The wicked female is extremely fierce, but she's pampered by her seven beast husbands.

Chapter 78 Salt Prices Soar
Seeing Ling Chengen's somber expression, Chongzhen said in a low voice, "I don't know either."

However, once taken to the dark market with clearly marked prices, the chances of finding a good place to go are extremely slim.

"The origin of these cubs..."

Chongzhen: "I know this. Every year during the cold season, many orcs die on the Beast Plains due to shortages of supplies, serious illnesses, and other reasons. So after the cold season ends, many orphans appear on the Beast Plains. Some of them who already live in tribes are directly adopted by the orcs in the tribes."

"But some families, after contracting the disease during the cold season, are driven out and become homeless beastmen. After the parents die, the surviving cubs become homeless orphans."

"These cubs on the black market must have been lured or forcibly abducted by these traffickers."

Ling Chengen tilted his head and asked, "What price usually needs to be paid to take away a cub?"

Chongzhen frowned and said, "This..."

Chongzhen took out the blue crystal shell in his hand: "Do you still remember the Lake-Singing Beast you hunted before?"

"I remember." Because it was the first rather unique prey she hunted, and the meat tasted quite good, she still had a deep impression of it.

The lake-singing beast was an adult male, weighing over a ton.

Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief: "A fresh Lake Song Beast usually costs 4 Blue Crystal Shells at the Xima Trade Market."

"This is only because the Lake-singing Beast is relatively rare and its meat is extremely delicious, which is why it can sell for such a high price."

"If the prey has special abilities, then it's a different story. It's usually three times the price of prey without special abilities. If you bring that water-type lake beast you got before to the market intact and it's relatively fresh, you could probably sell it for 12 to 15 blue crystals."

"Other prey of similar size to the Lake Song Beast usually fetch 2 Blue Crystal Shells at the trade market. If it's a season with abundant prey, the price may even drop to 1 Blue Crystal Shell."

"However, before the cold season arrives, the price of these prey can rise to as high as 3 blue crystals."

“That piece of salt in your house will be worth about 25 blue crystals after spring this year.”

"If it were last spring, it would be cheaper, around 5 blue crystals."

Ling Chengen frowned slightly; the salt was too expensive.

Although Ling Xiao and Chong Zhen had said before that salt stones on the trade market were very expensive, this price still exceeded her expectations.

The rock salt at home weighs about fifteen pounds, and the coarsely processed salt yields about ten pounds, which is enough to feed their family for at most twenty days.

If we're careful with our spending, we might be able to last a month.

Before the apocalypse, an adult typically consumes about 15 grams of salt per day, which would amount to 450 grams of salt per month, assuming the intake of refined salt.

Although this daily intake far exceeds the healthy standard of 5 grams, most people do not strictly adhere to this value.

The salt she is currently extracting from the salt rock is not yet refined salt; it still contains a lot of impurities and a slightly bitter taste. In addition, the orcs consume food according to their animal body weight, so their need for salt is even higher.

Based on this calculation, 30 to 45 grams per day would barely meet the body's energy needs.

However, due to the lack of salt, even though their family was considered a relatively wealthy family in the Shilin tribe, they could not meet this standard every day.

Zhong Zhen had no idea that she was rapidly calculating the price of rock salt in her mind, and continued, "A cub under three years old is usually priced at around 10 blue crystals on the dark market."

"If there are physical defects or the animal form is too small, the price will be halved."

"Because cubs of this age require a lot of investment to grow up healthily, and they are very prone to dying young."

"Cubs aged three to ten years old are priced between 15 and 30 blue crystals. The specific price will take into account factors such as their animal or humanoid appearance and gender."

"Female cubs are more expensive, while males with beautiful humanoid forms or gigantic animal forms can be priced the same as female cubs."

"Orcs over ten years old who haven't yet reached their breeding season... it's hard to say."

"But the prices are all above 50 blue crystal shells, with no upper limit."

“I was kidnapped last year, and the trafficker was offering me 80 blue crystals.”

Ling Chengen looked at him with a puzzled expression: "You're quite tall."

Chongzhen's lips twitched as he said, "I am a level six earth-type ability user. I am beautiful in human form, and although I am not a giant beast in beast form, I am still very beautiful... This price is considered low."

