The Abyss World, the Kemono Girl Encyclopedia Project!

After collecting a batch of supplies, Wang Yan's condition improved. He pulled himself back to reality, and after a while, the wind wasn't too hot anymore. Just as he was about to go back to the cave to continue sleeping, he saw You Li take out a potato from somewhere and start roasting it by the campfire.

The night shift wasn't short, so he needed a snack to fill his stomach. Wang Yan looked at the girl sitting listlessly by the campfire, his thoughts racing. He figured that since they would be living under the same roof in the future, he should try to get along with her. So he sat down again, took out a packet of salt from the system's inventory, carefully tore a hole in it, and picked up a leaf and poured it on top.

You Li frowned, confused about what Wang Yan was doing. He had produced a bag of white sand from somewhere, which looked quite strange. Unexpectedly, after pouring it out, he suddenly looked at her.

Wang Yan held the leaf and tentatively said, "This... here you go, pour it on the potatoes, it will taste great."

You Li scoffed, then said, "You want me to eat sand?"

[You Li's Affection Level -2]

Primitive tribes usually obtain salt from animal offal. Salt is an extremely rare and precious commodity, and it is usually large, coarse, yellow salt. No wonder Youli mistook refined salt for sand; she had never seen such a thing before.

Seeing that she had lost two more points of favorability, Wang Yan frowned and didn't explain much. He simply dipped his index finger in the mixture, then licked it with his tongue, demonstrating for her.

You Li watched this scene with a sense of unease. If you looked closely, this stuff was indeed very different from sand. With some doubt, she dipped her index finger in it and gently licked it with her tongue.

"Ugh!!"

It was as if an electric current flowed through her taste buds and into her brain, stimulating the pure saltiness in her mouth. Her eyes widened, and without thinking, she poured all the salt from the leaves onto the roasted potatoes, swallowing them all in just a few bites.

Youli naturally knew what salt was. A long time ago, Sister Zhuohua had traded a small jar with a merchant, but the salt at that time tasted a bit bitter. The salt that Wang Yan gave her, however, had no bitterness at all!

After swallowing hard a few times, You Li wiped her mouth and quickly asked Wang Yan:

"This is salt? How come it's not bitter at all?"

Wang Yan crossed his arms, looking slightly smug, and explained to her, "This is the purest salt. See? I wasn't lying to you, was I?"

Youli lowered her head, the salty taste still lingering. Even the most basic seasoning could elevate the quality of food to a whole new level. She swallowed, her thoughts racing.

[You Li's favorability +7]

It worked! This method really does work. To win someone's heart, you must first win their stomach. This saying certainly applies to little beast girls too!

Now You Li's favorability has increased a bit, which is a good start. Actually, the items that the system just drew out include some pre-made canned food with even better taste. It's not that Wang Yan is too stingy not to take them out; everything should be done step by step.

Seeing that he had gained some goodwill, Wang Yan stretched and prepared to get up and go back to the cave to continue sleeping. Yingluo was curled up naked, her big tail thoughtfully covering her lower abdomen, which was clearly visible to Wang Yan under his night vision.

"Do not look at what is improper, do not look at what is improper..."

After muttering a few words to himself, Wang Yan tiptoed back to bed. Although it was past midnight, thanks to the help of efficient sleep, he managed to fall asleep, albeit with some difficulty, and spent his first night after transmigrating.

The next morning, Wang Yan was woken up by Zhizhi. The little beast girls didn't have the habit of eating breakfast. However, it was drizzling outside the cave today. The little beast girls, who were usually going out to work, stayed at home and sat around in the yard to shelter from the rain, weaving baskets with some thorns.

Wang Yan felt a little embarrassed after sleeping in and wanted to help out, but unfortunately he didn't know how to do it. So Zhuo Hua pulled him to sit down beside her and taught him how to weave it step by step.

Although weaving basketball hoops is a difficult craft to learn, Wang Yan followed Zhuo Hua step by step and learned quite well. While weaving, he asked the others:

"Why weave so many baskets? I see lots of empty baskets in the cave."

Zhuohua was not surprised by Wang Yan's question and patiently explained:

"Every year, as winter approaches and spring begins, itinerant merchants travel between various tribes to trade. We usually prepare dried fruit in advance to exchange for food for the winter. However, dried fruit alone is not enough. When we have free time, we weave some baskets. One basket can be exchanged for ten potatoes."

Wang Yan suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! Now all the illogical things make sense." No wonder he said these little beast girls didn't seem capable of making pottery jars, let alone those perfectly cut wooden basins.

"For people like us at the bottom of society, there is only a very thin layer of soil beneath our feet. It's not a problem for trees and weeds to grow, but it's very difficult to grow crops. We don't hunt many animals, and we mainly rely on trading with merchants to exchange for food. You could say that our whole family depends on the relief from the merchants to survive."

Zhuohua felt that Wang Yan's vision and understanding were superior to her own, so she subconsciously talked to him a bit more. Wang Yan listened to everything and couldn't help but ponder for a moment.

In other words, before winter arrives, merchants will come to buy up any usable goods the little beast girls have to cope with the winter food shortage. Ah, I see...

However, by tonight, he will be able to take the potatoes out of the warehouse and give them to everyone to eat. If it's a tenfold harvest, then it will be at least twenty kilograms. Food shortage? There's no way that's happening!

Wang Yan spent the whole day weaving baskets with the girls in a sheltered spot from the rain. He didn't make much progress, but his hands were starting to ache. He stretched and his thoughts drifted to the farm. The potatoes were fully ripe, and he was overjoyed. A whole 20 kilograms! Enough to eat for a while.

Potatoes are sold at a rate of one point per kilogram, which seems too little. Wang Yan is going to take them all out. In primitive society, a person's position in a group was determined by how much benefit they could bring to the group, which is to say, how much food they could bring back. By taking out so many potatoes at once, he will definitely be able to establish his authority among these little beast girls.

After all, Wang Yan couldn't possibly eat potatoes with them every day. With the system's help, he had to ensure his own comfort while leading them to be well-fed and clothed, and building up his own small force. He couldn't do that without prestige.