Infrastructure

When Feng Xu found Iron Mountain, he was skinning a wolf.

"Iron Mountain, are you still angry?"

Iron Mountain did not turn around when he heard him and continued working.

"There's so much food that it'll lose its spiritual essence if left too long. We might as well give them more and form a good relationship. The tribes aren't far apart, and we may need to help each other in the future."

"I just can't stand that look on his face!"

Iron Mountain said angrily.

"If they had shown that kind of courage in battle, I'd have respected them a little more."

"You can't put it that way. They've lived in fear for so long that it's only natural for them to be timid. The Lukun Tribe has suffered terribly. You don't know this, but when I got there, they were nearly starving to death in that pit."

With that kind of living arrangement, it would be strange if they were not cowards.

There was no hope for this generation. If they wanted the next generation to be braver, it would be best to get them living above ground.

"Iron Mountain, arrange for some people to dig a pit over at the camp. It's time to build houses there."

"We're so busy these days. Where are we supposed to find the manpower?"

"Squeeze some out. There'll always be some. Two people will be enough. This is mainly a trial. If it works, we'll build houses the same way after we're done with everything else."

Feng Xu had the two men dig a half-zhang-deep pit in the camp and took out a wolf skeleton from the wolves killed in the night raid.

He stripped away all the scraps of meat, smashed off the excess vertebrae, and left the spine end facing upward.

After compacting it, he continued filling in soil. Once it was tamped down again, he laid crushed stones over it. The inside of the rib cage stood a foot higher than the surrounding ground.

He first secured a layer of wooden slats, spread a layer of dry grass over them, then covered it with tanned wolfhide and nailed it down with wooden stakes.

That completed a simple house.

There were few trees here, and the ground was rather hard, making it troublesome to build with either earth or wood.

The wolfhide from wolves over ten zhang long was too thick. It was fine for making giant leather armor, but could not be made into clothing to wear.

Feng Xu placed a stone bed inside, covered it with a layer of dry grass, then spread wolfhide over it. He trimmed the wolf fur short and used the excess fur as stuffing to make pillows.

Feng Xu circled the house several times inside and out, continuing to improve it. Only after he felt there were no more issues did he have someone call Iron Mountain over.

Iron Mountain walked around the house several times, went inside to look around, and tested the bed. Then he nodded in praise.

"Wolf bones and wolfhide can be used like this too. At least they won't go to waste."

"The main thing is that it's fast. The ribs are connected to the spine and are naturally sturdy, so they're convenient to use for building houses."

However, strong winds occasionally blew through this place, so the house's stability was the top priority.

"Prophet, you've helped me so much. How should I thank you?"

"We're all of the same race. This is what I should do."

Feng Xu offered a polite response first, then immediately changed the subject. People in this era were rather simple-minded, and he was afraid Iron Mountain would take his courtesy seriously.

"If you truly want to thank me, there happens to be something from the Red Iron Tribe that I want."

"Take whatever you want. The Red Iron Tribe being able to stand on its own is also thanks to you."

"I want to bring that wild boar back to the Wind-Fire Tribe."

"This..."

Iron Mountain hesitated.

The remains of a giant wolf over ten zhang long could make such a large house. Wouldn't that hundred-zhang wild boar make an even roomier house?

Moreover, the Earth Immortal Wolf King had already been taken by Feng Xu, and now he wanted the wild boar too. That left Iron Mountain somewhat unhappy.

But the wild boar had originally been killed by Feng Sui, and they already had enough beast bones for building houses.

There were over a hundred wolf corpses ranging from ten to thirty-some zhang long. If all of them were turned into houses, the entire camp would not even hold them. There were only thirty-some people, so they had no need for so many.

As for food, there was simply no way they could finish it all.

"Fine, you can take it. But I hope you'll visit the Red Iron Tribe more often in the future. We need your help with construction."

Iron Mountain nodded.

Feng Xu agreed without hesitation.

You've got to be kidding. How could I possibly not come by more often? If Iron Mountain's ambitions swell in the future, I'll be able to notice early.

