Chapter 64 Do you need me to check your cold preserved egg salad?
This thing is wood.
The wood used by Yu Yan to build her house requires special treatments such as oiling to prevent insects and borers and to extend its lifespan; it cannot be used directly after being cut down.
During transactions, treated timber is much more expensive than untreated timber.
The timber that the Chongshan tribe brought over was already processed.
Their surface color was much darker than those he had traded with in the peninsula tribes, and the surface was also finer. The whole piece of wood exuded a charming color and a rich woody aroma.
Even if he didn't use it, he could tell at a glance that the wood was better, so he believed in the sincerity of the Chongshan tribe.
He stepped forward, touched the surface of the wood, and applied a layer of oil to his fingertips. It smelled of tree fruit.
Seeing his interest, Xi Mu walked over and asked nervously, "Yu Yan, what's wrong with these timbers?"
Yu Yan turned her head and asked, "Chief Xi Mu, what did you coat the surface of the wood with?"
This time, Xi Mu dared not play tricks again and answered truthfully: "It is a special tung oil made by our tribe. The raw material comes from the fruit of the round-leaved tung tree."
Tung oil?! Yu Yan was overjoyed.
He was right; wood treated with tung oil would look better, be stronger, and be more durable.
Leaving aside the need for building houses, even just applying tung oil to the wood used for making furniture will extend its lifespan.
He desperately needs this!
He had searched for it in the wild before, but unfortunately, firstly, the climate of the peninsula tribes was not suitable for the growth of tung trees, and secondly, he only had a superficial understanding of how to extract tung oil. Even if he found it, he wouldn't be able to extract such good tung oil in a short time.
He just said it's too far to bring the timber back. But if it's timber treated with tung oil, we'll definitely bring a batch back!
Also, it would be best to get some tung oil in exchange!
Yu Yan sincerely praised, "Your timber is excellent."
Xi Mu couldn't help but feel proud: "Of course! Several surrounding tribes like to trade timber with us. Do you want to trade?"
Yu Yan: "Let's sit down and talk."
His softened attitude delighted the people of Chongshan tribe, who quickly welcomed him into the thatched hut.
Caiyun Tribe and others: ...If I remember correctly, this is our tribe, right?
Yu Yan, Lan Xiu, Xi Mu, and Zhu Yu sat down again, facing each other in pairs.
Xi Mu asked, "Yu Yan, how much do you want in exchange? We can give you all the wood we have."
Yu Yan: "How much can you afford?"
Xi Mu pondered for a moment: "Tung oil is not easy to make, there are probably fifty or sixty sticks?"
Yu Yan nodded: "Then let's switch half."
They haven't seen the house they built yet, so Yu Yan can't just replace all the timber. If they want to use it but can't, she'll feel bad about it.
Xi Mu readily agreed, "Okay!"
“We also want to exchange tung oil and seeds of the round-leaved tung tree. Ideally,” Yu Yan paused, “we would also like to exchange the tung oil production method for you.”
Xi Mu asked guiltily, "Is it replaced using glass?"
Yu Yan shook her head slightly and explained, "It can't be changed. Let me tell you the truth, glass is made by firing it, which requires a special kind of charcoal. Even if I tell you how to fire glass, it's useless if you don't have the charcoal."
While Xi Mu said "I see," she was actually just as shocked as everyone else.
Large pieces of glass, even more beautiful than jade, are actually fired! If there were plenty of raw materials, wouldn't the peninsula tribes have as many as they wanted?
This is terrifying...
Xi Mu regretted her actions even more.
Yu Yan hummed in agreement. As for other things, such as the construction method of pottery kilns, the method of burning charcoal, and the method of making tung oil, they are not enough to warrant a replacement.
“We can trade you our papermaking methods,” he said.
Xi Mu was silent for a moment, as if afraid that Yu Yan would be angry, and said with difficulty, "Our tribe should also have many plants and prey that you don't have... so we still want to exchange new seeds for the papermaking method."
"The tung oil making method is a unique skill of our tribe, and it has not been passed on to outsiders for many years. If we don't exchange it with you... would you still consider trading with us?"
Yu Yan chuckled. She felt like she was bullying an honest person.
"Of course I'll consider it. I also want your tribe's Black Pods and Pain Peppers. Chief Ximu, don't worry, I'm not a bad person."
Xi Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I hadn't thought of that."
At the same time, he was also grateful to Yu Yan for giving them another chance.
