After Hei Lie finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.
“I’m sure you’re speaking the Common Language of the Eastern Continent, but I’m also very sure that I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
Li was the first to break the awkward silence. Ever since he arrived at the Spark Tribe, he often felt like a fool.
There were many things he had never seen before. Even when he listened to the guides’ explanations, certain terms would leave him completely confused, making it impossible to understand what was going on.
At first, he was a little annoyed, thinking that the Spark Tribe was deliberately making things difficult for him.
Later, after interacting with others, he realized that this was how everyone in the Spark Tribe was. The guides were already the ones who spoke most clearly.
Other members of the Spark Tribe, even those he had known back in the Black Stone Tribe, now spoke in ways that were often extremely perplexing.
Especially when asking certain questions, it often made one suspect they were being deliberately vague to avoid revealing too much.
For example, terms related to technology, productivity, and the like—words he had never heard before, and even when explained, barely understood—would come out of their mouths naturally.
Not only that, even the people from the Green Python Tribe who had come here to help with labor spoke in the same style.
“Don’t worry. Specific details will be introduced to you later by dedicated people. Practical hands-on experience will make it easier for you to understand.”
Hei Lie had long anticipated this. Now he merely mentioned it, noting that there would be dedicated people responsible for introducing the concept.
“This is a very convenient method, and it also makes exchanges between you easier.
If you find it unsuitable, you can still use the old method, though it will be much less efficient. During exchanges, I hope everyone avoids conflicts caused by impatience.”
Unlike the other people present, who were shocked and bewildered by the unfamiliarity, Qiao and En, although not strangers to the trading methods used, looked at the Spark Tribe with new respect.
On the Western Continent, people used gold, silver, and copper coins as mediums for exchange. The difference here was that the Spark Tribe used certificates that had no intrinsic value as a substitute.
This was indeed a new type of trading method, and it was far more convenient than using gold or other coins.
Gold, silver, and copper coins all had considerable weight and were valuable items, making them unsafe to carry.
But paying with certificates removed that concern. Of course, this method relied on a foundation of trust. Otherwise, no one would dare exchange their goods for a certificate that might turn out to be worthless.
Furthermore, the Spark Tribe possessed items attractive enough that everyone considered the exchanges worthwhile. Both conditions were indispensable.
En and Qiao had not expected the Spark Tribe to employ such a method. For the Eastern Continent, which was still in the stage of bartering, this was an extremely special innovation, a kind of leap forward.
On the Eastern Continent, trading always involved exchanging something you had for something the other party was interested in, and vice versa.
Often, situations would arise where: “I’m interested in your goods, but you’re not interested in mine.” This caused a great deal of trouble, making trades extremely difficult.
The Spark Tribe’s approach greatly reduced this difficulty. Not only could people trade with the Spark Tribe, but if other tribes had items mutually considered desirable, they could also trade among themselves.
As long as there were items in the Spark Tribe that caught their interest, they could use Spark Tribe certificates to exchange goods, and then ultimately redeem those certificates from the Spark Tribe to obtain what they truly wanted.
En slightly turned to look at Yang Yi behind him. Dressed in a white robe, he sat at the top, exuding an aura of transcendence.
Yang Yi sensed his gaze and smiled faintly at him. His dark eyes seemed capable of seeing everything.
Yet no one knew what he was thinking or how much he had stored in his mind.
En did not believe that Yang Yi was some divine messenger, but there was no denying that this man possessed astonishing power.
“I don’t quite understand what it means, but it sounds very interesting,” Jin Huan said, her soft and charming voice drawing everyone’s attention back.
“I’ll have to try it out later and see how it really works. Your Spark Tribe always comes up with strange, fascinating things, and they’re very tempting.”
With Jin Huan taking the lead, the others also adopted a “let’s give it a try” attitude, eager to see what it was all about.
Trading was an extremely troublesome process, which was why people usually disliked it.
If not enough tribes showed up for trading, there was a high chance that no one would be interested in your goods, leaving you unable to make an exchange—and making the trip entirely wasted.
The more tribes there were, the higher the likelihood of successful trades.
If you only brought common items, they might be too ordinary for anyone to want, or the things you could get in return would be minimal.
If you brought something special, there might not be a suitable buyer.
Essential everyday items like salt or weapons were never a problem. That was why the Green Python Tribe was so wealthy. They could always easily exchange for whatever they lacked.
However, most tribes, by trading at regular intervals, would get a rough understanding of what to bring.
Once the celebration ended, trading began immediately.
After the guides’ explanations and practical demonstrations, everyone quickly understood how it all worked.
“These are ‘coins’, serving as certificates for the supplies you brought. You can use them at the various stalls to exchange for the items you need. Please take good care of them. Loss will require compensation.”
