The First Order

Chapter 1041: Gossiping

There were many types of antibiotics, such as penicillin, tetracycline, and erythromycin. With the conditions in Xiuzhuzhou, it was impossible to make them.

Or to be precise, they could be produced but not purified.

Using penicillin as an example, there was a large amount of harmful substances in the mold culture. Using it without purification was no different from suicide.

Moreover, the output of mold culture that did not go through industrial selection was devastatingly low.

However, it was different for allicin. Garlic cloves yield about 2.5 milligrams of allicin per gram of raw weight, and the harmful substances were much fewer as well, so the extraction of allicin could be done in Xiuzhuzhou.

Hu Shuo was a professional spy who was also extremely well-versed in physics and chemistry. One could figure that out from the lessons he taught to the children of Luoyang City’s orphanage.

Therefore, Hu Shuo felt that extracting allicin was a more reliable option after giving it some thought.

Although the compound was mainly used for agriculture in the Central Plains and was considered a relatively basic antibiotic, it had strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. It could suppress or kill many types of bacterial, viral, and fungal infections, among other things. This was a benefit that could not be ignored.

It was also one of the few antibiotics that worked on fungal infections.

After all, in a place like Xiuzhuzhou where anesthetics were used as a first-line treatment against illnesses, there was no better option than allicin.

Li Shentan asked over the phone for instructions on how to extract the allicin before hanging up.

He said to Lian Yi, “You heard it too. This is a very well-founded treatment method. If you want your people to survive, get them to work with me to extract the allicin. After your people recover, we can discuss the matter of me becoming chief consort.”

Lian Yi thought carefully for a moment and suddenly said, “We can extract the allicin while planning for you to become my consort. There doesn’t seem to be any conflict between the two events. I’ll sleep with you at night while you extract the allicin during the day. There’s no interference at all.”

Li Shentan was shocked. “You make so much sense that I can’t contradict you!”

For some reason, Li Shentan felt a little helpless when facing Lian Yi.

In the past, it was always him giving others a headache because he never did things logically. But now, it was his turn to get a headache over someone else’s behavior.

Thinking of this… Li Shentan actually found it quite interesting!

However, he could not just submit to her like that. How could the dignified Demon Whisperer serve as some superstitious tool to drive away the illness plaguing the village?!

Li Shentan said in seriousness, “Let’s cure the sick first!”

Lian Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, “Alright then.”

The woman’s tone still sounded a little indignant. But because she really wanted her tribespeople to get better soon, she temporarily shelved her plans.

The process of extracting allicin was relatively simple. Lian Yi ordered the tribespeople to work with Li Shentan to collect all the garlic cloves from the village households before collecting wine from them as well.

In normal times, very few people in Xiuzhuzhou’s Lian tribe were required to do menial work. Basically, all the laborious jobs were left to the copper and silver corpses to complete. So the people in the village’s households just distilled wine every day before heading out for the bonfire party at night to search for their ah’zhus and ah’xias.

To be honest, this kind of life was really quite comfortable. It was no wonder Lian Yi and her tribespeople did not want the rest of the world to find out about their utopia.

With the wine and garlic cloves collected, the basic items for extracting allicin were fulfilled.

Li Shentan told the people of the Lian tribe, “Hey… sort the garlic cloves that were collected from the households first. Remember, we don’t want any rotten ones and those infested by pests!”

The Lian tribe’s villagers looked at one another and wondered why the chief’s ah’zhu was suddenly ordering them to work.

The social standing of men in this village was extremely low, so nobody listened to Li Shentan. Instead, they turned their attention to Lian Yi.

Lian Yi thought for a moment and said, “He’s going to become my consort, and I’ll be using the Scarlet Gu on him in a few days. Y’all can rest easy and follow his plans.”

When everyone heard that even the Scarlet Gu would soon be used, they cast aside any worries they had. ‘Alright, this man is dependable.‘

The status of men who were implanted with the Scarlet Gu was definitely different from that of normal men. In an instant, everyone squatted down and started peeling the garlic cloves. They carried out their tasks really diligently!

However, Li Shentan was a little upset. As the dignified Demon Whisperer, he actually had to use his status as the “chief consort” to make these people peel the garlic without doubts!

What the hell?! He was clearly doing this to save the Lian tribe’s villagers!

Li Shentan looked at Lian Yi angrily. “You have to understand! I’m only doing this to save your people. It’s not my duty!”

Lian Yi corrected him seriously, “Our people.”

“… Wow!”

When it came to having a mental illness, Li Shentan finally admitted he might not be the most deranged person anymore. He had encountered someone even more unpredictable than him.

The men of the Lian tribe did not work. So it was a group of young women and middle-aged women squatting in front of Li Shentan who were diligently peeling the garlic while the men watched.

While the women were peeling the garlic, their mouths did not stay idle. They muttered, “The ah’zhu that Chief found is so fair-skinned and pretty, but his hair is all white. I wonder if he’s not healthy.”

“That’s a possibility. Should we dissuade Chief? She should not consider a man whose body is weak…”

When Li Shentan heard that, he thought to himself, ‘Can you all keep your voices down? Hmm? Do you all think the Demon Whisperer does not care about his reputation?!‘

Furthermore, his white hair had turned white from stress due to the excessive sorrow he experienced when he was young. How did that have anything to do with his health?

And that auntie, why did you secretly take a few bites of the garlic while peeling them? Don’t you find it biting?!

Li Shentan felt he was always getting irate ever since he came to Xiuzhuzhou. He was constantly getting angry at every little thing!

Next to him, Lian Yi asked, “What’s next after peeling the garlic?”

Li Shentan said helplessly, “Mash them into a paste first, then have the tribespeople use a large cauldron to cook it over a weak flame until it dries. After that, grind the paste into powder.”

With that, Lian Yi prepared the cauldron with her tribespeople. Soon after, a small fire was lit under it.

After they poured the garlic paste into the cauldron, Li Shentan instructed, “It’ll take eight hours to fully dry the garlic paste. Remember, the fire can’t be too strong, so you have to flip the garlic paste over every hour.”

“Alright.” Lian Yi squatted down next to the cauldron and stared at the flame.

The group of women did not have anything else to do, so they also squatted down next to the large cauldron and started chatting softly. It was a fine spectacle.

The chatter of discussions came from them. “Then does that mean that Chief’s ah’zhu can start refining corpses after he’s implanted with the Scarlet Gu? We have another gold corpse in the village. Not just anyone is qualified to use it, and I wonder if the elder will recognize this outsider as well.”

“I guess it should work. I heard from Ah Hua that Chief’s ah’zhu is quite powerful. He was even able to subdue her.”

When Li Shentan heard this, he thought to himself, ‘There’s still some smart people around. Your tribal chief is not my equal!‘

However, someone immediately retorted, “Chief did not have her gold corpse with her at that time. Otherwise, that gigolo would definitely not have defeated her.”

When Li Shentan heard that, he wanted to flip the cauldron over on them.