The only other knife that can be called a "knife" is a bone knife.
Fortunately, the beastmen were very strong, and once the bone knives were sharpened, they could also be used to scrape off the fat and scraps of meat from the animal hides.
Shen Nong repeatedly instructed that the hide should be scraped very clean, otherwise it would rot and smell bad very quickly.
If cleaned properly, animal hides can be preserved for a long time.
The Wood Tribe is very familiar with the rotten and smelly animal hides; their animal hides don't last long.
To prevent it from rotting, you need to use a lot of salt soil.
They didn't have enough salt to preserve animal hides, and the only hide that was well preserved with salt was kept in the priest's cave.
The animal hides we used were all dried and used directly.
Winter is fine, but when summer comes, the animal hides can no longer be used, and it is necessary to hunt for animal hides again.
So, scraping off the stuff inside the animal hide can prevent it from rotting and smelling bad?
The person in charge of scraping was Yang Lei, who had been rescued by Shen Nong before. He scraped very carefully, scraping back and forth many times without getting tired, and finally cleaned the grease off.
Next, stir and crush the animal brain marrow, boil it until it becomes viscous, and then apply it to the hairless side of the animal hide.
Allow the hide to fully absorb and stretch.
The hide can be stretched out further and will no longer form raw hide.
Saltpeter can make animal hides softer and smoother.
Saltpeter was easy to find, and Shen Nong quickly found enough for his needs in the damp cave.
Shen Nong dissolved the saltpeter in water, let it stand, and then extracted the required amount of saltpeter from the hides. He then soaked the treated animal hides in the solution until they softened.
It would be even better if alum were available.
Soaking fur in a solution made with alum can make it look better, but I don't know where there are volcanoes nearby.
To enhance the color and durability of animal hides, a smoking process is also required.
The Mu tribe is located near a large mountain, which is full of trees.
But none of them smell as good as the giant tree, which has a fragrant aroma when burned.
It smells very similar to a perfume that Shen Nong had smelled before, with a crisp yet sweet scent.
Thanks to the black bear, uprooting the tree was as easy as pulling up a radish, and it even thoughtfully chopped Shen Nong into small pieces.
This time, Ze didn't rush to pull it out.
After the animal hide has been smoked, it can be trimmed if you want the fur side to be softer.
However, since the Wood Tribe didn't have any scissors, Shen Nong had no choice but to give up.
This relatively primitive method of processing animal hides was something Shen Nong had seen in an ancient book before.
He used to enjoy watching these things when he had nothing to do, so his teacher would often joke that if he were thrown into a primitive tribe, he could survive by using his skills.
Little did I know that the teacher's words would come true.
He really did travel back in time to a primitive tribe.
——
The processed animal hides were incredibly soft and had no unpleasant odor, making them completely different from the animal hides used in the tribe before.
Hu Xiao held the tanned animal hide in his hands, reluctant to put it down.
He rubbed his face against the animal hide, feeling its soft texture, and was surrounded by the unique woody scent of the giant tree. "Priest, shall we use the animal hide to trade with the Salt Department for salt stones?"
Hu Xiao affirmed, "Even the best animal hides from the Salt Department aren't as good as ours. If we were to trade these hides for salt, we could definitely get a lot."
Looking at the animal hides that had taken so much time and effort to tan, Shen Nong refused outright, "No trade unless someone offers us something better in return."
If you want it, show your sincerity.
Sovereignty can only be held by the Mu tribe!
While the Salt Tribe was anxiously waiting for the Wood Tribe to exchange animal hides for salt, the Wood Tribe, led by Shen Nong, arrived with a pile of pottery jars to exchange for salt.
They didn't bring a single animal hide with them.
A note from the author:
Cited from Baidu Baike (Baidu Encyclopedia);
The entire tanning process and methods can be found in Baidu resources.
Chapter 12 Changing Salt Rocks
Eleven "people"
Salt section.
"The people from the Wood Tribe haven't arrived yet?"
The stone platform was covered with animal hides, and two people sat on the left and right sides.
The man on the left was tall and burly, with a gloomy face. He said to the old man sitting beside him, "Priest, is the wound on Python Mountain really beyond healing?"
The old man closed his eyes to rest, not opening them. "His injury is fatal; no one can save him unless the Beast God descends to earth."
The tall man stood up instantly and shouted, "Assemble the troops and follow me to the Wood Tribe!"
"No!"
The old man opened his eyes, his gaze revealing an undeniable resolve. "By the Beast God, the life and death of warriors in a duel are ordained by fate. A loss is a loss, and no one can attack the other tribe because of a defeat."
