Fox Tree gulped down the milk in her earthenware bowl. It wasn't much to begin with; she could finish it in three or four mouthfuls. She licked her lips, her eyes shining, and exclaimed, "There's honey in this!"
Honey!
Upon hearing this, the other three excitedly picked up their earthenware bowls. Honey! It's so sweet! Every time they wanted to taste this, their tribe had to trade a lot of things with the Flower Tribe, and if they went too late, they wouldn't be able to get any.
You should know that they traded for honey in the Flower Tribe, and even a small amount of honey required a considerable amount of animal hides to obtain.
And the people of the Mu tribe actually gave them honey to drink!
The whole animal hide they gave us meant we ate well, slept well, could take baths, and even drank honey!
The honey milk was only a small amount; the three of them finished it after a few sips. After licking the milk residue off their lips, they exclaimed in unison, "It's so delicious!"
After the four had eaten and drunk their fill, Wolf Cliff decided to stay on the bed in the cabin while the other three went to the market together.
When they arrived at the market, the other tribesmen from the outskirts were already there, setting up their stalls. The three of them followed their memories to their own stalls. As for the words on the wooden signs, they had memorized them yesterday, but had completely forgotten them after a good night's sleep.
After setting up their stalls, the tribal chiefs oversaw them. The priests from each tribe had a clear goal: to search the entire market for salt. The Cliff Tribe's stall happened to be next to the Tree Tribe's, so Fox Tree helped Cliff Rain watch it while he and Tree Fruit went to trade salt first.
Upon seeing the salt stones at a stall near the entrance, the nine priests stopped moving.
When did rock salt come in so many shapes?
The orc from the Wood Tribe selling salt stones grinned as he introduced the products to his large customers, "We have all kinds of salt here: salt stones, coarse salt, fine salt, you name it. Which one do you want?"
Coarse salt? Fine salt? What kind of salt are these?
The Wood Tribe orc noticed their confusion and realized that these people probably hadn't traded salt with their tribe privately. He pointed to the boxes and introduced each item, "Everyone knows what a rock salt is, so I won't go into detail. This is better and cleaner than a rock salt; it's coarse salt. This white and fine salt is fine salt. It's also the best salt in our tribe. Rock salt is the cheapest, and fine salt is the most expensive."
Ya Yu was the first to react, "How were they all changed?"
The orcs of the Wood Tribe asked how many animal hides or fresh meat they would need to exchange for the three types of salt. The nine priests of the outlying tribes were shocked. The same amount of animal hides could be exchanged for so many salt stones in the Wood Tribe!
This is much more than what I could get in the Salt Department before!
Based on the animal hides and meat that the Salt Ministry had previously requested, they could exchange them for a considerable amount of coarse salt.
Moreover, the salt stones from the Wood Tribe look much cleaner than those from the Salt Tribe. In the past, when exchanging salt stones in the Salt Tribe, they would always put salt soil inside to increase the weight.
The tree fruit pointed to the fine salt and said it needed the amount of a piece of animal hide.
The wood tribe orcs who had previously visited the border tribes lived in her tree tribe. She had seen them stewing meat a few times, and those orcs were simply adding a fine powder to the meat using small bamboo tubes. But she had never seen them licking salt stones.
Think about it, back then the Wood Tribe orcs probably added fine salt.
The meat and soup they ate yesterday and today also tasted salty from the salt stones, but they didn't lick them. Therefore, the Mu tribe must have added fine salt to it.
Just thinking about the taste of meat and soup made Shuguo swallow hard.
The wood tribe orcs deftly folded large leaves into a bucket shape and used small iron shovels to scoop out fine salt.
Ya Yu stood beside the tree fruit, bent down slightly, and asked with some confusion, "These salts are so small, are you going to pour them directly into your palm and lick them?"
Tree Fruit shared his thoughts with Cliff Rain, who then realized that he hadn't licked the salt stones separately during his two meals of meat at the Wood Tribe. The meat from the Wood Tribe was so delicious that he hadn't even thought to lick the salt stones.
For someone like him who has only ever eaten dark, hard roasted meat and raw meat, it's hard not to want to eat meat made by the Mu tribe after just one taste.
If I go back to my tribe, I can cook some meat soup to drink whenever I have time, at least it will satisfy my craving.
Ya Yu also asked for a piece of fine salt made from animal hide. With the remaining animal hides he used to buy salt, he bought enough salt rocks. Because the prices were cheap in the Wood Tribe, after buying the salt rocks, he still had some animal hides left. Between buying all the salt rocks and browsing around some more, Ya Yu chose the latter.
The priests of the other seven tribes looked at Cliff Rain and Tree Fruit with a strange expression when they saw that they had bought some fine salt.
It was immediately obvious that something was wrong.
Why are these two people so clean? Why is their hair so smooth? Why don't they have any dark circles under their eyes?
