Moon was worried about food, to be honest. When she couldn't find any vegetable that she used to know, she became downcast and worried about how she would let the tribe survive. Primitive people mostly rely on meat with some vegetables. She didn't know what her tribesmen were used to eating, but she guessed it was that similar.
In that case, eating something that she was familiar with would make her acclimate to the environment and get used to everything. Besides, eating something that she knew would guarantee her that she wouldn't be poisoned by anything or anyone.
Besides, the food she was used to was delicious. She wanted these people to have a taste of the delicacies from her own world.
Now that she would no longer return there, invading this world with her previous culture, wouldn't that make her slay more?
So, when she saw cherry tomatoes all over the hill, she couldn't help herself. Before the world ended, there wasn't any relish that was cooked without tomatoes. Tomatoes were pretty much essential and made food taste better than when they weren't there.
Tomatoes can also be eaten raw and provide essential nutrients needed in the body. She didn't know if there was salt where she was going but these tomatoes could add to the taste of food which was what she wanted.
As for how it didn't taste nice, she would show them how to cook the tomatoes properly. She believed that once they knew, they wouldn't mock these small things ever again.
Since the order had been made, all men started picking the cherry tomatoes regardless of status. In the tribe, two people were meant to be obeyed without question; the patriarch and the priest.
Who would dare disobey?
So, while they picked, Moon recognized the fact that there weren't any objects to carry the cherry tomatoes in. so she stopped picking for a moment, called for the Guide interface and hurriedly went to the marketplace.
She remembered seeing something helpful there.
When she got there, her mouth widened as her heart raced wildly upon seeing the merit points which had doubled at some point without her knowledge.
'System, what is going on?' she asked excitedly.
The more points she has the more items she could buy in the future.
[These are all points earned earlier. You killed the cannibals, and each cannibal earned you 50 points totaling 200. The rest were all earned after converting your share of faith points to merit points.]
After the system explained, Moon finally understood what was going on. She couldn't help but rub her chin calculatedly.
Should she hunt the cannibals from now on and earn more points?
[Don't even think about it? Remember the restrictions!] The system hurriedly jumped out and warned her.
Upon hearing that, her face fell as she found it a pity. Nonetheless, she collected herself, remembered what she wanted to do and searched under storage products. There was an option to search for collective items on the panel which made things easier. Scrolling through the screen would become tedious and that wasn't someone would want to experience.
After researching for that, all kinds of items appeared. However, she only had eyes for one thing; baskets.
So, she went for that and several baskets appeared on the screen, making her eyes widen in happiness. She never thought that one day she would proactively look for things like these. After all, she was used to other means of storage and the like. But since she was limited, baskets offered the best choice for a variety of uses.
A basket could be used to carry, store, and transport various items. It was a must-have item.
Moon didn't fear the cherry tomatoes getting bad. After all, she was someone with a storage space. It's just the space no longer had anything useable to store anything. So, she needed something urgently. Baskets came in handy and were cheaper than barrels.
With that in mind, she purchased specialized coiled baskets since they were cheaper. Grass was abundant and cheaper. She didn't have a lot of points to splurge. While buying those, she added several crate baskets to store the tomatoes and the like in the future.
The ladies would use the baskets going out to gather in the future. Of course, she didn't plan to continue buying from the marketplace. Once she had settled, she would buy weaving techniques. That way, they would make their own. It was a source of income that she could use.
There should be other normal tribes out there whom they could trade with.
With the purchase done, several baskets appeared in front of her startling those who were closest to her.
"Priestess!" they exclaimed in wonder, fear and shock.
She waved at them nonchalantly and said, "When your hands are full, come and pour the red fruits in these baskets. Make sure that they are full first before moving to the next," informing them of the use of the baskets.
When the men heard that, they looked at the strange baskets made from grass and wondered how the priestess was so clever to have come up with such a thing. At the same time, they were in awe of how magical she was to be able to take these things out of thin air like that.
They were very happy and settled knowing that they had picked a powerful priestess after a long time of worrying.
It took a while before all the available cherry tomatoes were picked and four out of the eight baskets were filled.
Moon waved her hands, and the baskets with the tomatoes disappeared. While everyone was in awe of that, she stored the tomatoes in the crates and successfully filled one.
After that, she took out the baskets and instructed the priest apprentices to carry them. That would also give them a chance to study the weaving techniques. To become an apprentice, the mind should be sharp and quick to learn.
The journey continued and along the way, Moon was over the moon as she came across two more familiar vegetables; wild onions and bird's-eye chillies also known as peri-peri.
Of course, when the tribesmen saw her interested in picking the chillies, they were very against it and told her about how this fire fruit was very dangerous. Those who had eaten it suffered immensely because of it and some had diarrhea issues.
Moon held herself back from laughing, understanding how bad they must have it when they attempted to eat peri-peri without adding it to a dish. They were simply seeking death. How could a normal person eat chillies casually like that?
She had to explain in detail about the chillies for them to be at ease. She didn't forget to warn them on how to harvest these dangerous fruits which could blind a person if handled wrongly.
With three familiar vegetables stored safely in her storage space, Moon's steps were lighter and the smile on her face never faded.
She was truly happy.
Without facing any incidents on the way, the tribal lands finally came into view and the moment that they appeared, a group of tribesmen were already waiting in a large group.
It should be the scouts that sent the message thus letting the others know that they were coming.
Seeing the tribal land that she would be living in for the rest of her life which she doubted considering that there were cannibals who might come for vengeance anytime soon, Moon for once looked forward to seeing how the ancients used to live.
It should be phenomenal, right?
Moon's gaze scanned the group of men and women wearing the clothes she vowed to force them to change once everything had settled and locked gaze with two older men. Seeing how their bodies were covered better than most, she guessed that they were the old priest who was dying and the patriarch.
These two were looking at her strangely, probably in disbelief of her gender. After all, she once witnessed how those who participated in the ritual reacted when they saw her.
Having these people look at her like that, she was immune to that.
She smiled at everyone as she stepped forward and those who came with her, parted to the side while providing a passage for her to walk.
Seeing her coming their way, the tribesmen hurriedly knelt on the ground and prostrated themselves.
Meanwhile, the two older men didn't do so but wore kind smiles on their faces, and looked welcoming now that she was closer.
"Welcome female priest to our tribe!" the strong-looking older man said hoarsely as he looked at her, his gaze scrutinizing and she didn't evade it.
Rather, she smiled at him as she responded, "Thank you for having me!" before looking at the weaker one whom she assumed to be the old priest and said with raised eyebrows, "It's by the Great God's grace that I could arrive here in time. We can't let you die like that, can we?" her tone filled with mysteriousness.