Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Soap Pods

Night deepened.

The preparations for the hotpot feast were settled.

The clanspeople helped clean up the square and set up tables and chairs for the next day’s feast.

Gen found Chenrong and asked him to help prepare the fish, shrimp, and other seafood needed for the feast. When it came to fishing, no one in the tribe was better than Chenrong.

“Chenrong, I’ll have to trouble you with catching the fish.”

“And if you could also help with some shrimp and crabs, that would be great.”

“No problem.”

Chenrong agreed to Gen’s request without hesitation.

Nearby, Yadong and Kongshan chimed in, saying that once they finished their chores building the cave dwellings, they wanted to go fishing with Chenrong at White Lake too.

“You guys just want to go to the lake, don’t you? It’s not really about helping with the fishing.”

Ever since everyone discovered how delicious fish and shrimp were, they jumped at any chance to go to the lake or river. But since it wasn’t the warm season yet, the weather was still pretty cool.

The tribe was worried the children would follow their example, so they’d strictly forbidden anyone from going into the water.

“Looks like we’ll need someone to keep an eye on the kids tomorrow,” Gen said quietly.

The little ones, like Shanjue, were especially daring.

Last time, they even snuck out of the tribe.

If they found out about the fishing trip to the lake this time, there was no way they’d stay put.

After saying goodbye to the others, Changxia and her group headed to White Lake. Nan Feng, Yadong, and the others who had moved to the cave dwellings there went with them.

“Good night, Nan Feng.”

At the fork in the road, everyone went their separate ways.

Changxia and her group of four returned to their cave dwelling, but didn’t go inside to rest right away.

“Granny Suye, I’ll fetch water for you. You go ahead and bathe first,” Changxia said. The water in the kitchen pot was still warm, just right for bathing.

Changxia let Suye bathe first, and planned to go after her.

Chenrong was much more direct. He called Baiqing and headed straight for White Lake with him.

At night, the temperature dropped.

But for the male beastfolk, it was just right.

Hot or cold water didn’t make much difference to them.

Suye accepted Changxia’s offer, grabbed her clothes, and went into the storage room.

The bathroom wasn’t finished yet, so the storage room was being used as a temporary bath.

“Where’s Baiqing?” Suye asked.

Changxia nodded toward White Lake. “Chenrong took him to the lake to bathe. Granny Suye, do we have anything we can use for washing hair and bathing?”

She’d been using plant ash to wash her hair, but after a while, she worried it might make her go bald.

She’d looked for soap pods near the tribe, but hadn’t found any.

She’d also asked the clanspeople, but none of them had seen soap pods before.

“Soap pods,” Suye said. “They grow on a big tree in the Tianlang tribe. The fruit can be used for washing hair and cleaning animal hides.”

Su Ye hadn’t mentioned it during the long summer, and Changxia really hadn’t thought about soap pods at all.

It seemed the Heluo tribe didn’t have any soap pods.

Realizing this, Changxia felt a little embarrassed and said, “I forgot the Heluo tribe doesn’t have soap pods. I brought a bag of them with me this time—wait here, I’ll go get them for you.”

As soon as she heard this—

Su Ye explained that the Sirius tribe had soap pod trees.

Changxia couldn’t help but shed tears of joy.

Homemade shampoo and body wash took time and effort to make. Natural cleaners like soap pods were by far the most convenient.

Soon, Su Ye came back with a beast-hide pouch containing over a dozen soap pods, all half-dried in the sun. Clearly, these must have been sent from the Sirius tribe to Mount Kana.

“Crush them, add water, and boil. Once it turns into a thick, black liquid, scoop it out and let it cool. If you want to be particular, filter out the residue. If not, just wet your hair and apply some of the soap pod liquid directly to wash,” Su Ye explained.

“Okay!” Changxia replied cheerfully, taking the pouch and pouring out the soap pods. She chopped them up with an ironwood knife, then used the handle to crush them further.

Next, she took out her smallest clay pot, added water, and started boiling the mixture.

These dozen or so soap pods could make several hundred milliliters of soap pod liquid—enough to last a month or two.

Su Ye went to the storeroom to bathe.

Meanwhile, Changxia carefully tended to the boiling soap pod liquid. As she worked, she found a small clay jar in the storeroom next to the kitchen, planning to use it to store the finished liquid.

Before long, Su Ye finished her bath and came out.

Shen Rong and the others hadn’t returned yet; it looked like it would be a while longer.

“Next time, I’ll help you trade for more soap pods from the Sirius tribe,” Su Ye said.

Changxia nodded, then shook her head. “Granny Su Ye, let the tribe trade with the Sirius tribe for soap pods. Wood ash isn’t really suitable for washing hair and bathing all the time. I think we could use ginkgo nuts to trade for soap pods with them.”

Knowing how useful soap pods were, Changxia naturally didn’t want to keep them all to herself.

“Good idea,” Su Ye agreed.

She realized she’d never thought about this before. After all, beast tribes usually lived independently.

If Changxia hadn’t brought it up, Su Ye, like the others, would never have considered the idea of tribes trading resources with each other.

There hadn’t been any precedent for this before.

But ever since Changxia had introduced new ways to use fruit powder, Su Ye’s thinking had started to change.

“Granny Su Ye, do you know which beast tribe in the Twilight Forest has sugarcane or beets growing in their territory?” As Changxia stirred the soap pod liquid, watching it darken, she moved the pot to the floor to cool before pouring it into the clay jar for storage.

“Sugarcane and beets—” Su Ye hesitated, “Can you describe what they look like?”

Everyone in the Heluo tribe knew Changxia liked naming plants and animals.

But just from the names, Su Ye couldn’t picture what sugarcane or beets were.

“Sugarcane has a straight, cylindrical stalk, segmented, solid inside, and comes in purple, red, or yellow-green. Beets look a bit like radishes, but they’re sweeter.” As Changxia spoke, she sketched simple drawings of sugarcane and beets.

Su Ye thought for a moment.

Sugarcane looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she’d seen it.

As for beets, she remembered that the Bear tribe’s territory had a wild vegetable called ‘purple root’ that sounded similar to what Changxia described.

The Bear tribe had a varied diet—meat, greens, and wild fruits were all on their menu.

In this respect, they were easier to feed than other beast tribes. But Bear Xu was also famous for his huge appetite, so it all balanced out, and the Bear tribe only just managed to get by.

“The Bear tribe? Really?” Changxia asked excitedly.

It really was the right call to ask the shaman.

If she’d tried to search the Twilight Forest on her own, she might not have found what she wanted in ten years. The beast tribes were wild by nature.

Normally, beast tribes didn’t cross into each other’s territories to hunt or gather. Doing so was seen as a provocation and could easily lead to conflict.

“I’m not completely sure,” Su Ye said seriously.

Changxia pouted and sighed, “What a shame, we can’t go to the Bear tribe to check.”

“If you want, I can help you,” Su Ye smiled.

“How would we do that?” Changxia asked in surprise. Except during the Normandy Grand Market, beast tribes usually stayed within their own territories.

At other times, they kept to themselves and lived peacefully.

“Ginkgo nuts,” Su Ye replied.

She hadn’t planned to mention this yet, but seeing Changxia’s disappointed face, she decided to give her a hint.

Changxia tilted her head, puzzled. “Ginkgo nuts?”

“If you share the uses of ginkgo nuts with the other tribes, I can help you request a travel pass from them. But it would be for your use only,” Su Ye said. “Don’t get too excited yet. I’ll need to discuss it with the other tribes first.”