I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 290 Familiar Gaze

This is the second autumn harvest in the High Tree Tribe, and the beastmen are already quite skilled at it.

With the help of many more people—the Sky Beastmen who had just arrived in the High Tree Tribe, the Beastmen from the Central Tribe, the Beastmen from distant tribes who came to the tribe to learn various skills, and the Beastmen from nearby tribes who came to learn silkworm rearing from Bai Ling—the autumn harvest was much faster than last year with so many Beastmen working together.

Wheat is the most important crop in the tribe. Apart from the tribe's public fields, only the Bai Ling family and the Yue family grow some.

The wheat of Bai Ling's family and Yue's family had been harvested before the wheat in the tribe began to be harvested. All the able-bodied beastmen sprang into action, some with sickles to cut the wheat, and others with huffing beasts pulling carts to transport the wheat back.

The wheat was placed in the very center of the square. A large orc transformed into his beast form and pulled a stone roller around and around on the wheat. Two other orcs used pitchforks to constantly lift the wheat so that the stone roller could crush all the wheat.

The tribe used a lot of wheat, but with many people and great strength, all the wheat was harvested and threshed in less than two days.

After a busy day, the beastmen sat in several circles around the drying wheat. Looking at the wheat, their faces were full of satisfaction and contentment, as if the fatigue of the past few days had not existed at all.

The beastmen chatted in twos and threes, their voices low. Some didn't say anything, just looked at the drying wheat and smiled, their mouths almost watering. They were thinking about all the foods that could be made from wheat, and just thinking about it made their mouths water.

A group of children ran around on the drying wheat grains, but the cubs were held tightly in the arms of the adults, not allowed to run with the children.

The cubs do shed fur.

*

Bai Ling was helping with the cooking. She came back early from work today and had nothing to do at home, so she decided to help with the cooking.

Today I'm making meatball soup. I chopped up the game meat, mixed it with tapioca starch, and added salt and seasoning to make the meat filling.

While stirring the minced meat, Bai Ling whispered to Yue, "Yue, what kind of food do you want to make after the wheat is ground into flour?"

"Let's make some steamed buns and mantou first, and also some soybean paste." Yue's voice wasn't loud, but you could hear the joyful anticipation in it. "Grandpa said we must make soybean paste. With the paste, whether it's stir-frying vegetables or stewing meat, the taste will be much better."

Bai Ling nodded: "Yes, soybean paste can also be used to make soy sauce, which is a condiment that can add color and enhance flavor. We'll make it together after we finish working in the fields."

When it comes to seasoning, soy sauce is much more useful than soybean paste. He had been so busy that he forgot about it. Once he's done with this busy period and the new soybean paste is ready, he'll make some soy sauce.

Yue asked softly, "Is soy sauce made by mixing soy sauce and animal fat together?"

Bai Ling kept everyone in suspense: "You'll know when I make it."

*

With all the crops harvested, Yue will be going out hunting again. Autumn is the season for orcs to store food. Orcs are carnivores, and they can't just eat the plants harvested from the ground; they also need to store a certain amount of dried meat.

Furthermore, Zhan also wanted to take this opportunity to capture more wild animals and raise them. The livestock raised were fatter than the wild animals captured, and the offspring were more likely to survive. In addition, the livestock raised were easier to eat.

In the past, the tribe mostly ate cured and smoked meat. If they wanted to eat fresh meat, they had to hunt wild animals in advance. Now, if there is something to celebrate in the tribe, they can just bring out an animal and slaughter it to eat fresh meat.

This year, the tribe has intensified its hunting efforts considerably, and there are fewer wild animals in the tribe's territory than in previous years. This time, Yue is going to a relatively far place.

Bai Ling was a little down because she didn't know how many days it would take for her to return. She had finally gotten some free time and could spend a lot of time with Yue, but unfortunately, Yue had to go out hunting again.

The two walked hand in hand under the moonlight. Yue keenly sensed that Bai Ling was not in a good mood. He gripped Bai Ling's hand tightly and looked at Bai Ling with his icy blue eyes: "Ling, what's wrong? Why did your mood suddenly turn so bad?"

Bai Ling whispered, "Yue, you're going out hunting again, and this time it'll be for a long time. I heard from the people who are going with you that it might be more than a month."

They said they would be gone for more than a month and might not return until the beginning of winter. This was the last hunt before winter, and the entire tribe took it very seriously. In addition to the hunting teams that were going out, Zhan also sent more than ten strong orcs to help transport supplies to the hunting teams and bring back the captured prey.

Bai Ling's younger brother, Chen, was sent out.

New Sky Orcs are also joining the hunt. With their help, the hunting party can find the prey more quickly.

Yue didn't hide the truth: "It's said to be more than a month, but it may actually take longer. We need to bring back as many live livestock as possible."

"Ling, are you unhappy because of this?" Yue gently shook Bai Ling's hand, her tone slightly ingratiating: "Ling, don't be unhappy, I'll be back soon. Winter will be coming soon when I get back, didn't you say you wanted to make furniture with me in the winter? I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

Their new house is almost ready. Bai Ling and Yue are discussing finishing the furniture this winter so that they can hold their wedding as soon as Yue's father and father return.

Bai Ling was still a little unhappy, but Yue was comforting him, so he could only hide his unhappiness and try to appear to be in a better mood.

“Okay, then I’ll leave my unhappiness behind and wait for you to come back in the tribe,” Bai Ling said.

Yue's eyes crinkled into a smile: "Okay, then I can go out without worry."

*

The two did not walk on the road, but on the wild land covered with weeds. This was a place where beastmen often came, so the weeds were not very tall. There were several large trees not far ahead.

These large trees are all very lush, and even the smallest one requires two or three people to encircle it. Even in autumn, the branches and leaves of the trees are still green, covering a considerable area like a canopy.

Bai Ling pulled Yue to the tree and gently pushed her back against the trunk.

Bai Ling stretched out his arms and braced himself against the tree trunk, trapping Yue between himself and the trunk. His eyes shone and a smile played on his lips: "Yue, you've been away for so long, shouldn't you give me some compensation?"

Bai Ling was smiling, but there was no smile in his eyes, only a dark and gloomy look.

In fact, Yue was very familiar with Bai Ling's gaze. When the two were alone, Ling often looked at him with that kind of gaze.