Chapter 28
Lang Yan had always known that the members of the tribe were not very smart and were easily deceived. Now, he had gained an even deeper understanding of this matter.
Not only were they easily deceived by beastmen from other tribes, they could also be deceived within their own tribe. Fine, that was one thing. Certain wolves even deceived themselves.
They had specially brought food back because they were worried the Black Wolf Tribe did not have enough to eat. Aside from sub-adults, who else could say something like that?
In any case, this was not the first day he had encountered such things. Lang Yan persuaded himself to let it go. After all, no matter how angry he got, he could not change the facts. He might as well spare himself a way to live.
The other members did not know how exhausted their chief felt. They happily returned to the tribe, opened the back baskets, and began cheering. They had smelled the aroma the whole way. Now they could finally eat!
The sub-adults were even more excited. Lang Shuo had said that the dishes with potatoes could not be stored long and had to be eaten early.
They absolutely had to finish them today. Not a single bit of this food could be wasted.
The cheerful noise quickly attracted the other wolves in the tribe. The Black Wolf Tribe did not have as many bamboo bowls as the Snow Wolf Tribe. Lang Yan did not want to watch them grab food with their claws, so he had them split into several groups and take turns eating.
The sub-adults were placed last. After all, they had already eaten dinner at the Snow Wolf Tribe, so this meal counted as an extra meal.
However, Lang Yan still overestimated their patience. When they discovered that their turn would not come for a while, the group of sub-adult black wolves gathered together and began muttering.
A moment later, the sub-adults led by Lang Yong quietly slipped into the cave where food was stored.
The cave did not smell good. This cave was specially used to store the food brought back by the gathering team. Unlike the hunting party, whose prey types were fixed, the gathering team brought back many messy varieties of food.
The Black Wolf Tribe had not lived here from the beginning either. Beastman tribes had to change territories every so often. Black wolves had large appetites and had gone hungry many times before moving into this territory. This caused them to develop a habit that was neither big nor small: when they saw something edible, they brought it all back.
When they encountered unfamiliar food, the gathering team would bring back a portion. The oldest wolves in the tribe would take some and eat it. If nothing happened after eating, the next time they encountered the same food, the gathering team would gather it directly.
Later, the tribe had enough food, but this habit did not change. From the time plants began ripening, the gathering team started working. After more than half a year, the food in the cave piled up more and more.
The more food there was, the less the members wanted to organize it. Everything was piled inside the cave. When the tasty foods had all been eaten in the later period of snow season, they would come over and rummage for edible food.
The breeding season after snow season also did not have many ripe fruits. The food in the cave would be eaten until the later part of the breeding season, when the growing season arrived.
Only when a new batch of food in the territory slowly ripened would the Black Wolf Tribe conduct a major cleaning, throwing out all the food in the cave. Because the smell was strong, they usually threw it somewhere farther away. Every place where food had been thrown out would yield even more food during harvest season.
This year, snow season was not yet over, but part of the food in the cave had already begun to rot. Fortunately, the temperature in snow season was low. Although there was some smell, it could still be endured.
It was just not very friendly to young wolves with sharp noses.
Lang Yong pinched his nose and negotiated with the wolf managing the food. “Ke, I want earth eggs.”
Lang Ke pointed at a pile beside him. “Pick them yourself.”
Seeing the pile of oddly shaped earth eggs, many of which had already sprouted, Lang Yong and the other sub-adults looked somewhat disgusted. However, thinking of the delicious food they had eaten in the Snow Wolf Tribe today, they picked out half a back basket from inside and took them out to wash and cut open.
The tribe had no extra pots left. It was fine. Grandpa Priest still had one. They would return it after using it.
The group of sub-adults went to harass the priest again.
Hu Yun waved his hand. “Take it, take it.” Taking it was just as well. He did not want to boil medicine anyway.
Several sub-adults carried the stone pot outside the cave and built a stove with large stones.
Lang Yan glanced at it. Seeing that the sub-adults were not messing around, he did not take it seriously.
The young wolves began busying themselves. The knife skills they had practiced at the Snow Wolf Tribe came in very handy. Chop, chop, chop—after a flurry of cutting, they cut a pile of potatoes into chunks.
“It feels like something’s missing…” Lang Yong muttered after cutting the potatoes.
“We didn’t wash them,” another sub-adult discovered the problem.
Lang Yong said, “It’s fine. Washing them after cutting is the same.”
When the potato chunks were washed clean and put into the pot, the young wolves discovered that their tribe did not have rendered oil.
“Then add some water? Anyway, it looks about the same.” Lang Shuo had added water when rendering oil too.
“That’s true.” Lang Yong nodded. Add water first. They would not add meat. They had eaten too much today. He poured the potato chunks into the pot.
