Chapter 263: The Suddenly Generous Donkey Tribe.
The leader of the Donkey Tribe was puzzled not only by this point but also by why this tribe used something that seemed to have even greater power than stone spears to dig the ground. He couldn't understand what was worth digging in this land.
Such weapons could be more beneficial for hunting. Yet, this tribe used them for digging, which was a waste.
As he thought about it, his gaze swept over the newly dug pits and the planted saplings of the Green Sparrow Tribe, and his confusion deepened.
He had never planted trees himself, but from what he saw, he could basically understand the intention of the Green Sparrow Tribe in doing this. However, understanding it only made him more puzzled.
Trees were everywhere around here. Why would this tribe still plant trees? What was the point?
Did they plan to chop them down for firewood when the time came?
Thinking this way, he shook his head slightly. How could it be convenient to chop down grown trees directly?
The leader of the Donkey Tribe thought for a while but still couldn't understand. In his opinion, the actions of the Green Sparrow Tribe were unnecessary and a waste of time.
Of course, he couldn't summarize it so succinctly, but that was the gist of his thoughts.
This was truly a tribe with too much food and nothing better to do.
This was the definition the leader of the Donkey Tribe gave to the Green Sparrow Tribe based on his observations during this visit.
However, just thinking about the precious pottery, delicious salt, and abundant food that this tribe possessed, the leader of the Donkey Tribe felt somewhat deflated and resentful.
Why did this tribe, which seemed idle, possess so many things they looked up to?
Thinking about it made him feel frustrated.
In such a mood, the leader of the Donkey Tribe completed negotiations with the Green Sparrow Tribe's elder.
Seeing the food and fur carried by the people of the Donkey Tribe, the Chief of the Green Sparrow Tribe temporarily ordered the cessation of digging and invited them to join the tribe.
Meanwhile, the Third Senior Brother and the archers hurried back to the tribe and climbed onto the low wall.
The process of entering the Green Sparrow Tribe was the same: all weapons were left outside before entry.
The people of the Donkey Tribe had visited the Green Sparrow Tribe several times before and were accustomed to its requirements. Upon arriving at the Green Sparrow Tribe's gate, they voluntarily left their weapons outside.
Perhaps they felt they wouldn't need so much fur in the winter. This time, the Donkey Tribe brought substantial fur compared to all their previous visits.
Despite the considerable value of the pottery in the Green Sparrow Tribe, the Donkey Tribe's exchange of pottery and some food still netted them a large jar, two clay pots, and twelve bowls.
They also requested two more jars of salt to take back as they departed.
Why did the Donkey Tribe suddenly become so generous?
After the people of the Donkey Tribe left with their newly acquired pottery and the free salt, Han Cheng looked at the pile of things they had left behind, feeling completely puzzled.
According to his previous estimation, among the surrounding tribes in contact with the Green Sparrow Tribe, the Donkey Tribe was the poorest.
Yet today, the Donkey Tribe's actions completely overturned his previous conclusions.
Could the people of the Donkey Tribe, like A-Q, have been involved in illicit dealings?
Han Cheng joked to himself but then shook his head.
The Donkey Tribe had few people, and in the middle of winter, it was impossible for them to steal so many things from other tribes and get away unscathed. After all, doing such things in the middle of winter meant leaving no way out for the tribes being robbed, and those tribes would fight back.
Just now, Han Cheng carefully observed the members of the Donkey Tribe who came to trade. Their numbers had not changed much compared to previous visits. Furthermore, they didn't bear any signs of injuries, and no members appeared conspicuously different from before. From this perspective, it could be reasonably ruled out that the people of the Donkey Tribe had engaged in raiding other tribes.
The surrounding tribes were all quite mysterious. The Green Tribe had millet, and the Sheep Tribe managed to procure many sheep. The Donkey Tribe, originally thought to be the poorest, suddenly became wealthy…
After thinking for a while with no results, Han Cheng decided not to dwell on this matter any longer. Whether these furs and food were possessed initially by the Donkey Tribe and only now brought out or obtained from elsewhere, they would ultimately belong to their tribe.
Coincidentally, their tribe's fur stock was dwindling due to heavy winter consumption, so the batch brought by the Donkey Tribe could fill the gap. Someone naturally began to transport these newly acquired skins without needing his orders.
Han Cheng stood there for a while, then remembered the matter of the silkworms and walked over to check.
As he approached, Fu Jiang, with her large belly, lay lazily in the sun, apparently nearing the time to give birth.
Han Cheng looked at her increasingly large belly and the few little things that had now become visible among her fur as she lay down, thinking there would soon be some little puppies in the tribe.
Thinking of this, Han Cheng couldn't help but feel happy.
What made him even happier was what happened next: many of the silkworm seeds on the mulberry sticks had hatched.
On the bottom of the basin, some nearly invisible things were lying on the small mulberry leaves. These seemingly motionless little black dots were the newly hatched silkworm larvae.
Previously, after waiting so long and not seeing any silkworms hatch from the eggs, Han Cheng had started to doubt whether the eggs were already bad. Now that he saw the small silkworms emerge, he finally relaxed.
Uncontrollable joy emanated from deep within him. Only he knew the immense significance represented by these tiny creatures at this moment.
Meanwhile, Shaman, who was peeking at the mother rabbit feeding her kittens at the edge of the rabbit pen, saw the Divine Child continuously giggling at the basin and came over to see what was happening.
After learning about the situation from Han Cheng, Shaman lay there blinking for a long time but saw nothing. His eyes were already a bit blurry.
Although he didn't see the tiny silkworms, a smile still appeared on Shaman's face. He had heard too much about silkworms from the Divine Child during this time. Although he still felt it was unnecessary as long as there was enough fur to use, he now attached more importance to silkworms.
By the afternoon, no more silkworm larvae crawled out. Han Cheng carefully counted them and found a total of thirty-three.
These little guys seemed motionless on the mulberry leaves, but if you looked again after a while, you would find they had already nibbled on the tender leaves.
As the sun was about to set, Han Cheng carried these silkworms back into the house.
To prevent these tiny creatures from escaping, Han Cheng deliberately found the best-glazed pottery in the tribe to contain them. The smooth interior of the pottery was not conducive to crawling and could effectively prevent them from climbing up.
Later, he thought it wasn't secure enough and found a piece of animal hide to cover the pottery.
After a while, he worried that the animal hide wouldn't be breathable and might suffocate these little creatures. After scratching his head and thinking for a while, he found some dry, large leaves to cover them.
After doing all this, Han Cheng smiled helplessly. He was too kind to these silkworms as if they were afraid to melt in his mouth or drop from his hands.
He raised them for a few days first, and when they grew bigger, he let Xing, Xiaomei, and Xiaoli take care of them.
When he woke up in the middle of the night, Han Cheng couldn't help but light a lamp from the heated bed to check on the silkworms.
Keeping them in his room was affecting his sleep.
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