Out of Salt at Home!

Awakening from a good night's sleep, An Yao found that it was already quite bright outside.

She felt well-rested. After washing up by the river and returning home, she began to work with Jin on processing the basket full of wild boar meat.

She planned to set aside one-third of the meat to be eaten over the next few days, while the remaining pieces would be buried in a coarse salt jar to cure and smoke, preserving them for a long time without spoilage.

“We're running out of salt at home.” As An Yao spread the meat pieces in the stone jar, she realized that there was very little salt left in the jar, only a thin layer at the bottom.

Salt in the beast world was a precious and scarce resource. It could only be obtained from the rocks near the sea.

Only the Sea Tribe members could produce salt.

For the land-dwelling beastmen to obtain salt, they needed to exchange goods for it with the Sea Tribe members before the rainy season came, right before winter.

Due to the rarity of salt, the chieftain managed and distributed the tribe's salt supplies. Each individual received a limited amount of salt, determined by their personal strength and contributions to the tribe.

Jin, with his relatively low strength and unpopularity, received the least amount of salt.

The original An Yao was lazy and didn't do much work, nor did she join the tribe's gathering team.

Consequently, the small amount of salt she and Jin had in their possession would likely be depleted before the winter arrived this year.

While male beastmen like Jin could hunt and drink raw blood to replenish their nutritional needs, females needed to consume salt to stay healthy.

Jin raised his eyelids to glance outside, and he noted that the daytime weather wasn't as scorching as it had been before. He mused, “The rainy season is almost here...”

“After the rainy season comes the winter, and during that time, everything freezes over for thousands of miles. People can't leave their homes, so it's essential to stock up on salt and other food in advance to endure the three-month-long cold season.”

“In about a month, the tribe will send people to the Sea Tribe to exchange for salt. It's also when those roaming beasts in the wilderness are most active. Many of them will attempt to snatch the tribe's resources before going into hibernation.”

Many weaker tribes that attempted to trade for salt often got intercepted by roaming beasts halfway through, leading to endless cold and hunger during the cold season. Many beastmen died as a result, and tribes could even be wiped out.

With so many examples as warnings, any tribe with some strength would send powerful beastmen to protect the supplies from being stolen by roaming beasts.

“I'll go with the group to protect the supplies.”

As he spoke, Jin's mood grew downcast. He lowered his head and fiddled with the firewood.

Looking at the disheartened youth, An Yao's heart stirred.

Knowing the original plot well, she thought, “Young man, don't be so self-deprecating and upset. You are a powerful Moon Wolf Tribe member. It's just because your bloodline is sealed that you can't advance. Once that seal is broken, you'll become a formidable beast king!”

Ah, but these were things that the female lead should worry about. An Yao could only swallow back these comforting words.

It wouldn't not be fair for Jin to shoulder the entire burden of providing for the family. An Yao decided that she would go to the chieftain in a couple of days to propose joining the tribe's gathering team.

That way, she could obtain more salt.

“Alright, just be sure to stay safe.”

An Yao nodded. Suddenly, she remembered something and turned to him again. “By the way, when you go hunting outside, if it weren’t necessary, keep those animals alive.”

“I mean the small and easily domesticated creatures, such as the long-eared beasts and wild chickens. You can leave them alive. We can build a fence near the house and keep them inside. We can slaughter them whenever we want. That way, we can save some salt.”

Jin found her reasoning sound and nodded.

“Alright, when the hunting team switches shifts next time, I'll catch a few for you to see if we can raise them.”

It had been two days since the fish basket was placed in the river, and it wasn't until after breakfast that An Yao suddenly remembered it. She brought Jin to the riverbank and discovered that the basket was broken. Some fish and shrimp had escaped, and only a medium-sized catfish remained. There were only a few river shrimp and crabs left.

An Yao picked up the broken fish basket from the river, feeling regretful. She should have come to collect the fish basket earlier.

Jin looked at the fish basket in her hand with surprise. So, this was the thing that she caught those fish and water creatures with? By coming to collect the basket on time, she could acquire food much more easily than by hunting relentlessly in the forest.

He thought to himself, “Amazing, and clever.”

Jin stared at the female in front of him, his gaze growing intense. Only now did he suddenly feel a strong emotion in his heart.

Indeed, he hadn't truly understood her for a very long time.

“Host, the system just detected a significant increase in the antagonist Jin's fondness for you. His vigilance and resistance levels are at an all-time low. In the future, it will be much easier to increase his affection!” 007 exclaimed happily, spinning around An Yao.

“That's why I said that when dealing with someone as guarded as Jin, you need to learn to boil the frog in warm water. Slowly change his perception through your actions day by day, take good care of him, and I don't believe he can still turn villainous!” An Yao clenched her fist, giving herself encouragement.

Looking around and realizing that the forest vines had mostly withered, An Yao picked up several green vines from the ground and threw them into her back basket. She looked up at the vines hanging from the trees, but unfortunately, she couldn't reach them since she didn't know how to climb trees.

Jin sensed her intention and easily climbed up the tree. With the grace of a leopard, he swiftly gathered several long, sturdy green vines and dropped them to the ground for An Yao to catch. “You want to use these vines to weave that fishing thing?”

He was referring to the fish basket.

“Yes, help me get a few more. This time, I plan to make a larger, double-layered fish basket!” She knew that her wolf cub was incredibly smart.

Jin nodded and then looked around. He pulled down more than a dozen tree vines that were softer than the green vines, more suitable for weaving the fish basket, and less likely to break.

The two of them busied themselves, and as the day grew late, Jin carried the vines home, while An Yao, as she did last time, processed the fish by the river before hurrying to catch up with him.

Once she was completely out of sight, a long, thick black shape quietly emerged from the water's surface. With a splash, a round snake head appeared, chewing on fish bones and a few broken green vines. It was the same black snake that had damaged the fish basket earlier.

To think that it could create a trap for food. She truly was a clever female.

The black snake seemed to contemplate something as it watched the direction the two had gone. A hint of amusement appeared in its eyes, and then it disappeared without a trace.