Planning and Construction

"Chang Xia, you've worked hard." Mu Qin smiled and stepped into the beast lair. She looked up and around, her eyes immediately sparkling when she saw the rattan baskets in the corner.

Seeing this, how could Root not understand?

"These were woven by Chen Rong." Root took a rattan basket and handed it to Mu Qin. His words were full of praise for Chang Xia.

Mu Qin took the rattan basket and studied it repeatedly.

"This rattan basket is good for picking and collecting," said Mu Qin.

It was inconvenient for the cubs of the tribe to use the back baskets. They had never thought of making the basket smaller. Today, she looked at the large and small back baskets and hand held baskets in the beast lair and immediately understood.

At the same time, Mu Qin approved of Chang Xia.

Other than being physically weak, Chang Xia was in excellent condition.

Unfortunately, Nan Feng was female.

Mu Qin really wanted Nan Feng to stay with Chang Xia and take care of her for the rest of her life.

"I knew you'd make the best of your days, Chang Xia," she said, patting her lightly on the shoulder. She put down the rattan basket and walked around the beast lair, looking pleased with herself. When her gaze fell on the food on the stove, her expression colored with happiness.

The child they had raised could finally live alone.

Apart from relief, there was also the complex feeling of reluctance.

"Mother Mu Qin, sit down. Come and taste the food I've cooked. These are all for you." Cheerfully, Chang Xia invited Root and Mother Mu Qin to take their seats. There were no tables or chairs in the den, so she pulled the vine curtain out and used it as a cushion. The baskets were turned over and became tables.

Fishballs, wild vegetable soup, fried meat stir-fried with wild vegetables, stewed meat, plus white braised river prawns and steamed river crabs. This meal was very sumptuous.

Root and the others looked at this eye-opening scene.

The tribe's daily staples were roast meat and stew.

Roast meat, as the name suggested, was just simple roasted meat. Mixed stew involved cutting the meat into pieces and add the rooting of various plants or wild vegetables. The main ingredient of mixed stew was meat, but the beasts did not know how to get rid of the bad smell. It could be imagined how terrifying the taste of mixed stew was.

The fishball and wild vegetable soup was fresh and juicy. The fried meat and stir-fried wild vegetables were crispy and fragrant. Coupled with the softness of the stewed meat, the elasticity of the river prawns, and the taste of the river crabs, it was delicious.

Once they started eating.

Root's family ate without even raising their heads.

"Ah! So full."

Mother Mu Qin said, "Chang Xia, if there's anything else you don't have at home, talk to me."

A quarter of an hour, cups and plates were in disarray.

Everyone sat on the vine curtain with their full stomachs.

There was an expression of reminiscence on their faces as they lamented that they had lived in vain for the past few decades.

"Chang Xia needs to exchange resins with the tribe if she wants to build a house cave. We'll use Nan Feng's wood and stone for the time being. Other things need to be exchanged too." Root explained. In fact, even if he didn't say it, the tribe would more or less support Chang Xia if they knew she wanted to build a house cave.

Mu Qin nodded. "Chang Xia, if you want to do anything, just tell Nan Feng and ask her to help you. The shaman will be here in a few days. I'll exchange a few pieces of pottery for you later in the tribe. It isn't good to lack pottery in the den."

Root and Mu Qin made their decision before Chang Xia could speak.

Chen Rong was no better than the sickly Chang Xia in their eyes.

Seeing this, other than feeling helpless, Chen Rong remained silent and chose to live off a woman.

Chang Xia smiled in response, full of happiness.

"I won't stand on ceremony with Nan Feng, Mu Qin." Chang Xia nodded. With the tribe's help, they might be able to build the house cave before the rainy season. Just thinking about it made Chang Xia happy.

So she took a branch and sketched on the floor.

"To build the house cave, we first have to dig the foundation. The second step is to build a cave and the last step is to build the gables and install the doors and windows."

Chang Xia had carefully checked the soil layer there.

It was thick and solid.

It suited the house cave.

Digging was easy for the beasts.

The hard part was the doors and windows. The doors could be made of wood, but the windows would be a problem. Chang Xia hadn't found any replacement glass for the time being. In the worst case scenario, she would have to make wooden window frames and hang animal skins to cover them, like the animal skins on the roof of a den.

This way.

The light inside the house cave would be much worse.

