Encountering the Tree Tribe Again (Happy Minor New Year)

Luo Chong, who had been diligently harvesting the rice, now had no time for other things. Instead, he carefully stripped each rice stalk, terrified of accidentally dropping a single grain. After all, these were seeds, they were hope!

After about half an hour, all the rice in this forbidden zone, roughly two hundred plants, each bearing over a dozen, or even over forty stalks, with about 500 grains per stalk, plus the fact that this rice was slightly larger than normal, added up to quite a bit. It filled two snakeskin bags, weighing about 60 catties.

Looking at the fruits of his labor, Luo Chong felt a surge of emotion. He remembered how Old Man Yuan's dream back then was to "cool off under the rice stalks," constantly striving to cultivate rice taller than a person, because with "height advantage," growing tall naturally yielded more.

But he had such good luck; the first wild rice he discovered was actually that tall. Not having any professional knowledge in this area, he couldn't explain the phenomenon, only attributing it to the good primitive ecological environment and fertile soil.

After all, the fertility of land that had been cultivated for thousands of years in his previous life was imaginable. If it weren't for things like chemical fertilizers, he really didn't know how much grain production would decrease.

Not wanting to dwell on sentimentality, Luo Chong worked hard to place the two bags in the front and rear compartments of the Kayak respectively, happily preparing to paddle the small boat home and begin his agricultural era.

But he didn't expect that after paddling just a few meters, his small boat would be surrounded.

A group of Water Chestnut Tribe members, seeing Luo Chong place the two bags in the front and rear compartments of the small boat and preparing to leave, immediately had their eyes light up.

So this thing floating on the water could not only carry people but also hold things. Several smart individuals immediately imagined the scene of them paddling this small boat to collect water chestnuts, and couldn't help but exclaim, "A divine tool!"

And so, the scene before him unfolded. A group of Water Chestnut Tribe members swam around his small boat, constantly touching and examining it curiously, wondering what it was made of and how it was structured, as if they were visiting a museum.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"

Luo Chong watched their curious actions and immediately felt a headache coming on. They were rocking the boat back and forth, and he was getting seasick! But these people didn't seem to have any malicious intent towards him, so he couldn't just resort to killing them. Peace, peace was the most important thing.

Ling Cao saw the faint sign of Luo Chong getting angry and quickly stopped the others from continuing their examination. She gestured and asked Luo Chong if he could teach them how to make this kind of thing.

Make a boat?

Luo Chong looked at the circle of people soaking in the water around him. Their skin was a little swollen from being in the water. They were all fellow beings struggling to survive. Actually, Luo Chong was willing to help. It wasn't a bad thing to make a good connection while out and about, and besides, this thing wasn't that difficult to make.

The type of Kayak Luo Chong made was actually similar to making a lantern. First, you build a frame with branches, then cover it with a waterproof hide, and that's it. But the problem was with the hide; it wasn't that easy to come by. This fish skin was something he obtained through a stroke of luck. And you want to make many of these boats? Unless you have plastic sheeting.

After Luo Chong's gestures and explanations, Ling Cao understood the general idea. She then realized the issue with animal hides. Where were they going to find such large animal hides? The two exchanged glances and both frowned.

But when Luo Chong's gaze swept over the driftwood they were holding, all the problems were solved. If they couldn't make a Kayak, how about a Raft?

Luo Chong gestured for them to gather all their driftwood together and arrange it. He also found some reeds to use as rope, tied the driftwood together, and then had Ling Cao climb onto it.

Indeed, Luo Chong's idea was correct. After Ling Cao climbed on, the raft made of over a dozen pieces of driftwood still steadily supported her on the water's surface.

Trying out this floating sensation for the first time, Ling Cao was also very excited. She quickly called her tribe members to come and try it together. Unfortunately, the raft wasn't very big and could only hold two people. One more and it would likely tip over.

Those who couldn't get on the raft were a little envious of Ling Cao sitting on it, but Ling Cao was exceptionally happy because she knew that this kind of raft was very simple to make, and the materials weren't limited. Things like driftwood and reed rope were easy for the tribe to get. She even foresaw that after she returned driving the raft, there would immediately be a frenzy of raft-making in the tribe.

