Wild silkworms are fine too. Anyway, there are already more than one or two kinds of animals domesticated in pastoral areas, so adding one more wouldn't hurt. It's just that the domestication process will be quite long, and he definitely won't live to see a silkworm successfully domesticated.
"I'll take all of these wild silkworm silks." After buying up all the silks from the Sang tribe's stall, Shen Nong added, "You can catch wild silkworms and bring them over to trade; I'll take as many as you have. Or I can send some people from the tribe with you, and you can lead them to search in the mountains and forests. I'll give you the goods based on the amount we find."
Cansang hadn't expected that she would not only have sold all her silk, but also be able to continue trading with silkworms. After thinking for a moment, Cansang chose the latter. The beastmen in her tribe were not of high level, and the journey was fraught with danger; they might not be able to return alive.
Every time the marginal tribes exchange salt stones, all nine tribes do so together.
Shen Nong had no objection to the choice of silkworms, but when asked what would be exchanged for them, she chose animal hides.
After estimating the amount of silk on the stall and how much silk could be reeled, he gave a number: ten large whole animal hides.
Cansang's eyes widened – ten large, whole animal hides!
In their tribe, two people can share one piece and still have some left over.
Their tribe soaks and stretches these silkworm cocoons before laying them on haystacks; they're not worth that much in animal hides.
The priest said that the animal hides of the Wood Tribe were soft and smelled good, completely different from theirs.
The silkworm farmer dared not cheat the wood tribe, and stammered, "Too much, too much."
Shen Nong himself didn't think he was giving too much; in his mind, this was the most reasonable price. Although he always managed to rip off the system, it was because the system's prices were outrageous. Every time he managed to lower the price, it meant he could still make a profit.
"That's settled then. I'll have someone send over some animal hides later, and take the silkworm cocoons with me as well," Shen Nong decided, and walked toward the next stall.
Tree Fruit was peering at the stall of the neighboring Sang tribe. It was wonderful; those useless silkworm cocoons had been exchanged for so many large animal hides.
If only the Wood Tribe priests could trade with us, I'd like five whole animal hides.
She turned around and saw the priest of the Wood Tribe, whom she had been longing for, staring at her stall with the same eyes he had been using to look at the Sang Tribe's stall.
That look in his eyes...
My five whole animal hides have a chance!
Chapter 83
2-in-1
The tree tribe's stall only had two animal skin bags. Although the contents of the bags were different, they had one thing in common: they were round.
Shen Nong reached out and scooped up a handful of round, yellow soybeans, bringing them to her nose for a gentle sniff. The distinctive aroma of soybeans instantly filled her nasal cavity. As for the contents of the other bag, she didn't even need to get close to examine them closely; the strong, pungent smell of Sichuan peppercorns already identified them.
The tree fruit's eyes darted around, and before anyone could ask, it had already launched into an explanation, "These were all nurtured by our divine tree. You can eat the big 'roller' you're holding when you're hungry. And this little 'roller' over here smells better than any flower—it's incredibly delicious!"
Tree Fruit stared at the person in front of him with anticipation, hoping that he could exchange five whole animal skins for the tribe today.
Five is not necessary, one will do. Although the little gluttons have no other advantages besides smelling stronger than flowers, they really do fill you up when you're hungry.
It's like I keep farting after eating.
The tree fruit automatically ignored the side effects of eating too much, thinking that with so many big pandas, exchanging them for a whole animal hide should be enough.
Shen Nong put down the soybeans in his hand, understanding the meaning behind Shu Guo's words: "Big Rolling" referred to soybeans, and "Little Rolling" referred to Sichuan peppercorns. He asked with some doubt, "You're using the 'Little Rolling' to smell?"
Tree Fruit nodded quickly, not keeping anyone waiting, and immediately replied, "Yes, it smells especially bad in the summer, and we pick a lot of flowers to smell. But the flowers don't smell as strong as Little Rolling, and the smell doesn't last as long as Little Rolling."
After saying that, Shuguo sniffed. Although she really wanted to trade Little Roll for animal hides, she ultimately chose to tell the truth, "But the Wood Tribe doesn't need Little Roll. Your tribe doesn't smell at all."
Shen Nong thought to herself, "I'm not meant to be smelled, I'm meant to be eaten." "Is this all? I'll take as many as you brought."
He emphasized, "We need both."
Shuguo was overjoyed; even the little glutton could be traded! After she fully digested the meaning of the words, she said with some regret, "That's all. These are all."
These large pandas are all that's left in the tribe; they ate a lot during the winter. The smaller pandas are fewer in number each time they grow, and these are the most the tribe can offer.
Shen Nong was not surprised. All the crops in the Beast World were naturally grown, so the yield was definitely very low.
"That'll do then," Shen Nong began to quote, "Twenty whole animal hides in exchange."
