Everyone looked at Shanfeng again, wanting him to say it again.
Shanfeng glanced at him and pretended not to see it. It wasn't like he was giving the Wood Tribe priest a hard time, so he didn't answer his question.
Finally, the old priest of the Rain Tribe, Yu Mu, coughed lightly and asked sincerely, "Priest of the Wood Tribe, we have come to ask you about your tribe's pigs, cattle, and sheep. What method do you use to make even unawakened beastman children obey you?"
Shen Nong turned her head slightly and said truthfully, "Scare them for a few days with six level seven orcs and they'll behave."
Shen Nong still finds the scene somewhat amusing when she thinks about it now.
After all, they were wild beasts that had never been tamed. They were captured because they could not withstand the power of the high-level orc warriors and were naturally afraid.
After recovering overnight, they started causing trouble. At that time, the earthen houses of the Water Tribe were not yet completed, and they lived not far from the pastoral area.
I was sleeping soundly when a wild boar came out and started running amok, scaring me so much that I screamed repeatedly.
Hearing the commotion, all the members of the Mu tribe rushed over to check the situation, but they were helpless against the wild and untamed beasts.
Let's kill them all; we can't possibly eat them all.
Shen Nong recalled that when Ze and his companions brought back these wild beasts, the beasts were quite docile, and she wondered if it was related to the powerful blood and qi of the high-level beastmen.
Surprisingly, it actually worked. The early method of orcs taming wild beasts was so simple, brutal, yet efficient.
The priests chuckled awkwardly after hearing Shen Nong's suggestion.
Six level seven orcs...they couldn't find a single one.
Actually, they hadn't paid much attention to the wild animals of the Wood Tribe until the Wood Tribe had a lot of fluffy little chicks.
Only then did they realize that the wild animals kept by the Wood Tribe would give birth to many cubs.
Once the cubs grow up, they can have many more. When there are enough, the Wood Tribe won't even need to hunt anymore; they can have an endless supply of meat just by raising these wild animals.
After figuring it out, the seven of them were so anxious that they wanted to see the priest of the Wood Tribe and ask him how he managed to make these unruly wild beasts obey.
Especially that big black boar, it has a terrible temper. Even their own tribe's hunting team would fight it for a while when they encountered a group of big black boars.
Before asking, everyone was worried that the person wouldn't want to talk, but now that they've asked and the person has told them, it would have been better if they hadn't known.
“However, if you wish, I can lend you the level seven orc warriors of the Wood Tribe,” Shen Nong added with a smile. “But you must agree to one condition.”
The seven of them shivered for no reason. It was almost summer, so why did they feel cold?
But the allure of the level seven orc warriors and their intense curiosity ultimately led them to cautiously ask, "What are the conditions?"
Chapter 70
Yes, this will make the water taste better.
In the giant forest of the Wood Tribe, Songshan, with a grassy mound on his head, peeked out from behind a giant tree. After repeating this action more than ten times, he finally saw the person he was waiting for.
"Why are you waiting here today?" Hu Xiao put the basket he was carrying on the ground.
Fearing discovery of their trade with the Wood Tribe by cannibals, each tribe designated a secluded spot. Under cover of darkness, they would leave the animal hides used for trading salt there. The Wood Tribe would then retrieve the hides and leave the salt behind. The other tribes would then carry the salt back to their tribes under the same cover of darkness.
So seeing Songshan and the roar of the tiger here is a bit strange.
Matsuyama replied, "I was waiting for you here specifically."
He squatted down casually, his eyes almost turning into coarse salt. He happily touched a handful of not-so-white coarse salt. "I put the animal hide for exchanging salt in the usual place. Remember to go get it. I can't carry so much out. The cannibals have recently sent more people to patrol around the tribe. I have to hide all this salt and bring it back to the tribe after dark."
"By the way, has your priest returned yet?" Songshan covered his basket securely with leaves from a giant tree he had climbed and plucked beforehand. "Our tribes haven't been trading 'flesh people' and cannibals for salt, and now they're starting to suspect us."
Hu Xiao nodded, "Just got back."
Songshan, carrying a full basket of coarse salt, was no longer happy but filled with melancholy. "In five days, it will be time to exchange salt stones with the cannibals again. They sent someone to inform us that we will raid the salt mountain of the Salt Department in three days. I came to you to talk about this. It's good that your priest is back. You can talk to him and ask him if there is any way for us to avoid it."
