Chapter 69
Seeing his movements, the other cub also changed into beast form, burrowed out from under the clothes, and worked hard to climb onto Lang Shuo’s shoulder.
When the cubs in the large basket saw what they were doing, they became even more anxious. They wanted to climb over the edge of the basket and run toward Lang Shuo. The few people beside them immediately stopped them, just right for each person to catch two. If there had been one more cub, they would not have been able to stop them.
The cub standing on Lang Shuo’s shoulder had an extremely unruly expression. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few seconds.
Without even looking, Lang Shuo raised his hand and accurately grabbed the cub by the scruff of the neck, lifting him into his arms.
On the other side, before Lang Yun and the others could put clothes on the cubs, the children changed back one after another and were covered by the clothes.
The beastmen who were dressing them looked at the cubs burrowing out from under the clothes and collectively fell silent for a moment.
Cubs had a strong herd mentality. When they saw other cubs doing something, they would learn from them. Since the two on Lang Shuo had changed back, they also changed back into beast form and still wanted to climb onto Lang Shuo.
Of course, Lang Shuo would not let them have their way. He directly picked up the two on him and placed them into the large basket.
As soon as he entered, the white one changed back into human form again and hugged Lang Shuo’s arm. “Shuo not leave.”
The other cub seized the opportunity to grab his other arm. “Play with us.”
The white cub nodded. Lang Shuo had been spending less and less time with them recently.
“I’m not leaving. I’ll be right here. Don’t move around.” Lang Shuo rubbed the cubs’ heads. After thinking for a moment, he went to get two grass mats and wrapped them around the edge of the large basket. Then he called to the other side, “Zhao, weave a big bamboo basket. Make it tall.”
The cubs before were either already older or relatively obedient. Also, the number transforming into human form each time was not very large, and those cubs were not transforming into human form for the first time, so they were easy to manage. This time, the number was a little large, and they had all transformed on the same day. The cubs were unfamiliar with their human forms, changing into beast form for a while and human form for a while. For now, he could not let them run around outside.
Lang Zhao agreed and went to get materials. To make it faster, several people wove together, trying to fence the cubs in as soon as possible.
After Lang Shuo fixed the cool mats in place, he warned the cubs, “You can’t touch the cool mats. Understand?”
The cubs nodded.
Lang Shuo did not let the cubs out mainly because of safety concerns. The cubs were too small. In human form, it was still all right. Three-year-old cubs were already as tall as an adult beastman’s thigh. But in beast form, they were not even as big as an adult beastman’s foot. If a cub suddenly changed into beast form outside, a beastman who did not watch where they stepped while walking might kick them.
Although the chance of such a coincidence happening was small, accidents always happened when least expected. Lang Shuo would rather make things a little more troublesome for them than risk the cubs’ safety.
Lang Shuo accompanied the cubs for a while, then called Lang Hui over and had him take the young wolves to the back mountain to pick out stones.
When Lang Shuo had proper work to do, the cubs were more obedient than usual. They quietly sat in the large basket and played with toys. It was just that the toys they had played with in beast form were a little small for them now.
After Lang Shuo arranged things, he turned around and saw several cubs boredly holding small vine balls. In beast form, they could push them around with their heads to play, but now they could only throw them at one another, which was not as interesting. Seeing the entire group of cubs wearing the same expression, Lang Shuo went to find the beastmen who processed tools. He drew a tangram on a wooden board and asked the other party to help cut it.
Cutting wooden boards with stone knives and bone knives took time. Lang Shuo found a thicker wooden board and drew grids on it.
“What is this for?” The member beside him did not understand. What could so many grids drawn on a wooden board be made into? Besides, with this many grids, it would not be easy to cut.
“Making building blocks.” Lang Shuo answered without raising his head. During growing season, the bigger cubs could come out, but cubs under five years old had best stay inside the cave. He would make some tools for the cubs so that they would not get bored in the cave and want to run outside.
Lang Shuo simply drew several wooden blocks of different shapes all at once. When he finished drawing, the tangram was also done, two sets in total.
Lang Shuo took the tangrams and pointed to the several thick wooden boards with different grids drawn on them. “These need to be cut too, but there’s no hurry. Cut them whenever you have time.”
Two sets of tangrams were enough for the cubs to play with for several days.
