Chapter 55: Collecting Tree Juice
Ran Zhen is very hardworking.
Jian Mo thinks that he is weak and needs more rest.
However, he always follows Jian Mo and helps him do things within his ability, including but not limited to cleaning the animal shed, watering, fertilizing, and collecting firewood.
Jian Mo has never been with such a quiet and well-behaved boy. If he was out of sympathy at first, now he simply likes this boy.
At night, Jian Mo lay on the giant wolf, playing with his ears: "Are you going out hunting tomorrow? Why don't you take Ran Zhen with you? It doesn't seem right to let him hang around the house all the time."
The giant wolf said in a low voice: "Is he feeling better?"
Jian Mo: "It looks better to the naked eye. Although he is still shedding hair, his hair grows longer in winter, so a little rubbing can cover up a lot."
Ran Zhen's beast form is the same as his father Min Dang, which is also a common beast form in the Riverside Tribe.
There are more than a dozen beastmen in the Riverside Tribe, including red foxes, white foxes, and spotted foxes. If Ran Zhen goes out with them, he should be able to fit in easily.
The giant wolf's ears twitched, and he shook them out of Jian Mo's hands: "I'll ask him tomorrow."
Jian Mo grabbed the wolf's ears again: "Then you ask him. If he doesn't want to go, you persuade him."
The giant wolf was silent for a moment, and finally agreed.
The next day, Jian Mo also told Ran Zhen about this.
Ran Zhen seemed a little nervous, but he still mustered up the courage to agree.
Jian Mo patted his shoulder and said, "Wu Jiong and the others are your elders, it's okay."
Ran Zhen nodded nervously and expectantly, "Thank you, Brother Jian Mo."
The young beastmen in the tribe all called Jian Mo that, and Ran Zhen changed his name after staying here for several days.
Jian Mo took back his hand and encouraged with a smile, "Then eat more breakfast, otherwise you will have no energy to hunt later."
Ran Zhen's father, Min Dang, was a sub-beastman from the Riverside Tribe. The young and middle-aged beastmen in the Riverside Tribe were all familiar with Min Dang and took good care of Ran Zhen.
Although Ran Zhen has now become a bald little fox, no one looks at him strangely.
Everyone is very gentle and has no opinion on the little fox's clumsy hunting behavior. They also patiently teach him relevant hunting techniques.
Ran Zhen's father has not gone hunting with the people of the tribe since his leg was injured. As a young beastman, Ran Zhen should have gone hunting, but later he became thin and lost hair, and he had an instinctive resistance to hunting. The
people of the Mengshui tribe were considerate of his family's major misfortune and never called them. They just still counted them as a share when the tribe divided the prey after hunting. Ran
Zhen had not received much training, and his hunting skills were not very good, so he gradually became more afraid to go.
After arriving at the Riverside Tribe, he slowly relaxed under the encouragement of the elders.
The overall atmosphere of the Riverside Tribe was relatively relaxed, and after being here for a while, Ranzhen integrated into the entire tribe.
On this day, Jian Mo came down from the mountain with fallen leaves on his back, and saw Ban Ming and the others talking around Ranzhen from a distance.
Ranzhen looked a little nervous and shook his head several times.
Jian Mo was worried that they would bully Ranzhen, so he smiled and called them from a distance: "Ban Ming, are you here to play with Ranzhen?"
"Brother Jian Mo!" Several young beastmen greeted Jian Mo.
Ban Ming said, "We invited Ran Zhen to go out and collect tree sap. This period is the best time to collect tree sap. Ran Zhen said it was too late and he was a little worried that it was not safe to go out."
Ah Hu added excitedly, "We have already found the trees. There are several big trees that are growing well. We will definitely be able to collect the best tree sap this year."
Jian Mo was surprised, "What tree sap? Why haven't I heard of it?"
Ban Ming said, "Brother Jian Mo, you have only been in the tribe for a short time. It is normal that you haven't heard of it. The tree sap is the sap of the purple heart tree, a kind of drink, very delicious."
The expression in the orc language was quite clear. Jian Mo guessed based on what they said, "Is it the sap of the tree?"
Ban Ming nodded, "Yes, that's it. We cut a hole in the bark, can collect tree sap. The tree sap at night is the sweetest and most refreshing. It doesn’t taste the same when it’s exposed to the sun during the day, so we collect tree sap during the longest night of the year. "
Ahu said: "In fact, collecting tree sap at night in summer is not very good. In summer, the tree sap tastes like it’s rotten, which is completely different from that taste."
