Chapter 58
After checking the sub-adults’ bowls, Lang Yan had them take back baskets as well, one for each person.
There were two kinds of back baskets in the tribe. One kind was woven by their own tribe, while the other was from the Snow Wolf Tribe, exchanged when they traded supplies. The ones they wove themselves varied greatly in size, while those woven by the Snow Wolf Tribe were mostly the same size and were sturdy. Lang Yan told them to take the latter kind. Because the basket they carried over would not necessarily be the one they carried back, and because it had nothing to do with food, the sub-adults did not waste time on this. They casually grabbed one each and came back.
Lang Yan glanced at them and said nothing. After all, they did not truly need these.
In fact, having the sub-adults bring bowls and cups was only a formality. The Snow Wolf Tribe had more than enough tableware, more than enough for the sub-adults to use. Lang Yan had them bring their own only for the other members to see.
If the sub-adults brought no tableware at all, people would inevitably guess whether the place they were going already had these things, and from there, they might connect it to the Snow Wolf Tribe. If they had to bring even their own tableware, it looked more like they were going to a place no one had lived in before.
After listing out the things they needed to bring, neither the sub-adults nor the adult wolves who did not know the inside story suspected the Snow Wolf Tribe. Of course, even if they had not brought anything, not many members would have been suspicious.
As for the food issue, using the Snow Wolf Tribe’s food to tempt the young wolves into working was completely normal. If not for Lang Yan’s unwillingness, even they would have wanted to go.
After smoothly fooling the tribe members, Lang Yan brought several adult members to escort the sub-adults.
Ever since the sub-adults learned that they could eat food exchanged from the Snow Wolf Tribe, they had been excited the whole time, wishing they could immediately run to the place where they would work. The sooner they worked, the sooner they could eat. However, Lang Yan, who was leading them, was unhurried and did not seem anxious at all.
The sub-adults did not have that much patience and could not help urging him. “Chief, how long until we get there?” They could not wait to start working!
Lang Yan ignored them and continued circling around the tribe once, then gave Lang Qi a look.
Lang Qi brought a portion of the adult wolves back, checking everywhere as they walked to make sure no one was following.
Only then did Lang Yan head in the real direction.
The sub-adults, who had wanted to keep urging him, looked at the familiar direction and instantly perked up.
They were getting closer and closer to the Snow Wolf Tribe!
Although no matter where they ate, the food would be provided by the Snow Wolf Tribe, the closer they were, the easier it would be for them to go there. Seeing the route they had looked forward to for so long, how could they not be excited?
Lang Yan clearly sensed the sub-adults behind him growing excited and quickened his pace.
The sub-adults did not dare get distracted and hurriedly followed.
However, the farther forward they walked, the more the sub-adults doubted their eyes and noses.
Strange. It felt like they had reached the Snow Wolf Tribe’s territory.
The sub-adults looked at one another.
Lang Yan said, “Can’t walk anymore?”
The sub-adults who were just about to exchange a few words immediately came back to themselves and quickly followed the group. Before long, someone saw the familiar fields.
This time, they could be certain. They had indeed arrived at the Snow Wolf Tribe’s territory. After all, only the Snow Wolf Tribe had such neat crops. Their tribe had wanted to learn too, but they were not very good at it. In the end, they had only planted some pumpkins.
The sub-adults could not hide their excitement and asked Lang Yan, “Chief, are we eating first before going to work?”
They had thought the food would be sent to the place where they would work. So it turned out they were first coming to the Snow Wolf Tribe to eat. They liked this method! They could run several extra trips every day. They did not mind being tired!
Lang Yan: “…”
They had already been delivered to the place, and all that was in their minds was still eating. They were beyond saving.
Lang Yan did not want to speak to the sub-adults.
The chief often pretended to be mute, and the sub-adults were long used to it. Not getting an answer did not affect their happiness. The group of sub-adults rushed off to find Lang Shuo.
The patrol team had received orders long ago. If the Black Wolf Tribe’s sub-adults came over, they did not need to stop them and could directly let them in.
The main fear was that the sub-adults would be too anxious and clash with the patrol team.
Therefore, the sub-adults ran all the way to the foot of the mountain without obstruction. As Lang Yong ran, he shouted, “Shuo, Shuo, I missed you!”
The other sub-adults nodded one after another, indicating that what Lang Yong said was right. They missed Lang Shuo too.
Lang Shuo said, “Did you miss me, or did you miss the food I make?”
One question stumped the entire group of sub-adults.
If they said they missed Lang Shuo, what if Lang Shuo did not give them food? If they said they missed the food Lang Shuo made, what if Lang Shuo got angry and still did not give them food?
