Chapter 202

Because Baifeng had not anticipated that the tributaries would become thin, forcing them to walk on the banks, the journey took longer than expected, and their dry rations felt insufficient; if they had continued eating at their previous rate, they might not have made it back to the tribe.

Furthermore, after the people of the Jiangben clan had finished transporting the sulfur, Baifeng granted them their freedom halfway through the journey, and he even directly granted several of the more diligent ones the status of members of the Baifeng tribe.

Since the work they performed was relatively arduous and exhausting, this was a way to appease their emotions; Baifeng even adjusted the food supply so that both groups were now eating the same meals.

This greatly encouraged the people of the Jiangben clan, especially when they saw those who had already gained tribal status, so they no longer had any complaints and worked even more diligently, hoping to catch Baifeng's eye and earn a place to call home.

During the journey, everyone was no longer as silent and antagonistic as before, and the two sides began to have more verbal communication.

They could now feel the temperature rising, which gave them a sense of crisis; the ice was gradually thinning, though it could still support them for the time being.

They gradually began to ration their food, and while on the road, the people of the Baifeng tribe had to hunt to supplement their supplies; otherwise, they truly didn't know if they could make it back to the tribe on the remaining dry rations alone.

Fortunately, their return journey was very smooth, and when they arrived at the tribe, everyone was busy with their own work; even without Baifeng, they had already made preparations to begin spring plowing the moment spring arrived.

Spring was the most important period for the Baifeng tribe, and a growing population meant a need for more farmland; they had already begun clearing wasteland in the autumn, and with the winter snow accumulation, the new fields were still moist and ready for direct sowing.

However, to restore the Baifeng tribe to a state of prosperity, more land needed to be reclaimed; sowing was also hard labor, and they lacked the capacity to convert all the farmland into paddy fields, so they had to rely primarily on dry land.

The moment Baifeng arrived at the tribe, the tribespeople's anxious hearts were put at ease; Baifeng was their sky and their backbone, and they felt that without him, the Baifeng tribe might fall apart, as no one else felt capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of building and developing the tribe.

Following the arrangements Baifeng made before he left, they had built many new houses; in addition to those for the freedmen and new tribespeople, they also built a house for Baifeng to forge weapons, choosing a relatively open location with a sturdy and bright structure.

One room was used to store various raw materials, and another was used to prepare gunpowder, all of which Baifeng had already planned.

After greeting the people of the Jiangben clan and having them put the sulfur into the room, he told them to return to their living area to announce the good news to their people: the entire Jiangben clan had been granted freedom.

Having been away for so long, Baifeng wanted to get some good rest, so he hurried back to his room, but to his surprise, an extremely shocking piece of news was waiting for him.

Chinv and Sui had developed a very harmonious relationship, and even Changwei and Laifu at the door had become very close to Chinv.

Changwei and Laifu were now fully grown and capable of reproducing; Baifeng was eager to see if this second generation of wolves would show an even more human-friendly side.

Sui had not skimped on Chinv's food; although Sui was in charge of distributing food in their small household while Baifeng was away, one could tell from her much rounder figure that Chinv had spent a very good winter, and in Baifeng's eyes, she was now even more beautiful.

Having been away for months, Baifeng felt a bit impatient, so he closed the door and picked up Sui; he didn't have any immediate thoughts about Chinv, as they weren't familiar enough yet, and it felt a bit awkward to make a move.

However, the moment Baifeng picked up Sui, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "I'm pregnant."

Upon hearing this, Baifeng was so shocked that he loosened his grip, letting Sui fall onto the kang; this news exploded in his ears like a thunderclap, and he couldn't believe it, so he confirmed it again, but Sui insisted she was pregnant.

There were no prenatal checkups back then, but because Sui had been very concerned about pregnancy and asked Baifeng every day if she was pregnant, Baifeng eventually grew a bit annoyed and explained the symptoms of pregnancy to her, the most obvious being the cessation of menstruation.

Of course, Baifeng didn't feel he had been cheated on, because Sui hadn't reached her period when he left, and he didn't know if it had stopped; however, he had been gone for months, and in that time, Sui could easily confirm her pregnancy through the changes in her cycle.

Furthermore, given Baifeng's status and Sui's feelings for him, he didn't believe anyone would touch his woman, especially with the tribe's current gender imbalance and so many other beauties around; the male tribespeople wouldn't set their sights on Sui, whom they didn't consider beautiful.

Regaining his composure, Baifeng took Sui's wrist to check her pulse; because the pregnancy was in the early stages, the pulse wasn't very obvious, but combining all factors, Baifeng believed there was at least a 98% chance that Sui was pregnant.

Having lived two lives, this was the first time Baifeng experienced the feeling of becoming a father; the sensation was too marvelous, and given the era he was in and his status, he was filled with mixed emotions.

Baifeng really wanted to let Sui just lie there while he waited on her, but from both a medical perspective and the physical constitution of people in this era, such measures were unnecessary; it was better to let things take their natural course, as the most difficult part for them would likely be the delivery.

Since he couldn't "do" anything with Sui now, Baifeng picked her up, spun her around a few times, and placed her on a chair to sit comfortably, while he turned his attention to Chinv.

Picking up Chinv, Baifeng thought that since one of his wives was already pregnant, having a few more children wouldn't hurt.

However, Chinv was still oblivious at this moment, her mind entirely on her clanspeople; Baifeng had promised her before he left that the people of the Jiangben clan would be freed upon his return, and she hadn't heard him give the word yet.