After a moment of silence, Lu Shi cautiously said to Hu Wu, "The priest said he will stop looking for them starting tomorrow."
If they were still alive, they would have all returned after so many days. Those who haven't returned and haven't been found are definitely impossible to find. Even if they were found, they wouldn't be alive.
This is something everyone knows perfectly well.
The other tribes had given up the search a few days ago, and several teams from their tribe had also stopped searching. Only Fox Five continued to go out to search every day. Deer Ten and Fox Five were in the same search team, so Deer Ten went out with Fox Five.
Fox Five remained silent, knowing that he would never have a father or mother again.
…
While the Wood Tribe was bustling with activity, Leopard Autumn returned with his caravan.
In the current beast world, the only three things of value are salt, meat, and animal hides.
The Wood Tribe's caravans primarily traveled to find new crops and trade with various tribes. However, the only things the Wood Tribe actually needed from those tribes were freshly skinned animal hides and fresh meat.
However, it's hot in the summer. The closer tribes are fine, but even if the Feather Tribe airlifts the meat, it won't be fresh by the time it reaches the Wood Tribe.
Therefore, tribes that live far away only accept animal hides.
In the past, caravans never returned, and the goods were all transported to them by the Feather Tribe. The animal hides and meat they exchanged were also sent back to the Wood Tribe by the Feather Tribe as soon as possible.
I came back for two reasons. First, I heard about the floods in the tribe and wanted to come back and see for myself. Second, the caravan finally discovered something the priest had mentioned.
Knowing that the Mu tribe is now located in the former territory of the Yan tribe, the caravan of merchants returning to their homeland felt a mix of emotions.
Wolf Rain curled his lip. When he was tied up and sent to the cannibal tribe, he swore that he would never set foot on this land again. If he were to come, it would definitely be to duel with the chieftain, Python Forest.
Who would have thought that in such a short time, this place would become the Wood Tribe?
It would be a lie for the caravan members to say they weren't sad, but not because of the destruction of the Salt Tribe, but because of the death of the orcs they had previously befriended.
However, they harbored no resentment towards the Wood Tribe, who had occupied this land. They already knew the whole story, and besides, they were now loyal to the Wood Tribe priests. The moment they signed the blood pact, they had no further connection with the Salt Tribe; they were members of the Wood Tribe.
In the days since they became members of the Wood Tribe, they have been able to clearly feel the difference between the Salt Tribe and the Wood Tribe.
In the Salt Tribe, the priests, though wise, are also very suspicious. The chieftain, though powerful and capable, is ruthless. If anything displeases either of them, one will secretly torture them, and the other will stop at nothing to harm them.
If Manglin hadn't been so extreme in temperament, he wouldn't have done something like sending so many high-level orcs to be used as human flesh.
Wolf Rain and the others were taken to an empty cave. With the help of the orcs from seven tribes, many brick houses had already been built. Inside, apart from the stoves, which were also made of bricks, and the heated brick beds connected to the stoves, there was nothing else.
Even the place on the stove where the iron pot was placed was a large round pit. The iron pot could only be installed after the Wushan tribe started casting iron again.
Even so, the Wood Tribe beastmen were happy to live there. Seeing the tribesmen's enthusiasm, Shen Nong realized that the cave was indeed a bit crowded, so she arranged for some of them to live in the brick building. Priority was still given to the elderly, children, and pregnant women.
It wasn't that Shen Nong did it intentionally; rather, it was the kind of education he had received since childhood. After transmigrating, his status in the tribe was supreme, and no one dared to teach him how to do things. So he continued to act according to his previous code of conduct.
However, the beast world is a little different. Children over ten years old have physical abilities comparable to ordinary adults in interstellar space. There are also high-level pregnant beastmen who, even if they are about to give birth, will be hunting with their bellies swollen the moment before.
They experience excruciating pain during childbirth, but their bodies fully recover overnight, without affecting their hunting the next day.
