I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 330 Salt of the Aquatic Beastmen

Bai Ling walked to Yue's side. He didn't say anything, but Yue already understood what Bai Ling meant.

Yue stood up, and Xiao stood up next to her. Xiao also stood up when she saw this. As soon as Xiao stood up, Chen came out as well.

Chen walked beside Bai Ling and asked, "Brother, what are you going to do?"

Bai Ling then asked, "Chen, do you think their fish is delicious?"

Chen immediately shook his head: "It's not very tasty. I don't know what they put in the fish, it's a bit bitter. But the fish meat itself tastes very good. Their fish would be great for stewing, making fish soup, fish balls, or steaming."

Bai Ling added, "Sea fish itself doesn't taste bad; the reason it's unpalatable is because their salt is inadequate."

That slight bitterness is just the taste of salt.

There is a high-quality natural salt lake near the Gaoshu tribe, where the salt they eat is fine salt. However, the salt that this tribe eats is coarse salt, and it is of very poor quality.

Besides being salty, this salt also had a bitter taste, which Bai Ling found hard to eat. He wanted to make something else to eat himself.

Bai Ling and Yue walked to the fire pit. Bai Ling spoke to the aquatic beastman guarding the fire pit, and the aquatic beastman gave up the fire pit and brought Bai Ling several fish, a jar of salt, and the roots and stems of several plants.

Bai Ling waved her hand: "We only want the fish; we'll bring our own seasonings."

Bai Ling first prepared the fish. Since there was still plenty of time, he planned to make a stewed fish and a fish ball soup.

Yue also helped to process the fish, Xiao brought Bai Ling's basket, which contained salt, scallions, ginger and various seasonings, while Chen carried an iron pot.

Bai Ling first marinated the fish to be stewed, and then began to process a very large fish. This fish looked similar to a sea bass, but it had two fins on its back and was much larger than a sea bass, more than a meter long.

Bai Ling had asked the aquatic beastman, and he learned that this fish didn't have many bones, just one large bone on its back. Bai Ling used a kitchen knife to remove the fish bone, chopped it into a paste, added minced scallions and ginger and a little bit of spice powder, and once the water in the iron pot boiled, he could make fish balls.

Another iron pot was already simmering fish, and the aroma of fish was wafting out. Many aquatic beastmen gathered around, especially the children and cubs from the tribe.

The cubs of the aquatic beastmen were not small fish, but rather resembled two- or three-month-old infants.

After questioning Bai Ling, it was learned that the aquatic beastman cubs' beast form only lasts for one month. During this month, they will grow in the sea, and after one month, the cubs will be able to transform into human form.

Bai Ling carefully reached out her finger and touched the baby's little hand. Not only Bai Ling, but Yue, Chen and Xiao also surrounded the baby, staring at the baby curiously.

They had never seen such a small child before and thought they were very cute and fun. However, they also knew that such a small child was very fragile and easily frightened, so they watched from a certain distance.

*

The aquatic orcs cook just like the orcs of the old High Tree Tribe did: as long as the food is cooked, that's enough. As for the taste, that's not important at all.

Before they even tasted it, the aroma of stewed fish and fish balls had already completely captivated the aquatic beastmen. The adults were too embarrassed to come over, but the children stood not far from the fire pit, drooling as they stared at the two large black pots.

Fish balls were the first thing to be made. Bai Ling ladled out a few bowls and set them aside. Then, she said to the children, who were drooling, "If you want to eat my food, you have to wash your hands thoroughly. Go wash your hands first, and then you can eat."

"You can't eat the food I make if you don't wash your hands."

Upon hearing Bai Ling's words, the children looked at each other and then all ran in one direction.

After the children washed their hands and came over, Bai Ling handed them the skewered fish balls. Aquatic beastmen don't use chopsticks to eat; they eat with their hands. So Bai Ling skewered the fish balls onto chopsticks and let the children eat them.

Bai Ling then served fish balls and stewed fish to the orcs who were eating over there. The elder pointed to the still steaming stewed fish and fish balls and smiled at the chieftain, Yu, saying, "You should also try Ling's cooking and see if it's delicious."

The fish laughed and said, "I don't even need to taste it. Just by smelling it, I know it will be delicious."

*

Bai Ling's stewed fish and fish balls are very delicious. Besides his skill, there is another important reason: he uses salt that he brought with him.

He used fine salt. If he used the coarse salt from the aquatic tribe, even if he was very skilled, the stewed fish and fish balls he made would still have a slightly bitter taste.

Bai Ling recalled the jar of salt that the aquatic tribe had given her. The salt was yellowish-brown and brownish-yellow, and some of it had tiny black granules. The salt pieces were in chunks, some as big as a thumbnail and others as small as a soybean.

Bai Ling had already asked around and learned that this tribe was not short of salt; salt would "grow" on a certain beach, and they could collect it there if they wanted.

According to the orc's description, Bai Ling knew where the salt they ate came from: it was sea salt left on the rocks after the seawater evaporated.

While eating fish balls, Bai Ling said to Chief Yu, "The salt from your tribe isn't very tasty. Actually, it could be made into a delicious fine salt."

Fish became interested and immediately asked, "What is delicious fine salt?"

Bai Ling pointed to the ceramic bowl in front of her and said, "This is the kind of salt I use to make fish balls and stew fish."

He didn't taste any bitterness when eating the stewed fish, and he knew what kind of salt Bai Ling was talking about. Precisely because he knew what Bai Ling was talking about, a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Ling, are you serious? Our tribe's salt can be made into that kind of white salt that tastes very good?"

Bai Ling nodded: "Okay."

Yu stopped eating and stood up, bowing to Bai Ling, saying, "Ling, can I trade something with you? I'll trade you the skill of making fine salt?"

Their tribe doesn't lack salt, but they lack good-tasting salt. The salt from their own tribe really doesn't taste good. Sometimes, the orcs would rather eat raw fish than cooked fish, simply because cooked fish doesn't taste good.

The fish Ling made was the best food he had ever eaten. Besides the different cooking method, the salt was also very important. If his tribe had fine salt, he could eat such delicious food often in the future.

Yu wanted to drag Bai Ling to make fine salt right away. The elder saw through Yu's thoughts and said with a smile, "Yu, Ling is a guest. Even if you are in a hurry, you should let the guest finish his meal before you teach him the skills."

The elder's words calmed Yu down. He patted his head and said, "Look at my brain, Ling, let's eat first, and we can talk about other things after we finish eating."