Cat Cloud and the others suddenly shuddered, feeling as if a terrifying gaze was watching them.
When the group returned to the Wood Tribe, Yang Lei greeted them, "Priest, the Salt Tribe has just arrived."
Shen Nong frowned. "What are they doing here?"
Yang Lei was also very puzzled, "They gave us a lot of salt stones."
Shen Nong raised an eyebrow; this was an unexpected delight. He had never imagined that the Salt Ministry would send those salt stones back.
It seems the system wasn't lying to him after all; Shiobu was quite frightened this time.
“It’s alright, we’ll accept it as soon as it arrives.” Shen Nong pointed to the pile of salt stones that the black bear was holding in its arms. “All of these, including those sent by the Salt Ministry and those we brought, will be processed into fine salt.”
Yang Lei looked at the salt stones that the black bear was holding, the amount of which was no less than what the Salt Ministry had sent. "Why did the Salt Ministry give us so many salt stones?"
In the past, let alone salt rocks, even salt soil was scarce.
Tu Feng put his arm around Yang Lei's shoulder and laughed, "Who said this is the salt stone of the Salt Department?"
Yang Lei was completely confused. "Besides the Salt Ministry, is there anywhere else I can exchange salt stones?"
I've never heard of that.
"Of course!" Rabbit Wind was thrilled at the thought of the Wood Tribe having its own salt mountain. He exclaimed excitedly, "This is our Wood Tribe's salt mountain! The priest, guided by the Beast God, led us to find it!"
"What!"
Not only Yang Lei, but all the guards around were shocked by Tu Feng's words.
"Will our tribe have its own salt mountains from now on?"
Yang Dian also chimed in excitedly, "Does that mean we'll never have to trade goods for salt with the Salt Ministry again?"
Rabbit Wind raised an eyebrow. "Of course! Next time we move salt, you can all come with us. The water will freeze in winter, making it difficult to get in. We'll have to carry a lot more."
Yang Lei and the others didn't know what the connection was between moving salt and water freezing; they were immersed in the immense joy of their tribe possessing a salt mountain.
Shen Nong gave them a gentle reminder: "The tribe still has too few orc warriors. Don't let the matter of Salt Mountain get out."
Upon hearing this, everyone solemnly replied, "Yes, Priest!"
——
With the salt problem resolved, the Wood Tribe began preparing for winter.
In order to better preserve the giant beast meat from rotting, Shen Nong led the tribe to start curing the meat.
In the beginning, many tribesmen were reluctant to part with the salt stones and only sprinkled a little bit.
Seeing that their large jar of meat had very little salt, Shen Nong had to emphasize that if there wasn't enough salt, the meat would spoil quickly, and they would have to go hungry in the winter.
This did not convince the tribesmen to add more salt, as they had never had rotten meat to eat before.
Now, as long as there's meat to eat, who cares if it's spoiled or not?
Finally, Shen Nong had no choice but to reveal that the tribe had its own salt mountains and there was no need to worry about a lack of salt.
Only then did the tribesmen decide to sprinkle more salt on the cured meat.
Shen Nong also gave an order in the tribe that no one was allowed to spread the word about the salt mountain in the tribe. Anyone who did would be punished by the Beast God.
The tribesmen, who were already afraid to speak out, became even more terrified upon hearing of the Beast God's punishment.
He doesn't even dare to mention the words "Yanshan" when he speaks normally.
...
The old man paused slightly as he sprinkled coarse salt, made from rock salt, into the large earthenware jar.
Those nearby, seeing the old man stop, quickly said, "Why did you stop? The priest said the meat needs to be marinated soon, otherwise it will spoil even more."
"This is all our own meat. Don't you want to drink a few more bowls of hot meat soup in the winter?"
The old man sniffed. "Of course I want to drink more hot meat soup. I was just thinking, if only the priest had come to the tribe sooner."
"Hey, why are you saying all this?" The man continued working, sprinkling salt quickly and evenly. "Hurry up and finish curing your own meat, then go help tan the hides. It's better than anything else to ensure everyone has soft hides to wear in the winter."
The old man looked at the dozen or so jars of cured meat laid out at his feet, enough to keep him from going hungry all winter.
He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and continued to marinate the meat. "Those younger ones definitely won't marinate the meat well. After I finish this, I'll have to help them too."
The meat is almost cured, and most of the salt has been used.
The tribe decided to retrieve some more salt from the waterfall, just in case.
Catgrass was very shrewd; he guessed that the hunting team and the guard team were definitely going to the legendary salt mountain of the Wood Tribe.
