The entire tribe worked together, and the efficiency was impressive. 

The beastmen changed into their beast forms and quickly dug the five salt pits under Wen Ze’s direction. 

Looking over at the mudflats, the group split into small groups. Some were digging, others were filling baskets, and they worked seamlessly together. 

Wen Ze divided the beastmen on his side into two groups. One group dug for salty mud, while the other followed him to gather dried grass. 

With many hands, the work was done quickly, and soon everyone returned with bundles of dry grass. 

Under Wen Ze’s instructions, they laid the dried grass tightly at the bottom of the pits. On top of that, they added a layer of leaves similar to bamboo strips. 

The salt mud that Sang Hui and the others had brought was stacked by the edge of the salt pits. 

“Alright,” Wen Ze said. “Let’s pour in the salt mud.” 

Immediately, someone stepped forward and began pushing the mud into the pit. 

“Is this enough?” Wu Ye, in his beast form, asked from the edge of the pit. 

Wen Ze replied, “Yes, now step in and press it down a bit.” 

“Got it!” 

Wen Ze had deliberately kept the pits small to ensure good filtration. 

For adult beast forms, the pits were considered tiny. 

Wu Ye couldn’t even jump in; he extended one thick bear paw and started pressing down on the mud. 

With his strength, the effect was obvious. Not only did bear paw prints appear at the bottom, but the mud also began to sink under the pressure. 

“That’s enough, that’s enough! Don’t break the pit!” Wen Ze, who had been watching closely, quickly called out. 

Wu Ye immediately withdrew his paw and stood at the edge of the pit, waiting for the next instruction. 

Wen Ze said, “Bring in the water and pour it in.” 

Immediately, over a dozen people brought water in clay pots and jars and poured it into the salt pit. 

At the edge of the small pit, a crowd of beastmen and half-beastmen gathered, standing on their toes and craning their necks. Everyone was watching intently at the opening on the other side of the pit. 

Wen Ze stood there as well, his face slightly tense as he waited. 

“There’s water coming out!” someone shouted excitedly. 

“Did we succeed?” 

“Will this water work to dry the salt?” 

But Wen Ze frowned, not looking as pleased as the others. 

Sang Hui asked, “What’s wrong?” 

Wen Ze replied, “The water flow is too low.” 

Hearing this, everyone paused. 

They realized he was right. After pouring in so much water, why had only a small amount flowed out? The salty mud had clearly been soaked through. 

“Should we fetch more water to try again?” Bai Ling suggested. 

Wen Ze shook his head. “Let me take a look.” 

The crowd instinctively made way for him. The pit wasn’t deep, so Wen Ze didn’t jump in. He stood at the edge and reached in to feel the salty mud. 

His serious expression made everyone hold their breath, afraid of disturbing him—or worse, finding out their hard work had been in vain. 

Many of the younger beastmen were visibly nervous, their eyes filled with worry. 

Wen Ze was also worried. But he knew he was the backbone of the group, so he kept a calm expression and focused on figuring out the problem. 

When his fingers touched the dried grass and leaves used for filtering at the bottom, something clicked. He lifted the layer and reached deeper into the pit. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. 

“I’ve figured it out.” 

Everyone hurriedly asked, “What is it?” 

Wen Ze straightened up, not caring about the dirt on his hands, and said apologetically, “I forgot that we need to lay stones at the bottom of the pit. It’s just mud and sand down there. The filtered saltwater must have seeped through.” 

If it weren’t for the high amount of soil, the saltwater probably wouldn’t have flowed out at all. 

He silently sighed, realizing that having an idea and putting it into practice were two very different things. 

But no matter what, there was no reason to feel discouraged. Problems were meant to be solved. 

“So that’s it!” Everyone understood and felt a sense of admiration. 

“Wen Ze, you’re really impressive for figuring it out so quickly.” 

“We need stones, right? I’ll go get some! Do we need big ones or small ones?” 

“Big ones,” Wen Ze answered. “Even if small ones are packed tightly, there will still be gaps. Try to find flat ones if you can.” 

“Got it!” Wu Ye immediately rounded up a few strong beastmen and headed to the cliffs to gather stones. 

When the big bears returned with the stones, Wen Ze had the pit dug deeper. They laid down a new foundation with stones, followed by dried grass and leaves as before. 

Then, they repeated the steps—adding mud, pressing it down, and pouring water. 

This time, clear saltwater finally began to flow out of the opening of the pool! 

