Aztec Eternals

Chapter 685 The second kingdom exploration, shocking! Five hundred catties of cassava per mu.

The old and cheerful Taino songs, accompanied by bursts of skin drums, echoed inside and outside the chief's hut. Chihuaco, an old militiaman, listened patiently with a peaceful smile on his face. Until the singing stopped, the ceremony of informing the gods and ancestors came to an end.

The hut was quiet again, and the old village head of Yukamu reached into his arms, took out a "spear" of Cohiba tobacco leaves again, and handed it to Chivaco. Soon, the two were puffing and puffing, smoking the most primitive cigars, and having a frank conversation under Kuba's translation.

"Respected Yukamu Village Chief, our fleet needs food and water. I am willing to take out the goods of the fleet and exchange them with you!"

The old militia Chihuaco looked sincere and confessed the purpose of the trip. Hearing this, the old village head of Yukamu was startled, and replied with a smile.

"Tribe in the lake, friends from afar! The gods and ancestors look at the village, you are our guests. You can directly share our food and supplement what we need."

"Well"

Hearing this, Chivaco scratched his head. He thought for a while, then shook his head.

"Praise the gods, thank you for your generosity! However, our fleet has a large number of people, and we need a lot of food. We can't take your food for nothing. We have enough goods to exchange, whatever you like. "

Speaking of this, Chivako waved and shouted to the mountain bird carrying a bamboo basket.

"Mosaic Bird, bring the things up!"

Soon, in front of the old village head of Yukamu, there was a small bag of cocoa, a slap of cotton cloth, a small bag of gemstones in the lake, a small bag of gold and silver, and a few bright feathers. These are the most common trading items of each department along the journey of the fleet.

The old village head of Yukamu pondered for a while, then pointed to the gold, silver and feathers, and waved his hands. The Taino ministries did not produce gold and silver, nor did they see any use for these stones, which could neither be eaten nor worn.

As for feathers, Taino ministries need them, as headgear or interior decoration. But Yuka Kibe itself produces a lot of toba. They will use domesticated birds to make crisp calls to trap brightly colored wild parrots. They also set traps and place bait to catch coastal seabirds.

Afterwards, the old village head of Yukamu looked at Hui Keke, a little confused, and seemed to remember something. He shook his head slightly, pointed to Ke Ke, and waved again.

Crops grown on the island of Cuba include cassava, tobacco, corn, beans, squash, cotton, peppers, peanuts, pineapples, gourds (cucurbits) and palm fruit, guava and zemi. The highland and Mayan tribes, the cocoa that is highly praised is not in the daily food of the Taino tribes, but the caravans of the Mayans have brought such products many times, and the old village head recognized it.

Sea Priest Mecate sat not far away, watching this scene thoughtfully.

"Cocoa is the common sacrificial drink of the Nahua and Mayan religions. Since the Taino people don't drink cocoa, their polytheistic beliefs probably have completely different origins from those on the plateau and the rainforest!"

Then, the old village head of Yukamu touched the soft cotton cloth, smiled and nodded. The various tribes of Taino also grow cotton for weaving, but both the quality of cotton output and the quality of cloth weaving are much worse than those of the Nahuas and Mayans. In fact, throughout Mesoamerica, the centers of civilizations are located in the Mexica Valley on the plateau and the Mayan Basin in the lowlands.

Finally, the head of Yukamu village opened the small bag of gems, and the bright light reflected into his eyes. He was obviously stunned for a long time, a bright smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he reached out to grab a white gemstone in the lake.

"This! This is good! It can be tied as a necklace, worn around the neck, or enshrined to the ancestors!"

Seeing the gleaming white pearl in the village head's hand, the Tai Nuo old man in the hut was surprised for a moment, and then smiled. The necklaces on their necks are the medium of communication with the gods and ancestors, and they are the guarantee of the reincarnation of their souls after their death. According to the ancient legend, the whiter and more translucent the beads, the more they can attract the attention of the god of death of the ancestors and guide their souls.

"Okay, witness of the Lord God! Dear Yukamu Village Chief, then we will use the gems and cotton cloth in the lake to trade your food!"

Chivako breathed a sigh of relief, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face. There are still many gems on board, and even more white ones.

"The tribes of the wilderness like green and blue, and the tribes of the Maya like green and red. I didn't expect the Taino people to like white and translucent. It's really strange that the gemstones in the lake that His Majesty made can pass through the world!"

"Good! This bead is good!"

The old village head of Yukamu smiled honestly and nodded in agreement. Holding the shining white bead in his hand, he gave some instructions to the nearest villagers. Soon, someone came with a basket of food and placed it in front of Chivaco.

"This, cassava pancakes, can be stored for four or five days when eaten on the road. This, dried cassava cubes, have been soaked, peeled and dried. Do not touch water, and can be stored for ten or twenty days. This, dried corn, can be stored for a long time It’s been a long time. This, cassava leaf powder, can be drunk in water or added to rice.”

The old village head of Yukamu picked up the food one by one and explained for a while. Chivako looked serious and nodded repeatedly.

