Chapter 61 Ear Cleaning Master Yu's Skills Everyone Says They're Good

Perhaps because they are both "bird-like" people, Yu Yan felt close to Zhu Yu.

Seeing that Zhu Yu was friendly, he didn't hide anything and said frankly, "Chief Zhu Yu, you guessed right. We did come for the red tassel grass. I usually call it red sorghum."

Zhu Yu murmured, "Red sorghum... red tassel grass is indeed very tall."

Along the way, many people from the Caiyun tribe came to watch the excitement, their beautiful eyes filled with curiosity.

They whispered among themselves, "These two are from the north. Their clothes are so unique."

"Yes, it looks very soft and fits well."

"The color is a bit dark; it would be better if it were a bright red, like my feathers."

"What kind of knife is that on the waist of the orc Yu Yan? It's shiny and very special."

"I'd like to know too."

...

Seeing that Yu Yan and Lan Xiu had brought too much stuff, they even offered to help carry it.

Upon arriving at Zhu Yu's residence and putting down her things, Yu Yan took out a handful of glass beads from her pocket and handed them to the person who had helped her with a smile.

"Thank you, this is a small token of my appreciation."

The people from the Caiyun tribe were so shocked when they saw it that their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. They waved their hands frantically, saying, "No, no, we can't accept such precious jade."

This sub-orc is incredibly wealthy! He can just give away jade like that!

Yu Yan smiled and explained, "This isn't a gemstone; it's just a small item made by our tribe. Please accept it."

At his insistence, everyone present received a glass bead.

Yu Yan also slipped a dark green one into Zhu Yu's hand.

Everyone looked at Yu Yan's smiling face, then at the crystal-clear little thing in her palm, and was deeply moved.

It's so beautiful!

They naturally like shiny things, and Yu Yan's thank-you gift touched their hearts!

The group, who had been reserved just moments before, opened their hearts to Yu Yanlanxiu because of a small bag of glass beads, and became especially enthusiastic towards him.

"Please sit here."

"Let me pour you some water!"

"I have some sweet fruit here, you can have it."

Yu Yan smiled again and said, "Thank you everyone, that's enough, we can't finish all of it."

Zhu Yu's bird's nest was built on a tall poplar tree. A simple thatched shed was erected under the tree, and several flat stones were placed inside the shed to serve as a table and stools.

Yu Yan, Lan Xiu, and Zhu Yu sat down on the rock, while the others listened to their conversation outside the thatched hut.

Zhu Yu carefully put away the glass beads in her hand, looked at Yu Yan, and said with a smile, "You've come at just the right time; some of the red tassel grass has already ripened."

Yu Yan's eyes lit up: "Can you take us there to have a look?"

Zhu Yu nodded: "Okay, or you can wait in the tribe and I'll have someone cut some down and bring them back for you to see."

Yu Yan: "That works too." He wanted to interact more with the people of the Caiyun tribe.

Zhu Yu found a few orcs to cut grass, and the whole process went incredibly smoothly.

The friendliness of the Caiyun tribe touched Yu Yan's heart.

He was mentally prepared for a long negotiation.

So Yu Yan explained in a friendly and sincere manner, "Chief Zhu Yu, we hope we can take more sorghum back with us."

Zhu Yu frowned slightly and asked, "Are you going to eat?"

Yu Yan: "Besides eating, it has other uses. And I want to save some seeds to try planting one in our tribe."

As far as he knew, sorghum was very adaptable and should be able to be grown.

Including Zhu Yu, the people of Caiyun Tribe were hearing about "farming" for the first time, and they were quite curious, asking many questions about the details of farming.

Yu Yan told them about the sweet potatoes, beets, cucumbers, green beans, honeysuckle, and other plants she had grown, which amazed them.

Zhu Yu: "You can eat, use, or plant the seeds you take back as you please, we don't care."

Yu Yan asked happily, "How can we exchange sorghum with you? We brought a lot of things with us, would you like to take a look? The tribes we passed through along the way all said that our things are very good."

Zhu Yu laughed and said, "I can tell from the gem-like thing you just gave us that you weren't lying." He then changed the subject, "But our tribe doesn't want anything."

Yu Yan asked in confusion, "Hmm?"

The people here look like gods descended to earth; have they already transcended worldly tastes?

Zhu Yu waved her hand and explained, "What I mean is, I hope you can exchange something else with us for the red tassel grass. As for what you brought, we can discuss how to exchange it."

