Among them, the patriarch of the dried fish king was the most furious. He was already breathing more out than in, and soon he fainted from exhaustion.
When he woke up again, he imagined he would be in a bed in the cabin, or on a smooth, leather-covered floor, or at the very least, in the arms of one of his tribesmen, filled with their scent.
To his surprise, when he opened his eyes, he was still in the same spot, and everyone around him seemed to be waiting for him to wake up.
"Chief, you are in such good health. No wonder the elders in the tribe say that eating fish is good for your health. Look at you, at your age, you can fall asleep and wake up whenever you want."
A young tribesman standing nearby wasn't concerned with important tribal matters, but rather with the minor health issues of the chieftain.
"Ouch!" The young, foolish lad got slapped by the clan chief.
"The clan leader is so old, yet he's still so strong. It seems that eating more fish is indeed good for his health." The young man's eyes were sparkling, but this time he dared not say it aloud, only muttering it to himself.
"Hey, King of Xianyu, did you hear what I said? Don't pretend to be sick and stall for time. I know you won't die anytime soon."
On the other side, Jiang Sen saw the Dried Fish King patriarch sway and be supported by the people around him.
He had met the patriarch of the dried fish king clan many times; he was a very healthy little old man.
Hearing the stubborn man's teasing words, the patriarch of the dried fish king clan had recovered after the hand movements.
His anger subsided considerably. In fact, what Jiang Sen said was all true. Their tribe really had nothing, and even their shipbuilding technology, which they were so proud of, was nothing special in the eyes of others.
It's fine to lend a boat to Jiang Sen and his group, but if something goes wrong after you lend them the boat, isn't that an unfair contract?
"Stubborn Sen, we can lend you the boat, but we won't be responsible if anything happens. At worst, we'll just test whose weapon is sharper. If we die, we can just throw the fish into the lake to feed them. The fish in the lake have been getting smaller and smaller lately."
The patriarch of the dried fish clan spoke with a strong voice, clearly indicating that the slight accident just now had no effect on him.
Jiang Sen smiled. He was only there to borrow the boat, not to steal it. Since the other party was willing to lend it, that made things easier. After all, it wouldn't be a problem to add a few conditions at the beginning. What if the other party agreed?
He also didn't want a conflict, since both sides still needed each other, and cooperation and mutual benefit were the right way to survive.
"Haha, Chieftain of the Salted Fish Clan, you really love to joke. How can someone as noble as you feed the fish? Not only do we not need you to take responsibility, but if your ship really brings some good luck, I might even share some benefits with you."
Stubborn Sen began to court the chieftain of the Dried Fish King clan. If the mine were found, people would be needed to mine it. Transporting the ore back would require even more ships, and all of this would need to be done by people; without people, nothing can be accomplished.
The chieftain of the dried fish clan looked at Jiang Sen with some doubt. He didn't understand why Jiang Sen wanted to borrow their ship.
He didn't think his boat could be of much use; he couldn't think of any other use besides being able to float on the water.
"Thank you, Stubborn Sen. You should definitely do that. Next time, we'll put less salt in our dried fish so they'll spoil faster, which will suit your tastes better."
"Haha, yes, Chieftain of the Salted Fish Clan, thank you for your understanding. But when can we get all the ships? Please note, all the ships, I want all the usable ships from your Salted Fish Tribe."
"Stubborn Sen, you can get it tomorrow morning. But I need to remind you, Stubborn Sen, we are called the Dried Fish Tribe, not the Salted Fish Tribe. I hope you don't get it wrong."
"I'm sorry, Chieftain of the Salted Fish Clan, I will be careful."