Thinking of this, Ling Cao looked at Luo Chong gratefully and warmly invited him to visit the Water Chestnut Tribe, but Luo Chong refused.

Staying overnight outside was impossible. He knew there was a herd of Blue Antelope waiting for him outside the Swamp. If anything unexpected happened and those antelope ran away, Luo Chong would probably cry himself to death.

Receiving the refusal, Ling Cao didn't insist. She just handed Luo Chong a giant water chestnut the size of an egg as a token, agreeing that if he encountered difficulties in the future, he could bring this water chestnut to the Water Chestnut Tribe for help. It was somewhat reminiscent of Luo Chong and Dashu exchanging arrows upon parting.

Luo Chong smiled and took the water chestnut, cursing inwardly, mmp, they gave me something to eat as a token, and they won't even let me eat it. Are you doing this on purpose?

Saying goodbye to the Water Chestnut Tribe, Luo Chong rushed back to the grassland at the foot of Eight Treasures Mountain without stopping, carrying the two bags of rice seeds.

By this time, after a full day of urgent harvesting, Luo Chong had obtained about 60 catties of grain. But he was reluctant to eat even a single grain; he just wanted to get these treasures home as quickly as possible.

However, it was impossible to plant this year, but that didn't prevent him from preparing for next year's spring plowing. Since he was going to farm, agricultural tools were naturally indispensable, so he still needed to get some copper ore and tin ore back.

On the evening of the day Dashu left the Black Forest, Luo Chong was eating oily, spicy roasted beaver on the small grassland by the Swamp, across Eight Treasures Mountain from them, and weaving large baskets in preparation for tomorrow's mining work.

But Dashu and his group on the west side of Eight Treasures Mountain were miserable. They didn't bring fire when they fled, so they had only eaten some dried meat for the past two days. They also had no fire to keep warm at night and had to constantly worry about danger. Moreover, their dried meat was almost gone, but they usually only caught rabbits and hadn't caught anything else.

They could only chew on some dried meat and drink cold water from the stream. The women huddled together, protecting the children in the middle, and huddled together for warmth, while the four surviving adult men, including Dashu, had to take turns standing guard. For a time, it was truly pathetic.

The next morning, after eating and sleeping soundly, Luo Chong, looking spirited, led Wuda and Ximen towards the west side of Eight Treasures Mountain.

Wuda and Ximen were quite useless. He had hoped they could attract a few more female antelope, but they hadn't. Every day, besides eating the feed Luo Chong prepared for them, they just mated with the nearby female antelope, making endless grunting sounds.

"Damn it, you two useless things. Even rabbits know not to eat the grass near their burrows. Can't you stop messing with the girls nearby? If you have the ability, go get some outside, get them all pregnant so they can't work, and see if I don't work you two to death during spring plowing next year."

Luo Chong muttered while whipping Wuda and Ximen's butts with a branch. Actually, he was quite happy inside. Leading this group of 18 Blue Antelope and watching them carry grass seeds and rice seeds on their backs, his heart was filled with satisfaction. This was all hope.

Meanwhile, at the foot of the western side of Eight Treasures Mountain, Dashu was distributing freshly gathered wild fruits to his tribe members. Just then, Tree Stump, who was on sentry duty, saw Luo Chong on Eight Treasures Mountain.

The vegetation on Eight Treasures Mountain was already sparse, mostly low shrubs. If it were just Luo Chong alone, it wouldn't be very noticeable, but with 18 Blue Antelope, it was particularly conspicuous, especially since they were lined up neatly in pairs. Besides wild geese, what kind of wild animals would line up like that? So Luo Chong, who was leading the way, was immediately recognized.

Tree Stump hurried to Dashu, gesturing and shouting, "Dashu, Dashu, Luo Chong, over there!"

Happy Minor New Year everyone! I wonder if you all ate New Year's cake or sesame candy today. Did you have a sweet Minor New Year? If not, don't forget to make up for it tomorrow. Also, I'm asking for recommendation votes again. If there are more recommendations, there will be extra updates during the Spring Festival!!!