"Actually, there's another reason why I'm not sharing the method with you: it's very dangerous. Even in our tribe, we need experienced sub-orcs to do this job. If you're not careful, you could get injured by the explosion."
Yu Yan expressed her understanding, saying that it was good to have something readily available and not have to go through the trouble herself.
Afterwards, the two had a good talk about the transaction and decided on what they would exchange.
Yu Yan wanted to take a batch of soap pods, chili peppers, timber, and tung oil back first. The seeds of the tung tree were not suitable for harvesting yet; they would be traded after autumn.
To show her sincerity, Yu Yan would exchange some of their cloth, pottery, and metal products.
The glass has already been ordered from the Caiyun tribe.
Xi Mu also took out a small jar of tung oil and gave it to Yu Yan on the spot.
Yu Yan opened it and took a look. The tung oil had a beautiful color, but it contained some impurities.
This was easy. He took out the cloth and, together with Lanxiu, filtered the tung oil.
The people from the peninsula and Chongshan tribes were stunned.
The fabric can actually be used like this! They definitely need to replace it!
After the deal was struck, the people of Chongshan tribe were quite happy and said they would prepare what Yu Yan wanted and send it to him the next day.
"Thank you for your help," Yu Yan said with a smile.
"No, no," Xi Mu waved her hands repeatedly, "Then we'll head back now, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
After saying goodbye, Xi Mu and the others walked a short distance outside the thatched hut and transformed into majestic and enormous beast forms.
Ximu is a clouded leopard with light golden fur and circular spots on its body.
Behind him were several orcs, some of whom were leopard cats, some were water deer, and one of whom looked very much like a pangolin!
After watching them leave, Yu Yan and the person beside her exclaimed, "The Chongshan tribe has so many different kinds of beastmen! Are they originally from their territory, or did they migrate from other places?"
Zhu Yu, the chief of the Caiyun tribe, chimed in: "It should have always been there, as their tribe has always had an abundant supply of prey."
Yu Yan nodded slightly, thinking to herself, "This place is truly vast and rich in resources."
He turned his head and finally found an opportunity to ask Lanxiu, "Why did you come back later than us today? Were you delayed by hunting?"
Lan Xiu: "No, the hunt went quite smoothly."
Zhu Yu: "We were chasing our prey and we were almost at the snow mountain. I wanted to thank Xue Gui for his help, so I called out to him for a while. But he was probably out, because he didn't respond to us."
Yu Yan had been curious about this beastman named Xue Gui since yesterday.
The weather was clear today. He looked up at the snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance and asked:
"The snow mountain is quite far from here. Does Xuegui live there alone?"
Zhu Yu said, "Yes. He moved here last winter. Although he is also a bird-beast person, he doesn't like to live with us and rarely interacts with us."
Yu Yan thought to herself that the wilderness in this era was full of dangers. The beastmen and sub-beastmen she had encountered all lived in groups and liked novelty and excitement.
This orc named Xuegui must be very brave and able to endure loneliness.
It was clear that the people of the Caiyun tribe didn't know much about Xuegui either, so Yu Yan didn't continue the topic. Instead, he talked about the fun he had with Liu Xiang and the others when they went mushroom picking in the mountains that day.
Lan Xiu smiled and asked, "Did you collect a lot?"
"There are so many! I'll take you to see them!"
"good."
Yu Yan excitedly told him about the strangely shaped mushrooms she had seen on the mountain.
“Our tribe doesn’t have this many mushrooms. Some of them look grayish and are very poisonous, while others look very bright but aren’t poisonous. It’s all very confusing. If it weren’t for Liu Xiang and the others leading the way, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart at all.”
Even so, after Yu Yan emptied her basket of mushrooms, the sub-beastmen of the Caiyun tribe still picked out quite a few that were poisonous, making Yu Yan feel embarrassed.
In the afternoon, people from two more tribes came looking for Yu Yan.
Yu Yan discussed the trade with them and even examined one of the orcs' leg ailments, prescribing some medicine.
After seeing these people off, he rested for a while and then asked Zhu Yu to select a group of people to learn papermaking from him.
The entire Caiyun tribe was in an uproar. In the end, those chosen were all smart, young, and capable.
Yu Yan held up a piece of paper and explained to them: "...There is an indispensable thing in the papermaking process called 'alkali'. Our tribe is near the sea, so we can go directly to the seaside to dig alkaline soil and then filter it to get alkaline water."