The group of sub-adults surrounded the stone pot until Lang Yan called them over to eat roasted potatoes. Then they left in a dark swarm, and after eating, they swarmed back again.
“Why isn’t it cooked yet?” Lang Yong felt that they had spent longer than Lang Shuo did when cooking, but why had they not smelled any fragrance? Instead, there was a familiar burnt smell.
“Did we cover it with the lid for too long?”
Lang Yong was not sure either. He simply took off the lid and set it aside. Without a ladle, he poked at it with a branch. The potato chunks were still hard.
They were not cooked yet, but Lang Yong did not really want to wait. He asked the other sub-adults for their opinions. “Cook it a little longer, or eat it directly?”
“Eat it directly.” The other sub-adults could not wait either. They had worked for half the day and still had not eaten. If they dragged it out any longer, it would be time to sleep.
The group of sub-adults reached a consensus and took bowls to serve the potatoes.
A moment later.
“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey…”
“Ugh, disgusting!”
“It’s burnt.”
“I can’t bite through it. I’m not eating.”
In the entire team, whether picky or not, none of them could accept the food they had made. The leader, Lang Yong, was no exception.
Clearly, the steps were the same. The potatoes they had eaten in the Snow Wolf Tribe were soft, glutinous, flavorful, and extremely delicious. The ones they made made their mouths tingle when they bit down. The upper layer was uncooked, while the bottom layer was burnt onto the pot. There was nothing edible in the entire pot.
If it were before, they would have gritted their teeth and eaten food like this. Now, however, they had just eaten something delicious, and the contrast was extremely obvious. The group of sub-adults all put down their bowls.
“I’m not eating.”
“I’m not eating either.”
Lang Yan noticed that the atmosphere among the sub-adults was wrong and walked over to take a look. Then he closed his eyes.
Lang Qi thought Lang Yan was about to lecture the sub-adults again and came over to watch the fun. Seeing the food in the bowl, he fell into rare silence.
“Sprouted ones make your mouth tingle. Out of so many earth eggs, you specifically picked the sprouted ones. You really know how to choose.”
The tribe had a lot of food. Even though black wolves ate a lot, there would still be leftovers. The normal eating order was to first eat meat and some fruits that would make them sick if they did not eat them, then plants with barely acceptable flavors, and finally the difficult-to-eat ones.
Unsprouted earth eggs only had no taste. Sprouted and discolored earth eggs made the tongue numb after eating them, and some even turned bitter. In the sub-adults’ bowls, every single one had either sprouted or changed color. Wolves with no food would force themselves to eat these, but when there was food, they would simply throw them away.
“Hurry and throw them out. Eating too much will make your stomach hurt.” Usually, watching the fun was one thing, but when it truly involved health, Lang Qi did not dare joke with the young wolves’ bodies. Eating earth eggs with the wrong taste could make them sick.
The sub-adults, who had already not wanted to eat, completely lost their burden after hearing this. They would not eat!
…
“You ate what???”
Early in the morning, Lang Shuo heard about the sub-adults’ courting-death behavior, and his vision went dark. He was almost scared to death.
“Earth eggs,” Lang Yong answered honestly.
“They’re sprouted potatoes!” Lang Shuo was still shaken. “Sprouted potatoes can’t be eaten! Discolored potatoes can’t be eaten either! Eating them can kill you!”
“It won’t kill us. It only makes our stomachs hurt.” Seeing Lang Shuo so nervous, Lang Yong hurriedly explained.
Lang Shuo: “…”
For a moment, he did not know whether he should sigh in relief that they were so lucky to be alive.
Bad news: the nightshade plants in the Beast World were also toxic.
Good news: beastmen were far too sturdy, and after roasting, only the very middle of the entire potato was edible. After eating, the reaction was not as obvious as it would be in a pure human.
However, regardless of how strong the toxicity was, it was still best not to eat them. After emphasizing this to the group of sub-adults, Lang Shuo also told the Snow Wolf Tribe members once. After all, the members of the Black Wolf Tribe still knew that eating too many sprouted potatoes would cause stomachaches. Their tribe had never encountered them before and knew nothing about it.
After speaking about the danger, Lang Shuo called Lang Yong over again. “Does your tribe want the sprouted ones? If not, bring some over.”
Lang Yong thought he wanted them to eat and hurriedly shook his head. “The tribe still has a lot that haven’t sprouted. Shuo, let’s eat the unsprouted ones.”
The members of their Black Wolf Tribe were so strong, and even they would have stomachaches after eating sprouted ones. If Lang Shuo ate them, wouldn’t he feel even worse?
Lang Shuo said, “No, I want to keep them as seeds.”
