Chapter 29 Discovery of Salt
Everyone in the camp is starting to draw silk, and those who are progressing quickly are spinning it.
Zheng Wudi had already taught them, and then he wandered around the camp.
But then she remembered the mountain of meat they had brought back, and something came to mind.
These meats can be preserved in cold weather, but they won't last as long in hot weather.
If the extra meat is cured with salt, it won't spoil so easily.
I just don't know if there's any salt here.
Zheng Wudi didn't plan to look for them, but these people had lived here for so many years, and there were also those who went out hunting. Maybe they had run into them?
Zheng Wudi went to the altar and asked, "Have you seen any white particles?"
Indeed, quite a few people have seen it.
However, they are not very far apart.
Zheng Wudi then found someone to take her there to see if what they had encountered was a salt mine.
Didn't you say it wasn't far?
Zheng Wudi was quite dehydrated from walking. She raised her hand to wipe her sweat and asked, "Are we almost there?"
"Zheng Shen! We're almost there! I forgot you're a bit weaker after descending to the mortal realm. Why don't you get on my back? I'll carry you." A member of the hunting team, who had just returned to camp, said this and then half-squatted down in front of Zheng Wudi to make it easier for her to get on.
Zheng Wudi looked at the wounds on his body that hadn't fully healed from the previous hunt, waved his hand, and didn't agree.
Never mind, we're almost there anyway!
The group continued walking forward.
Soon we arrived at a mountain range, which turned out to be a pile of white rocks.
Zheng Wudi was somewhat disappointed, thinking: They don't even know what salt is, so it's possible they'd mistake it for something else.
However, this is not the case here, which also rules out one possibility.
Anyway, there are still a few places with white crystals.
Zheng Wudi continued walking towards the places they had mentioned that might have salt.
Arriving at a lake, Zheng Wudi was somewhat speechless.
It's talking about white crystals, not the white light reflected back from the lake!
Zheng Wudi looked dejected. The men who came to lead the way for him also became listless when they saw his low spirits.
Zheng Wudi thought to himself, "Since I'm already here, I might as well wash my face here before going back! I was sweating from walking so much! And who knows, there might be fish to catch in there."
Zheng Wudi walked to a small puddle where he could wash his face, splashed some water on his face, and accidentally licked it—it was salty!
This is truly a case of "after the darkest hour comes the dawn"!
I was originally prepared to leave disappointed, but now there is hope.
The lake was quite large. Zheng Wudi circled around it and discovered that it was a saltwater lake!
The sandy area around the lake also seemed to contain a lot of salt particles.
That's really great news!
It seems that extracting salt here is relatively easy.
It's a pity we can't catch fish here anymore.
Zheng Wudi was happy that the trip was worthwhile because there was salt here.
The person who was originally supposed to be in Zheng Wudi's hunting team spoke up, "God, I've seen this before. During a previous hunt, I noticed some animals would specifically go there to lick it. That's what they eat."
Zheng Wudi was even more excited upon hearing this!
Let him lead the way to see it.
That's absolutely right, the salt here is purer than the salt there, and you can use it directly to cure meat.
Zheng Wudi took out a wooden basin and filled it with salt. The others followed Zheng Wudi and started working together.
Zheng Wudi and his group returned carrying several basins piled high with salt.
One group of people started spinning and another group started curing meat, they were all busy running around!
Zheng Wudi was moved by the scene before him.
I was moved by their simple and passionate spirit.
In the following days, some people were spinning threads, others were weaving, and the meat that had been sprinkled with salt earlier was also being smoked.
They approached these matters with seriousness and devotion.
The first piece of silk and the first batch of smoked cured meat were presented to Zheng Wudi.
Zheng Wudi was looking through these things when he heard a gasp. He looked in the direction of the sound and discovered...