come back to the Wu tribe with me...

The idea had barely formed in his mind when the already excited Usa blurted it out.

"Men, my tribe, the Wu tribe, has many women. Come to my tribe, I am yours."

As soon as he finished speaking, Usa suddenly remembered the fact that he was old and his looks were fading, and then pushed Una, who was sniffing the jerky from afar, in front of him.

"My daughter is yours too."

Xia Minghao was dumbfounded. For a moment, he even thought that he hadn't learned the original language well and had misunderstood the meaning.

The women of the Xi tribe reacted with lightning speed; without any orders, all their wooden spears were simultaneously aimed at Usa.

These women with weird paint all over their bodies are trying to steal our chief!
(End of this chapter)