Why didn't they have any new mosquito bites? Summer mosquitoes are fierce, and anyone bitten recently will have large, red welts that are clearly visible. But these two showed no signs of mosquito bites from the previous night, and a barrage of questions exploded in the seven people's minds.
The priest of the Flower Tribe was particularly prone to mosquito bites, and his body was covered in scratches. The newly bitten mosquitoes were starting to itch again, and as he scratched, he looked at Cliff Rain and Tree Fruit, who had no new bites, and the question in his mind could no longer be contained: "You weren't bitten by mosquitoes yesterday?"
Cliff Rain and Tree Fruit were taken aback, and simultaneously looked down at themselves, somewhat bewildered, as if to say, "Oh."
The two recalled the round-leaf grass and mugwort that the Wood Tribe had sent the previous night, and the same scent emanating from the things they had been using as pillows. It seemed the Wood Tribe beastmen were right; these two herbs really did repel mosquitoes.
They didn't hide anything and gave the seven people a general account of what happened last night.
The seven people listened in stunned silence. Wild vegetables that tasted better than meat, meat that tasted better than wild vegetables, eggs that weren't sticky at all, and a wonderful flavor—all these were amazing. There were large wooden tubs big enough for one person to sit in, grass to repel mosquitoes during baths, and beds to sleep on that kept the body cool and comfortable…
They could understand every word they said, but they couldn't grasp the meaning.
Are these two really saying that the beast world exists?
How can there be wild vegetables that taste better than meat? Aren't eggs always sticky? Does grass that can repel mosquito bites really exist?
"You mean roundleaf grass and mugwort, right?" The wood tribesman carrying the salt tied the package of fine salt with straw rope and said with a smile, "Our priest discovered this. Before, we only knew that roundleaf grass could make teeth feel better and prevent pain. Later, the priest told us that if you soak roundleaf grass and mugwort in water to take a bath, mosquitoes will not bite you."
As he spoke, he stretched out his muscular arm, "Look, I shower every day, and from summer until now, I haven't had a single mosquito bite."
The seven priests were drawn in and craned their necks to look. Hey, it really was!
Not a single mosquito bite!
The Flower Tribe priest scratched the mosquito bite on his body, which was already broken open. With a scratch, he broke the scab and drew blood. He asked uncertainly, "Do you trade this grass?"
The Wood Tribe orc nodded, walked out of the stall, and pointed to the spot diagonally opposite, "That stall with all the grass leaves trades in roundleaf grass and mugwort."
The Flower Tribe priest perked up. Great! He could finally escape the torment of mosquito bites in the summer!
After the priests of the outlying tribes bought the salt they needed, the orcs of the Wood Tribe, feeling that they couldn't carry it all, helped them deliver it to their tribe's stall.
After leading the way, the priests of the outlying tribes did the same thing as Ya Yu: they decided to visit the market.
The Flower Tribe priest went straight to the stall trading roundleaf grass and mugwort. Based on the recommendation of the Wood Tribe orc at the stall, he bought their pre-processed herb packets if he wanted to store them for a long time.
The herb packets, wrapped in leaves, contained dried round-leaf grass and mugwort, which had a long shelf life and remained largely unaffected in their effectiveness. After inquiring about the amount of animal hides required in exchange, the Flower Tribe priest, without hesitation, waved his hand, exchanging a small piece of animal hide for over thirty herb packets.
One herbal sachet can be used twice, and by the time you've used them all, summer will be almost over.
The Flower Tribe priest, clutching a bundle full of herbs, thought happily to herself, "The Wood Tribe's products are both good and cheap."
Several other priests from the outskirts of the tribe also went to buy some, as it could prevent them from being bitten by mosquitoes. They couldn't possibly let such a good thing go to waste.
When the nine of them came across a stall, they found it surrounded by layers upon layers of orcs. Eagle Cliff, shouting at the front, yelled, "Twenty baskets of lobsters! I'll take this big animal hide! Thirty baskets of jellyfish! I'll take that animal hide too! Ten baskets..."
"Stop shouting! You've traded away all the large animal hides here, leave some for us!"
"Yeah! How long have you been shouting here all by yourself!"
"Which tribe are you from? The Feather Tribe? Do we have a Feather Tribe around here?"
"Leave us some animal hides! Without them, people will freeze to death in the winter!"
Eagle Cliff's monopolization of the animal hide stalls finally provoked public outrage. He sniffed and looked at the mountain of animal hides piled up beside him, realizing that he had probably traded a bit too much.
Eagle Cliff gritted his teeth, feeling extremely reluctant. "Then...then I'll leave some for these orcs. Without the Wood Tribe's animal hides in winter, the orcs will truly freeze to death."
The nine priests of the outlying tribe watched the tall orc walk past them. He carried a mountain of animal hides in his arms; they looked so soft! And they smelled wonderful!
However, none of the nine people planned to squeeze in to trade the animal hides. Even if the hides were cheap, they couldn't afford to trade such good ones.
