All The Furry Creatures In The Beast World Are Farming With Me – CH73

Chapter 73

Although he had people helping, from the start of making the lye to finally packing the finished product into bamboo tubes, Lang Shuo still used an entire day.

By the time the tools were cleaned up, it was already rather late. Lang Shuo did not know how to look at the sun’s position and estimate the time. He preferred using shadows to calculate. He inserted a small wooden stick into the ground and inferred the approximate time from the direction in which the stick’s shadow tilted. From his conclusion, it should be around five in the evening now.

There were still two or three hours before dark, and the hunting party had not returned yet. That proved there was a high chance they would bring back prey today.

Lang Shuo quietly let out a breath of relief.

If it were only the hunting party members, he would not need to worry at all. From breeding season until now, whenever the hunting party returned at night, they could more or less bring back prey. Even if they could not catch large prey like curved-horned beasts or sharp-horned beasts, they would bring back some long-eared beasts, cluck-cluck birds, or quack-quack birds. In short, there had not been a time when they returned empty-handed.

But bringing sub-adults along was different. When the hunting party had previously brought sub-adults to familiarize themselves with the territory, they would separate from the sub-adults when chasing prey to prevent interference. But the situation now was different. Today, the sub-adults had participated the entire time.

To be honest, Lang Shuo was rather worried.

Just as Lang Shuo was worrying about the sub-adults and the hunting party, familiar footsteps sounded in the distance.

The hunting party was used to lying low before hunting, so they did not make much noise when returning to the tribe. The sub-adults, on the other hand, wished they could announce their return from halfway across the territory.

The people were still near the fields, but their voices had already come over.

One sub-adult had fallen after returning to the tribe, and the other sub-adults were laughing at him.

Lang Shuo estimated the distance and began serving food.

Today’s food was all dishes they had eaten before, but the variety was rich: fish ball soup, twice-cooked meat, stir-fried meat slices with leafy vegetables, and a portion of fruit after the meal.

Fortunately, after they began firing pottery, the tribe had fired many plates and bowls. Otherwise, their utensils might not even have been enough.

The after-meal fruit was the common snow fruit and a kind of fruit similar to nectarines.

The members of the tribe, especially the sub-adults, were rather lacking in interest toward fruit. At first, Lang Shuo had thought they simply did not like the taste of fruit. Later, after observing, he discovered that everyone could actually accept the taste. The reason most members only ate it after he mentioned it was because they found it troublesome.

The fruit here was relatively large. After taking one over to wash it, holding it and gnawing on it took a long while. Moreover, fruit was the kind of food that oxidized if one took a few bites and left it uneaten for a while. It would no longer look that fresh. Added to the hot weather and the little flying insects everywhere, they could not be placed around carelessly. But making someone eat an entire large fruit in one breath was not very realistic either. So Lang Shuo simply chose two members specifically to prepare fruit.

They picked out fruits brought back by the gathering team that were suitable for cutting into pieces, washed them clean, cut them into strips or chunks, mixed them together, and plated them.

The quantity was not that large. Each person had a small plate. There was no need to wash it oneself, nor did one need to hold it for ages and still fail to finish gnawing it. The first time the other members of the tribe ate it, they liked it.

The feeling of not needing to do it oneself was truly good.

Lang Shuo also felt it was rather good. Every time they cut fruit, they first picked the ones that had been bumped or were fully ripe and would spoil if not eaten soon. After a few days, the loss rate had greatly decreased.

Eating this way had another benefit. Before, when members held fruit and gnawed on it, the juice would drip onto the ground, easily attracting ants. Lang Shuo could only have people sprinkle soil over the ground every day to cover it. Now, that worry was completely gone. There were plates to catch the juice, and the cut pieces were just the right size to eat in one bite. After eating, the ground was still clean. There was no need to remind members not to throw fruit pits around either. Calculating it this way, the workload had not increased much.

As Lang Shuo thought this, he divided the fruit. A voice sounded behind him.

“Shuo, we’re back!” a sub-adult cheered, sharing the results of today’s hunt. “Today, we caught a herd of humming beasts.”

Humming beasts were not considered large, but they were one of the tribe’s favorite prey, because humming beasts usually appeared in herds, with the large ones leading a string of little ones. Little humming beasts were easy to catch and were very suitable for raising.

