Shen San, along with Hu Xiao Mao Yun and Lu Shuang, stood on the city wall early, waiting for Shen Nong and Ze.
The Feather Tribe orcs hovered in mid-air. Upon seeing them, Shen San ordered the orcs to lower the drawbridge. Then, he led Lu Shuang and the other two down the city wall towards the city gate.
Shen Nong walked onto the drawbridge and met up with the four at the city gate. He told Hu Xiao and Mao Yun to wait for him at the council building first, and then told Lu Shuang to take the Feather Tribe orcs to the warehouse to put the glass in place before going to the council building as well.
After everyone left, only Shen San and Ze remained by Shen Nong's side.
"Why isn't the suspension bridge lowered?" Shen Nong asked.
Shen San replied, "We just found out today that those orcs came from Beast City. They wanted to lure you, Priest, to Beast City. Lu Shuang and the others were afraid that there were more than just those few from Beast City, so they said they would put the drawbridge up."
Anyway, the orcs working in the tribe all live in dormitories, and now they want to do more work to build houses for their own tribe, so they rarely go back to their own tribe to live, and there is no need for the suspension bridge.
However, it won't be easy for the orcs of Beast City to get in. The moat is quite deep; jumping in would definitely result in injury.
Beast City… Shen Nong read it softly. As the Wood Tribe grew stronger, they would inevitably have to confront Beast City sooner or later.
But as the saying goes, when soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. Shen Nong stopped thinking about it and changed the subject, "How many rooms have the orcs from the Mountain Tribe and the Wind Tribe earned?"
“The Mountain Tribe built six houses, and the Wind Tribe built nine,” Shen San added. “The Wind Tribe has more orcs than the Mountain Tribe.”
The construction of houses by the Mountain Tribe and the Wind Tribe was actually due to the Stone Tribe, a border tribe. The Wood Tribe sent people to the border tribe to build houses, but this couldn't be kept secret from the orcs working there.
When the priests of the Mountain Tribe and the Wind Tribe heard that they could trade houses with the Wood Tribe, they realized that they had long coveted the Wood Tribe's houses, having previously coveted wooden houses and now coveting brick houses.
Knowing that houses could be used for transactions, he approached Lu Shuang, the priest candidate handpicked by Shen Nong, and asked to exchange the extra cured meat and animal hides for houses.
Lu Shuang thought about it all night and agreed. Hu Xiao and Mao Yun also thought there was no problem. After discussing it, the three of them decided on a room and how much cured meat and animal hides they would need to exchange for the labor required to build the house in the Wood Tribe.
After the three of them made their decision, they reported the matter to Shen San, who then informed Shen Nong that same day.
Shen Nong calculated the time and was somewhat surprised, "They built so many houses in such a short time, where did they get so much cured meat and animal hides to trade?"
Shen San knew about this. "Both of their tribes have come to work for the Wood Tribe, and everyone is incredibly enthusiastic. Every day, when each team is evaluated for excellence, it's always the orcs from those two tribes."
They really poured all the resources of the entire village into building this house...
Shen Nong went to the warehouse to check the goods delivered by the border tribes again. After confirming that everything was correct, she went to the council building.
Although Shen San would report in detail about what happened in the tribe every day, Shen Nong still asked the three of them about the tribe's affairs in a simple way.
It must be said that Hu Xiao and the other two cooperated very well, complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses, and making optimal choices in some decisions. Shen Nong was very satisfied with this. "The three of you did a great job while I was away. When you leave, Lu Shuang, take Hu Xiao and Mao Yun to the warehouse where the glass is stored. You three can choose the glass you like, and I'll have someone replace your windows."
Glass? What's that?
Hu Xiao looked at Lu Shuang questioningly, but Lu Shuang shook his head. He hadn't seen it either; it was all wrapped in large leaves. He just knew it was quite heavy.
Shen Nong ignored their subtle exchange and continued, "Lu Shuang, tell the production team to hurry up and get the tables and chairs ready. The school needs to be operational by autumn. Hu Xiao and Mao Yun, the tribe is going to hold a military guard competition in autumn, with both individual and group competitions. Group competitions must be between at least two people, with no limit on the number of people. There will be prizes for the top three in each category. Go back and prepare well."
Tiger Roar had been wanting a reward for a long time, and he grinned, "I'll arrange it as soon as I get back!"
"The military guards need to pay close attention to the farmland and livestock areas, and send more people to patrol. If they find anyone stealing, arrest them immediately." After Shen Nong finished speaking, she thought for a moment and realized she had nothing else to instruct, so she let the three of them leave to choose glass.