Although the water wasn’t perfectly clear because the filtering process was still a bit rough, it was already a huge improvement compared to before! 

After collecting a basin of the flowing saltwater, Zhuo Mu and the others returned, carrying large stones that were about the size of basins. 

Wen Ze glanced at the faintly shiny bluish-green stones and thought they looked like volcanic rocks. 

“Zhuo Mu!” Wen Ze greeted with a smile. 

“Hmm.” He shifted into his human form, took a few long strides, and walked over. “How’s it going?” 

Wen Ze pointed to the basin of water on the ground. “This is what we filtered out! We haven’t tested how concentrated it is yet. If it’s not strong enough, we’ll need to dry the salt mud again.” 

A spark of excitement flashed in Zhuo Mu’s red eyes. “You’re working fast.” 

“Well, there are a lot of us, after all!” 

“How do you test if the saltwater is concentrated enough?” 

Bai Xia, who had been watching for a while, squeezed over enthusiastically. “Let me taste it! I’ve got a really good sense of taste!” 

Before Wen Ze could refuse, Bai Xia dipped his finger into the saltwater and popped it into his mouth. 

“Ugh!” His face immediately twisted from the saltiness, and he looked quite pained. He coughed a few times. 

When he spoke again, his voice was much hoarser. “This isn’t just salty; it’s bitter… Ugh, my throat feels terrible…” 

Someone quickly handed him a cup of fresh water. “Here, drink some! Rinse it out.” 

Bai Xia took a few large gulps of water, but the bitter taste in his mouth still lingered, and his tongue felt numb. 

He looked at Wen Ze. “You made the right choice with filtering the salt mud from the tidal flats. It’s so much saltier than the water from the Salt River. Just this one basin of water, and you’d have at least half a basin of salt after drying it.” 

Although Bai Xia felt pleased, his pained expression made everyone else present wince in sympathy. 

“Bai Xia, you’ve worked hard,” someone said. 

Bai Xia waved his hand awkwardly, embarrassed by the praise. 

What he really wanted to know was… 

“Wen Ze, are we going to have to taste with our mouths every time we filter it? Nobody can handle that kind of taste.” 

Wen Ze sighed and shook his head. “Of course not. I didn’t even get a chance to say anything before you stuck your hand in.” 

Before crossing over, he had been from Huaguo, and he knew that Huaguo had a long history of salt production. 

Relying on the mouth to test the concentration wasn’t practical. Who could withstand that? 

Besides, the wisdom of working people over generations had accumulated through constant learning and progress, resulting in countless clever methods. 

Take himself, for example. After so many years of schooling, he knew that the higher the concentration of salt in water, the greater its buoyancy. 

At this point, everyone listening to him began speaking all at once. 

“So, are there other ways?” 

“How else can we test it without using our mouths?” 

“Wen Ze, I’m so curious, tell us quickly.” 

Wen Ze motioned for everyone to calm down. “Let me think.” 

He began searching through his space. 

Adult half-beastmen had a storage space of only one cubic meter, so it couldn’t hold too many items. Wen Ze regularly organized it, making sure only his most important “treasures” were stored inside. 

This time, it didn’t take much effort. He pulled out a few seeds and fruits. 

Under everyone’s watch, he bent down and first placed the fruit into the saltwater. 

Sure enough, the fruit sank and didn’t float. 

Then, he dropped the seeds one by one into the saltwater. 

The smaller seeds immediately floated on the surface, which wasn’t very helpful for reference. 

What really caught his attention were the lotus seeds he had picked up from the valley lake. 

The oval-shaped, green lotus seeds dropped into the saltwater, wobbled a bit, and then floated! 

The nearby half-beastmen, who were experienced in gathering, widened their eyes in surprise. 

“It’s floating! It’s actually floating!” 

“I’ve seen this seed sink in water before—it definitely doesn’t float!” 

Wen Ze looked at the swaying lotus seed and found it more wonderful and adorable than anything else. 

Because, if it floated, it meant the saltwater concentration was enough! 

He straightened up and, under everyone’s expectant gazes, announced, “It’s ready. We can dry it now.” 

There was a brief moment of silence before the crowd erupted in cheers. 

“We did it? Just like that?” 

“Great, great! Once it’s dried, we’ll have salt!” 

“Wen Ze, you’re so clever to think of testing with seeds!” 

“Hahaha, Bai Xia, if you hadn’t been so quick, you wouldn’t have had to taste the saltwater.” 

