Su Bai shook his head and said, “No, I want to make a pen, so I need walnuts.”
“A pen?” Yu Ying blinked her pink eyes hard, asking in confusion, “Shaman, what’s a pen? Is it something like charcoal?”
Yan Hua was equally confused, nodding and looking at Su Bai, expecting an explanation.
Su Bai picked up a piece of charcoal and wrote casually on the Animal Hide, explaining, “Anything that can write is a pen. Of course, this is just charcoal, it can’t really be used as a pen. The writing from a pen is much clearer and thinner.”
“Shaman, what does a pen look like?” Yu Ying asked curiously.
“You’ll know when it’s made. You can use it to properly practise writing. It’s much better than writing with charcoal,” Su Bai smiled.
Yan Hua nodded thoughtfully and said with regret, “Shaman, but we haven’t seen the ‘walnuts’ you’ve mentioned.”
“Yes, all these years, the berries we’ve brought back are always the same ones. We don’t have the kind that Shaman describes.” Yu Ying said, her fox ears drooping.
“Well, it seems like walnuts are not available. We’ll have to consider other options,” Su Bai said helplessly.
Yu Ying nodded heavily and said, “Shaman, we may not have walnuts, but we might have other things.”
“Do you know of any seeds that are pure black? Or plants with black sap?” Su Bai could only try his last resort and continued to probe, “Or any plants that are pure black and can be ground into powder?”
Yan Hua’s red eyes rolled several times as she recalled, “The plant the Shaman described sounds familiar…”
Su Bai’s eyes lit up, and he asked again. “Is there really such a plant?”
“I heard my Grandfather mention it before. I think there really is such a plant, called Black Stone Nut.”
Yan Hua’s red eyes shifted to the corner as she recalled, and continued, “The fruit is very hard on the outside, but when you peel it open, the juice inside is black.”
“Where can we find Black Stone Nuts?” Su Bai got excited.
“It is not common, but many people collect the juice from it. You can exchange it at the Spotted Deer Market. Most people exchange it for materials to make Shaman Bone Tablets and other things,” Yan Hua explained.
Su Bai’s eyes showed an expression of relief as he said, “That’s great. That might be usable for making pens.”
Yan Hua was a bit surprised and asked, “Shaman, is that true? Can Black Stone Nuts really be used to make pens?”
“Probably, it’s just a guess at the moment. We need to exchange for some and test it out to see for certain.” Su Bai said.
Yan Hua thought about the trading time between the Tribe and the Spotted Deer Market, and said, “That’s great! Uncle Mai Mang and the others are going to head off to trade with the Spotted Deer Tribe tomorrow.”
“It’s not early, but it’s just in time. We can have them exchange for some.” Su Bai waved his hand.
As long as they had that juice, they could try to make quill pens.
As for whether it would be successful, it depended on whether the juice from the Black Stone Nuts could colour the paper they were going to make.
“Shaman, we can also ask the Hunting Team to look for it. Maybe they can find the ‘walnuts’ you mentioned.” Yan Hua added.
“Sure. Well, if there’s nothing else, you can continue with your work,” Su Bai smiled.
“Yes,” Yu Ying and Yan Hua nodded.
Su Bai continued to pick up the charcoal and began to draw the appearance of walnuts on the Animal Hide. He even drew the interior of the walnut to give a better illustration.
He also drew other things on the Animal Hide that he thought would be beneficial for the Tribe’s development, such as some wild vegetables.
Since he transmigrated, he had not drunk any beverages other than boiled lake water.
“Hmm… We should also look for plants that can be made into tea leaves. Although it’s unlikely, let’s give it a try.” Su Bai murmured.
He picked up the Animal Hide and dusted off the charcoal ash, talking to himself, “Alright, that’s it for now.”
The Animal Hide roughly depicted the appearance of walnuts, wild vegetables, and tea plants.
“Xiao Yu, come here for a moment,” Su Bai called out.
“Yes.” Yu Ying immediately walked over and gently asked, “Shaman, is there anything I can help you with?”
“Give this to Cang Shi, and tell him to help me look for what’s drawn on it,” Su Bai handed over the Animal Hide and continued, “Also, tell Mai Mang and the others to exchange for some Black Stone Nut Juice.”
“Yes, Shaman,” Yu Ying took the Animal Hide with both hands and left the Teepee.
Yan Hua stood up and walked over, asking curiously, “Shaman, are the things drawn on the Animal Hide the materials you need to make pens?”
“Yes, and some other things to eat and drink. It would be great if we can find them,” Su Bai smiled.
“If they’re not around here, maybe they’ll be in the Tribal Ancestral Land?” Yan Hua thought of their previous dwelling place.
Su Bai patted the charcoal ash off his hands and asked, “Oh? What do you mean?”
“I heard Father say that there are many things in the Ancestral Land that we don’t have here, just like when Uncle Cang Shi helped the Shaman find Ramie.” Yan Hua brushed away the hair from her forehead before continuing, “He said if we look around the Ancestral Land, such things should be easy to find.”
Su Bai thoughtfully nodded and smiled, “We’ll return to the Ancestral Land sooner or later. The things there will eventually be ours.”
“Shaman, I know you sent Ye Jiu out as part of your plan to reclaim the Ancestral Land, but our Totem Warriors can’t defeat the Black Snake Tribe right now,” Yan Hua looked a bit dejected and continued, “They have at least a hundred Totem Warriors.”
“Of course not now. But, it won’t be too far in the future. Just wait and see.” Su Bai cheerfully chuckled.
“En, since you’ve said it, we’ll definitely be able to go back,” Yan Hua nodded.
“You should go take a bath first. I’ll be busy for a while longer and then I’ll go take a bath too.” Su Bai instructed.
“Okay.” Yan Hua turned to get her Animal Hide clothes.
[noscript][/noscript]