Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next morning, Bai Tu had just gotten up when Bai Qi came over with surprise: “Tu, my brother is awake!”

“Really? I’ll go and see.” Bai Tu didn’t bother to pack up and went to see Bai Chen first.

Bai Chen was taken back to his own cave the night after he was injured. Tu Bing and Bai An and his son took turns feeding him medicine and food. Bai Tu only needed to help boil the medicine.

After falling into a coma, he could only swallow instinctively, and could not eat much, whether it was medicine or food. Although there seemed to be no signs of inflammation and the wound was gradually recovering, everyone was always worried. Now we can finally rest assured.

Bai Chen, who had just woken up, was a little weak, but in good spirits. Tu Bing was feeding him water. He had not received enough food or water during his coma, and coupled with his injuries, he had lost a lot of weight in just three or four days.

Bai Tu checked Bai Chen’s wound and found it had recovered well. It would take a few more days for the scar to heal. He advised: “Don’t move around even after you wake up. Just lie here. If you need to go out, let Bai Qi carry you.” If you move too much before the wound has fully recovered, it will easily leave sequelae. Speed ​​and strength are very important in hunting, so you have to take good care of yourself.

Bai Chen agreed, and after waking up, he was told that it was Bai Tu who cured his leg injury. He was surprised and grateful. After all, the wound was so big that he thought he would never wake up again before he fell into a coma. Now he felt as if he had been saved.

After seeing Bai Chen, Bai Tu returned to the cave and began to dry the beef that had been marinated overnight. When cutting yesterday, everything was cut into long strips to make it easier to dry them in the sun. Bai Tu pulled out a few peeled vines and tied them at the entrance of the cave. This side is well ventilated, and the people in the tribe can go up and down without worrying about animals coming to steal food.

Having eaten too much last night, Bai Tu was not hungry early in the morning, so he had a light meal, a fist-sized apple and some cold wild vegetables. There is a lack of staple food, but he has seen some wild vegetables and fruit trees in the past few days when he was walking around the area, but no rice or wheat. He can only hope to find it in more distant places in the future.

After finishing breakfast, Bai Tu went to see the potato cubes, which had started to sprout. In the end, he couldn’t bear to eat the potatoes, so he found some sandy soil to germinate them. Now they would be gone after a few meals, but if they were planted again, he could harvest at least dozens of kilograms. When the buds are bigger, they can be planted. Bai Tu put the straw mat used to block the light back.

Perhaps the nearby prey had not been harmed by the traps, and over the next two days, the tribe captured a litter of wild boars and a bison. The wild boar was a sow with seven piglets. The hunting team remembered Bai Tu’s request and captured all the small ones alive and brought them back to the tribe to raise.

The bison was an old bull, only slightly smaller than the one caught on the first day, so in addition to the beef that had not been eaten, two more prey were added to the cave. Together with wild vegetables and fruits, the children in the tribe were able to eat their fill.

The orcs who were driving the bison said that the bison had left the territory of their tribe, so they could only find other prey and wait for the next group of bison to pass by the territory. Even so, the supplies in the tribe are now much more abundant than before. People also started digging smaller traps near the wild boar’s lairs to catch wild boars.

Everything in the tribe was going on in an orderly manner. After dinner in the evening, Bai Tu called a few children to get the beef jerky that was drying in the sun.

After two days of drying, the beef is completely dry and now it’s time to proceed to the next step: steaming.

Over the past two days, the beef he dried caused a lot of discussion. Some people in the tribe also dried the meat, but most people didn’t like it because it was too dry and didn’t taste good when cooked. Bai Tu’s answer to this was that they wanted to try a different way of eating it.

There are many ways to make beef jerky. The one chosen by Bai Tu is simple and does not require much seasoning, which is slicing – marinating – drying – steaming. It does not require frying or boiling in the middle.

The tools for steaming beef jerky have been prepared in the past two days. The steamer is made of bamboo strips, reeds and other plants. Although the shape is somewhat irregular and the weaving is relatively thick, it does not affect its use.

Steaming is different from roasting and frying. The aroma is not as strong. At the beginning, the few children who helped did not pay much attention to the dried meat.

Even Bai Qi was not very interested in beef jerky. Some frugal orcs in the tribe also stored food in this way, drying it and then roasting or cooking it, but the taste was not as good as fresh beef. Compared with this, he still preferred to eat it roasted directly.

Bai Qi decided to wait until the beef was cooked and then tell Bai Tu not to eat it like this in the future. The caves in their tribe can store food for a long time without spoiling. There is no need to dry and store food like tribes without caves. There is no need to eat dried hard meat.

This mentality continued until Bai Tu calculated the time and lifted the lid of the steamer.