Therefore, all the children in this brick building are under ten years old, and the pregnant women are below level three orcs and are seven months pregnant. Those under seven months don't live here; they're busy with construction, heavily pregnant.
However, all the pregnant women among the cannibals who couldn't transform into human form, regardless of their stage of pregnancy, lived in brick houses.
Shen Nong genuinely believed that the beastmen's blood genes were abnormally powerful. Those cannibalistic pregnant women whose blood genes were suppressed were somewhat similar to the pregnant women he remembered. But only somewhat; even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse, and their physical attributes were far superior to those of later humans.
After putting his things away, Bao Qiu took the things given to him by the Feather Tribe priest and went to the former Wood Tribe location, now the agricultural and pastoral area, to find Shen Nong.
The beast world is vast, and there are no means of communication. At this time, even sending messages by carrier pigeon is a pipe dream, let alone anything else.
In this beast world, finding a new crop is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Shen Nong stared intently at the animal skin bag he had just received from Bao Qiu. He wondered if he had truly received the protection of the Beast God; otherwise, how could he have managed to find so many needles in the vast ocean of the Beast World in such a short time?
"The little birds sent out by the Feather Tribe priest brought back a few rice seeds. After confirming them, they reported back to the Feather Tribe orcs, and then led us to the tribe that discovered the rice, following the little birds." Leopard Autumn said with some regret, "But we were too late. They harvested it a month ago and have already eaten a lot of it. We traded the rest, and we only had three large baskets left."
Shen Nong recalled the abilities Yu Ji had shown him when they first met. It turned out that it wasn't the Beast God's favor that had brought him this; it was all thanks to Yu Ji and his little birds.
The wheat planted by the tribe was almost ripe, but the flood came before it could be harvested. He only had two more days to save the wheat, and after harvesting and grinding it into flour, he would send some to the Feather Tribe as a token of his gratitude.
It's August now, the perfect time to plant late-season rice.
Just then, the elders from other tribes had already cultivated quite a few acres of land, so Shen Nong changed her plans and stopped cultivating the land, opting instead to divert irrigation canals first.
Rice seedling cultivation was a piece of cake for Shen Nong, a wood-type ability user. He had Bao Qiu bring all the rice seeds over here.
Shen Nong wasn't afraid of being stolen. Not only did no one else know the uses of this rice, but the military guard had also returned to their posts. It's no exaggeration to say that even the Mu tribe headquarters wasn't as safe as this agricultural and pastoral area.
After responding, Bao Qiu didn't leave immediately. Seeing his grave expression, Shen Nong asked, "What happened to the caravan?"
“The caravan is fine.” Leopard Autumn organized his thoughts, because this was really too strange. “Because of the help of the Feather Tribe, the caravan visited many tribes. Some tribes welcomed us, but some tribes were very resistant to us doing business.”
Shen Nong laughed and said, "What's the big deal? If a group of unfamiliar high-level orc warriors suddenly appeared in our Wood Tribe, we would also reject them."
Leopard Autumn shook his head. "That's what I thought too, but the closer I got to the end, the stranger it seemed. I thought about it carefully and realized something strange. It was all the large tribes that rejected us; it was more like they were on guard against us than rejecting us."
Moreover, even though these large tribes are far apart, without exception, they not only guard against themselves but also forbid the surrounding smaller tribes from trusting us and trading with us, no matter how generous the offers we make.
Shen Nong's heart skipped a beat. How could this situation be the same as the large seaside tribe that Shen Er had mentioned before?
Chapter 88
Eat and drink
The August heat in the Beast World was unbearable. The saltpeter, which was initially used to make fire starters, was now being used by Shen Nong to make ice. Shen Nong also bought some sour plum soup packets from the system. The system, having been bitten by a snake once, was now extremely wary of ropes. The ingredients inside had all been processed by the system, making it certain that even Shen Nong's special ability couldn't force the seed to grow.
Shen Nong looked at the large text on the system panel: "[Item is currently undergoing review. Please wait patiently, host.]" and finally felt a pang of conscience. Had he gone a bit too far before? Look how scared he'd made the system.