Nan Feng had told Chang Xia that the birds had a kind of glowing stone.

Chang Xia prepared to find the shaman and exchange something for this glowing stone with the birds, and use this glowing stone to replace a torch or lightbulb.

The beasts, birds, and fish would not trade directly.

It could only be done through the shamans of the various races, or by participating in the trading of the great market in Normandy. At the same time, it was the same inside the beast race.

In Chang Xia's memory, there was not much contact between the various beast tribes.

Every time they made contact, they were at Mount Kana and the shamans would be asked for their opinions. Only when the shaman nodded did the tribes come into contact with each other. Of course, there were unexpected circumstances. For example, when there was a major natural or man-made disaster, the tribes would also make contact.

This seemed to be closed and primitive, but in fact, it greatly protected the development and reproduction of the various tribes.

"It seems more like a cave," muttered Nan Feng.

Chang Xia shook his head and retorted, "How can a cave be compared to a house cave? The house cave I plan to build is called a mountain house cave. I'll dig a hole on the west side of the hill and then expand throughout the entire hill."

Chang Xia was ambitious.

She had not planned to build a large house cave at the start.

When Nan Feng said that the house cave was like a cave, she was immediately unhappy.

The hillside by the lake was very large, so Chang Xia decided to play a big game. She would directly built a large house cave on this hillside. The specifications were the same as a courtyard house, combining the hillside with the house cave to form a sunken cave.

That thought made Chang Xia evaluate the terrain of the hillside.

She discovered that it wasn't a bad idea.

The main gate would be on the side facing the lake, and two house caves would be dug left and right to make it look like a building. It was very suitable for residents and storage.

Chang Xia liked to hoard. The beast lair was dozens of square meters, so there was not much space for anything.

The house cave would be built big enough so that Chang Xia could store items in categories. The more he thought about it, the more excited Chang Xia became.

On the other hand, Root and the others listened to Chang Xia's description.

They all froze.

Even the place where the shaman lived didn't seem as good as the house caves Chang Xia had described.

Could they really build such a thing?

At this moment, even the knowledgeable Chen Rong quietly fell silent.

"Chang Xia, can we really build a house cave like this?" Root looked at Chang Xia, his eyes shining with excitement that could not be ignored.

The Heluo tribe had lived in this land for thousands of years. Beast lairs could not compare to the nests of birds, but they sheltered the beasts.

Unlike some beast dwellings in mountain caves, the Heluo tribe was more willing to make the beast lairs their home.

Even though they would be caught in the rain during the rainy season and freeze during the cold season.

The beast lair was still the beast race's first choice.

"How will we know if we don't try, Chief?" Chang Xia asked.

During the apocalypse, social order fell into chaos.

Humans had retreated from the mechanical civilization one after another, creating things with their bare hands. It was no longer just words. Previously, with her weak body, Chang Xia could only be forced to get used to everything in the Heluo Tribe. Now that she had a choice, Chang Xia naturally did not want to suffer.

Making use of everything around her was what intelligent creatures should do. Otherwise, what was the difference between them and wild animals?!

"I can't help you, but I can give you Nan Feng. If the tribesmen are willing to help, I won't stop them," Root said seriously.

He represented the Heluo tribe and could not make a casual statement.

But Nan Feng was different.

She doted on Chang Xia and stayed behind to help her do something out of line. Even if her clansmen had any ideas, they wouldn't go overboard.

Chang Xia grinned and chuckled.

"Thank you, Chief!"

Looking out at the sun, Root and Mu Qin got up to leave.

Whether it was rattan shoes or the cooking of fish balls and deep-fried meat, they would have to manage everything. Of course, it was more important to exchange things for Chang Xia.

"Father and the others spoil you!" Nan Feng exclaimed.

Chang Xia stuck her tongue out at her and said happily, "Nan Feng, I picked a lot of white fruits this time. I don't have any clay pots to hold fruit powder at home. In the afternoon, you have to help make wooden barrels."

"Aren't you going to dig for the house cave this afternoon, Chang Xia?" Chen Rong asked.

"I want to make the whole hillside into a big quadrangle house cave. It'll have to be redrawn. You and Nan Feng make the barrels first, and get the salt crystals processed." Chang Xia thought about it. She wasn't in a hurry to start digging for the house cave. If she was going to do it, she had to do it to the best of her ability or not at all.