I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 266 Salt Lake

Compared to the view from the air, standing on the shore of the salt lake, this seemingly endless blue lake is far more impactful.

Its blue is transparent and pure, like a huge gemstone, or like the reflection of the sky on the land.

The shore of the salt lake is white. Standing on the shore and looking into the distance, all you see is blue and white. The white shore is like a seashell, and the blue salt lake is like a blue pearl nurtured inside a giant seashell.

The group of animals were all in animal form, but instead of heading to the salt lake, they ran towards a mountain.

This mountain is where the beastmen sun-dry salt. They first clean this place before going to the salt lake to collect salt for sun-drying.

Zhong led everyone to the foot of the mountain. After climbing for a short while, Zhong called out and ran behind a rock, transforming into human form.

Bai Ling and Yue also found a stone and used it to form human shapes.

The sky orc that had been circling in the sky let out a cry and landed behind a rock. Then a tall orc walked out from behind the rock.

Only one Sky Orc came this time; the other Sky Orc stayed at their lodging. They brought a lot of food, so one person had to stay behind to guard it.

This time, Bai Ling, Yue, and Zhong did not ride on the backs of the Sky Beastmen because they had to carry water over. Salt production requires water, but there was no fresh water here, so they had to carry it over from the mountain where they were staying.

The group led everyone to a cliff, where there was a pool surrounded by stones.

Pointing to the pool, he said, "After the salt blocks from the lake are transported here, we will crush them, then add clean water and stir, before pouring in the brine."

After leading everyone a few steps, Bai Ling noticed a small hole on the edge of the pool.

Zhong continued, "The brine will slowly flow out of the pool, and we will use earthenware pots to catch it. Once the pots are full, we will transport the brine to the foot of the mountain to dry in the sun. Salt dried in this way is very white in color, less bitter, and tastes very good."

The pool was surrounded by stones, the rough surface of which was full of cracks. There was some black substance in those cracks. Bai Ling stretched out her fingernail and scraped some of it. Before anyone could say anything, she took a little bit of the bluish-black powder from her fingertip and put it in her mouth to taste it.

The tip of her tongue tasted a bitter and astringent flavor, which made Bai Ling's face wrinkle slightly.

Seeing this, Yue quickly bent down, picked up a water bag and handed it over, saying, "Ling, what are you doing? This is not edible at all."

Bai Ling still had a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn't dare to speak at all. He could only purse his lips tightly and try to force a smile at Yue to indicate that he was fine and that Yue shouldn't worry.

Yue: "You're still laughing? Drink some water first."

Bai Ling smiled at Yue again. Actually, the taste in his mouth had faded considerably, but Yue's concerned expression still pleased him greatly. Bai Ling took a couple of sips of water and then returned the water pouch to Yue. Yue asked, "Is your mouth still bitter?"

Bai Ling shook her head: "It's all over now, Yue, don't worry."

Yue muttered softly, "I'm not worried at all. I'm just afraid your mouth will feel uncomfortable. You're such a grown-up, and you still eat random things outside."

Although that's what he said, there wasn't a trace of resentment in Yue's expression or tone. He knew that Bai Ling was afraid of bitterness, and that bitterness in her mouth would make Bai Ling feel uncomfortable. If Bai Ling felt uncomfortable, he would worry about her.

Bai Ling leaned closer to him and whispered, "With Yue by my side, even if I'm in pain, I won't feel bitter."

Yue's face flushed red instantly, and he said, "Don't talk, let's get to work."

They need to clean the pool, then go to the salt lake to dig for salt. Once they bring the salt back, they'll have to learn how to make salt with Zhong.

*

Zhong had been here many times before and was very familiar with everything. He led everyone to a place where the white crystals were very thick, and stepping on them felt like stepping on thick snow.

Pointing to this spot, he said, "We all dig salt blocks here. Once we've dug them out, we have to send them over the mountain to be dried in the sun."

Zhong, holding an iron shovel, walked to a spot, bent over, and began to dig. Bai Ling, Yue, and the Sky Beastman followed Zhong's example and began digging in the brine by the lake.

This salt lake has a very high salt content, and the shore is covered with white crystals accumulated over millions of years. The four of them collected a lot of yellowish-white salt blocks, then carried them in baskets on their backs to the salt-drying area.

Back at the pool on the cliff, Zhong poured the salt blocks from his basket onto the rocks and smashed them. Then he threw all the salt blocks into the wooden bucket and stirred them vigorously.

While stirring, he said, "The salt we dug up needs to be mixed with water. Once all the salt is mixed in the water, then pour the water into the pool."

As Zhong stirred, the water in the wooden bucket began to become cloudy. Zhong's hands never stopped moving until almost all the salt blocks that had been poured in had dissolved, at which point Zhong stopped stirring.

Bai Ling, Yue, and the Sky Beastman followed suit, crushing the brine and pouring it into the wooden bucket to stir, then pouring the brine from the bucket into the pool.

As the salt water in the pool increased, salt water began to flow out of the holes at the bottom of the pool. There was no wooden bucket under the holes because what Bai Ling wanted was not salt at all, but the bluish-black substance left in the pool by the salt water.

Upon seeing this pool, Bai Ling understood why the salt produced by the nearby tribes was of such high quality.

Because these stones have rough and uneven surfaces, when brine is poured in, the impurities and minerals in the brine will settle at the bottom of the water and then adhere to the surface of these stones. The brine that flows out from the holes will have fewer impurities and a higher salt content. If it is then dried in the sun, the salt will naturally taste very good.

Actually, the yellowish-white salt blocks dug directly from the bottom of the lake are edible, but they don't taste very good. I don't know which orc discovered that by breaking the dug-out salt blocks, stirring them in water, and then putting the water in a pit to dry in the sun, you can get clean and delicious salt.

The salt produced in this salt lake is one of the most important trade goods for the Central Tribe caravans. Every time a caravan arrives, it exchanges most of its supplies for salt. They then carry this salt on their way to exchange supplies with tribes that do not produce salt.

*

What Bai Ling wanted was not the separated brine, but the substance at the bottom of the pool—the brine he desired.

However, it can be used to make tofu.

The brine that flowed out was all wasted. The tribe didn't lack salt at all. It would take several days to dry the salt, and the workload would increase significantly. The orcs valued their time and simply didn't have that much time to dry the salt.