Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – CH58

Chapter 58

When Lang Qi and the other wolves returned with their catch, they were greeted by a chaotic scene: a pile of toppled stone pots and a group of panicked young wolves. The source of their terror? The stone used for the stove had caught fire! 

For the young wolves, who had never seen stones burn before, this was one of the most terrifying moments of their lives—on par with the day they were swarmed and stung by bees.

After listening to the young wolves recount what had happened, Lang Qi led the group in rebuilding the stove and quickly finished preparing a meal. 

After delivering the Leopard Tribe to the unclaimed land and leaving them with the remaining prey, Lang Qi and his team returned to the wolf tribe. 

On the way back, they stopped at the bald mountains and filled several baskets with coal, which they brought back to Bai Tu.

When Bai Tu heard the full story, he was silent for a few seconds. 

This was exactly the kind of thing the young wolves would do: seeing the stone stove shifting and cracking, their first instinct wasn’t to stop the fire and fix it—it was to race against time to boil the water before everything collapsed.

There were things to commend, and things to punish. 

Bai Tu addressed both points at once. Discovering the coal was worthy of a reward, but continuing to feed the fire after noticing the stove was unstable was extremely dangerous and deserved a penalty.

Each young wolf was awarded 200 points for discovering the coal but lost 30 points for failing to handle the danger properly. Bai Tu added a stern warning: “If this happens again, the penalty will double.”

At the mention of “doubling,” the young wolves froze in horror, more shocked than when Lang Qi threatened to punish them physically.

Pain from a beating was temporary, but losing points? That was permanent! And if they messed up again, they’d lose even more points? That was terrifying. 

Fully aware of their own tendency to make mistakes, the young wolves were already dreading their inevitable future penalties.

Lang Qi, observing the wolves’ panic, fell into deep thought. So… scolding them about points worked better than giving them a good thrashing? It seemed they’d been punished physically so often that they’d grown thick-skinned—literally and figuratively.

Noticing the dangerous glint in Lang Qi’s eyes, the young wolves felt an inexplicable chill down their spines and instinctively shuffled closer to Bai Tu for protection.

Lang Qi withdrew his gaze, unwilling to waste more energy on the young wolves. Instead, he joined Bai Tu in discussing where to build the pottery kilns and the iron smelting furnace.

After inspecting the coal’s quality, Bai Tu confirmed that the coal from this entire area was suitable as fuel for both iron smelting and firing pottery. He then began planning the layout with Lang Qi.

Bai Tu pulled out some wooden boards and sketched a simple map. 

He marked the rabbit and wolf tribes’ current settlements, the location of the coal mines, and, based on Lang Qi’s descriptions, the Leopard Tribe’s new residence. 

He also noted surrounding terrain, water sources, and other relevant details. Only then did he begin selecting a location for the facilities.

The primary requirement was proximity to a water source. 

With so many beastmen stationed there, the area would essentially become a semi-permanent settlement, and they wouldn’t have much time to return to their main tribes. 

The settlement needed access to essential resources, particularly water and food. While prey could be hunted or transported to the site, relying solely on delivered water would be unsustainable.

The second requirement was proximity to the coal mines. Without any transportation tools, everything had to be carried manually by the beastmen. The farther the facilities were from the mines, the greater the strain on manpower over time.

Lastly, the location couldn’t be too far from the main wolf tribe settlement. Most of the tribe’s members would remain there, and a site too distant would make it difficult to provide support if needed.

After considering all these factors, Bai Tu and Lang Qi finalized the location. It was south of the wolf tribe’s current settlement, north of the bald mountains, and slightly to the south of that area. 

The site was near two small hills with a mountain spring—an ideal spot for their plans.

The two small hills were about half the height of the rabbit tribe’s main settlement. 

They were covered in rocks of various sizes, making footing treacherous, and one could easily slip. 

Perhaps due to the presence of water, the hills were overgrown with vines and trees, making the terrain particularly difficult to navigate.

While the hills had a reliable water source and were located in a safe area, their structural stability left much to be desired. 

The rocks were not solid slabs but scattered fragments, and the crisscrossing trees and vines gave the entire area an unstable feel. While it might be fine for occasional visits to forage or hunt, living there would be a challenge. 

Permanent habitation would require frequent traversal, which significantly increased the chances of accidents.

Bai Tu surveyed the hillside, ensuring the water source was sufficient, and then finalized the location. 

As for housing, he had a plan. “No need to worry about where to live,” he said confidently. “The beastmen stationed here won’t be living in caves.”

“No caves?” Bai Qi was surprised, and even Lang Qi turned to look at Bai Tu. 

It was an unheard-of idea. 

Across the tribes—whether flying beastmen like the hawk tribe or ground-bound quadrupeds—nine out of ten tribes lived in caves. 

The few exceptions weren’t by choice but because they couldn’t find suitable caves.

Caves had many advantages. 

They allowed for easy monitoring of the surrounding area, kept rainwater out if dug properly, and were hidden enough to avoid detection. 

Hearing Bai Tu say they wouldn’t be living in caves, the first thought was that they would reside at the base of the hills. But honestly, that didn’t seem like a wise decision.

Many beastmen had tried living at the foot of hills, especially larger tribes, but these attempts usually ended in failure. Living at ground level came with too many inconveniences.

Firstly, there was the rainy season. Rainwater often caused rivers to overflow their banks, and water running down the hills would collect at the base. 

Those living at the bottom would be the first to suffer. Even in the Snow Rabbit Tribe, the lowest level of their caves was used to store garbage or items of little value since flooding was a constant risk during the rainy season.

Secondly, the ground at the base of the hills was mostly soil. Digging caves into it led to frequent collapses, making underground living unsuitable.

