Chapter 130: Coal?

Over the next few days, Ba Ke Er didn't dare bring Zhang Fan along when he went out hunting, for fear that the incident with the Tyrannosaurus Beast would happen again.

After all, Ba Ke Er knew that if it weren't for his own carelessness, it wouldn't have come to this, but he still couldn't set his mind at ease about Zhang Fan, worrying that something might happen to him.

So he also didn't dare continue bringing Zhang Fan along on hunts; even after Zhang Fan tried everything he could, he still couldn't sway Ba Ke Er!

Ba Ke Er, afraid Zhang Fan would be upset, also frankly and honestly laid out his reasons for not wanting to bring Zhang Fan along.

"Fan Fan, I'm not unwilling to bring you along; it's just… really too dangerous! Every Beast Tide Month is when wild beasts migrate south in large numbers."

Ba Ke Er said this, pursing his lips with some difficulty, then continued:

"Although many of the migrating animals are herbivores, there are also plenty of carnivores! Whenever Beast Tide Month arrives, it's when those carnivores go mad over food."

Ba Ke Er then lifted his head to look at Zhang Fan's expression; seeing that he wasn't angry, he went on to say:

"If they're even slightly careless, they'll go berserk over food! Even when there's no food, they'll bite their own companions! You saw what happened last time, so for your safety's sake, it's better you don't come along."

Having said that, Ba Ke Er seized the moment when Zhang Fan wasn't paying attention, planted a hard kiss on his forehead, then immediately shifted into beast form and flew off.

Only Zhang Fan remained in the courtyard, beating his chest and stamping his feet! At this moment, Zhang Fan kept silently swearing in his heart: "Hmph! Damn Ba Ke Er! Wait till you come back! I'll show you how to deal with you! How dare you just abandon me like that! Hmph hmph hmph!"

Zhang Fan simply got angrier the more he thought about it! The angrier he felt, the more unwilling he became! "Hmph! I, the young master, am a big shot! Being treated like a woman is bad enough, but to be despised like this is just too hateful!"

Just thinking about this made Zhang Fan feel like he could barely restrain the primordial power within him!

In order to properly demonstrate his worth, Zhang Fan decided! He would definitely prove himself with strength!

Of course, with Zhang Fan's scrawny arms and legs, it's impossible for him to directly fight Ba Ke Er; even if he were willing, Ba Ke Er would fear hurting him and would deliberately let him win.

But then, that's hardly something a real man would do. Moreover, winning like that wouldn't be glorious! Having someone go easy on you—what's the point of wasting time like that?

That amount of effort, if used for fighting, would be enough for Zhang Fan to make a lot of delicious food!

Just thinking about making food, Zhang Fan felt that although he had just eaten breakfast, he suddenly felt hungry again.

He lowered his head to look at his watch and discovered it was only eight o'clock in the morning—just an hour had passed since Ba Ke Er left!

Besides, his breakfast had been eaten together with Ba Ke Er; thinking of this, Zhang Fan also began to worry about Ba Ke Er—he himself had done nothing, just sitting at home, and was already hungry.

Ba Ke Er still had to go out hunting and fight desperately with the beasts—surely he must already be starving to the point of his belly touching his back? I don't know if Ba Ke Er will return safely.

Thinking of this, Zhang Fan instantly snapped back to reality, spat out a few "pah" sounds, then began to mutter to himself:

"What kind of jinxed mouth do I have! No, no—what kind of jinxed brain! How did my mental capacity suddenly shrink! What nonsense am I thinking! Why do I keep thinking of bad things!"

Having said that, Zhang Fan even stood up from the stool, walked to the doorway, knelt outside and began kowtowing. While kowtowing, he also kept murmuring:

"Um, uh, Beast God! And all the great deities! Just treat my earlier action as a fart! Please don't let anything happen to Ba Ke Er! Definitely bless him to turn danger into safety! Here, we thank you first!"

After knocking his head three times, Zhang Fan finally rose, feeling relieved.

However, he didn't notice that his every move had been clearly seen by Fei Er, who had just pushed the door open and come in.

Just then, a sudden thud of something heavy falling came from the courtyard gate. Zhang Fan looked up and saw Fei Er clutching his stomach, laughing so hard he was about to cramp. He had no idea how long Fei Er had been inside or how much he'd seen.

In an instant, Zhang Fan felt the whole air congeal, time seemed to stand still, and even all sounds seemed to have been muted—he was mortified to the extreme!

Now Zhang Fan felt as if he were frozen, unable to move at all! Aside from feeling embarrassed and humiliated, he had no other sensations.

Fei Er, who had been laughing at the courtyard gate, seeing Zhang Fan's reaction, burst out laughing even more unrestrainedly. After all, he'd already been discovered—what's a little more showing off?

And when Zhang Fan heard Fei Er's unrestrained laughter, he also instantly came to his senses, first giving Fei Er a dry chuckle twice, then walked over, picked up the thing Fei Er had just dropped, and acted as if nothing had happened, asking Fei Er:

"Fei Er, how strange! Why do you come in without knocking? Hey! What is this thing you have? Why did dropping it make such a huge commotion?"

