Chapter 72: The Debut of Sanitary Napkins and Salt

In the bushes, a woman wearing a straw hat hurried over with quite a few tribespeople in tow. Seeing her arrive, several women's expressions instantly changed — this was bad, A Yu was back.

Inside the Cave, the Bonfire blazed brightly. Nan Qinghuan was held by Ying on the Stone Bed. Afraid she'd be uncomfortable against the hard surface, Ying had thoughtfully placed a Tiger Skin on the stone bed so she could sit more comfortably.

He also thoughtfully went to fetch boiled water. Axi had already left, and the water was still heating in the stone pot, making gurgling sounds.

"Huaner, drink some hot water first. I need to go take care of something."

Ying poured the hot water into a wooden cup and handed it to her. Seemingly afraid it would scald her, he thoughtfully blew on it a few times before passing it over. "Careful, don't burn yourself."

Faced with Ying's such attentive care, Nan Qinghuan quite enjoyed it. She never would have imagined that beneath Ying's rugged exterior lay such a delicate and thoughtful heart.

She took the hot water and drank a few sips. After her bath, she felt much better now, and her lower abdomen wasn't hurting as much. Seeing Ying's worried expression, she reached out and stroked his handsome face to reassure him. "I'm fine. Go call Axi."

"Axi?"

Soon Axi was called over. Before she even entered, the wild wolf Mos greeted her, wagging its tail like a lapdog. "Qinghuan, something bad happened!"

Nan Qinghuan was on the bed making sanitary napkins by hand. That's right — she had bought Cotton and adhesive from the dimensional mall. Though far inferior to modern manufacturing, it was still much better than using Beast Skin. At least this was breathable.

"What bad thing?"

She worked with extreme concentration. Soon, a simple sanitary product was finished. Though not as attractive as modern ones, as long as it was practical, that was enough.

"Qinghuan, what are you making? What is this?"

Axi saw her holding something white. She was very curious, having never seen one before. Nan Qinghuan quickly explained, "See this? From now on, use this when that time comes. Stop using Beast Skin. That thing isn't clean, breeds bacteria, and isn't breathable."

Hearing this, Axi was astonished. She quickly understood what she meant. "Qinghuan, you're really amazing. How did you make it?"

"Come, I'll teach you, and you can teach the tribespeople to make it later. I'll give some to every female, and everyone can take them back and make their own, become self-sufficient. See? Put the Cotton in here, then like this..."

Axi was captivated by this miraculous thing and quickly forgot why she had come. After Axi learned how, Nan Qinghuan also taught her how to use it. "Just like this. After using it, you can wash it clean and use it again next time. Convenient and hygienic."

Axi learned very earnestly. "This is wonderful! This thing is so much more comfortable than Beast Skin. When we used that Beast Skin, there was hair all over underneath. This..."

"Use this."

"Qinghuan, you really are our Tribe's Goddess. You know how to do everything. No wonder Ying likes you so much. How could A Yue even compare to you?"

Nan Qinghuan tried one herself and it felt fine. She no longer had to worry about dirtying her pants. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief and stand up. "Silly girl, stop flattering me. You just said something bad happened — what's going on outside now?"

Axi then remembered the matter. "Right, I just heard the tribespeople saying A Yu is back."

Nan Qinghuan was drinking water. Hearing this name, she frowned and looked at her. "A Yu? Who's that?"

Axi was somewhat surprised, blinking her big eyes. "Ying didn't tell you?"

Nan Qinghuan shook her head. "Who is she?"

Seeing that she didn't know, Axi also didn't know how to explain it to Qinghuan. "Qinghuan, I'll tell you, but don't get angry."

Nan Qinghuan frowned. "Why would I be angry? Could it be that this A Yu has some background?"

Axi didn't understand what "background" meant. She just shook her head. "Sister A Yu is the Old Clan Leader's daughter. She's been away all these years learning shamanism and skills. She's our Tribe's..."

"The Tribe's what?"

"High Priest, even more respected than Shamaness A Yue."

"What? High Priest?"

She had thought that with a Shamaness A Yue dead, there would be less superstition. She hadn't expected there to also be some High Priest.

"If she's back, she's back. What's the big deal? Why hasn't Ayuan returned from fetching water yet?"

She was feeling much better now and was also considering the matter of boiling Salt. But where to get a large pot?

