LSLFBW: Chapter 79

Qi Bai slept very late last night. This caused Lang Ze to heat up the large stones used to hold the duck eggs in his cave before he woke up.

Qi Bai put on a fur coat and ran to the bamboo table. He hesitated for a hit before stuffing a small thing into Lang Ze’s hand.

Lang Ze opened his hands and saw a round ball of fur. He looked at the white back and turned the small furball in another direction.

A little snow leopard holding its tail was sitting on his palm with a tilted head.

Qi Bai picked up the felt wolf on the bedside. The pair of polished eyes were firmly embedded in the wolf’s face and were looking at him intently.

Qi Bai quickly said, “The little wolf is already made. I wanted to give you one, but my beast form is too small, and my fur is usually strong. I didn’t have much fur after saving it for a long time. I only have enough to make one the size of a palm.”

“This is a gift for you. If you like it…”

Qi Bai had worked all night to make this little snow leopard. Thanks to his experience of making the little wolf, he was now very skilled in making felt.

It was a pity that there was no time to find another stone to make eyes. Therefore, Qi Bai dug out two unknown black seeds from the bushes. They were of the right size.

Lang Ze touched the little snow leopard’s head and said, “I like it.”

“That’s good.”

Qi Bai didn’t want to see Lang Ze sad, so he suddenly wanted to give Lang Ze a gift.

But after he made the little snow leopard, he felt that something wasn’t right. Now seeing Lang Ze gently poke the little snow leopard’s cheek in a loving manner, he felt even more awkward.

Qi Bai’s cheeks became a bit hot. Why did he have the illusion that Lang Ze was rubbing his cheeks?

Qi Bai’s eyes dodged, and he changed the subject a bit stiffly. “Let’s take a look at the little duck.”

Lang Ze smiled and said, “Okay.”

This wasn’t the first time that the two of them had checked on the duck eggs.

The two of them checked the eggs the day after Qi Bai started incubating them. At that time, they could vaguely see tiny blood streaks. This proved that the four eggs had been incubated for some time.

Lang Ze lit a wooden stick with charcoal and placed a dark egg next to the fire.

The two of them leaned close to the side of the duck egg, squinting to carefully identify it.

The blue eggshell shone a bit in the firelight.

The originally tiny blood vessels had gathered together to form a large shadow. Qi Bai could already see the shape of the tiny duck inside the eggshell.

Qi Bai approached Lang Ze, pointed to the middle of the eggshell, and said, “Here, this should be the duckling’s head.”

Lang Ze looked in the direction that Qi Bai pointed and really saw a shadow as big as a knuckle.

Seeing a tiny life gradually develop and grow with his own eyes was a wonderful thing for Qi Bai, who had studied biology, let alone Lang Ze.

Unfortunately, these duck eggs couldn’t leave the warm environment for too long during the incubation process. The two of them could only take a quick look before stuffing the eggs back into the animal skin.

Even though neither of them had experience in hatching eggs, they could tell from the obvious changes inside the eggshell that the eggs were growing well. All the effort that Qi Bai put into taking care of them every day wasn’t in vain.

In the children’s cave, the members of the Xishui Tribe were sitting in front of a stone table.

In front of each of them was a large bamboo tube. The body of the bamboo tube was emerald green, and they could smell the fragrance of bamboo when they got close. It was obvious that it was made of freshly cut bamboo.

The youngest children were taken to Zhu Zhu’s cave early on. Only a few half-grown children stayed here to help.

Hu Xue and Sun Qing each held a large clay pot in their hands. One pot contained bamboo shoots stewed with meat, and the other contained a sweet potato milkshake.

This time, everyone didn’t shy away from it and directly used the clay pot.

The main thing was that there were two large clay pots embedded in the stove in the children’s cave. They couldn’t be hidden even if they wanted to.

Of course, the more important point was that Yang Luo had secretly observed this group of people. No matter whether it was Ma Sheng, the tribe leader, or Ma Li, who seemed to have traveled far and wide and experienced life or death, none of them realized that the earth-colored jars that could be seen everywhere in the cave were precious pottery. They only thought that they were clay jars casually made by the people of the Black Mountain Tribe.

There was no need to mention the rest of the people. For them, the pottery jars in Hu Xue and Sun Qing’s hands were far less attractive than the bunk beds designed by Qi Bai.

A few brave young beastmen could no longer suppress their curiosity and kept looking around.

A young beastman sitting at the edge of the table kept moving his butt around as if he was being tickled. He almost hit Sun Qing, who had come over to serve him a milkshake.

Zhu Ya grabbed his arm. “What are you doing? If you don’t want to eat, then don’t make trouble.”

“I’ll eat!” He quickly hugged the bamboo tube in front of him and asked in a flattering tone, “Do you eat like this every day?”

He had never sat down to eat before, and he had never waited obediently for his meal like the people of the Black Mountain Tribe, so he felt uncomfortable all over.

Zhu Ya said proudly, “Of course, our Black Mountain Tribe is different from small tribes like yours.”

Zhu Yan had apparently forgotten that in terms of size, the Black Mountain Tribe was the smaller tribe.

However, he was very pleased with this man’s attitude. The last time someone spoke so cautiously towards him was a long time ago, so he asked, “What is your name?”

The young horned beastman replied immediately, “My name is Ma Xiang.”

Zhu Ya nodded. “You are much more interesting than those old guys in your tribe.”

Zhu Yan was referring to Ma Sheng and his companions, who were sitting opposite Hou Yan.

Due to Ma Li’s attitude last night, the Xishui Tribe had dinner directly in Ma Ling and Ma Shu’s cave.

The Xishui Tribe was their only neighbor after all, and the one who came this time was the chief of the Xishui Tribe. No matter what, Hou Yan should entertain them.

However, Ma Sheng and his companions didn’t look like they had rested at night at all. They looked even more exhausted than when they first arrived here yesterday.

Zhu Ya looked at Ma Li, who had his head down and looked distracted. Then he asked, “What’s going on with that man?”

Ma Xiang knew what Zhu Ya wanted to ask, but they, the young beastmen, weren’t allowed to go out with the tribe leader last night. How could they know the inside story?

Ma Xiang replied, “I don’t know. Ma Li has always been like this, so we are all used to it.”

Ma Xiang held the bamboo tube in both hands and took a small sip. He felt that the milkshake in his mouth was as sweet as nectar.

At this time, Hu Xue walked up to them. She knocked on the edge of the bamboo tube and said, “Do you want to stew meat? If so, empty the bamboo tube quickly.”

Ma Xiang nodded hurriedly. He drank the remaining milkshake in one gulp and handed the bamboo tube over.

Zhu Ya had no such worries at all. He pulled out another bamboo bowl from under the bamboo tube containing the milkshake like a nesting doll. Hu Xue poured a large spoonful of bamboo shoots stewed with meat into his bamboo bowl.

Zhu Ya put away the bamboo tube and said, “I heard that you will leave after finishing this meal.”

Ma Xiang looked at Zhu Ya with some envy because he could eat two types of food at the same time. “Yes, there won’t be enough people in the tribe to hunt after we leave, so we need to go back quickly.”

Zhu Ya’s lips curled. He was actually a bit reluctant to let this talkative Xishui person leave. “Okay, will you come again next year?”

Ma Xiang clenched his fists. “I don’t have to wait until next year. As long as the tribe comes to exchange salt in autumn, I will definitely come again!”

He had only been in the Black Mountain Tribe for less than a day, but he had already eaten the two best meals he had ever eaten.

Therefore, this autumn, he must perform well and strive to be selected by the tribe leader to join the salt exchange team and come back to the Black Mountain Tribe.

Yang Luo finally arrived after these people had almost finished eating.

Qi Bai and Lang Ze followed behind Yang Luo, holding bamboo tubes tied with straw ropes. This contained the salt they exchanged with the Xishui Tribe.

This time, the Xishui Tribe brought 74 animal skins and some well-preserved animal bones.

According to the previous exchange method, they should only be able to get ten bamboo tubes of salt. However, in order to thank them for providing the location of the trading day, Yang Luo added an extra half tube on top of the original amount.

Lang Ze was responsible for checking the animal skins, and also confirmed with Ma Li whether there was any information that was missed yesterday.

Qi Bai was responsible for guarding the salt tubes.

The people who came to guard the salt were Ma Song and Ma Xiang. The counting method was very simple. They just needed to take out an empty bamboo tube and pour the salt into the next bamboo tube in turn to determine the quality of the salt.

