Chapter 19: Baifeng

The savages took the roasted fish Baifeng had distributed and wolfed them down, not knowing how to chew slowly and savor the taste, much like Zhu Bajie eating the ginseng fruit.

Baifeng, however, held a small piece and ate it in a leisurely manner. The bear, who was tearing into fish meat with large bites, saw Baifeng's elegant appearance and wanted to imitate him, but after glancing at the fish in his own hand, he decided to stick to his own wild, manly way of eating.

There was only one salt slab, and it could only roast one fish at a time. The savages truly could not wait, so they ran back to the salt lake to chip off a super-large salt slab for Baifeng to use.

The fish they had brought were all roasted. Baifeng felt very full, and he saw that the savages' bellies should be full too, yet they still gazed longingly at the salt slab, hoping a roasted fish might appear out of thin air.

The plains had no shelter, and once scorched by the sun, they became even more sweltering. Baifeng did not want to risk traveling under the blazing sun and wanted to stay in this bit of tree shade.

But the snoring of the savages nearby made Baifeng realize that if he did not work hard to set an example, this group of savages who slept as soon as they were full would probably spend the night right here.

Enduring the high heat, Baifeng kicked the sleeping savages awake, preparing to head back to the camp. Although the savages were lazy, they had no complaints and set off on the road with the heavy salt on their backs.

Baifeng was indeed tempted by this vast, flat wilderness; it would be great if they could set up camp in this place.

"Bear, are there any Dahe or Dahu around here?"

Bear searched his memory but still shook his head; he did not know either. Baifeng was a little disappointed; it would be great if there were a water source here.

At this moment, a savage nearby spoke up: "I know. Not far from here is a large marsh; I came here before when I was hunting."

Unexpectedly, there was such a turn of events. Baifeng asked how far it was to walk there. The savage thought for a moment, drooling as he said that it would take the time it takes to eat one roasted fish to get there.

That was about half an hour. Baifeng patted the savage on the shoulder and said, "If you haven't remembered wrong, as long as we find the marsh you spoke of, I will reward you with a roasted fish when we get back!"

The savage immediately beamed with joy and wanted to pull Baifeng toward the place he had described. Baifeng saw that there was still plenty of time, so he let the savage lead the way.

Looking at the jubilant savage, although he looked quite mature, Baifeng estimated his age to be around sixteen or seventeen. After all, in this era, it was already very lucky to live past thirty.

"What is your name?" Baifeng asked from behind.

"My name is Lu!"

Baifeng felt this name was very strange, but subconsciously, he felt it was very impolite to get to the bottom of why someone was named that, so he did not continue to ask. However, he took note of this person; he could promote him well in the future.

"He is the person in the tribe best at catching deer," Bear explained from the side. One could tell from the way Bear looked at Lu just how satisfied he was with this young man. After all, the deer antlers and deer hides he provided could trade for a lot of food for the tribe to survive the Winter.

Baifeng had not expected Lu to have this special skill. It seemed that regardless of whether Lu could lead them to the marsh, he would have to promote him tomorrow. If he didn't find it, then it would be because he stepped with his right foot first in the morning, making him a Small Team leader; if he found it, then it would be because he stepped with his left foot first, making him a Large Team leader.

The further they walked, the more Baifeng believed that the marsh truly existed, because the types of plants growing on the ground had changed, and the soil was becoming increasingly moist.

After crossing a small earthen ridge, a large lake presented itself before Baifeng's eyes. This lake could completely support the people of a small county, let alone Baifeng's pitiful tribe of a few hundred people.

Walking downward, there were many scattered small puddles. The ground was covered in a layer of cow-hair grass, soft and spongy; with one step, water would bubble up. Continuing forward, with one step, not only water but also finger-sized, not-yet-fully-grown little frogs scattered and fled.

By the lakeside was a mudflat. Fortunately, it was not a swamp; the "marsh" mentioned at the time was just a lake. On the mudflat were scattered footprints of small animals, which all looked like the hoof prints of herbivores; he did not see any beasts of prey.

Squatting by the water, Baifeng recalled a line of verse. Tasting the water, it was salty and fresh; Baifeng spoke the truth. Sixteen people by the Dahu, each with a handful of water, not a single coin spent.

Tasting it, it had a salty and fresh flavor, a normal level of saltiness, similar to well water. As for the freshness, it was the taste of the small fish fry swimming everywhere, as well as the extra-large fish poking their heads out everywhere.

With such abundant resources, Baifeng immediately decided: move the house to the Great Plains!

Regarding Lu, the great contributor this time, Baifeng felt from the bottom of his heart that he was excellent—simply his lucky star. He would give him an extra roasted fish when they returned.

Returning to the Great Plains, Baifeng used his limited knowledge to select an open area. Behind it was a saline-alkali barren mountain as a barrier, and the sparse trees could just be used to build houses and as firewood. Directly opposite in the distance was the edge of a forest; in the future, the camp could continuously extend inward. Whether for gathering or planting, there would be land available.

Leaving most of the salt directly on these plains, there was no need to carry it back. Tomorrow, they would prepare to set up a new home here.

Baifeng used a wooden stick to draw a circle outside the salt pile. Feeling it was fine, he prepared to head back. But Bear and the others did not understand Baifeng's act of drawing this circle.

They voiced their confusion, and Baifeng was also stunned; this was just his subconscious behavior. However, Baifeng still explained to them: drawing a circle outside this thing meant that this thing was owned, it was his thing, and others could not touch it.

Bear and the others had not expected that this could be done. Consequently, everything they encountered along the way, whether it was a stone or a tree, was drawn with a circle by these savages. He even wanted to draw a circle around the bugs running on the ground. When the bugs ran out, he would chase after them to draw it. Baifeng truly could not stand it anymore and kicked him over before he knew to restrain himself.

When they returned to the camp, there was still a long time before dark. Seeing the Shaman earnestly directing the tribespeople to work, and seeing that the tribespeople were not slacking off, the collected supplies had already exceeded Baifeng's expectations.

Baifeng called for everyone to stop and decided to let everyone finish work early and eat early. The savages did not know what "finish work" meant, but upon hearing they could eat, they were all incredibly happy.

By the time everyone had finished eating, the fish Baifeng roasted for Lu was finally done. The salt-slab roasted fish, garnished with Wild Onion, stimulated the taste buds of this group of primitive people. One by one, they gazed longingly at the few people on the high platform.

Lu was a bit scared of being stared at, but not wanting to give up the delicious food, he hugged the roasted fish and hid behind the large-bodied Bear to eat.

Bear's roasted fish was naturally not lacking either, but no one dared to covet the Tribal Chief's food. Baifeng felt the Shaman had done a very good job today, so he also gave him a little roasted fish as a reward.

Looking at the hundreds of people below swallowing their saliva, Baifeng stood up and began to give a speech.

"Does this smell good? It's right that it smells good; not only does it smell good, but it also tastes very good!" The crowd below swallowed their saliva in unison, and the sound even startled Baifeng.

"I learned this from the spirits. This is the most ordinary kind; there is even better food. If you want to eat it, then bring out your contributions.

As long as you can provide the tribe with the most food, the most coal and firewood, Pottery, or discover things beneficial to the tribe, I can reward you and make even better delicacies than this for you to eat!"

The crowd below swallowed their saliva in unison again.