Jian Mo listened to their introductions and became more and more curious. He couldn’t help but said: "It sounds good. Can I go to collect tree sap too?"
Ban Ming nodded immediately: "Of course, brother Jian Mo, if you are willing, I will call you when we set out."
Jian Mo smiled and said: "Then remember, I will wait for you at home."
Jian Mo said he wanted to go, and Ran Zhen also wanted to go with him.
When other people in the tribe heard it, they all said that they hadn’t collected tree sap for a long time and they could go and try.
Therefore, the small-scale action that night turned into a collective activity for most of the tribe.
Jian Mo sat on the back of the giant wolf, carrying a shoulder bag woven from straw stems, feeling excited about a night outing.
Not every tree can be harvested for sap. Only the sap of the purple heart tree has a sweet and clear taste. The sap of other trees is either bitter or poisonous and cannot be drunk.
The purple heart forest they were going to was some distance away from the tribe. The beastmen turned back into beast form and ran there, and the fox that Ran Zhen turned into was also mixed in.
He was smaller than an average fox, and he had been well cared for recently, and the bald parts had begun to grow hair. It was
just that most of the hair had not had time to grow out yet, and the hair on his body was of different lengths, mottled and mottled, which did not look very good.
Despite this, his excited posture and the occasional whimpering showed that he was in a good mood.
The young orcs beside him were also very excited, and they turned around from time to time to interact with him.
Jian Mo stretched out his hands and hugged the giant wolf's neck with a smile on his face.
The River Tribe is really good.
The orcs were very fast, and they arrived at their destination just as the moon rose from the other side of the mountain.
The sub-orcs got off the orcs, and the orcs turned back into human form, put on animal skin robes, took wooden nails and wooden barrels for collecting tree sap, and called friends to divide the territory of the forest.
Jian Mo and Wu Jiong went to the eastern forest, and Ye Luo went with them.
Walking to a big tree, Ye Luo took out a metal knife and scraped the bark slightly to make it smooth. Then he took off a large strip of bark in the shape of a "Y" and nailed the wooden barrel under the bark to wait for the sap to flow down.
His movements were so smooth that Jian Mo stared at him intently with admiration in his eyes.
Ye Luo turned around and saw Jian Mo staring at him from behind. He couldn't help laughing: "What's that expression on your face?"
Jian Mo: "You're so skillful."
Ye Luo threw the knife in his hand up and caught it again: "This knife is easier to use. If I used a shell knife before, it wouldn't be so easy to peel off the bark."
Jian Mo: "Is that all?"
Ye Luo: "Pick up two leaves and cover the wooden barrel to prevent dust and small insects from falling in."
There is nothing much in the forest, just a lot of fallen leaves. Just pick up two flat and wide fallen leaves, wipe them, and cover them. Ye Luo: "See, this is it."
Jian Mo felt that he had learned it, and pulled Wu Jiong to the other side to install the wooden barrel.
There were many wooden barrels in his backpack, but in order not to cause irreversible damage to the purple heart trees, they only installed one wooden barrel on each tree.
In this way, after the wooden barrels were removed, the damaged parts of the purple heart trees would heal quickly, and they could collect sap again next year.
The two of them divided the work and cooperated with each other. At first, Jian Mo peeled the bark and Wu Jiong nailed the wooden barrels.
After a while, Jian Mo was tired, and the work of peeling the bark was transferred to Wu Jiong.
Wu Jiong's movements were more agile, and he could handle a tree in a few breaths.
Jian Mo estimated that even without the metal knife, his speed would not be much slower.
The laughter in the woods could be heard from far away.
After a while, everyone installed the wooden barrels, so the beastmen changed back to their beast forms, and the sub-beastmen climbed onto the beastmen's backs, and everyone prepared to go back. They
would come back to get the wooden barrels before the sun rose tomorrow morning.
Jian Mo rarely went out at night, and when he went back, he lay on the giant wolf's warm back, hugged the giant wolf's neck, and fell asleep unknowingly.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already dawn the next day.
When he opened his eyes, the giant wolf also opened its eyes.
Jian Mo suddenly thought: "Should we go get some tree sap?"
Giant Wolf: "Yeah."
Jian Mo pulled the fur robe from his feet and came over: "Hurry up, get dressed and get ready to go. Hey, did I fall asleep on your back last night?"
Giant Wolf: "Yes, but you weren't the only one who fell asleep. I saw you were sleeping so soundly that I didn't call you."
Jian Mo stretched out his hands and hugged the giant wolf's furry neck: "Ah, it's so great to have you."
