Kaelen did not expect someone to actually dare to shave their fur; it was none other than Landon, the Snow Leopard brat. This kid was already blindly worshiping the Crimson warriors; telling him to wait another five days was simply impossible!

When Kaelen received the news, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had to tell Barton to go to the Avian clan to order a reed-stuffed coat that could keep the brat warm, preventing Landon from being blown into an ice cube by the wind. The tribe advanced a bag of salt; later on, once Landon earned enough contribution points, the boy would have to pay the tribe back.

The snow leopard happily wagged his tail furiously upon receiving the new coat. After putting it on, he leaped onto the high stone wall and paced back and forth in front of everyone with his chin raised, exuding a provocative aura that made the group of deviants wish they could beat Landon to death. Unfortunately, this snow leopard cub ran too fast; no one could catch him.

Hearing the story, Kaelen just smiled and shook his head; after all, Landon was still a child, it was unavoidable. Moreover, with that punchable look, this kid was extremely suited for the role of drawing aggro; sending Landon to lure the enemy was the perfect strategy.

Putting the newcomers’ matters aside, Kaelen organized the paperwork, read through it once, and supplemented any areas that were incomplete or suboptimal. First of all, the merchant caravan’s maiden voyage was primarily for scouting the route, so they could not carry bulky goods. The priorities were paper, fabric, dried food, edible powder, and some practical pottery such as clay pots and jars.

Of course, these ceramic items were brought mainly for the caravan to use, while simultaneously being taken out for advertising. Any tribe that wanted to trade would have to come to Crimson to do so themselves.

The salt brought outside couldn’t be the refined salt used by the tribe either. Kaelen planned to have everyone make a batch of salt that still contained impurities, just slightly better than the quality of Hollow’s salt.

As for dried food, besides salted meat and smoked meat, they could make shredded chicken, chicken floss, fish floss, meat floss, and even dried fish.

Especially the dried fish; infused with salt, it didn’t need to be eaten with rice. Just chewing on it to replenish salt would definitely make it popular. For the ingredients, he had already set his sights on the school of Linh fish in the tribe’s river. The Linh fish were small, yet rich in protein and nutrients. He originally wanted to raise them to grow a bit bigger to try making fish sauce, but if they were making dried fish and crispy fried fish, this timing was just right. The fish at this stage were not fully grown; their bones were soft, their meat sweet, and their fatty bellies rich and creamy.

Speaking of this, Kaelen’s saliva unconsciously secreted. Damn it, he was having food cravings again.

As someone who never mistreated his stomach, Kaelen organized the documents, put them into a bamboo tube to safely store in the guarded meeting room, and then hurried over to Susan’s place to borrow a net. Unfortunately, the nets at Susan’s house were all for catching large fish, so he had to run over to the Avian clan to ask for a fine mesh net made from grass fibers.

To prevent the fish from thrashing hard and tearing the net, the weavers used the veins of a long-leaved aquatic grass. These veins were very thin but quite soft and, moreover, very tough—perfect for weaving fishing nets. The Linh fish were very small, so the mesh size was only slightly larger than the tip of a thumb, ensuring that medium-sized fish wouldn’t slip through while preventing young fry from getting stuck in the net.

Weaving a net to catch Linh fish also took more time than weaving a standard large net. It wasn’t until nearly noon that the net, which was about seven meters long and slightly wider than the riverbed, was completed. Kaelen tested the fishing net, nodded in satisfaction, and said:

"In the near future, this kind of net will be needed, so please try to weave two or three more."

After he finished speaking, he happily left. Naturally, following behind Kaelen were Susan and Karin, who loved eating fish. The large river in the tribe already had several bridges. Susan and Karin stood on opposite sides, slowly dragging the net from one bridge to another, harvesting a pile of gleaming white fish.

Kaelen’s task was to stand by with a few large buckets, waiting for the two Sub-Beasts to pull the fish ashore before bringing the buckets over to collect them. Besides the Linh fish, there were many other types of freshwater fish. Kaelen gave all of those to Susan and Karin; he only took the Linh fish.