The guide took out the exquisite “coins”. The paper and pen were actually playing cards. Yang Yi had bought quite a few back then because they were cheap, and they could be used for trading.
Although the denominations were very small, items here weren’t sold individually. All sales were bulk transactions, so the coins were more than sufficient.
“Aren’t you worried someone might forge them?” Qiao asked.
The others from the tribes widened their eyes in shock. Forgery was even possible? What a despicable person it would take to do such a thing.
The Spark Tribe guide smiled. “These certificates all have records and markings. Besides, I don’t think anyone could currently produce an identical certificate.”
There was a tone of pride and confidence in his words. If someone could create such exquisite paper, complete with such beautiful illustrations, even being tricked by it wouldn’t feel unfair.
Qiao was instantly speechless.
The Green Python Tribe was the first to start trading. Jin Huan, trusting completely, exchanged all the items they had brought for certificates.
“Jin Huan! Weren’t you going to trade salt with us? You’ve given it all to the Spark Tribe. What are we supposed to do?”
Li exclaimed. One of his main purposes for coming here was to exchange for salt.
The others quickly grew anxious as well. The Spark Tribe indeed had many items that attracted them, but salt was far too important. It was irreplaceable.
“What’s there to panic about?” Jin Huan raised an eyebrow. “This salt isn’t meant for trading with the Spark Tribe. It’s just to make trading more convenient for you. Later, I’ll pick from your goods what we need, so we don’t have to negotiate one by one. It’s too troublesome.”
Jin Huan often interacted with the Spark Tribe and thus understood their ways of doing things.
She quickly grasped the purpose and advantages of the certificates. Because she trusted the Spark Tribe, she immediately accepted this method.
Even though they had salt and were in a favorable position in trading, it didn’t mean they could control everything.
Many tribes, when trading, would bundle goods that were hard to sell with items that were easier to trade.
They did the same themselves, taking advantage of the red salt.
This sometimes led to receiving things they didn’t want. If those unwanted items couldn’t be traded further, it would be extremely troublesome.
But now, with the Spark Tribe willing to accept so many items and having so many worthwhile goods for trade, everything could be exchanged directly for certificates. Later, they could select the supplies brought by other tribes from the Spark Tribe, making everything much more convenient.
Qiao and En were among the first to catch on. After looking over the Spark Tribe’s prices for their goods, they felt the evaluations were fairly reasonable and exchanged their items as well.
The Green Python Tribe and the Western Continent caravans did the same, and other tribes quickly followed suit. Although some tribes initially cautiously kept a portion of their goods, they soon also exchanged everything for certificates.
For this trading event, the Spark Tribe had prepared in advance. Based on experience from previous years, they analyzed what goods people were likely to bring and estimated the prices beforehand.
At first, to be safe, the Spark Tribe simply collected the goods and did not put them back out for secondary sale.
Once everyone’s enthusiasm for shopping was stirred, the certificates in the hands of the Spark Tribe stallkeepers increased. According to the numbers represented by those certificates, after subtracting what the tribe itself needed and the pre-planned amounts, the rest were placed in the trading area, expanding the variety of goods available.
This made the trading area livelier, allowing everyone to easily exchange for what they needed.
Tribes skilled in arithmetic, after the initial rush of excitement, quickly calmed down and planned their purchases.
With the most direct numbers in hand, allocation became much easier. They didn’t have to worry about issues like matching trades, and what had been a complicated trading process was simplified.
By the end of the afternoon, everyone was able to exchange for the items they were satisfied with.
“If we’d known trading was this easy, we should have brought more things!”
This was the strongest impression for the tribes participating in the trade. In the past, everyone had approached trading with both anticipation and anxiety, because there were far too many troublesome issues involved.
Especially if a tribe was relatively weak, it was easy for them to be bullied, with situations of forced buying and selling occurring.
The items they could actually get in return might only be half their true value, or even less.
Such situations happened frequently. No one cared about the thoughts of the weak, and no one spoke up for them.
If anyone did, it was extremely rare.
Weakness was an original sin.
Some tribes were also very cunning, deceiving outsiders who didn’t understand the trade.
But now, none of that existed!
The Spark Tribe clearly marked their prices, and everyone was treated the same—no differences.
The numbers were clear and straightforward. Although the characters were unfamiliar to many, they were very easy to remember. After an entire afternoon, everyone understood what they meant.
This trading experience left everyone with a very good impression. They all obtained the items they desired.
Although some regretted buying too much of one thing or too little of another, that was merely a planning mistake on their part. Nothing to truly regret.
“I hope from now on we can always trade like this.”
Li voiced his thoughts to Hei Lie, and the other tribes quickly agreed.
They had never experienced trading being so easy and straightforward.
This was exactly what Hei Lie had been waiting to hear. “Since everyone supports it so much, our tribe is also willing to continue using this method.”