In an instant, the aroma of meat and bamboo hit me in the face, a strange and tempting smell.

Bai Tu poured the beef jerky from the steamer onto the clean mat next to it and replaced it with a second steamer.

The steamed beef jerky exuded a rich aroma. Bai Tu picked up a piece, tore a small piece along the texture and put it in his mouth.

There is a little less seasoning, and it is a little damp after being steamed, but it will be fine after drying for a while, and it tastes pretty good.

“Try it.” Bai Tu gave some to Bai Qi and several children, and then picked up the one he had just eaten slowly.

The difference between beef jerky and other ways of eating it is that the more you chew it, the more delicious it becomes, and the more you eat, the more you want to eat it, and you can’t stop eating it. Because of the pickling, it is not as hard and more fragrant than the rough roasting and storage in the past.

But it is dried meat after all, and it takes much longer to eat than a meal, so it is suitable as a snack. Several people each took a piece and nibbled on it, and before they knew it, the second basket was ready.

Only thirty to forty kilograms of beef jerky were left from the one hundred kilograms of beef, which had to be steamed in three batches. Bai Tu distributed some to the children on clean leaves, and asked Bai Dong to send some to the big cave. Because they had to take care of the cubs, the girls usually did not till the land, but more than half of the backpacks, baskets, straw mats, etc. were their work.

Each person got about two kilograms, and there were nearly twenty kilograms left after the distribution. Bai Tu moved the dried meat into the cave and sent the children back to the big cave. He planned to come back and take a bath. After sending the children back, he found that Bai An had not rested yet. He was standing in the cave where the animals were kept with a torch, muttering something.

“Chief, what are you doing?”

Bai Qi next to him answered this question before Bai An spoke: “The market will start in a dozen days, and father is checking the number of prey.”

“Yes.” Bai An nodded. He has recently started to arrange the prey to bring in exchange for supplies in a few days.

Bai Qi knew that Bai Tu didn’t understand again, so he took the initiative to explain. There are two markets a year in the Beast God Continent, one before the rainy season and the other before the snowy season. It is quite far from the Snow Rabbit Tribe, so the tribe has to set out a few days before the market opens. It is most cost-effective to exchange salt when the tribes from the coast just arrive. By the time the tribes from the coast have exchanged enough food and leave after the market, the salt will be more expensive than at the beginning. At the beginning of the market, a basket of meat could be exchanged for two bowls of salt, but in the end, it could only be exchanged for one and a half bowls. If you go earlier, you can exchange for a lot more salt.

With Bai Qi’s explanation, Bai An continued to count the prey in the cave: “Two cows, a big wild boar, seven piglets, sixteen chickens…”

“Wait…” Bai Tu was stunned, “Are calves and piglets also going to be exchanged for salt?” These two kinds of animals are still too young and need to be fed for at least half a year. It would be a waste to take them out to exchange for supplies now.

Both the father and the son were stunned when they heard this. The tribe’s custom has always been to exchange the prey caught after winter for supplies before the rainy season, and to exchange the prey caught after the rainy season for supplies before the snow season. Each time the salt exchange team set out, there would only be a small amount of food left in the tribe for consumption during the salt exchange period.

Bai Tu saw the confusion on the faces of the two and analyzed patiently: “These animals are small in size, and we can’t exchange them for much salt if we take them out now. It’s better to keep them in the tribe and continue to raise them. When they grow bigger, we can exchange more next time, and the tribe can catch prey tomorrow.” Not to mention exchanging them for supplies, he even wanted to use the supplies to exchange for some baby animals to raise.

After hearing Bai Tu’s words, Bai Qi nodded silently: “A calf can be exchanged for at most three bowls of salt.” Although living things can be exchanged for more than dead prey, calves and piglets are small in size. After removing the bones, internal organs and fur, they are less than a basket of meat. Orcs with a big appetite can finish it in just a few meals.

Bai An was a little hesitant: “If we take away the calves and piglets, the remaining prey may not be enough.” It takes more than ten days to go to the market and back, and we have to exchange as much supplies as possible. After all, the next time will be half a year later. If the salt is not enough in the meantime, we have to go to those tribes with surplus salt to exchange it at a high price.

Bai Tu: “How much salt did the tribe use to exchange for every time they went to the market?”

Bai An: “Forty bowls.”

After hearing this number, Bai Tu did some calculations. A backpack of meat weighed about 100 kilograms, and the bowls in the tribe were all large, which could hold about 5 kilograms of salt. In other words, 10 kilograms of meat could be exchanged for 1 kilogram of salt, and forty bowls would be about 200 kilograms. At least one ton of raw meat was needed, and the meat yield of the prey was between 50% and 60%. Two adult bison would be enough.

