The Rise of a Primitive Civilization

After a modest breakfast, the hunting party, comprising seven members including the elder, sets out equipped with a water jug, a cooking pot, and three ceramic bowls to barter for people and salt. Luo Chong's directives are precise: prioritize acquiring adult women over men from outside their tribe, as they are not only easier to integrate but also provide immediate utility and potential for population increase. Each jug could be traded for two adult women, the pot for two adolescent boys, and the bowls specifically for salt, or if unavailable, for young girls—two per bowl.

The journey to the neighboring tribe, located westward beyond a mountain and across a valley, is led by the elder. The team's goal is to complete the trade and return by dusk, avoiding unnecessary delays unless provoked by wild beasts. Meanwhile, the children are tasked with clearing the area around the cave and gathering suitable wood for spears, while the women are to focus on fishing and smoking meats. Everyone has a role, ensuring no idle hands.

Deep in the forest, the elder, recognizable by his horned headgear, and his party hasten along a well-trodden path carved out by countless previous hunts. As they crest the hill, a vista of a narrow valley opens up, with the targeted tribe's settlement just across the divide.

This tribe is larger, with a population nearing ninety, known to have previously interacted with Luo Chong's community through mutual exchanges of necessities like fire, dried meat, and pelts for rock salt.

By mid-morning, they encounter the tribe's hunting party. Initially met with suspicion, recognition dawns when they spot the familiar horned elder and the distinctively fierce one-eared man among the newcomers. Reassurances given, the tribal chief—a robust middle-aged man with a bare, muscular torso and a wide animal-skin belt—greets them. His bald head surrounded by a fringe of curly hair gives him a comical resemblance to a well-known mythical figure, eliciting a silent jest from Luo Chong about his appearance resembling a beloved disciple from folklore.

Communications between the chief and the elder involve a series of gestures and broken speech. The elder presents a ceramic bowl as a token for salt, sparking immediate interest in the chief. The exquisite craftsmanship and unfamiliar smoothness of the pottery fascinate him, reflecting its immense potential value.

Led back to their village, an impressive cave system with natural springs—though these dry up in winter, forcing reliance on distant water sources—the visitors are struck by the number of pregnant women and the vibrancy of community life here.

Negotiations commence at the cave's entrance. The chief, intrigued by the pottery, is initially reluctant to part with significant salt or manpower. However, the elder's strategic offer of a large jug in exchange for two adult women shifts the balance. The jug, far more valuable than the bowls, convinces the chief of the benefits outweighing the cost of reducing his tribe's immediate labor force.

After some deliberation, the chief agrees, swayed by the prospect of lessening his tribe's winter food requirements. In exchange, he offers not only the required salt but also two malnourished women—one cradling a visibly ill child. This additional, unsolicited offer of the sick child, meant as a disposal of a non-contributor in the chief's eyes, highlights the harsh realities of tribal survival strategies.

As the transaction concludes, the elder and his group prepare for their return, their mission successful yet tinged with the complex emotions of trading lives for the promise of their tribe's prosperity.