The giant wolf turned around and rubbed the top of his head with his chin without saying anything.
The two quickly put on their clothes and got ready to go.
Many people in the tribe were waiting in the open space, including Ran Zhen. Seeing them come out, Ran Zhen waved excitedly: "Brother Jian Mo, Brother Wu Jiong."
This kid looks no different from an ordinary teenager.
Jian Mo patted his shoulder: "You got up so early."
Ran Zhen: "I got up when I heard some noise outside."
People from the tribe came over one after another, each holding an empty bucket in their hands, ready to use it to collect tree sap later.
Jian Mo also brought a bucket of water over. Compared with the empty buckets in the hands of ordinary people, the bucket in his hand was particularly larger.
Qing Kuang came over and laughed at him: "Carrying such a big empty bucket, what if you can't even fill it halfway, won't you be disappointed?"
Jian Mo: "No, I won't, bring a bigger bucket to prevent it from spilling."
After Ran Zhen greeted Qing Kuang, he said: "I installed those wooden barrels for Brother Jian Mo, it shouldn't be that half of it is not filled, I installed a lot of wooden barrels."
Seeing the serious expression of the young man, everyone laughed.
When everyone was gathered, the beastmen changed back into their beast form and set out.
This time they were going to harvest, so they ran faster than last night.
It was a little cold in the early morning, but Jian Mo's heart was burning.
He had never drunk tree sap, not even on Earth, and he was quite curious about the taste of tree sap.
In endless anticipation, they arrived at the purple heart tree forest where they collected sap last night.
After arriving at the destination, everyone went to collect the wooden barrels they had installed by themselves according to the areas where they collected sap last night.
Ran Zhen said that the collected sap would be given to Jian Mo, so the three of them set out together.
When they arrived under the tree, Jian Mo looked at the wooden barrel that had been installed last night.
This wooden barrel was about the size of a 500 ml water cup. Gently peeling off the leaves on top, it was already full of clear liquid, probably about 500 to 600 ml.
The tree sap exudes a sweet and refreshing aroma.
Jian Mo held the wooden barrel and waited for Wu Jiong to pull out the wooden nails on the wall of the wooden barrel, then carefully took the wooden barrel down.
He was about to pour it into the bucket, but Wu Jiong held his wrist and said, "The tree sap can be drunk directly."
Jian Mo: "Really? Then let me taste it."
Jian Mo tilted his head slightly, lifted the wooden barrel and poured a mouthful of tree sap into his mouth.
The tree sap touched the tip of his tongue, and it had a cool taste, a clear and slightly sweet taste, a bit like mint water, but not as strong as mint water. It tasted much better than mint water, and there was a peculiar fragrance in the sweetness.
It was surprisingly very delicious, better than any drink he had ever tasted.
Jian Mo's eyes lit up, and he raised the sap for Wu Jiong to drink: "It tastes good."
Wu Jiong: "If it doesn't taste good, we won't bother."
Jian Mo smiled. It was really tiring to collect sap after the moon came out, and to collect all the sap before the sun came out.
Wu Jiong didn't respond, and took a sip and passed it to Ran Zhen.
Ran Zhen took a big sip without hesitation: "It tastes good!"
Wu Jiong: "Drink more, this is a specialty of the Riverside Tribe."
Ran Zhen held the wooden barrel and nodded vigorously.
The purple heart tree produced a lot of sap, and in the end, the bucket Jian Mo brought was mostly filled.
He was a little worried that the sap inside would spill out, so when he climbed onto Wu Jiong's back, he tied the barrel in front of him and held it with his hands.
Unexpectedly, Wu Jiong ran very steadily, and the sap didn't spill out at all after such a long distance.
They went home and had breakfast.
Jian Mo looked at the half bucket of sap that he had collected with great difficulty: "How do we preserve it?"
Wu Jiong: "Just take it outside to a cool place and freeze it. When you want to drink it, just chisel it off a piece."
Jian Mo: "Will it taste the same after thawing? Will it be less refreshing?"
Wu Jiong: "How much? So you should drink more now, and freeze it again if you can't finish it."
Jian Mo immediately took the three people's cups and filled them up: "Come on, let's drink it quickly, don't waste it. Especially you, Ranzhen, you drink more."
Ranzhen pursed his lips and nodded.
Jian Mo picked up the cup and took a big sip, then sighed with satisfaction: "Come to think of it, we have a similar drink here. In addition to drinking it, we also use it to cook chicken."
Wu Jiong roughly knew what a chicken was, and said: "I'll go catch some good birds later."
