Chapter 51: Rainy Season Extended

The rainy season had already lasted four months, yet the rain showed no sign of weakening—instead it grew heavier. The rice planted early in the season had been harvested a month earlier, but without the summer sun of the rainy season, the rice could not be dried. Only by husking the rice and grinding it into flour on stone mills could it be preserved. During this time, Zhang Fan also turned sweet potato flour and rice flour into noodles.

After repeated divinations, the Priest delivered the bad news to the tribespeople: the rainy season would be prolonged. It was expected that this year's cold season would also lengthen, while the harvest season would shorten.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er began making more noodles and sweet potato flour; once finished, they stored everything in sealed pottery jars. Since the Priest had not said how long the extension would last, they needed to prepare in advance to keep the food from getting damp.

The other tribespeople also got busy with preparations. After Zhang Fan taught them how to make sweet potato flour, rice flour, and their own noodles, everyone took a liking to these foods. The noodles can be boiled, seasoned, and eaten straight, or stir‑fried, or stewed together with braised meat—delicious any way. Sweet potato flour can be used for stir‑frying or making pancakes, while rice flour can be steamed into cakes and is very filling.

After Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er had prepared enough food, they heard the blare of a signal horn coming from the tribe's gate. The sound was fierce enough that even Zhang Fan, who didn't understand signal codes, could grasp its meaning.

"Ba Ke Er, does this signal mean someone is causing trouble?"

Ba Ke Er frowned and said: "Yes, Fan Fan, the horn came from the direction of the Fox Clan."

"The Fox Clan? The tribe with the most females?"

"That's right. The Priest divined that this year's rainy season would be prolonged, and we guess other tribes' priests could see the same. In the Fox Clan there are far more females than male Beastmen, and the Beastmen's limited hunt cannot feed everyone. So we estimate it's those who didn't get a food share who are causing trouble."

"If that's the case, why are they causing trouble at our tribe's gate?"

"It must be those females who have taken a liking to the single Beastmen in our tribe, wanting to pair up with our Beastmen and live among us."

"Then how could anyone be causing trouble?"

"I don't know either; shall we go take a look?"

"Sure!"

Having said that, Ba Ke Er shifted into his beast form, Zhang Fan put on his raincoat, grabbed his umbrella, and climbed onto Ba Ke Er's back.

Arriving at the tribe's gate, we saw several sallow‑skinned, thin‑built Fox Clan females standing beside some single male Beastmen of the tribe. The Fox Clan chief Qiao Xi and the Heaven Lion Tribe chief Fei Ji were also there. True to its reputation as a tribe of beauties, those females remained lovely despite their sallow looks and thin frames. But in Ba Ke Er's eyes, Zhang Fan was still the best‑looking! Thinking this, Ba Ke Er's heart went soft. He turned his head to look at Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan paid no attention to Ba Ke Er's gaze; after all, some things you just get used to.

The single females at the tribe's gate eventually entered the tribe; after all, the chieftain could not bring himself to forcibly separate couples. Actually, the main reason is that there are simply too many single beastmen in the tribe; now those single beastmen have finally found females they like. However, since too many females wanted to enter, the chieftain, considering the Heaven Lion Tribe's interests, feared they would secretly collude with outside males and then pass information to the external male beastmen, leading to an inside‑outside joint attack on the tribe. He demanded that the newly arrived females not leave the tribe after entering, and also not approach the gate!