Lang Shuo brought the tangrams back, grabbed two cubs, and taught them for a while. Then he placed both sets in front of the cubs. “Five people per set. Take turns playing. No fighting. If you fight, the toys will be confiscated. Understand?”
Knowing that confiscation meant taking them away and not letting them play anymore, the cubs quickly hugged the tangrams in their arms.
“Go play. Don’t fight.” Lang Shuo emphasized one last time.
The cubs obediently agreed, but they ran into difficulty when it came to dividing the groups.
If there were five cubs of each color, they could divide according to color. But among the ten cubs, there were three snow wolf cubs and seven black wolf cubs. The cubs, who could not see any difference besides hair color, did not know what to do.
Lang Yun looked at the troubled cubs, turned back to look at Lang Shuo, and quietly asked, “Should we help?”
Lang Shuo shook his head. “Let them divide themselves first.”
The black wolf cubs were clearly more anxious. After thinking for a moment, one said, “We one, you one.” He wanted to divide according to color.
Dividing this way clearly meant there were more black wolves. One black wolf cub disagreed and shook his head. “Can’t divide like that. One here, one there.” He meant lining up alternately beside the two tangrams.
The other black wolf cubs could not make up their minds. They did not know who they should listen to and finally looked toward the snow wolf cubs.
The first snow wolf cub who had transformed into human form crouched on the ground and considered for a while. He scratched his cheek, then raised his hand and pointed at the two black wolf cubs who had spoken. “You come over.” This way, the numbers would be equal.
The other cubs compared it. Even though they had not learned calculation yet, they could see that the numbers on both sides were about the same. They happily accepted this arrangement.
Seeing that they had arranged it themselves, Lang Shuo left Lang Yun watching them and went to see the progress of the other work.
The limestone and coal the sub-adults had dug in the morning were separately packed into back baskets by the young wolves. At dusk, the sub-adults carried the back baskets down the mountain again and again.
Lang Shuo separated these things. The limestone was placed into the earth kiln, while the coal was divided into three portions. One portion was for the sub-adults to take away tonight, one portion was for cooking, and the final portion was all kept for burning lime.
Burning lime took longer than firing pottery. It needed two to three days before it could be properly burned, so it required more fuel. Fortunately, the coal was right behind the mountain, and they could have as much as they needed.
The members burning lime had previously been responsible for firing pottery, so they were no strangers to firing methods. After listening to Lang Shuo’s instructions, they began working.
Over the next two days, the fire by the earth kiln never stopped. Several members took turns watching over it, ensuring that the limestone inside could burn fully.
After the burning time reached Lang Shuo’s requirement, a member came over to ask whether they should stop the fire and open the kiln.
Lang Shuo said, “Stop the fire. Don’t open it for now. Let it cool down on its own.”
The member asking agreed and ran back to tell the others.
When firing pottery before, they also waited for it to cool before taking it out. After listening, the few of them found a cool spot to rest.
Although they had rested in turns during the process, after two days, they were still much more exhausted than usual because they had to keep paying attention to the fire in the earth kiln and did not dare relax their vigilance.
They were not the only ones hot. The other members were not much better. It was not because of the earth kiln. The earth kiln was in a remote location, and they were quite far from it. The main reason was that the sky was overcast but it did not rain, making it humid and hot, which was uncomfortable.
Seeing everyone like this, Lang Shuo simply changed the recent menu. Stir-fried dishes and soup dishes were changed into cold mixed dishes. Regardless of whether the taste was as good as stir-fried dishes, at least they could eat them.
During the meal, the sub-adult black wolves held their bowls, raised their heads to look at the dim sky, and could not help sighing.
“What’s wrong?” Lang Shuo was preparing the cubs’ extra meal for the evening. Hearing the sound, he turned back and discovered it was the sub-adult black wolves. He found it a little novel. “What are you sighing for?”
When rain fell during growing season, the least affected were the sub-adults. Adult wolves either hunted or gathered, or prepared tools in the tribe. Rain would delay food searching, because prey would not stay in place just because it rained. If they went late, the prey might have already run far away. There was even less need to mention fruits and other foods. After rain, fruits were easy to rot to begin with, and not gathering them in time was very wasteful.
The sub-adults’ work, however, was more flexible. The coal was right there. No matter how much it rained, it would not change. They could come dig whenever.
