Chapter 186 Food Source for Thousands of People (Please vote and subscribe)

Elder Bian has spoken, and Shang can't object here, but she still has some questions that she doesn't understand.

"Chief Han, I can also agree to join the Han tribe, but I don't quite understand. Most tribes have a small population. Even if the population is over a few hundred, they have to be scattered in several settlements, otherwise there will not be enough hunting grounds to provide food.

But the Han tribe has so many people. If our Bian tribe joins in, can this settlement support so many people?"

"You asked a good question about food. So, I'd better take you to see something else first." Luo Chong said, and led a few people to the animal pen in the wall. He was going to let the two see it with their own eyes instead of just explaining it with empty words.

The spacious cowshed was empty. It was daytime now, and the cows were working, but the alpacas in the shed next to it were still there, and the thousands of rabbits in the rabbit pen were also there, but now more than half of them were little rabbits that were not even a month old.

"This four-legged beast is called an alpaca. It is very obedient and easy to tame. They are all herbivores. In winter, they grow a lot of long hair, but now they are all shaved off. The woolen cloth we are weaving now is made of their hair.

We raise these alpacas. First, we don't have to compete with humans for food. Second, they can continue to produce wool. Third, they can give birth to baby alpacas. When they are old, we can kill them and eat their meat. Of course, this is not the main source of food.

Rabbits are raised here. You should know them and have definitely eaten them. This is the main animal used by the Han tribe to supply meat. They grow fast and give birth fast. A pair of rabbits can give birth to five or six rabbits in two months, and the little rabbits can grow up and reproduce in four months.

The Han tribe only caught dozens of them last winter, but now thousands of them have been born, and they just eat grass every day. A group of half-grown children can collect enough grass to feed them. It is much safer, more stable, and more efficient than hunting. I think you can understand what I mean." Luo Chong introduced the breeding situation of the Han tribe to them so that they would have an idea.

Shang and Elder Bian were very shocked. They had seen the horned deer and wild cattle raised by the Han tribe before, but they always thought that they were only used for work after being domesticated by the Han tribe. Unexpectedly, the Han tribe raised quite a few species, and there were even animals that were specifically used for eating meat and producing wool and weaving cloth. Moreover, Luo Chong's food supply plan of replacing hunting with breeding really overturned their traditional hunting ideas.

"Then, Han leader, can you tame and raise any animals?" Elder Bian asked curiously.

"No, we can only raise animals that eat grass, and they must be relatively docile and will not actively attack humans. They must also be useful to us, able to work for us, eat meat, or produce fur. We cannot raise animals that eat meat, because we don't have enough for ourselves, and animals that eat meat are very fierce and will bite people." Luo Chong explained to her.

"Then, where did the two elephants we saw come from, and what can they be used for?" Elder Bian asked again.

"Well, they came here on their own, not captured. Now they are mainly used to help us dig the river, and can also be used for riding. Moreover, they are very smart and good at fighting. They are the guardian beasts of our tribe." Luo Chong began to talk nonsense.

Shang and the elders nodded in understanding. Guardian beasts, it sounds very awesome.

"Well, let's go and see the rice fields we planted. It's just to the east of the wall. That's also very important." Luo Chong changed the subject.

"Rice fields?"

"Yes, it's rice, which is also something to eat." Luo Chong explained and took them out of the wall.

When the two heard that there was something to eat in the Han tribe, they couldn't help but be a little surprised. The Han tribe really had a lot of food sources, so they hurriedly followed.

To the east of the wall are two sparkling artificial rivers. On both sides of the river are hemp fields and rice fields.

"You must know the hemp fields over there. We planted them this year. The first time I went to your tribe was actually to plant hemp fields." Luo Chong pointed to the hemp fields on the north bank of the water diversion river and said.

Shang and Xiaodie, who were following by the side, were a little embarrassed when they heard this. They immediately remembered the first time they met Luo Chong and ended up capturing him alive.

"The other side is the rice we planted. This is something you can eat." Luo Chong led them to the rice field and pointed to a rice plant to introduce it.

"The rice ears growing here are where they bloom and bear seeds. When the rice matures, we collect the seeds. That thing is for us to eat. The seeds of this rice plant can be enough for an adult to have a full meal.

Its seeds are called rice. They can be stored for several years after being dried. However, rice is very hard and needs to be boiled in water. If there is too much water, it can be cooked into porridge. If there is too little water, it is just dry rice. Humans can survive by eating only rice. This is our staple food."

Shang and Elder Bian were stunned. It was the first time they knew that food could be planted. In addition, what Luo Chong said, this rice plant can provide a meal for an adult. Isn't this safer than hunting?

"Chief Han, if rice is so good, then why don't we plant more rice? Why do we raise those animals? Isn't this a waste of manpower?" Shang asked the question while unconsciously changing the word "we" to "we".

"Rice is very good, but we can't just eat rice. Besides, we can eat rice and feed it to the animals we raise. We eat the seeds, while the animals can eat the straw underneath. It would be a waste if we burn it.

The feces and urine of animals can also be turned into fertilizer and sprinkled on the fields, so that more rice seeds can be produced and grow better.

Then there is the problem of variety you mentioned. This is very difficult. Rice can't be grown everywhere. It can only be grown in paddy fields. The fields for growing rice must be covered with water all the time. Even these paddy fields were transformed by our whole tribe digging rivers. The two rivers here and over there were all dug by us, and the soil dug out was used to make bricks and build houses."

Shang and the elders almost dropped their jaws in shock. Can people dig rivers? If Luo Chong hadn't said it, they would have always thought that the two rivers were natural. No wonder they felt very strange when they saw such a straight river at first.

"That river over there was just dug a few days ago. I plan to continue expanding the rice planting area next month." Luo Chong pointed to the newly dug backwater river and said.

"Can we still grow rice this year? How long does it take for this thing to bear seeds?" Elder Bian asked.

"It takes more than three months from burying the seeds in the soil to them blooming and bearing seeds. We can plant once in the spring when the ice and snow melt, and harvest in the first month of summer; then plant a second time, and if the speed is fast enough, we can harvest again in late summer.

Theoretically, we can plant once in the fall, but I don't know if we can catch up with the harvest before winter comes. It's a bit difficult to grow three crops of rice this year. If we are familiar with the solar terms and temperature changes, and we can harvest and replant quickly each time, we can theoretically grow three crops of rice."

(End of this chapter)