I've been transported to the orc continent.

The topic quickly turned to cassava.

"Those two chirping beasts are completely unharmed. It seems that the big root grass really is edible!" one of the beastmen said.

A beastman beside him chuckled, "Cai Du said it's edible, so it definitely is." As he spoke, he seemed to remember something, his eyes reddening slightly. "We've been guarding so much bigroot grass, yet we don't know how to eat it. If only we'd known it was edible earlier, my grandfather wouldn't have..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Orcs survive by hunting and gathering, which is entirely dependent on the weather. If there is enough food, the orcs can live without worry; if there is not enough food, the orcs will starve.

This year is destined to be another winter of hunger. If the bigroot grass were really edible, no one in the tribe would starve to death.

*

The two Jiji beasts ate a lot of cooked dahlias and were still in very good spirits, showing no signs of poisoning. With the affirmation of Cai and the other long-eared rabbit beastmen, the beastmen were almost convinced that the dahlias were not poisonous.

The beastmen who remained in the tribe unanimously decided to dig up giant grass.

A few beastmen with mobility issues were left to guard the tribe, while the rest of the beastmen set out together, transforming into their original forms, carrying baskets on their backs, and running towards the stream into the forest to the south to hunt.

The chieftain of the Gaoshu tribe is named Zhan, a white lion female beastman.

Both male and female orcs can transform into beast form. There is not much difference between males and females. Zhan is the most powerful warrior in the tribe. No one in the tribe can beat him. He naturally became the chieftain.

He led the tribe to hunt in the southern forest. They were supposed to be gone for a few days, but because Bai Ling discovered new food, the orcs left behind in the tribe quickly went to find him and bring him back.

Zhan was tall and had a rather serious face. After returning, he went straight to the square in the center of the tribe. At this time, there were already many large grasses piled up in the square, and a group of elderly orcs were chatting and laughing while processing the grasses.

Without uttering a single wasted word, Zhan asked directly, "Ling, is it really okay to eat big root grass?"

Before Bai Ling could speak, Cai said, "Ye, Ling, and I have all tried it. We even caught two Jiji Beasts to feed them. The Big Root Grass is indeed edible if it's properly prepared."

A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, and his serious expression crumbled as he asked, "How should we prepare the large root grass?"

His gaze was fixed on Bai Ling, a mixture of seriousness and longing in his eyes, as if Bai Ling were not a junior member of the clan, but rather a precious treasure capable of granting wishes.

Bai Ling explained how to process the large root grass, then pointed to the already processed large root grass and said, "Chieftain, we've discussed it. Today we'll prepare this large root grass, and tomorrow we'll cook it, catch a few different wild animals, and feed them a lot to see if they'll have any problems eating it. What do you think of this?"

Zhan nodded and said, "Alright, you don't need to worry about catching wild animals. I'll lead the team myself."

*

Dinner consisted of pumpkin pancakes, stewed meat, and stir-fried celery with meat. Bai Ling and her father, Feng, each held a pancake in one hand and chopsticks in the other to pick up some food. Bai Ling's younger brother, Chen, preferred the stewed meat. He would take a bite of the pumpkin pancake, eat a piece of stewed meat, and then drink a big gulp of meat broth, his eyes crinkling with happiness.

"Brother, it's so delicious," Chen said, looking at Bai Ling with bright eyes full of admiration after finishing a bowl of stewed meat. "Brother, you're amazing."

Bai Ling laughed and said, "What's so great about me? You're the one who's great. I can't even hunt."

There are four types of beastmen in the mountain tribe: white lion beastmen, white wolf beastmen, lynx beastmen, and long-eared rabbit beastmen.

White lion orcs, white wolf orcs, and lynx orcs, once they reach a certain age, are trained in hunting skills by the warriors of their tribes. Those with talent go hunting, while those without go to guard the territory and gather food. As for long-eared rabbit orcs, they are not naturally suited for hunting and generally work in gathering teams or patrol the territory in cooperation with other orcs.

Bai Ling used to be muddleheaded and naturally never practiced hunting. Of the four family members, his father, father-in-law, and younger brother were all skilled hunters, but he was completely clueless about hunting.

Chen filled another bowl with stewed meat: "Brother, you can cook delicious food. You even know how to eat root grass, which makes you better than everyone else in the tribe." He shook his head: "No, I mean better than everyone in all the tribes around here."

Bai Ling smiled and said, "Thank you for your praise, little brother. I will try my best to find more delicious food and cook it all for you."

Chen flashed a bright white smile: "Thanks, bro."

*

After soaking for a day and a night, the snow beast's skin was very soft. Bai Ling rubbed it vigorously in the puddle for a while and then washed it clean with water.

He found four tree branches, tied them together to make a frame according to the size of the snow beast hide, then used a bone knife to poke small holes all over the snow beast hide, and finally used rope to thread through the small holes and tie it to the frame to hang it up to dry.

To make the hides softer, they need to be tanned, but he has neither alum nor saltpeter on hand, so he can only skip that step for now.

He had eaten too much in the morning and was strolling around the yard to digest. Seeing his older brother busy at work, he asked curiously, "Brother, what are you doing?"

Bai Ling replied, "To collect animal hides."

Chen: "Don't you usually smoke animal hides before cleaning them? Why are you leaving them outside to dry?"

“This is a method I saw in my dream, and I don’t know if it will work,” Bai Ling said. “If this method makes the hides softer, we will use this method to process animal hides from now on.”

As the two brothers were talking, Feng came out of the house and beckoned to Bai Ling: "Ling, come here, I have something to tell you."

Bai Ling clapped her hands: "Father, I'm coming right now."

It was already getting dark. Bai Ling walked over and sat down next to his father. Chen followed and plopped down next to Bai Ling: "Father, what is it?"

Feng said, "Ling, could you tell the other tribes how to eat daikon radish?"

Previously, because it was poisonous, the orcs dared not eat the large root grass. Now, with a stable and abundant food source, the orcs can store more food for winter, and perhaps fewer orcs will starve to death.

This is good news for all orcs.

This includes the wind's relatives and friends.

Bai Ling laughed and said, "Father, of course you can. You can tell all the beastmen about this."

Feng laughed and said, "Well, I'll talk to the clan leader about it tomorrow. I think the clan leader is thinking the same thing. Oh, by the way, your uncle doesn't know that you've regained your senses yet. I need to have someone tell him."

Feng's older brother, Lin, lives in the Hongyan tribe. Lin and his partner have no children. He loves Bai Ling and Chen very much and often brings things to the two brothers.

Now that Bai Ling has regained her senses, she should tell Lin. She can take this opportunity to tell the Red Rock Tribe about the Big Root Grass and invite Lin to come along.