We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 138 "Mom's" Reward
"You're awake, Hao. We'll go out and find some wild animal carcasses in a bit."

I was shaken awake and looked at the hazy stars in the sky.

It was still dark...

Xia Minghao's eyes widened; this was the first time he had ever gotten up so early.

Seeing Arno's dark smile, he stood up without saying anything more.

I followed Arno to the riverbank and saw him pick up a leaf and shape it into a funnel.

Then they filled it with soil, and then used another leaf to put water in.

Then it began to suckle, just like suckling milk.

He did it again, but this time he handed the set to Xia Minghao.

"You drink it, Hao."

Xia Minghao took it, but as soon as he put it to his nose, a very strong stench hit him.

I rely on?

The place already had a foul odor from who-knows-where, it was so stinky that Xia Minghao was sleeping in it and almost got used to it after one night.

But the thing that was handed to him had an unusually strong stench, which he noticed immediately.

I opened my eyes wide and looked at the soil inside the leaves in the dim morning light, and saw something wriggling inside.

Is this from the soil or from the water?

He immediately went to the embers of the fire, took a piece of dry wood that was originally intended to be used as firewood, lit it to use as a torch, and headed towards the river.

The firelight illuminated the water's surface.

So the stench came from the water's surface?
What is this? This is clearly a stinking ditch!

"You drink this kind of water?"

Xia Minghao couldn't help but ask in surprise, only to receive a positive answer from Arno.

“There is food in the water. We feed the water with food, and food will grow. We can also drink the water.”

Hearing Arno say that, Xia Minghao looked over with a strange expression.

Now, illuminated by the firelight, everything was much clearer, and Arnold's proud expression could be seen.

Xia Minghao: 6, you're even more awesome than Indians!
At most, people drink the periodic table of elements; you're drinking stinky water with bugs in it.

No way, I can't drink a drop of this water. If I do, my bright future will be ruined.

There must be water.

Even if they find water, Xia Minghao doesn't plan to stay any longer.

If it weren't for the abundance of male laborers in this area, Xia Minghao would have turned around and left, letting Lipa handle the situation later.

"Ah Hao, drink up."

"I'm not drinking anymore. You drink it."

Seeing that Arno still seemed to be doing this out of kindness, Xia Minghao said helplessly.

At the same time, using the torches, they began to observe the surrounding terrain.

It's more accurate to call this place a stinking pond than a stinking ditch, as it's located in a rather low-lying area.

However, the area is quite large; the entire valley is like a large bowl, and this pool occupies about half of that bowl.

Such a large pool could not possibly have been caused by rainwater; it is obvious that external water has been poured into it.

So what kind of water is it?

Since there is no surface water, it can only be groundwater.

It is also known that groundwater must seep from high to low, otherwise the water in the stinking pond will flow towards the river instead of seeping from the river.

That means that you can find groundwater by digging to a height slightly above the pumping station!

If you want to get water, there's only one way.

Dig a well!

"Arno, where is your mother? I have something to tell you."

"Mom? Mom doesn't usually see anyone. If there's anything, you have to ask my sister."

"elder sister?"

"Yes, women other than Mom are like older sisters; they are also Mom's children."

"Ok."

Hearing what Arno said, Xia Minghao quickly replied.

"Where is my sister? I have something to tell her."

Although Arno didn't know why Xia Minghao did this, he still chose to take Xia Minghao to find other women.

Following behind Arno, we walked in the other direction of the stinky pond.

This is not the side where the men live, but the completely opposite side, and the taste is different too.

It should have been a pleasant fragrance, but when the fragrance mixed with the smell of the stinky pool, it immediately became incredibly foul, even more unbearable than a simple stench.

As the sky gradually brightened, Xia Minghao saw all sorts of flowers and plants.

Dark shadows could be seen buzzing and flying around among the flowers and plants from time to time.

As the sky brightened a bit more, Xia Minghao was able to see clearly that what was flying around were not Indian honeybees, but real bees.

Bees, when you turn them upside down, they're honey!
Xia Minghao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately asked Arno.

"Have you ever eaten something that's really sweet? Something that's really delicious, and tastes different from insects?"

"Sweet? Delicious?"

Arno, who was walking ahead, stopped after hearing this and ultimately shook his head.

Xia Minghao didn't know if he truly understood what sweetness was, or if he had simply never tasted it before.

But in any case, where there are bees, there is a high probability of honey, and the bees flying around are indeed collecting nectar.

Whether the honey in this tribe has been discovered or not, it has all been monopolized by these women; in any case, the existence of honey is undeniable.

With no sugar-producing crops available, honey was probably their only hope of obtaining sweets.

Nowadays, agriculture and animal husbandry, including taro, wild ducks, and crocodiles, have begun to develop, so there is no shortage of energy.

Honey wasn't for filling one's stomach, but rather an excellent "reward".

Eating sugar can make people feel happy and joyful, which is exactly what primitive people, who had escaped the struggle for survival, needed most: to obtain happiness and joy from life.

If we can control honey, this "luxury resource," then while it's not a lifeline, it's certainly a valuable asset.

