Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 127
Chapter 127
The next morning, after having breakfast, Chen Qi grabbed his bone hoe and set off with Aze. Ali did not join the others at school. Since he had previously studied with Chen Qi and continued to receive extra lessons from Ajing, his progress was much faster than the others, so he didn’t need to attend the regular classes every day.
“Why so early? They are all still in class.” Ali remarked as he prepared to fetch water from the well near the school. The sun had just risen, and he was planning to refill the water buckets, which had been emptied the previous night when Azhang used the water for irrigation. Now, they needed more water for cooking lunch.
“I’m planning to find another water source here and dig a well,” Chen Qi explained briefly to Ali. “It’s too exhausting to keep hauling water from the school every day.”
After hearing this, Ali nodded, “Oh, I’ll go with you.” He went back inside, grabbed a bone hoe, and then closed the wooden gate of the yard before heading to the neighboring wasteland with the two of them.
This plot of wasteland had been cleared of weeds when the tribe was first established, but in just over two months, the weeds had grown back to about knee height.
Looking at the vast expanse of weeds, Chen Qi felt a bit of a headache. If possible, he would have liked to set them on fire, but after recently experiencing a prairie fire, he was still wary of fire. Not wanting to risk it, he decided they would have to clear the weeds the old-fashioned way, slowly but safely.
By the time the beastmen finished their lessons and came over, Chen Qi and the others had just finished surveying the area. This time, they found the water source right in the center of the wasteland.
Chen Qi briefly explained the well situation to the beastmen from other tribes. Ayan had assumed that the well near the school was a natural water source that had always been there, not realizing that it had been dug by the people of Qi Ze City themselves.
The beastmen of Qi Ze City were already experienced in digging wells, but this time, it was clear that they had to dig much deeper than the last well before they finally struck 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.
The beastmen from the Salt-Water and Flame-Hill Tribes were amazed. Although Chen Qi had just explained it to them, this was the first time they had ever seen someone actually dig up water on the plains. It was something they had never even considered possible before.
After finishing the well, everyone began to tackle the wasteland.
Chen Qi divided the wasteland around the well into several sections, much like how one would lay out a house, with horizontal and vertical lines and a central path wide enough for walking. This layout would make it much easier to transport crops in the future.
In each large section, Chen Qi further divided it into smaller plots. After removing all the wild grass and preparing the land, these two steps took a full day to complete. This was with the help of the beastmen from the Salt-Water and Flame-Hill Tribes. By the time they finished, the sun had already set. Exhausted, Chen Qi was too tired to move and had to rely on Aze to carry him back home.
There was no other choice; the wasteland was just too vast. Completing the preparation of the entire area in a single day was an extraordinary effort by the females.
“Bone hoes really aren’t suitable,” Chen Qi remarked. Not only were they blunt, but they were also too light, requiring a lot of effort to dig each time. Chen Qi felt like his arms were no longer his own.
Aze was massaging Chen Qi’s rough and slightly reddened hands. He remembered that when he first met Chen Qi, his hands had been smooth and delicate, but now they were rougher than his own. Even though he had previously said he could support Chen Qi, Aze thought Chen Qi was so capable that he could probably thrive on his own without needing any help.
Aze’s long fingers traced over each callus. “Didn’t you say you wanted to use the iron shells from the ironshell-drakes to make tools before? Could we use them to make hoes?”
“That’s right! I almost forgot about that.” Chen Qi said as he sat up. After the iron shells were brought back, Aze had them stored in the pottery kiln building. Chen Qi had been so busy with other things that he hadn’t thought about it. As he spoke, he started to head outside.
Aze pulled Chen Qi back, “It’s already so late. Let’s take care of it tomorrow.”
Chen Qi nodded, got up to make dinner, but Aze pulled him back again and made him sit on a stool. “You rest for now. I’ll cook tonight. What do you want to eat?”
“Flatbreads.” With a smile, Chen Qi replied with the name of a dish.
“Sure.”
“Aze, I want to have sweet potato sweet soup.” Ajing called out to Aze, who was heading to the storage room, while lounging on the fire kang.
“Awoo.” The little wolf pup lifted its head and echoed.
“Little Wolf says it wants sweet potato sweet soup too.”
Before Aze could respond, Chen Qi immediately refused, “No, you can’t have too much sweet stuff in the evening; it will cause tooth decay.”
Ajing looked at Aze with hopeful eyes. When Aze came back with only rice flour and cured meat, Ajing’s expression fell, and he sulked while hugging the little wolf pup tightly, realizing that there would be no sweet potato sweet soup tonight.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Early the next morning, Azhang led the original hunting team from Qi Ze City, along with Ayan from the Flame-Hill Tribe and half of the females from the Salt-Water Tribe, into the forest. The remaining people stayed in the tribe to learn other skills from the beastmen of Qi Ze City.
Acheng was quite happy to finally have help with pounding the paper pulp. It was a physically demanding job, and it was strenuous on his old bones and Azhu’s young bones. Even if other females occasionally helped out, the paper produced was still somewhat in short supply.
After all, a lot of paper was used up each day.
Ayu and two females from the Salt-Water Tribe came to help Chen Qi with the farming.
Although Chen Qi wanted to start with smelting iron, he still had no clear idea on how to do it. He decided to set the iron shells aside for now and focus on planting all the crops in the wasteland first. After all, if he missed the planting season and the crops weren’t mature before winter arrived, it would be a wasted effort.
Aze also left with the hunting team today. After finishing his class, Ajing brought two females over, and with Ali and Ka Luo, there were about eight or nine people working on planting.
