Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

"Aren't we humans here to help them fend off the monsters' attacks?"

Xinlan said.

"We humans are also powerless to help. First, as I said before, they are a herbivorous species, unlike us humans who eat everything."

Therefore, after the great war with the monsters, they were destined not to be able to leave the forest and stay away from the monsters like we humans.

Therefore, being frequently attacked by monsters is inevitable.

Secondly, as you just saw, they prefer to live in caves on cliff faces. Because their entire group is of the earth element, they can only evolve by absorbing large amounts of earth elements, and living in cliff caves is undoubtedly an excellent way to absorb earth elements.

Over time, this led to their habit of living in caves. As a result, they became even more inseparable from the mountains.

Although our overall strength was greatly weakened after that great war, our ancestors decided to leave the forest and stay away from monsters for safety reasons.

Having arrived in an open area, far from the monster-infested region, they were able to rest and recuperate in relative peace.

Moreover, the greatest advantage of humans is that they reproduce much faster than Homo sapiens. Given enough time to establish themselves, the race can achieve significant growth and become increasingly powerful.

Through the struggles and sacrifices of countless generations of ancestors, the human race finally became the sole supreme race on the continent.

Although humans wanted to help Homo sapiens, they were too far away to do so, and even if they had the idea, they were powerless to do so.

Therefore, over time, the lifestyles of the two groups became increasingly divergent. Even communication became difficult, let alone coexistence.

"I see! You told us not to speak in front of them earlier, probably because you were afraid we would say something wrong and offend them. Do you think they can understand what we are saying?"

"Isn't it said that thousands of years have passed, and our languages ​​have changed so much that communication is difficult?"

"Even so, don't forget that they are also a race as intelligent as us, a very proud race, and like us humans, they are naturally hostile to magical beasts."

They strongly disliked humans comparing them to monsters. Although their languages ​​are completely different, some older Homo sapiens can still understand our language.

Several of the elder apes had already reached the level of human transformation, and they could completely transform into human form just like us, not to mention they could speak.

Homo sapiens are very intelligent, and they can easily learn to use human language if they so choose. Therefore, your two children shouting at them, treating them like inferior beasts or monsters, is bound to cause unnecessary trouble!

"Grandpa is so mean! He should have told us earlier, and we wouldn't have told anyone. He had to keep it all so secret, making us all so anxious!"

After hearing Old Mo's explanation, Xinlan felt very wronged and pouted as she complained.

Seeing this, Old Mo suppressed a laugh and offered words of comfort, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

After returning from Xianghe Valley, Mo Yuming finally understood the true situation in the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon is like a mysterious crack in the earth, cleaved by a giant axe, with towering cliffs on both sides reaching into the clouds, like silent giants guarding this mysterious land.

Sunlight struggled to penetrate the canyon, casting dappled shadows on the valley floor.

In the valley, a clear stream flows gently, its water crashing against the rocks, splashing up sparkling droplets and making a pleasant sound.

Various exotic flowers and plants grow along the stream, their colorful blossoms swaying gently in the breeze and exuding a captivating fragrance.

Ancient vines climb the rock walls of the canyon, cascading down like a green waterfall.

Some unidentified small animals flitted and played among the vines, adding a touch of life to the silent canyon. In the distance, the occasional bird song echoed through the canyon, making it seem even more ethereal.

Although the Homo sapiens and white ape were intelligent enough and had a powerful bloodline, after thousands of years of evolution and reproduction, times had changed.

Humans are no longer the same species as the Homo sapiens of the past.

Humans on this continent have developed into a large, independent race. While Homo sapiens, as well as spirit beasts, monsters, and elves, have their own advantages in certain aspects, they are no longer able to compete with humans due to their small population size. They can only be considered as small groups besides humans and magical beasts.

After figuring out the general situation of Yishi Valley and Xianghe Valley, the entire Grand Canyon had lost its mystery to Mo Yuming. Although he had only been in this world for about two months, he was already tired of his current dull and savage life.

Like all the old men and women in the canyon, after losing their initial curiosity, they spend their days either searching for wild fruits to fill their stomachs, sleeping, or wandering around aimlessly.

The initial novelty wore off completely, and the loneliness drove him crazy.

In his previous life, Mo Yuming was a person who could endure loneliness. Sometimes, in order to solve a difficult problem, he could stay alone in the laboratory for half a month without seeing anyone.

But he had something to do, and he devoted all his energy to his research, leaving no time for others. He found that kind of life fulfilling and never felt lonely. Moreover, whenever he made a breakthrough, he felt a great sense of accomplishment and was very happy and cheerful.

But now it's different. He's trapped in this small, isolated space, unable to do anything. The loneliness and helplessness he feels are making him frustrated.

Whenever he felt lonely, Mo Yuming didn't even dare to look at Xinlan, because at those times, the sight of Xinlan's frail figure would conjure up a heartbreaking and suffocating image in his mind:

In the deserted canyon, a little girl of four or five years old sat alone on a large rock, lost in thought. She had no family, no playmates, and no toys...

Besides him and Xinlan, the only other people in the Grand Canyon now are a group of elderly men in their seventies and eighties. To be precise, the seventies and eighties are the youngest in this group; the oldest in the canyon is over two hundred years old, and those over one hundred make up the majority.

