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

Chapter 18 The Primitive Man Exchange Project

Looking at the group of trembling cavemen in front of him, Xia Minghao began to think.

It is clearly not feasible to directly convert these people into one's own tribe and turn them into new "tools".

They were perfectly aware that it was their powerful flashlights and javelins that were causing them such fear.

But if a real conflict were to occur, then they would truly be at their wits' end.

Even if all of the dozen or so women on their side had spear-throwing weapons, they still couldn't defeat the dozen or so burly, big-chested men on the other side.

Adding in his own strength and the survival knife in his hand, the odds are at most fifty-fifty.

It's definitely impossible to subdue them by force.

And even if they could all be assimilated into the tribe, would they still be the master of that tribe?
The worst fear is that greed will lead to them stealing the fruits of our labor.

We still need to take it slow and increase the number of people in the tribe step by step; we can't expect to achieve everything at once.

However, Xia Minghao didn't have any good ideas for the time being, so he decided to communicate with these primitive people who came from who-knows-where first to understand the situation.

"What are you doing here?"

His gaze swept over everyone, and Xia Minghao asked.

Finally, the man with the glowing eyes spoke, but the men of the Li tribe didn't know how to respond.

What are you doing here?
Are you saying you're here to steal your woman, kill your child, and then plan to stay overnight in your cave?
“I see that in your tribe, there is meat, and also…”

Lipa felt that all the failures were his fault, and he was also worried that if he didn't respond, the man would unleash some kind of divine power again. He swallowed hard and cautiously began to speak.

When the leader, Liba, heard this, he was startled and wished he could raise his hand and give Liba another hard knock on the head.

How could you say such a thing?

What if this tribe finds out my purpose and then tries to kill me?
In a moment of urgency, Chief Liba interrupted and continued.

“Meat, we just want your meat. Lipa said he saw that you have a lot of meat.”

Xia Minghao moved the powerful flashlight away from the man who had just spoken and pointed it at the bald man who had spoken.

In primitive times, bald heads were a rare sight.

After all, they work from sunrise to sunset every day, leading a very regular life.

Moreover, most people, even if they have this gene, will not live to see the point of hair loss.

Want some meat?
Looking at the bald man Liba's eyes, which were constantly pierced by the bright light, and then at the strange expressions on the faces of the other primitive people after hearing these words, he noticed something else.

I believe you as a ghost!

So many people came just for meat?
Clumsy primitives, they can't even lie.

However, these words inadvertently opened up Xia Minghao's mind...

Could we exchange flesh for a person?!

Thinking of this, Xia Minghao organized his thoughts and immediately began to speak.

"If you want meat, I can give it to you."

The primitive people, who were still feeling fear and helplessness, were stunned when they heard Xia Minghao's words.

Give us meat?

After confirming they hadn't misheard, disbelief was evident on everyone's faces.

Meat is not something that can be eaten every day, even though so many men in their tribe go hunting.

In primitive times, for a tribe, hunting and gathering were like wages and investments.

The salary is stable, as is the data collection.

Berries and roots are easy to find; as long as they are gathered, at least one tribe will not starve.

Investments, however, are less stable, and hunting is no exception.

It was common for the men to go hunting and come up empty-handed. After a whole day of work, they wouldn't even catch a pheasant and would lose a lot of calories, which the women had to make up for by gathering.

But once they catch prey, like wild boars, they get a huge fattening meal and plenty of protein.

Meat is very precious, which is why these primitive people were so surprised at this moment.

This tribe, which instilled fear in them, was actually willing to give them meat!
After the group whispered among themselves, Xia Minghao noticed their faces filled with doubt and anticipation. He then hesitated for a moment before continuing to probe and ask, instead of getting straight to the point.

“I’ll give you meat. We have plenty of meat, roasted. You can take it back with you for a long time.”

"but!"

“We gave you meat, so you should give us something in return.”

The reason it's so complicated is because the original language simply doesn't have the word "exchange".

In fact, Xia Minghao had long noticed that there were very few exchanges within the tribe.

Because of the inconvenience of travel, there were no basic conditions for exchanges between tribes.

Language serves practice, at least that's true in this day and age, so it's understandable that the word "exchange" hasn't emerged yet. But if this "deal" goes through, that word will probably appear soon.

"I give you things, and you give me meat?"

Leader Liba was the first to react, and his face showed great interest.

Of course they want meat!
If we can bring all the meat back with us, then this trip won't be considered a complete failure.

"Well, what can you give me?"

Hearing the bald man's response, Xia Minghao knew that they roughly understood, and at the same time, he could tell that the bald man seemed to be a leader among this group.

"Here, take my wooden spear, and in return, give me meat?"

After saying that, the bald man thought for a moment and cautiously pointed to the wooden spear that had already been put down.

Xia Minghao looked at the wooden spear, which he thought was even worse than his own, shook his head, and gestured behind him.

“We have plenty of wooden spears, we don’t need them.”

The men of the Li tribe all wanted meat, so they naturally started racking their brains to think of something to trade for it.

"Do you have any stones or water over there that taste the same as licking your own body?"

Xia Minghao continued to ask, and Li Ba licked his elbow and shook his head blankly.

It seems there are no unexpected gains, so let's get straight to the point.

After clearing his throat twice, Xia Minghao spoke again.

"Actually, you could trade your women for meat, how about that?"

After he said it, to his surprise, the bald man shook his head without hesitation.

"A person cannot have their flesh replaced!"

So decisive?

hiss……

Hearing the bald man's resolute tone, Xia Minghao, who had been confident, secretly thought things were going badly.

It seems I misjudged the situation.

That's true. As a newcomer, I realized that humans were the most valuable resource in primitive times.

Let alone these native primitive people!
Is the plan to replace him going to burst like a bubble?
"Eat jerky for ten days, and then replace the person?"

But as soon as he said it, the bald man shook his head again.

Seeing this, Xia Minghao still wanted to try his best.

He turned to Hima and said.

"You and the others, go and move the meat drying rack out of the cave."

The main reason for doing this was to try and see if the visual impact could change the bald leader's mind.

However, the possibility is probably slim.

While Xima led several women back to the cave, Xia Minghao was also pondering.

Of course, meat isn't the only thing that can be used to replace people now.

There are many more, such as fish traps, lasso traps, and even spear throwers.

Especially the spear thrower; if you show this group how it works, you're guaranteed to get a replacement.

But these are all strategic resources; how can we give them to others?
Isn't that like handing someone the handle of a knife, which could easily be used to kill them?

Xia Minghao knew very well that his small tribe had suffered a devastating calamity precisely because of these things.

Oh dear, what am I going to do!
Before they could come up with a good solution, Hima had already brought out the shelf.

The large pile of meat strips covering the meat greatly surprised the men of the Li tribe.

They have actually grilled this kind of dried meat before, but it usually doesn't last more than a few days.

This tribe actually has so much meat stored up; it must be the equivalent of at least two or three wild boars!
The men of the Li tribe all thought of the scene they had just witnessed: the wooden spears thrown by women who were even stronger than the men.

And then there's the only man in this tribe, whose eye is still shining brightly...

As I imagined it, fear arose again in my heart, along with a strong desire: how wonderful it would be if they could be that strong.

After a brief moment of shock, Lipa noticed the blackfish on the shelf and immediately exclaimed in surprise.

"Reba, it's Reba!"

The men all looked over, and when they saw the blackfish on the drying rack, they all showed expressions of horror.

Xia Minghao noticed the sudden change, turned his head to look at the group of primitive people, and then looked at Reba on the shelf.

An idea suddenly popped into my head...

(End of this chapter)