Chapter 123 True Materials

wo quick steps and came to her grandmother's side. Her grandmother was dressed in a magnificent ceremonial robe, exuding an air of authority. Nannan extended her small hand, which her grandmother gras...After hearing this, Ripples didn't get angry. She stated plainly:

"I bear the task entrusted to me by the Beast God. I came to the mermaid tribe because I have better salt-making techniques. The salt you are currently producing is still too coarse, and the bitterness in it is too heavy."

Furthermore, I also want to be lazy and want to have you merfolk summon all the beast tribes, at next year's grand gathering during the bountiful season, to bring all their specialties and new discoveries for me to examine one by one.

The word "ripples" carries a lot of weight. Li and Wu exchanged glances, their expressions becoming more serious. Especially the method of making even finer sea salt...

"Meng, take some for the Koi chief to see."

He nodded vigorously, retrieving a small pouch of beast hide from the large pelt on the ground. With a tiny wooden spoon, he carefully scooped out some contents.

The clan leader walked straight over, letting the general pour a small spoonful of finely ground, white sea salt into his hand. He rubbed it with his hand and then put some in his mouth. His brown eyes lit up, confirming that it was salt and without any bitterness.

Then, like a ferocious beast, he carefully poured the salt from his palm into a white seashell, showing it to Wu. Wu tasted it and nodded approvingly. While not as excited as Li, his violet eyes also gleamed with light.

"Angel, will you really teach us this method of salt making"

Of course, with the availability of this refined sea salt, I hope you can lower the exchange standards for the coarse sea salt. Not all tribes on the Beast World Continent have a bountiful harvest every year. Even your merfolk encounter natural enemies and danger in the ocean.

Ripples said matter-of-factly.

"What the messenger has said, we understand. Five years ago, our merfolk tribe was hit by a sea storm that flooded the island where we lived. That year, we couldn't even produce sea salt."

The village chief Koi sighed, "That year was indeed dangerous. After the rainy season began, the sea became restless. Schools of various fish migrated in large groups."

He and Wu were both very alert and realized that something was wrong. They immediately abandoned the island, leading their tribe into the deep sea reef cluster in advance. Even so, two of their people were lost, and no one knew where they were taken. They haven't been found to this day.

"Indeed, survival is difficult for all races. The Beast God knows the hardships of beastmen, so he sent me here."

Ripple said brazenly.

"Yes! The messenger's request is reasonable, and we will comply. We are fortunate to receive the blessing of the Beast God."

The chief carp spoke at once.

Then the topic shifted to salt production. Lian Yi listened to the chieftain's explanation of how sea salt was made, and found it to be simple and crude: just collect seawater and let it evaporate in the hot season, and natural coarse salt would be obtained. As for sedimentation, filtration, and secondary distillation, there was none of that.

Ripple finished listening and felt there was still room for improvement, but at least she had her fine sea salt. The chief and shaman trusted her very much, so that small beast skin bag of salt, made from most of a sack of coarse sea salt, was quite valuable.

After thinking for a moment, Lian Yi said to the carp elder:

“Now that winter is coming, it’s not suitable for sun-drying salt. However, you can take some of the salt you've already dried and let Meng demonstrate a secondary processing method for you. As for the method of making salt from scratch, I will tell you separately. You will also need to make some corresponding tools.”

Li and Wu listened very carefully, nodding frequently. For things they didn't understand, they would ask for clarification. Since this concerned the future status of their entire merfolk clan, they were very serious and cautious, unwilling to make even the slightest mistake.

As for the distillation equipment, you can make your own set with stone. I will provide you with the drawings.

Wu immediately nodded, her lips moving slightly. After a moment, Yulan walked over holding a scroll made of animal hide and respectfully handed it to Lian'er.

The witch then presented him with something like a pen, and a small seashell filled with processed ink from squid. It didn't smell as bad as one might expect.

The ripples showed their eagerness, and they didn't hesitate. They unrolled the animal hide and began to draw. About the size and proportion, she specifically asked the shaman.

Up to this point, she felt that the beast world still had a long way to go in its development. The only issue was that each tribe had different standards for measurement.

Tuanzi watched the ripples bustling, he wasn't idle either, he ran over to join in the fun. He discovered that his mother always dipped into the black gooey water, then drew on the pelt. He also stretched out his little paw and secretly dipped some ink, gleefully pressing his little paw print onto the rolled-up pelt.

After the ripples were finished, he saw Tuanzi's masterpiece and didn't get angry. He just tapped his forehead and said:

"This is my signature."

After that, whenever there were ripples or writing or drawing, Tuanzi was very proactive in stamping his paw prints on them. He kept doing this until he grew up and became more sensible, then he stopped this childish behavior.

Though the animal skins imprinted with his tiny paw prints eventually became precious treasures in Beast World, still unattainable even by those who sought them, it remained a dark history for Tuanzi. Every time it was brought up, he would blush slightly. After all, he was too young back then to understand the importance of what his mother had drawn, things that propelled the development of Beast World.

Back in the present, Ripples handed the painted animal skin scroll to Wu and left Mighty on the island for a while. She set off with Duo and the little dumpling, but before leaving, she frankly told the chief that she liked pearls of all colors and wanted to make some beaded necklaces as decorations. The chief immediately understood and made arrangements.

As soon as the group of people returned to land, Ripples collected a pouch-sized assortment of pearls in various colors. These inedible treasures held little value in the eyes of merfolk, being readily available at any time, so she bestowed them with remarkable generosity.

Besides, there are various dried fish and sea plants in a leather bag. These were all sun-dried during their hot season and abundant season this year. They were given to the messenger for her to taste.

Tuanzi wrinkled her nose in some disdain and burrowed back into Lianyi's arms. Dou, on the other hand, really liked these sea fish; they looked very fresh.

Messenger, winter is approaching soon. Are we going to spend the winter in the mermaid kingdom

"Next year's harvest festival will most likely be held here, and I'm too lazy to travel. However, I don't want to go to the mermaid tribe's island; the waves are too rough and not suitable for Tuanzi's growth. He still needs to grow up on land. We'll find a place to live nearby and spend the winter here."

He nodded in agreement.

"Find a high place, in the ten days before winter arrives, the weather will clear. This is the beast people's last preparation time, we need to store more firewood."

The original body is afraid of the cold, and every winter they have to store a lot of firewood. Ripple doesn't mind the cold, but with dumplings and this solitary creature that hibernates, it's still necessary to prepare some.

"Have a look around the temporary cave we're currently living in."

"Yes!"

Now, Dú has become quite accustomed to completing various tasks related to the ripples' arrangement. So, transforming into a serpentine form, it slithered into the forest and, by the afternoon of the next day, brought good news.mmediately took two steps forward:"A group of people has already come this way, about fifty or so, and they don't look friendly. I'm going to take some people out to check them out."Wen Lu's face was...