"That scumbag kidnapped me at the border market and was eager to get rid of me, so he lowered the price."

“Under normal circumstances, I might sell it for more than 150 blue crystal shells.”

Ling Chengen exclaimed in shock, "You're actually quite valuable."

Chongzhen said speechlessly, "If you were kidnapped and put up for sale, you could sell it for more than 300 blue crystals, or even 500 blue crystals."

Seeing his aggressive tone, Ling Chengen raised his hand and touched the tip of his nose: "..."

It's a pity she didn't plan to sell herself by weight!
"Let's not hurt each other."

Chongzhen looked down at her with a hint of resentment in her eyes: "Wasn't it you who started it first?"

"You're thinking of buying those cubs, aren't you? I don't recommend you do that."

"If you're willing to pay for these cubs, more bad guys will take the risk to abduct and capture lone children."

"Besides, do you even have that many blue crystals?" Chongzhen asked in a subtle tone.

Ling Chengen only heard about Blue Crystal today; it would be strange if she had it.

Chongzhen glanced around and pulled her toward one of the exits: "I have a better way so you can get these cubs without spending blue crystals."

Ling Chengen followed him out of the dark market and never looked back.

Chongzhen led her to a secluded spot, leaned down, and whispered in her ear, "The Xima Trade Market is overseen and managed by several large tribes in the central region. If trouble is caused at the trade market, the tribe that leads the trouble will be barred from participating in the trade market again."

"But once you're outside the boundaries of Ximatian Valley, you're very free."

"Those poor orcs in the dark market won't stay there forever. The trade market only lasts a few days, and when it ends, they'll be taken away too."

Ling Chengen raised an eyebrow and said, "Those orcs with higher prices usually have stronger defenses when they leave, right?"

“That’s right.” Chongzhen nodded, and when he smiled, he blinked slightly and said with a sly look, “But even the most meticulous plans can have flaws.”

Ling Chengen tilted his head and stared at him: "You went to gather information?"

Chongzhen nodded: "Leave it to me. If all else fails, I'll ask Baixi for help."

Bai Xi had more ways to gather information than he did. Together, they could get a basic understanding of most human traffickers in the dark market.

"be careful."

Ling Chengen nodded, without asking him how to find out.

Since Chongzhen has told her so much and used the information from the past year to understand the situation in the dark market so thoroughly, he must have had ideas for a long time, but he had too many concerns and was not strong enough, so he hesitated to do anything.

just now……

Let him go.

She did indeed want to take the cubs away.

Because her intuition told her that those cubs who were bought by unidentified people usually didn't have a good ending.

"I'll take you to the place that sells rock salt, let's check the price of rock salt this month first." Chongzhen had a feeling that the price of rock salt would definitely rise again this month.

I just don't know exactly how much it will rise.

……

The place where rock salt was sold was relatively fixed, located at the westernmost part of the trade market.

Ling Chengen followed Chongzhen all the way there and found that the place selling rock salt was indeed the most bustling.

Even from a distance, they could see a number of orcs gathered in front of the rock wall.

Chongzhen didn't lead her inside. Instead, he looked around for a while, quickly identified his target, and pulled her towards a corner in the distance. Finally, they stopped under a huge apricot tree. He raised his hand and smiled to greet the people sitting on the grass.

The leading orc looked to be about the same age as Ling Xiao. His scalp was shaved clean all around, except for the top of his head where he had hair. His light gray hair was tied into a high ponytail with a string of small green bean-sized gems at the ends, making him look quite... fashionable.

This was someone Chongzhen knew, so she simply observed the other person discreetly without taking the initiative to speak.

Chongzhen gave her a brief introduction; this was Qingeertai, the chieftain of the Water Witch Tribe.

The Water Witch Tribe is one of the few aquatic beast tribes in the Northern Wilderness. They prefer to live near rivers, and their members are all excellent swimmers.

Every year during the rainy season, when large areas of land are flooded, they can almost always be seen.

They would proactively rescue some orcs who couldn't swim.

Generally, the orcs who are rescued will offer something as a reward.

But even without payment, they will usually take action.

Of course, if they encounter a tribe that has offended them, or an orc that has attacked the Water Witch tribe... not kicking them when they're down is already the greatest kindness they can show.