It was just that adult humming beasts had tusks by their mouths and had great charging force when they ran. Hunting them required care. On their first official participation in the hunting party’s hunt, they had caught humming beasts without being injured. The sub-adults were very proud.

Along with the sub-adults’ voices, Lang Shuo also heard the cries of the humming beasts. He placed the last portion of fruit on the platform beside him and walked over to look.

“How many did you catch?” Lang Shuo asked.

“Twenty-six. Three big ones, twenty-three little ones,” the sub-adult answered.

Lang Shuo responded and headed straight for the members who had put down the back baskets. He liked humming beasts, but only the little ones. The meat of adult male humming beasts had an odor that was difficult to remove. Beastmen were used to foods of various flavors and could eat it with no difficulty at all, but Lang Shuo had never eaten much of it. He wanted to eat farm-raised ones.

The little humming beasts had not been born for long. They were not large and even looked somewhat cute, with patterns on their bodies. They were currently squeezed into the back baskets, uneasily humming.

Lang Shuo picked one up and looked at it. Thinking of the group the Black Wolf Tribe had sent over last time, he began considering something.

The sub-adults did not know what Lang Shuo was thinking. Seeing him stare at the little humming beast without moving, they reminded him, “Shuo, should we put them over there?”

Humming beasts liked digging pits, so they had dug an even bigger one, then blocked the surroundings with stones, ensuring that even if the humming beasts ran out, they would be unable to dig through.

Lang Shuo thought for a moment and replied, “Don’t put them in yet. Tie these up first. Put them in after digging a new pit. Right, don’t go to the place where mud bricks were made these past few days,” Lang Shuo instructed.

The lime pit was somewhat dangerous. He simply sealed off the whole area, blocking the surroundings with bricks, not allowing any member of the tribe to enter. Worried the sub-adults would be curious, he specially emphasized its danger.

The sub-adults were very curious, but this curiosity was built on the premise that they knew something was safe. Hearing Lang Shuo say it was very dangerous, they all consciously listened and guaranteed, “Shuo, don’t worry. We definitely won’t touch it. If Lang Yong and the others come over, we’ll stop them too.”

Lang Shuo nodded, very reassured with them. “All right. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

The hunting party members and several sub-adults transported the humming beasts and little humming beasts to the place where prey were raised, then went to rinse off in the river before coming back to eat.

After the meal, Lang Shuo went to the members who processed tools and asked for several sharp bone knives.

The bone knives he chose were not large. Including the handles, they were only a handspan long, but the blades were very sharp, and the tips were very pointed.

Lang Shuo sat on a smaller wooden stool. In front of him was a large wooden stool and a chopping board, with a piece of meat placed on top.

Lang Shuo tested the bone knives one by one and arranged them according to sharpness. Then he picked up the dullest one and sliced the meat again and again.

Lang Shuo’s mind was entirely on what he had to do tomorrow. He did not pay attention to his surroundings, nor did he speak. He just cut the meat expressionlessly. The other members did not understand why. Seeing how serious he was, they dared not speak even more, and could not help quieting down.

After finishing his work, Lang Yu could not find his younger brother. Only after asking several people did he learn that he was here. When he came over, he saw this scene, and instantly felt a chill down his back.

“Shuo, what are you doing here?” Seeing his younger brother put down one knife and prepare to switch to another, Lang Yu asked.

Hearing this, Lang Shuo pointed at the knives in front of him. “Practicing knife skills.”

Lang Yu asked, “Aren’t they already very good?”

When cooking normally, Lang Shuo did not only direct without doing any work. Because he had to teach other members step by step, he would do everything from washing ingredients to plating the final dish. There was even less need to mention cutting vegetables. Lang Yu had seen the shredded meat his younger brother cut. Although he cut a little slowly because of his strength, the finished product was the best among everyone. Each strip of meat was the same thickness, very even, unlike the other members’ work, where the thick pieces were as thick as fingers and the thin ones looked like they would break at any time.

Because he knew this, Lang Yu was even less able to understand his younger brother’s current behavior.

Lang Shuo thought for a moment, then explained in detail. “If little humming beasts aren’t castrated, after they grow up, they’ll smell like those adult male humming beasts and won’t taste good. So we should castrate them while they’re small. In the future, they’ll grow faster, and the meat quality will be better too.”

When there were no conditions, of course Lang Shuo would not be picky, nor would he make unreasonable demands. But now, these two groups of humming beasts were all going to be raised before being eaten. Since they had the conditions, Lang Shuo did not want to wrong himself.

Lang Yu had a rather bad premonition, but still asked, “What does castrate mean?”

This sentence asked the question in the hearts of all the members around them.

Lang Shuo said, “It means cutting off the parts behind…”

Lang Yu: “???”

The spectating members: “???”

Lang Shuo continued explaining. “Because we can’t leave too large a wound, we need to do it while the humming beasts are small. The smaller the wound, the faster they recover. So I plan to start tomorrow. We’ll catch a few and try first.”

Growing season had just begun, and there was little rain. If they did not seize this opportunity, they would have to wait until harvest season, which was another three months away. At that time, the little humming beasts would not be easy to control, and after castration, the wounds would not be easy to heal either.

Lang Yu fell silent for a while. “…” Was the key point when to start?

Lang Yu asked, “You want to do it yourself?”

Lang Shuo nodded. “Yes.” Lang Shuo knew this was somewhat hard for them to believe, so he had not planned to let the other members do it.

Lang Yu took a deep breath. “Tell me how to do it. I’ll do it.”

“No need, Brother. I can do it myself,” Lang Shuo said. Although he had never done it himself, he had seen pigs being castrated and knew what was going on. Lang Yu had never even seen it. Even if Lang Yu wanted to take this job, Lang Shuo would not feel reassured. Those were little humming beasts. Accidentally injuring even one would be a loss. He had to personally do it himself.

Of course, after Lang Yu saw it enough times and learned how to do it, if he wanted to take over this work then, Lang Shuo definitely would not stop him.

Seeing his younger brother’s firm attitude, Lang Yu could only say, “Then I’ll help you tomorrow.”

“All right.” Lang Shuo did not refuse this point. The young wolves were too small, and the sub-adults were somewhat lively. Having Lang Yu help was what reassured him most.

The other members, especially the sub-adults, all had the same expression after hearing what Lang Shuo was going to do tomorrow. They suspected something was wrong with their ears.

In the end, after confirming that there was nothing wrong with their ears and that this was real, aside from feeling chilly, they were also a little curious. So they asked Lang Shuo for the specific time.

Lang Shuo thought for a moment. “We’ll start as soon as it’s light tomorrow.” He remembered that castrating pigs was best done in a cool, dry season, as it helped piglets recover from their wounds. He could not change the weather now, and the coolest time of day was morning.

In order to smoothly castrate a few little humming beasts, the next day, Lang Shuo got up very early.

In the end, the other members of the tribe had gotten up even earlier than him.

Lang Shuo: “…”

Why had he never discovered before that the members of the tribe loved watching excitement this much?

However, since everyone was already awake, Lang Shuo could not possibly drive them back to sleep. He only emphasized repeatedly, “You can watch, but you’re not allowed to shout loudly.”

When working with focus, the most taboo thing was for someone behind him to suddenly shout or make a sudden noise. Moreover, he would be using a knife, so he needed a quiet environment even more.

The members who had specially gotten up early to watch Lang Shuo castrate humming beasts quickly nodded. They definitely would not speak recklessly.

Only then did Lang Shuo feel reassured. He called Lang Yu and Lang Yun over to help, and the three of them got busy together.

Lang Shuo placed all the knives and plates he would use into boiling water to cook, then went to guide Lang Yu in cleaning the little humming beasts.

Without disinfecting materials, they could only wash them clean to reduce the chance of infection.

On the other side, once the time was up, Lang Yun fished the things out of the pot.

Lang Shuo took out the prepared medicine and handed it to Lang Yun. They were all hemostatic herbs, crushed by him, used for postoperative wound healing.

After taking out all the items needed, Lang Shuo put on a wide animal hide to prevent blood from splashing onto himself later.

After making these preparations, Lang Shuo washed his hands clean in warm boiled water and picked up the sharpest small knife. When Lang Yu handed the little humming beast to him, he acted quickly. His hand rose and the knife fell. Swish, swish. In two movements, two parts appeared in his hand.

The little humming beast still did not understand what was going on and was struggling wildly. Lang Yun, with swift eyes and quick hands, had already grabbed the medicinal paste and smeared it onto the humming beast’s wound.

The whole process took only the blink of an eye. Before the other members came back to themselves, Lang Yu had already placed the little humming beast into the back basket and was preparing to catch the next one.

The assembly-line work on this side proceeded very smoothly. Not far away, Lang Yan slowly approached with the sub-adults.

Originally, the sub-adult black wolves knew the road and did not need Lang Yan to escort them. Unfortunately, this group of sub-adults had just done something stupid yesterday. Before leaving the tribe, they had fought over what they would eat when they reached the Snow Wolf Tribe. Lang Yan found them embarrassing and shut them in for another day. Today, he personally came to send them over. He had to deliver them to the Snow Wolf Tribe’s residence and ensure that these sub-adults did not say anything stupid before he could feel reassured.

Thus, before dawn, Lang Yan had woken the sub-adults. He still had to go catch prey later, so the sub-adults could only set off early. The sub-adults had woken other members countless times, but this was the first time they had been awakened from sleep by someone else. Along the way, they were all listless. Only after arriving at the Snow Wolf Tribe’s territory did they react. However, before they could cheer, they were stopped by the patrol team members.

The people Lang Shuo had reminded in the morning included the patrol team members.

At this moment, seeing the sub-adult black wolves, even though the other party was very quiet right now, the patrol team members still looked as if facing a great enemy. They could not even bother stopping Lang Yan and said, “Shuo is busy. You have to promise not to make a sound after going over! Otherwise, wait here. After Shuo finishes, then you can go over.”

In truth, the patrol team members leaned more toward the latter option. After all, in Lang Shuo’s words, sub-adult black wolves were unstable factors. In their opinion, it was best to wait until Lang Shuo finished before letting the sub-adults go over. But they were also clear that if the sub-adult black wolves had that kind of patience, they would not need to worry this much.

Fortunately, Lang Yan was still there, the patrol team members thought. So far, only two people could restrain these sub-adult black wolves. One was Lang Shuo, and the other was Lang Yan.

Lang Shuo could not be distracted right now. This arduous task could only be handed to Lang Yan.

For the first time, Lang Yan did not bring curved-horned beasts and still was not refused entry by the patrol team. However, right now, he was not happy at all.

Lang Yan turned back and looked at the group of sub-adult black wolves who had become energetic after approaching the Snow Wolf Tribe. “You’re not allowed to open your mouths. Only move your hands. If you want to go over and watch, raise your hand. If you want to wait here, don’t.”

The sub-adult black wolves raised their arms in perfect unison. Afraid they had not raised them high enough and would be missed, the ones at the back had already risen onto their toes.

Lang Yan: “…”

“Walk lightly. No talking. No roughhousing. Otherwise, immediately return to the tribe and never come over again,” Lang Yan threatened. So far, this method was still the most useful, succeeding every time.

The sub-adult black wolves immediately nodded. Got it, got it. Hurry and let them go watch. If they delayed any longer, it would be too late.

Lang Yan saw the urging in the sub-adults’ eyes and felt very tired.

Why had he given so many instructions? Could it be because he liked talking?

However, the sub-adult black wolves had no awareness that the reason lay with themselves. But because of the patrol team’s emphasis and Lang Yan’s threat, they did not shout and only urged him with their eyes. After Lang Yan set off, they followed behind him and walked down the mountain.

As they drew closer, the group of sub-adult black wolves discovered there were many snow wolf members around and became even more curious. If Lang Yan had not been in front and they did not dare pass him, they would have already run into the crowd by now.

Finally, amid the sub-adults’ anticipation, they reached the place.

Before they had time to be shocked that so many people could actually be this quiet, the sub-adults saw the scene inside from behind the seated members.

They saw Lang Shuo holding a nimble bone knife, expressionless. One came, he cut one. Lang Yu cooperated beside him with extraordinary tacit understanding.

The sub-adult black wolves: “!!!” Father, Mother, so scary!

The sub-adult black wolves were incomparably shocked and were just about to open their mouths when Lang Yan patted them. They instantly remembered their promise just now and immediately quieted down.

They could not speak, but the shock in their hearts not only did not decrease, it grew even more.

Too, too, too scary!

Lang Yan watched the entire process and finally understood why the patrol team had repeatedly emphasized not shouting recklessly. This scene was indeed unexpected.

Lang Shuo had originally planned to observe the situation. If things went smoothly, he would castrate a few more. If not, he would castrate two and observe. In the end, he discovered that he did not know whether it was because little humming beasts had relatively good self-healing ability or because the herbs he had prepared had good effects. When he rested after castrating a few, he discovered that the ones castrated just now had no problems at all. Although they were not as lively as at the start, they were still rather spirited, and one could see their vitality was very tenacious.