Yu Yan and Lan Xiu exchanged a glance, and the former asked, "What else?"

Zhu Yu: "I heard you know medicine, is that true?"

"right."

"Could you take a look at the ears of the people in our tribe? It's rainy this season, and many people have painful, itchy, and oozing ears, which is very uncomfortable."

Yu Yan's expression tightened, and she stood up, saying, "Of course you can watch. Who wants to go first?"

Zhu Yu: "I'll go first."

Yu Yan glanced at the stone platform in front of him. It was quite large. He had his men remove everything from it and gestured for Zhu Yu to lie down.

"Could someone please get me some water? I need to wash my hands."

A sub-orc raised his hand: "I'm going now!"

Lan Xiu also got up, asked someone to bring firewood, lit a fire in the hearth, and then placed a clean earthenware pot on it to boil water.

This brightly colored, finely textured earthenware pot also caused a small sensation.

After washing his hands, Yu Yan found the mask he had made himself, put it on, and walked over to Zhu Yu. Unconsciously, his aura became a little more dignified.

“Lie on your side, the light is better here,” he said.

Zhu Yu subconsciously did as he said, lying on her side and using her hand to brush her hair aside.

Yu Yan cupped his face in one hand and gently pulled up his ear with the other, looking at it in the light.

"Did you scratch it with your fingernails? There's bleeding, scabs, and redness and pus in your ear canal. The pus is what you just described as discharge."

Zhu Yu, the clan leader, felt somewhat guilty after hearing what he said, and regretted being the first to read it.

He honestly said, "I didn't use my claws. A while ago, my ear was itchy, so I asked a sub-orc in the tribe to use his claws to whittle a small stick for me. I tried to scratch it, but I probably used too much force and it broke."

Yu Yan said helplessly, "Wood is prone to mold, and the ear canal is so fragile that it can easily be scratched open if you're not careful. Also, claws may be poisonous and get on the wood, making the wound prone to infection. The more itchy the ear canal becomes, the more you scratch it, and the worse the situation will get."

This time, not only Zhu Yu, but many people around her also showed guilty expressions.

"Yu Yan..." Zhu Yu let down her hair, sat up, and asked softly, "Is there any way to cure our ears?"

Yu Yan pondered for a moment and nodded: "It can be cured."

Everyone's faces lit up with joy: "That's great!"

Zhu Yu said embarrassedly, "This little ear wound is nothing compared to the injuries we get while hunting. External injuries heal after a while, but this ear wound just won't heal, and the itching is really annoying."

The others nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, my little one scratches his ears every time he sleeps, and they bleed every day. His father and I are so worried about him."

"My ears are ringing, it's so annoying to move or talk."

"Yu Yan, I'm really counting on you this time."

Zhu Yu also promised: "Red tassel grass is useless to our tribe, and we never intended to take too many of your supplies. As long as you can help us heal our ear injuries, you can take as much red tassel grass as you want! We will not stop you!"

Yu Yan appreciated their straightforwardness, her eyes crinkling as she said, "I am a doctor who heals the sick and saves lives. No matter when you come to me for treatment, I will do my best. It's getting late, let's not delay. Think about it, does the tribe have a plant called saxifrage? This plant can treat your ear ailment."

"Saxifrage?" Everyone instinctively looked at Lan Xiu.

The orc's animal form is a large tiger.

Lan Xiu had never heard of such a herb before, and he exchanged a curious glance with Yu Yan.

Yu Yan said, "Or maybe we could call him by some other name."

He took out his notebook, turned to a blank page, and sketched the shape of the saxifrage on the paper with a charcoal pencil.

The people of the Caiyun tribe had never seen paper before, and were immediately drawn to it.

After Yu Yan finished drawing, she stood the notebook up and explained to them: "It's this shape. The leaves are green, the veins on them are white, the stem is brown, and the leaves and stem have small white hairs on them."

"The climate here should be suitable for the growth of saxifrage. It probably grows on high mountains, in bushes, grass, or among pebbles. Think about it, have you ever seen it before?"

A handsome sub-orc spoke up: "Now that you mention it, I think I vaguely remember... I think I saw him on the snowy mountain."

An older orc said, "I feel like I've seen it before, also over there in the snowy mountains."

Yu Yan looked at Zhu Yu: "Clan Chief Zhu Yu, please arrange for some people to search around the snow mountain."