As they walked further, they smelled the aroma of meat and discovered a meat stall not far ahead.
The stall was surrounded by many orcs, some trading fresh raw meat, others trading freshly skinned animal hides.
The nine people were so captivated by the aroma that they walked forward, listening to the orc from the Wood Tribe at the meat stall wrapping meat in large leaves as he said, "Our cured meat can last a long time as long as it's kept in a dry and sun-free place, even until next summer. There's no need to add salt; just chop it up, put it in a clay pot with water, and you'll have a pot of fragrant meat soup."
The orcs trading cured meat are all from surrounding tribes. They are quite familiar with some things about the Wood Tribe, since many orcs from the tribe work in the Wood Tribe and tell a lot when they return every seven days.
Some orcs would bring gifts for their families in the tribe, such as clay pots and bowls, which many orcs in their tribe possessed.
Cooking meat in an earthenware pot is really quick. Adding a little salt makes it taste even better than raw meat.
However, the orcs who had eaten the meat made by the Wood Tribe were not very satisfied with it; it was not as delicious as the meat made by the Wood Tribe.
This piqued the curiosity of the orcs who had never tasted meat made by the Wood Tribe. If this wasn't delicious, how delicious must the meat from the Wood Tribe be?
Then, they came to trade meat today.
They initially thought it was a bit of a waste to exchange three pieces of fresh meat for two pieces of cured meat, but when they heard that it could be stored for a long time and that they didn't need to add salt when eating it, they thought it was a good deal.
This person exchanged for two pieces, that person exchanged for four pieces, and in the end, everyone had at least two large pieces of cured meat in their hands.
The priests of the outlying tribes were also tempted when they heard about the benefits of cured meat. After asking how a rabbit-sized animal hide could be exchanged for two pieces of cured meat, they gritted their teeth and exchanged all the remaining animal hides for cured meat.
Their tribe lacked salt, meat, and animal hides the most.
Animal hides were used for warmth, and enough could be accumulated before winter arrived for the winter. However, salt and meat were foods they ate regardless of the season.
This cured meat can be stored for a long time. They often don't have enough meat in the winter, so this meat is all saved for winter consumption. It's convenient that eating this meat eliminates the need to lick the salt stones, saving them from waste.
After trading the cured meat, the priests from the outlying tribes carried their leaf-wrapped treats directly to their stalls. Every now and then, they heard names they'd never heard of before: dried scallops, dried squid, dried seaweed, chili powder, oyster sauce...
The nine people did not slow down their pace, and were even driven to walk faster, refusing to look at the market again. There were too many good things to see, but they could not be traded.
It's really so painful.
When Shen Nong brought Ze to the market, the priests of the outlying tribes had just returned to their stalls and put down their herbal packets and cured meat.
There wasn't much to see at her own tribe's stalls, and none of the other tribes around the Wood Tribe had stalls at the market, so Shen Nong headed straight for the nine stalls of the outlying tribes.
While writing the sign yesterday, Shen Nong heard a tribe pronounce "sang." He wasn't sure if it was the "sang" in "mulberry tree." If there were mulberry trees, there should also be silkworms, but he wasn't sure. He came to the market today to ask them in detail.
Following the tribal name on the sign, Shen Nong stopped in front of the Sang tribe's stall.
The stall of the Sang tribe was piled with small, yellow, oval-shaped balls.
No orcs stopped at the nine stalls of the outlying tribes. Even those who did stop only glanced at the items and moved on, as they were all busy looting the goods from the Wood Tribe and had no time to look at these strange and unusual things.
The chief of the Sang tribe, who had finally managed to stop for a while to help tidy up the salt stones, herb packets, and cured meat, quickly straightened up and discovered that it was the priest of the Mu tribe.
Cansang smiled and said, "Priest of the Wood Tribe, what brings you here?"
Seeing that the other person kept staring at the things on her stall, Cansang assumed that the other person did not know what these things were. Several orcs had looked at the things strangely before and came over to ask.
She explained, “These are cocoons of silkworms, which are the same animals as me in my beast form. The cocoons soften after being soaked in water and can be stretched. They are very soft and can be laid on the haystacks in the cave to sleep on.”
Shen Nong appeared calm on the surface, but was overjoyed inside. She could now weave cloth and make clothes to wear!
"Does your tribe still have silkworm cocoons like this?" Shen Nong asked.
After thinking for a while, Cansang shook his head, "They're no longer available in the mountains; it's too late."
Shen Nong nodded, continuing to stare at the silk on the stall. He confirmed it was silk, but the color...
After thinking about it for a while, Shen Nong finally understood the reason. The silkworms in the beast world should be wild silkworms that have not been domesticated, so their cocoons are naturally white, fine, and soft like those of domesticated silkworms that have not undergone domestication. Moreover, their cocooning cycle is also long.
If that's the case, then the tribe's name has nothing to do with silkworms; he's just overthinking it. But it's a lucky accident that he's stumbled upon silk.