"Kaelen, how can such small fish have any meat to eat? You aren’t yielding to us, are you?" Seeing that Kaelen only picked up the small fish, Susan and Karin felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that he was being modest.

Kaelen burst out laughing and said, "What are you thinking? I want to eat the small fish. Besides, I have some use for these fish. If you want to eat any fish, just feel free to take them."

"Can these small fish even be eaten?"

Kaelen nodded affirmatively, "Of course. You should also take some back to cook. After washing them clean, use your fingers to squeeze out the fish guts, then just fry the whole fish until crispy. Once you scoop them out, sprinkle a little salt and toss them evenly. It is delicious. Oh right, you probably don’t know its name yet; it’s called the Linh fish."

Susan and Karin were half-believing and half-doubting, but they also picked up some Linh fish to take back and try frying. They only dragged the net for a short distance, yet the harvest was quite decent. Kaelen released the ones that were too small, only keeping the medium-sized ones, and still managed to fill a large bucket.

Since he was pregnant, the two young Sub-Beasts did not let him carry the fish back. After washing and hanging the net up to dry, Susan and Karin took the initiative to help Kaelen carry the bucket of fish.

With so many Linh fish, Kaelen decided to fry half of them, saving a portion for Sane as well. For the remaining half, he wanted to ferment a jar of fish sauce.

He rolled up his sleeves, sat down on a chair, and began to squeeze out the fish guts. Squeezing out the Linh fish guts was very fast. He squeezed half of them first, washed them clean, and deep-fried them over low heat. While waiting for one side of the fish in the pot to turn golden, he took the opportunity to continue squeezing the guts out of the remaining half. By the time the fried fish were evenly golden on both sides and had become crispy and light, he had also finished squeezing.

He washed the raw fish multiple times with diluted saltwater to reduce the slime and fishy smell, then spread them evenly on a bamboo tray to drain thoroughly. The important thing when making fish sauce was that the fish had to be completely dry; otherwise, the sauce would smell rotten and breed maggots.

While waiting for the fish to drain, Kaelen took the time to enjoy his lunch. The deep-fried Linh fish had a crispy texture like a snack, and because they were tossed with salt, the savory flavor was just right. Kaelen ate almost all of that fish. If he hadn’t reminded himself to save some for Sane, he probably would have devoured the entire batch.

After eating, the fish drying on the tray were thoroughly drained. He started mixing the fish with coarse sea salt, ensuring that every single fish was coated in a layer of salt on the outside. Once mixed, he stacked the fish into a small terracotta jar, placed a bamboo grate on top of the fish, and then pressed a clean stone down on it to prevent the fish from floating up after releasing their juices. Next, he used animal skin to tightly seal the mouth of the jar, placing it in a cool, shady, and dry spot. After finishing this stage, he still had to wait at least two to three weeks for the fish to firm up and absorb the salt, before moving on to the process of mixing in toasted rice powder.

Having finished tidying up the house, Kaelen stretched his body, feeling a little sleepy. Being spoiled into a habit by Sane, if he didn’t take a short nap at noon, he couldn’t stand it.

At noon, the tribe was very quiet and deserted. Everyone took Kaelen as an example, so if Kaelen took a nap, they also took a nap. Of course, they couldn’t just all sleep at once, so the eating and resting period was divided into three different time slots, each slot lasting one hour for both eating and sleeping. This group would eat and nap first, and when the time was up, they would switch with another group.

Naturally, there were some people who didn’t like napping; they would take the opportunity to find a spot where they wouldn’t disturb anyone, either gossiping or doing their own personal tasks. Kaelen felt that the tribe was starting to resemble a well-regulated business in his hometown.

Kaelen was not an employee, so he could sleep however he wanted; however, he was a very principled person—he only slept for exactly half an hour, no more. He let out a yawn, patted his pregnant belly, and then started thinking about what needed to be done next.

First was compiling a short travelogue related to trading to stimulate the brains of the tribesmen, and then drafting a grade-transition exam. Those who passed could advance to the second grade; those who failed could choose to repeat the grade or drop out of school.