Zhu Yu nodded solemnly: "I'll take stock of our manpower right away. There's not much to gather or hunt on the snow mountain, so we don't go there often. It might take us a while to find anything."

One of the orcs suddenly thought of something and said, "Although we are not familiar with the snow mountain, we have someone who is. Why don't we ask him?"

"You mean Xuegui... He doesn't associate with us at all, he seems very cold, would he be willing to help us?"

Yu Yan noticed the name "Xue Gui" and thought of her adoptive father, Feng Gui, and subconsciously focused her attention.

The people of the Caiyun tribe didn't say anything more, because Zhu Yu had already counted the number of people and urged them to set off.

"Chief, Yu Yan, we're leaving now. You stay in the tribe and wait for our good news!"

"Okay, be careful and look out for each other."

"Okay!"

A group of orcs transformed into their animal forms, mostly peacocks, and also a beautiful thrush.

Yu Yan thought of Yin Qing from her tribe, who was also a sub-beastman of the thrush family.

The orcs carried away several sub-orcs skilled in gathering.

Yu Yan looked at the others present and said, "Now you all line up and lie here while I clean your ears."

Zhu Yu asked, puzzled, "Wash it, clean it? Won't using water make the wound worse?"

Another sub-orc named Liu Xiang said, "Even reaching in won't work. Fingers are too thick to fit in, and using claws or wood will cause bleeding."

Lan Xiu brought over a stone bench for Yu Yan to sit on, and said calmly, "Listen to Yu Yan." Those few words dispelled everyone's doubts.

Zhu Yu asked Yu Yan, "Human form or beast form?"

Yu Yan: "A humanoid shape, I guess."

The animal-shaped ears are large; it takes a long time to clean them.

Zhu Yu lay back down on the stone platform once again.

Yu Yan sat beside him, peering into his ear in the sunlight.

After noting down the details, Yu Yan flipped her hand, and a clean little cloth bag appeared in her palm.

He opened the cloth bag, which was full of new metal ear picks.

These little things were made by the people of the Qingqing tribe. They use little material and are easy to carry. He originally wanted to make a profit from them.

As a result, he's been busy traveling these past few days, and when he's talking to people, he's been preoccupied with taking out large items like fabric, pottery, and glass.

Unexpectedly, it ended up being used on Zhu Yu and the others.

The water that Lanxiu had boiled earlier had become lukewarm, so Yu Yan asked him to add salt to it. Then she rinsed the ear pick with the salt water and gently shook it dry.

The people of the Caiyun tribe thought Yu Yan was amazing; they had never seen anything like the things she casually took out before.

They discussed among themselves, asking, "What is this now?"

"It feels like the same thing as the knife he was wearing at his waist."

"It's so small, what's it used for?"

While Yu Yan was busy, Lan Xiu explained, "This is called an ear pick. Like a knife, it's made from metal ore."

The literal meaning of "ear pick" is easy to understand, but what shocks everyone is...

"Your tribe can actually use metal ores?!"

"It's no easy feat to shape metal like this!"

Some people even beat their chests in frustration: "Metal ores are so precious, why didn't they forge more knives instead of ear picks?"

Ugh, what a waste!

Yu Yan and Lan Xiu clearly didn't think so. A tool that can be used is a good tool.

With the preparations complete, Yu Yan gently held Zhu Yu's head still and whispered, "I'm about to start digging, don't move."

Zhu Yu blinked nervously, "Mm."

Yu Yan slowly inserted the ear pick into his ear canal. The metallic touch was cool and refreshing, and Zhu Yu stared wide-eyed in surprise.

He could feel the ear pick gently scraping inside his ear.

It's an itch that's different from the itching caused by ear infection; it feels somewhat comfortable.

Yu Yan asked in a low voice at the opportune moment, "Does it hurt?"

Zhu Yu: "No..."

"Tell me if it hurts, but don't struggle too much."

"Um."

Yu Yan patiently and meticulously cleaned the earwax from his ear canal, gradually restoring his ear to its clean state.

Zhu Yu went from being somewhat wary at the beginning to being completely relaxed now.

Cleaning his ears felt so good! It was so tingly and numb, he almost fell asleep.

It was Yu Yan's voice that brought him back to reality: "This side is fine, now lie on the other side."

Zhu Yu responded and quickly turned over to lie down.

After cleaning both ears, Yu Yan rinsed his ear canals with diluted salt water.

