Chapter 143: Slaughtering the Ox

Baifeng really wanted to know how the calf's leg had been injured; he saw Xiaoniu turn its head to look at the yellow bull lying outside, and when Baifeng pointed at it, Xiaoniu let out a moo as a response.

Those few cows gave the same response, proving that it was indeed the yellow bull that had done it. The more Baifeng thought about it, the angrier he became; not only were you trying to steal the calf's position as Tribal Chief, but you also injured the calf? Daring to ruin my grand plan for prosperity, then I'm afraid your life won't last long.

Baifeng was already exhausted enough, and for such a thing to happen tonight, he had nowhere to vent his anger. Moreover, Xiaoniu's neck was injured so badly that it absolutely could not pull the plow tomorrow; with one less ox to till the land, the progress would slow down again.

The yellow bull tried to stand up, but it couldn't. Baifeng just wanted to go over and kick it twice, but blood was still flowing from its neck, although it wouldn't be fatal. The horn on its head was broken, and the inner layer was also seeping blood; it wasn't like a human fingernail that neither bleeds nor hurts.

This ox had a bad temperament, and with its horn broken and neck injured, the main thing was that it actually injured the calf. Even if it could recover by tomorrow, Baifeng had to label it with an incurable disease today.

After thinking for a while and finding no suitable illness, he simply said it had a concussion and couldn't survive. The tribespeople didn't know what a concussion was, so Baifeng said its brain had been shaken until it was scrambled, which was why it couldn't survive.

Baifeng called over the tribespeople, whose waists were almost unable to straighten, to take people and find things, and to bring more ropes. He wanted to drag this ox out of the ox pen tonight; regardless of whether it would be better tomorrow, he certainly wasn't going to keep it.

Its behavior was something Baifeng could not tolerate. He would have it dragged to the warehouse to be locked up for the night, and tomorrow he would slaughter it directly to provide an extra meal for the tribespeople. They had eaten cured meat all Winter, so now they would eat something fresh.

Returning to the room, Baifeng and Sui didn't even have the desire to share anything. Sui was the same; tired for a whole day, her eyelids were fighting each other, but she still insisted on waiting for Baifeng to come home. Baifeng was also too lazy to speak, patting the dirt off his body and feet. As for soaking his feet in hot water or anything like that, he didn't consider it at all; he lay directly on the kang, and immediately, the sound of snoring began.

The next day, Baifeng said he was going to slaughter the ox to provide an extra meal for the tribespeople. Everyone was looking forward to it, but they were also reluctant; the ox was so precious, how could it be slaughtered so casually? So even though they were very greedy, they still wanted to persuade Baifeng not to kill it.

Baifeng explained the whole story to everyone, and upon learning that it had actually injured the calf, it was naturally deserving of death. Thus, everyone had no burden in eating the meat. Two tribespeople with good skills in slaughtering and skinning the ox volunteered, and Baifeng gladly agreed.

Xiaoniu couldn't work today. Although the wound on its neck was no longer bleeding, Baifeng still didn't want to let it work while injured. After all, the ox yoke rested on its shoulders and would also rub against its neck; wouldn't that be like torturing the calf?

So many of them had been tilling for ten days in a row, tilling all the land in the tribe that could be tilled. Baifeng didn't know exactly how much there was, only that it was more than four times what they had turned over last year.

For one thing, the tools were too poor last year, and the speed of turning the soil was too slow. Furthermore, there weren't many grain seeds, and tilling so much land without seeds to plant would be in vain. This year, the tools were replaced with new ones, and the grain harvested last year was enough, so there was no need to worry about seeds at all; that was why everyone could strive to reclaim land this year.

However, just because it was tilled didn't mean it could be planted now. The temperature was still too low and not suitable for sowing. It needed to be warmer so that after planting, it could sprout and emerge in a few days. Planting now would just be providing food for various birds.

Moreover, half of it had been converted into water fields to plant Wild Rice, and they still had to raise seedlings first, so they couldn't sow seeds at this moment. Thus, everyone suddenly gained a few days of rest.

Only when the temperature rose could they sow seeds. They also had to grind the land, which meant using a large rake similar to a comb, an especially large one, to grind the land where the seeds had been scattered, covering the seeds in the soil to preserve moisture and dampness.

Everyone stretched their waists, which had been bent and stiff, and gave their arms and legs a good relaxation. Having fresh Beef to eat for these few days could also be considered one of the few benefits.

The most delicious thing was that thing called noodles. In the past, only the Tribal Chief and a few others could eat it. Ever since they had the large Stone Mill, Wheat was no longer boiled into porridge, but made into various flour foods to eat.

He didn't know how the Tribal Chief knew that Wheat could be made into those long noodles. After boiling them, he would pour a ladle of clear Beef soup over them, then place a few thick slices of Beef on top, and sprinkle with chopped green onions and radish slices; it felt even more fragrant than eating meat directly. It was just that the Tribal Chief always said it lacked the soul—chili oil. He didn't know what chili oil was; weren't radishes spicy?

There were also pancakes made from flour that were especially delicious. The outside was roasted golden yellow by beef fat, and it was hard and crispy. It was just a bit too dry, so they learned from the Tribal Chief and cut them open to stuff slices of Beef inside; that was the most delicious way.

Baifeng rarely instructed the tribespeople on how to cook because it was too troublesome and complicated, and the tribe didn't have that many good ingredients for everyone to use. It also required a certain level of skill, unlike just boiling some porridge, which was fine as long as it didn't burn.

Only those women who had cooked with Baifeng before understood a little bit about cooking techniques. With just a little practice, what they made at least wouldn't taste bad. As for the other tribespeople, they could figure it out themselves if they wanted to; anyway, none of the ingredients here could kill anyone.

The tribespeople were all resting. After resting for a day, Baifeng couldn't lie still either; there were really too many things to worry about. So, he took the two wolves that were always curled up at his feet and went out for a stroll. The farmland couldn't be called vast and fertile, and it wasn't even fertile, but at least one couldn't see the end of it at a glance.

The flat areas were turned into paddy fields, and the areas with slight undulations and slopes were dry fields. When they were just tilled, the soil had a lot of moisture; after all, so much Snow water had seeped into the ground, and it was the kind that could squeeze out water if you squeezed it hard. After being turned over, the surface dried out.

Squatting on the ground and digging twice to look, it was still very moist. When sowing this year, at least they wouldn't have to look at Heaven; even if it was scorching hot, they wouldn't have to fear that the humidity wouldn't be enough for the seedlings to emerge.

Baifeng left the farmland and went to the Fish Pond to look. The area around the Fish Pond was still full of mud, and combined with the fishy smell of the fish themselves, the surrounding air was very unpleasant. However, Baifeng still insisted on going over to look; this was the foundation of their tribe's survival.

New buds had grown under the Reed, and since he couldn't find things like earthworms, Baifeng grabbed a handful of Millet used for feeding the cattle from his pocket and threw it into the Fish Pond. The fish had already reflexively gathered together to start fighting for it, stirring the water as if it were boiling.