Rice and wheat came from the Xia clan in the forest.

Aliya and her companions left. Unable to sense the location of their own kind, they resolutely departed the grasslands to find their suffering people.

Should we stop them? But it seems they left yesterday after delivering the hatchlings, and it's too late.

Finally realizing this, Jiang Yunlan felt powerless because of her own slowness, and asked the tearful Chaoxia in a dry voice, "Can you still sense their location?"

Chaoxia shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "It's not clear anymore."

It was only when Alia and the others' location suddenly became unclear that he realized they were about to abandon him.

"Lan...they don't want me anymore..."

He cried so hard that Jiang Yunlan was afraid he would hurt his eyes. She opened her arms and hugged the little boy, gently patting his back. "We don't want to abandon you. We won't abandon you. Your clan cares about its members the most. How could we bear to abandon you?"

“Aliya and the others are going to defeat the evil orcs and rescue their other people who are suffering. They can’t take care of you, so they’ve entrusted you and the other unborn cubs to my care.”

Upon hearing this, Chaoxia's tears gradually stopped. Although she had been feeling very distressed and was deeply saddened by being suddenly abandoned, she tried her best to calm down.

His sadness will also make his people sad.

"Shall we go see your kin who are still in their eggs?" Jiang Yunlan asked, stroking the cub's head.

Fortunately, he didn't get any injuries from the fall and doesn't need treatment.

Zhaoxia's eyes brightened considerably, but after a few seconds of hesitation, she refused, "I can't go. They've already endured so much; I don't want to add to their burden."

He endured six snow seasons before being born; his kin, who endured even longer, must have suffered even more.

He thought to himself: It's alright, he and the others are the strongest orcs in their race, and they should naturally bear more burdens than their kin. It's a pity that he has already been born, and he can no longer bear those burdens for his kin.

Aliya and the others are too weak to notice this. He won't tell them; it would only make them sad.

"Would you like to come with me for breakfast? It's almost time," Jiang Yunlan asked.

Seeing that he agreed, Jiang Yunlan wiped his cheeks with a handkerchief, got up, took his hand, and slowly walked to the cafeteria. Xiao Qiu followed closely behind Zhaoxia, not falling behind.

The mother bird can never abandon the chicks she has hatched. Like a mother, she always worries about her crying, vulnerable chicks.

Zhaoxia knew he was already seven years old and would be very well-behaved so as not to worry the other beastmen. But in the eyes of Jiang Yunlan and the other beastmen, he was just a cub less than a year old, and it was already very impressive that he could hold back his pain and not keep crying.

No one knew about the Zelan orcs' quiet departure from the grassland except for Jiang Yunlan, 002, Chaoxia, and the big bird.

The Xia clan continued to be busy as usual.

Perhaps because of the protection of the power of the forest and the earth, the plants in the farmland are thriving, and not a single one is sick or attacked by insects.

A group of unicorns carrying supplies arrived from afar.

The winds of the grasslands swept over the weary travelers as they arrived at the most powerful clan on the plains: the Xia clan.

Xia's orc led them into a spacious room, thoughtfully drew the bamboo blinds to block out the sunlight, and brewed them a cup of lemon and lotus leaf water.

Gray Creek greeted them and told them that the lemon tree was the plant they needed. The more sour it was, the better its cooling effect; Lan had once quipped that it was an upgraded version of lemon and mint infused water.

The unicorn removed the animal skin covering the lower half of his face and cautiously drank the lemon-lily leaf water, which was said to taste very sour.

After taking only a small sip, the unicorns gulped down the entire glass of lemon-lily leaf water, staring at the empty glass with a hint of regret, saying, "It wasn't that sour."

It's cool and refreshing! Lan was right, this is perfect for them.

Seeing their reaction of wanting another cup, Hui Xiaoxi was shocked, her cheerful smile freezing on her face. She had specifically chosen the sourest batch of lemon-leaf tea; could it be that their sense of taste was ruined, not finding this sour at all?

She coughed lightly to cover her surprise, and silently helped her people brew another cup of lemon and lotus leaf water for the unicorn people.