Jian Mo immediately said: "Then it's up to you. I'll go get some fresh spices, and we can cook bird soup tonight!"
Wu Jiong: "I'll take Ranzhen with me later."
Even in winter, there are relatively fresh spices outside. Jian Mo took Qingkuan to pick spices and invited them to his home for dinner.
Jian Mo felt a little embarrassed because he had troubled their family a lot during this period.
In the evening, Jian Mo cooked bird soup with tree juice.
The bird meat cooked with tree sap tasted really sweet and refreshing, and when eaten with fresh seasoning, it had a completely different kind of delicious taste.
Everyone was very satisfied while eating the meat and drinking the soup.
Ban Ming rubbed his belly and said, "Brother Jian Mo, you are such a great cook. I want to learn from you and cook for Amon after we become partners."
Jian Mo was a little surprised and said with a smile, "Okay, if you want, come and learn anytime. In fact, I cook the same dishes over and over again, they are not difficult."
Ban Ming counted on his fingers, "That's different. You fry, stir-fry, steam, deep-fry, bake, roast, and even boiled. There are too many tricks. I can't remember them all."
Jian Mo smiled, "Then learn the most commonly used tricks."
Ran Zhen: "I will learn too."
Jian Mo: "Learn, learn, learn. As long as you are willing to learn, I will teach you, and I won't charge you any tuition."
Everyone laughed.
Ran Zhen has indeed grown a lot in the Riverside Tribe, and even his beast form has grown a circle.
His two fathers would come to see him every few days, and every time they saw his changes, Min Dang's eyes would be a little red.
That day, Ranzhen's two fathers came to see him again.
In addition to bringing two large baskets of meat for Jian Mo and Wu Jiong, they also brought a bag of pepper cores.
Jian Mo: "You are too polite."
Min Dang's eyes were red again: "It's my duty, thank you for taking care of Ranzhen."
As he said, Min Dang put his arm around Ranzhen's shoulders: "We didn't expect that Ranzhen would get better so quickly."
Ranzhen leaned on his father's shoulders very obediently and hugged his father.
Seeing them like this, Jian Mo felt a little uncomfortable: "Ran Zhen didn't have any big problems, it just happened to be in the fastest growth period, and the food didn't keep up, so there were some minor problems. Just eat more and get more sun."
Min Dang: "If it weren't for you, even if we knew this, it would be difficult to help him adjust."
Jian Mo didn't want to continue talking about Ran Zhen's problem, and talking about it would only increase the sadness.
He looked at Ran Zhen's father Sui Ai: "Come to think of it, I haven't seen your hands yet, can I see your hands?"
When Sui Ai was in front of them, he had a strip of cloth wrapped around his hands. Jian Mo didn't know what Sui Ai's condition was, he only knew that there was something wrong with his front legs, and when he changed to human form, it was his hands that had problems.
Sui Ai obviously trusted them very much, and he spread out the cloth strip on his hand without saying a word.
Then, Jian Mo saw that most of his palm was missing, and he knew in his heart that there was no way.
This kind of limb loss might not be helped even on Earth, let alone in the beastman society.
Jian Mo shook his head lightly.
Sui Ai knew the result and was not too depressed. Instead, he smiled and said, "I am very satisfied that it has healed to this extent. I was afraid that I would lose the whole hand before, but I didn't expect that only half of the palm was missing, and the remaining two fingers can still do something."
Jian Mo put his hand down, "Very good."
Sui Ai did not wrap the cloth strip again. Seeing Jian Mo looking over, he explained, "I was worried that you would be scared, so I wrapped it before. These two fingers are useful."
Min Dang and Sui Ai did not stay for long. After seeing their son, they prepared to go back.
Mengshui tribe is not close to their tribe, and Sui Ai is still a disabled beastman. It is not easy to catch up.
They must set out as soon as possible, otherwise it will be dangerous at night.
Jian Mo and Wu Jiong went out to see them off. Suiai changed back into his beast form, which looked a bit like a rhinoceros.
Because of the disability of his left front leg, his leg just lightly touched the ground.
After his partner climbed on him, he turned his head and nodded to Jian Mo and the others, then ran with his partner on his back.
The posture of running on three legs was not very good-looking, and he was a bit lame, but he still ran very fast, and carried his partner on his back very steadily.
After the beastman slowed down, he still showed his responsibility as a human being.
Jian Mo watched him walk away until their figures disappeared.
Ran Zhen kept looking at the backs of the two fathers, and was reluctant to leave for a long time.
Wu Jiong put his arm around Jian Mo's shoulders and said, "Let's go back too."