The sub-adults were caught in a dilemma.
In the end, Lang Yong thought of an answer that satisfied both sides. “We missed both.”
This was the truth. The group of sub-adults immediately nodded along.
Yes, they missed Lang Shuo, and they also missed the food Lang Shuo made!
Lang Shuo had only asked casually and would not actually be dissatisfied because of their answer. He simply felt that the sub-adults were very fun when they struggled.
After teasing the sub-adults a little, Lang Shuo saw the bowls they had brought and quickly understood Lang Yan’s concerns. He raised his hand and had the sub-adults put their bowls together.
“Have you eaten lunch?”
“No!” This time, there was no need to hesitate. The sub-adults answered in unison.
Lang Shuo said, “Then eat something first, then follow me to work.”
The sub-adults’ minds were full of the first half of his sentence. Eat, eat, eat.
Only after receiving the food did they suddenly react. What had Lang Shuo said just now?
Lang Yong, who had just taken a bite, howled and ran to Lang Shuo’s side. “Shuo, did you just say we’re working with you?”
Lang Shuo: “…”
Lang Yan: “…”
Lang Yu: “…”
Lang Shuo suspected the sub-adults’ reflex arcs were wave-shaped. That was why their reactions were this slow. Hearing this, he nodded. “Yes. Today, you’ll follow me to work. From tomorrow onward, you’ll work on your own.” Today, he would bring the sub-adults to familiarize themselves with it. Later, it would be impossible for him to watch them every day. Growing season was approaching, and there were still many things in the tribe.
The group of sub-adults finally grasped the main point of today. For the first time, they did not even care about eating. After all, if they stayed in the Snow Wolf Tribe to work, how could they only eat one meal? The sub-adults looked at Lang Yan in disbelief.
Why had the chief suddenly become so good today? They were not used to it.
Lang Yan did not explain too much to them. He only instructed, “Work properly, or go back to the tribe.”
The sub-adults expressed with unprecedented seriousness that they would definitely complete the work properly!
Lang Yan looked at the sub-adults, who were thousands of times more enthusiastic than they were in the tribe, and no longer knew what to say.
In the end, thousands of words merged into one sentence. Lang Yan said to Lang Shuo, “I’ll leave them to you.” After saying this, he took his bowl and turned in another direction, putting some distance between himself and the sub-adults. Out of sight, out of mind.
The sub-adults: “!!!”
The chief had actually handed them over to Lang Shuo! In other words, from now on, they belonged to Lang Shuo’s management.
The sub-adults were so excited they nearly jumped up. In the end, the food in their hands sealed them in place. Eat first!
After resting for a while after the meal, Lang Shuo called the sub-adults of both tribes together, then took them, along with Lang Yu and Lang Yan, toward the back mountain.
There was only one small path, so the group had to walk in a line. Lang Shuo took a rope and had Lang Nuo stretch out one hand, tying him to the front of the rope. Behind him, he tied five sub-adult black wolves. After tying one sub-adult snow wolf and five sub-adult black wolves together, he had Lang Nuo lead the group forward.
He, Lang Yu, and Lang Yan followed at the very back.
After smoothly reaching the place, Lang Shuo untied the rope and instructed Lang Nuo, “Use this method every time you come over in the future.”
“All right.” Lang Nuo agreed. Although he did not understand why Lang Shuo wanted to do something unnecessary. After all, although there were weeds outside, they could still see one another. Wasn’t it fine as long as they could see people? Could they still get lost?
Lang Shuo patted Lang Nuo’s shoulder.
When dealing with sub-adults, especially sub-adult black wolves, one could not use conventional methods. That would not be enough to handle all kinds of sudden situations.
The weeds behind the mountain indeed rarely exceeded a person’s height, but who knew what they might encounter halfway? If two long-eared beasts ran over, half the group of sub-adults could be led away. Lang Shuo did not want to spend time looking for people.
Using rope was a little troublesome, but it could ensure that however many people set out would still be that many when they arrived at the destination.
Lang Yan did not speak the entire time and quietly watched.
Lang Shuo had even more methods to deal with sub-adults than he had imagined. No wonder the group of sub-adults had not caused any trouble in the Snow Wolf Tribe. It turned out hidden dangers had been solved by Lang Shuo in advance.
Lang Shuo did not know Lang Yan’s heartache. After arriving at the place, he first emphasized one matter.
The place they had dug before was a small hill. They had dug a hole near ground level, then dug downward. Because at the beginning, they had been aiming to dig a cellar, there were stones around to support it, and they had only dug a small area, so it was relatively safe.
