When they went down to check, they discovered that some of the taros had small nicks on their surface, which they must have missed before. Now, those very spots were beginning to rot.

"What do we do now? This is all our food for the long rainy season!"

A Half beastman Warrior squatted on the ground, frantically tugging at his hair. "If only we’d been more careful when we checked them."

His companion frowned, thinking for a moment. "You guys start by picking out the rotten taros. I’ll go find Wu Yue in the tribe, tell her what happened, and see if she has a solution."

The other Half beastman Warriors nodded. They hauled their companion, who was about to tear all his hair out, to his feet, and then went to sort through the taros in the cellar.

So by the time Wu Yue returned with the slaves and the Half beastman Warrior, a large pile of taros was already stacked on the grassy slope behind the mountain.

She walked over, picked one up, and took a look. The taros did have some small nicks, but not much of them had rotted yet.

It was likely because the Half beastman Warriors had such a keen sense of smell that they had discovered the problem the moment the taros started to emit an odd odor.

"Wu Yue, these taros... can we still eat them?" a Half beastman Warrior asked nervously.

’If we wasted this much food, we’d never forgive ourselves.’

Wu Yue smiled and nodded. "We can still eat them after we process them. It’s a good thing you discovered this in time and sorted out the bad ones.

If you had left them in the cellar, the rot would have spread to the undamaged taros. By then, the entire stock would have probably been ruined."

Not only were they not blamed, but they were actually praised, their work validated. Once the apprehension in their hearts faded, the Half beastman Warriors were overjoyed.

Wu Yue took the small basket from her back and handed it to a Half beastman Warrior. "These are dried mushrooms. They can be stored for a very long time.

As for these taros you’ve sorted, we’ll cut away the rotten parts, take them back to the tribe, and make them into dried taro. They’ll also be able to be stored for a long time that way."

The Half beastman Warriors couldn’t have been happier to hear this. They all grinned so wide their eyes narrowed to slits.

In their good mood, even the slaves started to look rather pleasant. The warriors went over with broad smiles to help put away the dried mushrooms.

Wu Yue inspected how the taros were being kept in the cellar. The storage conditions and requirements she had laid out had been followed perfectly. Aside from the ones with nicks, the rest were being stored very well.

By the time she finished her inspection and returned, the slaves and the remaining Half beastman Warriors had already trimmed the rotten spots off the pile of taros and packed them into the slaves’ baskets.

On their way back, the group happened to run into Grandma Hua Shu. Seeing Wu Yue returning with a crowd of slaves, she dropped what she was doing and walked over. "What have you all been up to?"

Wu Yue turned to Chang Ye, who was beside her. "You all head back first. Do as I said and make a test batch."

Chang Ye nodded. After bowing respectfully to Grandma Hua Shu, he led the slaves away.

Wu Yue took a taro from the basket on her back. "Some of these taros have spoiled, so they can’t be stored long-term. I brought them back to see if we can make them into dried taro, which would be easier to preserve."

Hua Shu nodded distractedly. She looked up at Wu Yue and said, a little sheepishly, "Yue, I know you’ve been very busy lately, but there’s something I was hoping you could help me with."

Seeing the normally frank and outspoken grandma hemming and hawing like this truly surprised Wu Yue. "Whatever it is, just tell me. If I can help, I will."

’After all, it was thanks to her care that I was able to join the Collection Team back then.’

Hearing this, Grandma Hua Shu chuckled. "Well, it’s like this. You know that whenever our Collection Team goes out foraging, we mostly gather wild vegetables.

I heard from that young girl Qingcao that you know how to make dried vegetables that can be preserved for a long time. So, I was hoping to ask if you could teach the members of our Collection Team."

"Of course I can."

Wu Yue answered without the slightest hesitation. "The method for making dried vegetables is actually very simple. Come to my place tonight, and I’ll teach you."

Grandma Hua Shu let out a hearty laugh and gave Wu Yue a hug. Then, she joyfully ran off toward the other members of the Collection Team to share the good news.

In a wonderful mood, Wu Yue laughed aloud and started walking home.

Even after walking for some distance, she could still hear the females’ cheers.

「Meanwhile, at the mouth of a valley in the Polar Forest, two enormous scorpions lay on the ground, lazily swishing their tails.」