24. A Silent Contest of Wills

The group of more than thirty players waited impatiently for over ten minutes at the east gate of the small village before finally seeing a few players running out from within. It was Ah Fei and his small band of brothers who had come. Ah Fei happened to be in the village and, upon hearing from the other players that people from another village were here to see them, came out to greet the visitors.

With a broad grin, Ah Fei welcomed the dozens of outsiders. “I am Ah Fei, an elder of Whitewood Village. May I ask who you all are?”

The leading player returned his smile and replied, “I am Black Tiger, the chief of Tiger Leopard Village, which lies a few miles across the river. These are the main members of our village. We’ve been neighbors for so long and have yet to meet, so today, since we had the opportunity, we’ve all come to pay our respects to Whitewood Village. Let me introduce—this is…”

As Black Tiger began his introductions, the assembled players straightened their backs and puffed out their chests, exuding a forceful pride. They were determined not to seem weaker in spirit than the players of Whitewood Village.

Ah Fei clasped his hands in greeting, his smile undiminished. Over the past few days, several villages had come to visit, and though he’d heard of Tiger Leopard Village, it wasn’t particularly renowned, so he didn’t think much of it. He replied politely, “Let’s talk inside the village. You’ve all come a long way so early in the morning—it can’t have been easy. This way, please, let’s continue our conversation in the administrative courtyard.”

“Not at all, not at all!”

After a round of pleasantries, the two groups entered the village, heading for the center and the administrative courtyard. The warriors of Tiger Leopard Village glanced around at every corner, trying to gauge the strength of the small village and gather information. This was, after all, one of their purposes for coming.

As they walked, Black Tiger said, “We’ve come to learn from Whitewood Village’s experience in development, and also to discuss a mutually beneficial trade. Is your chief, Whitewood, in the village? Could I negotiate with him personally?”

Ah Fei shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. He left the village early this morning and won’t be back for an hour or two. Any matters of trade you can discuss with me—I am authorized to make decisions.”

Black Tiger frowned. As a chief, he considered it beneath him to negotiate with anyone other than another chief. He immediately replied, “In that case, perhaps we can tour your village first. When your chief returns, I’ll speak with him about business then.”

Ah Fei smiled—this chief from Tiger Leopard Village certainly cared about status. Still, he followed the guest’s wishes. “Very well, if you insist on waiting for my elder brother, I won’t object. Our Whitewood Village is open to all—players are free to look around. Since you’re our guests, let me show you around.”

The village was small, with only a few noteworthy areas: the trade market, the hut district for residents, the artisan quarter, and the farmland. They visited the trade market first, which covered about three or four hectares.

“So early in the morning, there aren’t many players online and trading—just a few dozen early birds. In the evening, though, it’s packed—one huge stretch of stalls, so crowded you can barely move,” Ah Fei remarked as they walked.

His description of “not many people” made the chief and core members of Tiger Leopard Village look uncomfortable. Black Tiger thought to himself, “At our Tiger Leopard Village, even at peak times, there are barely a hundred people at the market.” The core members were certain Ah Fei was exaggerating and looked displeased.

Shen Biao sneered, “Do you really have that much to sell?” “Yeah, are people just putting out random odds and ends for lack of anything better to do?”

Ah Fei didn’t quite know how to respond. He sensed the hostility in their tone. Still, Zhan Xiaobai had instructed him to avoid conflict with players from other villages, so he simply kept quiet to avoid an argument.

Next was the farmland, which took up half the village’s area, though only about fifty acres were actually cultivated.

Now, Black Tiger and his core members were left speechless. Those fifty acres alone were double what they had. Black Tiger just couldn’t understand it—the two villages had started around the same time. He asked, with a tone both sour and resentful, “How did you manage to plant so much? How many farmers have you recruited? Aren’t you worried about a food shortage? Recruiting farmers recklessly isn’t wise—if disaster strikes and there’s a bad harvest, you’ll be in trouble. Better to be cautious, and recruit fewer farmers than end up in a bind.”

Hearing this barrage of questions, laced with sarcasm, Ah Fei momentarily forgot Zhan Xiaobai’s instructions and retorted, “That’s purely a matter of management. Our chief is highly capable—he can plant a huge expanse of fields at once. What can a subordinate like me do? Tell him not to plant so much?”

Ah Fei’s brothers, adept at reading the room, noticed his irritation and quickly chimed in, “Exactly! Our chief is amazing, truly impressive,” “Ordinary villages can’t plant this much.”

Ah Fei wore a look of pride, and Black Tiger fell silent. Seeing this, his subordinates immediately tried to speak up on his behalf. As they continued their tour, both sides subtly measured themselves against each other, boasting of their own strength while quietly disparaging the other.

In the artisan quarter, the Tiger Leopard group noticed there was only a single carpenter’s workshop and immediately looked pleased.

Shen Biao seized the opportunity and jeered, “Hmph, so this is all Whitewood Village has—a carpenter’s shop. Our Tiger Leopard Village is different…”

Hearing their tone, Ah Fei guessed they must have a more advanced workshop and asked, “Oh? Do you have something more impressive, then?”

Black Tiger shot Shen Biao a fierce look; Shen Biao, startled, quickly shook his head and denied it, inwardly relieved—he’d nearly let slip the secret of their blacksmith shop. What a shame, such a good chance to show off and he couldn’t take it.

Ah Fei saw he wouldn’t say more and didn’t press.

As they passed the hut district, Black Tiger pointed at a small fenced yard and asked curiously, “What’s this building? Why doesn’t it have an entrance?”

Ah Fei’s heart skipped a beat. That was the forbidden area of the village—the blacksmith shop. He couldn’t let them see it, so he quickly replied, “Don’t go there. That’s just a compost pit for the fields—very smelly. Best we visit elsewhere.” He hurriedly led Black Tiger and his group away.

Black Tiger thought to himself, “Interesting, storing fertilizer for the fields? That’s a clever idea. This village chief Whitewood must be quite resourceful. I’ll have to try it in our village—maybe it’ll boost our yields.”

Afraid to let them wander further, Ah Fei took them on a brief, aimless stroll before returning to the administrative courtyard. By now, his elder brother and Jian Ba should be back from their rounds, just in time to discuss trade.