Chapter 103: The Harvest of a Year of Hard Work

Tangyuan grew very fast, so fast that it surprised everyone, and he changed almost every day.

In just one month, its size doubled, and when it stood up it was as tall as Jiang Xuan.

This growth rate is simply terrifying.

As its body size grew, its appetite also increased. If it had not slowly learned to hunt small prey, Jiang Xuan would probably not have been able to afford to feed it.

At the same time, almost all of its feathers turned purple, except for a circle of blue feathers around its neck, as if it was wearing a blue scarf.

Coupled with its sharp beak and sturdy claws, Tangyuan has begun to take on the temperament of a ferocious bird.

The snake that Tangyuan caught was also getting bigger.

Even the poisonous snakes that the tribesmen avoided would become food after encountering the dumplings.

Its running speed is getting faster and faster, the only pity is that its wings are not yet fully grown, so it cannot fly.

On September 15th, Jiang Xuan, along with Da Jiao and several soldiers, drained the water from the pond where the fish fry were being raised.

In the spring, Jiang Xuan put many female fish in the pond, which laid a large number of fish eggs, which grew into fry.

Half a year later, the fish fry have grown into palm-sized fish and are swimming happily around the pond.

Jiang Xuan scooped up all the palm-sized fish, put half of them into other ponds to continue raising, and carried the other half to the stream, ready to dump them into the water.

The reason why we are releasing the fry now is because these fish usually only eat grass and grow relatively slowly. If they are released into the water too early, they may be eaten by other carnivorous fish.

Now that they have grown bigger and have a certain ability to protect themselves, their survival rate will be higher when they enter the water.

Da Jiao looked at the lively fish in the wicker basket and said reluctantly, "Chief, do you really want to pour it in?"

"Of course. Didn't I tell you? If we don't release the fry and keep fishing, there will be fewer and fewer fish in the river. Sooner or later, all the fish in the river will be fished out."

Dajiao understood the truth, but these fish were the ones he had taken good care of and had grown up little by little, so he still felt reluctant to let them go.

“Clatter…”

Jiang Xuan took the lead in pouring a whole basket of fish into the stream and watched them swim quickly to the deep water until they disappeared.

"Pour it, these fish can't stay out of water for too long, or they will die."

Under Jiang Xuan's urging, Da Jiao and the other soldiers could only pour baskets of fish into the stream and watch them swim away.

Some of these fish may live in the creek, while others may swim into the wider Flying Fish River. In short, from this moment on, they are free.

Jiang Xuan patted Da Jiao's shoulder and said, "Don't be reluctant. Believe me, these fry will bring us more catches in the future."

"Let's go back."

Jiang Xuan took the lead in picking up the empty rattan basket and walking back. Da Jiao and the other soldiers had to follow and return to the breeding area to continue working.

But their action of dumping the fish into the stream was seen by many people who were working nearby.

They were very confused about this.

In their eyes, those fish are edible meat. How can they pour the meat into the stream?

Of course, it was the leader who took the lead in doing this, and they did not dare to raise any questions. They could only say it was a pity in private.

After putting the rattan basket back, Jiang Xuan walked into the field again to check the red crystal rice. Gan Song, the leader of the planting team who was working nearby, also ran over.

With the arrival of autumn, the tips of the leaves of the red crystal rice plant gradually dry up, turn golden yellow, and gradually spread to the entire plant.

The red crystal rice, shaped like ears of wheat, becomes plump and crystal clear, just like red crystals, very beautiful.

Jiang Xuan stood under the three or four meter high red crystal rice plants, looking at the heavy red ears, and felt his mood become relaxed.

Jiang Xuan said with satisfaction: "In another seven or eight days, these red crystal rice should be mature."

Jiang Xuan planted about fifty or sixty grains of red crystal rice. After these red crystal rice plants matured, each plant could produce hundreds of red crystal rice grains the size of pigeon eggs, with an astonishingly high yield.

If the harvested red crystal rice is planted again next year, it will only take one year for the Teng tribe to have a staple food that can be eaten by everyone! Gan Song's dark face also showed a bright smile. He carefully took care of the red crystal rice this year, fertilizing, watering, loosening the soil, and weeding. He didn't know how much effort he put in. Now it is finally the harvest season.

Jiang Xuan added: "Let's go to other places where red crystal rice is grown."

Because the Teng tribe had no knowledge of the red crystal rice before, Jiang Xuan planted it in different fields to be on the safe side.

