Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 018
Chapter 18
Aze automatically took on the task of doing the dishes. Chen Qi was the kind of person who would work hard to cook the meal, but really disliked doing the cleanup. Because of this problem, he was normally too lazy to cook for himself. Most of the time, he would just make a phone call and order takeaway.
Ake was sent by Aze to fetch some more water. After all the previous actions, the water in the pottery jars was almost used up. Seeing Ake running away with two large pottery jars, Chen Qi almost wanted to ask Aze, who was his friend and brother-in-law, wasn’t Ake pregnant? How come he doesn’t get the so-called pregnant husband treatment? And as for that plain abdomen, was there really a life in it? Chen Qi swallowed down the questions silently, always feeling that the answer he’d get if he asked would open a new door for himself.
People who have had enough to eat and drink will become lazy. Chen Qi slowly walked around the area they’d cleared in the morning. A home that he would live in for a long time in the future would be built here. It would be completely his own. The words “his own” gave Chen Qi an overflowing sense of satisfaction. After having worked for several years, he still hadn’t been able to afford even a down payment. He didn’t expect to have a piece of land completely his own after crossing over, and it was even possible to have as much land as he wanted. He could build the house of his dreams, with the small garden he’d always wanted. He would plant a few fruit trees, and he would make a reclining chair to lie on under the trees to enjoy the cool shade during the summer, or to relax in after a long work day. That kind of mood was very tranquil.
However, no matter how beautiful his imagination may be, Chen Qi was defeated by reality. First of all, he had never built a house before. Even if the beastmen’s method could be used to build the house, if the foundation was not well laid out, the house would still be as low as the others. Chen Qi couldn’t stand the fact that he could touch the ceiling just by stretching out one hand. Also, the four walls were densely packed and there wasn’t a single window to transmit light into the room, so the room would be pitch black after the hide curtain was lowered. These things drove him to decide to build his own house.
So then the questions arose, first of all, what should he use for the load-bearing pillars? Wood? Had the wood in those modern wooden houses been treated? Would the wood decay over time? Chen Qi did not understand any of it.
He crouched down with a headache, then tilted his head to look at Aze who was next to him, carefully cleaning the pottery dishes with figs. He asked in a low voice, as if he was asking but also as if he was talking to himself, “Aze, do you know of something pillar-like that would be long, strong, able to bear heavy loads, and won’t rot?
Aze stopped and looked up questioningly at him. Chen Qi sighed dejectedly again. If there were such ready-made pillars, would these beastmen who had the knowledge to build stone houses still live in such low-rise houses?
“Yes.”
“Yes, what yes?” Chen Qi didn’t understand what Aze had just said. Aze washed the foam off his hands in another plate of clear water and went to the sundries room at the back. Soon after, he came back with a white bone that was about one meter long.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Aze handed Chen Qi the arm-like bone. “Is that what you want?”
Chen Qi took a look at it. The bone was not as heavy as it looked, and the surface felt rough. Aze said, “This stegosaurus bone was from the small stegosaurus I hunted when I came of age. Back then, my house had not been built, so it was stored outside for two years. Even now it has not changed, and the bones of the stegosaurus are very hard.” Aze gesticulated. “Harder than the gum tree trunks, harder than rocks, and resistant to fire and rain.”
Chen Qi took out his dragon-horn knife from his pocket in amazement and slashed it hard against the bone. There was a clear, crisp sound from the contact area, but no scratches were left behind. Chen Qi happily looked at it over and over again. This kind of bone could be used for the foundation pillars of the house. Then his shoulders slumped. “This bone is too short. If only it could be two or three times longer.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll bring back a bone from an adult stegosaurus for you. The adult stegosaurus is much bigger than this one.”
Chen Qi got a fright and hurriedly said, “Are you going to hunt the stegosaurus? That’s too dangerous. No, no, I can find wood instead.” No big deal. Even if the wood rotted, he’d just build another one. Weren’t there those wooden buildings that had survived for hundreds or thousands of years that also experienced the same wind and rain? Chen Qi didn’t believe the wood here would be worse than his original world.
Aze smiled. It seemed that the tribe Chen Qi was from had a different coming-of-age tradition. He explained, “I’m not going to hunt the stegosaurus. Our tribe used to have a long-standing coming-of-age tradition. Every year that there are 30 newly-adult females, they would go into the depths of the Loya Forest to hunt a stegosaurus. The larger the stegosaurus, the stronger the abilities of the females. The bones of the stegosaurus were too big and too hard, so the tribe dug a deep pit behind the rock mountain to discard the bones.”
“Isn’t your tribe’s coming-of-age tradition to hunt the stegosaurus too?” Ka Luo, who’d returned unnoticed, interjected.
“Our tribe doesn’t have a coming-of-age tradition.” Perhaps there was one somewhere, but Chen Qi himself had never experienced it. When he came of age, he was just an ordinary good student in a school.
Having solved the problem of the foundation pillars for the house, Chen Qi was about to have another headache. How was he supposed to dig the foundation? He couldn’t just let Aze work alone with his claws, right? He glanced at Ka Luo who had gone over to the pottery dishes to help Aze clean them. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he put aside the bone in his hand. “Aze, can I use the bones in your house?”
“Yes, you can use whatever you need, you don’t need to ask me.”
“What do you need so many bones for?” Ka Luo asked curiously as he rinsed the foam off the pottery with clear water.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Chen Qi smiled at Ka Luo but did not answer. After the meal, Ka Luo’s attitude towards him had changed rather obviously. He no longer resembled the ready-to-explode hedgehog he’d first met where no matter what he’d said, he wanted to speak out against him. Chen Qi didn’t want to be narcissistic to think that his food had won the other man over and couldn’t wait to escape into the house. Ka Luo’s bone-knife was really sharp and easy to use. If bones could be used instead of metal to make all kinds of farm tools, then the small issue of the foundation wouldn’t be too difficult for him to resolve.