The Grand Canyon still stands silently between heaven and earth, its cliffs on both sides like barriers of time, ancient and weathered.

Sunlight struggles to penetrate the narrow crevice above the canyon, casting slender beams of light into the valley floor, like a beacon of hope sprinkled by nature.

The stream at the bottom of the valley still flows gently, its clear sound ringing out in the silence, as if telling a story of bygone years. The exotic flowers and plants along the stream sway softly in the breeze, seemingly sensing the stillness and solitude of the canyon.

If you want to change your fate, you have to take action yourself. In his past life, he was someone who refused to accept his fate and was unwilling to submit to his circumstances. Now, in his second life, although he is like a fledgling eagle trapped in a cage, Mo Yuming has never given up hope. He firmly believes that one day he will be able to escape this canyon.

After some thought, Mo Yuming decided he didn't want to wait any longer; even waiting for one more day would make him feel uncomfortable. So he made a plan in his mind. Since leaving the valley wasn't realistic right now, changing his current living conditions was still possible. Since he was alive, he should live comfortably and happily. If all else failed, he could just make some more inventions in this other world and create his own happy life.

Mo Yuming firmly believed that he would be able to find a way out of the valley. He always believed that there were no insurmountable difficulties, and that as long as you did it, there would always be more solutions than problems.

After more than a month of careful observation, Mo Yuming was surprised to find that the canyon was actually extremely rich in resources.

However, the old men, feeling hopeless about leaving the valley, became disheartened and lived out their remaining years in a daze, adopting a "just getting by" attitude.

When they were hungry, they would pick some wild fruit to fill their stomachs; when they were sleepy, they would find a place to lie down and sleep. They were like living dead who had lost their souls, completely devoid of any interest in life.

The old men who were born and raised in the canyon were more like homeless wild monkeys, wandering around aimlessly. If it weren't for the old men who fell in from the outside who disciplined them and taught them some principles of life and morality, they would probably have degenerated into humanoid monsters long ago.

Within the Grand Canyon, lush vegetation stretches like a green ocean, spreading wildly across the land. Various exotic fruits hang from the branches like dazzling jewels, shimmering alluringly in the sunlight.

The colorful birds, like nimble little elves, flit and dance merrily through the forest, emitting clear and melodious chirps.

Along the stream at the bottom of the valley, a large number of unnamed flowers bloom in competition, their petals so delicate that they seem to be able to be squeezed for water, emitting a refreshing and pleasant fragrance.

The warm sunlight gently spilled into the canyon, draping this mysterious land in a golden glow.

However, this picturesque scenery failed to evoke any hope or longing in the hearts of the elderly. Like a boat adrift without direction, they wandered aimlessly through the canyon.

Mo Yuming was determined to change the status quo. He knew that the first thing to do was to motivate these old men and rekindle their joy in life.

Only in this way could they willingly help him realize his dream and make full use of their remaining energy. However, there was one thing Mo Yuming hadn't anticipated. After he ignited the spark of hope, the residual energy unleashed by these old guys far exceeded his expectations.

In the days that followed, things took an unexpected turn that completely exceeded Mo Yuming's expectations and spiraled out of his control, leaving him completely unprepared.

After making a plan in his mind, Mo Yuming did not try to persuade the old men. He knew that no matter how good he was at public speaking, it would be difficult to move people's hearts.

Moreover, the dozens of elderly people lived scattered in different places, the farthest being over a hundred miles apart, and the closest being only three or five miles away. Mo Yuming knew he didn't have the ability to persuade them one by one.

His idea was extremely simple: to find a way to get these scattered old folks to willingly gather together and form a village.

However, getting everyone to voluntarily stay in one place is easier said than done. First, regardless of their willingness, the necessary infrastructure must be prepared. As the saying goes, "An army marches on its stomach," meaning preparations must be made for food and lodging.

Mo Yuming was not worried about the accommodation problem, because once everyone was willing to live together, they would find a way to solve it.

The key lies in the food, which is also Mo Yuming's winning formula for attracting them.

Even the most boring person will be tempted by delicious food. When you can taste the food you used to eat but can only reminisce about now, the sweet, sour, bitter and spicy flavors, the vivid memories, will inevitably evoke all the longing, nostalgia and reminiscence in your heart, making it irresistible.

To live a normal life, the most basic necessities are firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.

There's no shortage of firewood and food here; the canyon is rich in resources of various kinds. Oil is also easy to obtain; the fat and meat of various wild beasts and magical creatures, as well as oil-rich fruits, are all high-quality oil resources that can be obtained simply by taking action.

Of all these, the only thing missing is salt. Without salt, there's no point in making soy sauce, vinegar, or other seasonings.

As the most important seasoning, although there are minerals in the canyon, it is by no means easy to extract pure, food-grade salt without proper methods.

Otherwise, the old men in the canyon wouldn't have been eating that bitter, unpalatable coarse salt for hundreds of years. Without salt, food is merely for filling the stomach, not for enjoyment. Therefore, the first step in Mo Yuming's plan is to produce salt!