Jian Mo: "Okay."
Then, Jian Mo patted Ran Zhen's shoulder gently and said, "Let's go."
Ran Zhen sniffed and said, "Yeah."
After the two fathers came to visit, Ran Zhen's mood became better. Although he was still a little sad, he seemed more positive.
After returning to the house, he rushed to clean the nest of the flying winged beast, saying that he could do it and let Jian Mo and Wu Jiong rest.
Jian Mo said to Wu Jiong: "Ran Zhen seems to like our tribe very much. I like him too. I am a little reluctant to let him go back. He seems to be much more positive and happy in our tribe."
Wu Jiong: "I'll think of a way."
Jian Mo thought he was just talking casually and didn't ask more questions.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, Wu Jiong told Jian Mo that Min Dang's family decided to move back to the Riverside Tribe and settle down in the Riverside Tribe in the future.
Jian Mo's eyes widened: "Can we still move?! When did you talk to them?"
Wu Jiong nodded: "I was out for so long yesterday because I went to Mengshui tribe. Brother Mindang was originally from our tribe, but he moved to Mengshui tribe after he became a couple with Sui'ai. Now they are willing, and our tribe is willing too. Just talk to the Mengshui tribe, there's nothing wrong with it."
Jian Mo: "Have you discussed it?"
Wu Jiong: "Yes. Yunqi and the others have no objection."
Jian Mo was reluctant to leave Ranzhen, and he was really happy to hear the news: "That's great, I think changing the environment might be better for them." The people
in the Riverside Tribe soon learned that Mindang's family was going to move back to the tribe, and they were all very happy.
Especially Qingkuang and Yeluo, the group who grew up with Min Dang, after hearing the news, they cleaned and renovated the empty houses in the tribe for several days, and took out some supplies and put them in the houses.
Qingkuang said to Jian Mo: "Min Dang used to be one of the most powerful beastmen in our tribe. He followed Sui'ai to Mengshui tribe. We were depressed for a long time." Yeluo
laughed beside him: "There was a time when Qingkuang cursed Sui'ai in private."
Qingkuang: "If someone kidnapped you, I would curse him too."
Yeluo: "Then you can curse in private, anyway I can't hear it so I'll pretend I don't know."
Qingkuang sighed: "I didn't expect such a thing would happen later In fact, it is good to move back. Sui'ai is one of the most powerful beastmen in Mengshui tribe. It is not a big deal if he has a leg injury. Although it is not convenient for him to chase prey, defense is still no problem. Di Ya and the others have already agreed to take him hunting together. "
Jian Mo: "That's great."
Qing Kuan said: "When spring comes, we will help each other and help them build a house, so that life will be better. "
The Riverside Tribe welcomes Min Dang's family.
The people of Mengshui tribe felt uncomfortable after hearing the news:
"The tribe treated them so well, but they moved to the Riverside Tribe. They are so heartless."
"That's right, Chief, how could you agree to let them move away? If people tell others, it will be bad for the reputation of our tribe."
"It seems that the Riverside Tribe is going to prosper, and I don't know if our tribe will decline?"
"I still don't understand. Our tribe is so good, why did Sui'ai want to move? They obviously don't have the ability to hunt, and we will share some of our food with them."
Everyone was dissatisfied and gathered around Yunqi. Although they didn't say directly that they wanted to talk, this was almost what they meant.
Yunyue looked at the person who was speaking sternly, and instead of answering their questions, he asked, "Are we going to go to war with the Riverside Tribe?"
Everyone was startled and avoided Yunyue's gaze:
"It doesn't seem like that."
"It's just a disabled orc, and Ranzhen's health isn't good either. Isn't it unnecessary?"
"I think so too. There's no big conflict, so there's no need to go to war."
"When they left, they gave the tribe a lot of supplies. They seemed to be treating the tribe well. Besides, Min Dang was originally from the Riverside Tribe. It's not strange for him to move back."
Yun Xie looked at them and said seriously, "The rise of the Riverside Tribe can no longer be stopped. Since you haven't decided to go to war, don't say those sour words to avoid unnecessary friction."
Everyone hung their heads and said, "Yes."
Yun Xie looked at everyone calmly, "This land is enough for everyone to live together. The focus is on your own life, not comparing the lives of others. Whether our tribe develops well or not depends only on our tribe, not on other tribes. This is also the reason why our tribe can develop. In the past, we only needed to focus on our own tribe. If we developed it, we will continue to develop in the future."
Everyone's morale improved a little: "Yes!"
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