Chorong looked to the two of them for confirmation. "Gathering or collecting firewood, whichever you prefer. Once tomorrow comes and more manpower is freed up, Hayoon can start teaching everyone weaving."
Hayoon nodded. "Alright, then I will go gathering."
Immo said, "I will gather too."
"Alright."
With the arrangements quickly settled, the entire tribe began moving.
Hayoon and Immo were assigned to the same gathering team and carried their baskets into the mountains.
Along the way, the Voz-Karr Tribe's sub-beastman were very friendly and enthusiastic, talking with them and showing great interest in the hemp clothing they wore.
A pretty sub-beastman wearing a beast-hide skirt, about the same age as Sulyeon, walked briskly and said expectantly, "I already signed up. Maybe I will be one of the first people chosen to learn weaving."
Her companion laughed. "Every sub-beastman in the tribe signed up. There are only fifteen spots. I feel like none of us will make it."
Another person said, "The chief even forbade beastmen from signing up. Otherwise they would compete with us. Honestly, they hunt in beast form anyway. Why do they need clothes so urgently?"
"Exactly! We should be the ones to wear them first!"
"Oh right, Hayoon. The last time the chief went to your tribe, didn't he bring back a batch of hemp cloth? I already saw someone turn it into clothes, and they look pretty similar to what you are wearing."
Hayoon was not surprised. "Yes."
"I actually do not really like front-opening tied clothes. Does your tribe have any other styles?"
Hayoon thought for a moment. "I did not notice."
The sub-beastman was about to feel disappointed when Hayoon added, "But I just remembered one."
Hayoon picked up a branch from the side, used her foot to smooth the dirt on the ground, and began drawing with the stick.
Whoosh.
The sub-beastman suddenly swarmed toward her.
Without warning, Immo was pushed right out of the group.
She steadied her basket on her back, her expression a little helpless.
With a few simple strokes, Hayoon drew the outline of a short-sleeved T-shirt on the ground. "The front and back are the same. Oh, the front neckline is a bit lower. You just pull it over your head when you wear it…"
She demonstrated a pulling-over motion.
When she looked up again, she realized several sub-beastman were staring at her with shining eyes. Her words immediately stalled.
The sub-beastman said excitedly, "I love this style! It looks so easy to wear!"
"We can definitely make it long-sleeved too. It can be worn when it gets cold!"
"Ahhh, I really want to learn weaving right now! I want new clothes!"
"Same here! I wish tomorrow would come faster!"
During the rest of the gathering work, the Voz-Karr Tribe's sub-beastman kept talking about "new clothes."
Immo finally managed to find a chance to return to Hayoon's side. Her eyes were full of anticipation, but also a little resentful.
Hayoon did not understand and asked in a low voice, "Auntie, what is wrong? Is it not allowed to tell them about clothing styles?"
Immo laughed. "Of course not. I was just thinking of Sulyeon. With such simple and good-looking designs, if you did not tell her first, she might come find you and make a fuss when you go back. Haha."
Hayoon felt a chill run down her spine.
Oh no, she had forgotten about that.
"Come here! There are Rosi Berry over here!"
A call drew her attention away.
Hayoon instinctively looked over, her eyes slowly widening.
Is that… a tomato?!
Although it was growing in the wild, the shape was uneven and only partially ripe, with most of the skin still green, but as someone who had seen it countless times before as one of the most common foods on dining tables and a frequent subject during her agricultural studies, Hayoon could not possibly mistake it.
"This is a tomato!"
Hayoon took three quick steps forward and carefully examined the vine full of fruit, her eyes gradually lighting up.
As she recalled the familiar sweet-and-sour taste of tomatoes, her mouth watered slightly. She swallowed her saliva instinctively, and several recipes flashed through her mind.
The sub-beastman who had first asked about clothing styles, Ahri, walked over. She had short red hair and a pretty appearance.
Seeing how interested Hayoon was in the fruit, she asked with a smile, "Does your territory have this?"
Hayoon looked toward Immo. Immo replied, "Yes, but not much. Even after ten trips for gathering, you might not find it once."
No wonder she could not recall seeing tomatoes in the original owner's memories.
Ahri nodded and said, "Actually, we do not have many here either. When the fruit is unripe, it is sour and astringent. When it ripens, it becomes sweet and sour, but not as sour as other fruits. The taste is pretty good. Not only beastmen like it, but birds do too, so whenever we find it, we pick it. We rarely wait until it fully ripens."
The other sub-beastman were already searching through the vines, picking half-palm-sized fruits and placing them into their baskets.
They laughed and joked as they worked. "If we are not quick, the birds will eat them all."
"Come on, you should pick some too. Bring them back and fry them with bird eggs. It tastes amazing!"
"Oh right, lately everyone has been adding Spelon Berry powder when cooking. I found that chopping Spelon Berry finely and stir-frying it with bird eggs and tomatoes tastes even better."
"Look, this one is fully ripe, but the birds already pecked it apart."
Just as the sub-beastman was about to throw away a half-eaten tomato, Hayoon stepped forward and said, "Can you give that to me?"
The sub-beastman looked confused.
Hayoon explained honestly, "I want to keep some tomato seeds. I am not sure if that is okay."
The sub-beastman looked toward the leader Ahri and Ahri replied readily, "Sure, you can take it."
Hayoon smiled as she accepted it. "Thank you."