Some places are drier, some are wetter, some have plenty of sunlight, and some don't get that much sunlight.

Jiang Xuan and Gan Song visited all the red crystal rice plantations.

He found that the best red crystal rice was grown in flat land with moist soil and sufficient sunlight, while the worst red crystal rice was grown in dry, shady mountainous areas.

Jiang Xuan said: "It seems that these red crystal rice are suitable for growing in flat land with sufficient sunlight and moist soil. Remember this and don't plant red crystal rice on those mountain lands next year."

"Okay, I'll make a note of that."

Gan Song nodded solemnly, because this matter was related to the output of red crystal rice, and the output of red crystal rice was related to whether everyone could fill their stomachs through planting.

He must keep such an important matter in mind.

The two went to the fields to check on the growth of other grains and vegetables. Some were almost mature, while some still needed to grow for a while.

The harvest this year is good. The crops and vegetables are growing well. It is another bumper year.

On September 22, the red crystal rice was finally fully ripe, and the Teng tribe began the autumn harvest.

After a year of hard work, the harvest day has finally arrived and everyone is very excited.

Jiang Xuan took a stone knife and chopped down the tallest red rice plant. Then he lifted a bunch of heavy red ears above his head and shouted happily, "Autumn harvest!"

In the sunlight, the red crystal rice shines like gems, which is very beautiful and festive.

Gan Song cut off another bunch of red ears and shouted loudly, "It's harvest time!"

“It’s autumn harvest!”

“It’s autumn harvest!”

…

In the fields, the members of the Teng tribe burst into thunderous cheers, and the entire tribe was immersed in the joy of harvest.

The soldiers of the planting team were the first to pick up various primitive farm tools, walked into the fields, and began the busy autumn harvest under the scorching sun.

The roots of mature vegetables need to be twisted off one by one, and the vines of sweet potatoes and stone eggs also need to be cut off first, and then the soil needs to be dug up. It is not an easy job.

But even though they were sweating profusely, everyone had smiles on their faces, because these were all food! The tall red crystal rice was harvested by Jiang Xuan and Gan Song himself. Jiang Xuan pulled the red crystal rice grains off the ears one by one with his bare hands and put them into animal skin bags.

After all the red crystal rice was harvested, there were five large animal hide bags. The yield was quite astonishing.

Even Jiang Xuan was shocked by such a high yield of grain, and then he was ecstatic.

With such high-yield grain, are you still worried that there will be no food to eat in the future when the population increases?

Jiang Xuan carried all the red crystal rice back to the tribe.

Afterwards, he wove several large mats with reed stalks, spread them on the open ground, and spread the red crystal rice flat on the mats to dry in the sun.

Jiang Xuan knew very well that if the red crystal rice was not dried out, it might become moldy if packed in animal skin bags.

If the red crystal rice that I worked so hard to grow goes bad, I won’t even have anywhere to cry.

"Eer...Eer..."

When Jiang Xuan was drying the red crystal rice, Tangyuan also came over. It looked at the red crystal rice on the ground curiously and was about to stretch its neck to peck at one to taste it.

"Hey, this isn't meat."

Jiang Xuan hurriedly hugged Tangyuan's thick neck and pushed it aside.

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Tangyuan didn't insist on going over to make trouble because it liked to eat meat and didn't like vegetarian food. It was just curious about the red crystal rice.

Jiang Xuan called two soldiers from the guard team and asked them to keep an eye on the precious red crystal rice and make sure it was not harmed by the animals raised in the tribe.

The two guards also knew that this thing was very important, so they stood guard beside the red crystal rice and never left.

Jiang Xuan returned to the fields and continued working with everyone, harvesting the grains and vegetables bit by bit and then transporting them back to the tribe.

Thanks to the efforts of everyone in the Teng tribe, the food and vegetables of the Teng tribe soon piled up like mountains.

These grains and vegetables must be well kept and not placed randomly.

Especially those leafy vegetables, if not stored properly, they will rot quickly.

Jiang Xuan carefully recalled his experiences in his previous life, then made a batch of pickle jars. He boiled, dried, and salted some leafy vegetables, and put them in jars to make long-lasting pickles.

Some vegetables are boiled in water, then dried directly and stored in relatively sealed animal hide bags.

Some vegetables are eaten while they are fresh, and even the rotten leaves and roots are not wasted and are thrown to the domesticated animals to eat.

