Chapter 345 The Old Witch's Persistence

It was the first day of February, the ninth year since the establishment of the Teng tribe.

Outside the Red Ant Tribe, Fengcao disguised himself as an ordinary tourist and took a few members of the Thorn Vine Team to observe this strange large tribe from afar.

They saw neat rows of giant red ants moving things into the huge ant nest, including food and various materials. They were very busy.

Fengcao observed for a while and couldn't help but frowned.

The Red Ant Tribe was different from any other tribe she had ever seen. It was such a large tribe, but there wasn't even a single tourist around.

Those giant red ants greedily carried back all the food, firewood and other supplies from the surrounding forests to the tribe, and even killed all the decent prey.

Such an environment leaves no living space for tourists.

A team member said helplessly: "Leader, this mission is too difficult. The Red Ant Tribe is heavily guarded and we can't get in at all."

"No matter how difficult it is, we have to complete it. If we can't get in, we should think of other ways. We have gone through so much trouble and come all the way to the central region just to take a look and then go back to tell the leader that the mission is not completed?"

Fengcao's words made the team member lower his head and dared not say another word.

For many people in the Teng tribe, the chief is not only a leader, but also a benefactor who changed their destiny and an object of fanatical worship.

They don't want to disappoint their leader, even though the leader often doesn't blame them.

Feng Cao continued, "Since we can't get in, let's first record the number of people who enter and leave the Red Ant Tribe every day. This is also very important information."

"yes!"

Counting the number of people in a large tribe is a very complicated task that requires absolute patience.

Fortunately, most of the Thorn Vine team members are not impatient and have all been trained in counting.

From that day on, two members of the Thorn Vine team would squat outside the Red Ant Tribe every day, recording the number of people entering and leaving the tribe, as well as some special information.

As for Fengcao, as the leader of the Thorn Vine, she came to an unfamiliar place and had to do more complicated things, such as training new team members, bribing important members of various tribes, exploring various resources in the central region, and so on.

Among them, the Bamboo Rat Tribe was her main focus, because the Bamboo Rat Tribe contained the resource that Jiang Xuan had specifically mentioned - iron ore.

…

In the northern part of Southern Wilderness, Teng Tribe, shipyard.

While Jiang Xuan was visiting the large ships under construction, he asked the person in charge of the shipyard next to him, "How is the progress of the shipbuilding?"

The person in charge of the shipyard replied: "Chief, there are currently eighteen large ships under construction, three of which are nearly completed and are expected to begin sea trials in a month."

Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "These ships are the key vehicles for us to enter the central region. They must be built quickly and with high quality. If you are short of manpower, I will transfer another group of people to you. If you are short of materials, just let Dongkui transfer them to you."

"Thank you, Chief. I will complete the task on time."

The person in charge of the shipyard was very excited. With Jiang Xuan's words, he no longer had to worry about the shortage of manpower and materials.

Jiang Xuan took a walk around the shipyard and found basically no major problems, so he left with satisfaction.

Then, he went to check the preparation of various supplies such as food, weapons, clothing, etc., and promptly asked relevant personnel to correct problems found during the inspection.

Going to the central region to open up new territory is a very complicated undertaking, after all, the journey is too long.

All kinds of personnel and materials must be prepared in advance. If any one of them goes wrong, it may turn into a big trouble.

While ensuring the normal operation of the tribe, it will take the Teng tribe at least half a year to allocate enough manpower and supplies to the central part.

Such a large-scale operation involving the entire tribe is complicated beyond imagination and cannot be carried out at will.

…

East Wilderness, Eagle Tribe, New Eagle Mountain.

Ever since the Great Rift Valley spread to the Eastern Wilderness, Eagle Mountain, where the Eagle Tribe had lived for who knows how many years, collapsed. In order to survive, the Eagle Tribe migrated as a whole under the leadership of the old witch. Finally, before the arrival of winter, they found a piece of land suitable for living and a new Eagle Mountain.

Now that winter is finally over, the members of the Eagle Tribe are about to begin large-scale construction, hoping to restore the glory of the Eagle Tribe in this new territory.

“It’s finally spring.”

The wooden door of the stone house halfway up the mountain was opened, and the old witch walked out. Looking at the gurgling water flowing down the mountain, he was in a very good mood.

"Cry!"

A giant black eagle flew over from a distance, like a dark cloud, casting a large shadow.

If you look closely, you can see that it has a large bison in its claws, but due to its large size, the bison looks inconspicuous.

“Boom!”

The giant black eagle landed on an open space near the stone house, dropping the big bison with it.

Then, it used its sharp eagle beak to tear open the bison's skin, pecked out a piece of fresh beef, and staggered to the old witch.

The old witch took the beef from the eagle's beak with a smile and said, "Old friend, you still care about me the most. You always give me the delicious food first."

The black giant eagle wanted to rub the old witch affectionately, but was afraid that his strength was too great and would push the old witch down.

The old witch understood its thoughts very well and reached out to touch the feathers on its head.