But afterward, if they were going to dig across a large area, continuing from this position would be rather dangerous. Therefore, Lang Shuo told them to dig from the top of the small hill, remove the surface soil and stones, and then mine in the open air.
Open-pit mining was a little slower, because they first had to remove the overburden, but it was much safer than digging inside a cave. Moreover, judging from the cross section of the cave they had dug, the outer layer was not thick.
The sub-adults did not hesitate at all once they started working. After listening to Lang Shuo’s requirements, they all changed into black wolves.
The sub-adult snow wolves beside them also changed into beast form.
If they had not changed into beast form, it would still have been fine. After all, in human form, only their hair was gray, and the sub-adults would at most ask whether they had failed to wash clean. Now, seeing a group of grayish snow wolves, the sub-adult black wolves immediately gathered around and studied the fur on their bodies.
Lang Shuo even heard one sub-adult black wolf ask Lang Nuo what they had used to dye it and whether they could dye themselves too. After looking at black fur for so long, they also wanted to change colors.
Lang Nuo: “…”
The sub-adult snow wolves had originally already felt somewhat uncomfortable because they could not wash clean. After all, they looked dirty. Fortunately, the members in their tribe all knew it was because of digging coal and not only had not laughed at them, but even praised them. Now, hearing the sub-adult black wolf’s words, they instantly felt a little depressed.
If the ones in front of them were wolves of another color, they could still tell them to wait and that after one or two days, they would become the same as before. But the ones asking them were sub-adult black wolves whose fur was originally black.
How could this compare? No matter how many days the sub-adult black wolves dug coal, their color would still be black.
Seeing that the sub-adult snow wolves surrounded by the sub-adult black wolves were about to shut down, Lang Shuo walked over and separated them. He circled out a patch for every wolf and had them dig downward. Then he patted Lang Nuo on the back. “It’s fine. In a few days, he’ll be matte.”
At that time, they could mock them back.
Lang Nuo knew what matte meant. Lang Shuo had used this word before when talking about the black wolf cubs who had not bathed. Recalling the black wolf cubs from before, he immediately understood, and that bit of depression disappeared at once.
After Lang Shuo soothed the group of sub-adults, he took Lang Yan to look at the coal the sub-adult snow wolves had dug out yesterday. Part of it had been transported to the stove side, while two-thirds remained piled outside the cave. The amount was quite considerable.
Lang Shuo explained, “Once this kind of thing is discovered in one place, it’s a whole patch. The quantity is definitely enough.”
Lang Yan quietly looked around, then asked Lang Shuo and Lang Yu, “Aren’t you worried I’ll take this place for myself?”
Lang Shuo said, “We are worried, but you probably won’t.”
The two brothers, Lang Shuo and Lang Yu, had considered this problem from the very beginning. They chose to cooperate with Lang Yan because they knew the other party would not do this.
If the two sides maintained cooperation, the Black Wolf Tribe would indeed pay some manpower, but aside from that, everything else was a benefit. The Snow Wolf Tribe could help manage the sub-adults. As long as food was prepared, the sub-adults would be much more obedient. It was like the previous cooperation of processing food. It benefited the Black Wolf Tribe.
Later, if other tribes discovered the existence of coal, it would not affect the Black Wolf Tribe much. The Black Wolf Tribe had many people and a large territory. Other tribes would not send people to search inch by inch. That would be too troublesome, and also dangerous.
If the Black Wolf Tribe acted against the Snow Wolf Tribe, whether other tribes knew about the existence of coal or not, it would bring trouble to the Black Wolf Tribe.
If other tribes did not know, they would speculate about what kind of huge benefit could drive the Black Wolf Tribe to occupy another tribe. The attention of the surrounding tribes would all be placed here. Even if the Black Wolf Tribe wanted to guard against it, they could not guard against that many tribes.
If the other tribes knew about the existence of coal, then it would be even livelier. The Black Wolf Tribe would directly expose the location, and this place would likewise be watched by many tribes.
Compared to cooperation, seizing the Snow Wolf Tribe’s territory plus guarding against other tribes coming over to pick up ready-made benefits would consume far more manpower and resources. Lang Yan absolutely would not look for trouble for himself.
Lang Yan was silent.
This feeling of all other paths being blocked, leaving only one path to take, while the other party remained fearless and unworried that he would bite back, truly did not feel good.
Lang Yan stared at Lang Shuo for another while, felt a little better, and skipped over this topic.
Lang Shuo also did not cling to one matter and continued discussing the distribution of coal.