At this point, seeing Zhang Fan's obvious reaction, Fei Er felt embarrassed, so he just went along with it, gave a few light coughs, and stopped his loud laughter.

"I just saw your gate wasn't closed, so I pushed it open and came in. Besides, I was bored at home, so I came to find you to play. How about it? You still unwilling?"

Seeing Fei Er not bring up the previous matter, Zhang Fan hurriedly replied: "Willing, willing! How could I be unwilling? By the way, you still haven't said what this is."

Saying this, Zhang Fan lifted the lump he had just picked up from the ground in front of Fei Er.

Fei Er had originally come over to tell Zhang Fan about this; now, reminded by Zhang Fan, he slapped his forehead and began speaking.

"It's like this, Fan Fan. Originally I was at home burning fire to cook, but then I discovered that the little basket we use to hold wood chips for starting fires actually had some black little stones. Curious, I simply picked them out and threw a few into the stove to burn."

Saying this, Fei Er's emotions became noticeably more excited; he even started waving his arms and kicking his legs!

"Who would have thought! These black stones aren't afraid of burning! And after burning for a while, the stones themselves actually caught fire! You say it's not miraculous? But even more miraculous is what comes next: those stones burn longer than wood and corn cobs!"

When Zhang Fan heard the first part of what Fei Er said, he already had a vague guess, but the thought flashed by too quickly for him to grasp, leaving him somewhat secretly troubled.

But when he heard the latter part of Fei Er's words, he suddenly seized the main point! He couldn't help but become excited, even pulling Fei Er to jump a few times, until his mood finally calmed down.

Zhang Fan could no longer wait and opened Fei Er's heavy sack. Upon opening it, he saw—sure enough, he wasn't disappointed! It really was! Looking at a big sack of coal, Zhang Fan could hardly contain his excitement again!

Seeing Zhang Fan's reaction, Fei Er also guessed that those stones he brought were definitely known to Zhang Fan! Not only recognized, but even very familiar! For this, Fei Er couldn't help but give himself a mental point. Of course, this didn't prevent him from wanting to know what kind of stone these were.

So, seeing Zhang Fan less excited, Fei Er asked. At this moment, Zhang Fan also realized there was still Fei Er beside him!

Of course, regarding Fei Er's question, Zhang Fan always tells all he knows, holding nothing back. Now that Fei Er wanted to know, Zhang Fan didn't want to string him along.

"Fei Er, those black stones you brought are, strictly speaking, a kind of ore! Moreover, they're an ore that can provide heat; their name is coal! In the cold season we can use it to roast fire indoors, and normally we can also use it to burn fire for cooking."

Zhang Fan said this while pulling the bewildered Fei Er toward the main hall.

"Right! One point you got right—these coals are indeed very burn-resistant! But… Fei Er, where did you find so much coal? I don't believe you just happened to find it in your own wood-chip basket!"

Seeing Zhang Fan's doubtful look, Fei Er also knew he couldn't hide it. So he had no choice but to tell Zhang Fan the truth, laying everything out.

"Well… it's like this. On the first day of Beast Tide Month, I secretly went out with Mo De. These stones were also found on those few grassless mountains not far east of our tribe. At the time I was just curious, so I picked some up and brought them back."

By then, the two had entered the main hall; Zhang Fan poured Fei Er a cup of tea. Fei Er took it, sipped a few mouthfuls, then continued speaking.

However, after picking them up, I just casually tossed them into the wood-chip basket. Since I hadn't been cooking for the past two days, I didn't notice the stones' use, and only discovered it this morning.

After hearing this, Zhang Fan lightly nodded at Fei Er, and in his mind he also had some impression of those mountains Fei Er mentioned. He then spoke up to instruct him: first take this coal to find the chieftain, explain the matter clearly to him; afterwards, let the chieftain and the elders decide what to do.

Fei Er nodded in agreement; at the same time, he didn't forget to drag Zhang Fan along. After drinking a whole big cup of water, Fei Er took Zhang Fan's hand with one hand and held the sack of coal with the other, heading toward the Tribal Office.

Having arrived, Fei Er still had no intention of letting go of Zhang Fan; he directly pulled him inside. Once inside, he openly told everyone that this coal was discovered and brought back by him and Mo De together; since they didn't know what it was, they went to find Zhang Fan to have him look at it and see if he recognized it.

Just like that, he casually tossed the problem to Zhang Fan. However, since Zhang Fan was already used to Fei Er's behavior, he didn't object, and directly told everyone about the coal's uses, how to use it, and some simple mining methods.

However, to be safe, he only mentioned surface mining and didn't bring up underground mining—first because he didn't know how, and second out of concern for the safety of the tribe members responsible for mining the coal.

After saying that, Zhang Fan had Fei Er leave some coal behind, then took him along. He knew that what came next only needed the chieftain and elders to discuss; he was merely responsible for providing suggestions.