Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains

These beastmen all had experience in building houses before. All the materials were prepared when the outer wall was built. Now they just needed to lay out the stone slabs directly. The stone slabs were very large and it didn’t take much time to finish the roof and floor. Under Chen Qi’s command, they worked together to get it all done by evening.

Since it was still light outside, Azhang took Aze and Ake to hunt near the Chishui River. It was currently the peak period for the migrating army of animals to cross the river. Although there were many prey, hunting was more troublesome than usual. Almost all the migrating creatures  moved in herds or groups. Even cheetahs, which were the most solitary of predators, started to form teams. The lone prey was not only the beastmen’s targets, but also the target of these groups of predators that were migrating in the trails of the herbivores. After all, against tens of thousands of migrating troops of the same species, even the strong beastmen females should best avoid any hostile encounters.

Of course, as long as an appropriate strategy was applied, it was not difficult for the beastmen to hunt prey from the migrating crowd crossing the river. Before the sun had set, Aze brought back two warthogs and a small antelope. The Chishui River was mostly occupied by the numerous troops crossing the river. Aze could no longer clean the prey by the river, and could only fetch back some water to process them at home.

In order to prevent the stench of animals from wafting through the entrance of the house, Chen Qi laid two stone slabs in the place where the prey was often processed and had a small ditch dug up that would lead to the trench not far behind the house. So as to prevent the bloody water from seeping directly into the soil by the door, he had the small ditch coated with the gum fruit-silt mixture.

Aze had long learned how to cure meat. Since Aze could handle all aspects on that side, Chen Qi did not step in to help. He was holding up a locust dragon eye carapace and deliberating on how to make the windows of the house.

While handling the prey, Aze kept an eye on Chen Qi’s movements. He saw Chen Qi frowning and furrowing his brow in thought for a while, then he fiddled with a few wooden boards. Next he put some melted gum fruit onto the boards, and then he ran to the new house with the transparent locust dragon eye carapace to compare. Aze couldn’t understand why Chen Qi did all that, but seeing Chen Qi busying about around him, his heart was in a hard to come by peace.

Since Chen Qi was fiddling with the windows, Aze took care of dinner. Aze didn’t know how to stir-fry, so he made a dish of bone broth and roasted half an antelope. After eating half a milk fruit, the little wolf cub fell asleep in his little nest. It was very quiet and very well-behaved.

“Chen Qi, have something to eat first.” Aze called out to Chen Qi, who was very seriously drawing something on a stone slate with a piece of charcoal.

Chen Qi stopped his movements and wiped his hands with a rag. He took the bone broth and slices of roast meat that Aze handed him. Chen Qi took a sip of bone broth and praised, “It’s delicious.”

Aze’s good-looking thin lips slightly curved upwards. He really liked it whenever Chen Qi ate the things he cooked because he habitually praised him and told him that it’s delicious. “Have more if you like it.” Aze said, adding more freshly sliced pieces of roast meat into Chen Qi’s bowl, which was already full and almost overflowing.

Crossing  to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)  is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.

“You should eat too.”

“Yes.”

“Aze, help me make a window frame after eating.”

Although Aze did not know what a ‘window frame’ was, he habitually agreed to Chen Qi’s request first, “Okay.”

With Aze on the task, it was not difficult to make the window frame. Chen Qi was eager to see the results of his meticulous plans, so he quickly picked a window to experiment on.

After all, the locust dragon eye carapace was not square-shaped. Chen Qi built a wooden frame in the segment of the wall that was left for the window by setting wooden boards with the gum fruit-slit mixture. After the gum fruit was dry, one side of a specially made wooden board with a cutout in the middle that was embedded with the eye carapace, was glued on. After all, there was no steel, so for the screws that would allow the window to swivel open, Chen Qi carved some wood pieces as substitutes. Just carving those four small things took Chen Qi half a day.

Using melted gum fruit, the four connectors were glued to the locust dragon eye carapace and window frame, then left to dry overnight. Early the next morning, as soon as he got up, Chen Qi went to check on the dryness of the gum fruit. When he saw it was sufficiently firm, he pulled Aze over to check the window together.

After all, it was something rather crudely made, the air tightness was naturally not very good. Moreover, the screws were replaced with wood, and there would be some sounds from the friction when opening and closing the window. However, Chen Qi was very satisfied with this simple window. When it was cold in winter, as long as they used animal skins to seal around the windows, they wouldn’t have to worry about cold drafts blowing in and the lighting would also not be affected.

When Azhang and the others came over, what they saw was Chen Qi excitedly running in and out of the house, expression full of satisfaction after finishing the window. 

“This is the window?” Everyone gathered together to look at the transparent eye carapace embedded in the wall. Why hadn’t they ever thought of making windows with locust dragon eyes? This way, even if they didn’t light a fire inside during the day, the house would still be bright.

