allonlinenovel Chapter 58 Trade Fair
Chapter 58 Trade Fair
In the square in front of Tiger Gate, four or five rows of stalls stretched out, one after another. The male beastmen, carrying large and small bags of goods on their shoulders or in their hands, walked by, chatting and laughing, their faces beaming with joy. Others gathered in twos and threes, buying and selling their goods, haggling over prices. The entire square was immersed in a noisy, joyful atmosphere.
The market trade in the tribes was basically based on barter. They did not have currency; the only common commodity was salt. Of course, in most places, animal hides and various foods could also be used for trade.
Linni, arm in arm with Ye, browsed from stall to stall. Some stalls offered various foods, others offered to trade animal hides, fruits, and seeds, while still others sold beautiful feathers or medicinal herbs. Linni exclaimed that her eyes were wide open! However, while looking around, she noticed that many people from the Tiger Beast Tribe were staring at Ye and her. Linni ignored them and continued strolling through the streets.
Just as she finished browsing through that row of stalls, she ran into Hui. Hui was with her two companions, and when she saw Lin Ni, she came up to greet her warmly: "Lin, you're here to browse the trade fair too?"
"Hui, what a coincidence!" Lin Ni greeted her warmly.
So the two women got together and started browsing through the stalls again. With Hui, the local expert, by her side, Linni learned a lot about the beastman continent. Hui also introduced her to many different fruits, how to eat them, their uses, and where they grew.
Linni saw a root plant similar to yam at the stall, along with ginger, and the two fruits she had previously discovered—chili peppers and lemons—that could be used as seasonings. Linni really wanted to trade some ginger, but then she realized she had nothing to bring, and her home had nothing to trade either. The ten or twenty pounds of salt Mei had given her earlier were meant to be saved for making salted and cured meat; otherwise, the meat from the hunt wouldn't last until winter. As for animal hides, Linni needed far too many. She needed them to make clothes, bedding, a large quilt, curtains (she didn't even have a door curtain yet), as well as washcloths, large bath towels, sanitary napkins, and so on.
Ye felt a little guilty; he had acted so disgracefully as a partner, leaving his partner with nothing to trade. So he said, "After Yao and the others return from hunting tonight, they can come back tomorrow to trade for what they want. I'll go hunting tomorrow too."
Lin Ni smiled and shook her head: "It's okay."
Linni comforted herself: They just built a new house and moved to a new place, so it's normal to be a little poor. Just like in modern society, after buying a house and decorating it in full, the family's cash is basically used up, isn't it? This is because there are no loan services in the orc world!
As the two browsed the stalls, they saw Feng, who was dealing with a conflict between two small tribes that had gotten into a dispute during a transaction. Lin Ni smiled and waved to him, then didn't go over to disturb him.
After Hui had walked a distance away, she suddenly said in a very sarcastic tone, "Lin, you're really not being fair. Why didn't you tell me that you were born female?"
Lin Ni was a little embarrassed and said shyly, "I was having so much fun chatting with you at the time that I didn't think of it. I didn't mean to hide it from you."
Hui nodded, no longer blaming her, and instead excitedly said, "Now the whole tribe knows that you, the female who just joined our tribe and was blessed by the Beast God, are a born female. The single beasts who didn't come to you for a mate at the bonfire party are now regretting it to death! Feng even said that no other males are allowed to go to the mountain where you live. Everyone says he's too domineering, after all, you have so few mates, you must be looking for more!"
Linni was even more embarrassed: How could there be fewer? Thinking of the two rings of mate marks on Feng's mother's arm, she absolutely didn't want them! She couldn't help but ask again, "Hui, how many mate marks are there in total on one arm?"
Hui smiled and said, "There are nine partner marks in a circle. If you happen to have a circle of partner marks on your arm, plus the first partner mark above, that makes a total of ten partners."
Linni nodded: So Feng's mother is beautiful, and she actually has nineteen partners? My goodness!
At this moment, Hui leaned close to Lin Ni's ear and whispered, "Was Feng too rough? I can smell blood on you."
Linni blushed deeply; it was so embarrassing! Feng was indeed rough, but the fact that she was bleeding... couldn't you orcs have a better sense of smell?!
Seeing her face turn red, Hui thought she had guessed correctly and chuckled to herself, "Level eight orcs, no, I should say level nine orcs are really powerful!"
Lin Ni wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground!
Linni and Hui shopped together for almost two hours, and both of them were very tired, so they went home separately with their partners.
Because she went to bed a little late last night, Lin Ni took a nap after lunch. She dreamt again that she had entered that fantastical space. The space was somewhat dim, but not cramped; she felt a warm glow in the dimness. Although she couldn't see clearly in front, behind, left, or right, she still groped around in the space. Lin Ni slowly walked forward, feeling something sleeping in the unseen distance ahead. So she started running, trying to see what was sleeping. She kept running and running until she heard someone talking. Who was it? The person said, "Lin, you've been sleeping so long today? Why don't we wake you up for some food?"
Is it Yao? Lin Ni opened her eyes and saw the roof of the stone house. She was still taking a nap, but looking out of Feng Liu's window, it was already almost dark. She had actually slept for the entire afternoon? Feeling a surge in her lower body, Lin Ni quickly got up. Seeing Ye making clothes for her at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), she said, "It's too dark in here. Why don't you go somewhere brighter?" Then she grabbed her things and, ignoring Yao standing at the door, ran straight to the bathroom.
Feng, Yan, Baishu, and Baiji were outside processing the game. When they saw her come out, they smiled at her and said, "Lin is up."
Lin Ni grunted and rushed into the other bathroom, whereupon they all smelled a strong, sweet odor of blood. Their expressions changed. Looking at the animal-skin curtain of the bathroom door, if Lin Ni hadn't sternly warned them that once inside this small room called the bathroom, no one was allowed to enter without her permission, they would have all rushed in.
The group put down what they were carrying and gathered around the bathroom door. Hearing the sound of water coming from inside, Yao couldn't help but ask, "Lin, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine, don't come in!" Lin Ni could sense them all standing outside the door, and she was so nervous! "Nobody's allowed in!"