Some tribes had experimented with building wooden houses the size of caves, but these proved inadequate during the snow season. The houses were freezing, and lighting a fire inside often risked burning them down.

In short, living at the base of the hills was the first option most tribes eliminated—it simply wasn’t feasible.

Hearing Bai Tu’s decision, everyone couldn’t help but feel concerned. Even if they built wooden houses, those would only suffice for the current season. With winter just two months away, what would they do then?

Bai Tu, however, quickly dispelled their worries. The others had completely misunderstood his plan. 

He wasn’t going to build wooden houses, nor was he relying on stone or soil. Instead, he chose to use bricks and lime mortar, much like how the pottery kilns were constructed. The difference was that the houses would be taller, allowing beastmen to walk inside directly. 

Unlike the pottery kilns, where ceramic items were placed and retrieved with bamboo tongs or by sending in small children, the houses would be designed for full accessibility.

The rabbit tribe’s beastmen were already highly skilled at building kilns, and constructing houses was actually simpler since there was no need to seal the top. All they had to do was stack bricks to form four walls.

While Bai Tu hadn’t yet developed glass due to technical limitations, he left small ventilation openings at intervals instead of large windows. 

He explained that the houses would be somewhat dark once they were sealed, but this didn’t bother the beastmen, who were accustomed to cave living. They eagerly anticipated seeing the completed houses, starting work on the foundations with enthusiasm.

For the roofs, Bai Tu opted for a two-layer structure: a wooden base topped with roof tiles. 

The tiles, also fired in the brick kilns, were larger and thinner than the bricks. They were designed to slope slightly, with the center higher than the edges, and were secured with lime mortar and sand. 

This design ensured that rainwater would flow off the roof and onto the ground, eliminating leaks. The same principle would apply during snowy weather, making the houses suitable for all seasons.

The houses were all built on elevated foundations to prepare for the next rainy season, with dedicated drainage ditches constructed around them. 

To make life even more convenient for the beastmen living here, Bai Tu diverted the mountain spring to the first house at the base of the hill. From then on, they wouldn’t have to trek all the way up the mountain for water—they could simply fetch it from the house.

The finished houses did not disappoint. Beastmen who had hesitated about relocating to the new site quickly agreed to move. The houses were larger than caves and came with built-in stoves and beds—what wasn’t to love?

What the beastmen referred to as “beds” were actually heated kangs (brick beds). 

Bai Tu, well aware of the beastmen’s habits, knew that even if he provided cabinets and other furniture, they’d be cluttered within a few days. So he decided to skip the hassle and install kangs instead. 

With the coal supply doubling the output of bricks and tiles, it was more efficient to complete the project in one go rather than having to revisit and make adjustments later.

Currently, the weather was warm, so the kang beds weren’t in use. 

The connection between the stoves and the kang beds was sealed with stone slabs, and the stoves were used only for cooking. 

In winter, the stone slab could be removed, and the smoke channel above the stove could be blocked off, allowing the heat from cooking to warm the kang bed.

While the beastmen didn’t yet understand the benefits of a heated kang bed in winter, it didn’t stop them from loving the new houses. 

Compared to caves, the greatest advantage of the new homes was convenience—no more climbing up and down the mountain. 

As for safety, the houses were built in the heart of the Blood Wolf Tribe’s territory. Unless a neighboring tribe was foolish enough to attack, there was no risk of outsiders approaching the area.

Bai Tu assigned the best pottery-makers to live in the new settlement and set about organizing new paths between the rabbit tribe’s settlement, the wolf tribe’s settlement, the new houses, and the coal mines. 

The old paths were trails beaten out during hunts—uneven, winding, and inefficient. Walking these paths added at least 25% more distance compared to a straight route. While this wasn’t noticeable for one or two trips, the difference became significant for supply runs.

With housing settled, the newly built brick kilns immediately began producing pottery and bricks. These were transported to the bases of the two tribes’ hills. However, just when the beastmen working on construction expected Bai Tu to unveil the design plans for the livestock enclosures, he told them to wait.

Previously, when the number of captured young prey was small, they were kept in caves higher up the hills. 

As their numbers grew, Bai An had repurposed a cave at the base of the hill for raising them. But now, even that cave was overcrowded. As Bai Tu had predicted, the inability to regularly wash the cave had led to a pervasive, unpleasant odor despite daily cleaning.

Even the rabbit tribe, which had fewer prey animals, now had nearly 200 young animals. 

The wolf tribe, with more successful hunts, had more than double that number. Regardless of where they were housed, such a large number of animals would be a nuisance to any beastmen living nearby. 

With their keen sense of smell, the beastmen were overjoyed when Bai Tu announced plans to build a proper livestock area.

So why the sudden delay? Everyone was puzzled.

Bai Tu wasn’t in a hurry, but the beastmen were practically frantic. 

The leader of the construction team went to find him, only to be stunned by the sight of Bai Tu playing with mud. 

“Tu?” The leader rubbed his eyes, wondering if he’d mistaken someone else for Bai Tu. But the hair color and build were unmistakable—this was definitely Bai Tu, not Lang Ze or some other wolf.

“Hmm?” Bai Tu looked up, noticing the other’s surprised expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Aren’t we building the livestock area?” the team leader asked urgently. “The ones in the eastern cave are about to pass out from the stench!”

“Hold off for a bit. I’m testing something with cement,” Bai Tu replied calmly. “The livestock area will need to be cleaned daily, and without waterproof materials, it won’t hold up.”

“Water and mud? Where?!” Lang Ze, who happened to overhear the conversation, rushed over at full speed, eyes gleaming with curiosity.