Sang Guo hurried to block her path. She'd meant to warn her about the water, but instead, she blurted out, "What are you doing? Are you trying to drown yourself so Shi Wei will hate me?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Sang Guo regretted them.
'This stupid mouth of mine!'
Su Yu blinked and said, "That wasn't my intention. I just smelled a plant I used to eat, so I wanted to go take a look."
Sang Guo gave a light cough and said without thinking, "Just tell me what the plant looks like, and I'll go pick it for you."
Only after she spoke did she realize Su Yu couldn't see.
Sang Guo: "..."
'I'm such an idiot.'
Su Yu didn't let her words get to her. She just smiled and politely refused, "It's alright. I can go get it myself."
Sang Guo didn't dare say anything else. She just grumbled, "Fine, I'll watch you. I don't want you falling in the water and drowning, then having Shi Wei blame me for not protecting you."
Su Yu couldn't help but laugh. 'What a difficult girl,' she thought. 'So awkward even when she's trying to show she cares.'
She continued forward, on the surface appearing to feel her way, but in reality, she was following the arrow indicated by her system.
When she reached the spot where the arrow pointed downward, Su Yu squatted, felt around for a rock, and began to dig.
Sang Guo had been watching from the side, but she couldn't bear to watch Su Yu's slow, fumbling attempts any longer. She went over and gently pushed her aside. "Move. I'll do it."
Su Yu didn't argue, saying softly, "Thank you, Sang Guo."
Sang Guo's ears flushed red. She pursed her lips, saying nothing as her hands transformed into wolf claws. She lowered her head and dug furiously for a moment before unearthing an earthen lump.
Sang Guo stared at the earthen lump, shuddered, and immediately threw it away. "Th-th-th-this... isn't this an Earth Egg?"
"This thing is poisonous! You can't eat it!"
Fearing Su Yu might recklessly eat it and get hurt, she explained, "A female from our tribe once dug up an Earth Egg. She thought it was a new kind of edible food, but after she ate it, she suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. A few days later, she went to see the Beast God."
Su Yu's brow furrowed slightly. Without jumping to conclusions, she felt around on the ground for a moment, picked up the Earth Egg Sang Guo had tossed aside, and brought it to her nose for a sniff.
Sure enough, she smelled the familiar scent of a potato.
Moreover, this potato—oh, no, this Earth Egg—was a considerable size. She couldn't even get her two hands around it.
But generally, potatoes are only available around May in spring, July in summer, and November in autumn.
Judging by the air temperature, it was only February or March right now.
'As expected of a world inside a book,' she mused. 'The crops ripen whenever they feel like it.'
"Hey! I told you it's poisonous! Why are you still sniffing it!" Sang Guo rushed forward in a panic, snatched the Earth Egg from Su Yu's hands, and tossed it away again.
Su Yu let her take it. "Sang Guo," she asked, "when you tried eating Earth Eggs before, did you eat them raw?"
Sang Guo nodded. "Yeah! Just like sweet fruits, we ate them raw."
Su Yu understood now. "Then it's no wonder you were poisoned."
Raw potatoes contain a toxic protein called lectin. Eating them raw causes red blood cells in the human body to agglutinate, which can lead to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and in severe cases, death.
Su Yu said, "Earth Eggs are only poisonous when eaten raw. After being roasted or boiled, they're not poisonous."
Sang Guo was skeptical. "Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Su Yu said helplessly. "When I was starving in my old tribe, I often went out to dig up Earth Eggs and roast them to eat."
"If they were poisonous, I would have died long ago."
It took a moment, but then it dawned on Sang Guo. 'That's right! Su Yu just said she recognized the smell of something she used to eat in her tribe. That meant she ate Earth Eggs often. If they were poisonous, she would've died long ago.'
Su Yu smiled. "Besides, if Earth Eggs are stored properly, they can last for sixty suns."
In other words, sixty days—two months.
'Perhaps the Earth Eggs in this Beast World can last even longer.'
'If I plant a crop now to harvest in the fall, these potatoes could be an excellent food source to get through winter.'
Sang Guo's eyes lit up. Her wolf ears and tail popped out with a POOF, wagging furiously. "Is that really true?"
'If these Earth Eggs can really last that long, then so many people in the tribe won't have to starve to death this winter!'
The wagging wolf tail brushed against Su Yu. Her hand twitched, and she couldn't resist grabbing it and giving it a good squeeze. She nodded with a serious expression, "It's true. If you're afraid they're poisonous, you can dig up a few for now. I'll cook them and eat them in front of you. Once you see they're not poisonous, you can arrange for people to come and dig up the rest."
