Shen Nong, holding the infrastructure points, trailed behind the team. Since he had nothing better to do, he opened the system shop and found that only one item was lit up.
It was a bag of white sugar. The original price was marked as 1428, but a line was drawn across the price, followed by the discounted price of 999.6.
If Shen Nong buys it, the remaining 0.4 infrastructure points will be rounded to zero.
He said this system's missions were complicated, luring people onto the ship only to rip them off. It was definitely a cheat program, but it was all show and no substance.
The system is cunning, controlling the base building points and only allowing you to buy what it wants you to buy.
I had just finished complaining in my mind when a new task popped up.
[Task Two: With a skill in hand, you'll never go hungry. Equip your tribe with at least three different skills!]
[A reward of 9000 infrastructure points.]
Shen Nong looked at the nine times more infrastructure points than before and silently chose to accept the mission again.
The system gave us a really big amount this time...
The guards left behind in the tribe saw the hunting party return so early and assumed they hadn't caught anything this time.
When the group got closer, they discovered that everyone in the hunting party had smiles on their faces, and everyone except the priest was carrying prey.
The guards helped process the food, leaving some for tomorrow. They then quickly skinned and prepared the remaining prey.
Hu Xiao used a bone knife to cut off the tenderest piece of meat and handed it directly to Shen Nong.
"Priest, Rabbit Winter hasn't returned yet, and there's no grass to eat. Eat a piece of meat to fill your stomach first."
Looking at the dripping blood from the piece of meat, Shen Nong didn't think it was any better than the moldy, greenish meat.
Her stomach was throbbing with hunger, but Shen Nong couldn't bring herself to refuse. "Put it down first, I'll cook it later and then eat it."
After thinking for a while about the meaning of "cooking", Hu Xiao tried to persuade their priest, who had unusual tastes, "Priest, if you cook meat over a fire, it will turn black. You won't be able to chew it, and it will taste bitter."
Shen Nong then realized that there was no oil here, so the meat wouldn't be very good for grilling. However, he didn't have any cooking utensils either. After staring at the meat for a while, he remembered that he had asked the guards to dig up some mud before he left.
"Rabbit Wind, is the mud you dug over by the hearth?"
Suddenly asked a question, Tu Feng put down the meat in his hand, stood up straight, and nodded, "It's all there."
Shen Nong took the meat from Hu Xiao's hand and asked Hu Xiao to find him a few large leaves that had previously wrapped the dried meat.
Shen Nong had never seen these leaves before; they must be unique to this world. Once dried, they are quite resilient, making them quite suitable for wrapping things.
Upon arriving at the fire pit, remembering that Hu Xiao had mentioned going to the salt department to exchange for salt, I asked Hu Xiao, "Do you have any salt?"
After a moment's thought, Hu Xiao said yes.
While Hu Xiao was getting the salt, Shen Nong washed the meat clean.
"Priest, salt!"
Shen Nong's eyes lit up, and she looked at the salt that Hu Xiao had brought with great joy.
Although salt alone won't make it taste very good, it's better than nothing.
Then he saw Hu Xiao open the salt...soil that was tightly wrapped in an unknown large leaf.
It's less like salt and more like salty soil.
The thought of meat covered in dirt is so unappetizing that even Shen Nong couldn't bring himself to eat it.
Shen Nong asked, somewhat unwilling to give up, "Are there any other types of salt besides saline soil?"
Does the "salt" here refer to saline soil?
Hu Xiao scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "The Salt Department has salt stones, but because our tribe can't bring enough animal hides or other good things to exchange for salt every time we go to exchange for it, the Salt Department won't let us exchange for salt stones."
Oh, there's also rock salt. Thank goodness, Shen Nong breathed a sigh of relief.
He almost thought that unless he discovered a salt mine or accumulated enough infrastructure points to exchange for salt in the mall, he would have to find salt in the ground if he wanted to eat it.
Shen Nong didn't want to eat soil, but since he had already taken it, he took some salt soil and mixed it into the mud he would be using later.
Seeing this, Hu Xiao assumed that the priest would not eat salt soil, so he explained it to Shen Nong.
“Priest, salt should be sprinkled on meat to make it taste better.”
Although the salt soil doesn't taste good, it gives you energy after eating it, and he really likes that feeling.
Shen Nong was exhausted and too lazy to explain. "Oh, I'll be more careful next time. You guys eat first."
Tiger Roar felt a little sorry for the salt soil he had put into the mud, but it was the priest, and it wouldn't matter if the priest scattered the salt soil.
As usual, he sprinkled more salt on the meat of the hunting party, while the guards' meat was sprinkled with a little more.
If you hold it even a little high up, it will be blown away by the wind.
Shen Nong wrapped the meat in leaves, smeared it with wet mud mixed with salt, and then wrapped the whole piece of meat.
Then a small fire was lit from the hearth, and the wrapped meat was thrown into the fire to roast.
Hu Xiao was genuinely surprised by Shen Nong's smooth and effortless movements.
