Looking for Salt

Five days later, three bamboo houses rose from the ground. Those vagabonds finally had a place to live. They didn't have to be homeless and in danger like before.

This was also because Jiang Xuan and the others had become stronger after becoming warriors. They only needed to burn the outer skin of the bamboo to quickly chop it off with stone axes, saving a lot of time.

These three bamboo houses were a little further from the bamboo forest. This was because Jiang Xuan did not trust these vagabonds for the time being and did not want to live too close to them.

In addition, Jiang Xuan had also built bathrooms and toilets for them. He had also forcefully requested that they not urinate and defecate anywhere. They had to shower frequently. Otherwise, they would be covered in lice. That would be too scary.

Since they had come to the Vine Tribe, they had to follow the rules. Jiang Xuan did not want to leave an impression that he was easy to talk to.

A chief who was too easy to talk to would make the clansmen below lose their reverence when carrying out his orders.

Using both soft and hard tactics was something a chief had to have.

After settling the accommodation problem, Jiang Xuan started to get them to work.

Beside the stream, on the vast flat ground, Jiang Xuan said to Sweet Pine, "You don't have to hunt or gather. Your current mission is to clean up this large area and turn it over with a bone plow."

Sweet Pine said uneasily, "There are so many of us. We have to eat a lot of food every day…"

Jiang Xuan knew what he meant. He was afraid of starving if there was not enough food.

"Don't worry about the food. Since you're here in our Vine Tribe, we definitely won't let you starve."

Sweet Pine had no choice but to nod. "Alright, I'll listen to the chief."

"By the way, did you encounter any other tribes on your way here?"

Jiang Xuan had not forgotten about the smoke he saw in the forest and the hunting sounds he heard.

At first, he thought that it was caused by these vagabonds. But after thinking about it, he realized that it was not right. These vagabonds did not have the ability to hunt on a large scale.

Sweet Pine thought about it for a moment before answering firmly, "Yes."

"What kind of tribe is it? Where is it?"

Sweet Pine said, "It's a tribe on the move. They raise a lot of scary big mosquitoes. Their wingspan is this wide."

Sweet Pine gestured. Jiang Xuan estimated that it was about 30 centimeters wide.

Considering that mosquitoes usually appeared in swarms, even a bison would be instantly sucked dry by such large mosquitoes…

When Jiang Xuan thought of this scene, he immediately gasped. That would be too terrifying.

"This tribe is very fierce. Dozens of our people wanted to join this tribe, but they killed us. That's why we fled here."

There was a clear look of lingering fear on Sweet Pine's face.

"Do you know where they live?" Jiang Xuan asked again.

Sweet Pine shook his head. "When we met this tribe, they were still on the move. Then we ran for our lives. I don't know where they went after that."

Tribes that hunted and gathered for a living would migrate at regular intervals in order to get more food. They rarely settled in one place.

Jiang Xuan felt a lot of pressure because he did not know where the tribes had migrated to or how far away they were from the Vine Tribe.

"How many of them are there, then?"

"At least a few hundred. I'm not sure how many."

"I understand. You should get to work."

"Okay."

Sweet Pine went to work with a bone plow. They needed to uproot and burn the grass, bushes, and brambles in the wasteland, then turn the ground over and pick up the grass roots, roots, and stones.

Opening up land was a very difficult job. Fortunately, the tribe members had always been able to endure hardship. As long as they could eat, they had no complaints.

Jiang Xuan stood by the stream with a heavy heart.

A tribe of a few hundred people, and a very fierce one at that, was a huge threat to the little Vine Tribe. It was easy to destroy everything they had worked so hard to build.

There was no solution to this matter for the time being. Jiang Xuan only hoped that the tribe would not come here for the time being, or that the ancient vine was strong enough to protect the Vine Tribe.

"We have to strengthen the tribe as soon as possible. Otherwise, we'll be too passive!"

Jiang Xuan clenched his fists. As long as he was given a few years, he believed that with his own efforts, he would definitely be able to strengthen this small tribe. At that time, he would not have to be afraid.

"Hook Vine, take South Star and continue fishing with traps by the stream after clearing the weeds and bushes. Keep an eye on these vagabonds.

Remember, dig the pool in the clearing. Don't go into places where the vegetation is too lush or where the water is too deep."

Hook Vine said solemnly, "Don't worry, chief. We'll be careful."

Hook Vine led South Star toward the stream. Now that a section of the vegetation beside the stream had been cleared, it was not as overgrown as before.

Jiang Xuan nodded and said to Chi Shao and Stone Loach, "Let's go into the mountains to look for something."

"What are we looking for?" asked a curious Chi Shao.

"Salt!"

"Salt?" Chi Shao's eyes widened. "Can we find salt?"

Stone Loach was also shocked. Salt was so precious to the tribe.

Jiang Xuan said, "The shaman in my dream told me a method to find salt. I want to see if it works."

When Chi Shao heard this, she stopped asking questions. So did Stone Loach.

The tribesmen were in awe of the mysterious shaman. Even if the shaman said something that was difficult to understand, there would be no problem.

There was a reason why Jiang Xuan went to look for salt at this time.

In the past, when they first came here, they hunted and gathered for a living. By drinking beast blood and eating meat, they could replenish the salt in their bodies.

Once the number of people in the tribe increased, it was definitely impossible to rely on hunting and gathering alone. This was because the source of food was extremely unstable. It even depended on luck.

Planting and breeding were better and more stable ways to obtain food.

However, planting and cultivation on a large scale would result in a huge problem, which was the lack of salt.

Although planting could bring a lot of food, the reduction of meat in their diet would definitely lead to insufficient salt consumption.

In addition, work made them sweat, which resulted in the loss of salt.

In the end, a large number of the tribe members would fall ill because of a lack of salt. Then the dream of developing the tribe would be dashed.

Therefore, Jiang Xuan had to obtain enough salt in order to better plant and cultivate!

If one lived by the sea, it was very easy to obtain salt. One could even find a small amount of dried salt on the reefs.

But in the Southern Wilderness, in the primitive forest, it was not easy to find salt.

However, Jiang Xuan knew that large herbivores would take the initiative to find salt to eat in the wild.

The larger the herbivores, the more salt they needed, and the more frequently they would find salt to eat.

Jiang Xuan had lived here for more than half a year and was more familiar with his surroundings. He also had a certain understanding of the prey in the forest.

He knew that there was a herd of huge bison in the forest to the south. The range of activity of these bison was relatively fixed. If he followed the bison, he might be able to find the place where they obtained salt!

Jiang Xuan had been thinking about this method for a long time. When he went out to hunt, he would also pay attention to the movement of the bison.

Jiang Xuan didn't know if he could find salt by following the bison, but he had to try.

Jiang Xuan thought for a moment and walked to the stream. He told Hook Vine and South Star his thoughts.

It would take time to track down the bison herd. If they didn't return by nightfall, Hook Vine and South Star would definitely be worried. If he told them in advance, they wouldn't be so worried.

Then Jiang Xuan, Chi Shao, and Stone Loach returned to the bamboo house to take along their weapons and even some dried meat. They then stepped into the vast primitive forest.