We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 43 The Wu Tribe Tasting Hundreds of Herbs

"Mother!"

As soon as Usa walked in, Una immediately ran over.

The women of the Wu tribe put down their baskets one after another.

Xia Minghao did not disturb Una and the Wu tribe's reunion. Instead, he squatted down alone and began to examine the contents of the basket.

The basket was filled with all sorts of random things, and there were quite a few duplicates, but the variety was indeed quite extensive.

I looked at them one by one; there were all sorts of pebbles and quite a few kinds of plants.

There are plenty of berries and tubers, as well as a large number of herbaceous plants, some of which look like wild vegetables.

However, Xia Minghao didn't know much about this and couldn't tell whether eating it would cause any problems.

Even if you give it to Wangcai and force him to eat it, the fact that Wangcai is fine doesn't completely prove that people can be safe and sound after eating it.

You might even lose a "good dog," which would be a losing proposition.

After rummaging through the basket for a while, Xia Minghao found a few mushrooms at the bottom of the basket.

There are three in total, none of which are considered brightly colored.

Take one out and break it open casually.

As the mushroom was exposed to the air, its white and tender cut surface instantly turned bluish-black.

Goodness, a blue jasmine?

Xia Minghao had seen and even eaten the herb-like plant.

When traveling to Yunnan, how can you not try the "Jianshouqing" (a type of wild boar)?

Although the mushroom in my hand looks different from the Boletus luridus, the oxidation and discoloration process of the cut surface is exactly the same.

"You can't eat this!"

Una, who was standing next to her daughter, saw Xia Minghao break open a mushroom and thought he was going to eat it, so she quickly ran over and said something.

That's definitely not something you can eat.

Seeing the anxious look on Usa's face, Xia Minghao thought to himself.

Not only can't it be eaten raw, but he also doesn't plan to cook it.

Although Boletus luridus is edible when cooked, it tastes quite good.

But this might not be the case with mushrooms.

Even if the cross-section looks the same as that of Boletus luridus, there's no guarantee that it will be safe to eat after cooking.

Xia Minghao tossed the mushrooms back into the basket and stood up in disappointment.

Forget about any unexpected surprises; they're all pretty useless stuff.

At that moment, Usa pointed to another type of white mushroom in the basket and spoke up.

"This is edible, this is not edible."

"Have you eaten there?"

Xia Minghao asked curiously.

Upon hearing Xia Minghao's question, Usa immediately nodded and pointed to the three mushrooms.

"This is edible, this will make you sleep for a long time, this will kill you."

Goodness, not only have they eaten it, but they've also become so experienced with poisoning that they know the symptoms of poisoning so well.

The fact that he could feel the mushrooms so clearly was completely beyond Xia Minghao's expectations.

Based on his understanding of the Xi tribe, mushrooms were not on their menu at all.

Resources are not hard to find in the forest, and mushrooms, which are potentially dangerous, are naturally excluded.

This "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" mentality stems from a lack of intense scarcity of food demand; in fact, Xia Minghao would have done the same.

It's not like there's absolutely nothing to eat; there's no need to risk human lives to try and find new edible foods.

But why would the Wu tribe eat such potentially deadly food? And how could they accumulate such clear trial-and-error experience?

Out of curiosity, Xia Minghao inquired more about the Wu tribe.

After communicating with Usa, I learned that the Usa tribe was a settled tribe, and the reason for their settlement was naturally because of those trees.

They actually forced themselves to settle down, relying on gathering and scavenging...

Without agriculture and animal husbandry, forced settlement would certainly face severe food shortages, so it's no wonder they would choose to try and explore all edible plants.

Thinking of this, Xia Minghao had a question in his mind and asked it again.

"How far are you going to collect the materials?"

"They set off at dawn and returned at dusk; it was a long journey..."

Having no concept of distance, Usa stated the time of the operation.

This round trip takes a whole day, at least twelve hours.

Xia Minghao had also been there when Xima and the others were still collecting materials. It was only a two- or three-hour walk from the cave back. A round trip would take at most a morning or an afternoon.