Even though there was enough salt, he really didn't want his people to become "meat people." Moreover, if they were to seize the salt mountain from the salt tribe, their tribes would definitely have to act as human shields in front of the cannibals.
Who knows how many more orc warriors will die then?
Hu Xiao replied solemnly, "Alright, I'll go back and tell the priest. You go back and wait for news."
Songshan breathed a slight sigh of relief upon receiving the promise, hoping there would be a solution. If even the priest of the Mu tribe couldn't help, they would have no choice but to accept it.
Looking back, the priests from various tribes were actually doing quite well in the Wood Tribe; at least they were alive. As long as the tribe's priests lived, the tribe would not perish.
Meanwhile, inside the large earthen house where the Wood Tribe held its council, Shen Nong smiled and stated his conditions to the seven priests: "We need orc warriors from your tribe to work for me."
If they had enough manpower, their Mu tribe could achieve a life where everyone lives in a small brick house.
Limestone, clay, and iron slag are also available. A simple cement can be made using rudimentary methods to repair the roads inside and around the wooden village. As long as the orcs don't transform into their beast forms and jump around on it, this inferior cement road will last quite a while.
No matter how perfect the plan is, it's useless now that iron ore mining has started and trade along the coast needs to be put on the agenda. People are needed everywhere.
The Mu tribe is really short-handed; there's a lot of work going undone, which is a real worry.
The priests didn't understand what "work" meant, so Shen Nong explained it to them. There was no currency here, so they provided the orcs who came to work with three meals a day.
The orcs were busy all day long, just trying to get something to eat. Shen Nong promised to feed them well and give them a piece of tanned animal hide every thirty days.
The priests knew exactly what the animal hides of the Wood Tribe looked like; they couldn't sleep without lying on them. Their only concern was ensuring the orc warriors who came to work were well-fed…
The others didn't dare to ask, but Shanfeng finally asked uncertainly, "Priest of the Wood Tribe, you know that orc warriors have big appetites, right?"
Shen Nong nodded in surprise. Of course he knew. He knew that guy Ze could really eat nearly twenty pounds of meat in one go. The higher the level of the beastman, the larger the beast form, and the more he could eat.
Take Catgrass and his group of young beastmen who have only recently awakened, for example. They can now eat at least six pounds of meat in one meal. Every time Shen Nong sees them, she can't help but wonder how those small bodies can eat so much meat. If the beastmen of the Beast World were to travel to interstellar space, they could all become big eater live streamers.
Shen Nong sensed that Shan Feng's expression was a little off when he asked this question. "Do you know? What's wrong?"
The seven looked at each other, hesitant, and whispered among themselves for a while before Yu Mu's aged voice rang out, "Priest of the Wood Tribe, if you can really feed the orc warriors who come to work, the Wood Tribe will not need to have level seven orc warriors help us tame wild beasts, nor will we need to give them any more animal hides... as long as you don't send them back to the tribe."
The other six nodded repeatedly, fearing that Shen Nong might disagree.
The orc warriors really have a huge appetite. They're afraid that if the warriors from the tribe come to the Wood Tribe and eat for two days, the Wood Tribe priests will send them all back.
Shen Nongjun raised his eyebrows slightly. Such a good thing?
His gaze swept over the seven people, and realizing they were serious, Shen Nong didn't stand on ceremony and agreed on the spot.
Since the Mu tribe acquired bamboo rafts, fishing nets, and fishing boats, they have been able to eat more fish than they can eat, and even their salted fish stocks are almost overflowing.
The Mu tribe used to worry about not having enough meat to eat; now they worry about not having enough meat to eat.
Perhaps it's a concept ingrained in the orcs' genes that they can't let go of prey that's right in front of them. So even though the tribe has more meat than they can eat, the hunting party still brings back a bunch of fish every day.
I feel uncomfortable all over even if I stop for a day.
As a result, there are so many fish skin garments that the warehouses are almost overflowing.
Shen Nong has already allocated a new piece of land and is preparing to build a brick warehouse to store various supplies for the Mu tribe.
He can't guarantee anything else, but he can be 100% certain that the orcs will be able to eat their fill.