He actually wanted to buy mung beans, but they were banned from sale to him. They did have ready-made mung bean soup, mung bean cakes, and mung bean mooncakes, though. The mung bean soup in the system was a bit expensive, not as cost-effective as the plum juice packets.
Sour plum drink packets can be stored for a long time. Buy some and keep them in storage; you can drink them for the rest of summer.
The cave where ice was made was the orcs' favorite place. Every time the food-making team went inside to get ice, they wanted to stay there forever. If they weren't afraid of delaying their work, they would really like to lie down on the ice and take a nap.
Since ice made from saltpeter is inedible, the beastmen in the food-making team were very careful when using it to chill plum juice, for fear of dropping a piece into the juice.
"Time for plum juice!" The orcs from the food-making team stopped their oxcart in front of the rice paddies. To make it easier for the elderly in the agricultural and pastoral areas to eat, a large canteen had been built here, saving them the trouble of bringing food all the way from the Wood Tribe.
On a scorching afternoon, a bowl of cool, sweet and sour plum drink instantly dissipates much of the oppressive heat.
The elderly beastmen smacked their lips reluctantly, put down their earthenware bowls, picked up their straw hats from the ground, put them on their heads, and went to plant rice seedlings.
The scorching sun made everyone sweat profusely. Although the elderly people were not fast, they were not slow either, and their hands were very steady. They planted the rice seedlings neatly.
On the other side, low-level orcs were busily harvesting wheat, their arms moving quickly and their scythes swinging rapidly, soon clearing a patch of land.
All the harvested wheat had to be transported to the newly built flour mill for processing. The flour mill was located not far from the military base, very close to the agricultural and pastoral areas.
After the rice seedlings were all planted, the elderly people rushed to plant soybeans as well. After teaching how to farm and make flour, Shen Nong threw himself into the great task of saving the crops. This time, he spent his days squatting in the watermelon field, focused on rescuing the watermelons.
After buying the fruit basket from the system, Shen Nong planted everything she could. Although the watermelons were planted late, the summer in the Beast World was long, so there was no need to worry about short hours of sunlight. There was still half an acre left; if she could save it, the tribe would be able to eat late-ripening watermelons next month.
...
Apart from the elders who were tilling the land, all the other orcs from the seven tribes, including the entire Wood Tribe, were busy making bricks, building brick houses, and paving cement roads.
Shen San, leading a group of orcs, had already completed the drainage system within the Wood Tribe's territory. To facilitate water use, they also built canals and dug wells.
The water in the canal is spring water drawn from the mountain through fired ceramic pipes. It is unpolluted and the water is clean and tastes sweet.
To prevent too much dust from getting into the water channel, it is covered with cement slabs. If a household needs water, they can simply lift the cement slabs to get the water.
A month later, the watermelons ripened. Shen Nong led the older beastmen to pick watermelons, and they immediately cut one open. The sweet and refreshing aroma of the watermelon filled their noses, and the red flesh was studded with dark seeds.
With ample sunlight, the watermelons were very sweet. Shen Nong kept one slice for herself and had the others delivered to the military guard by orcs.
This is the first watermelon picked from the melon field, and he wants to eat it with Ze.
The remaining melons were all picked, with a small portion kept in the agricultural and pastoral area, and the rest sent to the Wood Tribe. Both the Wood Tribe and the agricultural and pastoral area would put some into the ice-making cave the night before, and take them out to cut the next day at noon to serve as dessert for the working beastmen.
The cool and sweet watermelon immediately won over the hearts of the beastmen.
With the agricultural work temporarily put on hold, the brick houses and cement roads within the Mu tribe have also been completed thanks to the large number of workers. The roofs of the brick houses are thatched, not made of fired tiles. Otherwise, the brick kiln would have needed to be partially used for firing tiles, which would have slowed down the process, and the houses probably wouldn't be finished by now.
