Chapter 589: Don't Get Too Excited Too Soon

Xiao Er followed her gaze and saw a expanse of snow-white, with nothing unusual: "What's wrong, miss?"

Xiao Ningxun walked over to her sister, bent down, and asked: "What did you see, Tuan Tuan?"

Tuan Tuan grabbed his hand and ran over ten paces away, then crouched down.

She stretched out her little hand, scraped away the surface salt grains, and revealed the dark, black earth beneath.

"Huh?" Tuan Tuan tilted her head, "Where did it go?"

She thought for a moment, lifted her head, and shouted up the slope: "Xiao Dan Dan! Come quickly!"

Everyone looked up in unison.

On the hilltop, a huge figure rose to its feet.

Xiao Dan Dan strode toward the salt lake; each step landed with a dull "thud, thud" on the ground.

The people inside the felt tents were startled by the commotion and all poked their heads out.

As the enormous approaching figure came into view, the whole tribe exploded in an uproar.

"A savage! Good heavens! A savage is coming!"

"Run!"

Tuan Tuan shouted at the crowd: "He's a good person! Don't be afraid!"

But nobody listened.

The women screamed, scooping up their children; the men grabbed sticks and hoes, stumbled together to the corner of the rock wall, huddled in a mass, trembling.

Tuan Tuan sighed helplessly and waved at Xiao Dan Dan: "Xiao Dan Dan! Over here!"

The old man leaned on his cane, standing in place, his legs shaking badly—not because he didn't want to run, but because his legs were uncooperative and he couldn't.

He stared at the approaching giant and muttered: "Is this... Sharden?"

Tuan Tuan glanced at him and grinned: "Exactly! He's my Xiao Dan Dan!"

"Xiao... Xiao Dan Dan?" Alete opened his mouth wide, eyes staring round.

As they spoke, Xiao Dan Dan had already walked up beside Tuan Tuan; everyone hurriedly scattered, making room for him.

Xiao Dan Dan obediently crouched down.

Tuan Tuan lifted her head and looked at Xiao Dan Dan's left arm wrapped in a blanket.

"Is there something to dig the earth with? Xiao Dan Dan's hand is still injured."

"Yes! Yes!" Alete turned and ran back.

Soon after, he came back carrying an iron pickaxe head, panting as he handed it to Tuan Tuan.

Tuan Tuan looked at the iron pickaxe head: "I don't know how to use this; you dig a bit to show Xiao Dan Dan."

Alete blinked: "Dig? Dig what?"

Tuan Tuan pointed to the patch of black earth she had just scraped away: "Just dig here."

Alete, half-believing, half-doubting, raised the iron pickaxe head and dug hard twice, scooping out a small pit.

"All right." Tuan Tuan nodded satisfiedly, "Give it to Xiao Dan Dan."

Alete held the iron pickaxe head with both hands, trembling as he lifted it toward Xiao Dan Dan.

Xiao Dan Dan stretched out his big hand, gave it a light squeeze, and lifted the iron pickaxe head.

The tool that ordinary people find heavy to wield, in his hand, looked as small as a toy.

Tuan Tuan pointed to the small pit: "Xiao Dan Dan, dig here."

Xiao Dan Dan lowered his head to look at the small pit, then at Tuan Tuan, picked up the iron pickaxe head, and drove it hard into the ground.

"Boom!"

With just that one strike, a large pit appeared in the ground, more than ten times bigger than the one Alete had dug.

Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air.

Tuan Tuan, however, clapped her little hands happily: "Wow! Xiao Dan Dan, you're amazing!"

Xiao Dan Dan glanced at Tuan Tuan, his big eyes flashing, picked up the iron pickaxe head, and dug a few more times.

The pit grew larger and larger, clods of earth flying in all directions.

The old man's brows furrowed tighter and tighter: "Never mind, never mind, you may go. What could you possibly find by digging like this?"

His words had just fallen.

"Pfft—"

A jet of emerald-green water gushed up from the bottom of the pit, spraying to half a person's height.

Everyone stood frozen.

Alete gaped: "Water? There's water down there?"

Lu Qi stared, eyes wide: "Could it be that I guessed right? The water really leaked down below?"

Kang An's eyes widened: "Tuan Tuan, there's water!"

The old man's cane almost slipped from his grasp.