It's one thing for priests not to like eating meat, but why do they like to play with meat wrapped in mud?
The children in the tribe don't play in the mud.
Chapter 4 Cannibals
No life (cultivation)
While waiting for the meat to simmer, the gathering team returned.
The gathering team was the largest group in the tribe, including the elderly, children, and even the teenagers like Catgrass, totaling nearly forty people.
Each of them was carrying a full load of things, including berries and wild vegetables.
However, the items that Tu Dong and the other boys collected were different from what they had found.
Their faces were obscured by plants, which were quite long, over 1.7 meters. The stems were covered with lush green leaves, bundled together in neat rows.
Those who are slightly shorter can only carry it on their shoulders.
Catgrass was very lively. He carried a long-rooted plant on his shoulder and waved to Shen Nong from afar as he ran towards her, shouting, "Priestess! We found the mugwort!"
Is there really mugwort here?
The distinctive scent of mugwort wafts over as the cat grass gets closer. This scent is unmistakable!
Shen Nong looked at the mugwort that Maocao and the others had collected. It was quite large, generally about 1.7 meters tall. "Where did you find it?"
Tu Dong said, "It's by the river, but this river is very close to the Ze tribe. We don't usually go there."
Shen Nong thought to herself, no wonder. She had walked past the small river near the Mu tribe and there was no mugwort there at all.
"Priest, is this the mugwort you're looking for?" Tiger Roar sniffed the strong aroma of the mugwort in the air. "It smells so good! What are they used for?"
Shen Nong divided the mugwort into two portions, explained its uses, and answered Hu Xiao, "Mugwort can repel mosquitoes. Chop one portion, boil it in water with hot stones, and sprinkle the boiled water around your living area. You won't have mosquitoes at night. You can also apply some mugwort water to your body. Hang the other portion up to dry in the sun."
After learning that mugwort could repel mosquitoes, its status rose sharply. Even though they were frequently stung by mosquitoes and had become accustomed to it.
But if you can get rid of mosquitoes, who would want to be stung all over and suffer from unbearable itching?
Tu Dong gathered the berries and wild vegetables from the gathering team and piled them into a small hill. Then, he divided the amount needed by the gathering team according to the usual amount, and gave the rest to Shen Nong.
The entire gathering team took away less than one-tenth of the total amount of berries and wild vegetables.
On average, each person received three berries and a large handful of wild vegetables.
Moreover, there was no intention to serve meat at all.
Shen Nong pointed to the countless pieces of meat on the left and reminded them, "You haven't claimed your meat."
The members of the gathering team stared wide-eyed at the countless, bright red, fresh pieces of meat, more than ever before.
Regardless of age or gender, everyone couldn't help but swallow hard.
I want to eat it.
They hadn't eaten a whole piece of meat in a long time. Apart from the winter gathering teams being given some meat, they had no meat to eat at other times.
The only meaty flavor came from the bits of meat left on the bones.
Although it was obvious at a glance that the hunt had yielded enough food for everyone to eat their fill.
However, orc warriors have a large appetite, and if they are not full, they will not be able to transform into human form.
This meat was only enough for the orc warriors to eat their fill for two days; it had nothing to do with the gathering team.
Tu Dong assumed Shen Nong was unaware of the tribe's plans regarding meat consumption, and explained, "Priest, the gathering teams don't usually share meat."
Shen Nong glanced at the berries and wild vegetables in their hands. "If you don't eat meat, will you be full just by eating these?"
Tu Dong said with a smile, "We don't need to transform or do any physical labor. After we finish collecting each day, we go back to our tribe and don't go out again."
Thinking of the foods they usually eat, she added, "If we're really hungry, we'll eat grass, insects, anything we can eat."
Shen Nong frowned. He had worked so hard to hunt so that everyone in the tribe could have a full meal.
What if the data collection team insists on going hungry, and the system rips them off and then goes back on its word, deducting their base points for failing the mission?
Shen Nong remembered his persona, so he calmly made the standard Guanyin Bodhisattva gesture, "This is food bestowed upon you by the priest, it is the order of the Beast God."
Before long, Shen Nong received the answer she wanted. Not only the gathering team, but also the hunting team and the guard team clasped their hands in front of their chests, closed their eyes, and expressed their sincere gratitude.
Shen Nong chuckled, insisting that he unleash his ultimate move.
For the first time outside of winter, everyone in the gathering team ate a hearty meal of meat, and Hu Xiao even sprinkled some salt on the meat for each person.
The elderly people held the soft, fresh meat in their palms, staring at it intently, unable to believe it was real.
They thought it was just hallucinations from being too hungry. Many of their people starved to death, and before they died, they would say that the Beast God brought them food in their dreams.
They were so hungry that they accepted the gift from the beast god.
Then they all went to see the Beast God.
The elderly were so frightened they almost dared not accept it, fearing it was a "gift from the beast god."
It's the kind of thing where if you accept the invitation, you'll immediately meet the Beast God.
The group of teenagers and children didn't think much about it; they started eating as soon as they received the meat.