Chapter 1347: Gathering from the Sea

Because it was already noon and the weather had warmed up a bit, and they had already found so much food that looked edible, they thought they should hurry up and get some to eat and taste, especially those various kinds of shells, which looked very different and might have different flavors.

So everyone began to retreat from the shore, and after finding a flat place, they used the dead wood on the shore as firewood and began to set up a fire.

Some were thrown directly into the fire to be roasted over an open flame, and Bei Mu also had people fetch a few pots of seawater, preparing to boil some to taste and see how it was.

The shells quickly burst open in the fire, juices bubbling out; Bei Mu used a branch to rake one out, blew on it, and after it cooled down a bit, he poured it into his mouth.

To his surprise, the taste was unexpectedly good, and it was not comparable to a clam at all.

So he picked up another one, repeated the previous action, and dumped it into his mouth all at once, but unfortunately, he bit into sand after just two chews, and there was also a muddy, fishy smell; not only did his teeth ache, but his mouth also felt uncomfortable.

Angered, he threw the shell directly onto the ground: "Damn it, it wasn't washed clean, there is sand inside, be careful when you eat."

After saying this, Bei Mu picked up a Bamboo Tube and drank the water, which was the seawater he had just fetched; as soon as it entered his mouth, he spat it out, almost extinguishing the fire.

"I forgot, it seems they say seawater cannot be drunk; it is both salty and bitter. Sure enough, we still have to find water that can be drunk and has no taste."

There were those who did not believe it, so they picked it up and took a sip because they did not believe that anyone would dislike water with a salty taste—wasn't this what everyone should like most? But he still underestimated the power of seawater and spat it out after one sip.

Now everyone was a bit suspicious about whether the things boiled in this seawater could still be eaten, and after it looked cooked, they distributed it to everyone, only to find that it really wouldn't do; the taste was too strange, and only the sea grass was barely acceptable, though it was overly salty.

Although it was not very smooth, everyone had now lost their fear of the sea; they now felt that the sea was truly a bountiful place where food was everywhere, they just had to find a way to make it taste better.

Because there was no other food to eat, they could only go to the seaside again to see if they could find other food, such as fish.

They actually discovered many fish in the reefs by the sea, all kinds, big and small; although there were other various things, because they really didn't recognize them, they didn't take them and only caught fish—anyway, it was impossible for there to be fish that couldn't be eaten, right?

This time, after putting the fish on the fire and roasting them until cooked, everyone finally got to eat something, and at the same time, they discovered that the taste of the fish here was actually much better than those in the water, and the flavor was even better.

They were full but not quenched, though it didn't matter; Bei Mu felt that if they were thirsty to a certain extent, seawater could also be drunk. If it really didn't work, they would turn back; they had encountered drinkable water on the way, so going back to fetch water would be no problem.

Now their main task was to properly explore the sea; this sea now belonged to their territory, but he actually didn't know as much about his own territory as people from other tribes, which was really inappropriate.

So they had to spend time here to figure everything out first, and they also discovered other coastlines; the place they were at now was just the easiest one to reach when they came over on the road.

The first thing to do was to collect the water grass that Huaxia needed; they had already found a lot on the shore, and if they went a little deeper, wouldn't they be able to find more? Moreover, they felt that the edge of the sea was very shallow, so they were not afraid.

Another thing was to smoke these fish and such here to take back; if so many fish were made into Smoked Fish, then this trip out would not only not be a burden to the tribe but could also bring more food to the tribe, which was completely equivalent to going on a very long trip to hunt.

Bei Mu simply let everyone set up camp nearby; as for water, they would send some Soldiers back to fetch it every day, and they could make a round trip in a day, bringing enough water for them to drink.

But after everyone finished eating, rested, basked in the sun, and prepared to work, they discovered a terrifying thing: the sea had suddenly become smaller!

It was as if someone with a huge appetite was drinking water, having drunk so much of the seawater; how could they tell?

The seawater had receded so much, if it wasn't that the seawater had decreased, then what was it? Places that weren't exposed before were now exposed, and it seemed there was a trend of continuing to shrink; what was this all about?

"Is this the Kuafu people drinking water together? This is too terrifying!"

Bei Mu glared at that Soldier: "Don't talk nonsense, Kuafu aren't that big, they are just this much taller than us." Bei Mu's tone rose quite a bit: "How could it be Kuafu?"

"I felt from the beginning that this seawater was high and low; maybe, maybe the water becoming less now is just a normal situation? Or maybe there is some place leaking, and the water just became less."

"But what of it? Isn't it good that the water is less? Look at how many things are here now, hurry up and pick them up, hurry up and pick them up."

Bei Mu suddenly shouted: "Hey! There, there! There is a big fish, it's still swimming, hurry and catch it, hurry and catch it!"

With Bei Mu's guidance, everyone stopped dwelling on this and began to frantically pick up sea goods; this time they learned to be smart and no longer picked up things they didn't recognize, only catching fish and crabs, which they all knew were edible and delicious.

Then there was finding water grass; now it was very easy, and they would drag up a whole patch at a time. Besides the largest kind, they also discovered several other types of water grass and collected them all together.

There was also a kind of small water grass that grew on rocks; Bei Mu recognized it as the one Huaxia wanted. Although there was a lot, it was a bit difficult to deal with, and he had to pick up shells from the ground to use as tools to scrape it down.

Working together, everyone soon got a large pile of things; they discovered that the water was still constantly receding, and more places were exposed. They were all afraid that at this speed, would the sea dry up? Where did so much water go?

Seeing that today's harvest was very solid, Bei Mu ordered a rest: "Let's stop here for today and process these things first, otherwise they will stink. As for the sea, there is nothing we can do; if it really disappears, then we will go to other places to look. It's impossible for there to be only this little bit of sea; there must be some in other places!"