Therefore, the Water Witch Tribe has a very good reputation in the central region, and most tribes maintain a relatively friendly relationship with them.

Chongzhen is a typical smiling tiger. He smiles before he speaks to everyone and takes the initiative to show goodwill. In addition, his appearance and aura are not aggressive, so most male beastmen are not particularly wary of him.

After exchanging pleasantries, Qingertai and Chongzhen pointed to the grass beside them and said, "Let's sit down and talk. We're also waiting for more details."

"I heard that your Yaoluo tribe and several other tribes joined forces to besiege the Stone Forest and were defeated. I thought you were dead." Qingertai looked at Chongzhen, whose face was rosy, and asked curiously, "After losing the battle, life has become increasingly difficult for your Yaoluo tribe, hasn't it? But you look quite well."

Chongzhen smiled bitterly, "It's indeed not easy, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"If you lose, what say do you have left?"

Chongzhen pointed to Ling Chengen beside her: "This is my wife, Ling Chengen, the young clan leader of Shilin."

Upon hearing this, Qin Gertai suddenly looked up and carefully examined Ling Chengen, who had not spoken a word.

"The daughter of the Lingxiao clan chief?"

"I've only heard of it before, but I've never seen it."

Ling Chengen gave a slight smile: "Didn't we see each other today?"

Qingertai nodded and said with emotion, "Lingxiao saved my life. If you need any help, please feel free to ask."

Ling Chengen was a little surprised: "If you need anything, I won't hesitate to ask."

Qingertai raised his hand and patted Chongzhen on the shoulder twice: "You're a lucky guy. You lost the game but still managed to find such a powerful partner. It's really enviable."

Chongzhen was both amused and exasperated.

But he knew he was one of the luckier ones among the losers of the great war; the tribal wars on the Beast Plains were often extremely brutal.

Normally, those who surrender are spared, while those who resist are massacred.

The young females and cubs will all be abducted.

The remaining elderly, weak, sick, and disabled were looted and then driven to harsher regions in the west or north.

"You've arrived early. Do you know how much rock salt costs this month?"

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Qingertai, Chongzhen got straight to the point.

Qingertai shook his head, his smile fading slightly as he looked down at the noisy crowd below: "In short, it's not optimistic. Prices are higher than last month. And the amount of salt they brought is also less than last month."

"Last month, the price of a piece of rock salt was already 25 blue crystal shells."

"Based on the trend this year, it is estimated that the price of blue crystals will increase by 1 to 2 this month."

Qingertai sighed deeply and shook his head, saying, "If this continues, we really won't be able to afford salt anymore."

"We spend almost all of the goods we hunt for a month on, except for what we eat ourselves, to exchange for salt."

"If all else fails, we'll have to go to the north to buy salt."

Chongzhen frowned and said, "Isn't the north also short of supplies?"

"There is a shortage, but there is Hongying Lake over there. Although eating too much lake salt can make you sick, the price of rock salt is rising every month. It's better to buy some to tide us over than to not have enough."

Without enough salt, the soldiers would lack strength, and without strength, how could they hunt?

After listening, Chongzhen only sighed softly, but didn't say anything more.

Salt is so important.

However, the two large tribes in the south controlled the two salt mines, giving them no chance to access them. Whether the price of salt was high or low was entirely up to them.

If only they could find salt mines in the central region.

But if we could find it, why go to this point?

A few minutes later, a young orc with a puffy braid squeezed out of the crowd and ran quickly to them. His face was a little red. When he saw Ling Chengen, he was stunned for a moment, then calmed his breathing and said clearly, "The price of salt has gone up again."

"Today's rock salt is 30 blue crystals per piece."

"30 blue crystals?"

The orcs sitting or standing behind suddenly raised their heads, their voices rising several decibels.

Their exclamations also attracted the attention of several orcs waiting for news nearby.

"Why don't they just rob it?!"

"30 blue crystals for a piece of salt rock, this is a price I've never seen before."

Ling Chengen turned his head and looked at Chongzhen, whose face was extremely pale, and finally realized that this price was no different from robbery.

"How did it suddenly increase by 5 blue crystals?"

"What are those salt sellers thinking? We in the central region can't even get salt, do they think things will be better in the south?"

If riots break out in the central region, the South will be the first to suffer.

The result is obvious, so why are they so fearless?