Chapter 338: Chapter 203: Unification of Currency and Measurements
After establishing the Law Enforcement Hall and drafting the laws, everyone dispersed, but Jiang Xuan remained seated, seemingly lost in thought.
Chi Shao was about to leave, but seeing Jiang Xuan’s expression, she stopped.
“Xuan, what are you thinking?”
Jiang Xuan lifted his head: “Corruption and bribery will surely happen again, and likely in abundance. People are naturally greedy, and few can resist taking when opportunities arise.”
“So, I’m pondering how to prevent such occurrences to the greatest extent possible.”
Chi Shao asked in confusion, “Didn’t we just establish the Law Enforcement Hall? Plus, we severely punished Di Gu, which should deter many, right?”
Jiang Xuan shook his head: “If the benefits are substantial enough, many would gamble with their lives. Thus, merely relying on deterrence isn’t enough; we must employ other strategies to prevent these things from happening.”
“What strategies should we use then?”
After a moment of silence, Jiang Xuan’s eyes sparkled as he said, “Create currency!”
“What is this currency?” Chi Shao had never heard the term.
Jiang Xuan explained in the simplest terms Chi Shao could understand: “Currency is a type of commodity that people in a certain region need and willingly trade.”
The essence of currency is a product that can be used for trading.
As long as people in this region are willing to trade with it, it can be anything, like turtle shells, seashells, or even cloth and Stone Tools.
Jiang Xuan continued, “For instance, high-grade stone is a commodity needed by all tribes, and it can serve as currency.”
“Xuan, do you mean we should trade high-grade stone with other tribes in the future?”
Chi Shao furrowed her brows, still not quite understanding the concept.
High-grade stone is indeed valuable, but its worth is significant too. Poorer tribes struggle with basic needs; how would they trade for high-grade stone?
Jiang Xuan laughed, “Of course, high-grade stones can be part of our Vine Tribe’s currency system, but they cannot be the main currency.”
“Our primary currency will be Copper Coins!”
“Yes, we can cast coins from bronze and promote their use in trade areas. All goods will be priced clearly, and one must pay the stated amount in currency.”
“In this way, even if someone wants to embezzle, we only need to count the goods in the shop and check the amount of currency to easily detect discrepancies.”
Chi Shao pondered and raised another question: “This works for sold goods, but what about traded goods? Many traded items come in large quantities, and it’s hard to notice if someone takes some.”
“I’ve already considered this. Besides creating currency, the second thing we need to do is standardize measurements.”
“And what are these measurements?”
Chi Shao felt overwhelmed, wondering how much Jiang Xuan learned from that mysterious elder since she had never heard of these concepts.
Jiang Xuan said, “Measurement refers to length; for example, to measure the height of a tree, we can use a fixed unit of length. Let’s use ‘meter’ as a unit—we can fix the length of a meter and then measure the tree to determine how many meters tall it is.”
“Quantity is a tool for calculating the number of items. For instance, if we have a water jar, how do we know how much water it holds?”
“At this point, we need a tool, like a water dipper, to scoop the water from the jar one dipper at a time, thus knowing the total number of dippers of water.” Fresh chapters posted on NoveI-Fire.ɴet
“If we fix the size of the water dipper, we can not only calculate the quantity of water but also measure smaller grains like bamboo rice—how much we harvest from a piece of land can be clearly calculated.”
“Weight, on the other hand, for example, if last year we harvested a large Stone Egg, how heavy is it?”
“We can use ‘jin’ as a unit of weight, fix its weight, and then create a tool to weigh objects, letting us know how heavy the Stone Egg is.”
“Does sister understand the explanation now?”
Saying these words left Jiang Xuan parched; he took up a clay cup and drank a large amount of water.
Chi Shao honestly said, “I understand somewhat, but you said so much that I can’t remember it all.”
“It’s okay; once we create and frequently use these tools, you’ll remember it.”
Standardizing currency and measurements is crucial because it greatly promotes fair trading and the positive development of trading areas.
If transactions rely solely on judgment, tribes like the Black Teeth Tribe, who often engage in trade, gain a significant advantage, causing other tribes to suffer losses and thus lack enthusiasm and even harbor caution and resentment towards trading.
Only by standardizing currency and measurements can we foster positive trading development; even if someone is scammed, it can only be in pricing.
In terms of quantity, even if someone tampers with the measuring tool, it’s unlikely to be too obvious or overly deceitful.
Chi Shao thought for a moment and raised another critical concern: “But these things are developed by our Vine Tribe—what if other tribes refuse to acknowledge them?”
Jiang Xuan confidently smiled and replied, “As long as our Vine Tribe grows stronger, with more goods available, surrounding tribes will have no better trading partners than us; they will have no choice but to acknowledge.”