Just like last time, the salt that the Black Mountain Tribe took out for trade was cooked directly on the beach. It was considered the worst type of salt in terms of quality.

This wasn’t Qi Bai’s deliberate attempt to trick the Xishui people.

The tribe members were a bit more particular and followed Qi Bai’s method to boil the salt they were allocated several times with water before drying it in a winnowing basket.

With just this processing, this salt would be as crystal clear and beautiful as snowflakes. It was also less bitter.

Those who had never been to the seaside had learned from other tribe members that the salt in the sea was inexhaustible, and they could fully afford such small consumption.

However, when facing outsiders, they couldn’t use such salt. After all, the salt used by many tribes for trading was mixed with mud, sand, and stones. They couldn’t be too conspicuous.

Qi Bai watched Ma Song and Ma Xiang’s actions and asked casually, “Song, Xiang, are there any edible plants around your tribe?’

As they poured salt, the two of them picked out the food they usually ate and told Qi Bai about it.

“…There are also several large melons.” Ma Xiang gestured with his hands. “We call them vine melons.”

Qi Bai was just asking, but the more he listened, the brighter his eyes became.

The green and yellow melons that Ma Xiang called ‘vine melons’ sounded more and more like winter melons and pumpkins.

“Could you bring me some seeds of these two melons the next time you come over?”

Ma Xiang asked in confusion, “What is a seed?”

Qi Bai quickly explained, “Are there a lot of small hard things in the middle of the flesh of these two types of vine melons?”

Ma Xiang nodded. “Yes, but they aren’t as delicious as fruits. What do you want them for?”

“Don’t worry about it. In any case, you just need to clean these seeds and dry them. Bring them to me next time you come over, and I’ll give you some extra salt.”

Ma Xiang hadn’t expected such a good thing to happen. “Really?”

Qi Bai smiled. “Of course, it is true.”

If these two types of melons were really winter melons and pumpkins, he would be getting a good deal.

It should be known that these two foods were very durable. IF stored properly, they wouldn’t go bad even in winter.

Of course, it didn’t matter even if they weren’t the two types of melons he was familiar with. After all, these plants weren’t found around the Black Mountain Tribe. They could enrich everyone’s diet.

Ma Xiang naturally agreed with great joy.

At this time, Lang Ze, who was questioning Ma Li not far away, came over and said sternly, “The priest asked me to ask if there is any problem with the salt.”

“No.”

“Then seal it up quickly. Your team is about to set off.”

Ma Song replied quickly, “Okay… we will seal it right away.”

Looking at Qi Bai and Lang Ze’s leaving backs, Ma Song and Ma Xiang inexplicably sighed with relief.

Ma Xiang was a bit annoyed. He just wanted to tell Qi Bai about some other plants around Xishui. Then after seeing the tall horned beastman, he didn’t dare to say a word.

Forget it. Once he returned to the tribe, he would collect all the seeds around him and bring them here in autumn. Maybe some of them would catch Qi Bai’s eye.

The wooden gate of the tribe was opened again, and a dozen beastmen turned into horses. The members of the Black Mountain Tribe helped them tie up their luggage.

Ma Sheng cried out as if he was saying goodbye to everyone or as if he was commanding his tribe members.

It wasn’t known what Lang Ze just said to Ma Li, but the old-faced beastman in the crowd had a much clearer look in his eyes than before.

Qi Bai watched them walk away and nudged Lang Ze with his elbow. “Why did you scare Song and Xiang just now?”

“…I didn’t.” Lang Ze paused before asking, “Why do you call them Song and Xiang?”

Qi Bai looked at Lang Ze innocently. “Everyone calls them that.”

The two of them were staring at each other silently when they heard Yang Luo and Hou Yan gathering the tribe members.

It was already past mid-morning. Yang Luo and Hou Yan discussed it and decided to give the tribe members a day off. “Take a day off today. There will be no hunting or gathering. Just do whatever you want.”

“Oh!”

“Rest!”

Even though the people of the Black Mountain Tribe had always been hard working, they were all very happy when they heard that they could take a rest.

However, Qi Bai completely misjudged their understanding of rest.

Xi Zhou and Hu Qiao ran over excitedly. “Bao Bai, we can rest today. Let’s build the toilet quickly!”