Lu Shuang walked at the back, took out a large leaf bundle from her pocket, and handed it to Shen Nong. "Priestess, I ran into Tu Dong on my way to the warehouse. She originally wanted to find you, but an orc was about to give birth and was called away by the orcs in her medical team to help. She asked me to give this to you, saying it might be flax and ramie that you found."
Shen Nong opened the leaf package to check, and it really was!
The first ramie harvest around the time of the Grain in Ear solar term is the best; now it's too late, and the fibers have already lignified. However, seeds are sufficient; Mulu has cleared a plot of land specifically for ramie cultivation.
Flax can be used, but it's still some time before harvest. The process of retting, beating, and combing the flax will take a considerable amount of time.
Shen Nong went to the system platform to ask Shen Yi about the progress of the weaving process. Shen Yi replied that there was still one thing that wasn't finished, but it would be done soon. Once it was finished, he would have the Feather Tribe beastmen deliver it.
Basic spinning and weaving are not difficult; the difficult parts are tapestry weaving and embroidery. Shen Nong couldn't do these on his own. Originally, he only planned to make ordinary cloth and figure it out after a few tries.
However, after learning about the intermediate-level androids sold by the system, his thoughts changed. If he were taught by professionals, he could avoid many detours.
This is the main system's wool; you can't take too much while you can, because once you miss this opportunity, it's gone forever. The system won't let him buy on credit anymore. Because of this textile expert, Shen Nong felt dizzy all day.
The teachers were in place, and the school was built during the reconstruction of the village. Shen Nong's dream of education was just missing pen and paper.
Papermaking has methods that predecessors have refined through trial and error, and the best approach can be found by simply following the instructions. However, Shen Nong faced a dilemma regarding pens: should she choose a calligraphy brush or a pencil?
However, Shen Nong quickly changed his mind, because making ink with a brush would take too long, and graphite had not yet been discovered for pencils. He only had charcoal sticks as an option.
To make paper, Shen Nong built a paper mill and selected several quick-witted orcs from the Wood Tribe to work with him. Shen Nong then plunged into the papermaking business.
Chapter 101
Candle
The early stages of papermaking are physically demanding. The bark raw material is chopped and soaked for a sufficient amount of time, then pounded into a very fine powder and poured into water to be stirred into pulp.
The next step, using a bamboo screen to scoop the paper, requires skill. Although the system provides techniques such as "light scooping results in thin paper, heavy scooping results in thick paper," due to lack of practice, the paper may either be too thin to hold its shape or too thick to write on.
Practice makes perfect, and this can't be rushed. While thicker ones are less convenient for writing, they're not unusable.
Shen Liu finished preparing the glass decolorizing agent and put it into use; the results were excellent. He then returned to the Wood Tribe. Just then, the first batch of paper was produced, and Shen Nong showed it to Shen Liu, who was extremely satisfied with it.
Interstellar paper is a precious and rare commodity in their world, yet here it can be made, which makes Shen Nong extremely satisfied.
Shen Nong was satisfied, but Shen Liu was very dissatisfied with the rough texture and dull, yellowish color of the paper. How could the paper be like this? It should be smooth and the color pure!
Unable to bear the imperfections of paper, Shen Liu, upon returning to the Wood Tribe, immediately began searching for raw materials to extract, determined to improve the paper into a smooth and white form.
After several days of tinkering, Shen Liu actually managed to get it working. It was tough on the orcs at the paper mill, though; Shen Liu's high standards meant they were made to work like machines. Every day after processing the papermaking raw materials, even the level-two orcs were so exhausted they didn't want to move a single finger.
After Shen Liu improved the paper, the charcoal pencil was finished. For Shen Shi, who was engaged in construction, his carpentry skills were at their peak, and making a small charcoal pencil was a piece of cake.
Shen Nong examined the finished paper and pens, then took out a set to store in the system's inventory. These were rare items in interstellar space; as humanity entered the interstellar age, many things had been lost. Handicrafts were even more so, with only a few ancient books recording them.
Many things recorded in the ancient books, while not difficult to replicate—simply by studying the principles—lack the raw materials in interstellar space. Furthermore, these ancient books are held in government collections and cannot be borrowed or viewed without a valid reason. If Shen Nong hadn't been a botanist who needed to read these ancient texts to study plants from the past, he wouldn't have been qualified to read them either.
The loss of skills is rarely due to just one reason.
With the paper and pens ready, the beeswax candles can also be used. Making candles is easy; simply boil the honeycomb you've acquired to extract beeswax, melt the beeswax, pour it into molds, and let it cool.