"Priest, this is not the Beast God's rule." The tall man's voice was cold and menacing; he had had enough of the priest's constant lecturing. "This is not Beast City, this is the Salt Tribe! The Wood Tribe injured my brother, and I will avenge him!"
The old priest noticed that the other party was losing control of his emotions, and he said slowly, "Manglin, don't forget, the Salt Tribe was able to grow strong because it followed the guidance of the Beast God."
"It was the Beast God who guided us to the Salt Mountain, allowing the tribe to grow bigger and bigger."
The old priest stared intently at the python forest, saying, "We cannot disobey the Beast God's command."
Mang Lin gritted his teeth and said, "Are we just going to let the matter of Mang Mountain go like this?"
“Without enough salt, they won’t even survive the winter.” The old priest looked towards the salt mountain. “The Beast God will help you.”
…
"Priest, the Salt Minister has arrived."
The salt bureau was surrounded by a low wall made of stones, and huge animal bones were placed on the stone walls on both sides of the entrance.
Four burly men, wearing animal skin skirts around their waists and carrying stone spears, patrolled the entrance.
Their bare upper bodies were painted with huge white snowflake patterns, which covered their entire chests, using some kind of paint.
Shen Nong was drawn to the animal tooth necklaces around their necks. Ze noticed Shen Nong's gaze and also looked at the animal teeth around their necks.
Upon approaching, the members of the Mu tribe were stopped by the Salt Department's guards. "Each tribe can only send five people into the Salt Department to exchange salt."
The four burly men's gazes swept over the eleven members of the Wood Tribe, seemingly waiting for them to make their final selection for the Salt Tribe.
Ze looked at Shen Nong, his meaning clear: he wanted to go in with the priest.
Originally, Shen Nong wanted to choose between Ze and Hu Xiao to provide backup outside, but she had no choice but to tell Hu Xiao, "You stay."
Rabbit Wind, Cat Cloud, and Ox Wood also went to the Salt Department to exchange salt.
After the salt officials confirmed the number of people, they allowed them into the tribe, and a designated person led them to the salt exchange location.
An angry shout came from the direction they were approaching.
The speaker was a boy with pale blue fishbone patterns painted on his face. "Ten pieces of animal hide are only enough for this much salt? It's not even enough for one person to eat for the whole winter."
The official in charge of changing the salt remained expressionless and coldly snorted, "Then don't change it."
"you!"
The boy with the fishbone pattern was furious. He clenched his fist and charged at the people of the Salt Tribe, but was stopped by his own people. "Never mind, never mind."
The tribesmen traveling with them advised, "Change it, otherwise you'll have even less salt to eat."
Upon hearing this, the initially furious boy deflated like a punctured balloon.
He snorted angrily, withdrew his fist, turned his face away, and stopped talking.
His fellow tribesmen who stopped him sighed helplessly, for only the Salt Department had salt stones, and if they didn't lick the salt stones, they would lose all their strength.
He took the salt stone wrapped in a large leaf and looked worried.
Such a small amount of salt is simply not enough to sustain the tribe through the entire winter.
However, because their tribe did not participate in the beast tide hunt, they simply could not afford to exchange more animal hides for salt.
Thirty pieces of animal hide were their limit.
"What tribe do those people belong to?"
If Shen Nong remembered correctly, he did not see any tribes with fishbone patterns during the beast tide.
"Isn't it said that all tribes will go during the beast tide? I haven't seen any of them."
“Those are from the Water Tribe.” Rabbit Wind glanced at the other person quickly and continued, “They don’t participate in the beast tide hunt until three winters ago.”
Shen Nong seemed to be deep in thought. He watched as the people of the Water Tribe finished trading the salt stones and walked out of the Salt Department.
When they passed Shennong, the boy who had argued with the Salt Department people earlier looked indignant and was reciting the Beast God's punishment of the Salt Department.
Shen Nong glanced at the salt stones in the arms of the Water Tribe, estimated the approximate amount, and had a general idea of how much salt stones the Salt Tribe had exchanged for.
If these salt stones were processed into fine salt, they probably wouldn't even fill his 30-centimeter-tall pottery jar.
The guards from the Lingmu tribe who had entered noticed Shen Nong's gaze and roared fiercely, "Don't look around!"
Ze's face darkened, and he leaned forward as if to attack.
The guard had long since noticed that Ze lacked the aura of beast blood, and he glanced at Ze with disdain, "A piece of trash who hasn't awakened his powers wants to duel me?"
Others were unaware that even without awakening his powers, Ze was still very strong in combat.
Rabbit Wind felt Ze's strength the most. He, a level 5 orc warrior, couldn't even beat Ze, let alone a level 4 orc warrior.