“Bai Xia, thank you for your contribution to the tribe!” 

Bai Xia was already embarrassed. When everyone teased him, he quickly covered his red face, making everyone laugh even more. 

The group continued marveling at the concentrated saltwater. 

“Wow, I’ve lived so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen salt without needing to boil it. I’m so excited!” 

“Exactly! Every time we boil salt, we end up cracking so many clay pots. Finally, we won’t have to worry about that anymore!” 

“I used to worry about the trouble of filtering and drying the salt, but this is so much easier!” 

“Exactly! How many days did we have to boil salt before? Gathering firewood and lighting the fire was tiring!” 

“And this is just the first batch; there’s still so much salt mud left to process!” 

“Ahhh, can I be in charge of drying this batch of salt mud?” 

“Of course not! Wen Ze should be the one to do it!” 

The voices around them grew louder with excitement, and Wen Ze’s ears almost hurt from the noise. 

But he was equally happy and didn’t stop them from talking. 

Surrounded by the joyful crowd, his dark eyes sparkled, and the smile on his face never faded. 

To make the dried salt even cleaner, Wen Ze carefully filtered the saltwater again using a clean cloth in a fresh basin. 

The sun was already setting, and the air would soon cool down, which wasn’t the best time to dry salt. 

Even so, the beastmen rinsed the stones Zhuo Mu and the others had brought back, making sure they were spotless. 

Under the group’s eager and watchful eyes, Wen Ze carefully poured their first batch of filtered saltwater into the hollowed-out stone. 

With a soft splash, the water spread out, shimmering beautifully in the sunlight, reflecting their hopes and excitement. 

It felt like a meaningful ceremony had just finished. From that moment on, the South Mountain Tribe had a new method for salt production. 

The crowd cheered and clapped in celebration. 

The little ones didn’t understand the significance of Wen Ze’s actions. They just saw how happy the adults were and joined in, jumping around and letting out soft, playful beastly roars. 

There was too much salt mud to finish filtering before sunset. 

Wu Ye announced that everyone should head home for dinner and continue the work tomorrow. 

That night, everyone in the South Mountain Tribe, including Wen Ze, was too excited to calm down. 

The next morning, when Wen Ze and the others arrived at the altar square, many people were already there. 

Sang Hui and Wu Ye were talking separately with the half-beastmen and beastmen, reminding them that hunting and gathering couldn’t be completely set aside. They decided only part of the group would work on salt production that day. 

Everyone was still excited and wanted to help with salt-making. Even those assigned to repair the kiln asked if they could skip a day. 

Sang Hui and Wu Ye couldn’t convince everyone, and they all turned to Wen Ze with pleading looks. 

Wen Ze felt a little helpless. He had just arrived, yet somehow, he was already the center of attention. 

Making salt seemed like a big task, but in reality, it wasn’t complicated and didn’t require so many people. 

But he didn’t say it directly. He said, “The gathering and hunting groups will leave now. If things go well, they’ll be back by noon. We’ll mainly be filtering in the morning, and in the afternoon, when the sun is stronger, we can dry the salt. You’ll be just in time to take over.” 

Gathering the dried salt would be really satisfying, and everyone was quickly convinced by Wen Ze’s words. 

The group immediately understood his point and quickly agreed. 

Without needing anyone to rush them, the teams for gathering and hunting quickly gathered and practically ran out of the tribe. 

After they left, Wen Ze took a few others and headed towards the Salt River. 

To their surprise, from a distance, they saw a group of beastmen in their beast forms running toward them. 

The one leading them was clearly Chi Yu. 

Bai Xia looked puzzled and said, “Why are the people from the Rainbow Sun Tribe here?” 

When the two groups met, Chi Yu and his team changed into human form and smiled brightly. “Wen Ze! I heard you’ve been busy here these past couple of days, so I brought my people to help.” 

Having dealt with him often, Wen Ze could tell immediately what he was thinking. 

“Tribe Leader Chi Yu,” he responded with a smile. 

Sang Hui walked up to Wen Ze’s side, smiling teasingly at Chi Yu. “Are you sure you’re just here to help?” 

Chi Yu laughed heartily and said honestly, “I’m really here to help, but I also want to learn from you. Can we stay and learn?” 

They were all curious about the pits Wen Ze had dug and the stones he had brought. But none of them were looking around; all their eyes were fixed on Wen Ze with eager expressions. 

