Chapter 4 The Source of Saltiness
Three days after the potato harvest, Lin Chen began to worry about storage. The precious tubers were piled haphazardly in the center of the tribe, and several had already begun to sprout and change color.
"We must find a suitable place to store it." Lin Chen said to Elder Shi Yan, "A cool, dry, and well-ventilated place is best."
Canglan volunteered: "I know a place, there is a cave in the west mountain. It is cool and dry inside, and rarely disturbed by wild animals."
Following Lin Chen's suggestion, the orcs used stone axes and tough vines to make a simple rack, arranging the potatoes in layers to prevent them from touching the ground. The sub-orcs carefully selected the potatoes, saving the intact ones for seeds and giving priority to those with minor damage.
During breaks at work, Lin Chen noticed that everyone simply heated up the meat when grilling or cooking it, without any seasoning.
"Don't you add salt?" Lin Chen asked Yunshan who was grilling meat curiously.
"Salt?" Yunshan repeated the unfamiliar word blankly. "What is that?"
Lin Chen thought for a moment and explained, "It's a kind of white granules that taste... salty. It makes food more flavorful and is also necessary for the body."
Aoba, an old orc not far away, heard the conversation and stumbled over. "Are you talking about salt stone? People from large tribes sometimes use it to trade for animal skins."
Lin Chen perked up: "Salt stone? Where can I find it?"
Qingye shook his head. "It's very far, a ten-day journey. Only caravans from large tribes would go to get it. Our small tribe can't afford it."
Despite his disappointment, Lin Chen didn't give up. He remembered that salt could come from seawater, salt lakes, or salt mines. Since the Silver Moon Tribe was close to the forest, the most likely source was rock salt.
The next day, Lin Chen asked Canglan to take him to a nearby place where there might be salt.
"Why are you so obsessed with finding the salty stone?" Canglan asked as he led the way.
"Salt not only makes food more delicious, it's also essential for survival," Lin Chen explained. "If you don't eat salt for a long time, you'll become weak and sick, especially orcs like you who sweat a lot."
Canglan pondered: "No wonder the people of the big tribe are always stronger than us..."
They walked along a dry riverbed, and Lin Chen carefully examined the rock formations on both sides. Suddenly, he noticed something unusual on a rock wall—white crystals that shone slightly in the sunlight.
"Look there!" Lin Chen pointed to Canglan excitedly.
Canglan transformed into a wolf, easily jumped onto the rock wall, and scraped off some white crystals with his claws and brought them back to Lin Chen.
Lin Chen carefully tasted a little, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "It's salt! It's really rock salt!"
Canglan also tasted it and frowned: "Is this salty stone? The taste is very strong."
"It needs to be purified." Lin Chen has already made a plan. "We can dissolve it in water, filter out impurities, and then boil away the water to get cleaner salt."
Upon returning to the tribe, Lin Chen immediately set to work making salt. He asked the orcs to weave finer rattan baskets, layering them with layers of fine sand and coarse cloth to serve as filters. The rock salt blocks were crushed and dissolved in clean water. The filtered brine was then poured into a stone pot and boiled.
The whole process attracted many onlookers, and everyone was curious about what miracle this outsider was creating.
When all the water evaporated, leaving a layer of white salt at the bottom of the pot, the crowd exclaimed in amazement.
"Is this salt?" Elder Shi Yan carefully dipped a little in to taste it, his cloudy old eyes suddenly brightening. "It's much purer than the salty stone I exchanged with the big tribe! There's no bitterness!"
Lin Chen sprinkled the freshly made salt on the roasted meat and shared it with everyone to taste.
"Oh my God! It tastes completely different!" Yunshan exclaimed, his mouth full.
Even the usually reserved Berry couldn't help but praise it: "The food has become... more complex."
Canglan silently ate the salted barbecue, his silver-gray eyes never leaving Lin Chen. This seemingly weak orc had not only brought fire and new food, but now he had also found precious salt. His wisdom and ability were beyond anyone's imagination.
"Starting tomorrow, organize people to collect rock salt." Elder Shi Yan ordered, "This will be an important resource for our tribe."
The days that followed were busy and fulfilling for the Silvermoon Tribe. One group worked on making salt, while another continued to store potatoes and other gathered food. Lin Chen instructed everyone in crafting more practical tools—woven baskets with handles, more durable stone cooking utensils, and even experimented with making simple carts for transporting heavy objects.
In the evening, as they gathered around the campfire to share salted stews and grilled meat, the atmosphere in the tribe was noticeably different: people's faces were less worried and more filled with anticipation for the future.
"The cold season has always been a time of hunger and death," said Elder Shi Yan with emotion, "but this year, because we have fire, stored food, and salt, we may be able to get through it safely."
Canglan sat beside Lin Chen and said softly, "You changed the fate of the Silver Moon Tribe."
Lin Chen smiled and shook his head: "It's the result of everyone's hard work."
"No," Canglan's eyes were warm and firm, "You brought me hope. I never thought that a sub-orc could be so..." He paused, as if searching for the right words, "powerful."
Lin Chen felt his cheeks heat up slightly, and he lowered his head to hide his embarrassment. In this strange yet familiar primitive world, for the first time, he felt that he truly belonged here.
The night sky was dotted with stars, the campfire crackled, and the howling of unknown beasts could be heard in the distance. But in the Silvermoon Tribe, the warm firelight, full stomachs, and new hope made this night seem exceptionally peaceful.
Tomorrow, Lin Chen thought, maybe he could try making pottery, so he could have a better cooking vessel. Step by step, this primitive world was quietly changing because of his arrival.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
