Sha Lan was stunned when she heard about the census. She knew this was not a simple task. There were so many people in the Flame Dragon Tribe and it would take quite some time to actually count them all.
"Shaman, approximately when does this need to be completed by?" Sha Lan asked.
"Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Take it slow, just make sure it’s completed before the snow season arrives." Su Bai softly said.
He also knew this was a major project that could not be rushed. Additionally, he wanted the statistical results to be accurate.
"Okay, then I’ll go and prepare now." Sha Lan said.
"No need to rush, have the carpenters make identity tag boards first, then conduct the census." Su Bai raised his hand.
The Primitive Era did not have Earth’s identity card technology that was waterproof, so they could only use wooden boards as substitutes.
"Yes," Sha Lan nodded. She was already beginning to feel nervous, as this workload was not small and concerned the importance of the Tribe’s population.
"I have another mission for you to do, which is also very important for the Tribe." Su Bai solemnly said.
As soon as she heard there was a mission for her, her expression immediately became serious.
"I want you and Ai’er to take the hot air balloon to the end of the river." Su Bai said word by word.
"To the end of the river? Shaman, is there something at the end of the river?" Sha Lan asked in confusion.
"I want you to see if the end of it is an ocean. If it’s the ocean, then we can produce salt ourselves," Su Bai explained.
Without waiting for Qing Yan and the others to return, he already knew that the Spotted Deer Tribe would provide very little salt. It was even possible there would be none, which was something that would happen sooner or later, so they had to prepare in advance.
Since the last rainy season, Su Bai had observed that animals in the river were moving in the same direction, so he guessed this might be their migration pattern. If so, the end of the river should be the ocean.
With the ocean, producing salt would be a simple matter. Finding salt mines in Primitive Tribes would be too time-consuming, so it was simpler to directly source from the ocean.
The source of this endless great river was very likely the ocean, so they just needed to follow the river to its end.
"Ocean? Shaman, what is an ocean?" Sha Lan asked with a puzzled face, and continued, "Shaman, can we produce salt ourselves?"
She had never seen the ocean, so she did not know what it was. When she heard that finding the ocean was for producing salt, she was extremely shocked inside.
"The ocean is even broader and more endless than the river here. When you see a lake that stretches as far as the eye can see, where you can’t see its end no matter how you look, that means you’ve found the ocean."
Su Bai paused, then continued, "Of course, as long as we have the ocean, we can produce salt ourselves."
Actually, describing the ocean as a lake was not very accurate, since even a hundred lakes could not compare to the ocean.
But the girls did not know what the ocean was; the most they had seen were lakes and rivers. So, describing it this way made it easier for them to understand.
"I understand," Sha Lan began to feel excited. After all, she had seen a lake before, and that lake was enormous. Now, hearing that many lakes combined were not as large as the ocean, plus the Tribe needing to produce salt themselves, she became even more excited.
"Oh, one more thing, if you’re really not sure, you can taste water there. If the water is salty, then it’s the ocean," Su Bai added.
This was the simplest way to tell. Not everyone could endure the saltiness of the ocean.
"Is the water in the ocean salty?" Sha Lan was learning new knowledge.
"Yes, just remember two points: you can’t see the edge no matter how far you look, and the water is salty. That’s the ocean." Su Bai nodded.
Sha Lan nodded heavily and immediately said, "I promise I will complete this mission."
"Be very careful when you depart. You’re more familiar with operating the hot air balloon now, but you still can’t be careless," Su Bai cautioned.
Sha Lan was excelled at learning; she had learned to operate the hot air balloon after just watching a few times. The reason Su Bai was sending her to find the ocean was partly because of this, as she was a Warrior Trainee and also knew how to operate the hot air balloon.
Her memory was exceptional, so this mission was most suitable for her.
Additionally, bringing Ai’er along meant they could handle any issues that might arise.
For instance, if the hot air balloon suddenly broke, or strong winds began to blow, or if it started raining, Ai’er could help.
"I understand, Shaman, don’t worry." Sha Lan said.
"En, take some preserved meat and medicine with you this time." Su Bai added.
The Warrior Trainees had not awakened their Totem Power yet, so even if given Shaman Bone Tablets, they could not use them, so they could only take medicine.
They had previously brewed a large quantity of herbs to make medicine, and after being stored for some time, they were ready to be used.
"Okay," Sha Lan nodded in agreement and stepped away to find Ai‘er.
Su Bai watched her departing figure, smiled slightly, and murmured. "I hope she brings back good news."
Whether the end of the river was the ocean was just his guess. As for whether it was really so, nobody knew. No one knew what the terrain of the Primitive Era was like.
"Shaman, can we really find the ocean?" Yu Ying suddenly asked.
She had heard the entire conversation and also showed a surprised expression.
"Hopefully, if nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to find it," Su Bai smiled.
By unexpected, he was not referring to Sha Lan and the others encountering trouble, but rather that the terrain of this Primitive Era being unpredictable, which would not be good.
After all, Earth’s terrain was formed through long-term crustal movement, while the Primitive Era was completely different.
"Shaman, how do we make salt after finding the ocean?" Yu Ying suddenly asked.
"That’s more complicated. We’ll need to make more hot air balloons at that time, and we need to start building ships." Su Bai smiled.
If the ocean was very far from the Tribe, they would need to transport seawater back to the Tribe. If such transport was needed, ships would definitely be required, but this era did not have ships.
"Ships?" Yu Ying tilted her head in confusion.