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

Chapter 146 Pastoral Tribe

After stepping down from the observation platform, Xia Minghao immediately asked Huo Li.

"Didn't you say the Fire Tribe was over there? Why are there Fire Tribe members here too, and one of them is even a child?"

"Children of the Fire Tribe?"

After hearing this, Huo Li was stunned for a moment, then looked in the direction Xia Minghao was pointing, and then she realized something.

"That's not the Fire Tribe, but a place that takes care of the Fire Tribe's children."

Taking care of the children of the Fire Tribe is like being in a kindergarten?
“Every year, they select the women with the largest breasts and the most milk from other women and then feed them to the children of the Fire Tribe.”

"Some of them will be sent directly to the Fire Tribe and sold to men and women who also want to drink milk."

Xia Minghao stared wide-eyed as he listened to Huo Li's nonchalant account.

"If a woman has breast milk, she must be breastfeeding. If the Fire Tribe steals the breast milk that nourishes children, what will happen to their children?"

Upon hearing Xia Minghao's words, Huo Li was unable to answer and simply shook her head.

Rather than saying they don't know, it's more accurate to say they don't care.

No one from the Fire Tribe would care about the little human born from a human, and naturally, they had no interest in learning about it.

Xia Minghao wanted to say something, but suddenly felt he couldn't say it, or perhaps there was no need to say it.

If you think about it carefully, this kind of thing seems to exist in modern society as well, although it is not as "naked" as that of the Fire Tribe, but the essence is the same.

To put it bluntly, it means that one party, by virtue of its power or advantage, appropriates the resources, fruits of labor, or physical rights of another party without compensation or with minimal compensation, thereby causing damage to the interests of the party being plundered.

This is actually the core definition of "exploitation".

Throughout the millennia-long history of civilization, much has changed, but much has remained unchanged.

Perhaps only when society develops to that ultimate ideal stage can all exploitation and oppression truly end.

Back on the riverbank of the Xia tribe, Xia Minghao began to arrange for everyone to build the shore section of the fishing grounds. A small group of people boarded the boats and began fishing with nets.

After telling everyone how to cut down the big tree, Xia Minghao began to observe the different types of trees.

A total of nine types of trees were cut down this time. Xia Minghao had seen three or four of them in Yanquan Mountain, one of them was a miscellaneous tree he had seen in Insect Valley, and the rest were trees he had never seen before.

Use a survival knife to cut the material into small pieces and conduct experiments on each piece.

Through experiments, Xia Minghao quickly discovered a unique type of wood.

This type of wood burns evenly and is not prone to sparks. It can burn efficiently even when not completely dry, making it significantly different from other types of wood.

Xia Minghao named it Burning Tree, which can be used as a high-quality fuel in the future.

They also discovered a layer of white crystalline substance on the trunk and branches of this tree.

This substance melts when brought near a fire, and it has a light and unique fragrance that is very familiar.

It smells like the scent of beeswax I just smelled yesterday...

Could this be some kind of wax? Does this tree secrete this kind of wax?
If it's secreted, it must be from the inside out, but when you cut open this tree, there are no traces left.

While he was wondering, Xia Minghao suddenly noticed some inconspicuous little insects on the branches and trunk.

It's estimated that a lot of the wood was shaken off when the tree was cut down. If it weren't for the excellent flammability of the wood and the fact that Xia Minghao paid extra attention to the waxy substance, he really wouldn't have noticed it.

I picked up a small insect, roasted it over a fire, and that aroma returned.

We have already ruled out that the wax is secreted by the burning tree, yet we can still smell the waxy aroma when roasting these small insects.

Xia Minghao suddenly thought of a type of tree, the ash tree.

The wax insects on the ash tree secrete wax. Could this burning tree be similar to the ash tree, or perhaps a primitive species?

Make bold assumptions and verify carefully.

Xia Minghao immediately went to observe the area near the burning tree and indeed found a large number of these small insects.

Regardless of whether it is the original species of ash tree and ash insect, the mechanism of this tree wax production has been understood.

Xia Minghao was immediately startled; this wax was far more useful than durable wood!
We can experiment with it later; perhaps it can also be used as a material for the lost-wax casting process, which would speed up the casting of genuine bronze artifacts.

Luckily, I was careful and observed more closely; otherwise, it would have been a terrible waste to burn these firewoods as timber.

So Xia Minghao immediately renamed the burning tree as the wax tree and named the insect the wax worm.

The second-ranked tree, with its decent combustibility, earned the title of "burning tree."

After testing several other types, Xia Minghao discovered another tree with very distinctive features.

