lcionline Chapter 117 Touching Lotus Roots
Chapter 117 Touching Lotus Roots
The next day, the group got up early and went about their own business. Lin Baiyan, along with Zhu Shan and Huan Cun, planted sturdy bamboo around the salt fields.
They dug a two-meter-deep pit, and after inserting bamboo, it was even more secure against damage from other animals.
At the very end, Lin Baiyan left a gap for drawing water.
Another day has passed, and we've finally finished getting the salt pan drying done.
Although the salt field still looks very rudimentary, it is already taking shape.
They dug a one-meter-deep ditch to bring seawater in from the sea, and Lin Baiyan squatted down to seal the inlet with mud.
Because the surrounding area was full of mud and sand, the water inlet they had just dug had been submerged by the waves, and the badger next to him looked at the disappearing ditch with some regret.
It took them a lot of effort, but it stopped working after a short time.
Lin Baiyan was fine. "It's okay. Next time, bring some cement to build up around the ditch, and it won't be so brittle."
Badger thought about it and agreed, then chuckled and scratched his head.
For the next few days, the orcs devoted themselves to boiling salt in large pots.
During shift changes, they went to the beach one by one to collect seafood. Their purpose for coming out was to collect salt, and these extra items were theirs to keep; they only needed to hand over a portion of them.
Several people rubbed salt on the seafood and dried it directly on the beach to make it easier to store.
In addition to oyster sauce and dried shrimp, Lin Baiyan also acquired a large animal skin bag full of dried kelp and seaweed.
The morning of the sixth day.
The beastmen tied the boiled salt tightly with animal skins and put it into the earthenware pot. They then wrapped the pot with animal skins to absorb shock. They hadn't thought of this when they came, and the pot already had a few cracks when they brought it over.
The beastmen were heartbroken. Although their barbecue skills were already quite good, making such a large earthenware pot was still quite a lot of work.
Lin Baiyan extinguished the fire, and seeing that there was almost nothing left in the shed, he transformed into his beast form and jumped onto the cart.
The kitten, perched on the cart, gave the order!
"Meow!" Let's go!
Pig Mountain sped off. They had boiled a lot of salt this time, and the earthenware pot had saved them a lot of effort. Lin Baiyan estimated it would be enough for their tribe to eat for three or four months.
Even with such extravagance, their tribe uses a lot of salt when cooking and marinating meat. Of course, this isn't considered wasteful, since the salt they use also ends up in their stomachs in another way.
The tribesmen were able to bring back so much salt in one or two trips. At first, some people might have worried that it wouldn't be enough, but later, the orcs became numb to using salt.
When they passed the temporary encampment halfway through the journey, Zhushan parked the cart directly by the lake where the long-necked beast was.
Lin Baiyan peeked out to look at the lake and felt that there was something familiar there. He couldn't see it clearly from a distance, so he simply jumped down to get closer.
It really was lotus flowers, a vast expanse of them.
There might even be lotus roots underneath, which is a really good thing!
Lin Baiyan frowned and thought for a moment. He remembered that lotus roots usually mature in September or October, but it was only March now. Could there be lotus roots down here?
However, you could try looking for lotus root tips.
Lotus root tips, also known as lotus shoots, are the tender rhizomes of the lotus plant, and they have a crisp texture.
They usually begin to ripen in May, but there are a few early-ripening ones now.
Several sub-beastmen transformed into human form. Pig Mountain walked over and pointed to a corner by the lake, "That's the den of the long-necked beasts. The only problem is that the long-necked beasts are hard to catch; they can run and swim."
Lin Baiyan wrinkled his nose and also saw several large white geese that looked unusually arrogant on the other side of the lake.
He thought for a while, but couldn't come up with any good techniques for catching geese. He had been bitten by these things several times when he was a child, and he was terrified of them.
Why don't we give them some food?
He took out dried sweet potatoes from his pocket, tore them into small pieces, and threw them vigorously into the lake.
There were about five or six geese there, grazing leisurely, occasionally glancing warily at the strange-looking beastmen nearby.
Seeing Lin Baiyan scatter something out, the geese didn't care and continued swimming in the lake.
Lin Baiyan was not discouraged. He looked at Huancun next to him and handed him the dried sweet potato in his hand. "You can throw some food into the lake from time to time and see if you can attract them. If that doesn't work, we'll catch them by hand."
Badger nodded, then turned to look at the few sub-beastmen. "There might be lotus roots in this lake, a kind of edible vegetable. Shall we look for them?"
When the orcs heard there was food, how could they not agree?
Led by Lin Baiyan, they took off their shoes and animal skin trousers, leaving only their transformed animal skin skirts, and waded straight into the river.
As they were taking off their clothes, Zhushan immediately turned his head to the other side and pulled the head of Huancun next to him over. There was a hint of unease on Zhushan's face.
They didn't know why, but ever since the priest taught them how to make clothes and pants, they felt a little uncomfortable seeing the orcs naked.
Moreover, Pig Mountain is a male beastman who already has a sub-beastman status!
He loves his partner the most!
I won't even glance at the other sub-orcs!
Thinking of his soft, cuddly Pallas's cat mate in the tribe, Pig Mountain smiled again.
Over this period of time, the beastmen began to develop a rare, superficial awareness of the difference between male and female sub-beasts.
This fully illustrates the principle that the economic base determines the superstructure. Only when people are well-fed and clothed will they start to think about their spiritual needs and differences.
If it were during the days when they were starving, who would care about this?
Zhu Shan grabbed Huan Cun by the neck and said, "Come on, let's see if we can catch those long-necked beasts!"
Badger was dragged to the side by him.
Several sub-beastmen were happily picking at the lotus root shoots when Lin Baiyan pulled out a tender white lotus root shoot, rinsed it in the water, and handed it to the sub-beastmen for identification. "This is lotus root shoot. It's delicious stir-fried or used in soup, and it's also very nutritious."
"Usually, there are lotus rootlets under the lotus leaves before they open. Look carefully, it's very easy."
Several sub-orcs followed in his footsteps to pick lotus roots. After they learned how, they scattered and picked their own. They put in a lot of effort and soon filled a basket with lotus roots.
Everyone gained a lot.
At this moment, Shuyue was bent over, groping around for something underneath. The thing underneath was quite large, and looked like the root of some kind of plant.
Could it be some kind of fruit?
It's unlikely; he'd never heard of fruit growing in water.
He frowned, exerted some force, and then suddenly pulled the thing out.
Before him stood a rod-shaped object nearly two meters long.