Seeing little Ayao left aside and covered in mud, Chen Qi couldn’t help but ask Ka Luo, who was already sorting through seeds, “Is it okay to just leave him like this? We have enough hands now. Why don’t you take him back home?” Even though the morning sun wasn’t too hot yet, it would become uncomfortable by noon. Chen Qi felt a bit sorry for the little, tender bundle, even though he was wearing a small cloth hat.
Ka Luo waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. He usually plays alone at home, so it’s actually more lively here with so many people.”
Chen Qi gave him a look. What kind of father is this? How did Ake ever trust him to take care of the child alone?
Ka Luo pointed to the pile of seeds and asked with some confusion, “Won’t these seeds be too few to cover the whole area? What should we plant with the rest?”
Chen Qi picked up the cotton seeds, “Potatoes and sweet potatoes.”
Ka Luo eyes widened in surprise. “All of it?” If they planted potatoes and sweet potatoes on the remaining half of the land, how much would that be? Wouldn’t it be enough to feed the entire tribe for a year?
Chen Qi nodded. He had kept only a small portion of the previously harvested crops for consumption, and with the two bags from Ali’s household all reserved for planting, they should be ready for sowing in a couple of days.
Ali brought over several wooden barrels, which were strung with ropes on both sides, making it easier to carry with a shoulder pole without getting dirty. He called Ayu and one of the females to help fetch the compost. Ka Luo cleared his throat and quickly grabbed the seeds, moving to Chen Qi’s side to help with planting.
Since there weren’t many seeds, they placed only one seed in each hole. If any seeds failed to sprout later, they would replant them. Chen Qi and Ka Luo demonstrated the process to the others. With one person making the holes and the other placing the seeds, the work proceeded quickly.
When the others saw this, they followed suit, picked up cotton seeds and hoes, and started working on the prepared ground nearby.
Ajing sent the little wolf cub to keep an eye on Ayao, making sure he didn’t wander off, and then took a small handful of seeds to help with the planting.
Ayao and the little wolf cub stared at each other with wide eyes. Suddenly, Ayao grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at the little wolf cub. The little wolf cub, unable to dodge in time, ended up covered in dirt. It bared its teeth and growled threateningly. Ayao, sensing the danger, froze and instinctively stopped moving.
The little wolf cub was finally satisfied and leisurely lay down on the ground, ignoring the child. It didn’t need to keep a close watch; as long as it ensured Ayao stayed put and didn’t wander off, it considered the task accomplished.
After they had just finished planting a few plots, Ali returned with the people who had gone to fetch fertilizer. A strong, unpleasant smell hit them head-on. A female who had not been assigned to fetch the manure wrinkled his brow and asked, “What did you bring back?”
“Crap,” Ka Luo explained with a hint of schadenfreude.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ayu felt like crying. He had never known that the so-called manure could be so foul-smelling. Moreover, the stuff was left to rot outside the city for several days. He wondered if anything grown with this dirty water could really be eaten. Thinking that the food he had been eating for the past few days might have been watered with this stinky water, Ayu felt a bit nauseous.
Ali went back to get a few more wooden buckets and sent two other females to draw water from the well in the middle. The newly planted seeds couldn’t handle too much fertilizer, so they needed to dilute it with water before watering the plants to make it better.
After bringing the water back, Ka Luo helped cover the planting holes with soil, while Ali followed, watering the areas with the diluted liquid. The foreign females, who had never seen this process before, exchanged puzzled glances. Ayu took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and mentally encouraged himself before rolling up his sleeves and quickly joining in to help.
The few of them did not continue work under the scorching sun and during their lunch break, Chen Qi took out the cotton to teach Ali how to turn it into cotton sheets. He then sewed a thin cotton shirt.
Because it was made from fabric woven from cotton bolls, the cotton clothing felt very nice through the thin fabric. It could be directly worn by Aze during the winter. Chen Qi happily put away the newly made cotton clothing.
After the temperature dropped a little, the few of them went to continue their work. They worked until the sun was about to set, finally planting all the seeds. In the end, Chen Qi spread a thin layer of wood ash over all the planted fields, marking the day’s planting work as complete.
This time, Chen Qi was truly exhausted. He finally understood the meaning of the saying ‘Every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work.’
When Aze returned, he saw Chen Qi completely collapsed on the fire kang and Ajing preparing to cook.
Because of the heat, Aze didn’t close the door but left it open for ventilation. He walked over and handed the newly acquired antelope-dragon meat to Ajing. “Let’s not eat cured meat today. How about we stir-fry some antelope-dragon meat slices later?”
Ajing nodded, took the antelope-dragon meat and went to prepare it.
Aze walked over to Chen Qi’s side, gently brushing aside the bangs that covered his eyes. Chen Qi had his eyes softly closed, his breathing long and steady, indicating that he was soundly asleep.
Aze picked up the little wolf cub from the fire kang and noticed the reddish-brown stains on its white fur. He couldn’t help but frown; he was displeased that the cub had dared to climb onto the bed with such dirty fur.
Sensing Aze’s disapproving gaze, the little wolf cub tucked its tail and snuggled up next to Ajing, seeking comfort.
Aze walked over to Ajing and ruffled his little head. “You must be really tired today. Leave the rest to me; I’ll handle it,” he said, then paused and asked, “Do you want some sweet potato sweet soup? I can make a bit for you today.”
Ajing’s eyes lit up as he looked at Aze, and he nodded eagerly. He quickly ran to the storage room and brought out four sweet potatoes, just enough for everyone.
After handing the sweet potatoes to Aze, Ajing pointed to the white cotton shirt on the bedside and said, “Chen Qi said that shirt was made for you.”
Aze was momentarily stunned, then smiled and said, “En.”
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: How many of you have a fave character that is not CQ or Aze? 🙂
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomNight73
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.
Ahhh my favourite is definitely Aze but Ajing is a very close second