"If you have salt lakes or salt flats around here, you should be able to find alkaline substances. If not, you can use wood ash as a substitute..."
After he finished teaching him the papermaking method, the people who came to learn called him "teacher" with increasing familiarity, and their eyes were full of admiration for him.
They were eager to put it into practice, but Yu Yan, seeing that it was getting late, didn't join them and instead suggested that she wanted to cook for herself that evening.
Zhu Yu: "That's easy! We'll help you carry firewood, start a fire pit, fetch water, and prepare ingredients. Did you bring any cooking utensils?"
Yu Yan: "I brought it. I also have some ingredients here."
"Yes, yes, just tell us what you need, don't be shy."
Yes, it will.
They need to bring back a lot of things, so Yu Yan wants to use up all the food they brought in the next couple of days.
He taught the people of the Caiyun tribe how to cook the mushrooms he picked today, and then took out a small jar and pulled out about ten preserved eggs from it.
The preserved eggs are covered with dried grass leaves and lime mud, and they crumble when touched.
Lanxiu offered, "I'll go wash up by the water first."
Yu Yan: "Okay, then I'll boil some water and cook these preserved eggs before we eat them."
The two split up and soon the preserved eggs were cooked.
Yu Yan soaked them in cold water and peeled them.
The preserved eggs, from the egg white to the yolk, were golden yellow, unlike the black preserved eggs he bought in modern times.
This is because he only added the simplest salt and lime for pickling, without adding any other spices.
At this moment, both the egg white and yolk have solidified. The egg white is crystal clear, and the yolk is not runny but solidified.
The sub-beastmen who were busy around were amazed when they saw the egg that Yu Yan peeled: "Why is the egg white transparent?"
"It smells a little strange... but it's not unpleasant."
"That's amazing!"
Yu Yan explained with a smile, "This is called preserved egg. We pickle it ourselves. It lasts much longer than regular bird eggs, and I think it tastes pretty good too."
Everyone's eyes lit up: "Great! Now we don't have to worry about the bird eggs spoiling."
“Look at all the trees and birds here, you can actually find a lot of bird eggs. We couldn’t finish them before, so we tried to pickle them with salt, but they still went bad after a short time. So now we have to pick them as we eat them.”
“When birds don’t lay eggs much, we have nothing to eat, alas.”
Yu Yan's slender, pale fingers peeled out another clean and translucent preserved egg. When she lowered her eyes, her eyelashes were thick, black, and long.
"Yes, salted eggs made with just brine spoil very easily, but if you add white wine, it's a different story. The resulting salted eggs are not only delicious, but the yolks will also be oily."
Liu Xiang and the others were so tempted they were practically drooling: "What's baijiu?"
"It's a liquid made from grains. Your tribe's red sorghum should be able to make it. If I can make it, I'll bring it to you to try. It has a very unique taste, and you might like it."
Everyone was really looking forward to it: "Great! I hope you can succeed!"
Lan Xiu couldn't help but glance at Yu Yan a few more times. He had heard Yu Yan mention "wine" more than once, and he was also very curious about what kind of taste it would make him think about it so much.
While chatting, Yu Yan peeled all the preserved eggs.
He used a small aluminum knife specifically for cutting vegetables to cut each preserved egg into four pieces and arranged them on a ceramic plate.
Then, he chopped the garlic he had brought, along with the small red chilies he had just traded from the Chongshan tribe, and added an appropriate amount of salt, honey, and nut oil.
Since there was no vinegar, he squeezed out sour lime juice instead.
This sauce not only smells delicious, but also has a unique lemony fragrance, which Yu Yan really likes.
He poured the prepared sauce into the earthenware plate, stirred it slightly with clean chopsticks, waited a while for it to marinate a little, and then it was ready to eat.
After that, he made several other signature dishes.
From the very first dish of cold preserved eggs, the people of Caiyun Tribe kept glancing in this direction.
Later, when he was cooking, they surrounded him and started learning seriously.
Halfway through cooking, Yu Yan told them to try the preserved eggs first.
No one dared to eat too much, so they shared a slice of preserved egg between each other.
But even that small bite completely won them over.
Liu Xiang chewed on the preserved egg in his mouth, covered his mouth, and looked at Yu Yan in surprise.
After swallowing the food, he exclaimed excitedly, "Yu Yan, the preserved egg tastes so unique! I've never tasted bird eggs like this before!"
