Chapter 118 - 120: Whose Heart Is Racing?

Chapter 118: Chapter 120: Whose Heart Is Racing?

"That may be true, but the Beastmen are bound to compete in secret," Cai Xia said, speaking from experience.

As if recalling something, she let out a faint sigh. "The Moon God Festival was quite an ordeal for me last year. Yi De, Er De, and San De all gave me wonderful gifts. I chose the one from San De, which didn’t sit well with Yi De and Er De."

"The Moon God Festival represents a female’s affection for her Beastmen. Since you chose San De, it’s only natural that Yi De and Er De were upset. So how did you resolve it in the end?"

"What else could I do? I had to go on secret dates with both of them. It went on for three straight days. My back nearly gave out, and my legs were trembling so much I couldn’t even walk."

Hearing this, Ah Zhu let out a chuckle. "That’s just because you’re so loved by your Beastmen, Sister Cai Xia."

"It’s nice to be loved, but sometimes it’s pure agony."

"You have three as well. How come you don’t seem so worried about it?" Cai Xia said, glancing at Ah Zhu with a curious expression.

At this, Ah Zhu said shyly, "I’ve already made an agreement with them. We’ll celebrate the Moon God Festival three times a year. That way, each of them gets a chance to be with me."

"No wonder you said you’d just pick whichever gift you liked, and whichever Beastman came with it. That’s a great idea! I’ll have to borrow it."

"Luoluo, what are your plans for the Moon God Festival? Ah Zhu’s method is pretty good, you could try it," Cai Xia said, then turned to the silent Su Luoluo and gave her a wink.

Three Moon God Festivals was one thing, but asking her to get through six of them? Su Luoluo felt that would be the death of her.

Ah Zhu’s solution was a good one, but it wouldn’t work for her.

For a moment, she had no idea what to do, so she changed the subject, pointing toward the salt works ahead. "I’m going to go check on things over there. It looks like they might have placed the stones incorrectly."

After Su Luoluo left, Ah Zhu glanced at Cai Xia and whispered, "But Luoluo has six Beastmen. Her situation is different from ours. She’s probably going to have her hands full this Moon God Festival."

Cai Xia nodded. "That’s true. Three is enough to wear me out. Six will definitely not be easy for Luoluo. People used to envy her for having six Beastmen, but now that I think about it, three is plenty."

"Exactly. More people, more problems. I think three is a good number too."

Su Yang took salt purification very seriously. For this batch, he required the entire tribe to participate.

The females were responsible for simple tasks like changing the water, while the Beastmen had to follow Su Luoluo’s instructions.

Cai Xia and Ah Zhu had already taught the tribe the art of pottery making. Following Su Luoluo’s prior instructions, they had prepared ten large ceramic jars and pots in advance.

All the coarse salt had been dissolved in water, and the females had finished preparing the wood ash.

She assigned a group of people to add the wood ash, with one person designated to supervise each team’s every move.

This was to prevent any contaminants from getting mixed in and, of course, to watch out for a certain insidious little troublemaker.

Su Nuannuan finally found an opportunity. Just as she was about to slip something in, she realized Su Luoluo had people watching her like a hawk, leaving her no chance to make a move.

’Is it really necessary to be this cautious over just adding some ash?’

Su Nuannuan was furious.

When Xi Yi saw Su Luoluo instruct people to add the wood ash to the brine, the murky water suddenly became much clearer in just a short while. He was utterly astonished.

’Who would have thought this dirty-looking wood ash could do something like that?’

Nantu had seen Su Luoluo purify salt once before, so his reaction wasn’t as dramatic this time.

After seeing it last time, he had even experimented with the wood ash himself. He found that it could adsorb and remove impurities from any dirty water.

The last time, Su Luoluo had been sewing a small bag and burning some plants. He suspected she used this method for when she was menstruating, too.

However, this was a matter of female biology, so it wasn’t something he could conveniently research.

Even so, he still had many questions about Su Luoluo’s methods.

That’s why he had come over so quickly when he heard they would be purifying salt today.

For instance, why was she now putting different types of stones into the jar, along with a layer of charred wood?

The other steps of the process were relatively simple; Su Luoluo’s main focus was on the filtration apparatus before her.

The amounts and placement of the three materials—coarse sand, fine sand, and charcoal—all had to be precise.

She watched the Beastmen closely, and only after confirming that the ratios were correct did she have them pour the brine into the setup.

Xi Yi’s interest was piqued. He walked over with his arms crossed and asked Su Luoluo, "Why are you putting all that stuff in the jar? Won’t it make the salt even dirtier?"

Su Luoluo pointed to the brine in the jar. "Quite the opposite. Look. As the brine passes through the coarse sand and then the fine sand, the larger bits of debris get trapped. By the time it flows further down, there’s even less dirt. When it reaches the black charcoal, the remaining impurities are adsorbed, and the brine becomes even cleaner."

Xi Yi leaned in for a closer look. Sure enough, the murky brine that had been poured in was now coming out much clearer.

He nodded, praising her with uncharacteristic sincerity. "So it’s slowly filtering out all the impurities. You’re very clever, Luoluo."

Su Luoluo didn’t say anything in response. ’It’s not like I came up with this method,’ she thought. ’I’m just borrowing someone else’s knowledge. It’s not my own cleverness.’

Nantu had been curious about this himself, so when he heard Xi Yi ask the question, he immediately pricked up his ears to listen.

Upon learning the reasoning behind her method, he was once again filled with admiration for Su Luoluo’s cleverness.

’How did she think of such a brilliant method? She’s so much smarter than those people back in the city-state.’

At this thought, Nantu couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on Su Luoluo.

Her expression was intent as she stared at the ceramic jar, occasionally telling someone to add more charcoal.

The focused look in her eyes sent a strange ripple through his heart.

Her waist had also gotten much slimmer than before. As she bent over, the posture accentuated her ample chest and rear.

He couldn’t help but recall that soft sensation from the other day. His neck began to flush red, and his heart beat even faster.

[Ding! Nantu’s attraction value has increased by 10 points. Heartbeat Value has increased by 15 points.]

Su Luoluo was carefully observing the salt crystals precipitating out of the brine when the system suddenly chimed.

Hearing the mechanical announcement, she was a little surprised. ’Why did Nantu’s values suddenly increase?’

She subconsciously glanced in Nantu’s direction and, what do you know, she found him staring intently at her.

’I have no idea what he’s looking at, but he seems incredibly focused.’

A shiver ran down Su Luoluo’s spine. She wondered what Nantu was plotting this time.

’Whatever,’ she thought. ’An increase in his values is a good thing for me, anyway.’

The filtered brine had to be boiled and stirred slowly for the salt to crystallize. The heat couldn’t be too high. Su Luoluo went to check on each of the fires, and by the time she was done, the intense gaze was gone. She didn’t think any more of it.

After a busy morning, the salt was finally refined.

Su Luoluo stretched languidly and headed for the outdoor kitchen. It was time to make a meal.

Xi Yi saw the brilliant white salt that had been produced. He rubbed a little between his fingers and found it was incredibly fine—even better than any salt he’d had before.

A faint smile graced his lips.

’Perhaps the Heavenly God’s guidance was right after all.’

’Su Luoluo truly never fails to surprise me.’