Good luck with koi carp

Chapter 243 Winter
The difficulty of winter is something that all orcs know, and the Xiayadi tribe is no exception.

However, even though they learned how to preserve food from the Lili tribe, the preparation time was still too short. As time went by, winter hit hard and unavoidably.

When the temperature dropped below zero and snow fell from the sky, Xia Yadi looked up at the various pickled and dried meats hanging on the roof and counted the food that her family had stored up during this time.

Even though they had tried very hard to hunt more before the end of autumn, one reason was that the tribesmen were still recovering from their injuries and could not deal with large and dangerous prey, so they could only catch small and medium-sized prey. Another reason was that they had to eat when they stored food, so after deducting this loss, the remaining food would only be enough to sustain them for half a month without hunting, and it was not enough to survive the entire winter.

This is the data she obtained when she controlled everyone's daily food intake to a level that would not cause starvation.

This is obviously not good news for the Xiayati people, but compared to the previous situation where they had no way to store food, they now have a relatively safe fixed residence and a certain amount of food reserves. In fact, it is much better than before when they were wandering.

Just as Chi Li expected, after seeing a better way of life, Xia Yadi and her people all developed a desire and yearning for this stable and settled life.

Who wouldn’t want to guard a large amount of food reserves, wear warm animal skins, and stay comfortably in a safe home to spend the dangerous and cold winter?

Xia Yadi is not a fool. The fact that she can become the leader of a tribe shows that she has enough wisdom to lead the tribe to survive in this dangerous primitive world. So she can see the silent invitation of the Lili tribe, but it concerns the future of her entire tribe. She must be responsible for every living member of the tribe, so some decisions are not so easy to make.

She needs an opportunity.

A true proof that the Lili tribe is reliable enough to attract the entire tribe to join them.

The opportunity came quickly.

After the orcs from both tribes dated each other for a while, nearly a month later, good news came from the Xiayati tribe.

Among the three female orcs who participated in the date, two successfully became pregnant.

After the child's father confirmed that he was the father through a secret perception from deep in his blood, two strong male orcs were quickly separated from the Lili tribe to join the Charlotte tribe.

Then, during the period of their partner's pregnancy and until the child is weaned, they will stay in the Xiayati tribe, fulfilling their responsibilities as a father and protecting their partner and future cubs.

This was a scene that Xia Yadi was happy to see, because this was her plan. With the addition of two strong orcs, their tribe's combat power was greatly improved in a short period of time. It cannot be said that there is no need to worry about any danger anymore, but at least the safety is guaranteed to a certain extent.

Although these two first-time fathers in the Lili tribe do not have as much experience in taking care of pregnant women as the older orcs, they have been influenced by their tribesmen since childhood and know how to be good to their partners.

One is to provide sufficient food. There is no need to worry about this as they have plenty of food stored at home. The other is to provide strong protection. There is even less need to worry about this as they are the most powerful orcs among the younger generation of the Lili tribe except for the patriarch. Their beast forms are all carnivorous animals with strong combat capabilities.

As for other details such as caring for and nurturing their partners, although they were a little clumsy the first time, they were sincere enough to make the female orcs who were being cared for happy and even make them want to form long-term partners with them.

In addition to short-term dating relationships in the orc world, there is another type of fixed and long-term partnership. Orc partners in this type of relationship are more like a legal couple. As long as they swear an oath to the orc god to stay together for life, they will never betray each other again, and will consciously refuse to date other orcs and only be loyal to each other.

However, the decision to establish this kind of relationship lies in the hands of female orcs, and generally female orcs rarely make such a decision, because their animal genetic instincts will make them unconsciously pursue stronger partners in order to give birth to better cubs. If they always stay with a male orc, wouldn't that cut off all their future options?

Therefore, even Simon's parents, who Chi Li had a deep affection for, did not establish such a relationship, but only existed as dating partners of the same ethnic group.

At present, Chi Li feels that among all the orcs she has met, the one most likely to have established such a relationship is her old father.

However, she did not go to her old father to confirm it. Chi Li was a little curious about her parents' love, but not much. She still knew how to fully respect other people's privacy. As long as her old father did not mention it to her, she would not ask.

