Chapter 57: Chapter 52: The Catfish Effect
Backed by Wizard Senjian’s speech and support, Yuzou defied popular opinion and dismantled the Divine Book page by page, giving them to Yulian for research and comparison.
The little green book icon in the [Blessing] slot vanished without a trace.
Luh Yao’s experiment had yielded its results: The pixel people couldn’t directly grasp things they didn’t understand through the Divine Hall. They could only comprehend a [Blessing] based on their existing knowledge.
Soon, a prompt appeared on the screen.
[Yulian has invented paper.]
[The Garlic Tribe has learned to make and use paper, and their Faith has increased.]
[The Garlic Tribe has learned to make and use books, and everyone’s intelligence has slightly increased.]
The invention and use of paper and books earned Luh Yao 400 Faith points from the Garlic Tribe.
Not long after the appearance of paper, the leader Yuzou passed away.
The young man who once said, "The God loves slippery fish," the Hero who almost died in battle due to blind confidence, the little person who took on the responsibilities of a leader in his old age—his life was now over.
The inscription on the Monument read:
"Yuzou: One of the tribe’s first two Heroes. He fought bravely against the Demon Believers and battled to protect the tribe alongside the Burrower Monsters. He was a strong proponent of shipbuilding, spreading the Garlic Tribe’s reach across the waters. He integrated the East River Tribe and the Burrower Monsters and helped Yulian create paper. We will forever remember him."
Yuzou’s soul was collected by Scott and brought to Saniluo in the south to begin the journey of a new life.
The era of the Garlic Tribe’s first-generation leaders and Heroes had come to a definitive close.
After Yuzou’s death, Burrow Wizard Senjian took his place. Yulian was also recommended by Senjian, becoming the youngest leader in the tribe’s history.
The second-generation leadership of the Garlic Tribe took shape.
Burrow Wizard Senjian was the decision-maker for the tribe’s major affairs.
Astrologer Shahan spent most of his time in the Divine Hall. As a servant of the God, he was also responsible for the tribe’s writing and the compilation of books.
Yulian was the new blood among the leaders. He began proposing a series of reforms to push the tribe forward.
He said, "Our galleys have traveled to Saniluo, which is also a land where Lord Yao God is worshipped."
"The Lord Apostle has said that Saniluo is the Ghost Soul City, home to many Ghost Souls that we cannot see. Many of our tribe’s dead are guided there."
"I have traveled to Saniluo by ship. It is a remarkable city. It has clean streets and houses, roads that do not fear rain or mud, straight and level avenues, and tall, sturdy city walls."
"The Garlic Tribe must also build such a city."
"A city will make our lives more comfortable and make us less susceptible to illness. It will also better solidify our Faith and confidence."
This proposal was vetoed by Senjian on the grounds that the tribe currently lacked the manpower to support such a massive, time-consuming project.
The common saying for it was, if you take too big a step, you’re bound to pull something.
However, Senjian did agree with some of Yulian’s points.
The Wizard believed that building roads was the tribe’s top priority. A road must be built to connect the Salt Pool Settlement and the Garlic Tribe’s main encampment, allowing goods to flow quickly between the two locations.
With a road, the two settlements could also support each other in times of danger.
But building the road was harder than they had expected.
Just carving a path through the mountains required the labor of every single Burrower Monster.
The Burrower Monsters worked day and night, cutting through the mountain and quarrying stone. They were very experienced at digging, but even so, they encountered several landslides and numerous torrential rains, and several Burrower Monsters died.
Luh Yao also lent a hand, using [Scorching Sun] to disperse the heavy rain, which allowed the mountain road project to continue.
Once the road connected the two locations, the flow of goods increased dramatically. More and more camels could be seen transporting cargo back and forth.
Merchants immediately sprang into action. Eyeing the price differences between the two locations, they began frequently trading feathers, salt, and garlic back and forth, reaping huge profits.
But problems soon followed.
Goods had to be carried by camels or by human porters. The barter system used in trade between the two settlements was inefficient and resulted in significant losses, much to the merchants’ frustration.
