Although they were growing in the wild and had an uneven shape, with most of the skin still green and only a hint of ripeness, Wen Ze couldn’t mistake them for anything else. 

These were tomatoes! 

He quickly walked over, his eyes lighting up as he carefully studied each fruit on the vine. 

Remembering the tomato’s unique sweet-and-sour flavor, his mouth began to water, and he swallowed hard as a flood of recipes flashed through his mind. 

Just then, Huo Lan, a half-beastman with short red hair and a bold, sharp look, walked over. He had originally come to ask about clothing styles but noticed Wen Ze’s interest in the fruit. 

With a smile, Huo Lan asked, “Does your territory have these?” 

Wen Ze glanced at Sang Hui, who replied, “We do, but they’re rare. Even if we search ten times, we might not find them once.” 

No wonder Wen Ze couldn’t find any mention of tomatoes in the original owner’s memories. 

Huo Lan nodded, “Our territory doesn’t have many of these either. When they’re unripe, they’re sour and slightly bitter, but once they ripen, they turn sweet and sour, not as sharp as regular fruit—just a nice flavor. Both beastmen and birds love them, so we pick them as soon as we see them and usually don’t wait for them to fully ripen.” 

The other half-beastmen had already started searching the tomato vines, picking the fist-sized fruits and putting them into their baskets. 

They laughed and joked, “Yes, if we don’t hurry, the birds will eat them all.” 

“Come on, you should pick some too. Stir-fry them with bird eggs when we get back—it’s delicious!” 

“Oh, and lately everyone’s been adding those scallions to their dishes. I found that chopping them finely and stir-frying them with bird eggs and tomatoes makes it taste even better.” 

“Look, here’s a ripe one, but the birds have already eaten it.” 

Wen Ze noticed the half-beastman was about to toss away the half-rotten tomato. He quickly stepped forward and asked, “Can I have that?” 

The half-beastman showed a look of confusion. 

Wen Ze explained honestly, “I want to keep some seeds, but I’m not sure if it’s allowed.” 

The half-beastman glanced at Huo Lan, who immediately said, “Sure, take it.” 

Wen Ze accepted it with a smile. “Thank you.” 

Huo Lan waved his hand, signaling for him not to be so polite. 

Since the South Mountain and Rainbow Sun Tribes were close neighbors, Huo Lan figured the birds had likely spread the seeds there as well. Rather than letting Wen Ze go through the trouble of finding them on his own, he decided it would be better to help, seeing it as a gesture of gratitude for Wen Ze teaching him the beautiful clothing style earlier. 

Wen Ze felt the difference between the two tribes in terms of climate and terrain. Even someone as experienced as Sang Hui had rarely seen tomatoes in the South Mountain area. It would be even more difficult for him to find them. 

So, he silently remembered the generosity of the Rainbow Sun Tribe. 

In the Beast World, animals and fruits were generally larger, but these tomatoes were only about half the size of a fist, suggesting that the yield in the wild was not high. 

As Wen Ze thought about how to cultivate and plant them after returning, he and the group searched through the entire area of tomato vines. In the end, each person collected a small half-basket of tomatoes, both ripe and unripe. 

Then, the people of the Rainbow Sun Tribe led them deeper into the mountains. 

As they chatted and laughed, the morning passed quickly, and soon everyone returned with their baskets full. 

The cave Wen Ze was staying in currently did not have a place for making fire. After the supplies were distributed, he discussed it with Sang Hui, and the two of them went outside the cave of Chi Yu to use his stone stove. 

Since they were outsiders, they did not need to hand over the collected food to the Rainbow Sun Tribe, so both of their baskets were full. 

Huo Lan, along with two other half-beastmen, brought over the food they had prepared for Zhuo Mu and his group. 

Just as they arrived, Chi Yu returned with Zhuo Mu and the others. 

Each beastman carried freshly divided cuts of meat on their backs, with drops of blood dripping down and the smell of fresh meat wafting through the air. 

The two groups greeted each other, and Ji Sha naturally walked over to Sang Hui, while Zhuo Mu headed toward Wen Ze, raising something in his hand. 

“Is that… long-eye fish?” Wen Ze smiled as he reached out to take the string of fish tied together with grass. 

Zhuo Mu also smiled. “Yes, after hunting, we realized it was still early, so we spent some time catching fish in the river. This is what I got.” 

The long-eyed fish isn’t that big, but it’s tender, has few bones, and a light fishy smell, so Wen Ze really likes eating it. 

However, this type of fish is not common in the rivers of South Mountain. While he was staying with Zhuo Mu for some time, he only ate it twice. 

This time, when he counted, Zhuo Mu had brought back eight fish! Each one weighed about three pounds, and they were still flopping their tails energetically. 

“This is more than enough! With this many fish, we can make several big pots of food!” 

Chi Yu, after setting down his catch and washing his hands, tied up his long red hair as he walked over. 

He smiled and said, “I know Wu Ye and the others are good at catching fish, but I didn’t expect Zhuo Mu to be even faster than them. He ended up getting the most.” 

Wen Ze couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. “Zhuo Mu is very skilled, after all.” 

Zhuo Mu asked, “How did your gathering go today?” 

Wen Ze replied excitedly, “It went great! We even found a fruit called tomato!” 

Chi Yu then said, “Tomato? Those go really well with scrambled bird eggs.” 

Wen Ze grinned. “I was planning to make scrambled bird eggs too, but now I’ve got a different idea.” 

Curious, the others leaned in and asked, “What are you making?” 

Wen Ze smiled mysteriously. “Want to know? Then come help me clean the fish.” 

Huo Lan stepped forward. “Alright, leave that to me.” 

