I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 174 Back to the Tribe

It took the two of them more than three times as long as usual to get back to the tribe.

This is only because they were traveling all day, so they were able to return in this time. If they had rested for a while at noon, it would have taken them even longer on the road.

There was nothing they could do about it. They used to travel by running in their beast form, but now they could only trot back in their beast form. They also had to deal with all sorts of unexpected events along the way. The fact that they managed to get back in this amount of time was already a testament to Bai Ling and Yue's best efforts.

Actually, there is a better way: tie up the Hungchi Beast and carry it back in its animal form.

A large orc can still carry a huffing beast on its back.

However, there are three Hungchi beasts to bring back, and there are only two beastmen, Bai Ling and Yue. One of them has to carry two Hungchi beasts back.

Bai Ling wanted to carry two beasts, reasoning that his beast form was a white lion, which was larger than a white wolf, so he should carry two beasts; Yue also wanted to carry two beasts, reasoning that Bai Ling's physical strength was not as good as his, so he should carry two beasts.

Neither of them could convince the other, so they finally decided to take the three beasts back to the tribe.

Before the two even got close to the tribe, they encountered a group of orcs who had come out to gather resources together.

They were very close to the tribe now, and the people who had come out to gather were all elderly orcs. They were digging for wild vegetables, and when they saw Bai Ling and Yue return, they all stood up and waved to the two of them.

When the tribespeople saw that the three beasts had returned, they didn't find it strange. After greeting the two men, they let them go back to the tribe.

Bai Ling shook his big head from side to side twice, and he howled at the moon twice. The moon understood what Bai Ling meant, and asked the tribesmen, "Has anything major happened in the tribe these past few days?"

Several tribesmen shook their heads together. Nothing major had happened in the tribe these days, and the whole tribe was very peaceful.

Bai Ling let out two more "howls" as a farewell to the tribespeople. Yue jumped onto Bai Ling's back, and the two headed towards the tribe together.

*

During the few days they were away, nothing had changed in the tribe. They returned at a moderate pace, and most of the tribe members were out at the moment, including Bai Ling's family.

The two led the beast to the backyard. Most of the livestock in the house were not there at the moment; they had all been taken out to graze.

Two more sheds were added in the backyard. Bai Ling tied the three huffing beasts to the newly built sheds and then took Yue to see the lambs.

All three lambs survived and seemed to be in good health. The mother sheep lay on the ground, and the three lambs frolicked around her. They were full of energy and could run around the shed.

There's another ewe who's heavily pregnant and looks like she'll be giving birth soon, which means we'll have a few more lambs in the house.

*

The beastmen were delighted to see Bai Ling return, especially those from other tribes who had come to learn. They greeted him warmly and reported on what they had been doing these past few days.

They all came to learn skills from Bai Ling, who was essentially their teacher. When Bai Ling left, he assigned them jobs, and now that he's back, they naturally have to tell him what they've done.

Even when Bai Ling wasn't around, these orcs didn't slack off. They worked very hard and did their jobs well.

During Bai Ling's absence, five more houses were built in the tribe, and there were many more dried adobe bricks, lime, cement, and glass. These were all the result of the hard work of the orcs.

Bai Ling exchanged a few words with them and was about to head towards the iron smelting workshop when he suddenly remembered something and turned back. He then said to the orcs who hadn't yet dispersed, "I'll come find you after we finish eating. I have something to arrange for you."

Upon hearing that Bai Ling had something to arrange, the beastmen immediately asked what it was. Bai Ling didn't want to keep them in suspense and said directly, "It's about making a kang (heated brick bed)."

“Some of you already know how to make adobe bricks, so you can start by learning how to build a kang (heated brick bed).

Hearing that they could officially learn how to build a kang (heated brick bed), the orcs from the other tribes, as well as the orcs from the central tribe, were very happy. Although building houses and farming were skills they coveted, building a kang was something they had to learn this year.

They can learn everything else gradually, but they can't learn how to build a kang (heated brick bed) yet; they're still hoping to have a warm winter this year.

The beastmen all spoke up: "Ling, we understand."

"Ling, we'll come find you after we finish eating."

"Ling, don't worry, we'll definitely get there soon."

…………

They don't eat with the people of the Tall Tree tribe; instead, they cook separately. However, their cooking area isn't far from the Tall Tree tribe's cooking area, and sometimes when the Tall Tree tribe makes something delicious, they'll come over and have a bowl.

*

After finishing his meal, Bai Ling went over, where the beastmen were already waiting for him.

Bai Ling greeted them first, then got to the point: "Some of you have already learned how to make adobe bricks, so you can learn how to build a kang (heated brick bed). Each tribe should send four people to learn how to build a kang together."

“I will guide you together with the tribe members who know how to build kang (heated brick beds). After you have learned how to build kang, you can go back to your own tribe to dry adobe bricks and build kang.”

The beastmen had no objection to Bai Ling's arrangements, but they needed to discuss carefully which tribesmen to send to learn how to build a heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed). This was a major issue concerning whether the tribe could safely get through the winter, and it couldn't be taken lightly.

Bai Ling simply relayed the arrangements, and he welcomed any choice the beastmen wanted to send to learn how to build the kang (heated brick bed).

*

There are already quite a few houses built in the tribe, and many of them have been renovated and several families have already moved in.

Although they had to sleep on the floor in the house, and frankly, the house wasn't as cool as the cave, they still moved out. After all, only one family lived in the house, while they had to live with the rest of the tribe in the cave.

Bai Ling said he would lead people to build a kang (heated brick bed) in the house, and the clansmen who had already built the house were very supportive, saying they would follow Bai Ling's arrangements.

Next to Bai Ling's house lived elderly people from the tribe who were all unmarried. They lived together to take care of each other in their old age. Bai Ling led the beastmen to build kang beds for their houses first.

Setting up the kang (heated brick bed) was not a difficult task for Bai Ling, but he did it very slowly. From site selection to precautions, and then to the choice of chimney and smoke outlet, Bai Ling explained everything in detail, and patiently went over it several times.

After explaining each step, Bai Ling would ask a question. If any beastman couldn't answer, Bai Ling wouldn't get angry at all, but would patiently and meticulously explain it again.

Because he taught slowly and explained things in great detail, a whole morning passed and he had only just begun to work on the kang (heated brick bed).