I've been transported to the orc continent.

Besides, finding iron ore isn't about having as many people as possible; too many people can actually make it harder to manage. The current number of people is just right.

Bai Ling divided his people into two teams. One team searched downstream from the upper reaches of the river, while the other team searched upstream. After the team upstream found the first piece of iron ore, they came to tell him that it was very likely the closest place to the iron ore mine.

The tribesmen downstream should also expand their search area. If they find a large amount of iron ore or a cluster of it, they should tell him, because such places may be very close to iron ore mines.

The tribesmen spread out in a fan shape, and Bai Ling, carrying a basket on his back, searched for iron ore among the rocks. Not far from him was Yue. Perhaps because the tribesmen had already searched this area once, there wasn't much iron ore, so Bai Ling and Yue walked relatively quickly.

On the second day, the tribesmen who were searching for iron ore upstream finally found their first piece of iron ore.

Bai Ling hurried over. The place where he found the iron ore was a gentle riverbank. Standing on the riverbank, Bai Ling looked around. Not far from the riverbank was a range of rolling hills with sparse vegetation. Across the riverbank was a plain, and further away was a hillside.

Bai Ling remembered this place; it was where the first piece of iron ore was discovered upstream of the river, and the iron ore mine was very likely not far from here.

Bai Ling sent this group of tribesmen to explore that mountain range. If they found iron ore in the occupied area, they were to inform him.

Bai Ling and Yue went to the opposite riverbank, hoping to find some iron ore.

As Bai Ling expected, there was also iron ore on the opposite riverbank, and the further downstream you went, the more iron ore there was.

Bai Ling picked up half a basket of iron ore and called out to Yue, who was bending over, "Yue, let's go take a look over there."

Upon hearing this, Yue stood up. Without saying anything, he followed Bai Ling in that direction. After leaving the riverbank, Bai Ling said again, "Yue, let's search along the way. If we see any iron ore, just let us know."

The two walked along, heads down, searching. Bai Ling soon found a piece of iron ore about half the size of a fist.

He was delighted and took a few steps forward to pick up the iron ore. He looked at it for a few moments before throwing it into the basket he was carrying on his back.

A few steps later, Yue also found a piece of iron ore. The two of them picked up several more pieces of iron ore before the roar of their tribesmen could be heard from the other side of the river.

Bai Ling and her clansmen had agreed that they would call out when they found a piece of iron ore, but only now have the first piece of iron ore been found there.

After Bai Ling and Yue filled their baskets with iron ore, the second and third calls of their tribesmen rang out from across the river.

Bai Ling had a plan in mind. He nodded to Yue and said, "Yue, call them all over. The iron mine is very likely located here."

Yue didn't say much. He walked behind a rock and transformed into his beast form. The beautiful white wolf leaped up and jumped onto a rock. The white wolf stretched its neck and howled towards the opposite bank of the river.

The loud wolf howls carried far, and several low calls echoed from the opposite bank of the river. Soon after, the tribesmen appeared on the opposite bank and then jumped into the river, swimming towards them.

The tribespeople with enormous beast-like forms all transformed into their beast forms, while those with smaller forms carried baskets on their backs and sat on the backs of the beast-like tribespeople. Because they were carrying people, the beast-like tribespeople swam relatively slowly. It was winter, and the river water was icy cold. If they got splashed with water, their clothes would get wet and they would feel very uncomfortable.

Once the tribespeople had swum over, Bai Ling had them spread out in a line and search from the riverbank towards the plains.

*

After three days of searching, Bai Ling was almost certain that the iron mine was located on the mountain next to that plain.

In order to better find iron ore, Bai Ling went back to his clan and forged twenty iron pickaxes. With the pickaxes, they could break the ore and search for the iron ore hidden in the mountains.

Dozens of orcs spread out, some with iron pickaxes, some with stone hammers, and some with wooden sticks. Bai Ling led them to start hammering and digging at the rocks.

Bai Ling was very lucky; the iron mine turned out to be an open-pit mine. He led his people to dig for seven or eight days and finally reached the shallow ore layer.

Now the tribespeople no longer need to worry about the dwindling iron ore reserves. Even though it's a small iron mine, it can support the tribe for several years.

*

After finding the iron ore, Bai Ling spent the mornings in the tribe's iron smelting room and the afternoons going out to collect it with Yue.

Bai Ling wanted Yue to train with him, but after discussing it with Yue, Yue decided not to specifically train Bai Ling. The two of them would go out to collect materials every afternoon as a form of exercise.

According to Yue, it will start snowing in a few days, and the entire tribe's territory will be covered in white snow. At that time, even if they want to gather things, they won't be able to find anything. If they want to find something useful, they have to hurry.

After lunch, Bai Ling and Yue would carry their baskets on their backs and head in any direction. They would walk slowly, parting the grass as they went, talking as they went. Bai Ling would also have to watch her step and see if there was anything suitable.

Bai Ling turned his gaze to the withered trees and perennial shrubs in the territory.

He remembered that many spices in his previous life were made from various kinds of tree bark, roots, and leaves. He decided to learn from Shennong, who tasted hundreds of herbs, and try the bark, leaves, and roots. If they had a special flavor, he would bring them back to use as spices.

Bai Ling wanted to try it herself, but Yue stopped her.

In terms of experience in surviving in the wild, Yue was certainly much more experienced than Bai Ling. Yue didn't allow Bai Ling to eat any food he didn't recognize, and Bai Ling listened to her advice and only gathered food without eating it himself.

"We'll carry everything we've gathered back for the sheep to eat. If the sheep are fine after eating it, then we'll definitely be fine too."

Yue agreed to this approach. He then glanced at what Bai Ling had collected: leaves, roots, bark, and dried flowers. These things were not only inedible but also had a strange taste. They would never have collected these things before.

Ling has collected so many inedible things, how can we turn them into edible ones? Is it like Ling said, adding some when stewing meat will make the meat taste better?

Despite her doubts, Yue and Bai Ling still gathered quite a lot of things, and after returning, they left them to dry in the cave.

It's been windy every day for the past few days, and sometimes it even snows a little, so there's no way to hang things out to dry.

To make it easier to dry these things, Bai Ling and Yue specially cleaned out a cave. This cave was near the top of a low mountain and was not very big. Usually, no one used it. After cleaning out the cave, Bai Ling and Yue laid out a mat made of woven grass. They hung the things they had gathered on the mat to dry. Bai Ling and Yue also hung a straw curtain at the entrance of the cave so that the cold wind outside could not blow in.