Ever since learning that the tribe had a salt mountain, Catgrass has wanted to go see it.
Right now, he's pestering Hu Xiao to take him to see the Salt Mountain.
Tiger Roar dared not make a decision, and simply shut Cat Grass's mouth with the five-word mantra, "I will listen to the priest."
Catgrass dared not approach the priest, much less secretly follow behind.
I was completely desperate, thinking that the only way to see the Salt Mountain was to awaken in the fall and join the hunting party.
Unexpectedly, Rabbit Winter trotted over and handed Cat Grass a large basket.
These baskets were all taught to them by the priests; they come in various sizes.
They used to collect wild vegetables and berries in large leaves, but the amount they collected was very small.
Since we got the basket we can carry on our backs, we collect far more than before each time we go out to gather food.
"I've been looking for you for ages. Hurry up and carry this on your back. Go with the priests to the Salt Mountain."
Catgrass's eyes lit up. "Is the gathering team going to Yanshan this time too?"
"The priest said there were lots of fruits over there and told us to pick them and make jam and dried fruit." Tu Dong recalled Shen Nong's words. She didn't really know what jam or dried fruit was, but she said, "Anyway, it must be good stuff."
Catgrass didn't understand either; all he knew was that he could go to Salt Mountain, and he jumped up and down excitedly, "That's great!"
——
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh."
The powerful roar of the waterfall was exhilarating. Catgrass looked at the suspension bridge made of vines at her feet, which led straight to the other side of the cliff.
The large fruit tree he had longed for was waiting for him on the other side of the cliff.
Catgrass never expected that the priest would ask them to collect fruit from that big fruit tree.
At this moment, Salt Mountain was no longer so important to Catgrass; his mind was filled with the fruit on the other side of the cliff.
Tiger Mountain, carrying a basket on his back, quickly crossed the cat grass and ran towards the big fruit tree.
He'd been craving it for a long time.
By the time Catgrass realized what was happening, he was alone on the cliff edge. He quickly ran after him, shouting, "Wait for me! Leave some for me!"
When Shen Nong came here last time, she saw several large persimmon trees not far from the waterfall, which are now ripe and red.
He followed the harvesting team to the fruit trees and discovered that in addition to persimmon trees, there were also apple trees, pear trees, and orange trees.
Is this some kind of paradise?
However, there are only two or three apple and pear trees each, while there are more orange and persimmon trees.
The persimmons on the tree are ripe, and many have already fallen to the ground.
These persimmons can't be made into dried persimmons. Shen Nong thought she should hurry up next year and make some before they soften to try.
Shen Nong manipulated the vines to pluck a bright red persimmon, peeled off the skin, and took a bite.
The persimmon flesh is soft, tender, and sweet, bursting with sweet juice in the mouth.
He finally got to eat fruit.
Shen Nong tasted all four kinds of fruit here, and used vines to wash the apples and pears directly at the waterfall.
Shen Nong found every kind of fruit delicious.
It tastes just as good as the ones carefully cultivated in interstellar laboratories.
Logically speaking, plants in the primitive era had not yet been domesticated, nor had they undergone hybridization to cultivate better varieties.
It shouldn't be this sweet and perfect.
However, it seems that the historical process of his planet cannot be deduced here.
After all, there were no orcs on his planet in the primitive era.
The harvesting team also followed Shen Nong's example in eating persimmons, peeling off the soft outer skin and stuffing them directly into their mouths.
What does this taste like?!
The moment Catgrass tasted the persimmon, he immediately thought of the bowl of sweet water the priest had given him earlier.
Sweet. Very sweet.
He had never eaten such sweet fruit before.
Shen Nong discarded the fruit peels, wrapped each type of fruit pit in leaves, and then took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands clean.
"Pick as many of these fruits as you can. Clean the pits after eating them, wrap them in leaves, and take them to my cave."
"Yes, priest!"
Chapter 15 Catching Fish
Dried fruit and jam
The hunting party and the guard team carried loads of salt stones, while the gathering party carried loads of fruit.
Back in the tribe, the whole tribe got busy again.
The salt stones should be processed into coarse salt and fine salt separately. After the fruit is distributed, the remaining fruit should be processed into a large amount of dried fruit and a small amount of jam.
Shennong's infrastructure points are insufficient to buy sugar. Sugar is the best preservative; jam without sugar has a short shelf life.
So this year I'll make less, just enough to taste.
Apples are crisp and sweet-sour, pears are sweet and juicy, oranges are sweet and sour, and persimmons are soft, sticky, and sweet.