If Wen Ze said they couldn’t stay, they would leave immediately. 

The black silver knife the Rainbow Sun Tribe gave him was still in his space, along with the tomatoes and Yangyang grass they had sent to his home. 

Wen Ze remembered their kindness and, through his own efforts, wanted to help these honest beastmen live better lives. 

So, he smiled and nodded. “Thank you for your help.” 

Chi Yu and the others were overjoyed. Not only did they thank him repeatedly, but they also said that they would stay for the whole day and take care of their own meals and water. 

As for the salt they’d dried, they wouldn’t take any. It would all go to the South Mountain Tribe. 

They really had just come to help, with no other reason. 

Wen Ze didn’t refuse. 

Since he had agreed to teach them, he treated both the South Mountain and Rainbow Sun Tribes equally. He assigned them to different tasks. 

Everyone trusted Wen Ze completely, doing whatever he asked, eager to work quickly and do it well. 

The sun soon climbed high, and many people took off their clothes, working with great energy. 

There was too much salt mud to filter, and five pits weren’t enough. So, Wen Ze, along with Chi Yu and the others, dug five more. 

Laying stones, spreading grass, adding mud, pressing it down, pouring water to filter, testing the concentration, drying the salt… 

At each step, the people from the Rainbow Sun Tribe watched closely, their eyes shining, occasionally exclaiming in amazement. 

While Wen Ze was busy with something else, Huo Lan wiped the sweat from his forehead and excitedly said to the others, “We really came at the right time today!” 

Chi Yu nodded seriously. “Exactly, Wen Ze’s method of making salt is brilliant.” 

Huo Lan said, “Hmph, when we left before dawn, someone told me, ‘How much salt can we eat in a year? Just boil saltwater. Do we really need to learn from Wen Ze?’ When we return, we’ll use this simple method to make salt and teach the tribe. As for those who made sarcastic remarks, they should stay out and stop taking any salt.” 

Chi Yu, this time, spoke seriously as well. “Exactly.” 

If it weren’t for him, Huo Lan, and the others’ persistence, how could they have learned such a great method? 

The Rainbow Sun Tribe was large and strong, but that also made it harder to manage. 

Looking at the people of the South Mountain Tribe… 

They followed Wen Ze around, did whatever he pointed to, without a single word of doubt. 

While he felt envious and slightly jealous, he also understood why Wen Ze was so dedicated to the South Mountain Tribe. 

Huo Lan kept talking, but his hands didn’t stop working. 

“Ah, it’s a pity that Wen Ze refuses to come to our tribe.” 

Chi Yu comforted him, “Don’t be discouraged. Let’s pay more attention and visit the South Mountain Tribe more. We can’t let Wen Ze forget about us.” 

This suggestion was met with unanimous approval. 

With the addition of the Rainbow Sun Tribe members, by around ten o’clock in the morning, the first batch of filtered saltwater was drying on the large volcanic rocks. 

There weren’t enough rocks, so Zhuo Mu and Chi Yu split up and gathered more. 

Fortunately, the weather was on their side, with the sun shining brightly all day. 

By evening, just as the sun was setting, the salt was ready! 

Wen Ze took out the scraper he had prepared earlier, and with great excitement, walked to a stone where the salt was drying. Staring at the salt crystals that had formed, he couldn’t calm down. 

The others gathered around him, occasionally glancing at the salt and then at him, but no one rushed him. 

Finally, Wen Ze exhaled gently, holding the scraper, and began scraping the salt from the stone. 

The “scraping” sound as the salt came off the stone was like music to everyone’s ears. 

Wen Ze gathered the salt into a pile, then cupped it in his hands and brought it to his face to examine it. 

These large crystals of salt, after multiple filtrations and drying, were much whiter than the salt they had used before. 

The crystals looked like small stones, with a slightly rough surface. 

Wen Ze pinched a tiny bit and put it in his mouth. 

It didn’t taste especially different, just salty. But for some reason, maybe because they had made it themselves, this salt tasted especially good. It was salty in his mouth, but sweet in his heart. 

As he tasted it, the others watched eagerly. “How is it? Does it taste the same as the salt we used to make?” 

Wen Ze didn’t answer directly. Instead, he extended the salt he had cupped in his hands toward them. “You can try it yourselves.” 

His words were met with immediate enthusiasm. Many hands reached out to pinch some salt and put it in their mouths. 

“Mm!! So salty!!” 

