He wasn't worried at all about these priests who couldn't carry anything and run away from the tribe.
The Wood Tribe has only one official exit, but the hidden exit is known only to members of the hunting party. The priest said it was an escape route in times of crisis.
The fewer people who know, the better.
The priests from the seven tribes lined up neatly, following Hu Xiao with a heart full of doubt.
I wonder what tricks those cunning orcs of the Wood Tribe will pull this time.
Hu Xiao listened to Shen Nong's words and led the seven people around aimlessly. They wandered wherever they happened to be, and when they were near a brick kiln, he would take the priests there to watch the brick-making process.
After leaving the breeding area, they would take people to watch the pigs eat and sleep.
Since they were close to the meat-making team, they led them to see the meat being cured. The priests, their mouths watering, stared at the meat and the white, fine salt.
The production team also took a detour, but after glancing at Tiger Roar from a distance, they left and took the people away.
The production team is really too busy, and having too many people go would delay their work.
Moreover, because of the incident involving Lu Shuang, these priests are extremely weak, and going there might be dangerous for them.
Watching the beastmen from afar—a safe way to keep them from interfering with the production team's work—Hu Xiao felt incredibly clever.
However, those two glances were enough to startle the priests for a long time.
Those large wooden objects looked frightening. But a strange, intense desire to explore arose within them, their curiosity fully piqued.
The blurrier the image, the more I want to get closer. The less I know what something is, the more I want to figure it out.
However, Hu Xiao didn't give them that chance; he was busy and didn't have time to accompany them around.
Moreover, the production team is dangerous, so it's impossible for him to bring them close.
Before the group was led to the pottery team by Hu Xiao, they were still thinking about the big project the team was making.
Once they arrived at the pottery team, they lost all interest in thinking. The group stared wide-eyed at the clay being molded into various utensils. It turned out that the earthenware bowls they usually used for drinking meat soup were made of clay; no wonder they were lighter than stones.
But they didn't know how the mud eventually became so hard.
When they tried to look inside, Hu Xiao pulled them away and took them back to the old earthen house.
After they had walked around for a while, the priests stopped arguing about letting them go back.
But then she started not sleeping anymore.
At night, since they were not allowed to go far, they could only move around the earthen house. So the seven of them, each holding a torch, gathered in front of the earthen house and began to study how it was built.
If it weren't for the occasional discussions among the orc warriors guarding them about their theories on how the house was built, they would have almost thought the priests were going to set the house on fire.
As soon as it got light, after drinking the morning meat soup, they started to explore the Mu tribe in groups.
The orcs on guard had received orders from Tiger Roar yesterday not to restrict their activities during the day, so they left them alone.
Although they can wander around the Wood Tribe, they can't visit the individual teams.
Without Hu Xiao leading them, the guards responsible for watching over each team wouldn't let them in at all.
Thus, this scene unfolded in the Wood Tribe: a group of priests and guards stared at each other, taking a short break after getting tired of staring, before continuing to stare.
No matter how much they glared at them, it was no use. The guards only said one thing: without the hunting team leader leading the way, they would not let anyone in.
Now things are really messed up; the seven priests have started searching the whole tribe for Tiger Roar.
Their movements were all reported to Shen Nong.
Shen Nong breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that the Wood Tribe had now completely piqued their interest.
They probably won't leave even if you try to force them.
...
The four children rescued from the Wushan tribe got along well with Yu Cao and the others, and now they are herding cattle and sheep with them.
The children get to know each other well, and Yu Cao has the demeanor of an older brother. He is the oldest among the children and takes good care of the younger ones.
With Yu Cao around, Shen Nong wasn't too worried about the four children.
Shen Nong calculated the time; Eagle Cliff and his group would be delivering oysters to the Wood Tribe this afternoon. They would stay here for the night and head to the Feather Tribe together early tomorrow morning.
Not far from the Wood Tribe, Eagle Cliff and his group, each carrying a large basket on their backs, were flying towards the Wood Tribe.
“Eagle Cliff, including this time, we’ve already sent shell meat to the Wood Tribe three times. And each time it’s more than the last.” Carved Wood said with some worry, “Do you think the Wood Tribe will stop asking us to collect shell meat in the future?”
After all, with so much shell and meat, you could definitely eat your fill. Besides, this stuff doesn't keep for long and spoils very easily.
Eagle Cliff stared ahead. Ever since the Wood Tribe provided enough large baskets, most of the beastmen in the tribe had been helping the Wood Tribe collect shells and meat.
Last time, he traded with the Mu tribe according to the schedule, and everyone received a fine piece of animal hide.
This made the tribe members work even harder to collect carcasses and meat, hoping to exchange them for more large animal hides to use during the winter.
They were really short of animal hides, even more so than food.
He was also worried that the Wood Tribe might stop wanting the shell meat, but he didn't show it. Instead, he reassured them, "Whether they accept it or not, we'll listen to the Wood Tribe. If they stop accepting the shell meat, we can still trade with them if they find a way to do other things for the Wood Tribe."
The woodcarver's worries dissipated considerably, and he laughed, "Being able to fly is quite good."