Iron Mountain had the previous two men continue building houses, while Feng Xu took out the Heavenly Net and Earthly Web and stored the wild boar inside.

The snakeskin sack could hold at most sixty tons. It could not contain either the Wolf King or the Pig Demon.

Forty percent of the meat on the wild boar was gone, most of it having been used to lure the wolf pack into attacking and wear them down.

He had originally wanted to trade food with other tribes, but after making one round, he had even more food. What was he supposed to do now?

If they could not finish it, it would go to waste.

It would be great if there were a method that could strengthen cultivation by devouring flesh and blood.

Wait, there seemed to really be one.

Feng Xu opened the Merit Mall and found a divine ability called "Devouring."

This was a method commonly used by Fierce Beasts of the Primordial World. It strengthened the physical body by devouring flesh and blood, and only cost one thousand Merit.

After Feng Xu exchanged for it, he was dumbfounded again.

It really was a method only Fierce Beasts could use.

The Human Race could use this method to refine large amounts of flesh and blood and swallow it, but they did not possess the digestive ability of Fierce Beasts.

Even if they swallowed it, the result would only be that they would not need to eat for a long time, while their bodies slowly digested the food they had consumed.

Furthermore, this method only worked by devouring raw meat. Cooked meat lost its vitality.

It seemed he could only think of another solution.

Two days later, all the wolf corpses had been processed, and the Lukun Tribe prepared to leave.

The Windfire Squad followed behind them as well.

The Lukun Tribe was on the way, and they could rest there too.

More importantly, Kun Tai had become envious after seeing the new beast-bone house.

Feng Xu agreed to help them build houses, after all, he could earn Merit from it.

The two warriors who desperately wanted to return to the Wind-Fire Tribe took the children back first. The elderly and women who had set out with them also returned together.

Only Feng Xi and the women acquired through exchange followed Feng Xu to the Lukun Tribe.

They could not cross the mountains while carrying goods, so it took the group four days to reach the Lukun Tribe.

When those left behind discovered that they had returned with a large amount of food, they all cheered in delight.

Happy? Feeling blessed? Soon enough, you won't be able to smile anymore.

Feng Xu muttered inwardly.

Building houses was a major undertaking. In the days ahead, they would not be able to laze about as they had before.

Winter was approaching, so everyone in the tribe who could move participated in building houses to speed things up.

The Lukun Tribe's houses used earthen walls. Feng Xu had people make some wooden boards to tamp the earthen walls solid.

The elderly and children were responsible for digging earth, using iron shovels made by the Red Iron Tribe.

The women transported materials and mixed mud, while the men built the houses.

To make the earthen walls sturdier, they added plenty of dry grass inside.

The earthen walls were compacted in staggered layers, forming an overall square shape. The roof was made from branches and wild grass, and the overall construction method resembled that of the Lin Tribe.

For the Lukun Tribe, semi-subterranean houses might have been easier to adapt to, but Feng Xu did not intend to do that.

On one hand, waterproofing semi-subterranean houses was troublesome. On the other, he wanted the Windfire Squad to gain experience.

The Wind-Fire Tribe probably lived in earthen houses too. By familiarizing themselves with the process in advance, they could teach more people later.

Every house had one room, with a large bed inside that could accommodate five people. A stove was built inside, along with a smoke exhaust pipe for winter heating.

With plenty of manpower, the three sample houses took two days to build. Feng Xu adjusted the distribution of the remaining work.

Building more houses at the same time would extend the construction period for each individual house.

Overall, though, the entire tribe's construction would proceed faster.

The Windfire Squad hurriedly left. Winter would arrive before long, and the Wind-Fire Tribe was still living in caves.

They returned to the Wind-Fire Tribe three days later.

After being away for so long and helping others build houses, returning to the Wind-Fire Tribe gave Feng Xu the feeling of going to the countryside to alleviate poverty.

All the surrounding trees had been cut down, and many people were digging pits in a large open space in the middle.

Feng Xu had Feng Yuqi pass word to Feng Sui to clear an open area forty zhang long and fifteen zhang wide, then dig a pit one zhang deep.

This project had begun four days ago and was basically complete.