I'm involved in poverty alleviation in a primitive tribe.

Ahead, there was an endearing figure, intently busy at work. Its enormous rear end was sticking out, wiggling back and forth, looking quite comical, as it buried its head in something, digging.

Jiang Ning shouted, "Benben!"

The busy figure suddenly trembled, as if startled by something, and its movements froze instantly. It slowly turned around, its round body swaying as it turned. It was Benben from the Iron-Eating Beast Tribe.

The creature was covered in bamboo leaves and mud, and its once distinct black and white fur was now dirty and messy, making it look as disheveled as could be.

What is most striking is its pair of claws that are always hidden behind its back, as if it is concealing some unspeakable secret.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but find it a little funny, but she still suppressed her laughter, put on a serious face, and walked towards that guy step by step.

When she got closer, she deliberately put on a very serious look and said in a deep voice, "What are you hiding? Hand it over!"

Benben knew Jiang Ning's identity and had been punished for stealing bamboo shoots before. Now, he was startled by the sudden questioning and his body trembled. The secret in his paw was revealed. It was a bamboo shoot that had just been dug up, tender and juicy, emitting an enticing fragrance, as if it were the purest gift from nature.

The bamboo shaman stepped forward to help it out: "Shaman, please don't blame it. This is something we allowed. This purple bamboo forest produces a large number of bamboo shoots every day. If we don't clean it up, it can grow into a sea of ​​bamboo in a single day. We have to control it!"

Benben's chubby face surprisingly revealed an almost ingratiating smile.

Jiang Ning waved her hand helplessly: "Go ahead."

Upon seeing this, Benben quickly grabbed the bamboo shoot and ran away.

Jiang Ning looked around the bamboo forest, feeling a bit of a headache: "Paper, daily necessities, bamboo houses, drainage pipes, even plantation supports—so many places, and you still can't use all this bamboo? And the trading area, those tribes come and go every day, they don't need your bamboo?"

The old shaman's face scrunched up: "These things can be made with other materials, so we don't need much bamboo. When the food area was open before, they liked to use bamboo tubes to make bowls and chopsticks. They were light and convenient, and that was the main consumption. Now that the food area is empty, we have nowhere to use our bamboo."

"The Iron-Eating Beast Tribe likes to eat bamboo shoots, but the Yingcao Tribe also has many other varieties of bamboo shoots. They change their tastes from time to time, and they simply can't eat them all."

“We can build bamboo houses here. They’re okay to live in when it’s hot, but nobody wants to live in them in the winter. Besides, people are bound to bump into each other all the time. Compared to that, people would much rather live in a sturdy and warm stone house.”

“Making waterwheels and watermills is good, but watermills aren’t traded, and our waterwheels are too sturdy. Once those tribes buy them, they won’t buy more for a while. At most, some tribes’ waterwheels will be destroyed by ferocious beasts…”

"And these bamboo shoots, they grow a huge patch every day. Not only can we not eat them all, but I also can't find enough people to dig them up. But quite a few children like to come in and look for rain grass every now and then..."

Jiang Ning: "..."

She was also a little annoyed: "Can't you control the growth of the purple bamboo, make it grow smaller and stronger? Make each one grow thicker and stronger?"

Upon hearing this, the bamboo shaman did not answer immediately, but instead led Jiang Ning slowly into the depths of the bamboo forest.

As they walked, the surrounding light gradually dimmed.

At first, you could see some sunlight through the gaps between the bamboo leaves, but the further you went in, the less sunlight there was, until it disappeared completely.

The entire bamboo forest seemed to be shrouded in a thick shadow, giving people a sense of inexplicable oppression and tranquility.

"Look, these are actually the true forms of the purple bamboo," the bamboo shaman said, stopping in his tracks and pointing to the purple bamboo in front of him, each as thick as two people could hug.

Both of them were quite strong, and they could see clearly even in such an environment. Jiang Ning looked in the direction he was pointing and saw that the area was filled with huge purple bamboo.

These purple bamboos are incredibly thick; it takes two people with outstretched arms to barely encircle each one.

They tower into the clouds, straight and upright, like giant pillars reaching to the sky.

The outer skin is a deep and mysterious purple, with black showing through the purple, like ancient silk that has been soaked in time, exuding a unique luster and texture.

The bamboo leaves, like tiny, exquisite swords, are a vibrant green, swaying gently in the breeze and making a rustling sound.

"The waterwheels, pipes and other items needed by the Jiang department are all made of this kind of purple bamboo. The ones outside are actually its descendants. They are just ordinary bamboo and can't be of much use. It's a pity to throw them away, and it's troublesome to clean them up."

"Alright." Jiang Ning thought for a moment. On her way back, she had asked Hei Chi about the south. If Yingcao Wu really could bring the Teng tribe back, they might like these bamboos.

"Let's wait and see, and talk about it in the spring."

"Yes."

The people of the Nu River basin soon heard about Jiang Ning's return and learned that Jiang's tribe did not intend to flee, and the trading area became lively again.

As soon as the people of the prickly gourd tribe entered the trading area with their tribe's prickly gourds, they saw everyone rushing towards one place.

This kind of scene is not uncommon here; it seems there's something new in the trading area.

The tribesmen were all familiar with the trade and weren't worried about any trouble. Captain Thorn Gourd handed over the goods to his tribesmen and excitedly followed with two men and a few bags of clam coins.

Years of experience have taught her that she can't miss out on this kind of excitement.

Without much searching, the three of them followed the flow of people to the busiest part of the trading area.

At the entrance of the Tianlang Tribe's shop, someone was vigorously hawking Jiang Bu's newly made treasures.

"Come, come, everyone! Take a look! This stuff is called brown sugar! Right now, only our Jiang department has it for sale! If you miss it this time, you'll never have it again!"

Someone crossed their arms, looking skeptical: "Looking like this... what's the use of this thing? I don't want it if it's useless!"

"Exactly! It looks so strange, could it be poisonous?" Experience told him that the stranger the color of something, the more poisonous it is.

Sirius directed the busy shop assistants: "Come on! Give everyone a serving! Please have a taste first!"

Fearing that some people might be hesitant to eat it, he first popped a piece of brown sugar into his mouth as a demonstration.

Seeing this, the others guessed that even if the Jiang tribe was dissatisfied with what had happened some time ago, they wouldn't dare to poison so many people at the same time, so they all took the brown sugar handed over by the Sirius and stuffed it into their mouths.