Eagle Cliff echoed softly, "Yes, it's good to be able to fly."
This was the first time the Feather Tribe orcs had ever thought that being able to fly was a good thing.
They used to be ostracized and driven away because they could fly. Now, because they can fly, they can do many things for the Wood Tribe and trade with them on their own.
They really liked this feeling.
I really hope it can continue forever.
Eagle Cliff and his group arrived right on time. Besides oysters, he also brought a lot of fish. Each one was quite large, clearly carefully selected.
These fish were all caught by them using fishing nets.
Ever since Eagle Cliff started using fishing nets to catch fish on the sea, he has become extremely fond of them, wishing he could fly across the sea with the nets at all times.
"Priest of the Wood Tribe, your fishing net is truly a treasure. Our tribe hasn't lacked meat lately."
Shen Nong smiled and then told them that they could stay overnight and leave together the next day.
Yingya nodded in agreement immediately, then asked somewhat cautiously, "Do you still want the shell and meat?" Shen Nong nodded without hesitation, "Yes, take as much as you can."
He has a system warehouse where he can put the cooked oyster sauce without worrying about it expiring.
Upon hearing this, Yingya nodded happily, "Okay, I'll go and tell the tribesmen!"
He was determined to share this good news with his clansmen as soon as possible.
Shen Nong didn't know why Yingya was so happy, so she had all the oysters sent to the food processing team.
The oysters that Yingya and the others had sent before, Shen Nong didn't have any high-tech methods, so she could only use the most ordinary boiling method to make oyster sauce. The oil yield was not high, but the taste was very delicious. Just adding a little bit would bring out the fresh aroma immediately.
His warehouse was already piled high with them, all packed in small, roasted bamboo tubes.
After Eagle Cliff and the others delivered a few more times, Shen Nong stopped saving up as much as he could. He kept half and distributed the rest so that the tribespeople could also taste the flavor of oyster sauce.
The food preparation team skillfully processed the oysters sent by their priests, and after cleaning the plump oyster meat, they began to prepare oyster sauce.
The boiled oyster meat was distributed to the tribe members.
The first time I cooked oysters, I didn't make much, so I just gave some to the kids to try.
The second time, many people from the hunting teams led by Tiger Roar and Rabbit Wind came to scramble for the food. They even ate what they had reserved for the priest, which infuriated the food-making team.
This time, the food-making team was worried that the hunting team would try to steal their food again, and they also saw how hard the hunting team had worked, so they specially reserved some for them.
As a result, the male orcs in the hunting party refused to eat no matter what, which puzzled the food-making team.
However, Cat Cloud and several other female orcs received quite a lot.
The remaining food was set aside for the priest by the food-making team. Considering that Ze hadn't come with the hunting party to plunder last time, and that he had stayed by the priest's side the whole time, they also set aside some for him.
The other food preparation teams distributed the food to the children.
Shen Nong had dinner with Yingya and the others today. Yingya told him a lot about the tribes on the other side of the sea.
Because Eagle Cliff and his group went there much more frequently than before, and there were many more of them.
The tribes there noticed something amiss and sent many people to watch them secretly.
They knew someone was watching from behind, but there was nothing they could do; they couldn't just chase them away. If anyone was to leave, it was them; after all, they weren't a coastal tribe.
Eagle Cliff said they used fishing nets to catch fish, which was seen by those tribes.
Once, I wasn't paying attention and was almost stolen by some tribe on the beach.
Shen Nong listened intently as the food preparation team delivered the oyster meat.
Ze put the oyster meat away and said that the food preparation team had given him some meat, asking Shen Nong if she wanted some.
Shen Nong always eats only until she's seven-tenths full at night, not a single bite more. He didn't even look at her, just waved his hand, "You eat it for me."
After saying that, he asked Eagle Cliff, "Was it stolen in the end?"
Yingya shook his head and laughed, "Thanks to Luchun, those people only stole half of it before Luchun noticed. She's a high-level orc, so they didn't dare to mess with her and ran away after dropping the fishing net."
Aside from the things Shen Nong made herself, Ze Neng thought they were delicious. Everything else, whether good or bad, was edible.
Listening to the conversation between the priest and Eagle Cliff, Ze first silently ate the priest's portion of oyster meat, then patted his stomach, felt he could still eat, and started eating his own portion.
There were enough oysters in a whole earthenware pot, and they were all picked and eaten just like that.
Seeing that it was getting late, Shen Nong bid farewell to Yingya.
As he stood up, he noticed two small earthenware bowls in front of Ze and asked, "Have you finished all the meat the food preparation team sent?"
He nodded and said, "Mm."
Shen Nong recalled that he had previously eaten a whole roasted lamb leg, two roasted pig trotters, and drunk three large bowls of meat soup.
He was surprised to find he still had room to eat two bowls of meat. He muttered to himself, "He can really eat."
"What?" Ze didn't hear clearly.
Shen Nong waved her hand, "It's nothing, go back to sleep."
"Okay, go to sleep."
A note from the author:
Choice: I can show off two basins of oysters at once.