Considering that the Xiayati tribe had two pregnant women to raise, and that they were the bloodline of their Lili tribe, Chi Li simply took this opportunity to invite the Xiayati tribe to cooperate in hunting.

When Xia Yadi first heard the invitation, she was surprised and moved, because she knew very well that the Lili tribe had sufficient food reserves and did not need to go out in the severe cold and snow in winter to hunt for prey that were hiding somewhere unknown. The reason she made this invitation was more because she knew that they were short of food and wanted to help them.

To be honest, if there were members of the Lili tribe to help with hunting, their hunting success rate would indeed be greatly improved, and the pressure of survival would be reduced accordingly.

Even though she knew that the Lili tribe's move could be regarded as poverty alleviation, face was the most useless thing when it came to survival. So after Xia Yadi analyzed the benefits to her own family, she agreed without hesitation. At the same time, the hesitation in her heart added weight to her decision.

Seeing the change in Xia Yadi's attitude, Chi Li smiled and left with satisfaction.

She was going to arrange for people to take turns going out hunting with the members of the Xiayati tribe. Even in winter, they should exercise occasionally so as not to lose their hunting skills.

The orcs of the Lili tribe had no objection to the patriarch's arrangement.

To be honest, after wandering for a long time, and settling down only in the past two years, they are not used to spending the whole winter hiding in the house, especially those orcs with thick fur. They prefer to roll around in the snow and catch some prey to satisfy their hunger. This is a life that is more in line with their nature.

Compared to those energetic furry beastmen, Chi Li, who was covered in scales, began to become gradually drowsy as the temperature dropped every day.

Her animal form is a Jiaolong. Although Jiaolong is called a dragon, it is actually a close relative of snakes, or it can be said that many Jiaolongs themselves are transformed from snakes. Before they truly become dragons, they still retain some of the habits of snakes.

For example, hibernation.

It was only after Chi Li spent her first winter in beast form after awakening that she discovered that she was actually affected by the hibernation habit.

But maybe she is a dragon instead of a snake after all, so if she doesn't want to hibernate, she won't really hibernate. It's just that when winter comes, especially when the temperature gets lower, she gets sleepy more easily and looks a little drowsy.

It was impossible for Chi Li to really let herself sleep for the entire winter. After all, she still had an entire tribe to take care of. How could she really let go for several months? Don't wait for her to wake up from hibernation and find that the tribe was in chaos...

Well, with her old father and Claresa around, this possibility is not very high.

But due to responsibility, Chi Li couldn't completely abandon the tribe, so he could only suppress his sleepiness and deal with things every day.

Fortunately, there is nothing much to do in winter. There is no need to sow or plow the land. Apart from occasionally going out hunting, most people stay at home to hibernate.

At most, they just visit each other when they are bored.

“This winter is a bit cold.”

Chi Li was wrapped in a thick sheepskin blanket, roasting herself by the fire. She turned into an animal and coiled herself into a mosquito coil. She huddled in a bamboo nest, chewing on the roasted corn that her old father had placed in front of her head.

This bamboo nest was made by her herself. The style was based on modern round cat nests. All she needed to do was to cover the nest with thick animal skins and put soft wool underneath, and it would become a soft bed. She could curl up on it and cover herself with a quilt. It was so comfortable that Chi Li wished she could sleep in it forever.

In comparison, Dartz, who was used to the rough life, did not have so many pursuits. He just spread a layer of animal skin on the ground opposite the stove in the house, and then transformed into an animal and lay on it. The thick fur of the wolf orc was enough to provide him with warmth, and he did not need an extra quilt.

From time to time, Datz had to use a wooden stick in his wolf's mouth to poke the corn, potatoes and other foods in the stove to prevent them from being burnt. When they were cooked, he would pull them out, give some to his daughter first, and eat the rest himself.

The stove in the house was made by Chi Li using stones and mud. It was called a stove, but it was more like a stove with a chimney. If you open the blocked hole on top, you can put a stone pot on it to cook.