The Wu tribe actually walked for twelve hours, which is twice the exploration radius of a normal primitive tribe.

It was indeed the best arrangement to have the Wu tribe help me gather resources and explore the forest.

They not only have rich experience in trial and error, but also have a broader understanding of forests.

After gaining a new understanding of the Wu tribe, Xia Minghao began to carefully inquire about the information of various wild vegetable-like herbaceous plants.

Usa has a deep understanding of each of them. As the Great Mother, and the Great Mother of the U tribe, she must memorize this knowledge so that she can lead her people to survive, whether it is the rainy season or the cold winter.

Xia Minghao listened and took notes, picking out all the wild vegetables that Usa mentioned were safe to eat, preparing to try them out tonight.

After finishing, he looked at the white mushroom again and an idea came to mind.

Mushrooms not only fill your stomach but also enhance the flavor of food.

More importantly, it has a short growth cycle, strong reproductive capacity, and sustainable output.

Moreover, it doesn't require any complicated tools, has no requirements for arable land, and doesn't need to wait until it migrates to the flood plains to begin.

These are all huge advantages that cannot be replaced by other vegetables.

If I could figure out how to cultivate these white mushrooms, it would be like kicking open the door to an agricultural society.

"You guys are very good. You have what I need, this."

"Tomorrow will be more, and more different."

Xia Minghao said to Wusa, and at the same time brought out enough dried fish and dried meat to feed the women until they were half full.

After thinking about it, I also grabbed a ceramic pot.

When Xia Minghao reappeared before the less than ten women of the Wu tribe, he found that their eyes were wide open in amazement.

They never expected that Xia Minghao would give them so many things.

For the U tribe, meat, especially meat that doesn't smell bad, is extremely precious.

Not only does it give you energy, but it also helps women produce milk to feed their babies.

"So much meat, are you giving it to us? And a clay pot too!"

Usa never expected there to be so many, including a clay pot!
The delicious taste of the boiled meat I ate yesterday immediately came back to my mind.

"Yes, for you."

Now that he has become even more aware of the immense value of the Wu tribe, Xia Minghao naturally wants to give them a good encouragement and fully motivate their initiative.

Shocked to receive the dried meat, dried fish, and earthenware pot, they did not cheer.

The women just stared wide-eyed, forgetting even to cheer.

Xia Minghao didn't say much, he just wanted to figure out how to grow the mushrooms as soon as possible, so he said goodbye and went back to the cave.

……

……

……

On the way back to the Wu tribe, almost at the entrance of the cave, the women were still not fully recovered.

At the same time, all the women felt an emotion they had never experienced before—a peculiar sense of "unworthiness."

Even if they had found an animal carcass that had just been eaten but whose flesh was still fresh, they wouldn't feel that way; they would just feel lucky.

But now, this feeling, which shouldn't have been there, filled Usa and the others' hearts.

They simply couldn't understand why such a small amount of food could be compared to dried meat, dried fish, and the earthenware pot that they considered most precious.

"They said the Xi tribe wouldn't give us meat, but now they've given us a lot."

"With meat, my sister will be able to produce milk."

“Usa, they will definitely accept you as the Great Mother again, because you are right and they are wrong.”

Several women whispered, their tone tinged with relief.

As people who dare to change, they naturally crave recognition.

But Usa remained silent, only continuing to walk towards the cave.

Inside the cave, the baby's cries never ceased.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get any milk out and could only cry loudly in frustration.

The other women and the man who had just brought back the stinking bones with lots of rotting flesh were already used to the noise and just went about their own business.

It wasn't until the twilight light streaming into the cave was blocked by several figures that everyone raised their heads and looked at the "outcasts" who had disobeyed the new Great Mother's gathering task.

And what Usa has in his hands...

The cave fell silent the next moment.

　I forgot to mention that the editor has asked me to post chapters from 7 AM to 8 PM from now on, instead of all at once. Please understand.

　　After it's released in a while, I'll post two chapters in the morning and three chapters in the evening. Thank you all for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)