Chapter 715, Poaching?

Translator: Silavin

 

Su Bai woke from his afternoon nap feeling rather peckish, so he had Yu Ying prepare something to eat.

 

It was all light refreshments, nothing substantial. It was very much like afternoon tea from Earth.

 

Originally, the Tribe had no such afternoon tea ritual, but come afternoon, one would often grow hungry.

 

There was still a considerable time until dinner, and one could hardly go without eating until evening.

 

Gradually, afternoon tea came into being. Afternoon tea, as the name suggests, involves eating some confectionery, drinking tea, and such activities.

 

The primary purpose was simply to fill one’s belly, with no requirement to eat until completely full.

 

Therefore, afternoon tea consisted of items like roasted sweet potato slices or roasted sweet potato, or perhaps some bread and fruit.

 

Naturally, Su Bai had taught them how to prepare all these foods, so he enjoyed eating them.

 

“Shaman, do you like today’s afternoon tea?” Yu Ying asked rather expectantly.

 

Yu Ying tried every method to innovate, wanting each day’s afternoon tea to be different so the Shaman would not grow tired of it.

 

“Not bad. It would be perfect if you could add a little less sugar,” Su Bai smiled slightly, continuously swirling the teacup in his hand.

 

Today’s afternoon tea was sponge cake, which Yu Ying had learnt a couple of days ago and was only now properly attempting to make.

 

Quite evidently, judging from Su Bai’s words, this cake was somewhat of a failure.

 

However, Primitive Era cakes were not like Earth’s cream-filled varieties. They were simply made by mixing wild chicken eggs with wheat flour. One could not really say they were particularly delicious. In terms of texture, they were more similar to Earth’s cup cakes.

 

“Ah? Did I put too much sugar in again?” Yu Ying instantly widened her pink eyes.

 

Clearly, from Yu Ying’s words, she had failed many times before, and the reason for failure was consistently too much sugar.

 

“Ha ha ha ha,” Su Bai laughed heartily, shaking his head. “It still tastes great. You just need to pay a little more attention to the amount of sugar you add.”

 

He dared not expect too much. Actually, for Primitive Tribe people to achieve this standard was already quite impressive. Not everyone could make cake this well on their first attempt, especially having learnt it only once.

 

“I’ll remember,” Yu Ying nodded seriously.

 

Yu Ying still felt rather guilty, keeping her head down while fiddling with her fingers.

 

Her pink fox tail also drooped despondently, her mood considerably dampened.

 

“This is nothing major. I won’t fault you for it,” Su Bai stroked her head, then continued asking, “How are the preserved fruits coming along?”

 

At this moment, he could only divert the topic, not wanting to see Yu Ying continue being unhappy.

 

This tactic proved effective. Yu Ying immediately lifted her head with a smile, saying, “Everything is done. All the oranges we picked earlier have been made into preserved fruits.”

 

“You’ve placed them all somewhere cool, right? They absolutely cannot be exposed to direct sunlight.” Su Bai instructed.

 

“They haven’t been exposed to any sunlight at all. They’re stored in the cellar we dug out earlier.” Yu Ying’s expression was particularly earnest.

 

Yu Ying dared not be careless about such matters. She had personally supervised those people moving everything inside.

 

The Flame Dragon Tribe’s cellar had been dug out previously, back when they were practising saltpetre ice-making. Digging a cellar was not difficult though. With the Flame Dragon Tribe’s current workforce, they simply needed to assign some people to dig according to specifications.

 

“That’s good. Nothing stored in the cellar has spoiled, right?” Su Bai continued asking.

 

From when the cellar was completed until now, he had not visited to inspect it, so he did not know the cellar’s condition.

 

“Don’t worry, Shaman. The cellar is exactly as you said. It is extremely cold inside. I think it’s perfect for storing food.”

 

Yu Ying’s pink fox tail perked up as she continued, “Also, the ice blocks stored inside can be preserved for much longer.”

 

Yu Ying was tremendously interested in that cellar, visiting whenever she had time. Furthermore, in such sweltering weather, entering the cellar was quite a pleasure.

 

Precisely because the weather was so scorching, this cellar’s existence was essential. With Growth Acceleration Skill available, those crops grew extremely rapidly. Harvests could be gathered every few days, yet there was no way to consume so many crops immediately.

 

Storage became the greatest problem. This era had no refrigerators or similar devices. The only storage location was the cold cellar. Because it was dug extremely deep, the underground temperature was lower than the surface.

 

Tribe members could not receive these crops randomly. After all, those who did not work diligently should not receive anything.

 

“If that’s the case, great. Remember to distribute more ice to the Chieftain and the others. In such hot weather, they need it.” Su Bai still held great respect for them.

 

This Tribe still depended mainly on them. Without them, he would find it difficult to accomplish anything himself.

 

No matter how clever one’s mind, the same applied. Even the cleverest person needs assistance.

 

“They receive their fair share each day, particularly the Chieftain, Uncle Gu Mu, and Uncle Shan Qiu. They receive somewhat more.” Yu Ying said earnestly.

 

Originally, these matters were under Sha Lan, but recently she had to train soldiers and accompany the ship on a voyage. She simply lacked the time to manage all these affairs, so naturally they fell to Yu Ying.

 

“Great. We have a ton of saltpetre anyway, so making ice blocks isn’t difficult.” Su Bai sipped his tea, then continued asking, “I hear some people from other Tribes also come. Some from the other side of the great river”

 

Although he spent each day inside the Yong’an Building, he would hear various things nonetheless.

 

“Yes, Shaman. Apparently from the Earth Tiger Tribe, there is someone called… called Ci, I think,” Yu Ying tried hard to recall.

 

“Did she join our Tribe? What did they say?” Su Bai asked curiously.

 

He remained tremendously curious about that other side. After all, someday he would visit there to observe.

 

Before visiting, he certainly did not want other Tribes’ people taking his Tribe members away.

 

“I specifically had someone ask Lu Zi. She said the other party wanted her to join their Tribe.” Yu Ying added more tea to her cup.

 

Su Bai’s interest was piqued. His black eyebrows rose slightly as he asked, “And the result?”

 

He naturally knew the outcome, but remained curious whether the result matched his expectations.

 

“Lu Zi directly refused, saying she belonged to the Flame Dragon Tribe and that the Flame Dragon Tribe was excellent.” Yu Ying relayed what she had heard.

 

“Well, as expected.” Su Bai’s lips curved slightly upward.