Although this design is a bit incongruous, it can provide good heat for the whole house in winter, making it less uncomfortable for everyone. It can also prevent the smoke produced by fire from accumulating in the house and causing carbon dioxide poisoning.

There is also a stove similar to this one in the wooden house prepared for the guests. It is hard to find prey in winter, but there is firewood to burn all over the forest. Chi Li does not need to worry about the Xiayati people who do not yet belong to their tribe.

There was a little noise outside; the hunting party was returning.

Chi Li, who was beginning to feel drowsy again, raised her eyelids, forced herself to get up, and wandered to her old father like a little snake. She climbed skillfully onto his back and hid in his thick fur.

This winter was too cold. Chi Li estimated that the temperature was around minus 30 to 40 degrees Celsius, which was very unfriendly to her.

So ever since she mastered the skill to shrink into animal form, her favorite thing to do when going out is to shrink down and lie on her old father's back, relying on his thick fur and warm body to provide warmth, thus barely ensuring that she is not frozen and hibernating due to the low temperature outside.

Except when he was leading the team himself, every time the hunting team came back, the tribe leader Chi Li would go out to take a special look to make sure that the tribe members were not injured or that the injuries were not serious before he could feel at ease.

There were five people going out hunting this time, Father Simon, Uncle Bear, Keith, Vic and Felt.

The last three are the lively trio who have always hung out together. Now two of them have become fathers, but they still like to hang out with their friends, even going hunting together.

This time, the people of the Lili tribe cooperated with the people of the Xiayati tribe and got a big guy.

It took nearly ten young men from the two tribes to carry this big guy back. Because it was too big and too conspicuous, it attracted the attention of many passing orcs. Everyone came over to take a look just to join in the fun.

When the big guy was thrown into the open space in the center of the village, Chi Li, who was lying on his old father's back, could feel the ground shaking, accompanied by a dull sound.

She raised her head from the thick fur and saw that they had captured a huge rhino.

This rhinoceros is extremely huge, comparable to an elephant. The horns in front of its nose look extremely sharp, with traces of blood on them. There are also wounds all over other parts of its body. It is obvious that it has experienced a fierce battle before its death.

However, what Chi Li was concerned about was not the rhinoceros, but the tribesmen who had fought with this rhinoceros, which was obviously very powerful.

She looked at each person carefully and even motioned for her old father to come over and sniff. Only then did she confirm that although everyone had some injuries, they were not serious. They could go back and apply some herbs on themselves and rely on their strong physiques to recover within three days.

However, out of concern, Chi Li still gave some caring words: "...Remember to apply medicine after you go back, and don't touch water to prevent the wound from getting infected..."

"I understand Chief/Chief Lili."

The orcs from the Lili tribe and the orcs from the Xiayati tribe responded in unison, both sides laughed heartily and sincerely, and it was obvious that they were very touched by Chili's concern.

According to the agreement, the proceeds from hunting by the two tribes were divided equally.

In Chili's attempt, the orc who was best at dissecting prey in the Lili tribe came forward with a large stone machete and neatly cut the whole rhino into two halves. One half was given to the Xiayati people to take away and deal with on their own, and the other half was divided within their own tribe.
According to the principle of sharing prey within the tribe, except for the orcs who participated in the hunting and the chief and elders who each got an extra piece of meat, everyone else got a piece of meat of similar size and weight. They each carried the meat and went home happily.

It just so happened that they were tired of eating pickled meat, so now that there was fresh meat, it would naturally be most delicious if it was cooked on the spot.

This rhino is big enough. The Xiayati tribe is not large in number. Even if they only get half of it, Chi Li estimates that it will be enough for them to eat for a long time.

It's mid-January now.

Chi Li calculated the time in her heart.

At this time, the orcs do not have a very clear concept of the calendar. They can only roughly divide the year into four seasons based on the changes of the four seasons. Other things such as the twenty-four solar terms in December will take time to be gradually perfected.

Chi Li only helped the tribesmen to more clearly understand the time nodes of the changing seasons, and did not directly teach them the division of December, because she felt that letting the beastmen observe the natural changes in the process of evolution and divide the time by themselves would be more beneficial to the future development of the beastmen than her direct informing them.

