Chapter 56
The unreliability of Lang Ze was directly proportional to the reliability of Lang Qi.
Bai Tu had always known this, which was why he tried to keep Lang Ze from speaking too much at the market. This had indeed prevented any disastrous bartering mistakes.
But Bai Tu never expected that while he managed to supervise Lang Ze at the market, he could still manage to lose out while in the tribe.
“Combs are meant for grooming fur! Trading wool for points this way is only making you lose more and more!” Bai Tu explained wearily.
Each comb cost three points because crafting them took considerable time. The woodworking team had recently complained about their overwhelming workload, and now Bai Tu realized the source of the problem lay with the wolf tribe.
Under normal use, a comb should last at least a month. But Lang Ze had clearly been using combs aggressively to rack up points.
His excessive strength and hurried grooming sessions meant no wooden comb could withstand the strain.
Broken combs were piled next to his heap of fur, making the issue glaringly obvious. Four broken combs equaled twelve points spent, and the resulting wool could only earn three points in trade.
The wolf tribe naturally shed a lot of fur, but there was no way it could produce this much in one go. Lang Ze had probably put in so much effort that he was practically pulling out his fur.
Hearing Bai Tu’s explanation, Lang Ze mentally calculated how many points he had spent on combs. His expression froze in horror as the realization hit.
Reassured that this wasn’t a health issue, Bai Tu relaxed. However, for the sake of the cubs’ safety—and to prevent others from making similar mistakes—he called a short meeting that evening. He used the opportunity to emphasize the importance of understanding production costs versus pricing.
“For example,” Bai Tu began, “if you spend ten points on summer melons and honey, then spend half a day turning them into chilled melon juice, the selling price must be at least fifteen points or more. This is because half a day’s labor is worth at least five points. If you sell for less than fifteen points or trade for goods worth less, you’re losing out. Do you understand?”
To make the concept clear, Bai Tu used the tribe’s favorite foods as an example, ensuring that everyone could grasp the idea.
He didn’t want the tribe’s hard work going to waste by underselling their goods. If that happened, it would be enough to make him spit blood in frustration.
Bai Tu’s explanation focused on calculating costs, but Lang Qi’s attention shifted immediately to Lang Ze. He had a strong suspicion that this entire issue was somehow related to his brother.
Meanwhile, Lang Ze was still mourning the points he had lost.
Bai Tu had only seen today’s incident, but Lang Ze had exchanged plenty of combs before and had accumulated quite a bit of wool.
The points he’d lost far exceeded nine. And to make it worse, he had practically groomed himself bald in the process. Anyone would feel aggrieved in his shoes.
Bai Tu’s straightforward example made it painfully obvious to Lang Ze that this wasn’t the only instance where he’d lost points. No wonder, despite all his hard work, his points kept dwindling.
Seeing Lang Ze’s misery, Bai Tu coughed lightly and gave Lang Qi a look, signaling him not to criticize his brother further. The poor kid was already upset about losing points—there was no need to rub salt in the wound.
Lang Qi didn’t say anything, but he had already pieced together most of the story.
Recently, Lang Ze’s usual routine of eating and then going out for a run had changed. Instead, he’d been frequenting the woodworking cave.
A quick look at the exchange records would confirm what he had been up to. Knowing his brother all too well, Lang Qi was certain that this was yet another one of Lang Ze’s harebrained schemes.
Looking thoroughly dejected, Lang Ze left to go hunting. Bai Tu, seeing that there was still daylight left, decided to check on the pottery kiln.
At this stage, the tribe had managed to produce enough pottery for nearly everyone to have their own piece. However, many tools were still made of stone or wood.
Replacing them was a gradual process that couldn’t be completed all at once. But there was no denying that pottery was far more practical than stone tools—especially for boiling water.
Pottery heated water much faster due to its thin edges. However, it had one drawback: after boiling, the pot couldn’t be immediately cooled in cold water. Doing so would cause it to crack instantly.
At the current pace, the production of pottery was still a bit slow, especially since larger ceramic vessels were more difficult to fire. However, with the abundance of lime and Lang Qi having discovered a site for mining limestone, there was no longer any concern about running out of lime in the future.
Bai Tu immediately expanded the number of kilns, aiming to produce enough pottery for the tribe within a month.
By the following month, they could fire an additional batch to sell at the market. Not all tribes were like the rabbit tribe, skilled at digging pits or making stone cookware. Many tribes had to purchase stone pots, making pottery a potentially valuable trade item.
While Bai Tu was busy overseeing the construction of more kilns, a group of unfamiliar beastmen arrived in wolf tribe territory.
On the day of the corn harvest, Bao Duo had begun persuading his tribespeople to leave their current settlement.
He urged them to sneak away under cover of darkness before the healer demanded more food, leaving behind only Bao Ni and a few immovable belongings.
The Leopard Tribe now had just over fifty beastmen left, ranging in age from ten to thirty. All of them were emaciated, having not had a full meal since the previous snowy season.
This year’s rainy season had been even harsher due to the healer’s targeting of their tribe.
Post-rainy season, food supplies hadn’t improved, and they still had to endure the healer’s relentless demands for tributes. The entire tribe was in misery. Even without Bao Duo’s urging, they wouldn’t have lasted much longer. His words simply solidified their resolve to leave.
Bao Duo and his group were discovered by Lang Ze.
The hunting team led by Lang Ze had been facing heavy losses. Even with the points they’d earned from their honey-finding mission, the young wolves had lost many of their hard-earned points.
Determined to make up for it, they decided to capture more young prey animals to offset their losses. However, the hunting spots they frequented had already been picked clean, so they ventured into the outskirts of their territory.