Chi Yu thought for a moment and said, “Why don’t we all eat at my place today? Let’s make it a feast. After eating, we’ll head over to the kiln.” 

Everyone agreed enthusiastically. 

Whether they were from the South Mountain Tribe or the Rainbow Sun Tribe, people loved the lively atmosphere of a shared meal. Some started fires, while others prepared ingredients. Even with so many people, it was all calm and organized. 

And without needing to discuss it, they naturally left the role of “head cook” to Wen Ze. 

Wen Ze chuckled and didn’t refuse. 

He first checked the food and then assigned tasks to everyone before getting to work himself. 

“Wen Ze! The fish is cleaned. What should we do next?” Huo Lan called out from near the water. 

“Do you have a knife?” 

“Yes, I have a bone knife.” 

“Then use it to slice the fish into thin pieces and set them aside in a bowl.” 

“Got it!” 

On the other side, Chi Yu, who was plucking bird feathers, heard this and looked up, saying, “How about we switch? I have a black silver knife.” 

Huo Lan laughed and asked, “You just don’t have the patience to deal with bird feathers, do you?” 

Chi Yu didn’t get embarrassed when he was called out. “These feathers are so tiny and fine; it’s really annoying to pluck them.” 

“Alright, we’ll switch. Just make sure to slice evenly.” 

“Okay.” He was looking forward to the new dish Wen Ze was going to make. How could he not do it well? 

Wen Ze had no issue with the two of them switching their task, but he was curious about the Black Silver Knife Chi Yu had just mentioned. 

The tall and imposing beastman walked over to the water’s edge, flipping his hand. A small knife, just slightly longer than his palm, appeared in his grip. 

The knife was silver with a slightly dark yellow tint and a few black spots. As Chi Yu moved, it reflected a noticeable metallic shine. 

Wen Ze held his breath, and one word suddenly flashed in his mind—Alloy! 

He knew the beast world had metals. For example, the South Mountain Tribe owned a metal knife they had exchanged for a huge amount of supplies. 

But the color of Chi Yu’s knife reminded him of a metal very common in the modern world—copper! 

This is a really good item! 

But isn’t copper’s melting point pretty high? How did they manage to purify and forge it? 

Lost in thought, he walked over to Chi Yu, who was washing the small knife with clean water. 

He swallowed hard, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. “Leader Chi Yu, can I take a look at your knife?” 

Chi Yu was, of course, happy to let him see it and handed the knife over. 

Wen Ze carefully took the knife, running his fingers along the blade and looking at it closely under the sunlight. 

The knife was much lighter than he had expected. When he lightly tapped the blade with his fingernail, it quivered slightly and made a sound. 

He gently bent the tip downward and found that it wasn’t as hard as he thought. 

From what he knew about metals, the softer ones were usually aluminum or gold. 

As a child, his family had used aluminum pots, but they dented so easily that they were eventually replaced with stainless steel. 

Aluminum’s melting point was much lower than copper’s, so if this knife was made of aluminum, forging it would indeed be easier. 

Handing the knife back to Chi Yu, Wen Ze asked, “Did you make this knife yourselves?” 

Chi Yu shook his head. “We exchange it with traveling merchants. According to them, it was made by people from the Black Silver Tribe.” 

“Black Silver Tribe?” 

“Yes, if you head in the direction where Lin Rong is and pass by other tribes, you’ll eventually reach the Black Silver Tribe.” 

“It sounds far.” 

“It is. Even traveling at full speed, it’d take five days to get there. Are you really interested in Black Silver knives?” Chi Yu asked. 

Wen Ze felt a little embarrassed and was about to nod when he caught the glint in Chi Yu’s narrow, fox-like eyes. He quickly changed his words. “It’s fine.” 

Chi Yu gave a faint smile, though it was unclear whether he believed it or not. 

“If you want to know more about the Black Silver Tribe, you can come over sometime, and I’ll tell you all about it.” 

With a smile on his face, he spoke while attempting to get closer by reaching out to pat Wen Ze’s shoulder. 

“Wen Ze!” Wu Ye’s voice unexpectedly came from behind, interrupting Chi Yu’s actions. 

Wen Ze turned around to see Wu Ye and Zhuo Mu standing together, each holding a bird that had been skinned. 

Zhuo Mu’s red eyes looked over, his thin lips curling slightly downward. 

“What should we do next?” Wu Ye asked. 

“Oh, I’ll handle it! Can you help me by boiling two pots of water?” 

Thinking about the meal, Wen Ze quickly told Chi Yu, “Let’s talk more next time,” and quickly ran off. 

Chi Yu watched his retreating figure, chuckling as he shrugged and squatted down to start slicing the fish. 

In the Beast World, strength was everything, and if Chi Yu weren’t skilled, he wouldn’t have become the leader of such a large tribe. 

When Wen Ze came back with the bird meat, he saw that Chi Yu had already neatly sliced the long-eyed fish into even pieces and arranged them in wooden bowls. 

“Is this okay?” Chi Yu asked. 

“That’s great,” Wen Ze said, asking him to bring the fish slices back to the area near the stove. Then, he added the small pieces of fish heads and salt to a wooden basin, mixing it all with his hands and setting it aside. 

Sang Hui peeked over and asked, “Are you marinating it?” 

“Yes. It would be even better with some starch, but I ran out of it last time and haven’t had the chance to make more,” Wen Ze replied. 

“I have some. Take it,” Sang Hui offered. 

He pulled out a small bag of starch wrapped in two layers of hemp cloth from his space. 

The people from the South Mountain Tribe were familiar with this food, but the people from the Rainbow Sun Tribe looked curious. 

“Starch? What’s that?” 

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