Wild boars typically give birth to 1-2 litters per year. After mating in the spring, the gestation period is about 114-120 days, and they give birth in the summer, with each litter containing 4-12 piglets.

They mate again in the fall and produce another batch, doubling the number once more.

This doesn't even include the adult wild boar that was already in the herd. If we could tame it, it could produce a batch of high-quality piglets for us this year.

The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. At least I wouldn't have to worry about meat anymore.

The next step is simply to increase the planting area of ​​potatoes. Both the potato runners and the potatoes themselves are natural feed for wild boars.

In addition, potatoes are an easy-to-grow and high-yield crop, basically the kind of crop that anyone can grow.

I can imagine that a year from now, our tribe will have dozens or even hundreds more wild boars.

After we finished eating, Dante came over to chat with me. He wanted my opinion on how to deal with the remaining wild boars.

Instead of stating my own thoughts directly, I asked a question in return.

"Dante, if you were to make the decision, what would you do?"

"I?"

Dante was clearly surprised, pointing at himself and looking at Don Yi with a somewhat astonished expression.

"Um……"

Dante frowned, but after thinking carefully, he said...

"I'll probably kill them all. Then I'll try to contact the tribe so we can all take the food back together."

This statement did not surprise me. The only animal I see kept in the tribe now is that giant hyena.

Moreover, this animal was only kept because it had the ability to protect the tribe. In other words, the animals they kept could directly provide value to everyone.

Wild beasts like wild boars are simply animals used as food to satisfy their hunger in their eyes.

The things they can think of now are still quite straightforward. In their tribal culture, if you want to eat meat, you have to kill the animal in front of you first.

Although the idea is logically sound.

I tried to ask,

"Dante, have you ever thought about raising these wild boars, just like you raised Lo, and keeping them in the tribe?"

"ah!"

Dante was clearly surprised by my question, wondering why I would have such a thought.

"Sir, aren't these wild boars our food? Why don't we kill them instead of raising them? Besides, they can't protect us like Luo did."

Dante asked two questions, looking completely bewildered.

I asked with a smile,

"So, do you think fresh meat tastes better, or that kind of dried meat that's been roasted until it's tough and hard?"

This time, Dante spoke without hesitation, "Of course, fresh meat tastes better. If it weren't for the fact that meat spoils so easily, we would all prefer to eat fresh meat."

Dante still looked puzzled.

"Sir, what does this have to do with raising those wild boars?"

I just smiled.

"If it's a live wild boar, will its meat spoil? If we just feed the wild boars enough food like Luo does, they will have more offspring. Then we won't have to go out and hunt so hard anymore, right?"

My words struck Dante like a thunderbolt, and in an instant, a brand new door opened before his eyes.

Dante is now very excited, more excited than he has ever been before. He has clearly figured out the logical connection between these events.

Dante excitedly grabbed my hand and began to speak.

"Sir, you...you're so clever!"

Dante was so excited that he stammered a little when he spoke.

“If we do as you say, we might really not have to worry about not having meat to eat. We can grow a lot of those underground fruits and use them to feed wild boars. Your idea is really great.”

Dante didn't know the name of the potato yet; they collectively called all underground tubers "underground fruits," which is quite apt, as potatoes do indeed resemble fruits.

But Dante quickly snapped out of his excitement and, like a deflated balloon, sighed helplessly.

"What's wrong, my friend?" I asked.

“Sir, your words sound nice, but we simply can’t do it. Wild boars won’t listen to us; they’ll only think about running away and won’t come back to the tribe with us.”

The light in Dante's eyes dimmed instantly, and his previous excitement vanished.

In a family skilled in hunting and fishing, how could this possibly stump me?

I didn't immediately tell Dante what to do next, but instead kept him in suspense.

"As long as you follow my instructions, I can subdue these wild boars within a few days and make them willingly follow us back to the tribe."

"ah?"

Dante let out another incredulous cry, which to them was nothing short of a fantasy—asking a tiger to shed its skin and give it away.

However, Dante noticed that I was looking at him very seriously, so he looked at me uncertainly and tentatively asked,

"Sir, are you serious?"

"What do you think?" I asked back with a smile.

Dante was somewhat excited and nodded repeatedly.

“Okay! We’ll do whatever you say. As long as we can bring these wild boars back to the tribe alive, we will be very grateful to you.”

"Okay, enough chit-chat. Everyone should have had enough rest by now. We still have some work to do, so let's try to finish it before dark. We have a mission to go into the mountains tomorrow," I said.

Dante nodded to me, then shouted to the resting natives, and they all immediately gathered around.

Dante briefly shared my thoughts with everyone, and the natives reacted in the same way he had before, looking at me with shock and admiration.

I just smiled and nodded to everyone. Someone like me, a Lei Feng, deserves their respect.

Dante:

"Sir, we'll do whatever you say from now on. Just tell us what you want us to do."

"Does the tribe have tools for digging soil?"

I know they have a tradition of growing potatoes, so there must be tools here for turning the soil.

Dante knew what I meant, and nodded to me before heading off with two natives to get their tools.

They returned shortly afterward, carrying several stone pickaxes with polished tips.

These stone pickaxes were bound together with vines and tough tree bark, and now that they have been unused for a long time, the bark has dried out.

Knowing I would need the stone pickaxes, Dante immediately wet them with water. Dante told me that the bark would swell and tighten when wet, making the pickaxes less likely to fall off.