We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 67 Taking Over the Salt Spring
The strange thing is that it's too orderly.

Not only is the cave semi-circular in shape, but the texture on the cave walls is also quite smooth, and even if there are traces of erosion, they are not very obvious.

It looked as if it were a tunnel created by a tunnel boring machine, which made Xia Minghao marvel at the wonders of nature in this other world.

After leaving the cave and entering the mountains, they found that the terrain was indeed quite flat, just as Daka had said.

There was no tree, and the types of plants were quite limited, with only one kind of low shrub standing out.

The density of this shrub distribution follows a clear pattern, and the sparsest areas are where the salt springs are located.

At the lowest point, gurgling spring water was seen, with many springs emerging, making it look like a boiling pond, while next to it were large areas of grayish-white salt rocks.

Such abundant salt resources! Far exceeding previous expectations.

"Chief, what is this?"

"This can give you energy and make food taste better."

Xia Minghao answered the question from someone in the Xi tribe without hesitation.

Of course, the benefits of salt go far beyond what has been mentioned.

In addition to its uses, it also has antiseptic and preservation properties, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as industrial and chemical applications.

Even if we explained it, how could these primitive people possibly understand?

This is a hard currency that transcends eras!

Now, it is completely in their own hands and has become the cornerstone for building their own civilization!

……

……

……

As dusk approached, the light of day had already dimmed.

With everyone's help, the three-headed bear was finally cut up in time.

The bear skin was relatively intact, and the other parts were clearly separated.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of effective tools, a large amount of slaughtering was still wasted.

However, given that there was more meat than they could eat, this waste was perfectly acceptable, and it did allow Wangcai and the other wolf cubs to have a good meal.

Wangcai, in particular, was gnawing on a bear's paw bone with great relish.

Xia Minghao spent the entire afternoon digging a kiln.

The kiln being dug this time is much larger and more complex, in order to enhance its functionality and move beyond a "single kiln for a single purpose".

Not only is roasting meat done, but also firing pottery and charcoal, all of which are done in one kiln.

During the process of digging the kiln, Xia Minghao also made a pleasant surprise.

That is, he actually dug up a large amount of reddish-brown clay.

Moreover, this clay is much better than the one by the river; it's much finer and there aren't many small stones.

It is estimated that the hydrological cycle of the salt spring is highly coupled with the formation, transport, and deposition mechanisms of clay.

According to Xia Minghao's still vague memories of his undergraduate geology course, a salt spring is essentially a body of water that emerges from the ground surface along geological fissures after groundwater has dissolved underground salt deposits.

During the seepage process, groundwater not only dissolves salts but also erodes the rocks along its path, carrying them to the surface.

Xia Minghao was still worried because the water-fetching team from the Wu tribe had not returned for a long time.

It must be far from the river, and the road is quite difficult to walk on because of the dense bushes.

The difficulty of travel will inevitably reduce the efficiency of fetching water and soil from the river, resulting in a significant waste of manpower.

Based on the current travel speed, it's estimated that at most one round trip can be made in a day, with a large amount of time wasted on the road.

Fortunately, there was clay in Yanquan Mountain, which solved the immediate problem and eliminated the need to allocate more manpower to fetching clay from the river.

But this only solved the immediate problem.

Later on, we'll definitely need to go to the river often to fish and obtain water resources, etc.

To fundamentally solve the problem, we would have to break through the mountain.

But this plan is almost impossible to implement.

Having taken blasting engineering as an elective in college, Xia Minghao was well aware of just how difficult it was to blast a mountain.

The preliminary exploration work is particularly complex, and calculations are required in the later stages.

Otherwise, if we just rush in with explosives, it could cause a landslide or long-term instability of the mountain, which would be disastrous.

More importantly, he was wondering where to get enough explosives. He certainly knew the formula for gunpowder: one part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, and three parts charcoal, but where was he going to get so much gunpowder to blast through such a thick mountain?

It's unrealistic to expect a fundamental solution to the problem at this time.

If the tribe is to develop rapidly, it still needs to increase the available labor force.

Therefore, the solution to the problem still lies with the Da tribe.

"I wonder if Daka and his group have gone back yet..."

Xia Minghao thought back to the dozen or so salt-mining teams from the Da tribe.

I wonder if I can deter them enough to make them willingly suffer such a loss.

Then they can peacefully establish relationships and use them for their own benefit.

It seems we still need to do more preparation to leave a "good impression" on the other side.

"Chief!"

Just then, a call finally came from the cave entrance. Xia Minghao turned his head and saw that the person who came was a woman from the Wu tribe.

Although they had returned to their tribe, the women of the Wu tribe all wore bitter expressions on their faces.

As the women approached carrying the pottery jars, Xia Minghao noticed the mottled wounds on their bodies.

Carrying the heavy pottery jar was already inconvenient, and the bushes and thorns in this area grew rapidly. The path that was cleared with the survival knife yesterday had long since grown back, which is why everyone was injured.

Fortunately, none of them were serious; they were just superficial injuries, and now they have saline solution.

Xia Minghao quickly called the women to the salt spring and began to pour water on their wounds.

"Mmm...mmm...ah..."

The woman who was doused with salt water immediately let out a painful groan, and the women looked at Xia Minghao with fear in their eyes, wondering why their usually kind chieftain had suddenly done this.

"Pour this on yourself, it will make you feel better."

Xia Minghao offered an explanation.

The sanitation conditions are so poor now that you can smell a strong stench coming from these women if you get even a little close.

If these wounds are not treated, they will most likely become infected and fester.

After hearing what Xia Minghao said, the women ultimately chose to trust their chief, just as they had before.

"Chief, we have water. Shall we eat?"

Other busy men and women also gathered around, and after Xia Minghao finished, Xima asked.

Judging from the tired looks on the faces of these primitive people, Xia Minghao knew that they were mostly exhausted and hungry.

Seeing that it was getting late and that today's tasks were basically completed, Xia Minghao nodded and prepared to make arrangements personally.

The reason, of course, is that this dinner was of extraordinary significance, serving not only as a "merit-sharing ceremony and the founding ceremony of the Xia tribe."

Xia Minghao also wanted to use this dinner to enhance the cohesion and unity of the tribe.

More importantly, it was to further consolidate their power and position within the tribe and to establish a visual monopoly of authority.

……

……

……

On the swamp, a sentinel duck among a flock of wild ducks foraging for food suddenly raises its head and lets out a short quack.

An impatient crocodile emerged from the dense reeds and pounced on the flock of wild ducks.

Among the flock of more than thirty wild ducks, those far from the shore quickly paddled away, while others briefly went diving.

Those closer to the shore quickly splashed around on the shallows a few times before flying ashore.

But one unlucky wild duck was swallowed whole, becoming food for the crocodile.

This scene was nothing out of the ordinary for Daka and his group, and they had no energy to deal with these wild ducks that were difficult to catch and eat.

"I'm finally back!"

Daka saw that it wasn't completely dark yet and was glad he had made it back in time.

As we walked into the haphazardly arranged cluster of simple wooden huts, before even getting close to the central hut, Daka began shouting.

"Wise one, something terrible has happened! A powerful tribe has arrived at Salt Spring!"

As the sound entered, a pair of aged eyes slowly opened inside the wooden house.

(End of this chapter)