The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 1698 - 1692: The Iron Simpletons from the Steppe
A month later.
The first official meeting and negotiation between Great Chu and the prairie took place at a chosen location along the border of the two countries.
About three to four miles from the border of Great Chu, it lies in the buffer zone between the two nations.
This area is mostly desert, with only a few large unweathered boulders, as tall as several stories, making them quite conspicuous.
Here, both sides teamed up to build a few stone houses against these boulders, serving as the negotiation site.
Both parties adhered to the rules that only members of the negotiating teams could enter the negotiation site, while everyone else, especially the stationed troops, had to retreat five miles away.
According to these rules, at the appointed time, Song Chongjin led a group of officials from Great Chu, gradually heading towards the negotiation site under the gaze of the Great Chu troops.
On the prairie side, a group of people slowly came out as well.
Both sides were quite cautious, keeping a similar pace, and when they were only a mile apart, they could already see each other’s faces.
Only then did they nod to each other, dismounted, and walked together into the negotiation site.
Ninth Master Lee followed behind Song Chongjin. Thanks to Song Chongjin’s efforts, he was now one of the formal members of the negotiating team.
Although he appeared calm at this moment, his heart was beating like a drum.
Once both sides were seated, it was hard for the prairie representatives not to show expressions of admiration.
Unexpectedly, the officials sent out by Great Chu were all quite handsome—not to mention Lord Song, who had a very manly aura. He was precisely the type favored by women of the prairie.
Even the unfamiliar official behind Lord Song was strikingly beautiful, more so than the women on the prairie.
Unable to resist the attraction, some of them had heated gazes, thinking that if even the men of Great Chu looked this good, how beautiful must the women of Great Chu be!
Truly, the saying about eminent figures emerging from a wondrous land seems accurate!
Back then, the prairie and Great Chu were friendly, and the nobles from the prairie had the chance to visit Great Chu to see for themselves.
Regrettably, after the two countries went to war twenty years ago, they could only occasionally hear stories about the greatness of Great Chu from their predecessors.
Now, as long as the negotiations succeed, they hope they would have a chance to visit Great Chu and broaden their horizons.
Song Chongjin had no idea about the thoughts of these prairie negotiators, only feeling their eager gazes constantly revolving around Ninth Master Lee, which caused him to frown and cough lightly.
Shocked by the cough, the prairie representatives glanced at Song Chongjin’s expression and quickly withdrew their gazes, looking sheepish.
Only then did they exchange pleasantries, follow protocol, introduce the names and roles of the participants before sitting down on both sides.
In the first negotiation, Song Chongjin originally thought it would be quite difficult, but it turned out to be surprisingly smooth.
Both sides initially presented their conditions and demands, which were essentially inflated, waiting for the other side to counteroffer locally.
On Great Chu’s side, of course, they proposed high demands, with conditions advantageous to themselves and unfavorable to the prairie.
This was standard practice, with many conditions intended to test the prairie’s bottom line, naturally not expecting them to agree.
Nevertheless, negotiations involve dialogue to determine the stance, right?
Therefore, the people on Great Chu’s side remained calm, thinking of tossing out the conditions first, observing the prairie’s reaction, then deciding whether to argue fiercely, get angry, or strategically concede.
Unexpectedly, the prairie negotiating team, upon receiving the document from Great Chu, didn’t even look at it and just placed it aside.
Seeing this, Great Chu’s representatives immediately changed their expression—what’s the prairie thinking? Not even reading it, are they trying to play hardball?
Some with a fiery temper were already rolling up their sleeves under the table, while the crafty ones were already calculating the angle to throw the chair leg.
Those who felt physically lacking but didn’t want to be idle were drafting at least five or six opening statements in their minds, all accusing the prairie to the Emperor through memorials.
Song Chongjin squinted his eyes slightly, staring at the leading representative from the prairie, pondering if these prairie people would suddenly retract or propose excessive demands, it seemed it was time for him to show them an edge.
Representatives from Great Chu were already prepared for a serious deal.
Unexpectedly, the leader of the prairie turned his head to survey the surroundings, then returned with a mischievous smile, winking at Song Chongjin, "Lord Song, I don’t understand these conditions, just leave them aside! First, tell me, does your Great Chu actually have countless fine wines?"
Song Chongjin...
Before he could reply, the deputy next to the prairie leader nudged him aside and rubbed his hands asking, "Lord Song, I heard your Great Chu cooks are especially skilled, able to turn a single sheep into dozens of dishes. Is it true? Can your Great Chu chefs make delicious dishes out of anything flying in the sky, running on the ground, or swimming in the water?"
...
People nearby seemed to have triggered some unusual switch, all grabbing the Great Chu officials opposite them, persistently asking questions. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
The questions were all bizarre.
Like, are ladies from Great Chu all especially beautiful? Are Great Chu’s garments silky smooth, even more so than a girl’s skin?
Some even bluntly pointed at Ninth Master Lee and asked, are all men from Great Chu as charming as Song Chongjin and Ninth Master Lee?
...
Momentarily, Great Chu’s officials were bewildered by the prairie’s unconventional approach.
What on earth! We came for negotiations, right? Not to answer Prairie’s hundred questions!
Nor was it meant for gossip, right?
Still, Song Chongjin was indeed the leader and came to his senses first.
He glanced at the prairie leaders, who were eagerly waiting for Song Chongjin’s response.
Song Chongjin silently recited, where did these silly folks come from?
Regardless of whether the prairie people were genuinely silly or just pretending to be so.
They should seize the opportunity nonetheless.
Therefore, he calmly replied to the prairie leader, "Great Chu is a land of talents, every place has its famous fine wines, such as Jade Spring Wine, Cold Pool Fragrance, Autumn Dew White, Bamboo Leaf Green, Lotus Flower Pistil, Grand Harmony White, Luofu Spring, Monkey Brew—"
The prairie leader couldn’t help but start drooling while listening.
Especially upon hearing about Monkey Brew, he exclaimed, "What kind of wine is Monkey Brew? Could it be wine brewed by monkeys?"
Song Chongjin nodded, "As the name suggests, Monkey Brew is indeed wine brewed by monkeys. Monkeys in the mountains collect various fresh fruits and place them in precious tree hollows, brewing for a hundred years to become this incredibly precious wine—"