Sang Guo's face flushed, and she quickly retracted her tail. "Y-y-you... don't get fresh with me!"
Sang Guo said, "I get it. I'll go dig up some Earth Eggs."
She eagerly scampered over to retrieve the Earth Egg she had tossed away. She gave it a precious little kiss before placing it carefully in her basket.
For the Beastmen, food was the most important thing. It was their life.
Discovering a food that could be stored for a long time meant one less Beastman dying in the winter.
"If the Earth Eggs really aren't poisonous, then you'll be a great benefactor to our tribe. I won't compete with you for Shi Wei anymore," Sang Guo said seriously. "I'll also tell my Father about this and have him reward you."
Su Yu's lips curved into a smile. "Okay."
Perhaps spurred on by the discovery of the Earth Eggs, Sang Guo started sticking to Su Yu like glue. Wherever Su Yu went, she followed, like a little tail.
With Su Yu's deliberate guidance, Sang Guo discovered several more types of edible fruits and wild vegetables, making her so excited she transformed into her beast form and clung to Su Yu.
It was a far cry from the sharp antagonism she had shown at the beginning.
The other females didn't rashly try the new plants, cautiously continuing to gather the fruits and wild vegetables they recognized.
After gathering for most of the day, once all the females' Beast Skin Bags were bulging, they prepared to return to the tribe.
Su Yu had also gathered a good amount. When it was time to head back, she crouched by the small stream to wash her dirty fingers.
Suddenly, she touched a hard, rock-like object that seemed to be moving.
She paused, then touched it again out of curiosity.
250 watched her risky move, silent for a moment before speaking up: [Gentle reminder: Host, please withdraw your hand immediately, or you're going to cry!]
Su Yu: "?"
The next second, the "stone" in her hand twitched, and two large pincers SNAPPED shut on her hand.
Su Yu: "!"
A sharp cry escaped her as piercing pain shot through her hand, making her eyes water.
'Damn it!'
'My mistake! This damn thing is a crab, not a rock!'
Shi Wei had just returned with the Hunting Team when he heard Su Yu had gone out with the gatherers. He rushed to find her, only to see her by the stream, frantically trying to shake off a crab clamped to her hand.
With his brow tightly furrowed, Shi Wei strode forward, flung the crab from her finger, and burned it to a crisp.
He anxiously checked her pinched finger. "Yu Yu, are you okay?"
Sang Guo, who had rushed over, couldn't hold back. She clutched her stomach and howled with laughter. "Jeez! How can you be so weak? You can't even beat an Octagonal Beast that a mere cub could handle?"
Su Yu: "..."
Embarrassed, she buried her face in Shi Wei's chest.
Shi Wei shot Sang Guo a cold glare, then looked down. Seeing Su Yu's pale, delicate finger already starting to bleed, his heart ached, and he gently took the fingertip into his mouth.
That stopped Su Yu's tears.
On top of that, she smelled a fragrant aroma.
She tugged on Shi Wei's Beast Skin Skirt, looking at him eagerly. "Help me catch the Octagonal Beasts and Fish Beasts. I want to eat them."
Sang Guo crouched on the ground, her tail swaying back and forth. "Octagonal Beasts and Fish Beasts are bony and have very little meat. And they stink. Why would you want to eat them?"
But despite her words, she was quick to join Shi Wei in the water, helping him catch fish and crabs for Su Yu.
Unlike the frail Su Yu, the two Beastmen were highly effective. In no time, they had a large catch.
Su Yu wove another, larger basket for them to carry their catch back to the tribe.
After returning to the tribe, Su Yu, according to the rules, handed over a portion of the fruits and wild vegetables she had gathered that day. She had Shi Wei carry the rest back to their cave.
Back in the cave, Su Yu stopped Shi Wei as he was about to go out and get meat. She tilted her head slightly. "Are you angry?"
Shi Wei's face was taut. Just as he was about to reply, a clamor suddenly erupted outside the cave.
A voice filled with anger called out: "Shi Wei! Get out here!"
A flash of displeasure crossed Shi Wei's face. He frowned, turned, and walked out. After a moment's hesitation, Su Yu followed him.
A large crowd of Beastmen had gathered outside the cave. The leader was a tall Beastman with a square face. With a stern expression, he threw an Earth Egg down in front of Shi Wei. "What does your female mean by bringing this poisonous thing back to the tribe? Is she trying to kill all the females in our tribe?!"