Large wooden boards, three to four meters high, were placed above the newly built tavern, with a huge symbol of a hunting spear and a red star carved into them.
"The Hunting Spear Red Star... Giant Tavern. Boss, what do these four words mean?"
The giant, looking up at the enormous sign, asked with a puzzled expression.
The newly built Giant Tavern was a three-story structure, plain and square. It was located not far from the city gate entrance, within a large commercial and leisure zone. In Kent's plan, the Hunting Spear Territory would soon welcome more and more merchant caravans, adventurers, and travelers. Therefore, related services such as accommodation, entertainment, and trade centers were all included in this zone.
Once the area had developed to a certain scale, all the inhabitants would be relocated to the Red Leaf Valley deep in the mountains, which was more suitable for large-scale settlements. The industrial zone would also be moved to the Scorpion Gorge and the Hunting Spear Forest. The current territory of Hunting Spear would then serve as a bustling commercial district.
With this, many of the research and production secrets would be kept in the background, allowing more space for interaction between the valley and the outside world. Only through greater interaction would the valley have a bigger future.
"This is our brand and our symbol," Kent replied.
"Brand? Symbol?" The giant, standing at over three meters tall, was still confused.
"I want the symbol of the Hunting Spear Red Star to be spread throughout the entire continent," Kent declared confidently.
"Spread? Boss, are you going to throw a bunch of them into the Red River?" The giant grew even more perplexed.
Kent fell silent at that moment. He didn't want to talk to the fat idiot anymore.
"Hehe, Boss, didn't you say if there's something we don't understand, we should ask shamelessly?" The giant, completely unconcerned by Kent's reaction, chuckled and kept rambling.
"Fatty, it's 'not ashamed to ask.'" Kent sighed helplessly and explained, "It means if you don't understand something, you shouldn't be afraid to lose face and ask, even if you have to ask someone who may be less knowledgeable than you."
"Oh, but you're much stronger than I am, so shouldn't it be called… not ashamed to ask up?" The giant quickly applied his new knowledge.
"Fatty, have you memorized all the recipes I gave you?" Kent quickly changed the topic.
"Boss, I've memorized all of them." Despite his often silly and slow mind, when it came to cooking and food, the giant was far more sharp than any of the team members, "But the names of some of these dishes are a bit difficult to pronounce. Why is one called 'The Three Dead of the Family'?"
"How do you make these black bean sprouts?"
"You taught me, right? Soak the small black beans in water and let them sprout."
"Right, so the big black beans, small black beans, and the bean sprouts they produce, aren't they a family of three?"
From the Fatty's satisfaction points, +90, +90...
"And 'The Three Dead'?"
"You stir-fry it in sheep fat. After that, the whole family of three is dead, so it's 'The Three Dead of the Family'."
From the Fatty's satisfaction points, +90, +90...
"And what about 'Survival in the Northland'?"
"Sheep hooves, used to be roasted, right? Now they're stewed until they're soft and mushy."
"Yes, yes, soft, mushy, and delicious. Boss, you're amazing."
"Then you stir-fry some coarse flour, yellowish, like the wilds of the Northland."
"Ah... then what?"
"Soft, mushy sheep hooves, placed in the coarse flour, don't they look like they're stuck in the mud and can't get out? That's why it's called 'Survival in the Northland.'"
From the Fatty's satisfaction points, +90, +90...
"Boss, just one coarse flour sheep hoof can have such a nice name, you really are amazing."
"Fatty, you don't get it. Stick with me, and you'll learn. This is called emotional marketing, empathy. Once you've perfected these dishes I taught you, just wait for the merchant caravans to come knocking."
"Boss, the merchant caravans? Does that mean the alcohol in the tavern is running low, and we need to order more from the caravans?"
"Let's buy some first, Fatty. After a while, I'll give you a surprise."
...
As the merchant caravan approached the valley, it was spotted by the watchtower on top of the mountain from a great distance.
The news quickly reached the Hunting Spear Territory. Near the city gate entrance, the open space had already been neatly prepared. Graybeard, along with many others, was carrying large and small packages, spreading beast hides and laying out the various goods for trade.
The goods on the beast hides were abundant, including hunting team-collected animal bones, necklaces made from animal teeth strung by children, dried mushrooms and fruits, colorful feathers, and beautiful but not very valuable gemstones. The Hunting Spear Valley's specialty was red iron ore, but it wasn't very valuable and was too heavy for most traveling merchants to trade.
Of course, the most commonly traded material was tanned beast hides. The deep valleys and the Blackwood Forests were home to numerous herbivores, providing a continuous source of meat for the hunters. However, the hunters only dared to hunt at the forest's edge for wild cattle and deer, avoiding the more dangerous beasts and the tiger tribe deeper within.
The output of hunting was naturally the skins, teeth, and antlers of animals.
Autumn and winter were the prime seasons for hunting. After killing their prey, the hunters would strip the skins, clean off the blood and leftover meat, and then hang the skins out to dry and harden before starting the tanning process.
In this world, the method of tanning animal skins was quite primitive. The raw skin would be soaked in water to soften it, then placed in water mixed with plant ashes, repeatedly kneaded and pounded. The treated skins would then be stretched on wooden frames and left to dry in the sun, producing soft leather that could be used for clothes, travel packs, tents, and even bedding.
Amid the sounds of laughter, the flag of the traveling caravan appeared in the valley.
From a modern perspective, Kent viewed the trade method of these merchant caravans as a small-scale lively marketplace.
Traveling caravans were the primary trade method in this world. Most transactions between tribes were based on barter, with precious materials or large-scale transactions being the only exceptions where gold or silver coins were used.
The High Plateau Alliance had dozens of traveling caravans, each belonging to a different tribe. Sometimes, several tribes would unite to form a larger caravan. Each caravan would set its own travel route, passing through various tribes, and the caravan leaders would always be well-prepared.
After exchanging goods with the tribes, all caravans would eventually reach one of the central trade hubs, where they would leave the goods they needed and exchange the rest for shiny gold and silver coins.
The advantage of this method was that it significantly reduced the risk of being robbed in the wild.
The caravan that had just arrived in the valley came from the Angry Fire Tribe on the western edge of the Li Ma Plateau.
This caravan had followed the same trade route for many years: starting from the Angry Fire Tribe in the east, descending into the Northern Wilderness, passing through the Crow Swamp and the Broken Horn Camp, then traversing the Bear Paw Mountain Range between the Acorn and Twilight Stone Camps, and finally arriving at the Hunting Spear Valley.
They would stay in the Hunting Spear Valley for a few days for rest, while their horses recovered and their goods were traded. In the past, sometimes independent traders from other tribes would also accompany the caravan. At its peak, the caravan consisted of over a dozen wagons, more than a hundred horses, and more than a hundred merchants and guards.
Next, they would turn south, back east, passing through several tribes along the Rapids River, leaving the Northern Wilderness and heading to the Black Ridge Outpost in the western highlands. Afterward, the caravan would head north to the destination— the Forged Hammer Keep, located six or seven days' journey from the Angry Fire Tribe.
This was the largest tribe on the western side of the Li Ma Plateau, and one of the biggest trading hubs in the northwest of the continent, which many traveling caravans passed through on their way.
The entire trade route lasted nearly a year, drawing a circle between the highlands and the Northern Wilderness.