readsfreenovel Chapter 257 Can We Learn From You?
Chapter 257 Can We Learn From You?
Zhan is a worldly person.
When he was young, he and his partner traveled around. After becoming the chief of the tribe, he often interacted with other tribes. He had seen all the good things that the nearby tribes had. However, when the orcs of the central tribe displayed all the things they had brought, Zhan still felt that his knowledge was a bit shallow.
He had never seen such beautiful porcelain, such exquisite jade, gemstones and pearls, such soft animal hides, such long and large animal horns, and just by looking at them, he knew they must be incredibly delicious jerky.
The Central Tribe truly lived up to its reputation as the wealthiest and most prosperous tribe on the Orcish Continent, bringing out things he had never seen before.
Zhan looked away from the objects, trying not to swallow, and coughed lightly. He said, "The iron smelting technique was invented by Ling. We agreed that no matter which tribe brought the gift, the tribe and Ling would split it 50/50."
"Ling, you choose first."
Bai Ling declined at first, then began to select items. He chose several pieces of porcelain, some soft animal hides, half of the gemstones and jade, a quarter of the dried meat, and more than half of the pearls.
Seeing that Bai Ling hadn't chosen half of the items, Zhan pointed to the bronze pieces and said, "Ling, pick a few more of those; I think they'd look great displayed at home."
Bai Ling shook his head: "Clan leader, my house is not big enough to display bronzes. These things will suffice for me."
After Bai Ling finished speaking, the Grand Elder asked from the side, "Ling, why do you call this kind of thing bronze?"
Bai Ling explained, "That's what they call it in that world. This metal is called copper. Copper and iron are both metals."
The Grand Elder laughed and said, "We all call them divine artifacts. Ling, what is metal?"
Unable to explain the true meaning of metal to the beastmen, Bai Ling used a simple method: "Metal is something extracted from stone, and it can be used to make all sorts of tools."
"Just like when we talk about fruit, there are many kinds of fruit. Metals also have many classifications, with copper and iron being two of them."
The elder laughed and said, "I think I understand now. Since there are many kinds of metals, then bronze artifacts can no longer be called divine artifacts. From now on, let's call them bronze artifacts. Ling, you can choose two bronze artifacts. These can be used to cook food."
Upon hearing the Grand Elder say that copper utensils could be used as pots for cooking, Bai Ling immediately said, "This cannot be used for cooking food. Copper produces substances that are harmful to the body when heated, and cooking food with copper for a long time can lead to poisoning."
Bai Ling's words made the orcs of the Central Tribe tense up, and the Great Elder's expression changed even more: "Every year during the New Year, our tribe uses a divine artifact to cook food. Won't this cause health problems for the orcs?"
He stared intently at Bai Ling, wanting a definite answer from her.
Bai Ling waved her hand and said, "It's nothing if it happens once in a while. Don't use it again in the future."
The orcs of the central tribe breathed a sigh of relief. They only used copper utensils to cook during the New Year, so they figured there wouldn't be any problems. They would put away all the copper utensils in the tribe after they returned and never use them to cook again.
Zhan said from the side, "Ling, why don't you choose two pieces of bronzeware? Even if you don't need them now, you can keep them at home."
In the end, Bai Ling still chose a bronze item, and Zhan pushed all the remaining pearls in front of Bai Ling: "Ling, I see you like this, you can take all of these."
“We agreed before that you and the tribe would each get half, but what you’ve taken isn’t enough for half. If you take all these pearls, that will be about half.”
*
Besides these, the Grand Elder also brought Bai Ling a lot of seeds. Compared to the most precious things, Bai Ling was clearly more interested in these seeds.
The seeds sent by the central tribe included many that Bai Ling already had, such as soybean and sorghum seeds, as well as two seeds that Bai Ling did not have: millet and sorghum.
Millet, also called foxtail millet, was one of the five grains in ancient times. Sorghum, also called millet, is the same millet used in the name of the state.
Millet can be ground into millet porridge, and sorghum can be ground into millet flour to make rice cakes.
Besides these, there were several other seeds that Bai Ling didn't recognize. He collected all of them. This afternoon, he was going to cut thatch grass, and tomorrow he would plant all of these seeds.
*
Bai Ling and Yue cut some thatch and caught two fish in the river. Bai Ling had also taken more than twenty shrimp from the fish basket he had set out the day before yesterday to Yue's house.
Grandpa, great-uncle, uncle, and great-uncle were all home. When they saw Bai Ling and Yue return with fish and shrimp, they all stood up. Yue's great-uncle said, "You went fishing again? I'll make you fish soup tonight."
Yue's uncles and great-uncles all seemed to have something to say. While Yue's great-uncle was releasing the fish, Bai Ling gently touched Yue's arm with his own.
Yue turned her head slightly to look at Bai Ling, and Bai Ling gave Yue a subtle wink. Yue then looked towards her uncle.
After glancing at him, Yue pulled Bai Ling to sit down on the stool and asked, "Uncle, is something the matter?"
Yue asked the question, scratching her head shyly, "Yue, I heard my father say that the tribe has become so much better because of Ling. Yu and I want to ask Ling if we can learn farming, how to build a kang (heated brick bed), and how to build houses from him. We want to learn too."
All eyes in the room turned to Bai Ling, who replied without hesitation, "Of course, Uncle, I can teach you anything you want to learn." Then, Bai Ling changed the subject, "But I'm very busy right now. My silkworms are reaching a critical stage, so I can't leave for the time being. How about this: I'll find a few beastmen to go back with you. They know how to build kang beds and farm. They can help your tribe build kang beds in the caves and teach you farming."
"Although the best time for sowing has passed, it is still possible to plant seeds. You can learn how to farm first, and then you can start farming officially next year."
"As for building houses, you must first learn how to fire bricks, tiles, and glass, and how to make cement, lime, doors, and windows. To fire bricks, tiles, and glass, you must first learn how to build a brick kiln. To make doors and windows, you must first learn carpentry. These are not things that can be learned in a day or two; they require a long time to learn. If you want to learn these things, it would be best if the tribe sent some orcs to learn in the High Tree Tribe."
Yue's uncle, Yu, said, "It doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as Ling is willing to teach us. We'll go back tomorrow and discuss it with the tribe. The chief will definitely be willing to send someone to learn."
The clan chief must be overjoyed to be living in such a nice house; he'd definitely be willing to send people to learn from it.