As for tuber crops such as yams, stone eggs, yams, and polygonatum, they are easier to preserve. After drying the dirt on the surface, you can simply find a dry place to pile them up.

But Jiang Xuan soon discovered that there was too much food to be harvested. He couldn't just pile some in every room, right? If he did, some people would probably get up in the middle of the night to steal some.

The tribesmen were so frightened of starvation that they had no resistance to food.

In order to avoid this situation, Jiang Xuan had to build two granaries.

The granary was built entirely of thick and dry wood. Unlike other houses, it was paved with stones underneath and wooden boards on top to isolate the ground.

These extremely thick wooden boards were cut out bit by bit by the warriors of the Teng tribe using stone axes, which was a time-consuming and laborious process.

Moreover, the roof of the granary is covered with three layers of tough bark, which can effectively prevent water leakage.

When the tall granary was built, all the processed grains and vegetables were put into the granary and piled up like a mountain.

Many members of the Teng tribe have a new hobby, which is to go and check on the granary every day. Even if they cannot go in, as long as they know that it is full of grain, they feel a sense of satisfaction in their hearts.

Jiang Xuan asked the soldiers of the guard team to take turns guarding the granary day and night to prevent any unexpected situations.

After all, this place is so important.

…

Vine tribe, breeding area.

This year, Dajiao raised a new animal, a long-tailed rabbit brought back by the warriors of the second hunting team.

The biggest feature of this kind of rabbit is that they have a long furry tail, which is completely different from other rabbits with short tails.

The long-tailed rabbit is much larger than ordinary rabbits. An adult long-tailed rabbit weighs more than 100 kilograms and is very fat.

Not only that, except in winter, long-tailed rabbits can give birth every two months, with two to six babies each time, and their reproductive capacity is quite high.

So, after raising them for a few months, Da Jiao was surprised to find that he already had a group of long-tailed rabbits.

He excitedly reported this achievement to Jiang Xuan and took Jiang Xuan to see these long-tailed rabbits.

"Chief, you see, these long-tailed rabbits eat a wide variety of food. They eat small branches, vegetable leaves, grass leaves, and grass roots. They are very easy to feed."

"Besides, they grow very fast, are big, and give birth quickly and in large numbers. I think long-tailed rabbits are perfect for breeding!"

Da Jiao took out a dried long-tailed rabbit skin and showed it to Jiang Xuan: "Chief, look at this rabbit skin again. It is much thicker than ordinary rabbit skins, and the fur is softer. If it is made into animal skin clothes, it will definitely be very warm."

"Also, the meat of the long-tailed rabbit is very tender. It tastes great whether it is roasted or stewed."

Jiang Xuan observed the fat long-tailed rabbits in the pen.

This long-tailed rabbit has a very long tail, but its ears are shorter than those of the ordinary gray-haired rabbit. Otherwise, it is not much different from the gray-haired rabbit.

After listening to Dajiao's excited introduction, he said with satisfaction: "Yes, this kind of long-tailed rabbit is indeed suitable for breeding."

Jiang Xuan patted Dajiao's shoulder and said, "Do what you want. I support you. If you need to build a few more pens, I will ask the soldiers to help you. If you encounter any difficulties, you can also tell me."

Da Jiao rubbed his hands and said, "Chief, our breeding team can handle the pens ourselves, but can you ask the planting team to give us more of the leaves, vines, rhizomes and the like?"

"Gan Song is too stingy. He won't even give away a rotten vegetable leaf."

Hearing this, Jiang Xuan laughed and said, "Hahaha, no problem. I'll ask the planting team for you. Don't blame Gan Song. He has spent countless hours on those crops. Of course he treasures them."

Da Jiao smiled brightly and said, "Thank you, Chief. I'll send you a long-tailed rabbit later."

Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll also try the long-tailed rabbit meat you raised to see how it differs from the long-tailed rabbits in the mountains."

Jiang Xuan checked the other domesticated animals and felt that they were all being raised well.

Da Jiao is a man who does have a certain talent in breeding.

Afterwards, Jiang Xuan went to Gansong and asked him to support the breeding team more so that he could get more fertilizer from the breeding team in the future.

Sure enough, when Gan Song heard the word "fertilizer", his eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly promised to give the breeding team more rotten vegetable leaves next time.

Thanks to the book friend "Hao Qingtian" for the reward of 1,500 book coins.

(End of this chapter)