The seven priests felt they had hit the jackpot. Although the tribe no longer lacked salt due to their trade with the Wood Tribe, they were lacking meat.
It's fair to say that none of the orc warriors in the tribe have ever truly had a full stomach.
With both sides feeling they had made a huge profit, a specific agreement was quickly reached.
Shen Nong was prepared and repeated the rules and requirements that the beastmen had to follow when working. After listening, the priests of each tribe felt that there were no problems.
After the final agreement was reached, Shen Nong was about to see them off, but the seven hesitated. "Do the priests have any further questions?"
The crowd exchanged glances, and finally Shanfeng stepped forward, somewhat hesitantly asking, "Priest of the Wood Tribe, may we swear an oath to the Beast God?"
Shen Nong understood. Not to mention these priests, even he himself had concerns. It wasn't that he was afraid they would leave halfway through, but rather that the orcs from other tribes wouldn't follow the agreed-upon requirements and guidelines.
Because there are no constraints between them.
There is no such thing as a contract in the Beast World, and no related systems have been established.
Everything was just a verbal promise, so it's normal that people don't really have any confidence in it.
However, "fortune favors the bold," and the Mu tribe was truly short-handed, so recruiting workers was a result of careful consideration.
Shen Nong was quite supportive of Shan Feng's suggestion, after all, the people of the Beast World held the "Beast God" in awe. The Beast God's binding effect on them was stronger than the contracts of later generations.
"OK."
With mixed feelings, Shen Nong followed the seven people in swearing an oath to their revered Beast God, promising to abide by the agreement and never betray them. Fortunately, there weren't too many rules, and they were all explained in no time, much to Shen Nong's relief.
Having solved the food problem for many of the tribe's orc warriors, the seven priests prepared to leave with smiles on their faces.
Ze Zheng was carrying a ceramic cup and walking in the opposite direction from the seven people, his gaze fixed on Shen Nong. "Priest, I have boiled the water as you requested."
He walked up to Shen Nong, lowered his head, and offered her the ceramic cup. "Are you thirsty?"
Last night, Ze had been making a ruckus for too long and incoherently, and Shen Nong's lips were still slightly swollen when he woke up this morning. The strange feeling on his lips annoyed him whenever he saw Ze, so he asked Ze to go out and slowly boil water over a low flame, intending to tell Ze to stop hanging around in front of him.
I am indeed quite thirsty now. The water in the ceramic cup has been cooled to a warm temperature, just right for drinking.
Shen Nong gulped down more than half a cup before her thirst was quenched.
Shanfeng had been curious about the method of preparing hot water, and he lingered until the very end, asking after Shen Nong had finished drinking: "Priest of the Wood Tribe, when I came in, I saw the orc warriors beside you boiling water over a small fire outside. Was that to make the water taste better?"
Shen Nong placed the ceramic cup on the wooden table, glanced at Ze, and said jokingly, "Hmm, the water will taste better this way."
Ze's breath caught in his throat at that glance, and he clenched his fists tightly against his sides, trying to suppress his surging agitation.
Shen Nong has now evolved to the point where he can quickly sense Ze's emotional changes. He realized something was wrong. This was outside. Even if Shan Feng had left, someone could come in at any time.
He dared not flirt any further, not even daring to give her a glance, and quickly turned his head away.
Shanfeng, unaware of the many twists and turns involved, believed it to be true and used this method of slow boiling to cook water that very night. Unexpectedly, it became a habit thereafter.
...
Just as the tiger roared, the mountain wind emerged.
The door of the earthen house was wide open, and the situation inside could be seen at a glance. Seeing that everyone had left and only Ze was with the priest inside, Hu Xiao hurriedly went in and told Shen Nong what Songshan had told him.
Shen Nong tapped the wooden table lightly with her fingertips, making a regular "tap tap tap" sound.
If Hu Xiao's words are true, then the recruitment plan he just agreed upon with the priests of various tribes will have to be put on hold.
It must be said that the conflict between the cannibals and the salt tribe will inevitably affect the wood tribe no matter what.
They cannot remain unscathed in this struggle.
Shen Nong curled her knuckles and asked Hu Xiao, "During the time I was away, did the cannibals or the Salt Tribe come looking for me?"
Hu Xiao nodded, "The Salt Ministry came to see us, but they said things like they wouldn't exchange salt for our tribe if we didn't listen to them."