Chapter 1106, Sha Lan, Living Broadcast

Translator: Silavin

 

Su Bai sat with a cup of tea that Yu Ying had brewed for him, reading with great attention.

 

The reward from the System today had been a book called ‘Field Survival Illustrated: 500 Types of Wild Vegetables’.

 

He had been pleasantly surprised when it appeared, even though he already knew a fair number of wild vegetables. His knowledge had its limits, after all. And it was one thing for him to know. The people of the Primitive Tribe had no such knowledge, and it was difficult to describe things to them clearly.

 

More than that, it was hard to remember the specific uses of each plant without something to refer to.

 

But with ‘Field Survival Illustrated: 500 Types of Wild Vegetables’ in hand, he could learn the properties of each one in proper detail. More importantly, he could see illustrations. If he ever needed to send Warriors or Tribe members out to gather something, they would at least know what to look for. It was indeed quite hard for him to draw it all from memory.

 

*Step step step…* Sha Lan came in with a light, cheerful stride, tidied her blue hair, and gave a small bow.

 

“Everything has been taken care of?” Su Bai was in a fine mood at the sight of Sha Lan.

 

“All taken care of, Shaman. The people from the visiting Tribes have all been given lodging, and there are dedicated guides showing them around our Tribe.” Sha Lan reported at once.

 

“Which Tribes came this time?” Su Bai asked with curiosity.

 

“The Red Horse Tribe, the Soft Rabbit Tribe, the Green Snake Tribe, the Coiled Goat Tribe, the Horned Goat Tribe, and finally the Black Bull Tribe and the Pheasant Tribe, seven in total.”

 

Sha Lan’s memory required no effort at all. The names came out one after another as though she were reading from a list.

 

“I haven’t heard of any of them except for the Pheasant Tribe. Tell me about each one. Start with the Red Horse Tribe.” Su Bai said.

 

Mainly he wanted to know each Tribe’s key specialty products, and what distinctive customs each one had.

 

If he wanted the Flame Dragon Tribe to grow into something like a proper city, closing its doors and relying on itself alone would not be enough. No Tribe could develop well without others beside it.

 

Su Bai would need to understand them before anything else. Only once he did could he work out how to approach each one, how to negotiate, or what terms to put forward that would benefit the Flame Dragon Tribe.

 

“Understood. The Red Horse Tribe is a matriarchal Tribe. Their Shaman, Chieftain, and leaders are all women, without exception. Any woman in that Tribe is considered of high status.” Sha Lan was thorough in her account.

 

“Seriously? So, it is like the ‘Nation of Women’?” That was the first thought that came into Su Bai’s head.

 

He found himself wondering what their Chieftain looked like. The Queen of a ‘Nation of Women’ was supposed to be a rare beauty, and thinking of it, the thought was hard to suppress.

 

“Shaman, what is a Nation of Women?” Sha Lan looked genuinely puzzled.

(Silavin: Nation of Women, 女儿国, from Journey to the West. You can also think of them as similar to Amazon Lily from One Piece.)

 

“Ah. Never mind that. What is the Red Horse Tribe’s main specialty product?” Su Bai cleared his throat and moved on.

 

“Their main specialty is something called Arrow Root Fruit. It’s a very unusual thing. They use it to cook meat, and some of them even eat it raw.” Sha Lan explained.

 

“Arrow Root Fruit? I know the name, though whether it’s what I’m imagining is another matter. Is their Tribe near a river?” Su Bai asked.

 

“Yes, Shaman. But they almost never drink from the river. Uncle Hu Shi told me they mainly just eat the Arrow Root Fruit and that is enough.” Sha Lan’s cat ears gave a little twitch.

 

“So the fruit must have a very high water content, which is why they don’t need to fetch water from the river. But, they live right beside a river and still don’t drink from it?” He could not quite make sense of it. “Is this fruit everywhere in their Tribe? Did anyone ask about how to cultivate it?”

 

“Uncle Hu Shi said there was nothing to be gotten out of them on that front. He said all the visiting Tribes kept their guard up. Though they did give us a few of the fruits.” Sha Lan had someone at the door bring the fruits in.

 

The reason the Red Horse Tribe had offered the Arrow Root Fruit was simple enough. The samples brought by the Flame Dragon Tribe had been shared freely, the wine and the paper and the linen amongst them. So, this sample was just to ‘pay back’.

 

“Shaman, these are the Arrow Root Fruits. They look quite ugly. How did they ever discover these were edible?” Sha Lan set several grey-brown fruits down on the table.

 

The Arrow Root Fruit looked a little like the taro root from Earth, though lighter in colour and with less pronounced markings. In size, it was comparable to a large taro. The biggest were as large as a coconut, and heavy too.

 

“They really don’t look like much. This is most likely something their people have been eating for generations.” Su Bai stepped forward and gave one a few light taps.

 

The fruit gave a clean, crisp sound when tapped, as though whatever was inside was loose and plentiful.

 

“Xiao Yu, bring one out and cut it open.” Su Bai said.

 

“Of course.” Yu Ying dashed to the kitchen for a knife and a chopping board and set to work briskly.

 

When the Arrow Root Fruit was cut open, the flesh inside was a pale grey-white, and a great deal of liquid spilled out at once. A puddle of it had already formed on the table.

 

“Let me try it.” Su Bai picked up a small piece and tasted it.

 

Yu Ying and Sha Lan each took a small piece as well. Their expressions turned identical at once, somewhere between disbelief and surprise.

 

“Plenty of moisture. The taste is clean and lightly sweet, a bit like dragon fruit.” Su Bai remarked.

 

He was rather pleasantly surprised by it, truth be told. The name, the appearance, and the taste had all been different from what he had expected.

 

“I don’t think it’s as good as our oranges. It isn’t that sweet either.” Yu Ying took one small bite and set the rest down.

 

“I heard the Red Horse Tribe considers this their favourite food. They say it’s delicious.” Sha Lan’s current expression said otherwise. She was not fond of the taste.

 

It was not that the Arrow Root Fruit was truly bad. It was simply that she had grown accustomed to the food from the Yong’an Building, and to oranges and grapes. Against those, a clean and mild fruit like this held little appeal.

 

They would eat it if they had to, but without great enthusiasm.

 

“Of course it’s no comparison to our fruit. For them, though, it must be their best food.” Su Bai nodded thoughtfully. “We’ll treat it as an addition to the Central Market’s variety. We can look into what else the fruit might be good for later.”

 

He was always glad of new things. The Flame Dragon Tribe was built on variety.