"Lan was still busy when you arrived, but she came over quickly. Are the items you want to exchange the same as what we discussed before?" Gray Stream asked with a smile, discussing the specific goods and quantities to be exchanged with the unicorns.

Back when she was still at Half Moon Lake, she would occasionally join Lan and other clans to discuss trade matters.

"Lan!"

Jiang Yunlan led Feng Qi and the other beastmen in charge of clothing into the house, where they first heard the calls of the unicorns. She looked in the direction of the sound and smiled, "Welcome to Xia."

Moon, the unicorn, a land-dwelling beastman, stood up and strode over to Lan, clutching an empty cup in his hand. His eyes gleamed with an almost overflowing light. "Lan! We also want to exchange for the seeds of that lemon-lime tree! We brought seeds of other plants with us; Lan, come and exchange them with us!"

Before Lan arrived, Gray Creek told them about Xia. He knew that Xia, like them, was a clan that had learned to cultivate crops.

He had originally thought that "cultivation" would be their clan's trump card to gain Xia's friendship. Now it seemed they had to resort to another trump card: their clan had cultivated crop seeds for generations.

He didn't expect Xia to have unlocked the planting skill, and Jiang Yunlan was also surprised that they knew about planting.

Whether it's the plant itself, its fruit, or its stem, everything is food in the eyes of the beastmen. His use of the Chinese word for "seed" to indicate that his clan possesses other "seeds" suggests he has some past experience with cultivation.

“Alright, the Xia Clan is willing to exchange any kind of seed.” Jiang Yunlan happily agreed.

Upon hearing this, Yue took out several plant seeds and handed them to Lan. They wouldn't trade their most precious plant seeds; the plants they gave Lan were already considered quite good.

Jiang Yunlan took the animal skin package from him with both hands, opened it, and stared at the seeds that looked exactly like rice and wheat, speechless for a long time.

The beastmen didn't understand why she was frozen in place, but 022 knew very well that Lan was thinking of her hometown.

"Lan, you read that right, you have rice to eat. Although it's a little different and the taste might be a little different, it can still be cooked into rice." 022 gently patted Lan's forehead to comfort her.

It's more like a combination of rice and wheat. It can be cooked alone as rice, and when ground with a stone mill, it becomes flour. I just don't know what it would taste like as rice.

Jiang Yunlan silently wrapped up the rice and wheat mixed with other crop seeds, held them in her hand wrapped in animal hide, and couldn't help but raise a smile brighter than the sun, "I really like these seeds! Yue, I'm so glad you brought them."

For the sake of rice and wheat, she was willing to personally deliver the items that the Unicorn People needed during the hot season.

Seeing her smile, Yue and the other unicorns finally felt relieved. Lan remained silent, leading them to believe that the seeds had upset her.

Unbeknownst to them, Xia's beastmen, seeing Lan's smile, looked at them with even more friendliness and warmth.

Lan often smiles, but she rarely seems this happy, expressing her joy twice in a row.

"Where is your habitat? Once our clan has finished making the items, I will bring my people to deliver the supplies to you," Jiang Yunlan asked with a smile, taking out paper and charcoal pencils from the animal skin pouch at her waist.

Nearby, Feng Qi and the other beastmen were measuring the unicorns with a soft measuring tape, while Yue, who was measured last, answered Lan's question.

As Jiang Yunlan listened to his description, she hand-drew a simple map, marking the things she would see along the route.

“Our habitat is very close to the great river of the rising sun. If you go towards where the sun rises, you will surely find my clan,” said the moon.

Jiang Yunlan translated it: He meant that they lived near the sea, and that they could find them by finding the sea.

Perfect timing! The clan's sea salt is running low. After delivering supplies to the unicorns, Hot Season should dry some salt on the beach and bring it back. With this in mind, she became even more determined to go out during Hot Season.

Before long, the unicorns finished measuring their size.

Curious about Xia's farmland and wanting to see the crops Xia planted, Jiang Yunlan led them, who had covered their skin again, to the farmland.

"So much?!" Yue was stunned by the endless fields, and she and her clansmen wore expressions of disbelief.

