Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Zhong Yan paused mid-shovel and indeed saw water seeping out from a previously dug spot, dampening a patch of earth.

"Dig here first!" Xue Tuan's voice was tinged with barely contained excitement. He picked up his tool, his energy surging back.

Xue Tuan and Zhong Yan, wielding their shovels, dug faster. "We've finally reached the water table!"

Suddenly, as Xue Tuan sank his shovel in, the muddy ground seemed to give way slightly. At first, it was just a small, bubbly trickle, but it quickly coalesced into a tiny stream gushing from the crack!

"Water's coming out!" Xue Tuan looked up at Zhong Yan, and they exchanged a smile.

Seeing the same joy in Zhong Yan's eyes as his own, Xue Tuan suddenly felt a warmth in his chest. He knew it, Zhong Yan should smile more often. He's really handsome when he smiles.

Above the well opening, Juan Juan and Le Le, who were helping transport the soil, had been keeping an eye on the situation below. Hearing the sounds from the well, they got excited too:

"Xue Tuan! Did you find water? Haha, that's great!" Juan Juan and Le Le immediately high-fived each other in celebration.

Although they wouldn't be staying long-term at the Salt Lake outpost, they still wanted to do their part for everyone.

If digging a few wells nearby could improve the quality of life for the beastmen here, then they would give it their all!

By the time the sun was about to set, a layer of clear water had finally welled up at the bottom of the well.

"Time to put in the base layer." Xue Tuan let out a sigh. It had been ages since he'd done such strenuous labor for this long. He didn't even have to wait until the next day to feel his arms starting to ache.

Xue Tuan and Zhong Yan began laying the pebbles that Juan Juan and Le Le had collected from the pond at the bottom of the well, followed by a thick layer of sand. This way, when water seeped up again, it would become much clearer.

To be extra safe, they could pour the drawn well water into a water vat and let it settle. Sediment and other impurities would sink to the bottom, and they could just skim the clear water from the top.

Moreover, the Mountain Water Tribe had made charcoal a long time ago. They could wrap crushed charcoal and sink it to the bottom of the water vat, which would also help absorb any off smells and impurities in the well water.

Not to mention, the Mountain Water Tribe had long since gotten into the habit of "drinking boiled water," so they were sure not to have problems due to improperly treated well water.

Juan Juan and Le Le tied two hemp ropes to a tree and threw them down into the well.

Zhong Yan held onto a rope with one hand, still having the spare hand to protectively hover behind Xue Tuan, while Xue Tuan hauled himself slowly up the rope and finally emerged from the well bottom.

"Great work!" Juan Juan and Le Le pulled Xue Tuan out from the well opening, patting his shoulders.

Xue Tuan lay on the ground, gasping for breath, and began to reflect on himself. Was it because he hadn't been consistently practicing archery lately that he was so out of shape? It seemed he needed to make time to start practicing archery and working out again.

Zhong Yan reached out a hand to Xue Tuan lying on the ground. After Xue Tuan took it, he pulled him up in one go and said, "There's a log over there. Go sit and rest."

Juan Juan: "Right, Xue Tuan, you go sit over there. Leave this to me and Le Le!" Juan Juan originally wanted to tell Zhong Yan to go too, but this big guy looked completely unfazed. He wouldn't go even if you asked him, so Juan Juan let him be.

Meanwhile, Zhong Yan had already silently tidied up the other tools on the ground, planning to use them again tomorrow.

Xue Tuan looked at the bare well opening and said, "Tomorrow, let's build the well curb and the windlass."

The well opening needed a curb to prevent rainwater and other runoff from flowing in and contaminating the source. A well cover could also be made to keep leaves and catkins from drifting in.

The windlass was a device for drawing water installed on the well curb, utilizing the principle of a wheel. With it, the beastmen could easily draw water. Only after all these were completed would the well be truly finished.

"Okay, I'll do it." Zhong Yan said while gathering the yet-to-be-assembled windlass parts.

Xue Tuan's gaze followed Zhong Yan's busy figure. It seemed that no matter what task fell to Zhong Yan, it became effortless.

The key was, this guy really could accomplish everything. You had to admire him.

And after Xue Tuan and his little friends successfully completed the first well, the beastmen curiously gathered around to see this windlass.

"You guys are pretty impressive. Just crank this handle, and the bucket goes down and comes back up. Quite convenient."

A beastman laughed as he turned the bucket down. After a while, hearing a "gurgle," he knew the bucket was full and turned it back up.

After the bucket was steadily lifted, only a small amount of water spilled over the rim.

"This bucket really got turned up, hey!" The beastmen watched as a full bucket of water was drawn. They wouldn't have to worry about always hauling water from the waterfall anymore.

"Looks really useful!"

The beastmen crowded around, scooping some well water with a gourd ladle, eager to try if it tasted any different from what they usually drank.

"Strange, it looks cleaner than the water we fetch from the pond."

"The Junior Priest said it's similar in principle to the 'filter tower' we made—both involve filtering!" This beastman clearly applied what he learned, his mind working quickly.

Big Tiger smacked his lips, savoring the well water. "I don't know why, but I think it tastes quite good, has a kind of fresh sweetness?" After saying this, Big Tiger laughed himself. Could water really taste sweet?

