Step Up Construction

Over the next few days, Zhou Ye brought back all that smoked meat. He also carried back more than five hundred jin of charcoal from the brick kiln.

At the Old Camp, only a dozen or so jin of potatoes remained. It was basically half-abandoned now. Everything that needed moving had already been moved over, and barring any accidents, he probably would not be going back anytime soon.

But the wild boar herd had held him up and wasted several days. He was somewhat depressed about it.

A bamboo shed had already been erected beneath the steep cliff face. In front of it, the brick kiln had also been built, though it still needed a few days to dry in the shade.

His calculations had indeed been correct. After using some of the firebricks to build the kiln, the remaining ones were enough to build a fireplace.

Once he confirmed there were no problems with the brick kiln, Zhou Ye went to the side and used a shoulder pole to carry two large baskets of stones.

The wild boar herd had brought with it a certain sense of crisis. His Little Homestead was still far too "fragile." That ring of wooden stakes might be enough against ordinary beasts. But if he ran into powerful creatures like a herd of wild boars or a bear? He truly had little confidence.

So, taking advantage of these idle days, Zhou Ye had reinforced the gate and dug up a large amount of clay. He had also found plenty of large stones beneath the steep cliff, which were excellent building materials as well.

Behind the wooden stakes, Zhou Ye planned to first build a stone wall with large rocks and clay. Then, pressed tightly against the back of that stone wall, he would build an earthen wall out of straw-reinforced concrete.

The two walls together would be more than a pace wide, enough to withstand any attack. And since they would only reach chest height, they would not obstruct the view from either side. Standing atop them, he could even throw spears and fire arrows over the fence.

So far, the wall had already taken shape. With the spare time he had over the next few days while firing the brick kiln, he should be able to finish it... right?

After making several trips back and forth carrying large stones, Zhou Ye headed into the bamboo grove after lunch to see what his traps had caught.

As the number of traps increased, his daily haul of bamboo rats had risen to six or seven. During this recent period, Zhou Ye had not had time to hunt at all, and bamboo rats had become his most important source of meat.

Today was no exception. After making a full circuit of the bamboo grove, Zhou Ye was already carrying five bamboo rats in his hand.

But when he reached the last few traps, Zhou Ye suddenly noticed that one snare had indeed caught a bamboo rat, yet the creature was struggling desperately, as though it were terrified.

Bamboo rats were generally rather stupid creatures. Once caught in a snare, they usually stayed still obediently. Some even kept eating, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate.

So this bamboo rat's unusual behavior immediately put Zhou Ye on guard.

He stopped and carefully surveyed his surroundings, his right hand resting on the hilt of his waist knife.

Sure enough, careful observation revealed something unusual. Perhaps Zhou Ye's soul essence was high enough that his eyes were exceptionally sharp as well.

A large green snake was hidden amid a cluster of bamboo leaves.

This snake resembled a Bamboo Leaf Green, with the same green camouflage. If one did not look closely, it was almost impossible to spot. But this one was much larger, a full three or four chi long, far bigger than other Bamboo Leaf Greens. Still, he would call it a Bamboo Leaf Green!

Since he had already spotted it, with a whoosh, blade light flashed, and the snake's head was severed cleanly.

When he saw that Basic Chopping experience had also increased by 2, Zhou Ye could not help smiling.

Basic Chopping was already this formidable at Minor Mastery. Grand Mastery was not far off now, so he would have to grind hard for a few days and strive to level it up soon.

He picked up the snake's body and retrieved the bamboo rat from the trap. Today, he could make a one-pot dish of snake and rat.

Yet on the way back, Zhou Ye considered several matters:

First, the bamboo rats. To be honest, he had been eating them so often these past few days that he was getting sick of them. And he often caught them alive—could he raise them instead? That way, he would not have to worry about preserving food.

Second, the wild boar herd and the Bamboo Leaf Green. The dangers of the wilderness truly lurked everywhere. So aside from strengthening the Little Homestead's defenses, he needed to scout the surrounding area. At the very least, he needed to know what lay within several li and reduce some of the threats.

Lastly, his fighting style.

At present, he relied on high agility, a fast blade, and ranged throwing. This fighting style was similar to an assassin's.

It was indeed effective at times, but its shortcomings were especially obvious as well. In particular, he lacked strength, which resulted in insufficient killing power.

So after seeing the Bamboo Leaf Green today, Zhou Ye immediately thought of one thing—poison!

If he could extract the Bamboo Leaf Green's venom and smear it onto arrowheads and spearpoints, it would become a great weapon for the weak to defeat the strong.

After returning to the Little Homestead, he found that only one bamboo rat was dead. He skinned and prepared that one, then tossed the other five live ones into a wooden bucket.

He put some wheat grains and small bamboo pieces inside as food for the bamboo rats, then Zhou Ye busied himself with other things...

But more than an hour later, Zhou Ye was astonished to find that the wooden bucket had been gnawed full of holes and dents. One bamboo rat had even bitten through it, and its little head was nearly poking out?

Zhou Ye did not know whether to laugh or cry. This was his own mistake. Bamboo rats could gnaw through bamboo, so how could a mere wooden bucket hold them? Besides, bamboo rats were still rats. Gnawing and digging holes were simply their instincts.

He moved the bamboo rats into a large clay vat and covered it with a lid, settling them there for the time being. That broken bucket could be put to use as waste after all—he would simply chop it up for firewood and burn it that night.

Still, he truly needed a place where he could raise them.

Not long afterward, Zhou Ye chose a spot at the other end of the bamboo house. Using straw-reinforced concrete, he began building a... bamboo rat nest, more or less!

Since he had an abundance of materials and handy tools, he completed the bamboo rat nest before dinner. The little fellows would have to endure a few more days; once it had fully dried in the shade, he would move them into their new home...

And just like that, four days passed.

During those days, the brick kiln had completely dried in the shade. Zhou Ye also began firing its first batch.

This was called warming the kiln. Nothing needed to be fired during the warming stage; it was simply a matter of drying it out once more with heat.

The bamboo rat nest had also been completed, with thick dry grass spread across the bottom. Including the bamboo rats caught over the past few days, there were already more than twenty inside.

But most importantly, the wall had finally been completed after a hard struggle. Looking at that thick, sturdy wall, Zhou Ye felt his sense of security rise by another order of magnitude.

As construction continued, the Little Homestead was beginning to feel more and more like a home!