When Yan Mo peeled off a large vole in an unskilled way, the sky had dimmed and gone to evening; the sunset glowed west of the sky.
Many of the tribesmen had already made dinner or were making it. The strong aroma of barbeque wafted into Yan Mo's nose.He swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva in a row. In a straw hut which was erected meticulously next door, just a foot away, has baked the meat. The slave called over its master to eat. At the same time, Cao Ting came over to help Yan Mo handle another vole."Were you starved for a long time? I don't think you have any strength left." Cao Ting skewered the neck of the large vole. She used the stone knife to draw around the bleeding hole and to cut off the connective tissues near over the flesh and under the skin. In the next moment, she pulled down the animal's skin.The whole vole was skinned in a matter of a few minutes.The raw strength she exerted wasn't small. Yan Mo looked at his own hands. Was it because he was starved and lacked the energy? 90% says it is.Yan Mo was embarrassed to let Cao Ting do all the work. He picked up the stone knife and started a laparotomy on the skinned voles. This was the result of his diligence in the previous life; although this is in a new body and there is a strange feeling. The skills are still there.In the first vole, he was slow to handle the entrails but improved on his second vole.When Cao Ting discovered him, he had evenly dismembered the carcass."It doesn't have to be cut into small pieces that is why this small prairie rat is the most convenient to roast."Yan Mo stopped his hands. He was habitually planning to cut the rodent into pieces intended for braise or stir-fry, but forgot that they neither braise or fry food hear. Those concepts were lost.Cao Ting helped to cut another complete prairie mouse. She smeared it with salt before placing it on the fire pit."The mouse can only be cooked this way. The next time you must remember that meat is best eaten raw. Our salt turns bitter when dissolved in water, but the bitterness won't be present if you roast it in an open fire." Cao Ting sighed. Yan Mo can't cook. The priest disciple may not necessarily cook for himself back in his tribe."Salt will be bitter because it contains other minerals aside from sodium. The taste will be improved if you filtered in several times." Yan Mo pointed out.Cao Ting looked at him strangely. "How many times do you have to boil it? How much waste would that be? Do you know how valuable salt, water and firewood are? Was the Salt Mountain tribe so wasteful? Yuan Zhan is a good master so you are free to use it. The salt, water and firewood are available. If you change to other master, you will be starved for a few times for wasting something."The Yuan people here didn't know how to get better salt, but were also unwilling. No wonder even after he taught the knowledge, the banished Guide still didn't respond.This is the same as modern earth. It's already the 21st century yet there are still numerous places in China that lives primitively. They do not know how to live a better life, but also suffers from the lack of knowledge and harsh conditions.Yan Mo's face was thick, and he didn't blush.If the guidelines on geography and hydrology can be used now, the climate and environment will allow him to find salt ponds and salt lakes nearby. Because the temperature is high and the heat from the sun is strong during the day, even if the salt water wasn't completely cooked, it's still possible to continue the desalination process by drying the salt water under the sun. It is a more economical and environmentally friendly compared to boiling it.If it can be taught, then the scum value will drop from 100 million.Yan Mo wanted to cook the dismembered prairie rat but there were no suitable tools so he could only give up.Yuan Zhan came back with a full tank of water. He watched Yan Mo attempt to cook the meat. He put down the water tank and kicked him. "The meat is not allowed to be cooked in the future and you are not allowed to use so much water for yourself."Cao ting wanted to say a word but she didn't dare. She bowed her head and left.Yan Mo silently endured the humiliation. He had to change his mentality. In such a desolate place where there is nothing, instead of trying to live a better, it's better to think about how to live a longer life.Yuan Zhan ate one and a half at meat and left the remaining pot of meat to Yan Mo.Yan Mo felt that Yuan Zhan might not have enough to eat and that half pot of meat made him lose his appetite.Yan Mo was excited. Once