The moment the young wolves spotted the Leopard Tribe, they began howling excitedly. Unfamiliar beastmen in their territory meant potential points—whether by driving them out or capturing them to bring back to the tribe!
Bao Duo, seeing the wolves, was thrilled. He mistook their howls for excitement at seeing him and called out eagerly, “Lang Ze, it’s me, Bao Duo!”
The wolves’ howls abruptly cut off, as if someone had grabbed them by the throats. In an instant, their enthusiasm drained away, and they slumped to the ground in disappointment.
Nooo… all those points, gone!
Bao Duo was oblivious to the wolves’ dismay.
Once he confirmed they were familiar beastmen, he relaxed and cheerfully asked, “We’ve left our tribe. Can you take us to Bai Tu and Lang Qi?”
From their previous interactions, he could tell that Bai Tu and Lang Qi were the decision-makers, so it only made sense to seek them out now that they had decided to relocate.
Dejected, Lang Ze got up, his ears and tail drooping as he turned to lead the Leopard Tribe toward the Snow Rabbit Tribe. The young wolves let out a few synchronized howls, their tones full of defeat.
Bao Duo and his group didn’t notice the subtle difference in the wolves’ howls. However, the wolves guarding the rabbit tribe’s settlement immediately perked up, racing to alert Bai An and Bai Chen to prepare for defense.
Other wolf hunting teams in the area also heard the howls and grew serious. Each hunting team leader dispatched squads of ten beastmen to scout the situation.
The wolves continued their vocal exchanges, which to other tribes sounded like nothing more than typical howling. However, within the wolf tribe, they carried clear meaning: unfamiliar beastmen had appeared, showing no hostility for now, but precautions were necessary.
Lang Ze led the Leopard Tribe to the rabbit tribe’s territory. The rabbit tribe, initially on high alert, relaxed somewhat upon realizing it was Bao Duo and his people.
“Bai Tu!” Bao Duo called out excitedly and rushed toward him, intending to hug him to express his joy. However, Lang Qi, who had followed closely behind, stepped in to block him.
“Your tribe’s quarters aren’t here,” Lang Qi said coldly. “Get ready. I’ll take you there.”
Bao Duo blinked in confusion. “???” They had just arrived!
Bai Tu, on the other hand, was delighted.
He had been worrying about this situation. While it wasn’t technically his responsibility to find accommodations for the Leopard Tribe, he felt that since he’d already helped them earlier, it only made sense to lend them a hand now that they had arrived.
At the very least, he could arrange a temporary place for them to stay until their new quarters were built.
However, the rabbit tribe couldn’t possibly accommodate an entire new tribe at the moment.
They had already converted single-person caves into double-occupancy ones as a compromise, but further reducing space to triple or quadruple occupancy would be too much.
It would be like turning cozy single apartments into crowded dormitories, which would create countless inconveniences.
Lang Qi’s plan to help by relocating the Leopard Tribe to the wolf tribe’s territory made more sense.
A new tribe arriving, even as neighbors, posed certain risks, and some of the other tribes bordering the unclaimed land might not readily accept it.
Lang Qi leading the Leopard Tribe to the wolf territory could help mitigate potential conflicts.
While Lang Qi and the wolves dealt with territory and housing issues, Bai Tu discussed matters with Bai An and Bai Chen. Afterward, he turned to Bao Duo and said, “Let’s get you something to eat first.”
The health of the entire Leopard Tribe was worrying.
Bai Tu suspected that if they went another two days without food, some of them might collapse.
When he had first awakened here, the rabbit tribe had been relatively weak, but even they hadn’t been in such dire straits.
Hearing there was food, Bao Duo grew emotional again.
After just thanking Lang Qi, he was now visibly excited at the prospect of a meal.
The Leopard Tribe had been severely food-deprived. Although two-thirds of their fifty-plus members were part of the hunting team, it often took four or five days to catch even one piece of prey.
Large prey might show up once every ten to fifteen days. With such meager gains and the healer frequently demanding tributes, the tribe’s remaining food was even scarcer.
Before leaving their territory, they had managed to catch a 100-kilos long-legged sheep. That sheep, combined with the corn they had harvested and the crops Bao Duo’s group had grown, had sustained them for six or seven days.
But those six days weren’t spent leisurely. They had been running day and night, fearing the healer might send people after them. Fortunately, their worst fears didn’t materialize.
The faster they traveled, the more energy they consumed, but hunting along the way was too risky.
After all, this was unfamiliar territory.
When the cat tribe had snuck into the rabbit tribe’s land after the rainy season, the high water levels and other factors meant fewer beastmen patrolled the outskirts.
Combined with the cat tribe’s stealth, they had been able to pass through relatively easily. However, the Leopard Tribe wasn’t willing to take such risks in unfamiliar territory, even though they were distant relatives of the cat tribe. Instead, they headed straight for the rabbit and wolf tribes.
One of the beastmen responsible for cooking asked Bai Tu what to prepare. Bai Tu thought for a moment and said, “Corn porridge and roasted meat.”
The group had likely been starving since leaving their territory, and preparing anything else would take too long.
The roasted meat had already been marinated and could be cooked and eaten right away, while the corn porridge was a recent staple in the tribe’s diet.
Initially, some beastmen had struggled to adjust to this new food, but after a few meals, they grew accustomed to it. Beastmen tended to adapt quickly when it came to food.
Some of the Leopard Tribe beastmen had been to the market and remembered Bai Tu.
Bao Tong and a few others even knew he had medical skills. However, most of the tribe didn’t recognize him and kept their focus on Bao Duo as he spoke to Bai Tu.
It wasn’t until bowls of corn porridge were served that the Leopard Tribe beastmen were utterly stunned. They nearly shouted in shock.
Their sacred grain… had been grown by other beastmen!
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