Chapter 743: Di Ruan

By the time they walked back, the surge in water volume in the small valley made it somewhat difficult for them to walk, and falling down became a common occurrence; everyone's body was covered in mud, and their clothes were soaked through by the water. Many laborers, having no clothes, were basically bare-chested, and now they had an extra suit of mud armor.

Che joked, "This mud outfit of yours is actually quite good; even mosquitoes can't bite you."

The laborers also laughed and echoed him, not feeling inferior because they had no clothes to wear. They saw through the matter of class quite clearly: they were just born into a life of poverty, and the Xuanyuan Tribe did not have that many opportunities to give them. Now, obtaining an opportunity to be full and earn grain was already very good. They would not hate or talk back to their benefactor over a harmless joke; face was not worth a single cent, and being able to eat one's fill was the important thing.

When they returned to the camp, those who had stayed behind had already set up the tents. The small ditch next to their camp now had a very large volume of water. Che was very happy; such a large volume of water was enough for thousands of people to live easily.

Once the construction of Xiao Town began, and they dug some water cellars and sank a few wells, they would not have to worry about water for either living or industry. For a tribe to want to settle down, water sources were the most important thing; having water basically meant having food.

On this seemingly barren land, there were still many animals living. The grass growing on the saline-alkali land was the favorite of those herbivorous animals, and without the cover of trees, large beasts of prey could not easily hide their forms, so they were more willing to come here to look for food.

However, the number of animals a piece of land could support was ultimately limited. The animal populations here were just those few; if it weren't for the fact that the place they lived was at the water source, it would not have been so easy to see these animals.

They had already seen many sheep, deer, muntjacs, and antelopes during this period, but because the distance was relatively far, it was not easy for the Soldiers to run over and hunt them; after all, those animals also had great wariness toward humans.

Now their main task was still construction; hunting was not important, as food was very sufficient. The relatively dry climate here could preserve food very well; catching prey was just adding a meal for these people of Huaxia. If there was an opportunity, they would catch it; if not, so be it.

When they all returned to the tents to start resting, Che took out the harvest found today and studied it carefully. He did not understand the transparent stone; it looked somewhat like Glass, and he did not know what use it could have. Perhaps it could be used to fire even better-looking Glass?

The green stone looked even more unusual. Che vaguely felt that this thing should be something very important, so he told everyone in the team he led: "If you encounter these small green stones while working, pick them up and bring them. Although I don't know what they are yet, if they are truly useful, I will definitely apply for a reward for you at that time, so that not only can you earn wages, but the stones you pick up can also be exchanged for grain."

The group of laborers cheered happily: "Good!"

Although these laborers were people of the Xuanyuan Tribe, Che was not afraid at all. Xiao Town was their Huaxia territory; even if it were covered in Iron, it would still belong to Huaxia and have nothing to do with the Xuanyuan Tribe. When they left, these laborers who didn't even have clothes should not dream of being able to take away a single stone. Even their pants, or rather those simple skirts, didn't even have pockets; perhaps the clothes of the Xuanyuan did not have pockets either.

After arranging this, everyone ate their own food, and then, under the illumination of the campfire, crawled into their own tents. In Che's tent, naturally, he would not be the only one. He could naturally choose a female laborer he had hired to accompany him, even two would be no problem.

The people of the Xuanyuan Tribe had no objections, because they also had them; the matter of using grain to exchange for a woman to sleep with was too common, not to mention that Huaxia's rewards were so generous.

The one who had been following Che was always the same woman. She was the happiest one because she could occasionally eat the same food as Che, the work she did was the easiest, and even if she didn't work, no one would bother her. The only thing she needed to do was to accompany Che well.

In places with abundant water, she would also go to bathe, and she was also the one washing the clothes Che changed out of. Such days, one could not imagine how good they were.

The next day, Che assigned tasks to everyone again. There were more than five hundred people in their group, but two hundred of them were female laborers. Whether it was their physical fitness that had just recovered or the terms of the contract agreed upon with the Xuanyuan Tribe, they could not do any heavy physical labor.

There was no other way, so Che had to arrange for them to do what they were best at, which was gathering. There were many wild fruits and wild vegetables in this area; Agate could even be pressed into juice to drink, and wolfberries could be picked and dried to be sent back to Huaxia.

Once wild vegetables were dug up, they could improve the meals for everyone. Having been eating oil dregs, many laborers had developed constipation. This matter was also very common in Huaxia, and the solution Baifeng gave was just to eat more vegetables.

There were no vegetables here to send, so they dug wild vegetables, but many wild vegetables were already out of season, so they could only pick new buds from old branches. Even the tender buds and leaves of wolfberries could also be eaten.

There was also a very peculiar wild vegetable here, but Baifeng told Gansu they were a type of mushroom that grew strangely, the size of a fingernail, either black or brown, lying on the ground in patches, so dry that they would crumble at a pinch. There were only a few places around Huaxia City that had them, and picking them was too laborious; one person picking for a whole day was not enough for a large family to eat a single meal.

They were also sticky after the rain, so almost no one went to pick that thing. However, Baifeng liked them very much. In Winter, he would often have people go look for them. This wild vegetable, which had not changed for thousands of years, mixed together with white flour made from wheat, could create the hometown flavor that Baifeng dreamed of and could not bear to part with.

This type of wild mushroom was called "Di Ruan" by him, and everyone felt that this name was very fitting. Unfortunately, few people would eat it. Families like Xiong's would occasionally have people look for some, and then, according to what Baifeng said, beat them into soup with eggs; the taste was still quite good.

There was another type, almost the same as Di Ruan, and the taste was basically similar, except it grew just like hair. Baifeng called that "Fa Cai," and it was Fa Cai that Baifeng used to make egg soup.

In Xiao Town, Fa Cai occupied more of the area, and one could even say it was everywhere; under a single short wormwood or saltwort, one could find a large handful.