“Haha, of course, it’s salt! How could it not be salty?” 

“What I mean is, it tastes better than the salt we made before!” 

“This batch of salt is really delicious!” 

“The best part is that it’s so much easier! If we hadn’t been filtering the salt mud and drying the saltwater all day, we could’ve just left it to dry and come back in the evening to collect it.” 

“With this much salt, we don’t need to worry about running out for a long time!” 

“Can I try scraping the salt? It looks so satisfying!” 

Wen Ze looked at the excited faces, the eyes that were red from happiness, and smiled brightly. “Let’s all gather the salt together, and after we’re done, we’ll head back to the tribe and have a feast!” 

Someone shouted, “Let’s have a feast! Let’s celebrate!” 

The others joined in, shouting, “Feast! Celebration! Yes!!!” 

Even though the people from the Rainbow Sun Tribe were about to leave soon, they were still swept up in the excitement and cheered loudly. 

While everyone shouted, they went to collect the salt. The scene was chaotic but still well-organized. 

Everyone was just so happy. 

After gathering all the salt that had been dried today and tidying up the salt fields, people gathered in groups and happily headed back to the tribe. 

It was getting late, so the Rainbow Sun Tribe politely declined the invitation for a meal and, after saying their goodbyes, turned and walked into the night. 

The people from the South Mountain Tribe felt the joy of a “bumper harvest.” They chatted and laughed on the way, and at some point, someone started singing loudly. 

The dinner that evening was held in the usual place. 

Everyone from the tribe showed up, bringing food, firewood, and cooking tools. They ate, drank, sang, and danced, celebrating until the moon was high in the sky. 

The next morning, Wen Ze slept in a little longer. 

When he opened his eyes, he felt like he wasn’t sure what day it was. 

Lying on a mat covered with animal hide, he took his time before getting up and walking out of the cave. 

It was just getting light, and the mist hadn’t cleared yet. He felt the cool, refreshing moisture in the air, and he could tell the temperature was dropping. 

Summer was almost over. 

“You’re awake?” Zhuo Mu’s deep, magnetic voice came from near the water basin. 

The jar was already full of the fresh water he had fetched early that morning. 

Yin He was already up too, busily feeding the cows and milking them. 

Wen Ze smiled at Zhuo Mu. “Mm. Let me wash my face, and then I’ll make breakfast.” 

Zhuo Mu nodded. “Alright. Are we still going to make salt today?” 

Wen Ze shook his head. “There are already people in the tribe who know how to do it, so I don’t need to supervise. The meat in the cave is starting to spoil, so I need to take care of it quickly. What about you?” 

Zhuo Mu said, “I’ll stay here and help you.” 

Wen Ze smiled. “That’s great. If we work together, we can finish much faster.” 

What they didn’t expect was that, after breakfast, Sang Hui and Li Shui showed up at the cave entrance. 

“Wen Ze!” The handsome Bai Ling greeted him cheerfully. “I heard you say last night that you’re making salted meat today, so we’re here to help!” 

Wen Ze smiled in surprise and said, “Thank you! Are you not going to the salt fields?” 

Sang Hui replied, “A lot of people from the tribe were eager to go, so we decided to let them have the chance since we’ve already been there two days in a row.” 

Qin Shu and Jia Yi came over, and Li Shui sent them to play with Yin He. 

Li Shui added, “Qin Shan and Ji Sha went to the pottery kiln. Otherwise, they would have come with us.” 

Wen Ze laughed. “It’s great that you all came. I don’t need that many people for the meat here anyway.” 

They were all hardworking and efficient half-beastmen. Sang Hui rolled up his sleeves and asked, “Alright, let’s move the meat out first and cut it up.” 

Wen Ze nodded. “I’ll go mix the seasoning.” 

This step was simple: just rub plenty of salt on the strips of meat and then put them in a large bowl to marinate. 

Unlike previous years, this time they were using Sichuan pepper, adding a fragrant kick to the flavor. 

Unfortunately, they didn’t have high-proof liquor; if they did, adding some would not only enhance the flavor and freshness but also help sterilize and prevent the meat from spoiling. 

Before noon, most of the meat had already been processed. 

Sang Hui looked at the remaining meat and asked Wen Ze, “Are you keeping these? Seems like a lot.” 

Wen Ze smiled slightly. “It’s not for direct eating. I plan to make some sausages.” 

“Sausages?” Everyone was curious and asked, “What’s that?” 

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