The others nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, the first bite tastes a bit bitter, but it gets better and better the more you chew!"
"The sauce you made is also delicious, sweet and sour, with a mild pepper flavor, just right!"
"I originally thought I didn't like eating the pain peppers, but it turns out I didn't cook them right before! Looks like I'll have to exchange some with the people of the Chongshan tribe!"
Yu Yan ladled out the stir-fried dishes and said with a smile, "Now when I cook, I always feel like something's missing if I don't put some chili peppers in my dishes. Oh right, a pregnant sub-beastman came to our tribe before, and he was really good at eating sour and spicy food."
"I think I've heard that pregnant orcs crave sour foods!"
"Pregnancy can change your tastes..."
"It seems she likes sour food, and she gave birth to a little beastman cub!"
As the sun set and a gentle breeze blew, everyone savored the delicious food prepared by Yu Yan, and warmth spread from their tongues to their entire bodies.
After a hearty meal, many people rushed to talk to Yu Yan.
"Yu Yan, your cooking is amazing!" someone praised, giving a thumbs up. "If you could stay in our tribe, I would definitely bring supplies to your house every day and mooch meals from you."
"Me too, me too. I probably don't even have enough supplies to eat, hahaha."
Receiving affirmation made Yu Yan feel very accomplished, and her eyes crinkled with laughter.
Zhu Yu walked over, rubbed her hands together, and asked apologetically, "Yu Yan, we know we've already exchanged quite a few things with you, but we still want to ask if you could give us the recipe for pickling preserved eggs?"
Yu Yan readily agreed: "I'll just teach you directly."
Zhu Yu exclaimed, "How can that be? We're getting too much of a bargain!"
Yu Yan blinked: "It's not like you're getting a bargain. Pickling the preserved eggs requires lime from our tribe, so you'll still have to trade with us for it."
Zhu Yu paused for a moment, then laughed heartily, "Good, good, good."
After Yu Yan finished speaking, they realized it was too simple. They asked about the supplies needed to exchange for lime, and found that it wasn't much either.
Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that next time I go to your tribe, I'll have to bring one more thing to exchange."
The other members of the Caiyun tribe were quite excited about this, and they began to discuss who to send to the peninsula tribe.
Yu Yan sat on the rock and asked them, "Why don't you come back with us? It'll be good to have someone to look after you on the way."
Zhu Yu said with a worry, "No, the autumn harvest fair is coming soon, and we need to gather a batch of supplies. This year we want to go a little further and participate in the harvest grassland fair."
Yu Yan: "We're also participating in Harvest Grassland, see you then."
"Yes, I'll definitely see you."
Yu Yan turned her head, searching for Bai Lang's figure.
He had heard that Bai Lang didn't like meeting people, so he hadn't had high hopes, but he found him right away.
He stood alone on the outskirts of the crowd, the setting sun casting a long shadow of him. He seemed to have been watching Yu Yan for a long time, wanting to get closer but too shy to do so.
Suddenly meeting Yu Yan's gaze, Bai Lang immediately blinked nervously and looked away, presenting Yu Yan with his smooth, handsome face.
Yu Yan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not choose to call him. Instead, she whispered to Lan Xiu, "After everyone leaves, could you call Bai Lang here for me?"
Lan Xiu nodded.
The dinner party was a great success, with everyone enjoying themselves.
As darkness fell, Yu Yan returned to the lodgings arranged for him by the Caiyun tribe.
Soon after, Lan Xiu arrived with Bai Lang.
Bai Lang wore a feather skirt, her muscles were well-defined, and she had a perfectly slender physique.
He compared Yu Yan's height to his own, stood in front of her, lowered his head and asked, "Yu Yan, did you look for me?" His voice was deep and pleasant.
Yu Yan understood somewhat why he didn't like seeing people. These peacock beastmen of the Caiyun tribe were all obsessed with beauty. His smooth half of his face was as handsome as a god descended to earth, but the other half had something ugly on it, so he must feel inferior.
“Hmm,” Yu Yan looked at him, pointed to her face, and said gently, “This thing might be harmful to your health. Do you need me to check it for you?”
Bai Lang's pupils contracted, and he asked in surprise, "Harmful?"
“Yes.” In Yu Yan’s opinion, beauty and ugliness are secondary. If it is malignant melanoma, it may develop into skin cancer.
If you get this disease in the beast world, you can only wait to die.
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