Chen Qi smiled and nodded, then opened and closed the window several times to give them a demonstration on how to use the window. The beastmen were very curious and pestered Chen Qi to install the remaining windows.

With the help of the additional people and having experienced making one window successfully, it did not take long to finish the rest of the windows. However, the newly installed window frames needed to be left to dry to a certain extent, otherwise no matter how light the locust dragon eye carapace was, it would not be able to bear the weight.

While waiting for the gum fruit to dry out, the three men responsible for hunting went to hunt. Ka Luo took the initiative to feed the little wolf cub. When Chen Qi got home, he made a little dish out of wood for the little pup. The milk fruit would be poured into the little wooden dish and set next to the cub’s mouth, who’d then make little noises as it cleanly lapped up all the milk.

Crossing  to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)  is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.

“Chen Qi, you probably don’t have many milk fruits. It’d be best to let Aze go to the forest to gather some before winter comes, or this young cub will not have enough food for the winter.” As soon as he had time, Ali had taken out a cocoon and sat on the side to do some weaving. When he saw Ka Luo teasing the little wolf cub, Ali offered this advice.

Chen Qi nodded. There were not many milk fruits in the house. Even if the pup only ate half of one during each meal, they would run out after a few days. “The house is almost built. I plan to go to the outskirts of the forest with Aze tomorrow.”

“You’re going too?” Hearing this, Ali raised his head in surprise and Ka Luo paused in his actions of arranging the little wolf cub’s fur.

“We will only be at the periphery, and will not go deep inside.” Chen Qi quickly explained, seeing the expressions of disapproval.

“Even the periphery is dangerous. If you’re going, you must not leave my brother’s side.” Although Ka Luo did not agree with it, he did not stop him. Instead, he also told Chen Qi about the possible dangers that may be encountered in the forest.

When it was almost evening, Chen Qi figured that the gum fruit should almost be dried and went together with the others to install the windows. After everything was done, it felt like the whole house had changed a lot. Ka Luo excitedly ran in and out of the house. He liked this tall, big and bright house so much that he yelled out that he was going to make one too.

“If you like it, you can build one next summer.” Chen Qi said.

“Can’t we build it in the winter?” Ka Luo’s delight was so strong and he wished he could make an identical building right away, but he also knew that winter would be arriving in just a few days. This was the busiest time for hunting, and naturally he knew not to mess around during this period. However, when winter hits them, the beastmen will be much more idle.

“The land is frozen in the winter, so it is not suitable to dig the foundation. And you can also see if my house can survive the winter. If it can’t, you wouldn’t have wasted anything.”

After listening to Chen Qi’s explanation, Ka Luo was no longer tangled.

Azhang made a few laps around the house as he thoughtfully surveyed it. Then he took the other three back to the tribe. Even if Chen Qi’s cooking was better than theirs, they didn’t have much time to stay for dinner at this time. The tribe’s stockpile of food was still insufficient, so there was still a lot of work that needed to be done.

Chen Qi carried several bundles of firewood into the new house. A rectangular fire keng was dug in the living room, near the door. The floor was paved with stone slabs and covered with a thick layer of dry river sand. This was designed by Chen Qi to be the fire keng.

Chen Qi placed some firewood in the keng and lit a small fire, and then lit another in the cooking stove behind it. Smoke passed through the fire keng and then through the bamboo chimney to the outside. Soon the slate bed of the fire keng gave off warmth.

Crossing  to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)  is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.

Aze wore a gloomy expression as he stood by the side, watching Chen Qi busying about. After the new house was built, he was probably the only one who had no reaction. The thought that Chen Qi would be moving here in the future, even though the two houses were only a few steps apart, stifled his heart.

“Aze, which of these two rooms do you like?” After lighting the fire, Chen Qi started to walk through the first two rooms that faced each other. The rooms had no doors. Even as he stood in one room, he could clearly see into the opposite room.

“Any room is fine.” Aze replied somewhat perfunctorily.

Chen Qi thought for a moment, then pointed to the room that faced the sun and said to Aze, “Then you can stay in this room from now on.”

Aze’s ears twitched, thinking he must have misheard, “What did you say?”

Chen Qi just remembered that since they’d started building the house until now, he still hadn’t told Aze that he’d wanted him to move in. Now he was so hasty that he even made the decision for him. Worried that he was angry, Chen Qi straightened his face and asked seriously, “Aze, do you want to move in with me?”

Aze opened and closed his mouth several times but could not utter a word. Chen Qi went on to say, “I had thought about this since starting the initial plans to build this house . There are four rooms, one for you, one for me, one for storage and one bathroom for washing. I didn’t tell you before because I was afraid that the house wouldn’t be successfully built and would disappoint you. Now that the house has been built and the space is large enough, I want to ask you, do you want to live with me?”

Aze’s heart was turbulent and something was about to overflow. He lowered his head to restrain the emotions exposed in his eyes. Chen Qi waited patiently for the other’s reply. After a long time, Aze replied in a soft voice, “Yes.”