Chapter 93: Trouble After Trouble

The Baifeng tribe was once again shrouded in gloom; there was no other reason than the weather being too poor. Originally, it was just a rainstorm, and they wouldn't have cared too much, but now it was hailing, and the crops they had planted were going to suffer.

They could only watch as the hailstones kept bouncing and rolling, but they were completely helpless; whether it was the Rice, buckwheat, or Sorghum and vegetables, there was nothing left now.

Baifeng was particularly afraid of summer rainstorms; not only were the rain and wind heavy, but hail would often accompany them.

Fortunately, this rainstorm did not last long, and the hail only lasted for a few minutes. Baifeng and the others held onto the hope that they could still save them, because they hadn't headed yet and were still growing stalks; a single hailstorm wouldn't necessarily lead to a total crop failure.

The weather after the hail, even in the middle of summer, was very cold, and everyone shivered as they went to check the extent of the damage to the crops.

The buckwheat suffered the most damage; its short and brittle branches were shattered all over the ground by the hailstorm, and the newly bloomed flowers were all knocked off. Baifeng could see that the buckwheat was a total loss.

The Rice was slightly better off, though it would still have to suffer a reduction in yield by more than half. The Sorghum only grew stalks and not heads to begin with, so after being hit like this, it just made the Sorghum look a bit more miserable, and other impacts didn't seem to be too great.

The buckwheat wouldn't wait to bear fruit, as there wouldn't be any harvest anyway, so they pulled it all out to use as silage for the cattle herd. Although it was heartbreaking to pull it up, there was no other way; if they harvested it now, it could still be of a little use, but if they harvested it any later, it could only be used as firewood.

The cattle herd also had some rather different changes, which was that a cow had given birth to a calf. Although, according to the timing, it couldn't be Xiaoniu's, Xiaoniu was still exceptionally nervous; after all, this was the first little life born in its tribe.

However, that cow was still young, and it was its first time giving birth, so, unsurprisingly, it had a difficult labor, and the calf wouldn't come out.

Baifeng could only risk going into the cattle pen to pull the calf, to see if he could pull the calf out, but a cow during labor does not recognize people, and what's more, they weren't raised by Baifeng and were full of wild nature.

The other cattle had scattered to graze, and only Xiaoniu stayed by the cow's side. When Baifeng went over, the cow was extremely manic and wouldn't let Baifeng get close at all; as soon as it saw Baifeng approaching, it started charging.

Xiaoniu couldn't stop it, nor could it stop it, but in this situation, even if Baifeng wanted to help, he didn't dare to go over to help. Although a cow was exceptionally important to the tribe, Baifeng felt that his own life was more important.

But seeing that it was indeed not doing well, and after struggling for more than two hours without being able to give birth, the tribesmen on the side, especially the person who usually fed them and gave them water, looked even more worried. He knew that this cow had extraordinary significance to the tribe, and he had also developed an emotional bond with it.

Baifeng had people use ropes to tie its hooves and horns, and several people pulled with all their might. Originally, Baifeng wanted to go and pull the calf, but the tribesmen were uneasy, feeling it was too dangerous and that the Tribal Chief shouldn't be the one to do it.

So they pushed Baifeng away and went to pull it themselves. Baifeng didn't argue much and just stood on the side cheering them on. Fortunately, pulling a calf is different from helping a human with childbirth; the danger in helping a cow give birth is mainly to the people, and one just needs to pull the calf hard.

Under the strenuous pulling of the tribesmen, it took a while for the calf to land. Once the calf was born, the cow's resistance became even more powerful; in order not to step on the calf, they still let them keep pulling.

They cleaned the mucus off the calf's head and cleared the amniotic fluid from its mouth, confirming that the calf was still alive, just that it was too weak and, having not been born for so long, its legs were too soft to stand up.

Another reason the cow was struggling was that it had let down milk, but the calf hadn't gone to suckle yet, so it was painfully engorged.

The cow's legs were tied, so there was no fear of being kicked, so they held the calf and lifted it up to reach for the milk. The calf couldn't stand, but it could open its mouth, and as soon as it found the spot, it began to suckle greedily, and the cow gradually calmed down.

With the milk entering its mouth, the calf also had the strength to stand up shakily. They slowly let go, letting the calf stand on its own to change positions to drink milk, and then they untied the ropes on the cow's legs and quickly moved away from the cow.

The cow didn't kick them again. Seeing that both the big and small ones were safe, they simply untied the rope on its horns, and the cow quickly turned its neck to lick its child.

Xiaoniu, who was watching from the side, was also at ease now; it no longer roared anxiously and went off on its own to graze with the herd. Only these two cows were left in the cattle pen.

After the placenta finally came out and was cleaned away, Baifeng and the others left with peace of mind. As for things like the placenta and umbilical cord, they absolutely could not be eaten, even though the tribesmen would not refuse anything.

However, Baifeng still threw it onto a tree outside the city wall to feed the wild beasts.

But Baifeng did not expect how much trouble this would bring him.

Now the city wall was already being built according to Baifeng's vision. The parapet at the city gate stretched for dozens of meters; this place was the most important spot for facing the enemy, and the other places could just be built toward it slowly.

Two proper Arrow Towers were built, large enough to accommodate one person standing, and those two most important Weapons of the Baifeng tribe, the Strong Crossbows, were placed one on each side.

Although only a small tribe had attacked them so far, Baifeng was clear that future wars would truly involve thousands of soldiers, not like two Villages fighting.

Baifeng knew that his tribe's foundation was insufficient, so steady defense was the most appropriate. If he could have tens of thousands of tribesmen, he wouldn't be unable to contend for the title of the Ancestor of Human Culture, and it wouldn't be impossible for the Yanhuang Descendants to become the Yanbai or Baihuang Descendants.

The houses the tribesmen lived in were basically all Brick houses now. The old earthen houses weren't torn down and were kept as firewood sheds, usually used to stack building materials like firewood, coal, and Cement inside.

It was just that the houses weren't all coated with Cement; only Baifeng's house had Cement exterior walls because the tribe's Cement production wasn't that high yet. However, the houses were built, and coating the exterior walls later was also possible.