Chapter 171

Chapter 171

Qi Bai shouted, “Hold on tight!” as Ma Ling drove the cart straight toward a makeshift shelter built from thatch.

The shelter was supported by thick tree trunks and topped with straw mats riddled with gaps. From a distance, it looked drafty everywhere.

Inside the shelter were several large stone cooking pots and piles of disheveled grass—clearly the place where the group had been sleeping and resting before.

Pig Tooth changed into human form and, excitedly approaching the cart, said to Sun Qing, “Quick, give me an empty rattan basket! I know where there are delicious shells and seaweeds. I’ll go get them for you to try later.”

Sun Qing glared at him—he hadn’t come here to eat, he came to work. What was Pig Tooth doing, messing around instead of helping?

Though he didn’t get a pleasant response from Sun Qing, Pig Tooth wasn’t discouraged. He grabbed his fur coat, threw it on haphazardly, and continued circling the cart with purpose.

At that moment, Qi Bai tossed him an empty basket from the cart: “All right. You can’t get seafood this fresh back at the tribe. Go get as much as you can—everyone can taste some tonight.”

Then he called out to Pig Mu in the distance: “Pig Mu, you go with Pig Tooth—be careful, both of you.”

Pig Mu had been unloading the other cart. On this trip to the seaside, there were four horned beastfolk and nine sub-beastfolk. They brought two carts loaded mostly with charcoal—transporting wood charcoal was easier than hunting for dry wood on the mountain, and once used, the empty baskets could be nested and didn’t take much space.

Pig Mu responded eagerly, patted Pig Tooth’s shoulder, and the two of them walked off toward the sea.

Once all the baskets were neatly piled under the shelter, Qi Bai, Ma Ling, and Xiang Yu set off to survey the coastline while the sub-beastfolk remaining at camp began prepping cooking areas.

Niu Xi and Shu Lin lifted the covers on the baskets to reveal straw lining—inside were large clay pots.

She Li peered over and asked, “None broken?”

Carefully, Niu Xi and Shu Lin lifted out the pots.

Shu Lin examined them and said, “All intact. This straw is really handy—my tail’s been tossed around by the cart so much it’s numb, but the pots are fine. I’ll pack straw under my seat on the way back.”

Niu Xi asked, “Where do we put these?”

She Li stood and pointed to a cleared spot she had just made. “Here.”

She Li wasn’t just bothered by the drafts, but the whole messy, dirty environment of the shelter: scattered shells and seaweed, ashes from smoky fires, and damp grass mats that had who-knows-what crawling over them. She couldn’t believe they cooked and slept amid such chaos.

Naturally, to a beastfolk, bugs were just bugs—snacks even when hungry. But She Li had been influenced by Qi Bai—she insisted cooking and dining areas be clean. She couldn’t accept cooking salt here.

So she knotted some rough branches into a makeshift broom and swept the ground efficiently.

This shows how rough the horned beastfolk are—they’d sleep on grass mats with twigs poking them and not even flinch.

Meanwhile, trash was swept into piles, damp straw mats tossed out. She Li and the others lined up the seven clay pots in a row, fetched water from the woods, and scrubbed the big stone cooking pots under the shelter clean—they were covered in moss.

Farther away, Diao Lan with Sun Qing, Shu Rong, and Mao Nai retrieved a basket of stones from the forest. Though the rocky shore was close, the sea-smoothed rocks were too slippery for building stoves. These new stones had to be sturdy, since the clay pots were heavy and hard to replace.

By the time Pig Mu and Pig Tooth returned, they found a tidy straw shelter and two orderly rows of cooking pots.

Pig Mu scratched his ear—it had looked like he’d been needed, but the eight sub-beastfolk at camp were so capable, he wasn’t needed after all. Though he still had a role: none of them had actual experience making salt. Pig Mu stepped up.

Pointing to the blue sea, he said, “We scoop seawater with bamboo tubes into the pots and boil it. Salt comes out fast.” He also reminded them of Qi Bai’s earlier instructions not to boil the water dry.

Diao Lan struck flint to ignite the charcoal, and within just over an hour, flames lit up the camp. Buckets of seawater were poured into pots, creating a makeshift salt-boiling operation.

Shu Lin stirred the brine with a ladle and asked, “Bao Bai took Ma Ling and Xiang Yu to look for what at the sea?”

Pig Tooth, passing by, gestured vaguely, “They’re looking for a big flat piece of ground—for drying salt, I think.”

Just then, trumpeting rang out in the distance. They looked toward the sea to see a tall, single-horned elephant pacing on a bare patch of ground. Nearby, Qi Bai was pounding the earth with a wooden post.

Qi Bai hadn’t exaggerated to Yang Luo—he had a real purpose out here: testing salt fields by the sea.

With the tribe’s growing population, their salt needs would only increase—not just for eating, but for preserving food. Boiling seawater was time-consuming and labor-intensive. So Qi Bai came up with a simpler method: build a shallow pool, fill it with seawater, and let it evaporate.

Then, on future salt-gathering trips, they could use the concentrated brine directly, saving much time. If the seawater evaporated completely, the salt could still be collected and brought back to the tribe for further processing.

But the drying pool needed careful planning.

First, site selection: not too close to the shore where waves might ruin the salt, but not too far either—it had to be convenient to fill by hand. So Qi Bai chose a site about 20–30 meters inland—not vulnerable to tides but still close enough to channel seawater in easily.

Second, the soil needed to hold water without becoming muddy. Loose sand would cloud the brine. Qi Bai chose a muddy patch, not sandy beach, and planned to pound it firm over the next days.

Sun Qing, flexing his wrists, said, “Let me help, Bao Bai.”

He was the only cub in the group—but strong. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stood out among the others.

Diao Lan encouraged him: “Go ahead, Pig Mu and Pig Tooth should help too. With so much water to boil, we’ll keep watch here.”

Pig Tooth peeked at the seafood baskets. Niu Xi laughed, “We’ll get the food ready—you just wait to eat.”

Sun Qing glowered at Pig Tooth and strode off toward the saltern site. He even ducked into the forest and carried back a large log—he couldn’t stomp like the horned beastfolk, but he could pound like Qi Bai showed.

Night fell, and the forest quieted. Waves crashed rhythmically. The sea breeze felt pleasantly salty.

The camp had adjusted well to the seaside. After the tribe had been drying so much fish, the smell at home was sometimes stronger than at the sea.

Was it cold on a spring night? Not a bit.

Fourteen clay pots simmered over charcoal fires, warming the small shelter. Patches in the thatch had been repaired.

The sub-beastfolk worked tirelessly. They braided dried grass into mats and patched the roof. They laid hay and hides as cozy sleeping surfaces.

Xiang Yu, sipping seaweed soup, grinned—not only were sub-beastfolk careful workers, but the camp was far more organized than before. Even the neatly arranged clay pots looked more abundant than before.

Ma Ling beamed at She Li—though he had been working near the sea, he’d been keeping an eye on the shelter. Its tidy condition was in no small part his partner’s doing.

She Li lifted her chin expectantly. Ma Ling happily offered her a scallop he had just shucked.

He wasn’t in a hurry to eat—it was more delightful to see his partner enjoy it.

The smitten couple was oblivious. Niu Xi and Quan Nan were too busy eating to notice.

Qi Bai quietly pursed his lips. He wondered where Lang Ze and the hunting team were—probably out hunting by now.

He sketched some circles on the ground, thinking they had a long way to go before returning.

Unknown to him, the hunting team had already headed back days ago. Now their long caravan had entered a vast, green plain.