“If it rains, we can only stay in the tribe. We want to come over and work,” Lang Yong raised his head and looked at the sky. Knowing it was about to rain, he felt that even the food in his bowl was no longer fragrant.
Lang Shuo said, “After you go back, you can learn how to cook yourselves. Start with simple things, steamed egg, stewed meat, and so on.”
Lang Yong seriously shook his head. “That’s not the same. The food we make definitely won’t be this delicious.”
Lang Shuo was helpless. “How do you know if you don’t try? As long as you don’t skip steps like before, it definitely won’t taste bad.”
Half of the dark cuisine the sub-adult black wolves had eaten before had been researched by themselves. When it came to cooking, the most taboo thing was a sudden flash of inspiration.
Thinking this, Lang Shuo added another sentence. “You’re not allowed to reduce steps, and even more, you’re not allowed to randomly add steps. Otherwise, next time you come over, you’ll only be given the roasted meat you used to eat.”
The sub-adult black wolves had made too much dark cuisine before. Lang Shuo did not want them to improvise recklessly. That was disrespecting ingredients.
Hearing the threat, the sub-adult black wolves immediately straightened their bodies and solemnly agreed.
Lang Shuo nodded. Afraid they were worried, he specially comforted them. “Actually, occasionally forgetting steps is normal. Remember to remind each other. If there’s something you really can’t make, you can ask Lan.”
Because the few cubs who had transformed into human form had recently refused to move back, Lang Lan’s learning plan had been extended by a few days. Lang Lan had learned the cubs’ food almost completely, so Lang Shuo taught her the food that other beastmen usually ate.
The cubs’ food was a little more complicated than what they ate. Since Lang Lan and the others had even made the cubs’ food properly, when learning other members’ food, they understood with just a hint and learned very quickly.
When the sub-adult black wolves heard this sentence, they could not help looking at Lang Lan not far away. They were rather worried. Asking Lang Lan—was that really okay?
Lang Lan was standing beside Lang Shuo. Seeing them keep staring at her, she asked, “What are you looking at?”
The sub-adult black wolves shook their heads in unison.
Forget it. Better to learn seriously. If they really could not learn it, they could just eat it directly. That was better than going to Lang Lan and getting scolded.
After spending so much time with the sub-adults, Lang Shuo could tell what they meant with one glance. Knowing that they did not dare look for Lang Lan, he soothed them. “Later, I’ll give you some of the seasonings divided into portions. Remember the steps and study seriously these next few days. After returning to the tribe, remember to help Lan more.”
When the sub-adult black wolves became diligent, they were quite useful. Helping Lang Lan would definitely not be disliked.
Hearing this, Lang Lan looked at the sub-adult black wolves and fell silent for a moment. “Maybe forget it.” She kept feeling that the consequence of the sub-adult black wolves helping her would be making things more chaotic the more they helped.
Lang Shuo: “…”
Now even Lang Shuo could not say anything. The sub-adult black wolves’ reputation was just like this.
Lang Shuo patted their shoulders. “Work hard.”
The sub-adult black wolves: “…”
Boohoo, they did not want to go back. If only they could stay in the Snow Wolf Tribe.
The group of sub-adult black wolves did roughly the same things every day, and their thoughts were also synchronized. At this moment, this was what they were all thinking.
If they could stay in the Snow Wolf Tribe, they would never need to worry about food again.
Unfortunately, this kind of thing could only be thought about. If they told the chief, the chief would probably beat them to death.
The sub-adults sighed regretfully.
Lang Shuo: “…”
It was only changing from coming every day to every other day. Was there a need to be this distressed?
For a moment, Lang Shuo also did not know what to say to them. Just as he was preparing to tell the sub-adults to eat earlier and go back earlier, a cub grabbed the animal hide on his body.
Lang Shuo immediately stopped paying attention to the sub-adults, turned around, and asked the cub, “What’s wrong?”
“Are we leaving too?” A black wolf cub asked doubtfully. The other cubs stared intently at Lang Shuo, waiting for his answer.
Facing sub-adults, Lang Shuo could be hardhearted. But seeing the cubs looking at him with expectant faces, Lang Shuo was at a loss for words.
The answer was yes. But the cubs were so reluctant, and Lang Shuo hesitated over how to tell them the truth without making them too disappointed.