The wick was made from rushes found near the water. After harvesting and letting it dry for a while to lose some moisture, the pale yellow core inside was easier to extract. Shen Nong broke the core the first few times she tried. Later, she gradually found the right technique; although her movements were slower, she could extract a whole core each time. Finally, she combined several cores and rolled them together to make the candle flame larger and brighter.
The first step in learning knowledge is to learn writing, so Shen Nong asked the linguist Shen Ba to compile introductory teaching materials. Chinese characters were chosen as the basic language because the beastmen of the Beast World, like the planet Shen Nong belonged to in interstellar space, spoke Chinese. Furthermore, Shen Nong had previously noticed that the writing system of the Beast World was very similar to pictographs. Ancient books preserved in interstellar space record that their writing and language gradually evolved from this, forming the mature Chinese characters.
During the compilation of the teaching materials, Shen Nong met with the orcs from Beast City who had been left waiting for many days. Shen Nong already knew their main purpose: to bring him to Beast City under the pretext of having him participate in the Beast City Autumn Trading Day, but they didn't know exactly what they would do there.
Beast City was unfamiliar to Shen Nong, but some of the elders of the Wood Tribe did have some recollection of it, having lived around Beast City for a period of time when they were young. Eventually, for reasons unknown, the Wood Tribe was expelled by the High Priest of Beast City and moved to their current location.
Shen Nong had no intention of sending these orcs back from Beast City. The Beast City had ill intentions, and sending them back would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains.
But by detaining them, and with no instant communication or carrier pigeons in the Beast World, their only communication with Beast City was cut off. Unless they sent people to investigate, Beast City would never know what had happened.
If Beast City doesn't send anyone back for a long time, it will be at least next spring.
During this time, let Shen Wu go out and look for gold mines, which will also give him a chance to clear his ears and mind. If he really can't find any, then try to mine the gold mines of the Stone Tribe. With Shen Shi, who is good at construction, building the supporting mine tunnels is time-consuming but not impossible.
With more gold, they can exchange it for more defensive and offensive weapons from the system. If the Beast City dares to do anything, the Wood Tribe won't be afraid.
——
The orcs from Beast City weren't particularly high-level, but they weren't low-level either; they were all level four or five orc warriors. Shen Nong didn't want to keep them locked up like this indefinitely, so she gave them two options: either continue to be locked up in the cave, or sign a blood pact and join the Wood Tribe.
Most of the orcs chose the latter option. They had traveled a long and arduous journey, enduring many detours. That wasn't all; they had no fire and could only eat raw meat. In the orc city, raw meat was something only low-level orcs ate. As mid-level orc warriors, when had they ever eaten raw meat before?
Not only could they not eat well, but they also couldn't drink well or sleep well. When they finally arrived, they were caught, tied up, and thrown into a dark cave before they even got close.
Now they can't even eat raw meat; they can only eat the wild vegetable soup that slaves and livestock in their Beast City eat.
Now that they had a choice, they chose the latter without hesitation. They knew that the orcs of the Wood Tribe ate meat every day, and it was cooked meat that was very delicious, not raw meat.
The fact that they could smell the aroma of meat three times a day in the cave indicated that these orcs ate meat three times a day, one more meal than they did in the orc city.
They didn't ask for anything else, just to be treated like the orcs guarding them, willing to do anything they were told. They simply couldn't bear being locked up like this, barely getting enough to eat from wild vegetables.
Among these orcs, three preferred to be trapped in a cave eating unpalatable and insufficient wild vegetables rather than join this small tribe.
What a joke! They are orc warriors from Beast City! How could they possibly lower themselves to become members of a small tribe in such a remote area? Even being the lowest slave in Beast City would be better than being members of this remote tribe!
Shen Nong could see the three men's disdain and disgust for the Wood Tribe. Respecting their choices, Shen Nong instructed the guards to tie them up tighter and to give them less wild vegetables when she left.
If he were to recklessly run away and the people of Beast City found out that he refused to go, there would be a lot of trouble.
The beastmen from Beast City who joined the Wood Tribe were given permission by Shen Nong to be taken to the food preparation team and given a hearty meal of meat. The meat tasted even better than what they had eaten in Beast City; they even felt that the meat eaten by their young masters was not as delicious as the meat from the Wood Tribe.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they were taken to be washed and changed into fish-skin clothes. These beastmen had never seen fish-skin clothes before and kept touching them with their hands. They were much lighter than the animal skin skirts they wore, and the lightness of them could even compare to the silk skirts worn by the young masters of their beast city.
However, all they knew was that the young masters' silk skirts were very light, but they didn't know what it felt like to wear them.
