Chapter 599
The “Markel” of the barbarians.
Christina felt that compared to the virgin forest and the desolate plains where she had been before, such a simple trading market in front of her could arguably be called bustling.
The “market” of the barbarians should be equivalent to the power center of the island.
It never occurred to her that barbarians knew how to set up stalls and do businesses.
It was similar with the county fairs. The barbarians did not have fixed stalls. Instead, they simply occupied some small places using goods, animals, fur, and so on, and directly shouted at passers-by. Some barbarians even violently pulled passers-by over and forced them to buy their goods.
As far as Christina could see, there were fierce-looking barbarians who kept clamoring. Instead of selling goods, they looked more like they were ready to fight against each other at any time.
This seally astonished her.
At the same time, this scene made Christina more sure that the barbarians on this island must have been civilized to some extent.
In other words, Christina was more likely to meet modern people with whom she could communicate at the market.
Her heart was beating fast as she was looking around, searching for her modern friends.
However, Christina’s appearance stood out among these savages. She was much smaller than them, and her skin was fair. Also, her facial features and physique were quite different from that of the barbarians. So as she passed by, many barbarians around her would look at her curiously, and some stronger ones would even roar at
her.
She had no idea of what these barbarians are roaring at. She just felt horrified.
The feeling that she was being stared at by countless wild animals made her scalp numb. So she decided to obediently follow the “Master” barbarian. She immediately lowered her head and did not dare to look around, so as to be paid less attention,
Christina noticed that gold should be extremely scarce on this island, which was reserved for a few barbarians.
Many barbarians chose to barter for goods when making a deal. For example, an adult buffalo could be bartered for an iron pot
Prey was the least valuable here. Her master intended to barter a male elk and two small yellow cattle for a small box of matches,
Christina watched while he was making the deal. The man who sold the matches didn’t seem very happy, for he thought that a male elk plus two small yellow cattle were not worth a box of matches.
He then pointed to Christina, who stood on the back, suggesting that he would be willing to sell it only if she was also part of the deal.
The “master” was a hot-tempered guy. He shouted at the match seller as if he was bargaining.
In the end, the match seller drove them away with a fierce face.
Modern people might interpret his behavior this way, “If you can’t afford it, just piss off.”
Though Christina had no idea of whether barbarians had any sense of self-esteem, she noticed that her “Master”, unhappy as he was, dared not say a word. He just dragged her and the animals away in the end.
Christina knew very well that to be safe, she could not get involved in any activities of these barbarians. Even if they killed each other, it was none of her business.
But it seemed that her brain was wired wrong. She somehow stepped forward and patted the Master’s thick arm. Then she took out two black stones from her pocket and forcefully collided them many times. Some sparks burst out and soon ignited a haystack on the side of the road. Thick smoke and flames came out.
The barbarian could not believe his eyes.
e even squatted down to feel the fire on the hay with his hands. His thick fingers got burned.
His face was bearded and his eyes were black and sharp. He glared at Christina and then looked at the two small black stones in her hands. Deeply frightened by the glare, Christina immediately threw the flint to him.
This meant that there was no need to buy the match because the flint could make a fire.
The Master picked up the two flints and looked Christina up and down. Finally, he carefully put them into an animal-leather bag around his waist.
The fact that he treasured those two stones so much amused Christina, and made her proud at the same time. Unlike these barbarians, she was a high-intelligent creature. She picked those two flints up when she passed by the rock belt of the plains.
She found that the scattered giant rocks in the plains were very dense, She didn’t know what kind of stones they were. She was simply bored and took a stone to smash it carelessly and then saw a small spark.
Since those are all natural flints, why bother buying those broken matches? Not to mention having to be looked down upon by that match seller?
The “master” examined Christina carefully. Not knowing what was on his mind, she only hoped that he wouldn’t
hurt her. In fact, she had a sharp little stone in her pocket that could be used to break the hemp rope around her waist and find a chance to escape.
The wild man continued to take her around the market. Finally, he bartered the elk, two small yellow cattle, plus a fox for a small kettle, which could hold 500ml.
Christina did not say anything. She only felt that the kettle was at most 20 dollars, but it was worth a hundred times more here.
When a thing was scarece, it became precious.
What was strange was that this man already had a large metal kettle tied to his waist. It was a dark green military kettle of good quality. He must have bartered a lot of prey for that. Why bother bartering for another one? What a waste.
Most of the goods sold at this market were daily necessities. Lighters, matches, etc. were among the most popular. Kettles, iron pots, and large iron bowls were also available.
In fact, these are very ordinary daily necessities, and the workmanship was relatively rough. But most of them were’made of metal, thus were more durable. All of these were scarce on this island.
Christina found something really interesting. There was a stall that sold Swiss Army Knives. They were 15 centimeter-long and were very sharp.
She stood in front of the stall and would not leave, with her eyes fixed dead at the only three Swiss Army Knives that remained.
She really wanted one.
Such kind of knife was just of the right length for her to carry around. She could use it as a weapon, or to cut branches, slice fruits, or even cut open the animals.
Christina was still tied by a hemp rope around her waist and pulled forward by the barbarian. But suddenly, the rope tightened. He turned to look at her and pulled harder. Christina stood still in front of the stall and refused to move a step.
She looked a little like a child who refused to leave unless she got the toys she wanted.
The barbarian walked back to Christina. He first looked at her, then at the Swiss Army Knives on the stall.
It seemed that he was not interested in these knives. Christina immediately gestured and pointed excitedly at one of the Swiss Army Knives. “Buy it, buy it, buy it!”
She shouted, fearing that he could not understand, and even boldly reached out to pat the animal-skin bag around his waist that contained gold.
The knife seller mumbled something. His tone and eyes clearly told them to leave.
Probably he was suggesting that the knives were too expensive for them to afford, so they should not stand in his way
“… What? These barbarians should be so snobbish.” Christina quickly understood what he meant and felt depressed
After all, Swiss Army Knives were rarely seen. What a pity!
She didn’t know whom she would be sold to in a while. She had to be ready to escape at all times. It was impossible to convince the man in front of her into buying the knife.
However, to Christina’s surprise, the Master finally took out a thumb-sized piece of gold and bought a Swiss Army Knife.
She really didn’t expect her “master” to be so rich.
And he generously gave her the knife without hesitation.
Christina took it but felt quite uneasy. At this moment, several strong barbarians carrying spears and weapons rushed over and surrounded them.
At the same time, there was an old and rough voice behind, constantly repeating a word, “Samba.”
Christina was frozen with fear. Although she got the Swiss Army Knife as she wished, she could never defend herself against these barbarians surrounding her using her knife.
After a while, a well-dressed barbarian appeared. She looked very old, like a clan elder. Her head, ears, and neck were decorated with golden jewelry and a few colorful feathers.
The elder called out to the “master” beside Christina,” Samba!”
It was then that Christina finally understood that this was his name.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: My billionaire husband spoils me too much
plzzz update...
plz update new chapter...
Good story...