The villagers loved the sweet potatoes distributed by Alex. They quickly gobbled up the delicious treat. Due to that, Alex was able to create a favourable impression of himself.
The advertisement part of the home-building project was completed successfully.
After that, Alex packed some sweet potatoes and went to the Mupan's house.
Mupan was the spiritual leader of the tribe.
He creates the awakening pills, medicine and odd tools. He was a pillar of support for the tribesmen. His existence was unique and important for the tribe to survive.
So, he had as much importance as the chief in the governance of the tribe.
And Alex wanted this guy's help.
He couldn't just randomly distribute food without notifying the origin of the food. But, he could do so if Mupan agrees to consume his food. No one would doubt that the food that Mupan eat is bad.
In modern-day, this form of advertisement was called influencer marketing.
And today, Alex was going to use it to increase the trust in his product. There was no other way for him.
You could imagine his plight when he had to distribute unknown vegetables as food to a large population of people. He couldn't even properly describe its origin even if he wanted to. It was the crux of the issue.
So, after taking the roasted sweet potatoes, Alex went to Mupan's house. He reached there quickly and knocked on the door.
"Ah! Meru, come in." The one-eyed man opened the door and invited him in.
Inside the house, there was one other person. Dhairya who he hadn't seen for days was inside smoking a pipe. He had a blissful smile on his face while he puffed the smoke.
"Sit here, Dhairya, look who is here. The smart kid that you talked about is here." Mupan said.
Dhairya, who was in his own world finally noticed Alex. They worked together in the support group and he had a good impression of the kid.
"Haha, kid! We were just talking about you."
'You were talking about me. Is that a good thing?' Being nondescript was one of his valued skills. And yet these old codgers were talking about him. Alex found it peculiar at the same time a little disturbing.
"Oh! What were you talking about?" Hiding his thoughts, he asked jovially. At the same time, he took out the sweet a potato from his bag and began peeling it.
The delightful aroma of the well-cooked sweet potatoes filled the air at that exact moment.
Even Mupan and Dhairya who had vast life experience paused. And curiously looked at what Alex was doing.
Alex didn't stop. He quickly plated the warm sweet potatoes on a wooden tray and sprinkled some salt over it. He also took out some roasted meat too. This time it was special. He didn't do this when he gave the baked sweet potatoes to the villagers.
Salt was a precious commodity in the tribe. It was hard to get and they only had a limited amount. So, they seldom used it.
But eating it without salt would diminish the taste so much that he was willing to use his own salt. He wanted to impress the elders in front of him. He even took out roasted meat to enhance the flavour.
Finally, the tray was moved towards the elders. It was obvious from his action that he wanted them to eat it.
"What is this?" They asked simultaneously.
"Something good to eat." He said while eating a piece of sweet potato wrapped in a piece of meat.
Just like he had shown. The elder too took a bite of the meat-wrapped sweet potatoes. And it was delicious.
A smile bloomed on their face while they chewed on the delicious cuisine.
"It's delicious."
"Savoury and sweet."
Both commented.
"How did you make it? And what is this potato-looking tuber? It is softer and sweeter than a potato."
Mupan said. His hands were still stretching outwards to grab one more piece. But Dhairya was quicker.
'Successful!' Alex thought.
No one dislikes tasty food. Even if it was poisonous, they would eat it. The prime example was the eating of fugu, a type of pufferfish in his previous world.
Now that there is delicious and safe food, why would they reject it? This was the time Alex was waiting. He began his sales pitch.
"What you ate just now is a sweet potato. It's just like potatoes and I have a lot of it." He conveyed everything he wanted as quickly as he can to grab their attention.
Alex wanted to make them curious and let them ask the questions themselves. He didn't want to let them know everything about it.
"Can I get some more then?" Dhairya asked.
"Of course, as much as you want…"
"But not for free, right?" Mupan who saw this said.
Their eyes glowed while waited for Alex to complete his words.
"Ha ha ha… Of course for free. You just need to help me make my house. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't eat them all by myself." Alex replied.
"If you want us to work. It's not actually free, right?" Mupan said. Then he turned towards Dhairya and said.
"Can't you see what he is doing? He is negotiating. Didn't I say this kid was interesting? Now you know why I asked you to take him with you. Our trading caravan really needs someone like him."
"Okay, done. He can come with me." Dhairya quickly agreed.
Alex who didn't know what was happening stood there stunned.
'Why do I feel like I have been sold off? I was here to sell sweet potatoes, yet I was the one who was being sold.' Fate was truly cruel.
Alex realised his plight. On one hand, he was sad that he had yet again underestimated the stone head tribe. On the other, he was happy to know that there were other people outside to whom he could trade.
Both realisations significantly changed his outlook on this world. But before any of that, he had to complete his home-building project. No way was he going to give up on that. His dream of finally owning a home was so close. It was not worth it to give up now.
"What is a trading caravan?" Once again Alex snooped for more information.
"The trading caravan is something that Dhairya is part of. He will go to the nearby tribes and trade products to buy necessary items tomorrow. So, I want you to go with him and gain experience."
"For free?" Alex asked with a smile.
Seeing it, both of the elders smiled.
"No, I give you permission to sell your sweet potatoes and other things to the tribe, only if you promise me that you will do no harm to the tribe."
Mupan was thrilled to see a smart kid like Meru in his tribe. He enjoyed conversing with him more and more.
Dhairya also agreed while nodding his head.
"Okay, then it's a promise. You can't break it." After saying that, the excited Alex left the house. He agreed with their demand in exchange for fulfilling his demands.
He just had to go to some nearby tribes and trade. As a person from the modern world, he was actually looking forward to it. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain. He can build his house after returning from the trip.
If he utilises the time efficiently, he can let the villagers gather material first. And build it after returning.