Chapter 752: Syrian Rue

The Platoon Leader excitedly took that bag of what was suspected to be copper ore and walked out, then hurried toward the Blacksmith department. On the way, he took the opportunity to say to the Soldiers guarding those plants: "Alright, you take these things to the office of Changle Prince. Once Changle Prince has finished looking at them, if there are no other arrangements, you can return to your unit and wait for the leave notification."

"Yes!" everyone immediately stood at attention and replied, but looking at the Platoon Leader's excited appearance, they still couldn't help but ask: "Platoon Leader, are these things really treasures? What are they used for?"

The Platoon Leader wasn't truly angry, just saying: "Don't ask so much, pay attention to discipline. Whether they are treasures remains to be verified; finish your work first."

"Yes." The Soldiers had no choice but to answer, but from the Platoon Leader's tone, they guessed that these things were useful—it was almost certain. In this way, Xiao Town would have one more output, and Huaxia could become a bit stronger.

The hope for the country's strength also made these Soldiers feel happy at this moment. They joyfully escorted several boxes containing plants—some planted in soil, some withered, but some still standing firm and alive—to the entrance of Changle's office, then stood there to guard them.

Seeing that Baifeng and Changle had both arrived, they hurriedly saluted. Baifeng told them to rise, then he and Changle walked to the side of the boxes and examined them carefully.

Seeing that they were actually planted, Changle's tone was quite happy: "Hey, I didn't expect you to have planted them. This is good too, there are still many alive."

Changle scanned the first box; as long as it was one he recognized, he would call out its name, then pull it out and throw it away, indicating that it was useless.

As it turned out, there wasn't a single new species in the first box; they were all ones he knew. At this time, the Soldiers' morale was still okay; they knew that new species weren't that easy to find, not to mention there were still so many boxes left.

However, by the time the second and third boxes were emptied, the Soldiers' moods began to slowly sink. They didn't want their efforts to be in vain.

Changle noticed the change in their emotions, so he looked up and said: "Hey, don't be sad. This is a common occurrence. New species aren't that easy to find. I used to go out for several days and might not even find one. Not finding any is also a good thing; it means the plants we have now have already been mostly cataloged by me, right?"

The Soldiers didn't answer, just continued to watch. Changle also continued to check them one by one. If he had any doubts, he would pick them, or even count the number of leaves one by one to judge. At such times, the Soldiers' hearts would all be lifted, but unfortunately, they were still thrown on the ground.

Baifeng was just watching from the side, but when he glanced to the side, he discovered something very familiar.

"Eh?" Baifeng squatted down toward the position of that Grass, seeing it was still growing vigorously, which indeed matched his impression of that thing. Upon smelling it, it was the familiar strange odor.

Changle was also attracted by Baifeng's movement and hurriedly leaned over. Once he saw it, he also let out a sound of doubt: "Eh? I really don't seem to have seen this one before."

Baifeng moved to the side to make room for Changle, then let Changle look. Changle looked at the leaves and flowers, then suddenly said excitedly: "Hey! Father, this really is a new species! It is some kind of 'Peng' (saltwort). What should we name it? Father, why don't you name it?"

Baifeng smiled very happily because he was all too familiar with this grass: "I really do know this grass. It is Syrian rue (Camel Grass), which loves to grow on arid saline-alkali land. Our place here is relatively humid, so we don't have it."

The Soldiers looked at each other with joy. There were results! There really was a new species. Although they didn't know what this meant, they only needed to know that their work hadn't been in vain.

"Father, why is it called this name?" Changle upheld his consideration for learning, so he had to get to the bottom of the origin of every name.

Baifeng said to everyone here: "This thing lives in arid places, saline-alkali land, the Gobi Desert, or even in the desert. Those places rarely have large herbivorous animals, but there is one kind of animal that exists, and that is the camel."

"Camels look somewhat like larger sheep. How big exactly? Anyway, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. You know how big a horse is; a camel is even bigger than a horse. Its most peculiar feature is that it grows humps—either one or two, usually two. This also depends on the breed."

Changle was even more curious: "What is a hump? Is it unique to camels?"

Baifeng recalled for a moment; it seemed he really couldn't remember any other animal with a big hump on its back, so Baifeng gestured with his hand: "Just imagine it: a brown sheep larger than a horse, with two especially high big humps on its back. Oh right, its neck is also very long."

All the Soldiers were very confused. The creature Baifeng described was too peculiar; they couldn't even imagine it.

Changle was more concerned about whether he would have the chance to see one. He couldn't just hear about so many strange animals in the world but never see them.

Baifeng noticed that Changle was distracted and guessed what Changle was thinking, so he looked around on the ground and found a small pebble brought out by the mud. He then used the small pebble to draw on the Cement floor, sketching the appearance of a camel.

"This is a camel. Don't worry about this; I believe you will be able to see one before long."

Changle was overjoyed: "Really, Father? Then where does it live?"

Baifeng said without thinking: "The Wulenge Tribe. I think there should be wild camels in their territory. They might not have domesticated camels yet. Not only are there camels there, but there are also donkeys. The Wulenge Tribe is the next tribe our Huaxia will attack. As long as we conquer them, you will definitely be able to find camels."

"The Wulenge Tribe?" Changle asked again: "Then can camels also be domesticated? Can they be used as Cavalry?"

Baifeng shook his head and pointed at the two humps of the camel drawn on the ground: "It's not impossible to rely on them for fighting, but the limitations are quite large. They are adapted to survive in arid places with heavy sandstorms. Our place here is not suitable for camels to survive. If we let them come here, I don't know what they would become."

"Look, the gap between these two humps of theirs is a natural saddle. Whether for riding or carrying cargo, it is the most suitable. In the future, in the Wulenge Tribe, domesticated camels will definitely be our main livestock."

After hearing this, everyone felt only longing and no doubt. They never felt that Huaxia lacked the ability to conquer the Wulenge Tribe, and domesticating camels was just a matter of course.