After all, the progress of science and culture is discovered from nature. If she pushes things too hard and cuts off their motivation to observe from the beginning, it would be bad.

So even though she has helped the tribe evolve from the nomadic period to the primitive tribal period, Chi Li has not come up with anything that is too far beyond the current era. Everything she is doing now is based on all the conditions of the current era.

Because she knew very well that she would not stay in this world for the rest of her life, nor would she stay here forever, so the orcs had to develop and evolve on their own instead of relying on her endless giving.

Chi Li calculated the time not for any other reason, but to calculate the delivery date of the two pregnant orcs in the Xiayati tribe.

The gestation period of cheetah orcs is the same as that of cheetahs, which is only three months. The two orcs became pregnant in autumn, which means that they will definitely give birth in winter.

The good news is that giving birth in winter attracts relatively fewer predators. The bad news is that the survival rate of cubs born in winter is generally not high.

However, the latter was caused not only by bad weather, but also by food shortage, inadequate warming measures and other factors, which can be improved artificially, so Chi Li did not think that the two cubs that would be born in winter could not be raised.

So she quietly began to prepare for the arrival of the cubs.

There is less work to do in winter, so it is a good time to gather people together to build the wall.

By widening and raising the wall, we strive to make the village wall as strong as a city wall, so as to provide stronger protection for the tribesmen.

Knowing that building the wall would benefit everyone, no one complained and everyone began the hard work consciously.

Chi Li was just planning to prepare for a rainy day, but unexpectedly she got a pleasant surprise.

At the beginning, the Xiayati people just watched silently from the sidelines as the orcs of the Lili tribe built the wall. But when Xiayati took the initiative to take the lead in helping, the nature of the matter changed, which also made Chi Li see a clearer signal.

A group of Shayati people were trying to join their tribe.

This was undoubtedly good news, but Chi Li had no intention of pressing on with his victory. Instead, he calmed down and just lived his life as usual.

She knew that at this time, the chiefs of both sides had entered the stage of psychological warfare. If the Xiayati tribe wanted to truly join the Lili tribe, then as the weaker party, Xiayati would definitely not be able to become the chief. At most, she could only become an elder of the Lili tribe like Datz and Klesa.

It is not an easy task to make a leader give up his power. Apart from the psychological tug-of-war between the two sides, Chi Li also needs an opportunity to demonstrate her strength and reliability so that the other party can be completely assured to entrust himself and his people to her.

So Chi Li was waiting patiently, waiting for this opportunity to come.

Judging from the time, she shouldn't have to wait too long.

However, before that, the Lili tribe encountered a small-scale disaster.

A snowstorm swept in, bringing even more severe extreme weather and causing the surrounding temperature to drop sharply. Based on her own physical sensations, Chi Li estimated that the temperature was definitely below minus 40 degrees Celsius.

At this temperature, even the bear orcs with thick fur could not stand it and might even be frozen to death if they were not careful, let alone the dragon orcs like Chi Li who had no fur to keep warm.

Chi Li, who almost died of the cold and hibernation, now likes to nest in Aunt Xiong's arms instead of her old father's back.

It was as if he had returned to the time when he first came here. At that time, Chi Li was still a cub with neither fur nor scales to protect his body. In the cold winter, he could only rely on the warm embrace of adult orcs to survive.

The only difference is that at that time there was only Chi Li in Aunt Xiong's arms, and now there is little Bunny, but the arms are not crowded.

The bear lady in beast form is a huge, fat brown bear. If she stands upright, her height can easily exceed five meters, and when she is on all fours, she is nearly two meters tall.

It was more than enough for Aunt Xiong to hold two people in her arms.

The temperature dropped too low. In order to ensure the survival of the tribesmen, Chi Li used the big house that was built at the beginning, and summoned the tribesmen to pack up their things and move in, returning to their previous group life.

The house is big enough, and the building materials used are all large shaped logs that can withstand construction. It can accommodate all the members of the Lili tribe to squeeze in and rest together. In order to increase the warmth, they even hang extra animal skins on the walls so that the members staying at the outermost part can lean against the furry animal skins without having to stick directly to the cold wall.

