Chapter 86

Tribe members, after looking at the corn and wheat samples provided by Zhang Fan and his wife and Fei Er and his wife, many tribe members who liked to go out traveling recognized the corn and wheat, but they previously did not know these were edible food.

Now that they knew these wild grasses and short trees actually bore edible fruit, they couldn't stay calm! After all, in these times, who would want too much food at home? The chieftain, upon learning that someone had actually seen corn and wheat, immediately sought them out and learned from them where corn and wheat grew. He then immediately convened a tribal assembly, calling on everyone to participate in the gathering. After the meeting, each household sent out one Beastman to join the chieftain's temporary gathering team.

After the chieftain counted the number of participants in the gathering team, he evenly divided them into two teams. At the same time, he also divided those who knew the routes into two teams: one team of tribe members who knew corn and where corn grew, and another team of tribe members who knew wheat and where wheat grew. He then assigned these people who could lead the way to the two gathering teams. Of course, he also appointed two team leaders to manage the personnel.

Ba Ke Er and Mo De did not choose to follow the gathering team out; instead, Lei Ya and Di Er went along. Since the chieftain's household had to manage tribal affairs and did not join the gathering team, they had Mo De go on a trip. As for Fei Er, he also went along because Mo De was going far away.

After the gathering teams had set out, Ba Ke Er and Zhang Fan were not idle; they began preparing for corn and wheat breeding.

Actually, Zhang Fan also didn't know whether corn and wheat could be grown successfully this season, since he had never planted them before; now deciding to breed corn and wheat was like trying a dead horse as a living doctor. Whether it could grow or not, just try and you'll find out. Anyway, even if it ultimately fails to grow, it's not a big loss. Of course, if it really could grow, that would be even better—it could quickly enrich the tribe members' tables and also let him quickly fully integrate into Shouren Xingqiu. Even after being here so long, Zhang Fan hasn't developed much of a sense of belonging to this strange planet, but these familiar plants gave him spiritual solace. After all, the most important thing is to let enough tribe members eat their fill, so they won't go hungry in the cold season.

Since he had made up his mind to do it, Zhang Fan was determined to do it as well as possible!

Since he himself had never planted corn or wheat, he also didn't know whether seeds needed to be soaked first. Zhang Fan thought it over and decided to simply split them into two groups for an experiment. He divided the selected corn and wheat seeds each into two portions, ten seeds per portion; one portion was soaked in water overnight before planting, while the other portion was planted directly without soaking.

Since it was an experiment, Zhang Fan also didn't choose to plant them outside, but directly in the small vegetable plot in his home's courtyard. Of course, after planting, Zhang Fan also didn't forget to make markers. When he thought about labeling the seeds in the vegetable plot, he had Ba Ke Er fetch four small wooden boards and, using charcoal from burned tree branches, clearly wrote on the boards the seed types and treatment methods.

After finishing these tasks, Zhang Fan would go to the small vegetable plot every day to observe the seedlings' growth and also record it on his phone's notepad. After Zhang Fan continuously observed for several days, he found that the soaked corn and the unsprouted wheat had the best growth, with basically all ten seeds sprouting. Meanwhile, the unsprouted corn and the soaked wheat only produced a few scattered sprouts.

After observing for another ten-plus days, he found that the unsprouted corn also eventually sprouted, though its growth was clearly inferior to that of the soaked corn. As for the soaked wheat, it was completely different: the seedlings that had painfully sprouted gradually died, and the seeds that had not sprouted showed no sign of breaking through the soil even after ten-plus days, leaving only the unsprouted wheat seedlings still growing vigorously.

From this observation, Zhang Fan drew the conclusion: soaking seeds is very important for corn breeding, as it can speed up germination; wheat, however, being a dry‑loving plant, does not need soaking. Therefore, soaked corn and unsprouted wheat can both germinate in the shortest time.

After Zhang Fan finished his experiment, the two gathering teams temporarily sent out by the chieftain also returned one after another. As expected, everyone came back laden with harvest. All the Beastmen, just like Zhang Fan and his group when they first returned, brought back only wheat ears and corn cobs, and did not bring back the wheat stalks and corn stalks that take up space.

The gathering team that Fei Er and his wife belonged to was the last to return; at first seeing Lei Ya and Di Er's team come back, Zhang Fan was quite pleased—great! They had returned safely! But upon learning that Fei Er and Mo De's team had not yet returned, he couldn't help but worry, silently clutching a sweat in his heart and beginning to pray for their safe return.

After all, Fei Er was his first friend in the tribe and also his best friend, while Mo De was Ba Ke Er's close brother. Seeing Lei Ya and Di Er return, Zhang Fan did not, out of worry for Fei Er, forget to give them a warm welcome.

After treating Lei Ya and Di Er to a hearty lunch, Zhang Fan again began to worry.

