Chapter 550: Multifunctional Soybeans

The living wolves also had no power to resist; for some that one could not tell were truly dead or faking, a single Knife stroke was all it took to ensure they were absolutely dead. However, what the bear found a pity was that the most beautiful wolves had already been blown to pieces, their fur of no use at all, perhaps only fit to be made into small embellishments on clothing, but certainly not for anything substantial.

All the carcasses were carried into the ice cellar and blocked off with wooden doors and stones, waiting only for the laborers to come and transport them the next day.

The great hunt, planned for half a month, could finally be considered a successful conclusion. Huaxia had a bountiful harvest, and almost everyone could be allocated a large amount of meat, though it certainly wouldn't be given away casually. Those who participated could receive some fresh meat for free, while the rest would be partially refrigerated and partially salted, then sold at a low price to recover the surplus grain from wealthy households, serving as the foundation for Huaxia to withstand disasters in the future.

Yishang's fleet returned successfully, and Huaxia once again possessed a massive quantity of Sulfur. As it stands now, given Huaxia's consumption, this Sulfur is already enough for the next few years of use; if they were to fetch it two more times, the significance of Liuhuangdi to Huaxia would no longer be so important.

Baifeng would not extract anything else from the Sulfur; its only use is to make Gunpowder. Of course, it can also be used for repelling insects and as medicine, but the amount used is so small it can be ignored.

The Navy also began their fishing life once again, with Large Ships and small boats working together. They were also able to choose areas with deeper water to cast their nets, which allowed for a greater catch.

Every day, a massive quantity of fish would be sent into the city, and then the salting would begin. For a time, the salty, fishy smell of salted fish permeated the entire city, which forced Baifeng to have the Ministry of Works select a site specifically for everyone to go and salt fish.

Fish in Huaxia are not as precious as animal meat. Every day, the Navy only needs to hand over a portion of the fish, and the rest is distributed to the populace. Coupled with the fact that Huaxia's salt is distributed almost for free, every household is able to have enough salt to make Salted Fish. With Salted Fish to stock the pantry, the panic among the Huaxia populace gradually disappeared.

At the same time, Dahu, which had been forgotten by Baifeng, was brought up again. Those who had long since switched professions to raise fish and ducks in Huaxia's Fish Ponds were once again sent to Dahu to conduct the harvest.

One small boat after another was dragged with difficulty to Dahu by several oxen on large flatbed carts equipped with small wheels. Those small boats had been phased out; they could have been discarded directly, but since they weren't damaged, it was just right to use them at Dahu now.

The distance was short enough that there was no need to build houses or anything there. In case a rainstorm came down and the water level of Dahu rose, the houses would be of no use anyway. However, they still used bamboo to build some small bamboo huts to provide shade from the sun, shelter from the rain, and to store the catch.

Crabs, swamp eels, and river snails appeared once again on the dining tables of the Huaxia people. Baifeng was a great enthusiast of these; he didn't care that these things looked strange. In fact, the wild people of this era would even catch insects to eat; he didn't know what they were afraid of. Was it just because they looked like spiders or snakes? In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, they simply chose to give up on these readily available foods?

The lotus roots planted by the side of Dahe had almost no yield this year, only a pitiful amount in a backwater bay not far downstream, and it was quite far from the river. If it had been any closer, it wouldn't have been preserved either.

In fact, it was only at this moment that Baifeng realized there was no need for him to worry about not having enough food to eat. In this Heaven and Earth, besides what one plants oneself, Nature provides even more. As long as you search with heart, you will not starve to death.

The Navy's Boats went further and further away because the catch in their previous locations had begun to decrease. Although it didn't have much of an impact, they felt that it was a waste of their time; they only needed to go a bit further downstream to catch more food more easily.

The soybeans also matured just at the right time, ushering in a Harvest. The yield not only didn't decrease, but it even rose a little compared to previous years. If there was the support of so many soybeans, the construction of Xiao Town could proceed more smoothly.

With the grain in storage, there were smiles on everyone's faces, and they felt much more relaxed, but Baifeng was still quite worried. Eating soybeans by boiling them directly was really...

So Baifeng began to continue fussing over the soybeans. However, the construction team for Xiao Town had already set off again, and after a round of great hunting, the large wild things in the surrounding area had been cleared out. At least in the short term, there would be no more problems.

Baifeng had also heard about the rhinoceros. Aside from wanting to see it with his own eyes, he had no other thoughts. As a herbivore, the rhinoceros looked very large and terrifying, but in reality, it was not that much of a threat to people, unlike elephants, which had rude and irritable tempers.

Baifeng had already made tofu, and it was not rare in Huaxia now. However, everyone still equated it with vegetables and would not treat it as a main staple to eat; after all, eating it plain was still a bit bland.

Therefore, Baifeng experimented with tofu pudding, bean curd, bean curd sheets, dried bean curd sticks, and a whole series of tofu products. He wanted to increase the proportion of soybeans in everyone's diet and on their dining tables. Only in this way would everyone eat more soybeans without realizing it, and naturally, they would eat less of other grains. When everyone came to their senses, they would even say, "Hey, why has my appetite become smaller?"

Now in Huaxia, every few days, a new soybean product could appear, until Baifeng completely ran out of stock. Fortunately, the production process for these things was not troublesome, and was even very simple; the most complex step was just grinding the soy milk.

Huaxia had no waterwheels, so naturally, there were no mills. They could only use large Stone Mills, pushing them slowly with human labor. The Ministry of Works was also rushing to make parts for the waterwheels, just waiting for the low-water season so they could successfully reinstall them.

This time, the riverbank next to the waterwheels would all be paved with a thick layer of Cement, otherwise their hard work might be destroyed again.

Because bean curd and tofu pudding were very simple to make, they were promoted very easily. Among the ordinary people of Huaxia, there were also many skilled craftsmen; although they were not Artisans and had other jobs, making a Stone Mill was not a difficult task.

In the past, they did not have sufficiently hard tools, and the concept of a millstone did not exist in their minds. Now it was good; all the conditions were met. Even if it was just to pass the time or for fun, many small, privately-owned millstones appeared naturally within Huaxia without any government intervention.