Sprouted ones were just right for saving as seeds. After snow season passed, they could try planting them.
The growth cycle of potatoes was about three months, and they could be planted twice a year, divided into spring potatoes and autumn potatoes. If they planted them at the beginning of breeding season, they could harvest them in the early part of growing season. At that time, whether eaten directly or processed into other foods, they would be good.
Seeing the sub-adults’ blank faces, Lang Shuo explained, “Every sprout on a potato can eventually grow into a seedling. If you cut the potato into several pieces with sprouts and plant them in the soil, after a few months, you can dig up a pile.”
The sub-adults began thinking. The sub-adults in the tribe were actually divided into two groups, and there was another group that followed the gathering team. Before they began hunting, they had also participated in gathering. They vaguely remembered that some of these things would grow out of the places where rotting food was thrown after snow season.
Hearing that Lang Shuo still wanted to work hard planting them, the young wolves tried to persuade him one after another.
“You don’t need to plant them. Just throw them into the soil. By harvest season, there’ll be new ones.”
“Right. We’ve always done it this way.”
Lang Shuo: “…”
Lang Shuo said, “Throwing meat into the fire can also be eaten, but is it the same as processing it properly?”
The sub-adults thought about it and shook their heads. “Not the same.”
“Planting them and directly throwing them on the ground is also not the same.” The Black Wolf Tribe had a large territory, so that method worked for them. But the Snow Wolf Tribe’s side was not suitable. It was still more reliable to use traditional planting methods. This concerned their meals for the next year. Lang Shuo did not dare be careless.
Seeing that he insisted on planting them, Lang Yong scratched his head. “All right then. Tomorrow, we’ll bring over all the sprouted ones.”
“No need to bring them all. Your tribe still needs to keep some.” Lang Shuo hurriedly said this.
He had previously found the yield of potatoes somewhat strange. Now he understood. Some of the potatoes thrown out had sprouted, and the rotten fruits around them provided nutrients, so the plants’ yield would be higher than elsewhere. In addition, every time they harvested, they did not dig everything up completely, so there would always be some left. After this happened many times, patches of potatoes would appear in the Black Wolf Tribe’s territory every year. This counted as an accidental success.
Lang Yong naturally listened to his words. After agreeing, he returned to the tribe that night and asked the chief for sprouted potatoes. After eating food made by Lang Shuo, his way of calling things naturally followed Lang Shuo’s.
When Lang Yan heard that he wanted sprouted ones, his first reaction was that the Snow Wolf Tribe did not know the consequences of eating them. Only after Lang Yong repeated Lang Shuo’s words did he nod.
Seeing that the sub-adults had received the order and turned to run, Lang Yan called them to a stop. “Wait.”
The young wolves stopped and turned to look at Lang Yan, silently urging him.
Lang Yan was too lazy to argue with them. “Tell Ke to pick out all the sprouted fruits and send them over. Send half of the unsprouted ones.”
If one type could be planted, perhaps the others could be planted too. When the Snow Wolf Tribe arrived, it had already reached snow season. The ownerless territory did not have much food to begin with. Once snow season began, some had been frozen and ruined, and some were blown off by the wind, leaving little behind. Giving them some to try was fine. Even if it did not succeed, it would not affect anything. Their remaining stockpile was still enough to eat.
Lang Yong agreed readily.
The sprouted and unsprouted ones added together were too many. It just so happened that the Snow Wolf Tribe did not dare use sub-adults to roast meat and roast snow fruit. For the next two days, the sub-adult wolves began their lives as transporters between the two tribes.
In the morning, they carried ingredients to the Snow Wolf Tribe. After arriving, they ate a beautiful breakfast, then carried the finished jerky and dried fruit back to the Black Wolf Tribe. After unloading, they had no attachment to staying, bringing the ingredients packed by the other members of the tribe back to the Snow Wolf Tribe. They happily ate an extra meal, then helped wash ingredients. After finishing work, they ate dinner. After dinner, they carried the whole tribe’s dinner back, rested for the night, and continued the next day.
After a few days, aside from the sub-adults running back and forth between the two tribes and the hunting party with high activity levels, the other members of the tribe had all gained some weight. The cubs in the cave showed it most clearly. One by one, they looked even rounder.
Only when the temperature dropped to the point where cooking outside the cave was no longer suitable did the processing work temporarily stop. After all, the Snow Wolf Tribe’s cave was only enough for their own tribe members to live in. Adding more people would make it a little crowded, and sub-adults needed even more space to move around.
On the last day, the young wolves surrounded Lang Shuo, reluctant to part.
“Shuo, can we really not come tomorrow?”
“Can you go to our tribe? Our tribe has lots of caves.”
“Right. Our tribe also has food.”
