“Why not?” Ale shrank back, rubbing the back of his hand, which had turned red from Chen Qi’s slap. He hadn’t expected Chen Qi to be so strong.

Chen Qi rolled his eyes at him. “If you want to have an upset stomach for the next few days, go ahead and try some.”

Ale swallowed hard and did not dare to speak. Ashu looked at him with a mischievous delight, making him want to put anything in his mouth without fear of any consequences.

In the summer, ice was not easy to maintain. Chen Qi frowned as he observed the ice already melting slowly. He pondered for a moment and remembered the bag of cotton he had collected on the way back. He had already removed the cotton seeds from it. It was originally intended to be used to make cotton clothing, so he had stretched and pressed the cotton into sheets in advance.

Chen Qi took out the pressed cotton and had Aze make a small wooden box. Then, he sewed a layer of fabric coated with gum fruit liquid onto the cotton, hoping that when the ice melted, the dripping water would be repelled by the fabric, providing a basic waterproofing effect.

Chen Qi packed the prepared cotton into the wood box. Even the top lid was tightly sealed with cotton. Then he placed the ice from the pottery plate into the wood box. In order not to let the ice melt too quickly, the box was moved to a corner away from the fire. Chen Qi also took out several ripe red berries, cleaned them in a ceramic plate, covered them with cattail leaves, then placed them into the makeshift refrigerator. After Ale and Ashu finished dinner, Chen Qi retrieved the berries. The fruit, chilled by the ice, was sweet and refreshing.

Even Aze, who didn’t particularly like sweet fruits, couldn’t help eating a few more. The ice and refreshing taste seemed to dispel the heat from their bodies.

While the few of them were savoring the cool red berries, Axu and Ahxu returned with weary expressions. After bringing back the refined salt, they were called away by Achu for a task and they didn’t expect to spend several hours at it.

Food was still warm on the fire. As soon as Ashu saw them coming back, he snatched the last two red berries from Ale and shoved them into Axu and Ahxu’s hands. Both of them were surprised when they came into contact with the cold fruits. “What is this?”

“Chen Qi made ice. These berries have been chilled in the ice. They taste so good.” Ashu licked his lips and wore an expression of wanting more. The second batch of red berries were being chilled in the small wooden refrigerator. After they were ready, he would take some for his dad and father to taste.

Curious, Ahxu examined the cool red berries and took a bite. Sure enough, it tasted much better than usual. Axu, on the other hand, seemed disinterested, with a furrowed brow as if troubled by something.

“Did you two encounter something?” Aze poured them each a cup of scented tea. Axu took it and thanked him with a nod.

“People from the Flame-Hill Tribe are here.”

“The Flame-Hill Tribe? They are so far away from us. Why would they come all the way here?” Ashu prepared a serving of the roast meat with stewed turtle eggs that Chen Qi made and handed it to the two of them.

“They said they couldn’t hunt prey in the forest, so they wanted to hunt in the Salt Water Lake. However, since they lack experience hunting in the water, they came to find Achu to request him to teach them.” Ahxu replied.

“Is their tribe very close to here?” If they were unable to hunt in the forest since the beginning of summer, they should have exhausted the food they stored before winter by now. Why would only they seek help from the Salt-Water Tribe at this time? Chen Qi thought this way, and thus voiced his question.

“Their tribe is closer to here than Qi Ze City, but it’s still only a difference of two or three days.”