Before Lang Shuo could answer the cub’s question, that snow wolf cub squeezed in front of Lang Shuo and patted the speaking black wolf cub like a big brother. “You can come again later!”
Lang Shuo fell silent. Watching the snow wolf cub coax the black wolf cubs with just a few sentences, he suddenly felt that separating the two groups of cubs back then had been completely unnecessary. Even if they had placed them in one cradle, the ones who suffered probably would not have been the snow wolf cubs.
This one was especially clever. The black wolf cubs immediately believed this sentence.
Lang Shuo thought about it. After growing season passed, the weather would be relatively clear. In the middle of harvest season, the weather would be cooler. If the cubs made a fuss about coming over at that time, he could let Lang Lan bring the cubs over to play.
Thinking this, Lang Shuo did not refute the snow wolf cub’s words.
Although the cubs only needed to return to the tribe before growing season arrived, they could not really wait until light rain began. Seeing the weather was wrong, Lang Lan decided to bring the cubs back early.
There were more than twenty cubs. After they all turned into beast form, one basket was enough to hold them. After Lang Shuo waited for the black wolf cubs to finish listening to the snow wolf cub, he had them change back into beast form.
The cubs knew this meant they were leaving and tugged on Lang Shuo’s arm. “Want hug.”
The request the cubs made was not excessive. Lang Shuo directly agreed, picked up the cub, and coaxed him.
The cub hugged his neck and rubbed against his shoulder, extremely reluctant to part.
Lang Shuo was also reluctant. After all, he had raised them for so many days and could see them every day. After they left, he would not see them for several months. Just thinking about it made his heart ache. He could not help kissing the cub’s forehead. “Be good. I’ll go see you when I have time.”
“Mm, okay.” After the cub agreed, he changed back into beast form in Lang Shuo’s arms. A tiny thing, he hummed twice and rubbed against Lang Shuo again.
The cubs behind followed his example and also wanted hugs.
Lang Shuo was very fair and never favored one over another. He kissed, hugged, and coaxed them one by one.
Seeing that the weather looked wrong, Lang Yan guessed that Lang Lan would bring the cubs back to the tribe. He specially came over to pick up the cubs. As soon as he entered the Snow Wolf Tribe, the scene he saw was Lang Shuo coaxing the cubs. He could not help thinking of his first dream.
If he had been able to see the cub in the cradle at that time, it was probably black too.
Realizing what he had thought of, Lang Yan could not help frowning.
Breeding season should hurry up and pass.
On the other side, inside the large basket, one snow wolf cub lined up behind the black wolf cubs. Just as she was about to raise her hands to ask Lang Shuo for a hug, she was pulled back by a slightly older snow wolf cub.
“Silly. Getting hugged means being sent away!” The snow wolf cub lectured his younger sister, who had not seen the truth clearly. The ones being hugged were all in the basket!
Lang Shuo: “…”
Sure enough, this one was the most unusual among the cubs. How could the other cubs think this far? They were only acting spoiled normally.
Lang Shuo directly picked him up.
The cub, who usually especially liked looking for Lang Shuo, was extremely resistant right now and began struggling. “I’m not leaving. I don’t want to leave!”
“Not leaving, not leaving.” Lang Shuo simply thought it was fun to tease him. “Who told you getting hugged means being sent away? They are cubs of the Black Wolf Tribe, so of course they have to return to their own tribe. You are from our tribe. Even if you want to follow, you can’t.”
The snow wolf cub stopped moving. “Really? I’m not leaving?”
“Mm. Even if I hug you several times, you’re not leaving.” Lang Shuo kissed the cub’s forehead, put him back, and picked up the next one. Most cubs were rather simple. Aside from the one just now, the other two cubs would not think so much. If he did not hug them, they might suspect he did not like them anymore. Of course, Lang Shuo would not leave out a single cub.
After picking each one up and coaxing them, Lang Shuo finally lifted the covering over the basket containing the black wolf cubs. Seeing the few of them looking up at him, he touched each of their heads one by one.
The cubs rubbed their heads against his palm. The fluffy feeling made Lang Shuo’s heart soften again.
“Be good. See you in a few months,” Lang Shuo said.
“Awoo~” The cubs immediately echoed him.
All The Furry Creatures In The Beast World Are Farming With Me