In this grade-transition exam, there would be an additional section related to communication, behavior, and business ethics. Those who could complete this section, regardless of whether they passed the main exam or not, would be arranged to study in a separate class called the Crimson Economic Development class.

To establish a merchant caravan, besides the goods, the caravan members needed to be equipped with full preparation to begin their business endeavors. Selling goods was not just about displaying them; besides relying on one’s mouth, it also relied on tricks and fiercely competitive tactics. In short, one had to have brains and a daring spirit.

No sooner said than done, Kaelen quickly returned to the tent by the clearing, keeping an eye on Zale while burying his head in furiously writing.

By the time Sane returned under the light of dusk, the space in front of Kaelen was already flooded with a mountain of paperwork. He lit a few more torches for brightness, then walked over to the table. Kaelen looked up and gave Sane a smile, then continued writing. About fifteen minutes later, he put down his pen and said to Sane:

"Help me check it over once, then bring it back to Uncle Collins. As for the travelogue, I will narrate it tonight, and the exam will begin to be applied tomorrow."

After speaking, he left the table and sprawled out on the bamboo cot to relieve his backache. Then he turned on his side, peeling pine nuts and tossing them into his mouth.

Sane smiled helplessly. He fetched warm water from the clay kettle placed by the fire pit to brew Kaelen a cup of sweet and sour water, and only then did the Chief start flipping through the pile of paperwork to examine it.

"Journey to Find the New Land..."

Sane read the book’s title in a low voice, then started reading the content.

This travelogue was about a group of four friends in a poor tribe at the edge of the continent. Among them were a young Sub-Beast named Caroline and three male Snow Wolf beastmen.

The Snow Wolf beastman named Rex had once followed his father to trade for salt at a large tribe; that time, their team suffered heavy casualties just to bring back a small bag of salt. Rex’s daddy lost a leg on that trip, making his family’s circumstances even more difficult.

Rex had recounted that trip to his friends on more than a few occasions. That day, by the campfire, Rex told the story once again, and the Sub-Beast named Caroline was also sitting together with them.

After listening to Rex’s story, Caroline went home and thought about it for a long time, then came up with a bold idea. He proposed to the Chief the idea of forming a dedicated team to travel to tribes near theirs, using materials that the tribe did not use or had in surplus to exchange for more valuable items.

Their tribe had plenty of something called milk fruit, which was used as a substitute for animal milk and was often used to feed the young during seasons of scarcity. If this fruit was picked while still half-ripe, it could be stored for several months. But they simply didn’t have that many young cubs; the fruits were all left to fall and rot at the base of the trees, which was an incredible waste.

In addition, they also had a type of extremely soft leaf that was highly waterproof; when dried, it could be used to build tents instead of animal skins. It was just that these leaves were not as durable as animal skin; they would rot if exposed to the outdoors for about a year. But they could be used to make other items, such as lining the inside of woven baskets to make water basins, using them as water pouches, or lining the inside of animal skin tents, which both prevented leaks and increased warmth.

The Chief considered his idea extremely nonsensical and chased Caroline away. He then talked about this matter with the tribesmen, but everyone said he was crazy. However, there were three other beastmen who shared his mindset: Rex, Alan, and Benjamin. They also had the same thought: why wait until they were almost out of supplies to go to a fixed location to trade, and why must they always go to the Spring Market just to exchange goods?

Their tribe was too far away. To get to the Spring Market, they had to depart early, and by that time, the items they brought along would already be partially spoiled, and the remainder could only be traded for a few things. It was heavy to carry, yet yielded very little harvest.

The four young people tuned into the same wavelength, instantly forming a group, and began secretly plotting their venture out into the world...

Though called a short travelogue, it was not short at all. The adventurous journey of the four young people truly made the blood of every young beastman and Sub-Beast boil.

Sane couldn’t help but glance at his mate, who was leisurely munching on fruit on the bamboo cot, silently wondering just how many books Kaelen had read in the library of his previous life to be able to write such a stimulating story.

Even a Chief like him couldn’t resist the urge to toss the tribe aside and go on an adventure...

Cough! How embarrassing! This thought was very dangerous—he shouldn’t, he absolutely shouldn’t think about it!