This time, Second Tiger didn't contradict Big Tiger. He also felt this well water inexplicably had a faint, pleasant sweetness when drunk. It really tasted better than the pond water!

So they decided to press on and dig the remaining wells at the predetermined locations.

After they finished digging the second well, Xue Tuan bid farewell to Rong Shan. He knew Rong Shan had come to check on him and his father, to see if they had arrived safely at the Salt Lake. Now that he saw everything proceeding in an orderly fashion, his father could rest assured and return to the Mountain Water Tribe.

Xue Tuan and Rong Shan agreed that after they visited the Dawn Dusk Tribe, he and Zhong Yan would also return, and Xue Tuan promised Rong Shan they would be back at the Mountain Water Tribe before winter.

Not long after Rong Shan left, the Mountain Water Tribe finally produced their first batch of salt!

It was now the height of summer with intense sunlight. Xue Tuan, wearing his sun hat, came with Zhong Yan to the collection pond area. In the crowd, Feng Yan had been waiting there for a while.

Salt had begun to crystallize in the collection pond, shining dazzlingly under the sunlight.

Feng Yan led everyone over to inspect this first batch of brine sun-dried in the collection pond.

Big Tiger squatted down, scraping up a thin layer of salt with a wooden shovel. An irrepressible smile spread across his face. "Look, such beautiful salt! So white and clean!" Big Tiger's loud voice echoed over the open ground.

The people of the Mountain Water Tribe had never seen such pure salt before. It was cleaner and whiter than any salt they had ever traded for.

Second Tiger couldn't resist dipping a finger in the salt and putting it on the tip of his tongue. His eyes instantly lit up. "You've definitely never tasted salt like this! Not a hint of bitterness or astringency! Try it if you don't believe me."

As soon as Second Tiger said this, the other beastmen nearby couldn't hold back either, immediately crowding forward and pushing Big Tiger out of sight.

Xue Tuan nudged Zhong Yan's arm beside him with his elbow. "Why don't you go try it?"

Zhong Yan lowered his eyelashes, glancing at Xue Tuan. He knew Xue Tuan was just teasing him, so he said, "I won't crowd with them." He'd get to taste it at dinner anyway.

Xue Tuan looked at the crowded beastmen ahead, also smiling. "Our Mountain Water Tribe can finally make its own salt!" His tone was full of pride.

"Mm!" Zhong Yan raised his hand, pressing Xue Tuan's sun hat down more securely, the corner of his mouth also curving up.

That night, all the beastmen were very happy. Everyone laughed and joked with each other, feeling more relaxed than ever before. They had achieved all the goals of this endeavor. Nothing could be more joyful than this.

A few more days passed, and the new squad sent by the Mountain Water Tribe finally arrived safely at the Salt Lake outpost.

The leader of this squad was Zhang You, who had come to take over Feng Yan's position. Feng Yan, as the chief of the Mountain Water Tribe, had been away for a long time and it was time for him to return. Yun Lu had trained Zhang You for several years, and now he had sufficient capability to act as the leader at the outpost.

Zhang You went to brief Feng Yan, while Xue Tuan couldn't wait to inspect his soil!

"Xue Tuan, Priest Ye Ke asked me to give this to you." San Hu handed a small notebook to Xue Tuan.

"Okay, thank you, Brother San Hu." Xue Tuan knew at once it was the notebook from his research with Ye Ke, which surely contained Ye Ke's experimental results.

The notebook's cover was treated with animal hide—thick but waterproof—and the pages inside were stitched together with thin thread.

Xue Tuan flipped to the latest page and eagerly hurried into the small shed to start reading.

Ye Ke was one of only two in the Mountain Water Tribe who could communicate entirely in standard writing with Xue Tuan, so reading his notes wasn't difficult at all.

Moreover, Ye Ke's recording style matched his personality—concise and to the point, using as few words as possible, and gradually developing his own habit of "abbreviations."

Seeing Xue Tuan flipping through the notebook so intently, Zhong Yan stayed quiet. He silently picked up a cattail-leaf fan and fanned him while leaning over to read the notebook's contents as well.

Zhong Yan was well aware of Xue Tuan and Ye Ke's soil experiments, so he could follow along smoothly without any confusion.

After a while, Xue Tuan finished reading. He rested his head in one hand, seemingly deep in thought.

Xue Tuan: "Ye Ke is incredible. Not only did he figure out the ratio for No.1 Soil, but he also tested the second method I suggested."

Zhong Yan looked at a line in the notes and said in surprise, "He discovered that mixing 'revived No.1 Soil' into Soil No. 5 can bring Soil No. 5 back to life and allow crops to grow?"

"Yes!" After reading Ye Ke's notes, Xue Tuan's heart remained unsettled for a long time. This good news meant their plan to restore the soil of the Beast World had taken another step forward!

Initially, they had mixed the Mountain Water Tribe's modified soil with the soil from the experimental field. At that time, only No.1 Soil revived, while the remaining soils showed no reaction.

Later, Xue Tuan wondered: what if, instead of using tribal soil, they used the revived No.1 Soil to mix with the other remaining soils in the experimental field? Would there be new discoveries?

So, following Xue Tuan's idea, Ye Ke tried this second unconventional method and actually succeeded in reviving Soil No. 5 in the experimental field!

-----------------------

Author's note: Thanks for the paw prints [heart].