I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 361 Drilling a Well

Before coming to the Central Tribe, Bai Ling had planned to dig a well. Now that he no longer needs to guide the construction of houses, and doesn't need to watch over the rice and cotton fields day and night, and has even taught him how to raise silkworms and make yeast, there are no urgent matters for him to attend to for the time being, and there are no important tasks in the fields. So, the well-digging project can be put on the agenda.

Bai Ling discussed it with several elders, who were initially puzzled when they learned that Bai Ling wanted to dig a well.

The central tribe is very large, with rivers and lakes within its territory. For example, the first tribe where Bai Ling lives has rivers and lakes around it, so the beastmen don't have a problem getting water. Everyone can't understand why Bai Ling wants to dig a well.

Bai Ling said, "Now the rivers and lakes have water, but what if there is a drought?" He looked at the eldest elder and asked, "Elder, in all these years, have you ever encountered a year of severe drought where rivers dried up, lakes dried up, wild animals died of thirst, and orcs had to go to faraway places to fetch water, and in the end, the entire tribe had to migrate just to have water to drink."

Upon hearing this, the elder's eyes dimmed instantly. As if remembering something, he slowly said, "More than two hundred years ago, the central tribe experienced a severe drought, which affected our entire territory at that time."

The elder didn't say much. He still remembered the tragedy of that time. The drought lasted for several years and affected most of the territory of the central tribes. The orcs were greatly affected. Many orcs died of thirst and hunger, and many others left the tribe and migrated in various directions.

Bai Ling added, "If we have wells, we won't have to rely on rivers and lakes for drinking water. Even in a severe drought, the well water won't easily run out, and well water is cleaner than river water."

Bai Ling persuaded several elders, and they unanimously agreed to dig a well. After discussion, it was decided that the well would be dug in the First Tribe.

The First Tribe has many orcs, so there are many people who can help. Moreover, the vegetation in the First Tribe is lush, making it easier to find a place to dig a well.

The orcs of the central tribe led Bai Ling around the tribe for several days before finally choosing a place with lush vegetation.

This place is a bit far from the tribe, but this is the first time to dig a well. In order to gain experience, Bai Ling chose to dig the well in the place where water is most likely to come out.

This place was relatively low-lying, and the vegetation was very lush. Bai Ling dug up a lush stalk of mugwort with a hoe and found that the soil underneath it was very moist, and some of the soil could even be squeezed to release a little water.

Although it rained a few days ago, the soil in other places is only relatively moist, but here you can wring water out of it, so there is a high probability that the groundwater is abundant.

After observing for a few more days, Bai Ling noticed that the dew was heavy in the mornings and the area seemed cooler than other places, so he decided to make this the first location for digging a well.

Bai Ling led the orcs to cut down all the mugwort in the area, carefully examined the roots, and finally selected the spot with the most water droplets in the soil.

Next, the excavation began.

Drilling a well is no easy task, especially for the first time. Bai Ling and the beastmen had no experience and could only learn by trial and error.

Bai Ling and the beastmen took their tools and cleared a space. Bai Ling drew a circle on the ground with a twig and began digging a well.

At first, the digging was going quite fast. The orcs were divided into two shifts, one working and the other resting. When the orcs who were digging got tired, the other shift would take over.

Bai Ling and Yue were naturally in the same class. The two stood back to back, holding hoes and swinging them vigorously.

At first, the soil was relatively loose, so Bai Ling and the beastmen used shovels to dig. As they went deeper, the soil became harder, so Bai Ling and Yue used hoes to dig.

The pit was dug a little deeper, so two people could no longer dig it at the same time. Only one person could stand in the pit, dig the soil with a hoe, and then shovel the soil into a bamboo basket with an iron shovel. The orcs above would pull the rope to lift the bamboo basket up, empty the soil inside, and then lower the bamboo basket down.

They repeated the three steps of digging, filling, and dumping soil, making the pit deeper and deeper, and the soil they dug out became more and more moist.

For safety, Bai Ling also made a frame, which was made of several pieces of wood as thick as a wrist tied together and attached to the pit wall for support.

When the pit was dug to a depth of about ten meters, there were already water droplets in the soil, and some of the soil had turned into a semi-muddy state.

The sun had set by then, and Bai Ling called to the orcs at the bottom of the pit, "Let's call it a day and come back to dig again tomorrow."

The orc at the bottom of the pit said, "Ling, I'll be able to dig for water soon. We still have time, so I'll dig a little longer."

Bai Ling shook his head: "You should come up. Let's finish digging and building the well tomorrow."

Bai Ling and Yue packed up quickly and returned to the tribe with the beastmen. When they arrived home, only Ding was there.

The other members of the tribe have not yet returned.

Zhao went to help treat patients, Xiao and Chen went to the cotton field to catch insects, and the other beastmen also had their own work to do. Even Qian and Ying went to help at the brick kiln.

Bai Ling and Yue had been digging in the dirt all day and were covered in sweat. They washed themselves with water that had been left to dry in the yard, and then Bai Ling went to cook.

Yue nudged Bai Ling: "Ling, didn't you say you wanted to go see the rice? You should go before it gets dark. I'll cook."

Upon hearing that Bai Ling had something to do, Ding quickly said, "Yes, Ling, you should go ahead. Yue and I will cook."

Bai Ling thought for a moment and said, "Alright, we'll have vermicelli for dinner. I'll stir-fry the beast meat and stew the vermicelli, and you guys can just tend the fire."

Without further ado, Ding chopped the game meat, Yue peeled and chopped the winter melon, and Bai Ling chopped the scallions, ginger, and garlic. The three of them worked together, and the game meat was quickly stir-fried in the pot. Water and vermicelli were added, the pot was covered, and it was brought to a boil over high heat.

*

The rice paddies were not close together, so in order to save time, Bai Ling simply transformed into his beast form. At this time, there were many people on the road outside the tribe. When they saw the huge white lion passing by, they all raised their hands to greet it.

The enormous white lion nodded to the beastmen, and when it encountered other beastmen who had also transformed into their beast forms on the road, Bai Ling would let out a couple of "woof woof" sounds.

A road was built between the tribe and the river, and running on it was much less strenuous than on the grassland.

The white lion ran to the riverbank and then ran along the flat land by the river for a while before seeing a patch of lush green rice paddies.

The rice is growing well, but it's too tall. It's almost a meter tall, and the stalks are quite thick. It doesn't look like rice at all; it looks more like a small sapling.

Bai Ling transformed into human form, carefully observed the rice, and then gently pinched the rice leaves with her fingers.