They had just started digging, so of course the more they could get, the better. It was just that the weather was hot. The Snow Wolf Tribe temporarily did not need that much meat, and they did not need many other fruits either. Their own tribe’s hunting party and gathering team could completely provide enough food. Therefore, if food was delivered at this time, it would only increase the burden and very likely cause waste.
This situation was definitely not allowed. Beastmen did not have the habit of wasting food. If supplies stored in advance rotted for various reasons, then there was no helping it. After all, no one could estimate the exact amount of food consumed every day, and they could only prepare extra to prevent sudden events. But right now, the Snow Wolf Tribe did not need extra food. Continuing to send it while knowing it would spoil was far too wasteful.
Therefore, Lang Shuo’s idea was to have the Black Wolf Tribe use live prey instead. Large prey and small prey were both fine, as long as they were alive. As for fruits, they only needed the few kinds that could withstand storage.
Of course, capturing live prey was more difficult, so live prey would be exchanged for a little more coal.
Lang Yan nodded in agreement. “That works.” The Black Wolf Tribe had many people, so capturing live prey was easier. Moreover, this time was not like a few days ago, when they were catching milk-producing curved-horned beasts for the cubs and had to be careful not to injure them. If the prey was being caught for raising, there were not so many requirements. As long as they tried not to injure them, it was fine. Even if there were a few small scrapes, it did not matter.
The two sides only needed to state their requirements for the other to understand their meaning, so the discussion proceeded very quickly. In just a few sentences, everything was settled. Lang Shuo asked, “Do you want to keep looking, or go back?”
The sub-adults had their heads buried in digging, completely ignoring where the soil they dug out was being flung as long as it did not land on themselves. All the sub-adults thought this way, causing the scene to be extremely chaotic.
Lang Yan looked at the scene of dust flying everywhere and chose the latter without hesitation. “Go back.”
The three of them returned to the foot of the mountain. Lang Shuo thought for a moment about the amount of coal transported over yesterday and said, “Today, you can take a portion back first. One back basket per person.”
Of course, it was impossible for Lang Yan to have brought the sub-adults over alone. However, this time, he had brought fewer adult wolves. Including himself, there were a total of seven people. Seven back baskets of coal should be enough for use at night. After all, in this weather, there was no need to keep warm. If it was only for cooking, it was relatively economical.
After discussing this, Lang Yan did not continue staying and took the coal back with him.
When he returned to the tribe, Lang Yan handed the back basket to Lang Lan and taught her how to use it along the way. It was about the same as using branches, except they had to wait a little longer. Lang Yan was afraid that if someone else came to teach Lang Lan, she would not have the patience to wait.
Coal’s advantages were extremely obvious. It was much more useful than branches. Lang Lan looked at the coal burning inside the stove, then picked up a new piece and looked at it. She looked at Lang Yan suspiciously.
“Brother, did Lang Yong and the others really go to work?”
“Otherwise?” Lang Yan stood up and patted his hands, thinking that grabbing it with his hands was somewhat dirty. Later, he would learn from the Snow Wolf Tribe and make some tools. Every time they went to the Snow Wolf Tribe, there were new discoveries. They were clearly both wolves, but the lives of the two tribes were completely different.
Lang Lan did not answer. She kept feeling that the sub-adults had been used by Lang Yan to exchange for this coal.
…
On the other side, after sending off the Black Wolf Tribe members, Lang Shuo went to the back mountain to take another look. One area had already been dug down to the coal seam. The soil on the ground was like tofu beneath the sub-adults’ claws and could be easily dug open. Only the stones were somewhat troublesome and needed to be cleared to the side.
Lang Shuo told them to dig outward along the small pit they had dug. After the small pit became a large pit, they could begin digging out coal pieces.
Coal was not regular. Some pieces were large, some small, and some powdery. No matter which form, it could be used, but the sub-adults’ digging methods were different.
They liked the large pieces the most. After digging them out, they smashed them apart. The smaller pieces were pushed to the side with their claws. As for the powdery kind, they ignored it entirely.
Lang Shuo did not force them to dig out pieces of a certain size and let them assign things themselves. When they rested, he called the young wolves over to pick up the coal pieces.
The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye. Before the sub-adults could even react, the sky had already begun to darken.
The sub-adults, who had their heads buried in digging coal, were shocked. So fast!
The Snow Wolf Tribe’s sub-adults were already used to it. When they discovered the sky was darkening, they stopped, took off the animal hides outside, and happily ran toward the tribe. They were going to bathe by the river.