His mind went blank for a while, but he struggled to suppress his chaotic thoughts and opened his eyes wide to observe the beastmen pulling plows to till the land. The tools the Xia clan used for digging were different from those of their own clan, and they seemed to be much more effective than the methods they used.

Yue wanted it very much, and the other unicorns wanted it very much too, but they knew that their beast forms were different from Xia's beastmen, so they could only give up the plow with tears in their eyes.

Feng Hong, who rarely goes out, practically lives right next to the farmland. She is the most knowledgeable about crops among the orcs in the clan, besides 022 and Jiang Yunlan. She cares deeply about food and is very concerned about the farmland that can grow food. She has memorized the likes and dislikes of all the plants, fearing that she might not take good care of the farmland and cause a reduction in crop yield.

This sincere love for food made her and the unicorn people hit it off immediately, and they happily shared their planting experiences with each other.

They chatted happily, and Jiang Yunlan didn't join in. She quietly led 022 aside, instructed Gray Creek to take good care of the unicorns, and left the field feeling relaxed.

She hadn't gone far from the farmland when she saw Hati, who rarely went out, lying on the grass in his animal form, sunbathing.

Not long ago, Hati took the wolf beastmen and Xia's beastmen out and brought back a small mountain of prey.

An abundance of supplies implies an extremely high level of danger. This expedition resulted in injuries and deaths among the orcs. Hati has a new scar above his eyebrow and a minor injury to his hind leg, though it has fully healed.

The Xia clan beastmen who went out witnessed the wisdom and bravery of Hati and the wolf beastmen, and had shared life and death experiences with them. Their goodwill towards them reached its peak, and they would often ask them when they could become beastmen of the Xia clan.

Hati was not only questioned by Xia's orcs, but also chased by his own people. He couldn't even stay in the inn in peace, so he had to run around outside in his beast form. Whenever he saw someone trying to catch him and ask him about this, he would immediately run away.

"Hati?"

Hearing his name called, Hati instinctively got up and wanted to run away, but quickly realized it was Lan calling him, so he lazily lay back down.

Lan wasn't as noisy as them.

Jiang Yunlan sat down near him: "Why don't you go back to the inn to sleep? You just finished hunting not many days ago, you must be very tired."

The wolf, who had been resting with its eyes closed, opened one eye to glance at her, then quickly closed it again, slapping the ground with its tail in annoyance. "Too noisy."

"Speaking of which, it seems like Lup and the others have been visiting you quite often lately. What's going on?" she asked, puzzled.

The beastmen who hadn't succeeded yet were unwilling to talk to Lan about it; they were all holding their breath and competing with Hati, seeing who would admit defeat first.

The wolf lying on the grass was clearly more annoyed. His ears perked up, and he slowly opened his eyes. "Lup and the others said they wanted to become Xia's beastmen. Why didn't they just come to you directly? I didn't stop them. I really don't know why they had to drag me along." His tone was quite harsh, but more than anything, it was confusion.

This has always been the way of the wolf-beastmen. Once two clans meet, they either separate and go to different places, or they defeat the other and absorb the wolf-beastmen into their own clan, or they submit to the other.

Hati knew very well that his clan was destined to become a subjugated party if it failed to win over Lan.

The people's yearning for Xia clearly told him that he had lost. Utterly lost.

-----------------------

Author's note: System notification: You have a new map waiting to be unlocked.

[Mountainous Areas] [Zeland Forest] [Marine Area]

A new story, a new journey, is about to begin. Guardians of summer, are you ready?

You will walk into the future with Xia.

System notification: Lan has received the supplies you provided for Xia.

"Yuexi" threw two lucky mines, increasing Xia's luck value.

"Chao Ci" planted a defensive mine x1, increasing Xia's defense.

"Carol Xuanxuan" left behind 1 attack mine, increasing Xia's attack power.

"Baiyi Yuesheng" irrigation plant growth agent x20 increased the growth rate of farmland plants.

The animal nutrition supplement "Yuexi" was applied 10 times, and the physical condition of the animals in the breeding area improved.

"~Want to paint a flawless stroke" Irrigate with 5 nutrient solutions, Xia's orc health value increases.