Soybeans are highly valuable; they can be used as a staple food, made into various soy products, and even pressed for oil.
Vegetable oils can taste better than animal oils.
The Sichuan peppercorns from the Tree Tribe are all red Sichuan peppercorns. These peppercorns are easier to extract oil from than green Sichuan peppercorns, and their aroma is also stronger.
This left not only the tree fruit but even the fox tree, which had been silent until now, speechless with astonishment. What? Twenty animal hides?
This is ten more than the Sang tribe!
Tree Fruit was quick-witted; she soon understood the reason. It made sense. While the silkworms of the Mulberry tribe were soft, they were still just soft; they couldn't be worn like animal hides for warmth. And their Tree tribe's big pups could eat a lot, while their little pups could smell a lot.
It makes sense that the Wood Tribe priests would produce more animal hides.
After confirming the transaction, Shen Nong said something similar to what she had said at the Sang tribe's stall, "You can send as many of these big and small puppies as you want to the Mu tribe for trade. Alternatively, the Mu tribe can send someone to collect them, but if we send someone, we won't get as much as you can from them."
After careful consideration, Shuguo still chose the latter. Her worries were the same as those of the Sang tribe; even if she traveled with them, she couldn't be sure that all her people would return safely. Less stuff in exchange was less risky; lives were more important.
Shen Nong didn't discover any new species from the other tribes, but the honey from the Flower Tribe tasted good and came in a good quantity. Their storage method was also very interesting: they drilled holes in a piece of wood, leaving a bottom, and poured in honey. They covered the opening with several layers of leaves and tied it tightly with straw rope. Then they covered the entire thing with a thick layer of mud, which took quite a while to break open.
Shen Nong initially didn't know and almost thought the tribe was trading large blocks of mud. He was so curious that he asked, and only then did he learn that it was honey.
Unsurprisingly, Shen Nong bought up all the honey from the Flower Tribe. He also placed an order with the Flower Tribe, who then arranged for the Wood Tribe's beastmen to collect it from the outlying tribes.
Shen Nong sighed softly. He needed to have a proper talk with the priests of these tribes about the road construction.
After returning from the market, the orc guarding the earthen house said that the mountain tribe's priest had been waiting inside for a long time. Shen Nong thought for a moment, and a handsome face appeared in her mind.
Hearing the noise outside, Shanfeng quickly turned around and looked back. "Finally back."
"What happened?" Shen Nong asked, seeing Shan Feng's anxious expression.
Shanfeng didn't speak, but instead glanced at Ze beside Shen Nong. Shen Nong saw his action, turned to Ze and said, "I'm thirsty."
Ze casually pulled out a wooden chair and let Shen Nong sit down. "I'll go boil some water."
After Daize left, Shen Nong adjusted her posture to relax her back. "Speak, what is it?"
Shanfeng took a deep breath and told Shen Nong about the things he had discussed with the tribe chief Songshan earlier.
The priests formed a pact, and the mountain tribe pledged allegiance to the wood tribe.
Shen Nong tapped her fingertips rhythmically on the table, making a soft "tap tap tap" sound. To put it bluntly, the mountain tribe priest wanted to become a subordinate tribe of the wood tribe; they were really acknowledging a superior.
Shen Nong didn't consider Shan Feng's suggestion for long. Due to the system's mission, he had always wanted to expand the Wood Tribe's scale. With the addition of the Water Tribe and the Black Mountain Tribe, the tribe had grown considerably. However, tribes without priests were not commonplace in this beast world.
What Shanfeng said today is also a way to expand the scale of the Wood Tribe.
Shanfeng waited anxiously for a reply, his palms sweating, afraid of being rejected. He genuinely wanted to improve the tribe, and he was well aware that he alone couldn't bring about much change.
At first, it wasn't very noticeable, but over time, the difference between the orcs who came to work in the Wood Tribe and those who stayed in the tribe became so great that no one would believe they were from the same tribe.
The orcs working in the Wood Tribe were not only clean and full of strength, but they also always had smiles on their faces. Those who remained in the tribe, on the other hand, were filthy from head to toe, so thin they seemed like they could be blown away by the wind, and they never smiled.
One could even say that the orcs working for the Wood Tribe looked more like priests than he did. Standing next to them, he looked filthy.
The mountain winds were powerless against this enormous, visible difference. For several nights, they sat in the cave until dawn. Finally, they devised this plan: the priests made a pact, and from then on, the mountain tribe was subservient to the wood tribe.
Mountain Wind knew that his tribe had nothing worth the Wood Tribe priests' pledge of allegiance to. Wanting them to obey was pointless; the Wood Tribe was so powerful that even the Salt Tribe and the Cannibals were no match for them. A small tribe like the Mountain Tribe was as insignificant as an ant in the eyes of the Wood Tribe.
In this short period of time, Shanfeng's emotions had changed from apprehension to despair. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the priest of the Wood Tribe could not possibly agree.
