Expanding Horizons

Apo Isko lead them to the muddy side of the river.

He scooped a handful of mud and molded it into a small pot shaped thing.

It may deform as it still a bit wet, so he keeps on patting and rubbing it with his hand to dry it.

When the shape no longer deformed he put it on top of the rock that is exposed to the sunlight.

After half an hour, the mud is already dry and it hardened a bit.

The inside part is not yet dry so it may crumble if mishandled.

Though he's not yet done with his sample, his favorite team is not dumb as they already know what to do. They don't need to ask the obvious, so they also gathered huge amount of mud and carried it back to their village.

A week passed by and the Pacific Tribesmen mastered the crafting of pots, jars and other earthen wares. Every family made a pot of their own.

Apo Tasyo made a breakthrough with his crafting skills, he made a big furnace as described by Apo Isko, while Inang Mabailan also made big Jars and discovered a way to polish it by rubbing smooth stones and putting fine sand grains to make it usable for storing drinkable water and other ingredients.

By this time, the fish pond is already finished and they were now trying to cultivate different kinds of fish. Algae formed and became the fish feeds. There were also different organisms that became present and it became a natural habitat for fish with a mixed food chain or food web, but on top of that food web is not a giant fish or huge reptiles but the Pacific Tribesmen.

The fish storage is now a thing for the Pacific Tribesmen.

The food and water supply stabilized due to proper storage and scheduled harvest.

Apo Isko, will introduce the use of salt this morning.

He managed to learn some cooking ways by asking the Talking Book how to add flavor to the meat and other food.

Even primitive men can be picky or will be fed up eating the same thing over and over, so he came up with the idea to ask the Talking Book.

He's very surprised on how easy to make one of the fundamental flavoring ingredients.

The Sea is vast and unending, he can't imagine how much salt he can make before the sea became exhausted of saltwater.

Herbs and Spices which is unknown to them before were considered wild plants or the same as grass.

This time, he didn't call the most capable team of the tribesmen. He just gathered all the middle aged tribesmen or parents group.

Just by explaining the word cooking, everyone became lively and energetic when they heard that even a simple bland root crop can become tasty by simply adding other ingredients which can be acquired everywhere.

Now they're all ready to move to gather these herbs and spices that Apo Isko told them.

But, they were halted by Apo Isko.

"Let's go to the East and each of you carry pots or jars"

"Isn't it heading to the vast wavy waters?" asked by the crowd.

"Yes!, we'll make the first ingredient and the most basic and easiest to produce. The Salt!"

"Move it! Everyone Let's go!" more than 20 persons followed Apo Isko. But his favorite team is not included this time.

They were carrying jars and the men also carried bamboo spears with rock-blades on their back.

This sloping path is not often traversed by their tribe. So the grass here is as high as their waist.

Snakes and other Wild Animals might appear anywhere and anytime, so Apo Isko already prepared for this. The vanguard will be those men carrying bamboo spears, paving way by clearing the grass and killing those snakes and other wild animals ahead of them.

In less than half an hour, they reached the seashore.

Everyone knows that the sea-water is not suitable for drinking.

So they were shocked when Apo Isko asked them to scoop a handful of water and asked them to taste it. They're a bit hesitant at first but when Apo Isko scooped some and drink it, they also tried it for themselves.

It's not that bad, it had a taste that is present in meat. The savory feeling or the saltiness of the sea water is what they actually tasted. But if they drank it like fresh water, it will make them cough and it might feel uncomfortable for their throats if it's too much. Instead of quenching their thirst, it will only make them more thirsty.

They don't have any idea on how to make this an ingredient.

Apo Isko instructed them to look for white rocks that's easy to crumble along the shore.

They've found a small enclosed bay and the rock surrounding it is not that high and there were actually white rocks on the shore.

As what Apo Isko have seen in the Talking Book, it's similar to natural formed salts but the difference is the size and the amount.

The enclosed bay they've found contained so many of these and the sizes were almost as large as them. He crushed one of these rocks and tasted it, and indeed it was salty as described by the Talking Book. But unlike the seawater, it lacks the pungent fishy smell which is a good thing.

He immediately ask them to carry a total of 5 rocks. They crushed it and filled the pots and jars they've brought with them. These rocks were actually the natural formed rock salts.

This concluded their trip to the seashore.

Everyone went back to their village before the morning ends.