Popcorn (continued)

Ba Tong: "I can go hunting again and earn the supplies back quickly."

Jian Mo shook her head. "It's different. I really shouldn't have accepted so many. Besides, if you give out so many supplies, it will be difficult to manage the patients later on. If I accept so many, some patients might feel that we can't afford the supplies and ultimately dare not come to see a doctor."

Jian Mo's attitude was firm. Ba Tong declined several times, but seeing that he really didn't want so many supplies, he had no choice but to carry the remaining metal blocks and pottery back on his back.

As Ba Tong was about to leave, Jian Mo asked, "Have you decided on names for the two little ones?"

Ba Tong smiled happily, "I've decided. We'll name them Shan Ning and Ba Wu. Shan Yan and I discussed it together."

Jian Mo read the two names aloud, "These two names are really nice."

Ba Tong laughed again, looking like a silly father. "Thanks to you."

Jian Mo was happy for them too. "That's great! If you have time in the future, you can come visit the Riverside Tribe."

During their trip to the Tianning Tribe, Jian Mo and his group brought back some pottery and metal blocks to cover medical expenses, and also exchanged them for some spices and clay.

The clay produced by the Tianning Tribe is exceptionally white and fine, and also quite heavy. No wonder they can fire such fine pottery; they are truly superior to other tribes from the very beginning, starting with the clay blank.

The two weren't in a rush on their way back; Jiujiu just flew a little faster than usual, and they didn't return to the Riverside Tribe until evening.

The entire Riverside Tribe was filled with the smell of cooking smoke. Some people brought out their food and ate their dinner in the open space, chatting with others as they did so.

Upon seeing Jiujiu fly back, someone called out from afar, "Jian Mo, Chieftain, how did your trip to the Tianning Tribe to deliver the babies for their sub-beastmen go?"

Jian Mo replied in a loud voice, "Very smoothly! Father and son are safe and sound, and they're twins!"

Those who heard the news shouted in unison, their voices filled with envy.

These days, having a baby isn't easy, let alone twins.

Qing Kuo called out from the crowd, "You guys just got back, don't cook, come out and eat. My family grilled too much meat."

Min Dang also called out, "My family made too much barbecue, can we share some?"

Qing Kuo: "Let Ban Ming and the others take Jiujiu to feed it. You guys can just come out and feed it for a bit."

Ban Ming was unconvinced and shouted to his father, "I also want to hear how Jian Mo and the others fared in their trip to the Tianning Tribe!"

Jiujiu Chiu had already carried Jian Mo and the others almost home. Jian Mo only heard the sounds coming from behind, so he raised his voice and called out, "No need, wait a moment, I'll make some noodles and come out to chat with you soon--"

Jian Mo and the others had just returned home and put their things down, and hadn't even had time to start a fire in the kitchen to cook, when Qing Kuo simply brought the meat over to their house to help with the cooking and chat at the same time.

That works too. Jian Mo then recounted the events of the Tianning Tribe.

When everyone heard that Shan Yan had a difficult birth with twins, they all gasped in shock.

Min Dang sighed, "In the previous generation of the Mengshui Tribe, there was a sub-beastman who was pregnant with twins. She also had a difficult childbirth, and she couldn't save the last one. After the cubs were pulled out by sharp claws, the sub-beastman couldn't bear it, and because of the injuries she sustained during childbirth, she died soon after."

Zhou Fu: "I've heard that. He was quite young when he passed away, having just started dating his partner. I heard he got pregnant soon after, and everyone was quite envious."

Min Dang: "Yes, his partner also left the Mengshui Tribe not long after, saying he was going on a trip and would come back when he wasn't so heartbroken, but he never came back."

Another sub-orc sighed, "If his partner stayed in the Mengshui Tribe, seeing familiar places and people, wouldn't he always think of his partner?"

Jian Mo summarized, "It evoked emotions from the scene."

After exchanging a few words and praising Jian Mo's impressive medical skills, the conversation gradually drifted outwards.

Looking at the noodles that Wu Jiong had kneaded, Qing Kuo suddenly remembered. "The Flour Grass you planted have turned yellow; it looks like they're ready to be harvested."

In the entire Riverside Tribe, only Jian Mo's family grows Flour Grass; all the other families grow various tubers. The tribe's communal farmland is also planted with tubers, and it's not harvest time yet.

Jian Mo didn't expect it to be so fast. "Isn't the Flour Grass supposed to turn yellow in autumn? Let's go take a look tomorrow."

Qing Kuo: "I don't know, and no one has ever grown this stuff before. Maybe it's because you guys planted it early. I remember you started planting it when it was still very cold, and you even used your germination-inducing technology. The Flour Grass sprouted much earlier than the grass outside."

That's possible,"Jian Mo nodded. "If it's ripe, we'll harvest it as soon as possible."

Going out is actually quite tiring.

After a quick dinner and feeding Jiujiu, Jian Mo took Wu Jiong to bathe and go to bed.

The next morning, when Jian Mo was about to collect the fish traps, she remembered the Flour Grass. She went around to the field and saw that a large patch of Flour Grass had turned completely yellow, standing out starkly against the surrounding lush green weeds.

He made a special trip across the river to go and take a look at the field.

The Flour Grass were heavy and looked slightly larger than the Flour Grass heads I harvested in the wild last year.

Perhaps because the Flour Grass hasn't withered yet and has a high moisture content, or perhaps because they've been given plenty of fertilizer, the Flour Grass spikes are large this year.

Jian Mo reached out and plucked a tassel, then bit it between her teeth.

The ears of grain are fully ripe and have a texture similar to raw rice when bitten, indicating that they are truly mature and not just yellowed leaves for some reason.

Jian Mo simply cut a small bunch of tassels, carrying the fish in one hand and the tassels in the other, and swayed home.

After feeding the Pack-Pack Beast, Wu Jiong returned from the backyard and saw the tassel in his hand. "The tassel seems to be growing quite well."

Jian Mo: "That's what I thought too, look—it's heavy."

Wu Jiong took it and glanced at it. "The ears of grain are heavier than last year's."

Jian Mo: "Yes, although it might be because it's raw and has a lot of water inside, the fact that it's this heavy at least shows that our efforts this year weren't in vain."