The bones collected by Aze weren’t consistent, each one was different in appearance and even color. There were also several that broke into two pieces when Chen Qi tried to gently apply pressure to them with his hands to test their hardness. There was also a kind of brilliant red-colored bone that looked like coral. While it was good-looking, Chen Qi really couldn’t imagine what kind of creature would have such bones. A big piece of pottery full of bones, yet besides being good-looking, none of them were very practical. Chen Qi couldn’t help but feel a little dispirited. He went to the sundries room at the back of the house and found another collection of bones in a large piece of pottery.
When Chen Qi left, Ka Luo leaned in close to Aze and asked in a low voice, “Brother, are you considering sending Chen Qi to the Lion-Wolf Tribe?”
Aze paused. “No.”
“Don’t lie to me. Ake already told me. Isn’t it because something almost happened to him this morning?” Ka Luo snorted softly. Don’t think he didn’t understand how Aze was.
“I was wondering if it would be better to let him live in the tribe. It is too dangerous to live with me in this wilderness.”
“Where is the danger? The animals here will migrate away in about ten days and they won’t be returning next year. You just need to pay more attention during this short period.”
Aze pursed his lips thinly and did not speak. They wouldn’t be returning next year, but what about the year after that?
Ka Luo couldn’t help patting Aze’s head which smeared some foam onto his brother. “I think Chen Qi is fine. If you are worried, I can come over every day, or you can ask Uncle Ali to stay at your place during the day. Doesn’t Chen Qi want clothes? Uncle Ali can weave at his home just the same as if he weaves at yours, and Chen Qi’s food is so delicious that Uncle Ali will surely agree.” This eldest brother of his was too unsure of himself at the moment. Ka Luo actually felt quite at ease with Chen Qi living here and he was not unwilling at all. This was also the reason why his attitude towards Chen Qi changed. As long as he sincerely wanted to get along with his brother, Ka Luo would have a favorable impression of that person.
“Have you been bought over by one meal?” Ake, who had just returned, heard Ka Luo’s words and chimed in.
Ka Luo rolled his eyes. “I am thinking of my brother’s best interests.”
“Then who was it that had so many different expressions on his face at the sight of him this morning?”
Ka Luo angrily ran over to grab his arm and took a bite. Without force, it only left behind some faint teeth marks. Ake exaggeratedly wailed, “Are you a wolf cub? You bit me till it’s all red. What if the baby bites like you in the future?”
“I didn’t bite just anyone, I only bite you,” Ka Luo argued in protest.
Looking at Ka Luo’s annoyed expression, Ake couldn’t help stealing a kiss at the corner of his mouth. If this was in the past, Ka Luo would have long since given him a ruthless kick. But now, aside from sulking on his own, there was nothing he could do about this hoodlum.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ake coaxed Ka Luo for a moment, then said to Aze, “Actually, what Ka Luo said is quite reasonable. Let Uncle Ali come over tomorrow. Just the two of us hunting is sufficient. With a female at home, no animals will come near.” Seeing Aze remaining silent, Ake patted the other on the shoulder. “Don’t give up what you want so easily, and think about whether you will end up regretting it later.”
Aze touched the hide wrapped around his right wrist and let out a soft en.
After cleaning the dishes, Ake and Ka Luo told Chen Qi they were leaving and returned home. The two of them only wanted to come over for a short time today, and there was prey that they’d hunted yesterday that needed to be prepared.
Chen Qi was sorting out the bones in the room of sundries. After a round of careful selection, he’d only found three bone pieces that met his requirements and could be used. One was as thick as a little finger. If one end was sharpened, it could be used as a bone needle. The other one, which was even smaller, was already completely a bone needle. It was only as thick as a toothpick and had sharp ends. In order to prevent injury, it would be better to blunt one of the sharp ends before using it. The last one was much bigger than the first two. It was about the length of a forearm and was two fists wide. It was blunt on all sides, but it could possibly be used as a hoe after some refining.
After asking Aze, Chen Qi learned that the blunt bone and the slightly thicker bone needle were stegosaurus bones, while the smallest one turned out to be a bone from a hyena-drake. Chen Qi couldn’t help but lament that the stegosaurus really was a great treasure.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: 2 of 2 for the week.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: Avalie
Proofreader: Yume
Editor stepping into the realm of MTL translating, starting with CLWP. Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
Thank you for the updates!! I can’t wait for Chen Qi to build his house and include actual windows. And a chimney! Or even just some air vents at the top so smoke could travel out. He’ll impress everyone so much that some of the other females will move back to the tribe and the village can be an actual bustling village again.
Plus plus plus, with him at Aze’s side then Aze won’t feel as left out in the would-be tribe.
I’m clearly excited for this kind of feel good, happy book. lol.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it! Thanks for reading!
Thanks for the chapter! Binge reading over! I’m glad you’re translating this story, it’s interesting to have the POV of someone who has some practical knowledge but isn’t an OP god of knowledge, lol. I can’t wait to see what the house will look like. Although I know that a house needs strong pillars etc, I wouldn’t have the vaguest idea how to get it done. Actually, the first thing I would do before even the house is to build a fort like fence around the house’s borders. Some strong straight wood or bone line with sharpened top if possible,… Read more »
I have to say I’m glad I’m not in Chen Qi’s shoes, because I would fail horribly… So much work! I’m tired just thinking about it! /lazybones/
Thanks for reading!