Chapter 63: Letting the Ox Return to the Mountain

That stone was not merely a giant boulder, but a rooted stone mountain; the entire underground area was a limestone mine, and the bit of stone exposed was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Baifeng was so happy he jumped up on the spot, joyfully patting the shoulder of the tribesman who had discovered the limestone, praising him for a job well done and promising to reward him well. The tribesman was a bit embarrassed by the praise and didn't even ask what the reward would be; mostly, it was because Baifeng was acting too over-the-top.

With so much limestone, Baifeng's cement would soon be ready to come into the world. It was just that this place was still a bit far from the tribe, but fortunately, there were Handcarts; otherwise, relying solely on bamboo baskets to carry it would have exhausted them to death.

Of course, the first thing to do before burning the stone was to prepare the Lime Kiln. The kiln had been dug long ago, but it had been sitting idle, just waiting for enough limestone to be found before starting the burn. There were also Stone Mills to grind the stones. In reality, primitive people were the true experts at making stone tools. Some people always thought stone items were not durable or sharp, but after finding good stone and crafting it with precision, stone tools were not inferior at all.

The Stone Mill and Stone Pestle were used to crush the brittle limestone. Likewise, waste Brick and waste Tile were also materials for burning cement; mixing them into the limestone during the firing process could produce more durable cement.

There was still some cloth left, so it was all sewn into double-layered Masks. The tribesmen burning the kiln wore them and complained they couldn't breathe and that it was stiflingly hot, believing that wearing a Mask was the Tribal Chief's way of killing them.

But Baifeng knew clearly that not wearing a Mask was what would kill them. Pneumoconiosis caused by inhaling dust was completely untreatable; it was a stubborn, incurable disease even in later generations, let alone now. Baifeng used his consistent method: first explain the reasoning, and if that didn't work, take action.

This included the tribesmen transporting the stones; they had to wear them too. Baifeng did not want these sturdy men, whom he had worked so hard to raise, to die from dust.

He tried burning the first kiln, but the setting effect was very poor. He didn't know the reason, but this wasn't too big of a deal; he just needed to adjust the proportions and temperature. He would leave these tasks to the professionals and just keep trying. The only thing was that Baifeng had to constantly check to see if they were secretly taking off their Masks.

Xiaoniu, caught since last autumn, had grown into a large ox by now. It ate well, and Baifeng often groomed its fur. Now, its coat was pure white and shimmered under the sun.

Its back was broad, and its Ox Horn had grown long. During Winter, Baifeng would add some beef tallow to Xiaoniu's feed. It seemed like feeding beef tallow to an ox was the same as feeding human fat to a human, but oxen did not recognize kinship and were not repulsed by the fat or meat of their own kind. They appeared to be herbivores, but if given animal fat, they would eat it just as happily.

Baifeng tried using Xiaoniu as a mount. Because it had been by his side since it was small, Xiaoniu did not resist Baifeng's actions. It was just that Baifeng felt it was uncomfortable between his legs, so he decided that unless there was some major event where he needed to save face, he wouldn't ride Xiaoniu, unless he made a saddle first.

It was a good thing that Xiaoniu had grown up, but at the same time, Xiaoniu had matured. As an adult bull named Xiaoniu, it began to have a need for a mate. Sometimes at night, he could hear Xiaoniu roaring outside, which made Baifeng very annoyed, yet he was helpless.

Baifeng had neither the ability nor the guts to castrate Xiaoniu. The main thing was that it was too late for castration now; when it was small, Baifeng hadn't thought of this at all.

Leaving it alone wouldn't work either, unless he went to catch a cow for Xiaoniu. However, the difficulty of catching one alive was extremely high, and even if he caught one, driving it back was also a problem. He couldn't just do what he did with his own child bride, could he?

If he released it directly into the herd, Baifeng was afraid of losing his investment. Not to mention that Xiaoniu might not find a cow, if it went and never returned, wouldn't all the grain he had given it go down the drain?

Baifeng could only keep thinking of ways to see if he could catch a cow and bring it back safely. But Xiaoniu wouldn't give Baifeng that chance. At night, while Baifeng was sleeping soundly, Xiaoniu would not only roar in heat but also start ramming against Baifeng's door, leaving Baifeng with no sleep at all.

Getting up in the morning, he found that Xiaoniu's fur was standing on end, there was white foam at its mouth, and it was pawing the ground with red eyes, a posture ready to attack at any moment, scaring the tribesmen so they dared not approach.

Even Baifeng felt a bit terrified when going near it. It wouldn't eat a single bite of the grass he fed it, and even when he fed it tender wild vegetables mixed with oil, it showed no reaction, with white foam constantly dripping from the corners of its mouth.

Baifeng was afraid that if this continued, it would be bad for Xiaoniu, and if it became uncontrollable and started going crazy, it would be too dangerous for the tribesmen. Baifeng finally decided to let it return to the herd. If it was still willing to come back after finding a mate, the tribe would still welcome it. If its wild nature took over and it never returned, Baifeng felt he should kill it himself to give the tribe an explanation.

Taking Xiaoniu and over a dozen fully armed Soldiers, they followed the familiar path to the valley to look for the wild ox herd. Perhaps they had already migrated to other places with better water and grass, but as long as they left a trace, Xiaoniu would naturally be able to find the main herd.

The closer they got to the valley, the more restless Xiaoniu became. Baifeng had not put any Wooden Shackle on Xiaoniu; there were no ropes or nose rings. Xiaoniu just blindly followed Baifeng, but toward the end, Baifeng felt that Xiaoniu was becoming uncontrollable.

For everyone's safety, Baifeng stepped aside to clear the way for Xiaoniu. Xiaoniu stopped, stretched its neck, and let out a roar, rubbed its Ox Horn against Baifeng, and then bolted away at full speed.

Along the way, Baifeng and his men did not encounter any fierce beasts, because a bull of Xiaoniu's massive size, especially one in heat, was extremely dangerous; even a tiger would not risk trying to catch Xiaoniu.

What Baifeng was worried about now was whether their herd would accept Xiaoniu. After all, Xiaoniu had grown up in a human tribe since it was small, and he feared it would be difficult for it to integrate into the wild ox herd. But worry was just worry; Baifeng could not invest too much energy into one wild ox, and it was even more impossible for him to escort a wild ox.

Watching Xiaoniu run far away, Baifeng and his men couldn't catch up, and there was no need to, so they headed home. On the way, the tribesmen really wanted to ask why the Tribal Chief had let that wild ox go. Although the Tribal Chief usually treated that ox very well, in the eyes of the tribesmen, it was just the Tribal Chief carefully tending to food, just like Sui, who was now lying in the vegetable patch all day looking for bugs and weeding, and was no longer Baifeng's little follower.

Baifeng couldn't explain it to the tribesmen, and there was no way to explain it. After all, with Xiaoniu's build, killing it would be enough for the whole tribe to eat for a meal. Now that it had run off like this, he didn't know if it would ever come back.

Baifeng didn't expect Xiaoniu to hook up with a cow for the tribe or anything; as long as Xiaoniu could come back itself, that would be success enough.

If it didn't come back, Baifeng would kill it himself during the autumn hunt. He wasn't afraid of not recognizing it; there shouldn't be a second pure white ox in the herds here.