he got the consent from Yuan Zhan, he immediately reached from the side of the stone pot and fished out the meat that had cooled off.He was so hungry. Although the cook meat was salty and bitter, he ate with such relish and even the broth in the stone bowl was held up and dried.It was dark yet Yuan Zhan carefully covered the fire pit.Yan Mo licked his fingers and asked: 'Don't you have to keep the fire going?""There is a fire pit in every family and the slaves watch over it so you remember to go up to the fire pit every morning to start the fire and extinguish it before you sleep."Why do you not leave the fire burning?""How can we let the fire burn? Do you think we have firewood to burn all night?" Yuan Zhan's gaze meant 'Use your brain'. The contempt in that gaze was not lost in Yan Mo's eyes.Yan Mo shut his mouth. He remembered that when he was a kid, his grandparents burned the stove. In the evening they used the mixed carbon cover to control the fire in the furnace. They only took out a small fire eye and let the coal inside burn incompletely. The fire can be kept until the next morning.But this method was obviously unsuitable for this situation. He was not proficient in this matter and must re-educate himself again.It seems that it was more difficult to reduce the scum vale here than he imagine. Yan Mo was trying to erect again his middle finger to God when Yuan Zhan grabbed his arm and dragged him directly into the tent.Letting go of Yan Mo's arm, Yuan Zhan pointed in a corner of the piled "garbage". "You will sleep here later. Those furs will be yours to use."There was no fire in the tent and everywhere was dark and smooth. When Yan Mo's eyes adjusted after a long time, he faintly saw something.Yuan Zhan turned around and took a torch. He took it at the center of the tent and inserted it in the ground within the stone table.Yan Mo clearly saw small bugs on the ground quickly disperse to the four sides before he looked at the dark corner. Will he sleep with the insects in the future?Yuan Zhan pulled down the curtain over the opening of the tent before he pressed the corners with the stone. He turned and looked at Yan Mo's injured leg. "You stabilized the broken leg with the use of wooden sticks to prevent the bones from being displaced? This method is good. I have not seen our tribe's people use it before. The priest used it once. Were you taught by the priest of the Salt Mountain tribe?"Yan Mo nodded and reached for the rotten fur… He swears that when he pulled up the fur. There were no less than five worms that fell out and wriggled around.Yuan Zhan walked to his bed, untied the leather skirt and threw it on the stone table. He slyly sat on the bed in all his form and glory.Yan Mo saw a big flapping stick with its berries in the shadow and was silent. Are the people here so well developed?"What is your name?""Yan Mo.""How old are you?""Fourteen.""You are three years younger than me, but you are not even a 1st Rank warrior. You are useless." Yuan Zhan patted his belly and spared no effort fighting with his own slave: "I was a 1st Rank warrior by the age of 12 and was promoted to 2nd Rank at the age of fifteen. If I train more and fight more I will soon become a 3rd Rank warrior. By then I will be able to own two slaves. The second slave will definitely be healthy, and I must find a beautiful and good-looking one."Yan Mo's expression cracked a bit. Was this guy who claimed to be his Master, turned out to be a minor? The man was well-developed. He thought this kid was well above twenty by all that grown-up talk.However, according to his memory, the people here are normally well-developed. The age of thirteen and fourteen is already the age at which a man can start a family. Many people will marry and have children at this age. For contemporary perspective, the man is still a child; nevertheless, for the primitives, he is already considered to be an adult and so the age of seventeen is a truly a full-fledged labor force."Da-Ren, if this is the case, why didn't you accept a female slave in the beginning? Just like Da-Ren next door." Yan Mo nearly screamed at his master when the severe pain shot in his leg, but he endured. He pulled out a piece of rotten fur, shook it and laid it on the ground.Yan Mo didn't expect Yuan Zhan to reply. He also didn't expect the reply he received. "The female slave is expensive, and if there is a female slave there will be children. I am afraid I cannot stay with children."After a while, Yuan Zhan muttered: "I do not want to eat my own children, and I do not want to give my children