This wood feels extremely heavy when you hold it, so it must be very dense.

Moreover, it makes a metallic sound when you tap it.

High density means that the fibers in a unit volume of wood are more dense, and it can withstand greater weight.

Based on his knowledge of civil engineering, Xia Minghao felt that this kind of wood could be used as the pillars or beams of a house.

Furthermore, high density also means that pits wear out easily and are not easily damaged by external impacts.

It can be said to be a perfect building material. With this kind of wood, you can build brick and wood houses that are bigger and more sturdy.

A metallic sound when tapped indicates that the wood has a uniform grain and no obvious pores or loose layers, making it difficult for moisture and microorganisms to penetrate.

This material is perfect for use as foundation stones for building fish weirs in rivers. Using this type of wood to build fish weirs can greatly extend their lifespan and reduce maintenance costs.

Since it was an excellent building material, Xia Minghao naturally named it "Jianmu" (建木).

The other types of wood were unremarkable, perhaps due to the limitations of the testing methods. It is possible that these woods will later be found to have advantages that require long-term observation to discover, such as corrosion resistance.

Apart from the fishermen, everyone was busy building the fish farm, which had already taken shape according to Xia Minghao's requirements.

Logically speaking, such a large fish farm is completely unnecessary. In fact, Xia Minghao built it this way for future planning.

It is not just a simple fishing ground; in order to adapt to future river trade, it also needs to serve as a dock.

In addition, the fish yield of the fish weirs was estimated so that the fishing grounds could be connected to at least two fish weirs, which could meet the fish resource needs before the summer population boom.

Currently, only a prototype has been built. With just over a hundred male laborers, it will take about three or four days to complete the entire project.

A fire was lit beside the unfinished fish farm, burning the remaining wood.

Xia Minghao sipped his fish soup while gazing into the distance.

Once the fishing grounds are built, there will be a place to sleep, albeit in a haphazard way, for the time being. Then Ye Zi and the others can take the boat back.

Including loading time, a round trip can be completed in about one day and returned the next, and because it doesn't require bringing so many people, it can bring a large amount of supplies.

What's most needed is bricks, which are the foundation for building a village.

After the village was built, Xia Minghao planned to establish professional workplaces, such as a sawmill.

After the sawmill is built, roads need to be constructed and vehicles need to be manufactured to truly maximize the productivity of this area.

Only after all this is completed can we consider building a real city and begin selecting a site.

Starting from a fishing ground, building a village, and then a huge city, Xia Minghao estimated that it wouldn't be difficult to complete all of this before winter arrived.

Then I'll be able to live in my own "chieftain's house," covered in a fine linen quilt filled with duck down, enjoying a goat meat hot pot in a red copper pot, and then calling Shia and Dali over to sleep together under the same quilt—it's the ultimate indulgence in this primitive era...

If I could soak in a hot spring and take a bath every day, that would truly be a life.

…… ……

……

Mu Ling's palm rested on the warm neck of the giant deer, her fingertips able to touch the rough fur, which was designed for wintering. It was rough, but it gave her a sense of security.

Looking at the crowd around the fire from afar, she recognized one of them as the man who had previously stolen the hot little lake where the great antler deer had bathed.

The great stag beside her stirred slightly. Upon seeing this, Mu Ling pressed her forehead against the stag's forehead, a glint of starlight appearing in her clever eyes.

Mu Ling immediately sensed a wave of fear emanating from the Great Horned Deer.

Upon receiving this emotion, a glint of starlight immediately flashed in Mu Ling's eyes as she conveyed her gentle feelings to the Great Horned Deer to soothe it.

But that fear also infected Mu Ling, making her feel a bit more terrified as well.

"Could they be like those hairy people...?"

Recalling those hairy people, Mu Ling felt a sense of fear.

At the same time, he couldn't help but touch the large antlered deer beside him, a feeling of gratitude rising in his heart.

If it weren't for the giant deer and other giant deer, their herding tribe certainly wouldn't have been able to escape unscathed.

The fear of the hairy people quickly transferred to the uninvited guests of the Xia tribe. Mu Ling first pulled the giant deer and quietly walked a distance behind it. Once he was sure that the bushes had concealed his figure, he mounted the giant deer and headed into the depths of the forest...

After walking for a while, Mu Ling could no longer see anything because it was too dark, but the Great Horned Deer could see clearly and knew the direction.

After crossing a stream, Mu Ling finally saw the firelight, the firelight of the Mu tribe.

