No matter how sincere Shen Tang's eyes looked, if Wu Yuan believed her nonsense, then something truly supernatural would have to be going on. Why else would she ban tea leaves of all things? What difference was that from taking the Northern Desert's very lifeblood? He had come for two reasons: grain seeds and a mutual trade market. And tea and salt were the most important of all.
Better to go without meat for a day than without tea for even one.
The people of the Northern Desert ate mostly meat. Eating too much made them prone to heatiness, left their mouths greasy, and made food hard to digest. Over time, they had trouble relieving themselves, and their stools became dry and hard as rocks. The passage was delicate, too, so bloody stools were common. Drinking plenty of tea eased the problem.
Of course, vegetables could be used in place of tea leaves.
But in the Northern Desert's environment, vegetables were hard to come by.
Tea leaves, on the other hand, were cheap and could be stored for years.
By comparison, tea was naturally the better choice.
If constipation were the only problem, it would be bearable. But the people of the Northern Desert soon discovered that going without tea for too long caused even worse trouble: muscle weakness and declining strength! For a people who revered martial prowess, it was a nightmare. Martial Gall Warriors were unaffected by a lack of tea, but ordinary tribespeople weren't.
And yet—
The goods Shen Tang had clamped down on hardest in the Northern Desert were salt and tea.
Grain was actually a minor issue.
Unlike salt and tea, grain was difficult to store and could easily spoil during long-distance transport. Even if the Northern Desert bought it, it couldn't keep it for