Before long, Luh Yao saw a prompt pop up on the screen.
[Shang Li has invented the currency "Sea Shell".]
[The Garlic Tribe has learned to make and use currency. Their Faith has increased, and everyone’s intelligence has slightly increased.]
—O great God, one of your Believers has accomplished a feat far beyond his peers. Do you wish to make him a Hero?
[Yes] [No]
Luh Yao opened the Divine Hall.
Inside stood Shang Li.
He was only eighteen years old, even younger than Yulian.
Luh Yao made him a Hero.
In his detailed profile, Shang Li was depicted as a handsome young man with his hair tied back.
He wore a linen shirt and trousers, with sheepskin boots on his feet. The illustration showed Shang Li leading a camel along a path, its back laden with cloth-wrapped goods.
Below the portrait was his personal motto.
—I wish everything was a commodity with a clearly marked price. Pay the bill, and it’s yours, and you never have to worry about losing it again.
...
[Hero Lv1] Shang Li
Attack 0 Defense 0 Knowledge 2 Mana 1 Luck 2 Morale 0
[Abilities]
Wisdom Lv1: Wisdom is the key for an Apostle to hear the Divine Will. The higher one’s Wisdom, the easier it is to level up and comprehend other abilities.
Trade Lv1: Adept at trade, possesses superior business acumen, and has a chance of making commercial inventions.
...
Shang Li’s appearance was a pleasant surprise.
’I’d originally thought that for the tribe’s civilization to advance on an institutional level, they would have to invent something like ironworking or engineering first.’
’But I never expected the merchants to step up.’
’Their eagerness to gain more profit from trade made them the group most keen on change. Shang Li was a microcosm of how the power of merchants could push the tribe’s civilization forward.’
With the approval of Wizard Senjian and the other leaders, the Sea Shells invented by Shang Li were quickly popularized throughout the tribe.
Currency made transactions more efficient and clear, and bartering became a thing of the past.
The people of the tribe even learned to set up stalls and hawk their wares.
However, it also gave rise to some downsides.
"Mutton, 40 Shells a piece."
"Mutton, 39 Shells a piece."
Two little people selling mutton started a price war.
"Why do you have to undercut me?"
"Because that’s the only way to sell it, you idiot. You can lower your price, too."
"Mutton, 38 Shells a piece!"
"Mutton, 35 Shells a piece!"
The two little people argued back and forth, nearly coming to blows. In the end, it took Yulian stepping in to mediate before the dispute was settled.
Beyond that, currency-based trade also gave rise to the timeless problem of short-changing.
"This cut of meat is smaller than what others are selling!"
"Nonsense, it’s the same amount."
"It is not!"
"Fine, then don’t buy it."
"Give me my Sea Shells back! I’m going to buy from somewhere else!"
"You already bought it. Now that you’ve handled it and messed it up, you expect me to take it back?"
"You despicable...! You!"
"That’s just how business is. You should have looked more carefully."
Luh Yao also shook his head as he watched.
’I’m tempted to just call down a [Lightning] strike and blast this crooked tribesman. It’s infuriating to see the fruits of the common people’s hard work get swindled away into scoundrels’ pockets like this.’
’But even if I got rid of this one cheat, it would be pointless.’
’Strike one down, and thousands more will spring up to take his place.’
Luh Yao, on the other hand, was curious. ’I wonder if the Garlic Tribe has a way to deal with this.’
Soon enough, the tribe came up with a solution.
[Yulian has invented units for measuring weight: the Catty and the Tael.]
[The Garlic Tribe has standardized its weights and measures.]
[The Garlic Tribe has learned to establish and use units of measurement, and everyone’s intelligence has slightly increased.]
Luh Yao thought to himself, ’That’s more like it.’
The merchants had become like aggressive catfish, stirring up the once-calm pond and bringing new pressures and challenges to the tribal leaders.
The gears of a new era, pushed by countless people, slowly began to turn.
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