newbobooks Chapter 282 The Burden Has Grown
Chapter 282 The Burden Has Grown
Bai Ling smiled and said, "Okay, I understand. Next time I come, I'll deliberately walk a little slower so you won't be able to tell."
Yue whispered, "Even if you walk slowly, I can still tell."
Bai Ling gripped Yue's fingers tighter and leaned closer to say, "My Yue is so amazing."
"What's so great about that? It's just hearing your footsteps, not doing anything else," Yue said. "Ling, you're the one who's amazing. Oh, by the way, I heard those orcs came from a very far place. They came to learn from you how to build a kang (heated brick bed).
Bai Ling nodded: "Yes, they came from further north. The chieftain said he'll ask the Sky Beastmen to send them back tomorrow. They might also send more Beastmen over to learn more skills in the tribe."
Yue's voice was filled with pride and joy: "Ling, you're amazing! Even orcs from so far away know your name."
Ling is the most powerful orc in the world, and in the future, more orcs will know his name and come to learn various skills from him.
*
Bai Ling had always hoped that some Sky Beastmen would move to the tribe. Zhan had also told the First Elder and Third Elder of the Central Tribe about this matter. Now, the matter has finally made some progress. There is a small tribe of Sky Beastmen living in a relatively barren place. They had previously expressed their desire to move. Zhan wanted to go to that tribe to see if he could persuade them to move to the High Tree Tribe.
Zhan was about to leave the tribe for a while. Before leaving, he called Bai Ling to his side and said to him, "Ling, I'm going out for a while. I'm leaving the affairs of the tribe to you. If anything major happens, you can discuss it with those old orcs. You can make decisions on other minor matters."
This was the intention of making Bai Ling the acting chieftain. Bai Ling was somewhat surprised because there were quite a few orcs in the tribe who were older and more experienced than him. Why did Zhan want him to temporarily manage the tribe?
Zhan seemed to see Bai Ling's surprise and confusion. Before Bai Ling could say anything, he patted Bai Ling's shoulder and said with a smile, "Ling, I believe in you. You can handle the affairs of the clan. I believe you can do a good job."
Zhan's face was always serious, and this was the first time Bai Ling had seen him smile so outgoingly and kindly, as if he were looking at his favorite junior.
Bai Ling wasn't stupid. From Zhan's arrangements and his encouraging and trusting gaze, he understood Zhan's meaning.
This shows that they intend to groom him as the next clan leader.
Come to think of it, it seems that last year, whenever something happened in the tribe, Zhan would call him to discuss it together, and Zhan would also carefully ask for his opinion on the future development of the tribe.
Bai Ling suddenly felt a greater burden on her shoulders, and she also felt confident that she could manage the tribe well in Zhan's absence.
He thought for a moment and said, "Chieftain, I will take the men to clean up those ten houses first. If the Sky Beastmen from that tribe come, we will put up the fire walls and kang beds so they can live in them during the winter."
Zhan nodded: "That's what I was thinking too. Ling, you take the people and get the house ready first."
Zhan gave Bai Ling a few more instructions, all about the tribe. Bai Ling nodded to indicate that she had remembered them. Zhan then urged her to leave: "Alright, Ling, you can go back now. I still need to pack some things. We'll set off at dawn tomorrow."
*
After Bai Ling left, Zhan's partner pushed open the bedroom door and came in. Zhan's partner was a gentle-tempered beastman, and his voice was also gentle: "What did you say to Ling? He seemed to have done something big when he left."
When facing his partner, Zhan's usually serious expression relaxed. He told his partner about his plans, and a look of joy flashed across his partner's face upon hearing this.
Zhan added, "Once Ling can take on the responsibility of clan leader, I will hand over the position to him. Haven't you always wanted to travel around? Then we can go out together and travel all over the orc continent."
Zhan's partner laughed and said, "Then it's settled. We'll head east together. I want to see the sea first."
The two clasped hands, and Zhan nodded, saying, "Okay, let's go see the sea first."
*
With Zhan gone, the affairs of the tribe fell to Bai Ling.
He first led the orcs to tidy up the ten newly built houses in the tribe.
Most of the orcs in the tribe who knew how to build houses were helping other tribes build houses. Only Bai Ling and another orc knew how to plaster and lay bricks, so the task of plastering the walls had to be done by the two of them. Bai Ling led the orcs to clean up each room one by one. After leveling the ground and laying blue bricks, Bai Ling and the other orc began to plaster the walls, while the other orcs began to clean up the next room.
These ten houses belong to the tribe. Working here isn't for free; you get something in return. As for how much to take, the tribe has rules. Bai Ling just needs to lead them in their work.
The Gaoshu tribe is not large, and there are not many things to do. Apart from leading the orcs to build houses, there are no major matters that Bai Ling needs to handle. Everything else in the tribe has been arranged, such as the care of the public fields, how to distribute the prey brought back by the hunting team, how the patrol team should patrol, and other matters. There are also precedents for how to handle them.
*
After tidying up the house, Bai Ling and Yue picked some wild fruits. He had originally planned to make some fruit wine, but he hadn't used the yeast starter yet and wasn't sure about the proportions, so he simply gave up on the idea.
The fruit he picked was similar to plums, but a whole size bigger. It was purplish-red in color and tasted sweet and sour. Since they weren't going to make fruit wine, Bai Ling and Yue washed the fruit, peeled it, and threw it into a ceramic bowl.
These fruits might be used to dye silk. Bai Ling didn't know if the dye would turn red or purple. Anyway, he had nothing else to do today, so he decided to use them to pass the time with Yue.
*
This is a barren mountain range.
It's summer now, the greenest season of the year, but there isn't much greenery in this mountain range.
The most common feature of this mountain range is the exposed, rugged rocks.
Even though the mountains are barren, life still exists. There is an orc tribe living here. It is a small tribe of less than thirty people. The tribe is in a valley, through which a river flows. Nourished by the moisture, the valley is lush and green.
However, this little bit of greenery is not enough to stand out in the mountains, and the valley is not very large. It is not enough to support these orcs on its own. The orcs living here have to fly far away every day to find food.
Besides food, fuel is also scarce here. The orcs in this tribe rarely collect wood from the valley, and they have to find fuel from outside to start fires.