Around a dozen or so campfires, people were eating all sorts of strangely shaped wild vegetables. Some children were chasing after doe deer to drink their milk. Once they sensed the doe's mood, they would immediately switch to a doe with a better temperament.

Some people were using the firelight to sadly dig a pit with their hands and then bury a dead, fat deer in it.

If Xia Minghao saw this, he would definitely exclaim that it was a waste of money. It would be so much better to eat it. Just put it on a fire and let it sizzle with oil, sprinkle some salt on it, and then put it in your mouth. That would be so delicious.

"Ling! Where have you been? It's so late."

"Dad!"

Upon hearing her father Mu Tuo's reprimand, Mu Ling did not express remorse for causing her father worry, but immediately described the situation on the riverbank.

"Mao Ren?"

"No, they are not as tall as the hairy people, nor do they have hair."

Mu Ling quickly explained.

The others heard Mu Tuo shout the words "hairy man" and came over, their eyes filled with fear.

“They’re not Mao people, but they might still come and kill us or drive us away.”

"Instead of waiting for them to come and drive us away, we should leave now."

"Correct!"

"It's safe to be with the bighorn deer, but not with the hairy people."

The speakers were all men, and with the slightest exertion, their bodies, devoid of any muscle, began to sway, like bamboo poles being blown by the wind.

"Our family is leaving."

"Our family is the same. Let's leave now. The bighorn deer can see the road clearly at night."

Immediately afterwards, several people whose faces showed the most fear spoke up.

"Where are you going?"

"Go up high. It's easy to go down low, but it's difficult to go up high and you won't be easily caught."

One of them said, in a self-righteous manner.

Seeing that others were about to leave, Mu Tuo still spoke up to persuade them to leave.

"With fewer people gone, it's easier to die when encountering something terrible."

One of the people next to Mu Tuo had been silent, deep in thought, when he suddenly spoke up and asked the person who had said he was leaving.

"What if there are people in higher places too?"

Those who were clamoring to leave looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this.

But there was no reasonable response; they just made up some unfounded arguments.

"If there are people on higher ground, then keep going. There will always be places where there are no other people. Other people are dangerous; they might kill us."

"Yes, the people by the lake eat live animals. They're huge, and if you push us, we'll fall over. If we encounter them, they'll kill us."

Another person chimed in.

The man who was leading the group thought for a moment, looked at the growing crowd, and suddenly began to urge everyone to leave together.

He naturally knew that the more people there were, the safer it would be.

Sure enough, several people responded. There were eight families in total, nearly a hundred people. Without saying a word, they turned around and walked towards higher ground, which was the upstream bank of the river.

Now, a third of the 300-person herding tribe has left, leaving less than 200 people.

No one stopped the whole process because the pastoral tribe had no leader; it was just an aggregation of small families.

Everyone watched the figure disappear into the darkness in silence.

“What should we do? There are people over there, and there are hairy people over here. If my great antler deer dies and the hairy people increase in number and come over, we will have to go that way and we will definitely encounter the people that Mu Ling mentioned.”

One person said this with concern, which caused widespread panic among the group.

The already quiet night is now filled only with the crackling sound of burning wood.

"If we eat meat, will we become stronger and then we won't have to be afraid of other people?"

At that moment, a young man in the crowd muttered something.

But what he got in return was the unanimous anger of the other men who were as thin as bamboo poles.

Because they are able to feel the emotions of animals, they gain an unimaginable sense of empathy.

This is something that almost no one in the primitive era could possess, but it was acquired because of the totem of the herding tribe—the power of the spirit totem.

It is precisely because of their special capacity for emotional compassion that they have become kind people, and even vegetarians...

In this primitive era, the last thing one should have is kindness, let alone this kind of excessive kindness.

The spirit totems gave them an advantage in survival, but in return, they brought about their inevitable demise.

Unless, of course, someone comes to the shepherd tribe and changes something...

No one knew what to do, and this moment of mental exertion was a bit too much for them, who only ate vegetarian food. Their bodies couldn't take it anymore, so they stopped talking and found a place to sleep like other animals.

Mu Ling didn't know what to do either. Seeing that everyone had fallen asleep, Mu Ling sat down, while the giant deer climbed down, allowing Mu Ling to lie on its back.

But Mu Ling couldn't sleep, tossing and turning. The image of the Xia tribe people eating fish kept appearing in her memory. Even though she could only watch, it looked so delicious!
Fish don't feel pain because Mu Ling caught fish in the lake when he was a child and experienced it, but his father said he couldn't eat anything that moves or is alive.

But she really wanted to eat it...

(End of this chapter)