to others so they can be eaten."Yan Mo's hand stopped. Would the winter and living conditions in this tribe so harsh? Not only will they eat their slaves but they also eat their own children who are part of the tribe?This kind situation never happened with the Salt Mountain people. Although the Salt Mountain tribe also have a custom of cannibalism, but because the place was rich in salt mines, winter times weren't so severe. In the memory belonging to the fourteen year old boy, the Salt Mountain people have not eaten a person. It was probably because of this that his people would rather abandon him than consume him."But if I rise to a 3rd Rank warrior, I can support my child. " Yuan Zhan laid down and his voice turned frosty: "It is my turn to hunt tomorrow, the shortest duration a hunting partying will be gone is 5 days and the longest is 10 days. There is not much food in the house. I will ask Yuan Diao to let Cao Ting take care of you. You better eat less. When I come back, I will return your rations to Yuan Diao. When I am not here you should not run around. I have not brandished my mark on your body. If you are caught wondering about, it will cause trouble!""Yes, Yuan Da-Ren"Not long after, Yun Zhan started to snore lightly. His physical exertions during the day cause him to fall asleep quickly at night.Yan Mo extinguished the light on the fire before he spread out of the fur bed, barely fitting in it. He struggled to support himself with his arms and moved his body to the bed made of few pieces of broken fur.Despite the horrible stench on the shredded furs and the uncomfortable texture of the skin, it is still better than sleeping on the cold ground.There are a lot of furs but they weren't big and arranging them on the floor takes time. The mold is not worse. Yan Mo has been looking for a long time in search for a piece that can barely cover his stomach.Lying on the bed, Yan Mo took a deep breath before he finally got a good night's sleep.Once everyone had settled in, the sounds in the surrounding were amplified; still, it cannot stop the sound inside the layered fur tents.There is no entertainment at night, what does every family do after dinner?Yan Mo listened to the rigorous movements without covering, and slowly drifted to sleep.The combined physical and psychological fatigue made Yan Mo quickly forget the harsh environment and immediately fell asleep. Even if he was hurt in his dreams, he was unwilling to wake up.As the night darkens, the temperature also dropped a little.The climate here is similar to the desert. It was excruciatingly hot during the day and bitterly cold during the night.Suddenly!"Ah!" Yan Mo screamed and the whole person was awoken by the pain.Yuan Zhan, who was in deep sleep, was awoken. He cursed while he opened his eyes, got up and walked to Yan Mo. He knelt down and grabbed the latter's hair. He asked: "What is it?"Since Yan Mo was preoccupied with his injured leg; the head was dotted with sweat.He even forgot about the punishment the Guide mention—that damn fire!Just now in his sleep, he dreamt that the old priest was holding the burning wooden stuck and branded it on his injured leg.The dream wasn't real yet the pain was real.Yuan Zhan looked at him with a frown and asked: "Why, is the wound hurting?"Yan Mo's consciousness was a little jumbled. He spoke no answer."Troublesome." Yuan Zhan dropped down and removed the stone that was pressing down the corners of the curtain. He walked out of the tent and took a scoop of water back. He lifted his head and sent the scoop to Yan Mo's mouth, "Drink!"Yan Mo was sweating profusely, and his throat was parched. With Yuan Zhan's hand holding the scooper, he drank while breathing heavily."Continue to sleep. No more screaming or I will seal your mouth shut."Yuan Zhan packed up, pulled a piece of sturdy fur hanging on the wall and threw it on Yan Mo. He didn't speak again, laid back and drifted to sleep.Yan Mo slowly reached out and hugged the fur that covered his entire body, tightly wrapping it around his him.The pain of broken bones couple with the sensation of being scalded in his dream, Yan Mo slept very late in the middle of the night. He was so exhausted he didn't even know he made low snoring sounds.The young and powerful Yuan Zhan was paralyzed by the snoring from his own slave. After cursing a bunch of words, he turned his body and fiddled with his little brother.In the morning, Yan Mo woke up and whiffed the special smell that had been vented out in the tent. The mouth was sour, seventeen years old… isn't that just the age of a tree hole?