A good night’s sleep.
When she woke up, the cave was dimly lit again, with the soft, continuous sound of light rain in the background.
It was raining again, different from before—this time, the rain was pure, without any thunder or lightning, making it the perfect sleep aid. Xi Yi was already up, and there was some minor commotion in the cave, but she couldn’t resist the drowsiness and fell back asleep after lying down for a while.
By the time she woke again, it was already past noon. She saw Xi Yi by the fire, his back turned to her as he roasted meat.
No one else from the tribe was around, not even the youngest, Masa.
Near the bathtub, water had been prepared for her to wash up.
Sha Yi quickly freshened up with the water and then sat down beside Xi Yi.
He had noticed her waking up while she was washing. As soon as she sat down, he handed her a piece of meat, roasted to a crisp golden-brown, then turned to lift the leaf cover from a stainless steel basin on the ground and served her a bowl of soup.
The soup was made from the leaves of an unknown plant. Though not as flavorful as mushroom soup, it was refreshingly fragrant. It was her first time trying something like this, and Sha Yi found herself with an unusually good appetite, quickly finishing the small basin of soup and even polishing off the roasted meat Xi Yi had given her.
Delighted by her rare hearty appetite, Xi Yi even considered giving her the remaining piece of meat roasting over the fire, but she was already too full. Reluctantly, he set it back.
At the moment, there weren’t many people in the cave. The rain wasn’t heavy, and with no thunder, most had likely gone out to continue foraging.
During the rainy season, no one would ever complain about having too much food. Even outside of the rainy season, those with any sense would stockpile provisions for emergencies.
Speaking of food, she had originally planned to filter the brine they’d brought back and then sun-dry it to test its purity. But since it was already late at night and she was exhausted, she had postponed it. Now, the large containers filled with brine sat untouched in a less crowded corner of the cave. With Xi Yi still around and not out foraging, it was the perfect time to start.
However, without sunlight, direct drying wasn’t an option. She could only filter the brine first and skip the sun-drying step, moving straight to boiling it in the stainless steel basin.
Filtering wasn’t easy, and boiling brine wasn’t entirely safe either, not to mention the heavy consumption of fuel.
After a night of settling, the brine in the containers had cleared up somewhat, but there were still plenty of impurities visible to the naked eye. After some thought, Sha Yi decided to repeat the filtration process multiple times.
As for the filtering tool, she deliberated for a long time before settling on using her own clothes.
The last time she’d washed them, she remembered two pieces that could serve as filters—one made of coarse ice silk and the other of linen. The ice silk would be used first, followed by the linen.
But once used for filtration, the ice silk garment would be ruined. Sha Yi hesitated briefly but ultimately stuck to her decision.
After all, compared to the birth of salt, even the rarest clothing in this world paled in importance.
Once resolved, she immediately called Xi Yi over to fetch the brine while she retrieved the two garments from the bathtub area.
When Xi Yi returned, Sha Yi took an empty container, cut open the ice silk short-sleeve with a fruit knife, and stretched it over the container’s opening, securing it with thin vines. She then gestured for him to slowly pour the brine through it.
Just as they began, Xi Gu and Ma Rui returned, quickly dropping what they were carrying and rushing over to help.
After explaining the filtration process, Sha Yi assigned Ma Rui to start a fire while she gave Xi Gu a detailed demonstration.
Out of the fifty or so people in the cave settlement, more than half had joined them in transporting the brine. She needed to teach as many as possible how to filter and boil the brine into salt themselves. Otherwise, if she and Xi Yi had to handle everything alone, the meat hunted by smaller groups would likely spoil before they could preserve it.
They had sacrificed one of the rare dry days of the rainy season—a prime opportunity to gather food—to help her search for mineral salt. She couldn’t let their efforts go to waste. This contribution deserved the most perfect reward!
Gaining others’ trust was hard enough, let alone convincing them of the value of something entirely unknown.
If this batch of brine successfully yielded salt, she would share it with the entire group. Once they learned the method, they could make it themselves, saving everyone time and effort.
Thanks to the rain, fetching water for washing was easier. Sha Yi quickly filtered the brine three times with the ice silk and twice more with the linen shirt before pouring some of the filtered saltwater into the stainless steel basin and handing it to Ma Rui.
Luckily, the day before, while Xi Yi and the others were searching for ocher-colored vines in the terrifying forest, they had also collected resin along the way. Others had pitched in, so now they had a considerable stockpile.
Ma Rui used a lighter to ignite a mix of dried grass, twigs, leaves, and resin. By the time the filtration was complete, the fire was blazing fiercely.
Ma Rui and Xi Yi worked together to boil the brine. Sha Yi and Xi Gu stood by, offering occasional guidance. The process itself wasn’t complicated, but the crude conditions made it time-consuming and fuel-intensive. After much effort, the water finally evaporated, and the first batch of salt was successfully made.
Seeing the layer of white-tinged transparent crystals clinging to the basin, Sha Yi was thrilled. She removed the basin and used the fruit knife to scrape off the salt crystals.
Xi Yi, Xi Gu, and Ma Rui had no idea what she was doing, so they watched quietly. Only after she finished scraping did they take the basin back.
The collected salt crystals nearly covered the bottom of a wooden bowl used for drinking soup. Sha Yi eagerly pinched some and tasted it—it dissolved instantly, with almost no bitterness. This was the long-lost, authentic taste of salt!
At that moment, Sha Yi felt a surge of excitement. This was the first salt of the ancient era. From now on, Xi Yi and the entire tribe in the cave settlement would no longer face the deadly problem of food spoilage during the rainy season!
With food properly preserved, the risk of people being struck by lightning would also decrease. Well-fed individuals wouldn’t need to brave thunderstorms in desperate searches for food.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage