All The Furry Creatures In The Beast World Are Farming With Me – CH8

Chapter 8

Hearing Lang Yu agree, Lang Shuo could already think of several ways to eat long-eared beast. Prey that looked similar tended to have similar textures. Long-eared beast should taste just like rabbit—dry-fried rabbit, stir-fried rabbit meat, roasted rabbit legs…

Countless menu items circled through Lang Shuo’s mind.

But the problem now was where to put this long-eared beast. The cave they lived in definitely would not work. The air did not circulate well, and if they lived together, there would be a smell.

He was not at ease leaving it outside either. The weather was too cold. If it froze to death, his great farming enterprise would be over before it began. Not to mention, beastmen were not the only natural enemies of long-eared beasts. Primitive beasts ate them too.

Lang Shuo voiced his concerns and asked everyone if they had any good ideas.

Several sub-adults who were usually full of energy and liked running around everywhere knew the tribe’s surroundings better. They pointed above the cave they lived in and asked, “What about that small cave up there?”

The cave the Snow Wolf Tribe lived in was very large, but it was only about half a person’s height above the ground. If one went upward for a bit, there were two smaller caves. Lang Nuo and the others had gone in to look around these past two days while running about after meals. Those two caves were too low and unsuitable for them to live in. Entering and exiting required bending over. In the entire tribe, only the cubs could go in freely, but they could not possibly let the cubs live alone.

After hearing the description, Lang Shuo felt that it was very suitable for raising long-eared beasts. It was close to the cave they lived in, but not connected to it. They could put this long-eared beast up there and temporarily block the entrance with stones. Once they made a cage, they could put it in the cage and raise it there.

And so, Lang Shuo lost one extra meal and gained the first prey animal they could raise—and one that was about to reproduce at that.

Lang Nuo volunteered to carry the long-eared beast to the cave above. Following Lang Shuo’s request, he dug up some grass roots and placed them inside, then moved a few stones to block the cave entrance and prevent the long-eared beast from escaping.

After settling the long-eared beast, Lang Shuo began examining the willow branches Lang Yu and the others had brought back. They were not as soft as they would be when they had just sprouted, but they still had a certain toughness and did not snap as easily as other branches.

Willow branches in this state could not be used immediately. Lang Shuo measured them and asked everyone to help cut the willow branches into suitable lengths, bundle them up, and put them in water.

There was a river not far from where they lived. Back when they decided to settle on this mountain, aside from having a natural cave that was easier to excavate, that river had also been a major reason.

Shelter, water, and food were all indispensable resources. Without suitable containers, transporting water was even more troublesome than transporting food, so living near a river was a wise choice.

Lang Yu had brought back a lot of both willow branches and vines. Lang Shuo selected some vines that were not as dry.

Fortunately, they had only just entered the snow season. If another month or two passed, the accumulated snow would cover everything on the ground. By then, even usable vines would probably be hard to find.

While the other members prepared dinner, Lang Shuo sat by the fire and guided several gathering team members in processing the vines. There were mainly two kinds of usable vines. One type had a structure close to wood and could be processed like willow branches—peeled before use. The other type was hollow in the middle and could be used after being split open or flattened.

The gathering team first needed to learn how to weave baskets. That way, if one broke on the road, they could repair it themselves, which would be more convenient.

Food was difficult to find during the snow season. The gathering team had to walk very far every day. Since there were not enough animal hides, they could only carry things back in their arms, which was very exhausting. Even bags made from animal hide had limited capacity. With baskets or back baskets, things would be much easier.

At first, the members of the gathering team did not know what Lang Shuo was planning to make. They thought it was still something prepared for the cubs, so they earnestly followed his instructions.

The method Lang Shuo taught was relatively simple.

Thirteen vines were divided into two bundles and crossed as the warp. Another vine was taken and wound through them by pressing over one and lifting under one. Starting from the second circle, the original warp vines were gradually separated. After every one or two rounds of weaving, they would be divided again, until all the warp vines had been separated into single strands.

Once the bottom was the right size, one end of the warp vines was tied together, and they began weaving the sides. The method was still pressing over one and lifting under one. They continued until the height met their needs, then used the warp vines to finish the edge and finally wove the handle.

With the foundation from weaving grass nests earlier, the food on the other side had not even finished cooking before the first palm-sized carrying baskets were completed.

This kind of carrying basket could only hold a piece of meat or a few red dates, but the important thing was that they had learned the method. As long as they learned it, they could weave whatever size carrying basket or large basket they needed later.

Lang Shuo also taught them the method of starting with a rice-shaped base. Weaving techniques had many similarities. Once one learned one method, the later ones became much easier to pick up. A rice-shaped base was similar to a cross-shaped one, only the weaving process was more complicated and required two bundles to be woven across one another.

The baskets made with the new method were larger and suitable for the gathering team to use when going out. Several vines were braided like a plait and tied to the basket in place of a handle, allowing it to be carried directly on the back and freeing both hands.

Several members learned by analogy. Lang Shuo only taught the method, while they adjusted the length and width of the shoulder straps themselves. In the end, they chose a width that saved effort and would not dig into the shoulders.

Lang Shuo was only responsible for teaching, but he still became so tired that his mouth and throat were dry. Only after drinking a cup of warm water Lang Yu brought over did he feel better.

“Are you cold?” Lang Yu crouched beside him and touched his arm.

The cubs had already been sent back into the cave. Nights during the snow season were much colder than daytime, and there was wind as well.

“A little. Brother, take me back to the cave.”

Actually, there was a fire pit right beside him, and many people were gathered around, so he only felt a bit of wind. But Lang Shuo understood his current condition. After being injured, his resistance was low, and this was not the time to take risks. He would rather go through a little trouble and return to the cave.

The inside of the cave was much quieter than outside, but this time, it would not be boring at all. He could watch the cubs climb upward from their nests for ages.

It was almost the usual mealtime. The cubs woke one after another, hooked their paws over the edges of the grass nests, and whined at Lang Shuo, wanting food.

Lang Shuo touched one of their bellies. Sure enough, it had already gone flat. Stewed meat was easier to digest than roasted meat. After most of the day, even the cubs had digested everything cleanly.

After touching its belly, Lang Shuo intended to pull his hand back. Unexpectedly, the cub hugged his entire hand. The cub worked hard to hook all four paws around his hand, unwilling to let go. It whimpered and whined as if declaring it would not release its paws unless it got food.

Lang Shuo raised his hand slightly, and the cub also exerted strength. Sensing that it was about to slide downward, it used every bit of nursing strength it had.

Lang Shuo did not pry the cub off. Instead, he bent a few fingers and scratched the cub’s belly.

The cub could not withstand the ticklish sensation on its stomach. At last, it could not hold on anymore. Its paws loosened, and with a plop, it dropped down, knocking another cub that was struggling to climb upward back to the bottom of the nest.

The cub that had been struck climbed up dizzily, whined twice, and bit down on the paw beside it that did not belong to it.

The bitten cub refused to be outdone and opened its mouth to bite back.

The two fought back and forth, each spitting saliva all over the other’s face, injuring the enemy by a thousand while losing eight hundred themselves.

Lang Shuo watched with amusement. Cubs were carefree. Aside from eating and sleeping, they fought. And since all of them only had little milk teeth, none of them could actually hurt another.

Only when Lang Yun came in carrying the cubs’ food did Lang Shuo separate the two cubs locked in fierce battle.

In the time it took to finish one meal, Lang Yun discovered the benefit of putting the cubs in nests. She could carry out the few that needed feeding separately. Even if the other cubs smelled the food, they could not run over. Unlike feeding them during the day, she did not need to specially catch cubs running everywhere.

Lang Shuo also noticed this. After calculating the resources the tribe could currently use, he said, “Yun, tell the gathering team to bring back some vines and willow branches tomorrow.”

There were many plants in this area, and vines were everywhere. Most of them could be used. Lang Shuo planned to weave a bamboo basket as large as a cub bed and line it with a grass mat. That way, they would not have to worry about the cubs running out, and it would not interfere with the cubs playing.

Lang Yun agreed, and after going out, she told the temporary captain of the gathering team about it.

The person who had previously cared for the cubs had been an elderly wolf in the tribe. That person had been gravely injured and died during the migration. After arriving in the new territory, Lang Yu was not at ease handing the cubs over to someone else, so he had Lang Yun temporarily manage the cave side. The gathering team was temporarily led by another member named Lang Rong.

Lang Rong was older than Lang Yun and very meticulous in her work. It was just that no matter what she did, she was rather slow. But when searching for food in a new territory, this caution came in handy. It did not matter if she found food a little slower. During the snow season, the gathering team could not find much food to begin with. Being more careful made it easier to discover food hidden beneath the snow.

At this moment, Lang Rong was leading several members in weaving the baskets they would use tomorrow. They did not even have time to think about eating. They planned to weave enough tonight so that each member of the gathering team would have one. Hearing Lang Yun say to bring back some vines tomorrow, she immediately agreed.

In fact, even if Lang Yun had not mentioned it, they would have brought some back. After all, most of the vines the chief had cut back today had been used by the gathering team.

Tonight’s dinner was still roasted meat and stewed meat. Everyone wanted to eat more stewed meat, but their tribe only had one pot, so the stewed meat merely filled the gaps. Roasted meat made up the majority.

The yams the gathering team brought back yesterday had been eaten up. The stew that night only used meat and dates, but the flavor was still better than anything they had boiled before. The gathering team members silently remembered this and decided to see if they could dig up more yams tomorrow.

Probably because he had not rested during the day, Lang Shuo became sleepy not long after finishing dinner. Knowing that he definitely would not be awake when the hunting party and gathering team set out the next morning, he reminded Lang Yu one last time to be careful while hunting, then curled into the animal hide and slept.

Beside him were grass nests of similar sizes, each holding three or four cubs.

Half asleep and half awake, Lang Shuo felt something burrowing into his arms. He touched it and found the feeling somewhat familiar. He was too sleepy to open his eyes and look, yet could not remember what it was, so he simply hugged it and slept.

It was only when he was woken the next morning by something pawing at his fingers that Lang Shuo realized what he had slept holding the night before.

A little wolf cub that had escaped.

The cub clearly still did not understand what had happened in the middle of the night. After waking up, it could not sit still and grabbed the hand in front of it to gnaw.

It was the uninjured hand, so Lang Shuo let it chew and play. He yawned and looked around. There was no one in the cave. At the cave entrance, two members were weaving baskets. The items inside and outside the cave did not look like much at a glance, but once tidied up, there was actually quite a lot. Having baskets to store them would be much more convenient.

Lang Shuo placed the cub on his stomach and supported himself against the ground to sit up. Clearly, less than three days had passed, yet the wounds on his arm and waist could already be ignored, and his leg no longer hurt as much as it had during the previous two days. Once again, Lang Shuo was shocked by beastmen’s recovery ability.

Thinking about it carefully, however, he felt a little bitter. Beastmen had to face danger everywhere. Those who recovered slowly had already been eliminated over generations of inheritance.

He was not hungry for now, so Lang Shuo did not rush outside. First, he checked the cubs’ nests. In the end, he found the original position of the one in his arms. It had been near the edge. The edge of that grass nest was a bit loose, and the two cubs inside had been sleeping on the same side, pressing the nest slightly crooked. This cub had most likely climbed out by using those two as stepping stones.

Fortunately, many members had helped yesterday, so there were spares nearby. Lang Shuo took out an extra one and placed the fluffy bundle in his arms inside.

The cub wanted to repeat the same trick and crawl out again. However, the edge of the new grass nest was not tilted, and there were no other two cubs inside to serve as footrests. Lacking enough strength, it could only hook its front paws over the edge of the grass nest and call pitifully at Lang Shuo.

“I’ll get you food in a bit.” Lang Shuo rubbed the cub’s head. After coaxing this one, he counted the cubs again. Only after confirming that the numbers matched did he call outside, “Nuo, are you there?”

The moment he finished speaking, a string of replies came from outside.

“Coming, coming, I’m coming right away…”

Lang Nuo shouted as he ran in, still holding a section of bamboo in his hand. Clearly, he had just been making a new bamboo bowl.

With Lang Nuo’s help, Lang Shuo left the cave and discovered that it was not only Lang Nuo. Several other sub-adults were also busy.

Lang Yun, who was making food for the cubs, followed his gaze and looked over, somewhat helpless. “They started before dawn.”

Everyone had liked the meat soup yesterday, but the tribe did not have enough bowls, so everyone could only take turns eating like the cubs. Before dawn today, a group of sub-adults had already started chopping bamboo.

They were much more enthusiastic when making bowls for themselves. Yesterday morning, they had only made two bowls in total. Today, the bamboo was clearly thicker than yesterday’s, and after a single morning, several were already beginning to take shape.

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