The main food of the various Taino tribes is cassava, which is extremely productive. Cassava can be grown in mountains or plains, and is best suited to climates with year-round warmth and even rainfall. However, this kind of crop is very picky, drought-resistant, barren-resistant and heat-resistant. Even if there is insufficient rainfall and high temperature in summer, it can still have a good harvest. It is extremely survivable, able to handle weed competition and requires low field management. The staple food of the African continent in later generations, the pearl raw material in bubble tea is cassava.

"Dear Captain Chihuaco, this is Taino's cassava, which is more filling than pumpkin and almost like corn!"

Seeing the food brought out by the village chief, Mayan merchant Tikalo frowned and added with a smile.

"Of course, the taste of cassava is much worse than that of corn. Even cassava cakes are only slightly better than cassava cubes, and they are barely edible. It is poisonous in itself and needs to be peeled and soaked in water for two or three days before it can be cooked. Cook and eat. In the lowland Maya, there will be ordinary civilians who grow cassava on the mountain to make a living, but the nobles generally don’t eat it. But the leaves of cassava, as long as they are soaked and washed, they are very good vegetables to eat!”

"What? This cassava is the same as sweet potato, can it be grown on the mountain?"

Hearing this, the old militiaman Chihuaco's eyes lit up, and he asked carefully.

"This kind of cassava, how much fruit can one mu of land of the alliance harvest?"

"Oh! When cassava grows up, it looks like a low tree. The edible part is the tuber buried in the ground, not the fruit. As for the yield."

Ticaro stretched out his hand and touched his divine head. He thought about it carefully, but never paid attention to the yield of this crop. The old militiaman looked at the old village chief again and asked Kuba to translate.

"Cassava is the white god Yukahu. In the southern rainforest, he gave a gift to the ancestors! Cassava nourishes the Taino people. Whether it is heavy rain or flood, it will bring us precious food! A cassava dwarf tree can bear fruit There are five or six tubers, each at least as big as a fist. You see, on the mounds in the nearby fields, what grows are cassava, and what are buried in the mounds are tubers!"

"Huh? One cassava can produce five or six roots?"

Chivaco stretched out his hand and weighed the cassava roots in the basket, which weighed about one or two catties. He looked outside the hut, estimated the density of the cassava mound, and the expression on his face turned into shock.

"One cassava can be planted in 2-3 steps, 240 steps per acre of land. Each tree will produce 5-6 roots, even if each root is only more than 1 catty, the output of that acre of land. That's it"

"At least 500 catties per mu. If the skin is removed and the water is used, some will be deducted. Moreover, the harvested cassava is easily spoiled, and the storage time is shorter than that of corn and pumpkin. But I remember that this crop can It has grown in the field for many years, and it can be harvested at any time, and it can be harvested whenever it is eaten.”

Seeing the calculation made by the old militiamen pinching their fingers, the Mayan businessman Tikalo smiled secretly and answered casually. Then, he touched his chin, looked at the old militiaman's wide-eyed, unbelievable expression, and asked suspiciously.

"Dear Captain Chihuaco, what's wrong with you? Is this output high?"

"Ah, praise the Lord God! Damn it! The blind man finally did a good thing!"

Chivako gritted his teeth so hard that he almost bit his tongue. With red eyes, he gritted his teeth and replied.

"High, very high! This output is higher than the main god! It is even higher than sweet potatoes and pumpkins! We must bring these cassava back to the alliance for farming!"

"If there is a bad year, this is like pumpkin and sweet potato, it can save lives"

The old village head of Yukamu looked curious. He didn't quite understand what the tribes in the lake were talking about, pointing to the most common cassava. This common crop has been domesticated by the ancestors of the Taino people, the Avacans in the southern Amazon jungle, for tens of thousands of years, and it is the most common food on the entire southern continent.

"Cassava is the white god Yukahu. In the southern rain forest, it is a gift given to the ancestors and raised the Taino people!"

Thinking of this, the old village head of Yukamu held the shining white bead again, looked at the woodcut of the god pattern, and praised it silently for a while. Until Chivako looked solemn, saluted him solemnly, and asked again.

"Dear Yukamu Village Chief, thank you! I still have some requests. Our fleet, including three long ships, is lost along the coast. I would like to ask you to send an envoy to inquire about the surrounding villages and villagers."

"In addition, we will drive the damaged longboat to the village and repair it nearby. If we can get the help of the villagers, we should be able to go a lot faster. Of course, we will send a white gemstone in the lake as a gift."

"The gods and ancestors bless you and bless us! No problem, my friend. We would like to help you as we help our brothers and sisters. We also like your shining white beads, which are for the gods and ancestors, most Nice gift!"

The old Yukamu village chief smiled kindly. Without hesitation, he nodded in agreement.

"Come on, friends! Please come to our village and live for a while. The women in the nearby villages welcome you. It has been a long time since we have injected new blood to maintain the vitality of the group. "

"Flowers welcome butterflies, butterflies make it fruit. Cassava welcomes birds, birds spread seeds. We welcome you, come to our village, take cassava, the white god, leave the gem of the tribe in the lake, and continue Brother's blood!"