The black giant eagle was finally satisfied. It staggered back to its nest and began to peck at the bison meat in big mouthfuls.

The old witch also took the fresh beef back to the food, simply cut the meat into pieces, and stewed it in a clay pot.

He is already very old and has sparse teeth, so the meat must be stewed until it is softer so that he can enjoy it.

After stewing for about two hours, the old witch took out a pair of white animal tooth chopsticks, picked up a piece of beef and tasted it, then sighed and said, "I have been spoiled by those little guys from the Teng tribe. I always feel that the food I cook myself is not as delicious."

After staying in the Teng tribe for a few years, many of his original living habits have changed, such as using chopsticks, adding spices when cooking meat, etc.

The pair of animal-tooth chopsticks in his hand were exactly what Jiang Xuan had given him.

Then, he thought of his unfinished Great Wilderness Hundred Herbs Map.

"I don't know if Chishao has helped me to improve the Great Wilderness Herb Map. I really want to go back and take a look."

At this time, a voice came from outside the door: "Old witch, is the Teng tribe really as good as you say?"

"Yeah, it's been so long since I came back, and I still miss it."

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The leader of the Eagle Tribe and the new witch walked in from outside. They first bowed respectfully to the old witch, and then sat down by the fire pit.

The old witch said: "You don't understand. If you have the chance in the future, go and see for yourself and you will know."

The leader of the Eagle Tribe said, "I really want to go and take a look, but the tribe has just moved here, and as a leader I really can't leave."

Since the chief couldn't leave, the witch, who was the spiritual leader of the tribe, was even less able to leave, so the new witch just sighed.

The old witch handed them two clay bowls and gave each of them a pair of chopsticks, asking them to pick up the meat and eat it themselves.

The chief said with a bitter face: "Old witch, please forgive me, I really can't learn to use two sticks to hold the meat."

The new witch tried hard, but he could only bring the bowl close to his mouth to prevent the meat from falling.

The old witch didn't care and asked directly: "Tell me, what do you two want to see me about?"

Hearing the old witch's question, the leader of the Eagle Tribe and the new witch immediately put down their chopsticks and started talking about business.

The new witch said, "We came here to ask you, old man, whether the tribe really wants to open up the wasteland at the foot of the mountain and use it to grow crops?"

Without even looking up, the old witch replied, "Of course. Didn't I tell you? The Teng Tribe relied on farming and domesticating wild animals to obtain enough food, and then developed rapidly."

The chief considered his words for a moment, and said, "Old witch, this is what I think. Our Eagle Tribe is best at hunting and taming wild animals. As for clearing wasteland and farming, we really have no experience. Can we wait a while?"

Reclaiming wasteland and cultivating land is a task that requires a lot of manpower and material resources, especially for a large tribe like the Eagle Tribe. With so many people, the amount of food consumed every day is terrifying.

Hunting, gathering and domesticating wild animals can quickly show results, but it takes too much time and energy to open up wasteland and cultivate the land. Based on the experience of slash-and-burn farming, the results are not very good, so the leader of the Eagle Tribe and the new witch are very hesitant.

The old witch looked at the new witch and said, "Do you think so too?"

The new witch lowered his head and said, "We just migrated here not long ago, and the people in our tribe haven't settled down yet. It's really too early to open up the land now. It's hard for the people in our tribe to understand."

"You taught me that as a witch, maintaining the stability of the tribe is the most important thing, so... I also think that we should slow down the process of clearing wasteland and cultivating the land."

The old witch sighed and said, "But if we don't open up the wasteland now and miss the planting season, we won't get a good harvest this year."

The chief and the new witch both lowered their heads and did not respond.

The old witch closed his eyes and thought for a long time, then said: "Give me a hundred tribesmen who don't have to be very strong, and I will lead them to open up wasteland and cultivate the land. As for the others, do as you think."

When the new witch heard this, he panicked and said, "How can I let you do it yourself? I will arrange some people to do it."

The chief also wanted to persuade them, but the old witch stopped him directly.

"No need to say more. I have already made up my mind, unless you think an old fellow like me is not qualified to lead even a hundred tribesmen."

"That's... okay."

The old witch was so determined that the chief and the new witch had no choice but to obey his ideas and arrange more than a hundred tribesmen to obey the old witch's orders.

Soon, under the leadership of the old witch, more than a hundred people brought tools and began to cultivate the land in front of Xinying Mountain bit by bit.

The old witch followed the farming process she had seen in the Teng tribe, leading them to burn the land, turn the soil, clear the stones and grass roots, dig ditches, compost, and grow seedlings...

Although most of the tribesmen did not understand, the old witch still insisted on doing this thankless task.

He wanted to prove that farming could provide the tribe with a more stable source of food than hunting and domesticating wild animals.

The tribe was no longer ruled by the witch, and he could have relieved himself of his responsibilities and enjoyed his life in peace, but he did not do so.

For the future of the Eagle Tribe, the old witch did not hesitate to get covered in mud and fight once more.

Thanks to the book friend "閒看苑" for the reward of 500 book coins.

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(End of this chapter)