In order to resist the severe cold to the greatest extent, almost all the tribesmen who could transform into animal form did so. In the entire Lili tribe, except for Chi Li, all the others were furry creatures. They huddled together to keep warm, and there was a burning stove in the center of the house that continuously provided light and heat.

Chi Li was surrounded in the warmest area in the middle, silently wondering when this blizzard would end.

Even though she stayed inside the house, she could still clearly hear the howling wind outside. She didn't need to see it with her own eyes to know that the wind was mixed with cold frost and snow, wrapping their entire village in a blanket of white.

Maybe the snow piled up outside is as tall as their human figures?

I hope the roofs of our tribesmen won’t be crushed by the snow.

I am not sure about this big shared house and my own Chi Li. She built it very solidly and it won't collapse easily.

What really worries her is that some tribesmen built their houses too perfunctorily or arbitrarily. Their houses seem to be in good shape, but in fact they are not very solid and can be easily damaged. This is one of the reasons why Chi Li immediately summoned all the tribesmen to gather in the big house after discovering the snowstorm was coming.

Chi Li also kindly invited the Xiayati tribe to come along to avoid the cold winter, but they declined.

The other person has his own considerations, and Chi Li did not force him after being rejected. Even though she intended to ask the other person to stay, her focus was still on her family members.

Fortunately, this snowstorm came and went quickly.

After about two days, the outside world became quiet. Uncle Bear, who was closest to the door of the big house, tried to push the door open a little to look outside, but found that the door was blocked by snow and could not be opened.

"Chief, the door can't be opened."

"Go out through the high window."

Chi Li had already anticipated that the door would be blocked, so she was not panicked when she heard this. She raised her paw and pointed at a window that was deliberately left high up and said.

This window is high, but it is quite large. With the help of the beast-like creatures of the same race, some smaller orcs who are good at climbing can easily jump out from there.

Several cat orcs in the tribe jumped out first as the vanguard, followed closely by Chi Li.

She grew a little bigger and moved along Aunt Bear's body to one of her shoulders. She stretched her slender body upwards and reached the window sill. She grabbed the window frame with her two front paws and climbed out with her head tilted out.

There was snow everywhere outside. The thick snow had almost covered most of the houses. Chi Li estimated that the snow was about three or four meters deep, or maybe even more.

The orcs themselves are big animals, so naturally they like to build their houses high and big. This way, most of their houses would be submerged, so the snow would naturally not be shallow.

The few cat beastmen who jumped out first were already helping to dig out the snow at the door. Chi Li just lay on the window and stared at them without going out.

It was too cold, and she was very self-aware. She felt she couldn't bear it, so she didn't go out to make trouble.

Fortunately, those cat beastmen were very helpful. With their efforts, the snow blocking the door was quickly cleared away. With the help of Uncle Bear inside the door, the door of the house was quickly opened, allowing everyone to come out.

"Everyone, clear the snow. Clear the main roads first. Check the condition of each house. If there is a collapsed house, report to me immediately. Also check the condition of the livestock. If there are any that have frozen to death, deal with them as soon as possible..."

Following Chi Li's instructions, the tribesmen quickly took action.

They first cleared the road connecting the big house to the village entrance to facilitate communication with the Xiayati people, and then cleared the snow on other roads, and checked the conditions of each household and the livestock placed in the public pens.

Clearing the snow is not difficult, but it is laborious.

Fortunately, the orcs have plenty of strength.

The houses were in a state of minor damage. Two of the orcs' homes were not built solidly and collapsed under the weight of the snow.

However, it did not collapse completely, only partially. Most of the things inside are still intact, which can be considered a blessing in disguise.

I believe that after this lesson, they will never dare to disobey the patriarch's warnings and mess around when building houses. They will rebuild the houses to be firm and strong.

The livestock suffered no loss.

Chi Li made timely arrangements. The public pens had been built with great effort, so they had not suffered any damage. The chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, pigs and other livestock inside were all alive and well.