Xiao Dan Dan dug two more times.

This time, the water didn't just spurt; it surged.

It gushed forth from the pit bottom like a fountain.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Tuan Tuan jumped up and down anxiously: "Xiao Dan Dan, come out quickly!"

Xiao Dan Dan looked back at her, somewhat bewildered.

Tuan Tuan pointed to beside herself: "Come out!"

Xiao Dan Dan understood, leapt out of the pit, tossed the iron pickaxe head to the ground, and obediently crouched beside Tuan Tuan, the long fur on his legs soaked through with water.

"Good! Sit here and don't move." Having said that, Tuan Tuan leaned over the edge of the pit to look inside; the water kept welling up, soon flooding the bottom.

She nodded satisfactorily: "I told you, I saw this place was green; turns out, it's down below!"

Xue Tong squatted by the edge of the pit, brows slightly furrowed: "Why is the water this color?"

Xiao Ningxun looked at the old man: "Elder, was the lake water like this before?"

The old man shook his head: "No, the lake water used to be clear."

Xiao Ningyuan furrowed his brows: "Then it's not lake water that leaked down; where is this water coming from?"

The water increased, slowly creeping toward the edge of the pit.

Tuan Tuan stretched out her little hand, wanting to probe into the water.

Xiao Er turned pale with shock, grabbing her hand in one motion: "Miss! No!"

Tuan Tuan pouted her lips: "Second Uncle, I just want to touch it—look, how pretty it is, like the green stone in Mother's jewelry box!"

"Nonsense!" Xue Tong snatched Tuan Tuan up: "This water looks anything but ordinary—don't touch it randomly; let me, as your teacher, examine it first to see what's going on."

After thinking, Xiao Ningxun looked at the old man: "Elder, since you live by the salt lake, you must know how to extract salt from this lake water—could you give it a try?"

"Although this water differs from the original lake water, since it also comes from the salt lake, could it also contain salt?"

Alete's eyes lit up: "Exactly! If there's salt, we won't have to leave!"

The old man nodded: "Alete, call a few people over to boil it and see."

"All right!" Alete sprinted off.

Not long after, several men were summoned; they set up a simple stove, scooped several bowls of water from the pit, lit the fire, and began to boil.

As the water in the pot dwindled, pure white salt gradually appeared at the bottom.

Alete and those men leapt up joyfully: "Salt! It's salt!"

Tuan Tuan and Kang An widened their eyes; Tuan Tuan said: "So salt is made by boiling it!"

Kang An nodded repeatedly: "Mm-hmm!"

Xiao Ningyuan and his brother exchanged a glance; Tuan Tuan had done another great deed.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi wore proud looks: "Our miss is truly formidable!"

The old man's eyes reddened with emotion: "Thank you all, thank you so much!"

Alete waved his arms vigorously toward the crowd by the cliff: "Come look! Salt! We have salt again!"

The crowd cheered, but upon seeing Xiao Dan Dan, they still dared not approach.

The old man glanced at the modest-sized pit before him, still worried: "The water of this salt spring looks far less than the lake's; I fear it won't be enough."

Upon hearing that, Tuan Tuan said: "But there's still plenty here!"

The old man's voice trembled: "More? Really? Where?"

Tuan Tuan pulled Kang An and ran; after not going far, she stopped, stamped her foot, and said: "There's one here, even bigger than the previous one."

Alete hoisted the iron pick from the ground, sprinted to her side, dug a small pit where she stood, and marked it.

Tuan Tuan had already run off; at another spot she stamped her foot again: "There's one here too!"

Soon after, Tuan Tuan had located more than twenty salt springs and ran back to Xiao Dan Dan's side.

Alete was panting from exhaustion, yet thrilled: "So many! Excellent!"

He bowed respectfully to Tuan Tuan: "Miss, do you know how much water is actually in this salt spring?"

Tuan Tuan lowered her head to look: "It's deep down there; I can't see the bottom!"

Alete's voice trembled: "You can't see the bottom? Then there must be a lot—lots and lots!"

Tuan Tuan nodded: "Exactly."

Alete excitedly flung away the iron pick: "We have an endless supply of salt now—no more worries!"

Xue Tong stood by the pot, pinched a tiny bit of salt between his fingers, placed it in his palm to sniff: "Don't get too excited too soon—this salt isn't edible."