She had originally wanted to seek help from her space, but the space had remained at level two and she couldn't obtain a pot, so she could only think of another way.

Axi saw she didn't care and quickly explained, "Sister A Yu likes Ying. I'm afraid..."

"Likes Ying?"

She didn't think it was anything. Her man was so wonderful — of course many women liked him. She felt it was perfectly normal, as long as Ying didn't like this A Yu person.

"That's her business, nothing major. Axi, go think of a way to get me a large pot ready. Can you do it?"

"A pot?"

Axi was about to say something when Youchao Xuan's voice came from outside. "Goddess, come out and look quickly!"

"Youchao Xuan is here?"

She immediately got out of bed and walked toward the outside of the Cave. She hadn't expected to see... Youchao Xuan and Dashan carrying a very large stone pot walking this way. Seeing that large pot, Nan Qinghuan was overjoyed. "Where did you find such a big stone pot?"

Wonderful — she had wanted exactly this large pot to boil Salt.

Dashan saw how happy she was and grinned honestly. "Oom, Ying personally went to find this Heaven Pot. That place is very steep. Ying actually pulled it off. This is a Heaven Pot! Take a look — will this work for making Salt?"

Dashan was also very eager for the Salt she spoke of. He had tasted the flavor of salt leaves, and it was indeed very good. Their tribespeople also wanted to live a life where they could eat Salt. From now on, their food would have flavor.

Nan Qinghuan hadn't expected Ying to have taken all her words to heart. This pot was large enough to boil a lot of Salt. Her nose tingled. "Where's Ying?"

"He went to take care of something. He told us to deliver the pot to you. Goddess, you said you were going to make a treasure. How do you make it? Teach us."

"That's right, Sister Qinghuan. Ying found a big stone pot for you. So how do we get the precious Salt?"

The tribespeople all wanted to obtain Salt. Having heard Qinghuan say it was the king of all flavors, they also wanted to taste what exactly this so-called thing was like. Nan Qinghuan was about to say something when not far behind her, Ayuan came hurrying over carrying salt water on a shoulder pole. "Oom, the water is here."

"Bring it here quickly. Axi, Youchao Xuan, go build me a large Clay Stove. Dashan, go get firewood."

That afternoon, the area outside the Cave where Ying lived was packed with tribespeople. Everyone had heard that Nan Qinghuan was going to boil Salt here, so they all came to help and watch. The tribespeople also wanted to know what exactly Salt was.

Fortunately, ancient people were quite good with their hands. Soon, a Clay Stove was stacked together, and then the large pot was placed on top. The large pot was very heavy. She could hardly imagine Ying trekking over mountains and rivers alone to find it and carry it back. Thinking of that rough man silently doing so much for her, her heart was filled with joy.

She thought, this must be love.

From disgust to accepting him, she and Ying had taken a long, winding road. Fortunately, they had finally reached a happy outcome.

"Dashan, pour the salt water into the pot. Axi, add firewood. I'm going to begin."

Soon, two buckets of salt water were poured into the pot. Nan Qinghuan felt it was too little and sent Ayuan to fetch more. Seeing Ayuan working too hard alone, several men also went along to help. Just as she was about to light the fire under the stove, suddenly, a mocking voice came from not far away.

"You think you can make a treasure as white as snow? Are you dreaming?"

As soon as these words came out, the smiles on everyone's faces instantly froze. They turned their heads and saw... a woman dressed in beast-skin clothing, hair disheveled, slowly approaching from not far away. Behind her followed several men who didn't look like members of the Tribe.

"High Priest, you've returned."

Axi wanted to step forward and greet her, but A Yu came charging over aggressively, sweeping a glance over Nan Qinghuan. "This White-skinned Female is the person Ying is looking for?"

Nan Qinghuan could tell this woman came with ill intent and knew she was here to pick a fight. She dropped the firewood and glanced at A Yu. "Axi, where did this A Mao or A Gou come from? Tell her to scram and stop interfering with my work."

A Yu instantly bristled at Nan Qinghuan's words. "You female have some nerve—ordering me to scram? Do you know who I am?"

Nan Qinghuan rolled her eyes at her and continued crouching down to light the basket grass. "I don't care who you are. I'm not afraid of the King of Heaven himself. Scram."