But the young masters all said that it was very comfortable to wear in the summer and didn't feel stuffy or uncomfortable. Although the fish skin clothes they were wearing now were light, they were quite stuffy, but compared to animal skin, fish skin clothes were still better.
The orcs from Beast City were all sent to the military guard. Their orc level might not be anything special in Beast City, but it would be considered quite good in the Wood Tribe.
After arranging everything, Shen Nong felt a sense of crisis. Their Mu tribe was developing rapidly, and without sufficient protection, they would ultimately become nothing more than fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
Shen Nong exchanged all her remaining infrastructure points for Marrow Cleansing Pills, a total of thirty pills. After the autumn martial arts competition, the military guard will select twenty orc warriors to give them the Marrow Cleansing Pills. The orc warriors who had previously taken the Marrow Cleansing Pills are now all at level seven.
Tiger Roar is at level eight, and Cat Cloud is at level seven, but it won't be long before they break through to level eight. Orcs who have consumed the Marrow Cleansing Pill level up extremely quickly, gaining a level in just one year. For orcs who haven't consumed the pill, those with excellent aptitude level five or higher gain a level in two or three years. Those with poor aptitude may not gain a level even after ten years.
In addition, Shen Nong took out three more and gave them to Leopard Autumn, Wolf Rain, and Deer Spring from the caravan. The three of them were already level seven orc warriors with excellent aptitude, but having good aptitude was just the most basic requirement for them to advance further from level seven.
The Marrow Cleansing Pill can help them break through their bottlenecks, and the Wood Tribe will have more orc warriors of level seven or above, which is good for the tribe's development.
Of the remaining seven, Shen Nong planned to give two to the priests of the Mountain Tribe and the Wind Tribe. Lu Shuang had activated her spirit core after consuming the Marrow Cleansing Pill, allowing her to use supernatural abilities. The priests of the Mountain Tribe and the Wind Tribe also possessed spirit cores, and if they wished, Shen Nong would help them activate theirs and then teach them how to use and cultivate their abilities.
Shen Nong's encounter with Mu Qi in the Wushan tribe made it clear to her that the people of Beast City could use supernatural abilities. Although their methods of acquiring these abilities were despicable, it was undeniably the most efficient way to use them for their own purposes.
The supernatural energy obtained through such disgusting methods is directly proportional to the suffering endured in one's previous life. The more suffering one endured, the more energy accumulates and waits to be unleashed.
More importantly, the starting level for superpowers is very high, and a person is not limited to one type of superpower. As long as there are different crystal cores, a person can use five different superpowers, which can complement each other to make them even stronger in combat.
The Beast City and the Wood Tribe will inevitably clash sooner or later. If only he and Lu Shuang can use their special abilities in the Wood Tribe, their chances of winning the battle will be greatly reduced.
The guards, the orcs of Beast City who had just finished a day of training, collapsed to the ground. Wolfwood panted heavily, too exhausted to move a single finger. The sunset painted half the sky red, and the clouds stretched out like long lines. Wolfwood looked at the clouds, remembering someone they had forgotten and ignored, and suddenly asked, "Do you think Snake Forest is really dead?"
“Why did you suddenly think of him?” Niu Xia, standing to the side, curled his lip in disdain. “He tried to push me out to block the wooden arrow, but luckily the Beast God intervened and made him lose his footing, getting hit by the arrow instead. We all know how powerful that wooden arrow is; one shot in the chest would definitely kill you.”
Wolfwood disagreed with Niuxia's statement, "But if he died, why didn't the Wood Tribe orcs bring him in at the time?"
Niu Xia asked curiously, "Why would they drag a corpse into the tribe? They're not cannibals. If they just left it in the forest, the wild animals would eat it, saving it space."
Niu Xia made no attempt to hide his loathing for the Snake Forest; he was the one who almost died back then!
Niu Xia's words made sense, but Lang Mu still felt something was off. Before he was taken away, he caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of his eye and glanced back. It was the grass where Snake Forest had been lying after being shot by an arrow. The grass was tall and dense, and from Lang Mu's angle, he couldn't see clearly whether anyone was still lying in the same spot.
"If he hadn't died, would he have gone back to Beast City to find the Ninth Young Master? Then Beast City would know about our joining the Wood Tribe." Listening to the two's conversation, Fox Mountain thought of this and felt a little heavy-hearted.
Upon hearing this, the other orcs burst into laughter. Niu Xia laughed the loudest, sitting up and looking at Hu Shan with a mocking expression. "You're so young, yet you really think so highly of yourself. So what if Beast City finds out? The young master won't even frown at us level five orc warriors. He'll just think that those of us who joined other tribes are unworthy of entering Beast City."