After walking for a while, the sky finally brightened completely, and the eastern sky began to show the first light of dawn.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Xia Minghao spotted the women in the flower bushes in the distance.

There were more women than yesterday, about forty or so, but most of the women I didn't see yesterday were heavily pregnant, about a dozen or so.

There aren't many pregnant women; Xia Minghao didn't see many when he left the Xia tribe.

Proportionally speaking, the number of pregnant women in the Wa tribe is quite staggering, equivalent to two or three hundred women in the Xia tribe being pregnant.

Hearing footsteps, the women stood up, seemingly without any wariness of the man. Several women gathered around, wanting to find out his purpose.

After hearing Arno's story, the women's faces all fell, and they looked at Xia Minghao.

Xia Minghao, however, was not intimidated at all and spoke frankly to everyone.

“I can provide you with clean water. Don’t you want to drink clean water? Let me bring some people with me, and I can provide the Wa tribe with clean water.”

One of the women, upon hearing this, spoke in a tone that sounded inexplicably angry.

“We don’t go to the river to drink water, nor do we use leaves to bring water over, otherwise the insects will get hungry too.”

Go to the river?
Of course, going to the riverbank was not cost-effective, as Xia Minghao originally intended to dig a well.

"You don't need to go to the riverbank; you can dig in the ground and get water. Clean water."

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately laughed in anger.

"How could there be water when you dig? You all need to leave quickly. My sons shouldn't be here."

Xia Minghao frowned, then looked into the distance, searching for the figure of the so-called "mother," but he couldn't find even the slightest trace of her.

"I want to see my mother. I want to tell her."

“Mom won’t listen. Go back right now, or I’ll have Mom punish you.”

The woman said angrily.

Upon seeing the woman's anger, Arno immediately became somewhat frightened.

"Ao, let's go back now, don't tell Mom."

Then she pulled Xia Minghao away.

Sensing Arnold's power, she initially wanted to resist, but then realized that if she were to be forceful now, it might backfire.

So he had no choice but to turn around and leave with Arno.

"Ah Hao, do you want someone to dig a big hole for you to sleep in?"

"No."

Xia Minghao looked at Arno, not expecting him to use such thinking to speculate about him. Although he guessed wrong, it at least proved that Arno was not stupid.

As expected of a former patriarchal tribe, even though they have now reverted to a matriarchal system, their understanding of the world is still somewhat better than that of completely uncivilized primitive people.

But Arno didn't believe it; he had already accepted this fact and continued speaking to Xia Minghao.

"Ah Hao, I have friends who can help you. We're all children of the same mother." Goodness...

When Xia Minghao heard Arno say this, he suddenly realized that the fertility worship that had formed, as well as the strange habit of the Wa tribe calling their mothers, had invisibly made this group of people so united, and even developed a good habit of helping each other.

It must be said that although religion has limited the progress of thought to some extent, it is not entirely without merit.

At the same time, he couldn't help but frown. The people of the Wa tribe were extremely devout to that so-called mother.

If we really want to strip that woman of her rights in the Wa tribe, it might be difficult to do.

The best course of action now seems to be to control that woman and make her work for him; only in this way can he truly achieve his goal.

Back in the stinky pool, Xia Minghao actually felt more comfortable; the stench caused by the combination of fragrance and stench was gone.

Instead of heading to the previous spot, he stood in front of the stinking ditch and began waving his arms.

Then, step by step, they continued uphill.

Arno scratched his head in bewilderment at the strange posture. Many people who had just finished drinking water and were still in the stinky pool looked at this scene with strange expressions.

Seeing that Xia Minghao had stopped listening, Arno walked over and asked Xia Minghao.

"Ah Hao, are you praying? To which god?"

"Yes, I am praying to the god of mathematics."

Xia Minghao gave a casual reply while calculating in his mind.

At this moment, Arnold spoke again.

“Ah Hao, you shouldn’t pray anymore. Your mother or sisters will scold you or even hit you if they see you doing it. You can only believe in God Push, not anything else.”

Xia Minghao ignored him, because he had already used the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the approximate depth from the platform he was standing on to the bottom of the pool.

The square root of 27 is approximately five meters.

In other words, you can definitely find groundwater if you dig at a maximum depth of five meters!
Without saying much, Xia Minghao walked straight into the distance, but instead of going to the pit area where the Wa tribe slept, he continued forward and found a relatively low-lying area.

The farther away from the stinky pond, the less digging work is required; similarly, the lower the elevation, the shallower the excavation.

"Would you like to help me dig a hole? I have some meat I can give you."

Even if it's shallow, without good tools, digging by yourself would definitely be a huge hassle. Thinking of the helpful Arno, Xia Minghao took the initiative to ask.

Unexpectedly, Arno first shook his head after hearing this, and then nodded.

"I don't want to eat, I'll dig it for you."

Just as they found a flat stone, which looked like a good spot to dig a hole, Arno hesitated and said something.

"But it's too low here. If we dig a hole to sleep in, it will be very wet. When we wake up, we'll be covered in water. Sleeping with water might make our bodies feel like they've been roasted in a fire, but we'll feel as cold as winter."