Lang Yu coldly watched the sub-adult black wolves who were trying to abduct his younger brother and reminded them in a cold voice, “It’s dark. You should go back.”
The sub-adults looked at the sky, then looked at Lang Shuo, and still did not want to leave. After confirming that Lang Shuo had no intention of leaving the Snow Wolf Tribe, they could only change methods.
“Then can we stay?”
“We can help you work. Just give us a little food every day.”
The more Lang Yu listened, the more he wanted to chase them away. He wished he could kick each one of them back to the Black Wolf Tribe.
Lang Shuo gave his increasingly impatient brother a look, reminding him to stay calm, and asked seriously, “Are you sure you don’t want to leave? Then you won’t get to eat any of the food you transported back these past few days.”
Hearing this, the sub-adults surrounding Lang Shuo suddenly reacted. If they did not go back, they would not get to eat any of that food.
The sub-adults who had run back and forth between the two tribes every day were extremely clear about what there was. Almost every kind of delicious food had a portion sent back.
If they did not go back, it would only benefit the other members. Thinking of this, the sub-adults could no longer stay still.
However, they still could not bear to part from Lang Shuo. After all, Lang Shuo was the person who had taught everyone to make all kinds of delicious food.
After hesitating between the two for a long time, the sub-adults finally made a decision.
“Shuo, we’ll come back once snow season ends!”
Lang Shuo: “…All right.”
Only then did the sub-adults carry the last back baskets and leave, looking back every three steps.
Lang Yu was afraid that some sub-adults would regret it halfway and secretly run back, so he personally sent them to Lang Yan before returning to the tribe.
“Let’s go.” Lang Yan looked at the sub-adults who looked as if they wanted to turn around and follow back, reminding them to return to their senses.
The sub-adults sighed. They did not look like they were returning to their own tribe, but rather like abandoned young wolves who had found a temporary place to stay and still could not stop longing for their original tribe.
Only after a long while did the sub-adults follow the adult wolves away. However, not only were their footsteps slower than usual, they also discussed their experiences in the Snow Wolf Tribe as they walked. Looking at their manner, if the adult wolves of both tribes had not been watching the whole time, they might really have found a chance to return.
Lang Yan still walked at the very back of the group. Listening to the young wolves mutter, he turned his head and glanced in the direction of the Snow Wolf Tribe.
This year, the Snow Wolf Tribe had only just arrived, and their food was not plentiful enough. That was why they had agreed to help their tribe process food. In the future, once the Snow Wolf Tribe planted their own food and raised their young prey animals, they would have enough for their tribe to eat and would not need to work so hard.
Their connection with the Snow Wolf Tribe would end here.
As for the young wolves in front who were reluctant to part, young wolves in the sub-adult stage had the most unstable temperaments. After a month, they would forget all of this completely and continue chasing after prey.
…
At the Snow Wolf Tribe, Lang Shuo was counting food and stockpiles.
Through processing food, the Snow Wolf Tribe had also accumulated enough food. The Black Wolf Tribe had brought over too much food. They could keep one-third of the finished products, while their tribe’s population was not even one-fifth of the Black Wolf Tribe’s. Calculated this way, their tribe’s per-capita cooked food reserves were even greater than the other side’s.
However, what was transported to the Black Wolf Tribe was all completely processed, while their tribe still kept quite a few semi-finished products. For example, jerky that had been air-dried but not yet steamed, and snow fruit slices that had been cut but not yet dried. For the next few days, these had to be processed inside the cave. Lang Shuo had stockpiled a large amount of firewood in advance, so he was not afraid of running short.
The steamed jerky was placed into large baskets, and the baskets were directly placed on the heated beds. This was even faster than leaving them outside to dry. Aside from the patrolling members, all the other wolves were curled up inside the cave, very warm.
The only downside was the waves of rich aroma released during the drying process. The scent of jerky drilled straight into everyone’s noses.
Forget the adult wolves and young wolves nearby, even the cubs in the corner stopped sleeping, whining and acting spoiled as they smelled the meat fragrance.
Lang Shuo had been so busy lately that his feet barely touched the ground. For several days, he had not properly accompanied the cubs. Hearing the sound, he immediately stuffed a pocketful of jerky into his clothes and went to tease the cubs.
After not looking closely for several days, the fluffy snow-white little bundles had grown much chubbier. They were no longer like when he had first woken up, where touching them meant feeling all bones.
The cubs remembered Lang Shuo’s scent. Seeing him approach, they grabbed the fence and climbed upward.
Lang Shuo picked up one that was about to climb over the fence and placed it back inside. Then he took out jerky, one strip per cub, without bias.
The cub that had been struggling with the fence loosened its claws, hugged the jerky, and began gnawing.
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