It's hot and sunny now, and the cement road dries very quickly. All the orcs from all the tribes are walking barefoot on the cement road. Because they haven't worn shoes for a long time, the soles of their feet are perfectly adapted to the cement road that has been exposed to strong sunlight.
The Wood Tribe does have straw sandals, but orcs aren't used to wearing anything on their feet, so they're all piled up in the warehouse. Except for winter when they might wear animal hide boots because of the cold, orcs can't stand having anything on their feet at any other time.
Apart from Shen Nong and Ze, there were no other beastmen wearing shoes in the entire Mu tribe.
Shen Nong led the beastmen in the food-making team to make dumplings. Because the weather was too hot, the food-making team had a lot of ice buckets to cool down, and they would replace them with new ones as soon as they melted.
After the wheat seeds were saved, the rest were all turned into flour. Since there was a shortage of food in the beast world, the wheat bran was not wasted either; it was all collected and used to make food.
Flour and water were mixed to form dough for dumpling wrappers. Beef, pork, chicken, and lamb were chopped separately for fillings and seasoned with salt, oyster sauce, and chopped green onions. Shen Nong was worried that there wouldn't be enough dumplings, as the orcs had huge appetites, so she chopped a lot more of the four types of meat fillings, added wheat bran, flour, and eggs, mixed them well, and fried them into meat patties in an iron pan with oil.
The steaming dumplings were not served immediately after being cooked, but were allowed to cool down for a while before being taken out.
The fragrant dumplings paired with the meat patties, pan-fried to a golden brown on both sides, made the beastmen waiting for their meal wipe their mouths. The taste was just too delicious!
Although the filling was simply seasoned, it was still very flavorful. Not to mention the snow-white crust that made it soft and delicious. The meat patty itself was even better than cured meat. Especially the first bite—the crispy texture was unforgettable.
Each person got a slice of watermelon and a bowl of chilled plum juice. The beastmen ate the hot food, drank a sip of the iced drink, then ate a bite of the hot food again, smacking their lips in enjoyment. Shen Nong paused for a while after finishing his dumplings before drinking the plum juice; unlike the beastmen, he didn't have an iron stomach. The elderly and children in the beast world had much stronger digestive systems than him.
A few days ago, he had an upset stomach because he ate too much watermelon and was in pain for half the night. Now Ze is watching him like a criminal, not allowing him to eat any more watermelon.
The joy of indulging in melons has been lost. If I were to be restricted from drinking more chilled plum juice because of a stomachache, then there would be nothing to look forward to in this long summer.
Shen Nong divided the flour that was supposed to be given to the Yu tribe, and also gave them some wheat bran, so that the Yu tribe members could take it back when they came next time.
All the other flour was stored in the warehouse, and the food production team would collect it for processing. Then each household would send someone to pick it up.
...
Although Shen Nong was busy saving the crops, every night when she returned to the tribe, she would listen to the orcs report on their progress and how the orcs from other tribes were doing. Without exception, they were all working with all their might.
Shen Nong was in the fields. The old folks were getting on in years and not as fast, but they were very hardworking and didn't mind the hardship or fatigue. They would work hard to cultivate the land even without rest.
Sometimes, because it's too hot, I can't stand it and slow down a bit, so at lunchtime I'm even embarrassed to eat too much meat.
Shen Nong kept it all in mind, planning to reward the beastmen who had come to work when everything was finished.
At first, Shen Nong only thought of giving some cured meat and candy. The beastmen in these tribes were all of similar level, so she gave two pieces of cured meat and five candies to young beastmen, one piece of cured meat and four candies to old people, and half a piece of cured meat and three candies to children.
But there was still a lot of filling left over from making meat pies today, so Shen Nong had it fried and gave each of them an extra meat pie.
After finishing the dumplings, all the orcs had to do the finishing touches, and it was already evening by the time they were completely done. That afternoon, not only the orcs, but also the priests of the six tribes other than the Mountain Tribe were all feeling conflicted.
The days they spent working for the Mu tribe were arguably the most comfortable days of their lives.
Eat well, drink well, and sleep well every day.