"I don't dig for a place to sleep; I can dig for water, clean water to drink."

Xia Minghao offered an explanation after hearing what Arno said.

At the same time, I realized that these people had discovered that the deeper you dig, the higher the humidity becomes.

Who knows, maybe one day a clever person will emerge from this tribe and start trying to find low-lying places to dig holes, and they will be able to dig a well.

Arno still didn't understand, but he still chose to help Xia Minghao dig the hole.

Xia Minghao also found a stone and started working with Arno.

Meanwhile, the others had already been drawn to Xia Minghao and came over one after another.

Seeing that a hole was being dug in this place, everyone was puzzled.

"Arno, what are you doing? Why are you digging a hole here?"

Arno then straightened up and addressed the crowd.

"Our new brothers are going to dig a hole here to sleep."

"Sleeping here?"

"Yes, he's willing to stay here."

It seems that the doubts have been answered, but not completely answered.

However, the crowd that gathered around did not hesitate. Without saying a word, they also found stones and wanted to help Xia Minghao dig.

Seeing this scene, Xia Minghao once again felt the atmosphere of mutual help and support among the Wa tribe.

With a dozen or so people carrying stones, the well-digging speed increased rapidly.

A one-meter-wide pit was quickly dug.

Seeing that everyone was about to stop, Xia Minghao remembered what Arno had said earlier and immediately spoke up as well.

"I don't want to sleep lightly, I want the hole to be deeper, could you help me dig a little more?"

They looked at each other, but considering there were so many people around, they figured it wouldn't hurt to dig a little deeper, so they continued digging.

They dug like this until the sun was about eight or nine o'clock, and everyone started to sweat.

"I can't dig anymore, I need to find something to feed the water."

"Yes, I'm starting to feel wet, I need to get some water to drink later."

This time, Xia Minghao did not insist, but stood up and addressed the crowd.

"Wait a moment, there will be water to drink soon."

It's already almost three meters deep, and it's so far from the stinky pond, and the terrain is so low-lying, so it should have reached the bottom by now.

More importantly, Xia Minghao could vaguely hear the sound of flowing water.

It's definitely seepage from the strata!
Just a little bit closer!

Xia Minghao not only had to dig, but also had to make as many people as possible see that he had dug the water himself.

Thinking of this, he used the stone even faster.

One after another, Xia Minghao's heart would skip a beat every time he dug into something hard, fearing that he had hit a rock layer.

If it's rock, even a werewolf couldn't break through it.

Fortunately, each time I dug, what I ended up with wasn't any rock formation, but just stones of varying sizes.

Everyone climbed out of the pit and watched Xia Minghao digging, completely bewildered.

But no one left, because they all had a premonition that something was about to happen.

Arno suddenly remembered what Xia Minghao had said and was somewhat surprised.

"So, it turns out he really didn't want to dig a hole to sleep in; Ah-Hao wanted to dig for clean water!"

"Dig out clean water?"

How can there be clean water in the soil?

Upon hearing this, everyone was surprised.

A chorus of voices filled with doubt and surprise rippled through the crowd, and more and more people rushed over, quickly surrounding the large pit and blocking out the sunlight.

This made Xia Minghao feel as if the sky had darkened again, but he did not stop and continued digging.

Until I felt a distinct dampness flowing onto my hand.

Xia Minghao's hand speed became even faster and faster, rapidly expanding his gains.

There was no expected geyser, but the water flow was increasing significantly in both direction and speed, until it was visible to the naked eye of onlookers at the edge of the pit.

"It's water!"

"Such clear water!"

Their exclamations were filled with excitement; none of them thought about why there was water, only joy!
"It's the god Push! The god Push gave us this water!"

One of them shouted.

Everyone else wanted to speak, but then they heard another voice coming from the bottom of the pit.

"No, it was me who dug the water. It wasn't just me; there were others too. Quite a few people dug it together just now."

A sudden remark plunged everyone into silence, until the voice of one of the people who had been digging the hole rang out.

"I did dig just now, could it be that I dug it up?"

“I dug some too.”

The gratitude to the god Pushy instantly transformed into pride in everyone's participation in the labor.

Xia Minghao smiled faintly and didn't say much. Instead, he waited like everyone else until the water filled the entire pit, the mud settled, and the water became clear. Only then did Xia Minghao scoop up a handful of water and drink it.

I hadn't drunk any water all day, but after taking a sip, I felt refreshed.

The water was actually of good quality to begin with. It seeped from the river and was filtered through countless layers of soil, making it much better than drinking river water directly.

Unlike Xia Minghao, everyone else simply buried their faces in the water.

At this moment, several women who had emerged from the flower bushes also gathered around.

Among them was the one who had just stopped Xia Minghao.

She looked the most surprised and exclaimed in alarm.

"You actually dug water out of the ground! I'm going to tell Mom!"

He immediately ran towards the flower bushes without looking back.

He soon ran back and spoke.

"Mom said you can lead others to dig out clean water from the soil, and Mom will give you the best reward."

"award?"

"That's right, Mom will give you a reward after the Pushi Conference in a few days."

(End of this chapter)