Only after a few days did Ba Ke Er return from hunting and tell him that he had already seen Fei Er and his group's figures outside the tribe, whereupon Zhang Fan regained his usual good mood. He immediately had Ba Ke Er put down the game, then pulled Ba Ke Er along to go to the tribe's entrance to meet Fei Er. Ba Ke Er also immediately agreed. After all, Mo De and his group had been away for ten or twenty days, and Zhang Fan was also somewhat worried; although he had just run into them, Ba Ke Er could understand Zhang Fan's feelings.

Without a word, he immediately shifted into beast form; Zhang Fan also promptly closed the doors and windows and climbed onto Ba Ke Er's back. Ba Ke Er waited until Zhang Fan was seated securely, then, without needing Zhang Fan's urging, immediately spread his wings and flapped them toward the tribe's entrance.

Soon, Ba Ke Er and Zhang Fan arrived at the tribe's entrance. There they also ran into the tribe members who had likewise come to welcome them. Of course, they also met Fei Er's parents, the clan chief Fei Ji and the clan physician Wei Er and his wife. Surprisingly, they also ran into Ba Ke Er's parents, Lei Ya and Di Er. This was a bit awkward, after all, when Lei Ya and Di Er had returned, Ba Ke Er and Zhang Fan had been busy with their corn and wheat breeding experiment and had not deliberately gone to the tribe's entrance to greet them. But this time, when Fei Er and Mo De returned, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er deliberately came to welcome them.

Zhang Fan, feeling especially embarrassed, somewhat flustered and self‑reproachful, explained to Di Er and Lei Ya: "Father, Am, the last time you returned, I and Ba Ke Er were busy with the experiment and actually forgot to come to the tribe's entrance to greet you—truly sorry!"

Di Er saw Zhang Fan feeling self‑reproachful over such a small matter of not coming to welcome him, and also felt somewhat reluctant, after all he knew that Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er were doing a great deed benefiting everyone. Originally he had not been angry about this, nor did he feel that his return required Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er to come welcome him.

Di Er quickly said: "Oh dear, child, you don't need to feel self‑reproachful about this; after all, you were also busy with proper work back then, and I and your father returned safely according to the stipulated time, and the time we were away is far shorter than the time we used to spend roaming around. Moreover, I and your father are not yet old enough to need your support—why would we need a special welcome? As for Fei Er and Mo De, they're different, since they returned only after exceeding the stipulated time by many days. Everyone inevitably worries, and look—we couldn't let go, so we came together, right? Haha…"

Having said that, Di Er laughed without a care. At that moment Zhang Fan also let his worries go; the embarrassed atmosphere was shattered by Di Er's laughter and vanished instantly.

Fei Er and his party didn't keep everyone waiting; as soon as Zhang Fan's side finished speaking, Fei Er's party arrived at the tribe's entrance. Once Fei Er entered the tribe, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er hurriedly joined everyone to go forward and greet them, helping the gathering team members move their belongings. Even the toddlers, only a few years old, couldn't sit still and started to act.

When all the goods had been moved into the tribe's communal storage, Zhang Fan realized that having too much food wasn't easy to store either! Thinking it over, he thought of a cellar! But now wasn't the time to dig a cellar—Fei Er and his group had just returned and needed to rest a few days. Besides, even if a cellar were dug now it would have to stay empty, since the food is still growing in the ground! The food harvested last season was also just piled in their own storage rooms, so there was no need to move anything for the time being.

After settling those matters that day, Ba Ke Er, Zhang Fan and the others chatted a few more words with Fei Er and his group before leaving. Of course, Zhang Fan also didn't forget to invite Fei Er and his wife and Lei Ya and his wife to come over for dinner that evening.

That afternoon, because there were quite a few people, Zhang Fan did not choose to cook a hot pot again. This time, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er as a couple also spent the whole afternoon preparing various ingredients, and beforehand they had already simmered a large pot of sauerkraut beef soup. They wrapped several hundred dumplings, of course, to suit everyone's taste there were both vegetarian and meat fillings, and they also made plenty of meatballs and stir‑fried many meat dishes.

Fei Er and Mo De as a couple, after tidying up their belongings and themselves, checked the sky and thought the time was about right, then left the house heading toward Zhang Fan's home. On the way they also encountered Lei Ya and Di Er, who were likewise going to Zhang Fan's home for dinner. After exchanging greetings, the four of them set off together toward Zhang Fan's home.

Before even entering the courtyard gate, the four smelled a rich aroma of food and couldn't help but take a deep breath. They began pushing open the courtyard gate and walked in.

Seeing that the four had arrived, Zhang Fan smiled and hurriedly called everyone to come inside to eat.

During the meal, everyone, having not seen each other for a long time, had endless things to say; of course, everyone also ate a little! Thus, after this meal, host and guests enjoyed themselves fully. After rising from the table, Zhang Fan hurriedly had the four who wanted to stay and help clean up go rest, and then, together with Ba Ke Er, simply tidied up the things on the table and in the kitchen before finally resting.