The bison we caught yesterday was small, and together with the wild boar, it can produce about half a ton of meat. If we want to exchange it for enough salt, we need to catch at least two more prey, otherwise we will have to take all these living things with us.

Bai Tu really didn’t want to sell these animal cubs now unless it was absolutely necessary. No matter calves or piglets, they were hard to come by and one wouldn’t be so lucky to catch the small ones every time he hunted.

Bai Tu suddenly thought of the freshly made beef jerky. Bai Qi was holding a bag of it in his arms. Bai Tu opened it directly, took out a piece of beef jerky and handed it to Bai An: “Chief, try this. I think the cows and pigs caught these two days can be made into this kind of beef jerky and taken out to exchange for supplies. You can use more salt than before.”

The practice of directly roasting or drying is very common, and almost all tribes do it. Meat that is roasted twice or dried and then roasted will be dry, hard and woody. Beef jerky is different. The meat after being marinated is better in both taste and texture.

Bai An took the beef jerky and took a bite. He was surprised by the unfamiliar taste: “Did you add salt?”

“Not only salt, but also green onion and ginger.” Bai Tu felt a little sorry. It would be even better if there were seasonings such as pepper and cumin, and also chili peppers. Unfortunately, he hasn’t found them yet. He only has salt in his hand, so there are many fewer ways to eat it.

“Is it difficult to make this kind of jerky?” Bai An asked.

“It’s a bit troublesome to cut at the beginning, but it won’t be troublesome after you’re done.” Bai Tu briefly introduced the production steps. It took them one night and one morning to marinate the nearly 100 kilograms of beef. It would be even faster if the tools were sharper.

“Wait a moment.” Bai An did not answer Bai Tu’s first question, but went to call several older orcs in the tribe.

Tu Cheng has always thought that the group of old orcs kept by the tribe can do nothing but waste food. In fact, it is not the case. Not to mention that they can usually help take care of the cubs, the rich experience of the elderly alone is beyond the reach of young people.

Generally speaking, the orcs in the tribe can only go out twice a year, and different things happen outside every year. The older the orcs are, the more things they see. These things cannot be seen at normal times, but when major decisions are needed, these people can often play a crucial role.

Bai An thought today’s beef jerky was good, but he didn’t dare to make a decision casually. He needed to discuss it with everyone. After all, even if there were not many steps, making meat into jerky was not an easy task. Everyone would do it only if they were sure that the materials they could get in return would be much greater than if they just roasted it and took it over.

Soon, Bai An came over with three people. One of them was Tu Cai, whom Bai Tu was familiar with. The other two were only familiar to Bai Tu but he didn’t recognize them. One of them had a scar on his face, and the other was the oldest orc in the tribe.

Tu Cai nodded and praised: “It tastes better than the jerky we grilled.”

The scarred orc was a little worried: “If it’s made like this, will those tribes be willing to accept it?” The tribes on the coast have different living habits from them. For example, if some food has been stored for a long time, they can only exchange it for other supplies for a little less, but if they can’t exchange it for salt, the tribes on the coast will not want it.

The oldest orc didn’t say anything, but asked for another piece, then tasted it slowly, and finally nodded slowly: “I think it’s okay, this jerky is more fragrant than roasted ones. As long as it tastes good, the tribes on the coast will not refuse it.”

Several people discussed for a while, and asked Bai Tu: “How many days will it take to be done?”

Bai Tu: “Cutting is the slowest, and you can steam it after two days of drying.”

Bai An calculated the time: “The White Bear Tribe will set off in five days, the Blood Wolf Tribe in seven days, and the Flower Deer Tribe in eight days.” The Snow Rabbit Tribe is the smallest tribe around. They usually don’t go out alone, but with other tribes, which is safer. This is the departure time of the three tribes. After they choose who to set off with, they must follow on the same day, otherwise they will be far away and it will be as dangerous as going out alone.

Bai Qi: “We have to go with the White Bear Tribe or the Blood Wolf Tribe. The Flower Deer Tribe is fast and we can’t keep up.” The Flower Deer Tribe dared to set out last because they are the fastest and can reduce the time on the road as much as possible. But the Rabbit Tribe can’t keep up with them when carrying prey, so even if the two tribes have a good relationship, they can’t follow them.

Bai Tu thought for a moment and decided that this would take five or seven days. If all the people in the tribe worked together, it would not be a problem to turn all the remaining prey into jerky: “That’s enough, starting from tomorrow morning. There is enough time.”

If the prey were all made into high-priced jerky, there would be no need to sell the calves and piglets. If they were lucky enough to catch new prey in the next few days, they could even keep the dozen or so hens.