He must have lost his mind to dare to talk about forming a pact with the priest of the Wood Tribe.
"Did you bring the crystal?" Shen Nong suddenly asked.
Shanfeng nodded hesitantly, still somewhat bewildered. A moment later, he sprang up from his chair, excitedly reaching for his animal-skin skirt.
Seeing Shan Feng's actions, Shen Nong finally understood why he had come in a fur skirt on such a hot day.
When the Mountain Tribe sent the orcs to the Wood Tribe, they traded a lot of animal skin clothing and fish skin clothing. In the Beast World, property is not privately owned; everything is collectively owned by the tribe.
The meat and hides promised to the working orcs were actually for the tribe. Only the meat provided with daily meals actually went into the orcs' stomachs, and the workers' dormitories were only for the working orcs. This hide skirt was made by the Wood Tribe, and it has hidden pockets sewn inside.
With great effort, Shan Feng pulled out a leaf-wrapped object from a hidden pocket in the animal skin skirt, which was similar to the one Shen Nong had seen in the Feather Tribe.
When the mountain wind carefully untied the many loops of grass rope and parted the outer layer of leaves that had become brittle due to dehydration, it revealed the crystal-clear tribal orc awakening crystal inside, which was only the size of a small pebble.
Shen Nong recognized it at a glance; it was another undeveloped energy stone.
He already knew from the system what it took for a priest to form a pact; it wasn't difficult, much like a blood pact between orcs. The difference was that orcs and priests formed a blood pact by dripping their blood onto a bloodstone, while priests formed a pact by dripping their blood onto an awakening crystal, which was an energy stone.
However, there's a prerequisite: the blood must be dripped onto the crystal of the party that chose to submit and be loyal. This means that besides oneself, another person can also activate that crystal.
Shen Nong gently pricked her fingertip with the dagger, and a drop of blood fell onto the crystal before gradually disappearing. Shen Nong, who had always been somewhat skeptical of the special functions of energy stones, was surprised to see this.
In interstellar space, the only use of energy stones is to absorb the energy they contain; I've never heard of them having any other functions.
When the two drops of blood were completely on the crystal, Shen Nong felt as if she could capture the life force of the mountain breeze.
He was all too familiar with this feeling; it was something that all the people who signed blood pacts with him experienced.
Shen Nong glanced at the crystal again, wondering if the interstellar energy stones also had such a function, but it just hadn't been discovered yet.
After the mountain breeze subsided, Ze brought in water at the perfect temperature. Initially, sending Ze out to boil water was just an excuse, but now he was genuinely thirsty. As Shen Nong drank the warm water, fine beads of sweat appeared on his skin. He missed the thermostatic suit from the interstellar space station and all sorts of chilled drinks.
However, the summer temperature in the Beast World is much better than the 40-50 degrees Celsius in the interstellar world, with a maximum temperature of only 31 degrees Celsius. In places like the back of the earthen house, there is a slight breeze, and if you calm down, it doesn't feel too hot.
After the market ended, Shen Nong sought out the priests of the outlying tribes and spoke to them about the road construction.
Although the Wood Tribe provided all the materials and manpower to build the road, it was still encroaching on their territory. If they didn't agree, the project would have to be abandoned. Or they could just build as far as they could.
Shen Nong didn't expect them to agree immediately. At best, it would be like the surrounding tribes, with a small number agreeing and the majority disagreeing.
Who knew that right after he finished speaking, the nine priests of the outlying tribes, after digesting the information for a while, asked if the road would be as clean and flat as the ground in the market and the wood tribe.
Shen Nong nodded in agreement, and surprisingly, all nine priests from the outlying tribes agreed.
They even offered to help with the repairs. They would start from the outlying tribes and work their way out, but the wood tribe orcs would have to teach them, since they didn't know how.
The priests of the outlying tribes were very self-aware of their own tribes' situation. If the Wood Tribe really wanted to do something to them, it would only take a flick of their fingers; they wouldn't go to such great lengths.
They were overjoyed to have found such a wonderful and magical road for free.
Especially the seven priests from the outlying tribes who didn't make a deal with Shen Nong. Their tribe's goods didn't catch the eye of the Wood Tribe's priests, but if their tribes could have such a good road later on, it would be totally worth it.
Their eyes seemed to be shining as they looked at Shen Nong. Was this person sent by the Beast God to bestow blessings upon them?
Shen Nong was somewhat bewildered by the nine burning gazes. After discussing some details and confirming the approximate time and procedures, the priests of the outlying tribe prepared to leave.
As they left, the two priests from the Sang and Hua tribes took out a whole animal hide. They had received quite a few whole animal hides that day and wanted to stay in a wooden house.
Because they were using tanned animal hides from the Wood Tribe, which were much better than the animal hides from the outlying tribes, they could stay there for two days and two nights.