To celebrate today's harvest, Vu took out from a hidden stone pit in the cave a large leather bag containing lumps of a crystal-like yellowish salt.
This was the salt stash that the old man had been hiding for a long time, waiting for a significant occasion to bring it out and distribute a small grain to each person.
Upon seeing the salt bag in Vu's hands, Minh Vu immediately snatched it, then observed it meticulously.
The salt was in block form, extremely raw, with a cloudy yellowish crystal.
Minh Vu licked it lightly, experiencing its salty and somewhat bitter taste, characteristic of raw salt, mine salt.
It seemed that the Stone Tribe had a salt mine within their territory.
Minh Vu didn't say a word, immediately taking away one-third of the salt in the bag, grinding it into powder, and then putting it into the large pots where porridge and mouse meat were being cooked.
Seeing Minh Vu's frantic actions, Vu roared in fury, making everyone terrified.
Not only Klu but also the other members had the same reaction when they heard the name of the large horned beast; their faces turned pale. Minh Vu took note of this.
The whole group quickly changed direction, and not long after, a distant roar of an animal echoed.
Not far away was a herd of wild cattle, at least 20 creatures that Klu referred to as large horned beasts.
Indeed, these cattle had exceptionally large horns, and their bodies were extremely massive, each weighing at least 600-700 kg.
The horns of the males were remarkably long, curved, and sharp.
In fact, if one of these terrifying beasts attacked, a single thrust of its horns could take away a person's life.
It seemed that they adapted well to the harsh climate, as there was now a thick layer of fur growing outside their skin, unlike other cattle breeds.
From a distance, Minh Vu, guided by the roars, also observed the herd of wild cattle. Internally, he couldn't help but beat his chest once, his eyes gleaming greedily, fixated on the approaching herd.
However, he reconsidered the strength of the Stone Tribe; they were not capable of hunting or taming such monstrous creatures.
At least until his tribe had new weapons.
Minh Vu stood on a small mountain ledge, and the herd of wild cattle was down in the rocky valley about 200-300 meters away. It looked tempting, but what Minh Vu paid the most attention to was that the herd of wild cattle was eating dirt, or more precisely, licking salt.
A herd of 26, including 4 young ones, probably just born in the fall. Apart from grazing, they were avidly licking a rock.
The scattered ones were on high alert. It was as if they had sensed someone spying on them.
Especially the leader of the herd, who kept glancing in the direction of Minh Vu's group.
Klu was trembling with fear, but Minh Vu was grinning from ear to ear; it seemed that the tribe was living quite comfortably this year.
About half an hour later, the herd of wild cattle had left, but Minh Vu did not intend to pursue them or go to that area. They waited for another hour before going down.
Observing the high alertness of the leader, Minh Vu felt that the danger from that monstrous creature was significant.
Under the rocky valley, there was a narrow mountain gap, the whole gap was only about 100 meters wide, surrounded by quite a few bushes or wild grass.
In the three directions were tall cliffs. It could be said that this was a perfect place when facing danger.
However, Minh Vu coldly stared at him, his eyes extremely intimidating, resembling a wolf.
Suddenly, Vu fell silent, not saying anything.
Though he kept quiet, his heart was extremely bitter.
The atmosphere in the cave became stifling.
Nevertheless, the porridge was cooked, and the meat was ready.
Everyone couldn't resist any longer and started eating.
Orc, of course, was the first to take the initiative.
He scooped up a big bowl, inside of which was a mouse tail.
Without using utensils, he blew on it and then took a long, satisfying slurp.
At this point, his eyes widened, "Delicious! So delicious! Even more delicious than last time. Big and juicy like a mountain!"
Orc couldn't describe it, but he once again let out a loud exclamation.
No one paid attention to him. Each person enjoyed the delicacy bestowed by the leader. Although Vu was angry, hunger had sold him. He scooped up a large bowl, eating voraciously, just like Orc.
Indeed, the porridge became extremely delicious when salt was added. Salt was the irreplaceable spice, the king of a hundred flavors.
After a satisfying meal, people began to rest, talking about the meaning of life, how these past few days had been.
After finishing the meal, Vu's mood improved a bit. Although old, his anger was persistent. Therefore, Minh Vu began to talk to him.
"Vu! We have food! We can exchange it for salt!"
"The tribe needs salt! Without salt, the tribe will die!" Minh Vu said.
"Salt is precious! This is a waste!" Vu replied.
"Is salt precious, or is the tribe more precious?"
"The tribe!" Vu answered.
"Good! The tribe is good! The first snow exchange for a lot of salt!" Minh Vu affirmed.
A peaceful night, and today people slept deeply. Only Blu and Xin sat guarding the cave entrance, watching over the kiln fire and drying the meat.
…………………………………………
Another day began, and today's work returned to normal, continuing to increase production.
However, the six members of the hunting team did not return to the riverside worksite.
Instead, they went into the forest with Minh Vu to gather firewood and search for various materials or resources.
The forest was not far from the tribe, taking about an hour's walk to reach the edge of the forest.
This was undoubtedly a pristine forest.
The trees were dense, but by the end of autumn, the leaves had turned yellow, and in just a few more days, these trees would be bare.
Venturing into the dense forest, Klu seemed like he was entering his own territory.
He replaced Minh Vu as the leader because Minh Vu's speed was not fast, and the group's speed significantly decreased.
Indeed, the goal for today was to observe the terrain and the current state of this mountainous forest area. Minh Vu needed to find a direction for the Stone Tribe.
Along the way, Klu kept pointing out places to avoid, identifying edible plants, and which ones would cause stomachaches.
After about half an hour of walking deeper into the forest, Klu suddenly raised his hand to signal everyone to stop.
He then sat down, feeling the ground.
Underneath the layer of golden leaves, there was a pile of dung that still seemed quite warm.
Around it were many footprints.
Observing the footprints, it seemed like a herd of herbivores, and moreover, the mass of these animals was quite large.
"Be careful! Horned beasts are nearby!" Klu warned cautiously.
"They're not far from here! Quickly move away!"
Minh Vu frowned, relying on the footprints and the dung arranged like a wheel, it seemed that these were buffaloes or forest cattle.
The danger of hunting these animals was not very high.
"They are very powerful, their horns are very long, can't catch them. Uri was killed by a herd of horned beasts," Klu said with a hint of fear when mentioning that incident.