The appearance of improved paper excited the three soothsayers of the Green Sparrow Tribe, who were of varying sizes.
After staying to confirm that the previous methods were effective, Shi Tou turned around and dove back into the heavy snow, running back to the cave to continue boiling the soaked tree bark.
He was determined to make an even better paper!
Han Cheng and Shaman stayed inside the house while tidying up the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on the table. They, too, ventured into the snowstorm, heading towards the cave to see Shi Tou’s paper-making progress…
The two gazed intently at the large clay vat burning with flames.
However, their thoughts were entirely different. One thought about getting better paper to transcribe all the records on the clay tablets, while the other considered taking the paper to the toilet to see how well it worked for wiping.
Had the ancient sages who valued paper known of such thoughts, they would probably be banging their coffin lids in anger, wanting to teach this sacrilegious fellow a lesson for wasting such a good thing...
Two days earlier, in a place not far from the Green Sparrow Tribe, the Yellow Fruit Tribe.
In the winter, the Yellow Fruit Tribe, like most other tribes of the era, lacked vitality.
Long-term frugality also made them thinner. With little food in their stomachs, they grew even weaker and more sluggish.
The hot steam rose from the clay vat, and the fragrance of food spread throughout the cave, drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity.
After boiling the food for a while, the leader of the Yellow Fruit Tribe walked over to the vat and eagerly used a ladle to scoop himself a large bowl of food.
When he ladled the food, he extended the spoon to the bottom of the vat and moved slowly.
After years of using the clay vat, he knew this method would yield a thicker consistency.
Such food would be more filling and better for surviving hunger than soup.
The food was millet porridge, which didn't look as appetizing compared to the thick golden porridge of the Green Sparrow Tribe.
This porridge still contained some spoiled fruits among the few remaining supplies in the tribe.
The golden-colored food was from a trade with a neighboring tribe with deer, valuable salt, and pottery.
It was fortunate that this other tribe arrived when they did. Otherwise, the days ahead for the Yellow Fruit Tribe would have been unbearably difficult.
The food supplies in their tribe were nearly exhausted despite their frugality.
And even now, there was no sign of the winter letting up.
Concerned about this, the leader of the Yellow Fruit Tribe had already decided to venture out in the extreme cold to try his luck.
Even though this risky move could result in some of his people getting frostbite or even freezing to death, it seemed their only option.
Under such circumstances, the kind and wealthy tribe arrived, bringing deer and wolves with them.
On the deer’s back were salt, pottery, and now precious food.
If possible, the leader of the Yellow Fruit Tribe would have tried to exchange all the food that this tribe brought.
But this was, of course, an unrealistic wish.
Because their tribe didn’t have much left to offer in exchange.
After a few rounds of trade, the commonly available stones and seeds around the tribe had already been used to acquire salt and pottery. Finding new stones or seeds for trade wouldn’t be easy.
As for the highly sought-after Yellow Fruit by the people of that tribe, it had already been exchanged away last year, and there was none left in the tribe.
The few remaining yellow food items were exchanged for a rare new type of stone, a new seed, and some of the tribe’s precious animal skins.
Based on their past trading experiences, their items would not have been enough to acquire even this tiny amount of food. It was only due to the kindness of the people from the good-hearted tribe that they received additional food.
The leader of the Yellow Fruit Tribe, along with the other tribe members, were extremely grateful for this generous gesture.
However, there were too many people in the tribe who needed food, and even the newly acquired supplies wouldn't last long.
It had only been a few days, yet despite their frugality in consumption, the food they had exchanged for was already running low.
After ladling a bowl of thick porridge for himself, the leader of the Yellow Fruit Tribe walked off to eat the precious food in a corner.
After he left, others in the tribe came forward to scoop their food portions.
Like the leader, most of them scooped from the bottom of the vat.
By the time it was the turn of the last people, mostly broth remained.
At times , the children of the tribe were given priority over the elderly in line for food. The elderly were no longer of much use, whereas the younger ones still had the potential to grow into strong, capable members of the tribe.
By the time it was the turn of the two elderly, there was hardly any broth left in the vat. They split the remaining liquid, each receiving just a little more than half a bowl, and the small millet grains mixed in amounted to no more than a few tiny bits.
After eating his portion, the leader of the Yellow Fruit Tribe went outside to check but immediately recoiled, hunching his shoulders and retreating inside.
He walked over to the food storage area, and his brow furrowed deeply.
He was reminded again of the words the kind and wealthy tribe had conveyed a few days ago.
They had offered that, if things became unbearable, they could join their tribe. Their tribe had abundant food and could ensure no one went hungry.
When the leader of the Yellow Fruit Tribe had understood this offer, he had refused without hesitation.
He didn’t want to give up his tribe and join another, no matter how rich and kind that tribe seemed.
But now, as food became scarcer, his people grew weaker, and winter showed no sign of relenting, the words from the kind tribe were starting to surface in his mind more and more often.
At this point, the leader felt that joining the other tribe was not entirely out of the question.
However, the people from that tribe had already left, and now he could not find them…
This made the leader of the Yellow Fruit Tribe feel a sense of regret.