Halfway there, Lang Nuo suddenly realized that the Black Wolf Tribe’s sub-adults had also been working today and quickly called them along. Before setting off, he picked up the rope Lang Shuo had given him.
Lang Yong tried to negotiate. “Nuo, why don’t we not tie up? We won’t wander off!”
Lang Nuo refused. “No. Shuo said you’ll disappear the moment we let go.”
Lang Yong: “???”
The other sub-adult black wolves: “???”
They did not really understand, but if Lang Shuo said they would disappear the moment they let go, then they would disappear the moment they let go, the group of sub-adult black wolves thought.
Lang Shuo was so good. Whatever he said was right.
The sub-adult black wolves followed Lang Nuo and the others to bathe. Only after changing into new animal hides did they belatedly feel a little tired. They had used too much force while digging coal, causing their stamina to be consumed too quickly.
“So tired.”
“Tomorrow, we can’t dig this fast.”
The group of sub-adult black wolves beat their arms, feeling that their arms no longer belonged to them. While crying tired, they walked forward.
However, this fatigue only lasted a few steps. After walking to the side of the mountain and turning a corner, the sub-adults smelled the fragrance of food. Their eyes lit up, and they instantly felt no longer tired. Their arms no longer hurt either. They ran straight toward the direction of the food.
“Shuo, what did you make?” The sub-adult black wolves quickly occupied the places around Lang Shuo. It smelled too good, more fragrant than any food they had eaten before.
“Stewed ribs.” Lang Shuo opened the clay jar on one of the stoves. Inside were ribs and another block-shaped food. In truth, there was no great difference in the ingredients. What was different was that today, the stew had been cooked longer, making the fragrance richer. And they had stayed in the tribe for too long, so by comparison, the food in the pot was even more delicious.
The advantage of having more cooking tools was that they no longer needed to serve food out early just because they were in a hurry to use the pot. They could stew for as long as they wanted. This could count as the first time they had stewed something for this long.
The sub-adults touched the corners of their mouths, unwilling to leave.
Lang Shuo said, “Go get bowls. Take the clean ones over there. The ones you brought can be kept for later use.”
The Snow Wolf Tribe’s bowls were all the same size. Adult members used clay bowls, while sub-adults and younger wolves used bamboo bowls. The bowls for each age group were fixed, and when arranged there, they looked very neat.
The sub-adult black wolves’ bowls, however, were far more casual. The big ones were big, and the small ones were small. Because they had all taken out the largest bowls in the cave, the sizes differed greatly. When placed together, they did not have the patience to slowly arrange them properly. Regardless of size, they stacked them all together, making them look especially messy.
Seeing the difference between the two sides, the sub-adult black wolves touched their noses and thought that after returning, they absolutely had to cut down the largest bamboo in the tribe and make one oversized bamboo bowl each.
Lang Shuo served food to them one by one.
Potatoes had been added to the rib soup. The sub-adults had originally not looked carefully at what the other ingredient inside was. After eating the soft, flavorful potatoes, they froze.
The sub-adults ran everywhere and knew no less about the ripening times of various plants than other members. Therefore, they clearly knew that potatoes were still very small right now, but Lang Shuo had used quite a lot.
Even Lang Nuo asked in surprise, “Shuo, did you dig up potatoes?” Then wouldn’t the potatoes be unable to grow big?
For once, Lang Yong did not immediately eat. Instead, he said, “You can leave them to grow bigger before eating.” Eating them now meant they could only eat a small one. It was better to wait for a while and dig them after they grew up. That way, they could eat more.
“I dug up a portion.” Lang Shuo explained, “Eat a few more meals while you still like them. Later, when all the potatoes outside can be dug up, you won’t like them as much as now, and you’ll eat less.”
Lang Shuo had long calculated the ripening time of each crop. Setting aside those directly planted later, the ones he had raised seedlings for in advance could be harvested at least half a month earlier than the ones outside.
The potatoes had first been sprouted in the cave. When they were transplanted, they were already more than a month old, while at that time, the potatoes outside had not yet grown tender shoots.
Now, the potatoes outside had only just begun to grow. If they were dug out, they would only be a little larger than a finger. But the ones planted by their tribe had already grown to fist size.
The sub-adults liked eating them, but they did not like eating one kind of food for a long time. Of course, Lang Shuo had to arrange things reasonably and let them eat a few meals before the potatoes ripened in large quantities to maintain a sense of freshness, lest there be too many later and they no longer wanted to eat them.
The sub-adults did not understand Lang Shuo’s true thoughts. They only knew that Lang Shuo had dug potatoes early because they liked them, and they were instantly moved until their eyes filled with tears.
