Before seeing the two Wild People off, Lynn did not forget to remind them:
"Go back. Return to your tribe, Suo Wade. Remember, I am Lynn, the White Bear Baron, and the most trustworthy ally of your Lowland Tribe. Also, make sure you tell your father everything I said."
"I will. I definitely will."
Suo Wade nodded earnestly. He was already eager to pour everything out to his father.
Everything that had happened today had completely exceeded his understanding.
Even though it was already deep into the night, he could not wait to begin the journey home.
He and his companion turned toward the northern forest with their gifts in their arms. After taking a dozen or so steps, he looked back and found Lynn still standing there, even waving to him kindly. A sense of relief at having survived the ordeal welled up inside him.
When they reached the edge of the Salt Mine, Suo Wade turned and shouted, "Lynn, how can I find you?"
"Go south to White Bear Territory. As long as you show that sword and suit of chainmail, someone will bring you to me. Or wait for me here at the Salt Mine. I'll be back again before long."
Whenever Lynn inspected White Bear Territory, he carried that sword with him. The stewards and farm managers in the territory could recognize it, and many serfs had seen it as well.
The chainmail hauberk he gave Suo Wade also bore the Cold Wind Family Crest, which could likewise prove his identity.
Suo Wade, the "crown prince" of the Lowland Tribe, was gone.
Second Brother, meanwhile, was left alone in the cold night of the Northern Border, bewildered.
He did not understand Lynn's actions either.
But he knew he could not question his eldest brother.
At times like this, trust was all he needed.
Eldest Brother had always been the most trustworthy person in the world.
Yet after sleeping through the night, Second Brother still could not put his doubts aside.
Once they had packed their luggage and set out for home, he could not help asking, "Eldest Brother, why did you give that Wild Person both the chainmail and your sword?"
"There's a saying in the Southern Border: you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. The Wild Person I released was the tribal chief's son." Lynn sat astride his horse, in an excellent mood.
He had not explained much to Suo Wade last night about the benefits of cooperation between the two sides.
Even if he explained too much, Suo Wade would not understand with his intelligence.
After all, it had only been their first contact. Releasing him and giving him some gifts to show goodwill was enough.
Given the Lowland Tribe's current situation, they had nowhere else to go.
As long as the two sides had a few more dealings, Lynn would sooner or later bring them under his control.
He did not believe the Lowland Tribe could refuse fine armor and weapons, much less fertile farmland and ample food.
Just by looking at the tribal chief's son's thin frame, he could tell that these Wild People simply could not fill their stomachs.
The Northern Wasteland was at least a plain. Though barren and freezing, it could still support some farming.
How much food could there be in the forest? Apart from foul-smelling beast meat, there was not much else to eat.
Without staple foods, the more they ate beast meat, the thinner they became. No wonder the Lowland Tribe wanted to return to the Wasteland.
Second Brother pondered on horseback for a long time before asking in partial understanding, "So the chainmail and sword are the child? Then what's the wolf?"
"The wolf is naturally the entire Lowland Tribe. I will bring them to White Bear Territory to farm for me, fight for me, and multiply."
At the end, Lynn added, "If they can't be tamed, then I'll beat them to death."
On the way back to White Bear Territory, Lynn still needed to explore the Triangle Mist Region.
The region covered too much land. A round trip was only enough for a rough exploration.
After traveling for a day, Lynn followed the map's guidance and discovered an open-pit Bitumen Mine.
Like the Salt Mine, the ground around this Bitumen Mine was completely barren. With only a little digging through the surface soil, black bitumen ore could be seen beneath. Lynn roughly estimated that the vein extended for more than three hundred meters, with astonishing reserves.
According to the information provided by level-two [Gathering], there was a chance that oil lay deep in the strata beneath the Bitumen Mine.
However, his current [Gathering] level was too low.
He could not yet detect mineral deposits that deep.
Still, finding a Bitumen Mine was already an enormous gain.
Bitumen could be used for paving roads. With the current level of handicraft, refining bitumen was not difficult.
Besides that, bitumen was also an excellent waterproofing and sealing material.
Applied to the roofs and walls of brick and stone buildings, it could form a waterproof coating and effectively solve the problem of rainwater seepage.
Large ships also required bitumen to prevent water from leaking through their hulls.
As Lynn knew, there were two small-scale Bitumen Mines in the southern part of the Northern Kingdom. Most of their ore was exported to the Southern Border, where it fetched a fairly good price.
The purchase price at the source for one ton of bitumen ore was roughly equal to five hundred kilograms of Rye or Barley.
Although its price was far below that of salt, it was still a very good commercial mineral.
After all, it was merely a basic ore. To actually use it required a great deal of labor and fuel.
Lynn examined the markers for the Stone Mine and Bitumen Mine on the map and discovered that the two deposits were not far apart, only five or six kilometers apart.
So he took a detour to the Stone Mine, carefully surveying the road conditions and natural environment along the way.
When he reached the Stone Mine, he did not return by the same route. Instead, he traveled in an S-shape, clearing away the last patch of white mist in the triangular area.
By the time he returned to White Bear Territory, a full five days had passed since his departure.
Under Old Albert's command, the plowing of nearly twenty thousand mu of Public Land had been completed.
The first three thousand or so mu that had been plowed had entered the final stage before sowing—harrowing.
The harrows used in White Bear Territory did not have much room for improvement. They were basically identical to the "harrows" provided by the interface.
The main frame looked like a rectangular wooden picture frame, with three horizontal and three vertical wooden bars set across the middle. Harrow teeth were embedded beneath the bars.
The harrow teeth were generally made of iron or hardwood. They could effectively break up the large clumps of dried surface soil and level the fields.
A strong draft horse could harrow more than ten mu of Strip Field a day.
Once a field had been harrowed, sowing could officially begin the next day.
After resting for a night, Lynn immediately threw himself into the sowing work.
He personally demonstrated the specific details of sowing for Old Albert and the stewards.
The Compost they had prepared earlier finally came into use.
Lynn used strip fertilization and strip sowing, burying the fertilizer ten centimeters deep in the furrows, then scattering wheat seeds coated in plant ash over the fertilizer.
The fertilizer supported the wheat seeds and provided ample nutrients for them to take root and sprout.
The plant ash coating the seeds could also provide nutrients while effectively suppressing pathogens in the soil, helping the wheat grow better.
Each mu required about five hundred kilograms of fertilizer and fifteen kilograms of seed.
After the demonstration, Old Albert immediately led the stewards in relaying their lord's latest instructions throughout the territory.
Under the direction of the stewards and farm managers, the serfs followed the example they had been shown and completed the sowing of more than three thousand mu of land in a single day.
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