The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 98: That’s because nothing can last forever

"Now, now, we didn’t come here to find fault in Arinya," Rakan spoke up. "Or her spouse. It doesn’t matter who she takes as her spouse; it’s her right as a female, and we cannot intervene."

That’s right. You guys wanted me to be a proper female and get a spouse like everyone else. Now that I have a spouse, don’t you dare complain.

The elder cleared his throat and looked away, but that distasteful look on his face did not wipe even a little bit.

"So, Arinya, you’re going to demonstrate how to preserve meat with salt, right?" He asked and I nodded.

"Did you do what I asked before?" I asked as I walked in deeper and he nodded.

"Yes, I got people to scratch the salt into sand form." He said. "But will that help?"

"Yes, it will," I said and went to the place where they gathered the salt.

Because we didn’t have many tools that could contain things like sand or water, they put the scratched salt into the heavy rocks they usually used to get water.

Our tribe had little to no use for water. The only reason they would want water would be to drink. They feel thirsty after hunting, they feel thirsty after mating, and stuff like that.

That’s why we live close to a water source but only ever drink water from it.

Ah, that water source isn’t too far away, but it’s also a little, like a lake, but not as big as the one Damar usually swims in. Because I know that water is used for drinking, I did not dare go there to take a bath.

Even though impurities in water bodies such as lakes settle into the soil underneath, making the top layer fit for drinking, I cannot see myself bathing in the same water that several other people would drink.

It was scientifically proven that it’s not quite accurate so it’s not safe to drink. So with such a mindset, I can’t do it.

Then where do I get my water to drink, you may ask?

Well, let’s just say I stop by the water source once in a while when coming back from visiting Damar.

I looked at the two fresh meats that were presented.

"See, these two meats were gotten at the same time, right?" I said and then looked at the third that had been roasted. It was the method they usually used for storing meat, though not very efficient. "And then this was burnt after the hunt. I’ll put salt into one of the fresh meats and leave the three be for a while. Soon the untouched meat will go bad, and then the burnt one, and eventually, though it will take a long time, the one with the salt will go bad."

"Hmph!" The elder suddenly scoffed, catching everyone’s attention.

He was definitely trying to find fault.

"I thought you said you were going to teach us how to keep meat for the winter. What are we going to do when it goes bad? Isn’t this the same as burning the meat?"

Does he have toothpicks for Brain cells or is it the state of his appearance that makes his thoughts ugly?

"That’s because nothing can last forever," I said and began to sprinkle the salt on one of the pieces of fresh meat. "Even you, who wants to live forever," I glanced over my shoulder, giving him a mocking gaze. "Do you think you can do it just because you want to and have the will for it?"

"You!"

"Pft," Fenric stifled a laugh and did not apologize for it. "My wife is so funny," he simply said. "But what she says is true." He turned to the elder. "Do you think you can live forever just because you want to, elder?"

The elder trembled, anger coursing through him after I had humiliated him.

He looked at my father, who did not give him the time of day because he had asked him to try to pick a fight when I was in the middle of providing a method to preserve the tribe.

"It doesn’t matter if the meat doesn’t last throughout the winter from the beginning to the end, Arinya," Rakan said. "It’s not like we can’t see a single animal to hunt during the winter, they are just scarce. So, it would be better for us to stock up as much as we can before winter and then comfortably go through it. Wherever the meat ends, we shall hunt from there." He explained and I nodded.

Good that he understands.

And if they don’t start hunting all the animals at the beginning of the winter, they will have sufficient to hunt once the meat they stockpiled runs out.

That way, it reduces hunger by a ton.

"There," I dust my hand, looking at the meat covered in salt.

I covered it a lot so that it could stay for a long time. If I could, I would’ve buried the meat in a barrel of salt but let’s just go through with this first.

"By seeing how many days the meat can last, you can better prepare for the winter," I said, and my father, as well as Chief Kasa, nodded.

"This is such valuable information." He said and I turned to him. "And during this period, there is a lot of this rock salt along the way."

That was great.

I turned to my father.

"If you can send people to get more of the rocks, you can better prepare for the winter," I said but the elder struck again.

"It’s not even been confirmed that it works, so why are you already giving commands?" He asked and I gritted my teeth.

"Elder, do you want to go see the beast god early?" I asked and he frowned.

"What?"

"This is a threat," I said and stood to my feet. "If you’re going to find fault in my method, then I advise you not use it. Starve during the winter and you will definitely meet the beast god before the new year comes."

He got mad but I didn’t give him any chance to retaliate as I flipped my hair behind my shoulder and walked out with my head held high.

It’s not a crime to be foolish, but it’s a crime when you accept that foolishness. Such a stupid Elder.