"You can get up now," Yu Yan reminded her.

After Zhu Yu stood up, he asked, "How are you feeling now?"

"It hurts a little, but it's still very comfortable."

"Yes, that's normal. We'll apply the medicine once we find the saxifrage, and it'll heal with some rest. Next."

Zhu Yu left reluctantly.

Next to lie down was the orc Ryuu.

Yu Yan took a new ear pick, repeated the previous cleaning process, and then cleaned his ears.

He was so focused on his work that no one dared to make a sound to disturb him.

Zhu Yu walked over to Lan Xiu and asked in a low voice, "How does your tribe usually trade with others?"

Lan Xiu: "We accept almost any kind of supplies. If you give us enough, we'll exchange them."

Zhu Yu asked in surprise, "You can replace this ear pick?"

"able."

"Then... will we need a lot of supplies?" he asked sincerely. "This thing is so useful, we need it so much, I'd like to exchange some with you."

Fearing that the required supplies would be too many, Zhu Yu only dared to say "a few".

To everyone's surprise, Lan Xiu calmly said, "I heard it's the rainy season here too, and lots of mushrooms are growing on the mountain. A basket of dried mushrooms can be exchanged for an ear pick."

Zhu Yu: "Huh?"

The others, who were listening intently, asked, "Really?"

Lan Xiu: "Really." These were things Yu Yan had told him.

The people of the Caiyun tribe were in an uproar.

The mushrooms on the mountain are growing in one crop after another, and there's simply not enough time to pick them all!

Moreover, there are so many varieties. They can just find a forest, spend an afternoon picking mushrooms, and they'll have more than a basketful of dried mushrooms!

They thought they couldn't afford to buy such a useful ear pick, so they didn't dare to breathe.

Now it seems like I can exchange as many as I want, hahaha!

Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and said seriously, "After Yu Yan finishes her work, let's discuss it properly. I want to give everyone in the tribe a new ear pick!"

Lan Xiu smiled faintly: "Okay."

Both sides felt they had gotten a great deal.

Suddenly, Yu Yan let out a soft cry.

Everyone quickly turned to look.

It turns out that Liu Xiang felt so good while cleaning his ears that his ears accidentally turned into beasts!

He's not a bird-type, but a red panda-type subhuman. His furry ears are brown on the back and white inside. The size and shape of his ears are especially cute.

Now that he'd caused trouble, his face turned bright red, and he stared at Yu Yan with round, panda-like eyes, repeatedly apologizing, "I'm so sorry! I couldn't control myself! I'll change back right now!"

He blinked, and his ears transformed into human ears.

Yu Yan smiled and comforted him, "It's okay, no need to apologize, it didn't affect me."

And he genuinely thought Liu Xiang's ears were adorable! If he didn't have medical ethics, he would have wanted to go up and rub them a couple of times.

Liu Xiang gave him a grateful look and lay back down.

When Yu Yan cleaned his ears, he enjoyed it immensely, and his throat unconsciously made gurgling sounds.

After washing up, Yu Yan announced the next person to go, and Liu Xiang walked over to Zhu Yu in a daze.

A group of companions gathered around and asked, "Liuxiang, is it that comfortable? Your ears have changed."

Liu Xiang confidently declared, "Super, super comfortable! You can ask the clan leader if you don't believe me."

Zhu Yu nodded: "It really feels very comfortable. My ears don't hurt as much now."

Everyone was extremely curious about these two people and hoped that it would be their turn to experience the "ear cleaning package".

They were comfortable, but Yu Yan was exhausted.

For half the afternoon, apart from drinking water and going to the toilet, he spent his time looking down and rummaging around.

From a trainee apprentice, he rose directly to a highly skilled worker.

Everyone who has experienced Master Yu's craftsmanship raves about it!

The news spread like wildfire, and everyone in the tribe, from the oldest to the youngest, rushed over to line up for ear cleaning.

The Caiyun tribe has fewer people than the Peninsula tribe, but there are still more than two hundred. If Yu Yan were to take all of them, she would probably be unable to lift her neck and arms.

He immediately changed his strategy and asked, "Is there anyone here willing to learn the art of ear cleaning from me?"

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a chorus of "I do!"

For them, this is a method of healing. If they learn it, they can not only treat their relatives and friends, but also earn resources from other tribes! How precious!

Soon, Yu Yan gained a group of free apprentices and smiled with satisfaction.