However, carnivorous beastmen did not pair with herbivorous females. When there was a shortage of females before, there were instances of snatching herbivorous females, but no beast tribe that had snatched them did not regret it!
The cubs born from the union of the two were like opening a blind box; one never knew what would be born. Herbivorous females could give birth, but their numbers increased while their quality declined, and they were almost wiped out in a single beast tide.
For example, the union of a bear beast and a female horned sheep resulted in a mini sheep-bear, with the physique of an antelope and the appearance of a black bear. Crucially, it ate grass. The bear beast father almost cried himself to death. He had originally thought that having a male cub would lighten the family's burden, but this only increased it!
Although they did not understand genetics, the fierce beast tribes keenly sensed that if this continued, there would no longer be powerful beastmen on this continent. They would also become like herbivorous beastmen, hiding and fleeing when danger arrived. This was simply an insult to their beastly honor!
Sometimes, beastly honor was more important than offspring!
From then on, this kind of union was severed, and the beastmen slowly returned to normal.
...
...
The horned sheep chieftain led them to a vast sea of flowers. From a distance, it looked like a sea of flowers, but upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the surface was covered in flowers, with short yellow stalks beneath. When Shu Yue stepped onto this sea of flowers, her perception of Hua Xia corn stalks was completely overturned!
Corn stalks were only half a person's height, and the corn stalks and large flowers were attached together; they were essentially one entity.
The corn grew at the top of the stalks beneath the large flowers. It looked as if the flowers were shading the corn from the sun!
As soon as the horned sheep chieftain arrived at this place, he was like a fish swimming into the sea, frolicking freely within it.
He ran to a corn stalk, opened his mouth, and began to chew, eating the entire stalk clean. However, he did not eat the flowers, likely because they were not tasty.
Shu Yue was also excited and said to the beastman beside her, "Wente, we have food!"
"What is food?" the beastman asked, confused.
She explained, "Food is something that can fill one's stomach besides meat. And food has an advantage: it can be preserved for a long time. If stored properly, it won't spoil for a year."
"What! What kind of food can be preserved for a year?!" the horned sheep chieftain excitedly ran over!
"..." Wente cast him a cool glance.
The horned sheep chieftain instantly cooled down, his expression sheepish. He quietly moved a little further away from the two, but his gaze remained expectant as he looked at Shu Yue.
Shu Yue smiled and said, "It's this corn, but it needs to be ground into powder to be preserved. Corn can be eaten in more ways than just raw."
The horned sheep chieftain was very excited, "Really? Can you tell me how to do it now?"
She nodded, "Of course, but let me ask you a few questions first."
"Ask away."
"You often eat corn, so you should know its growth cycle. When does corn mature?"
The horned sheep chieftain actually knew this question and replied, "It can be eaten in the Yellow Moon season and can be eaten until the rainy season arrives. After the rainy season, this grass seed... oh, not corn, after the rainy season, the corn cannot be eaten."
Shu Yue asked curiously, "Then can you harvest it early and bring it back to the tribe to eat slowly?"
The horned sheep chieftain said helplessly, "We do bring it back. Each time, we only bring enough for the rainy season. We can't help it; if it's stored for too long, it becomes dry and hard and inedible. Moreover, after the rainy season, it will become damp, and eating it will cause diarrhea."
"If only there was a way to preserve it for a long time. That way, fewer tribesmen would starve to death during the moonless season." He sighed at the end. Herbivorous beastmen could indeed live on grass, but during the cold, moonless season, there was no grass, and they could only watch their tribesmen die.
"There is a way to preserve it," Shu Yue said.
"Oh? Really??" The horned sheep chieftain looked at her with surprise.
Shu Yue affirmed, "It's true. After drying the corn, you can rub off the kernels and grind them into powder to make cornmeal. Then, make a stone jar and store the cornmeal inside. When you want to eat it, you can take it out as needed."
"Is it that simple? But how exactly do we do it? Can you explain in detail?" The horned sheep chieftain was a little unclear.
She explained step by step to the horned sheep chieftain, "First, you need to harvest all the corn before the rainy season and store it in a cave. The entrance of the cave must be reinforced with earth and raised to prevent rainwater from entering, ensuring the corn does not get damp."
"After the rainy season, you can spread the corn on the ground to dry thoroughly... Do you have any dried corn in your tribe? We can try it on the spot."
The horned sheep chieftain busily replied, "Yes, we have quite a bit. Let's go back and do it now!"
"Okay." On the way back, she also picked a few fresh ears of corn. She felt like eating roasted corn.
...
"Quick, quick, have the tribesmen bring out all the dried grass seeds, they're useful!" the horned sheep chieftain urged his tribesmen.
At this time, Shu Yue was directing the beastmen to move stones to make a simple stone mill. In fact, it couldn't really be called a mill; there wasn't enough time to prepare.
They simply found two stones. One was placed flat on the ground, and the other was made into a cylinder by the beastmen, with a hole in the middle where a suitably sized wooden stick was inserted.
Looking at the finished product, Shu Yue couldn't help but marvel at how useful the beastmen's claws were; they could shape stones like mud with their sharpness.
The horned sheep chieftain had also collected enough dried corn. He was now with his tribesmen, rubbing off the corn kernels. The corn kernels naturally couldn't be rubbed into the dirt. At this time, seashells came in handy.
With seashells as a base, the corn kernels were rubbed into the shells. Soon, two shells were filled. Seeing that they were about to continue, Shu Yue quickly called out, "Stop. Let's try it first."
Then she evenly poured the corn kernels from the shells onto the stone. She had Wente hold the exposed wooden handles of the cylindrical stone with both hands and begin grinding the corn kernels.
The beastmen had great strength. After just a few turns, the corn kernels were crushed. With a few more turns, they would be in a coarse powder form.
She asked the beastmen to grind two more times. Of course, the horned sheep beastmen couldn't be idle; she had them start two fires.
One fire had a stone pot placed over it, and the other had a seashell. Shu Yue first rendered some oil.
Wooden bowls and basins were prepared, and the horned sheep beastmen all came out to watch, as if they were witnessing something extraordinary.
The cornmeal was ground. Honestly, there were too many impurities. The freshly rubbed corn kernels needed to be winnowed several times with a winnowing basket, then wiped clean with a damp cloth, and finally dried before grinding.
This way, the ground flour would be clean.
Clearly, no one could wait today, so they had to make do. "If it's not clean, you won't get sick," they said.
The flour was ground and some was put into a wooden basin. Then water was added. Shu Yue had made steamed buns for her father in the hospital, so she had kneaded dough a few times, but she was still a beginner.