I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 256 The Most Precious Thing

Bai Ling didn't know how many times the silkworms on the Beastman Continent would molt, but judging from the current situation, it wasn't long before they spun their cocoons, and she needed to prepare a cocooning frame for them.

Since we had nothing to do today, Bai Ling said to Yue, "Yue, let's go cut some wild grass this afternoon, dry it, and use it for the silkworms to spin cocoons."

Yue then asked, "What kind of cuts are you going to make? Should we bring a machete or a sickle? Or should we bring both?"

Bai Ling: "Take a sickle with you. We're going to cut thatch, dry it, and tie it into bundles."

The thatch in the orc world grows exceptionally tall, much taller than an adult orc. In the past, when orcs built houses, they would cover the roofs with thatch or animal hides. There was plenty of thatch on the plains not far from the tribe, and sometimes children would go there to pull out the roots of thatch to eat.

Yue nodded: "Okay, let's go in a bit."

Bai Ling had a good plan. When he and Yue were tired from working and sat down to rest, he would weave a little trinket out of thatch to amuse Yue. After they finished cutting the thatch, he and Yue would go to the river to catch two fish. Yue's uncles and great-uncles were coming, so he had to be very enthusiastic.

Bai Ling's plan was excellent, but unfortunately it failed because guests came to the tribe.

The orcs from the central tribe have arrived.

In the spring, the third elder of the central tribe sent the Sky Orcs back. The High Tree Tribe was willing to share its iron-smelting techniques, which was a crucial matter for the tribe's development. The tribe should be informed of this as soon as possible so that the tribe could bring its most precious gifts and the most intelligent orcs to the High Tree Tribe.

Although most of the beastmen from the Central Tribe had never been to the High Tree Tribe, they knew from the stories told by the Sky Beastmen and from the various items they brought back that the High Tree Tribe had a lot of good stuff. This year, the High Tree Tribe expressed its willingness to share its iron-making skills. The elders of the Central Tribe could not sit still any longer. Several elders took stock of all the resources in the tribe, took the most precious items from the tribe, and led a team led by the tribe's Grand Elder to the High Tree Tribe to learn the iron-making skills.

Along the way, the orcs from the Central Tribe who had never been there before were all imagining what the High Tree Tribe was like. They had discussed it countless times along the way, but when they finally arrived, they realized that their imaginations were far too conservative.

The Gaoshu tribe is even better than they imagined.

*

Beautiful houses, tidy roads, lush vegetation, and orcs pushing logs along the road—whether old or young, every orc's face was beaming with smiles.

Their faces were all healthy and natural, without the yellow tinge of someone who wasn't getting enough to eat, which was what surprised the elder of the central tribe the most.

Even a powerful tribe like the Central Tribe cannot guarantee that all its members will have rosy complexions, especially now that the only food available for gathering is wild vegetables.

Wild vegetables cannot satisfy the orcs' hunger, and wild fruits and grass seeds have not yet sprouted. Wild animals also need to rest and recuperate at this time and cannot be hunted indiscriminately. Therefore, although the vegetation is lush and all things have recovered, the orcs' lives are still not easy.

Among the orcs from their own tribe, only the children and those who went out hunting looked relatively well, but in the High Tree tribe, every orc they encountered looked quite friendly.

Just by looking at the expressions on the faces of a few orcs passing by, the Grand Elder knew that the High Tree Tribe was doing even better than he had imagined.

When the Third Elder met the First Elder, his first words were: "First Elder, come on, I'll show you around the High Tree Tribe. There are so many wonderful things here that you can't describe them just by talking about them. You have to see them for yourself to know."

The Third Elder first led the First Elder and his entourage to the iron smelting room. Pointing to the tall iron smelting furnace, he said, "This is called a blast furnace. Since we got it, the iron in the Gaoshu tribe has been flowing out like water from a great river. Ling said that he will not only teach us the techniques of iron smelting, but also how to smelt the blast furnace. And if our tribe finds other stones, we might be able to smelt them using this method as well."

The elder stared blankly at the towering behemoth before him for a moment, but he quickly recovered. The Gaoshu tribe had decided to teach them the art of iron smelting, and one day his own tribe would also have such a behemoth.

After inspecting the iron smelting furnace, the Third Elder then led the First Elder to see the fields. As they walked along the smooth road, the Third Elder praised the road under his feet, saying, "This road was specially built by the Gaoshu tribe. With this road, it is much more convenient to go to work in the fields or to fetch water from the river."

He pointed to a handcart lying on the ground not far away and said, "This is called a handcart. Orcs can push it to move forward. It can hold a lot of things, and people can sit on it. Ling also made a kind of trolley that is pulled by wild beasts. That trolley can hold a lot of things, which is much more convenient than transforming into a beast form and carrying things on your back."

The fields of the Gaoshu tribe were cultivated around the water source. The Third Elder led his people to the Gaoshu tribe's public field, which was planted with wheat. It was the field that received the most attention from the orcs in the tribe, and it was also the field where the Third Elder and his people spent the most time.

"Elder, look at their fields. How are they different from our tribe's fields?" the Third Elder asked.

After taking a few glances, the elder said, "The fields of the Gaoshu tribe are flat, with few weeds, and the plants are growing very well."

He added in his mind: "It grows much better than the plants in my own tribe's fields."

The Third Elder smiled and said, "Yes, they also had a good harvest in the fall. Their tribe didn't lack food at all last winter."

"Oh, by the way, have the cassava been planted yet?" the Third Elder asked.

The elder said, "They've been planted, and we've even assigned someone to watch over them. The cassava is growing well, and we might be able to distribute them next year."

Third Elder: "Once the entire tribe starts planting cassava, we won't have to go hungry in the winter."

*

Bai Ling and Zhan, along with several elders from the tribe, received the orcs from the central tribe in the council room.

This time, ten Sky Orcs and twenty Land Orcs came from the Central Tribe. The Orc leading them was an old man in his sixties, who was the Great Elder of the Central Tribe.

The elder and Zhan Xian exchanged pleasantries, and then the elder took out the gifts he had brought.

Iron smelting is a very precious skill, so the orcs of the central tribe naturally offered their most valuable possessions in exchange.

The finest porcelain made in the tribe, the ancient and elegant bronzeware, the soft whole animal hides, the dried meat made from the tenderest parts of wild animals, jade of various colors and textures, bright pearls, dazzling gemstones, and warm animal horns—these are the best and most precious things in the central tribe, all of which are displayed in front of the exhibition.