Since that was the case, Lang Shuo simply decided to go all the way. He had people catch all the male little humming beasts. Male humming beasts that had not been castrated would become very fierce after growing up. Right now, the tribe’s breeding scale was small, and the raising area was not large. Lang Shuo did not plan to keep breeders. Next year, when this batch of little humming beasts grew up and needed to mate, they could just catch one from outside. Besides, once breeding season arrived, the raised female humming beasts would go into heat. Perhaps they would not even need to catch one. That was far more convenient than specially keeping several.

Because there were many of them, several more members were added this time to wash the little humming beasts. Lang Yu was only responsible for catching them and holding them in front of Lang Shuo, because his hands were steady. Even if the little humming beasts struggled, he could hold them down. To Lang Shuo, the little humming beasts at this moment were not much different from being anesthetized, which was very convenient.

The brothers were indeed tacitly coordinated, but seeing this scene, Lang Yan kept feeling it was somewhat strange.

Before Lang Yan finished digesting this scene, Lang Yu, who had just put down one little humming beast, had already discovered the sub-adult black wolves and subsequently discovered Lang Yan’s presence. So he said, “Chief Lang Yan is here? Just in time. This is the last little humming beast you sent over. If you were any later, you would have missed it.”

Lang Yan: “…”

He would not feel regret over missing this kind of thing, thank you.

Lang Shuo had his back to Lang Yan, so he had not seen him just now. Hearing his brother’s words, he turned around and greeted Lang Yan. “Morning.”

Lang Yan looked at the bone knife dripping blood in his hand and responded without changing expression. “Morning.”

The spectating snow wolf members and sub-adult black wolves were filled with solemn respect. Lang Yan was worthy of being the Black Wolf Tribe’s chief. Seeing this kind of scene, he was not surprised at all and even greeted Lang Shuo.

If it were them, how could they be this calm? After all, when Lang Shuo spoke just now, he was still holding the knife. Looking at that posture, it did not seem like a greeting, but rather like he was about to castrate the person opposite him too.

Lang Yan still did not know the snow wolf members’ inner comments. He calmly watched the castration process of the last little humming beast from this nest and did not leave. Only after Lang Shuo finished castrating the little humming beasts the snow wolf hunting party had caught last night, changed his animal hide, and washed his hands clean did Lang Yan finally move his gaze away.

He simply treated Lang Yu’s words as if he had not heard them.

Lang Yu did not keep holding onto him either. After handing the little humming beasts to the members raising prey and giving a few instructions, he asked his younger brother whether his hand was sore.

“A little.” Lang Shuo answered. Castrating little humming beasts was different from cutting vegetables. It required extreme focus. After all, if he cut the wrong place, things would go wrong. Not only would it delay progress, but the little humming beasts would have more wounds, which could very likely affect their health. Even knowing the chance of failure was not high, there was still pressure in his heart. Holding the knife the entire time, after this half day, he was indeed a bit tired.

Lang Yan looked at Lang Shuo, who obediently answered Lang Yu’s question. At this time, a little water still remained in Lang Shuo’s hair, and he looked extremely well-behaved, completely different from the cold indifference he had shown when castrating the little humming beasts just now.

Only when Lang Yu looked at him did Lang Yan slowly move his gaze away.

However, unlike Lang Yu imagined, he did not have the slightest thought of retreating. Only beastmen who were not strong enough themselves would worry that their partner was too strong.

Lang Yu naturally did not know the change in Lang Yan’s mentality. Otherwise, he would rather set aside the cooperative friendship between the two tribes and drive him out. He took a clean piece of animal hide and helped his younger brother wipe his face, then served food and was just about to feed him when Lang Shuo had already reached out to take it.

“It’s fine, Brother. I’ll do it myself. You go eat too.” Lang Shuo quickly accepted it. His hand was only a little sore. It was completely not to the point where Lang Yu had to feed him.

Hearing this, Lang Yu was a little disappointed. He had taken on the work of feeding his younger brother not long after his younger brother was born. Having not fed his younger brother for a long time, he missed it somewhat. Unfortunately, his younger brother would not let him help.

Lang Yan was also somewhat disappointed.

He did not need to eat.

He had time.

He could help.

However, these words were things he had no qualification to say right now.

All The Furry Creatures In The Beast World Are Farming With Me