Wente and the others were still a bit bewildered. Shuxin walked over and told them they were digging in the wrong direction.
Shuyue followed them out and saw this. "Wente, listen to my sister. She knows more than I do."
Shuxin had a photographic memory. Even a杂书 (miscellaneous book) placed before her and flipped through would leave some impression in her mind.
Wente unconditionally believed his female's words. "Okay, we'll listen to your sister."
Shuxin glanced at Wente from the corner of her eye. So far, she was very satisfied with this brother-in-law, at least better than that guy Leite.
Although she had never seen anyone dig a cellar, she had been to other people's cellars several times and overheard conversations. Piecing it together was better than the beastmen digging blindly.
The beastmen's work efficiency was commendable. In less than half a day, a cellar with an area of tens of square meters was dug out. To prevent collapse, she didn't let them dig large holes. Instead, she dug two on the left and right sides inside, which could be interconnected and would not affect storage.
The conditions here were limited, and the inside of the cellar could not be made as clean and flat as in Huaxia. However, she had Leite lay wooden planks at the bottom to better prevent moisture.
Before dark, the cellar had taken initial shape. The cellar entrance was half a meter above the ground to prevent water ingress. Tomorrow, she would have them find materials to reinforce the cellar entrance.
After drying for a few days, the cellar would be completed. When the rainy season arrived, the cellar entrance would be covered with wooden boards to prevent rain and soil from entering, which would not affect the food stored inside.
Leite's eyes sparkled. Looking at the different underground holes, he said expectantly, "Xin'er, tomorrow can you direct us to renovate the tribe's large underground cave?"
Shuxin glanced at him. "You should discuss this with your father first, and then ask me."
"..." Was he being underestimated?
Leite rubbed his chin. Although he wasn't the chief yet, his words still carried some weight. Xin'er looking down on him... felt wronged.
Seeing that they had finished, Shuyue called out to them, "You all come over and eat roasted corn. I've roasted quite a lot."
A Shui and the other two smelled the fragrance from the yard and were very supportive. "This smells delicious!"
Shuyue smiled sweetly. "If it's delicious, eat more. We still have a lot of raw corn at home. If it's not enough, you can take some back."
She estimated that even giving them two baskets wouldn't be enough. They had helped her family, so she couldn't neglect them.
Before A Shui and the other two could speak, Wente voiced his opinion. "It's good enough that we can roast it for them to eat. And you want to move all of ours away? If they want to eat, they can pick it themselves!"
A Shui and the other two: "..." Wente really showed his brotherly affection to the fullest!
Dajiang chuckled and said, "Wente's female, we'll just try two."
Shuyue looked at the beastman helplessly and said to the three, "I'm really sorry. We don't have anything else to entertain you with. You are Wente's friends, so you are my friends. We are all family, not outsiders. I'll tell you a few delicious snacks, and you can make them yourselves when you go back."
These kind words were exceptionally pleasant to hear for A Shui and the other two. How could they not encounter such a gentle and generous female!
With the words "we are all family," they felt that helping even more was worthwhile!
"Wente's female, tell us, what snacks are they?" Dajiang was quite greedy.
Shuyue felt very awkward being called "Wente's female." "You can just call me Shuyue. The snacks are insects from the trees, one called silkworm pupae and another called cicada pupae. Wente knows where these insects are, so you can ask him."
Seeing their expressions change, she said with a smile, "Don't dislike these insects. Especially cicada pupae. If you don't catch them quickly now, you won't be able to eat them when the rainy season comes~" They will all turn into cicadas and fly away.
Dajiang gave a sound of acknowledgment and tilted his head to ask Wente beside him, "Your female says insects are edible..."
Wente was not very willing to tell outsiders about this matter, as he planned to collect all the silkworm pupae from the nearby trees and keep them for himself to eat slowly.
Shuxin smiled. "Those two kinds of insects are indeed delicious. If you don't believe me, catch them and fry them yourself."
Wente let out a "hmm" from his nose.
"Only you guys. I won't tell anyone else!"
Seeing that Wente had said so, the curiosity of the beastmen was piqued. "Really? Are insects really delicious? Then Wente, quickly tell us how to catch them!"
Wente looked at the mud on their bodies and said, "How about this? We'll go to the river to wash first, and then we'll catch some cicada pupae on the way back. We'll let you taste them tonight."
"Okay, then let's go wash quickly!"
Shuyue said, "Then you go wash first. I'll refine oil at home."
Wente was afraid she would get too hot, so he disagreed. "No need, Yueyue. We'll do it ourselves when we get back. If you get heatstroke, it'll be troublesome."
"Are we still having fish soup tonight? If so, I'll catch a few fish."
Shuyue nodded. "Okay, we'll still have fish soup tonight."
Then she asked Shuyue beside her, "Sister, what do you want to eat?"
Shuxin lightly shook her head. "Roasted corn and fish soup are enough for me."
That was perfect, no need to prepare anything else. Before leaving, Wente poured out all the corn from the basket and took two empty baskets with him. He would likely return with two full baskets.
Shuyue watched them leave. She looked back at the corn in the cave and took out two. She planned to shell the corn kernels and cook them in the fish soup.
Shuxin helped her. They chatted about wild vegetables and then returned to the topic of corn. She asked, "Sister, do you know how to make a stone mill?"
"...I have seen a stone mill. Making one shouldn't be difficult."
Very good. Since sister said it wasn't difficult, it meant it really wasn't. She was relieved.
"Yueyue, tell me about the distribution system in the beastmen tribes." I only recently learned the language, and when I first arrived, I had a careless attitude and wasn't concerned about other tribal matters.
She needed to understand the current tribal distribution system to make plans for future food reserves.
Shuyue said, "I'm not familiar with the Warrior tribe's system, but the management methods of large and small tribes on the beastmen continent should be similar."
"Male beastmen are the main labor force. Daily hunting, etc., are prioritized for male beastmen. The tribe is still in the most primitive distribution system. All prey hunted by male beastmen on hunting days belongs to the tribe and is distributed by the chief. Those who participated in the hunt receive more, and cubs and elderly beastmen receive the least."
"Prey caught by male beastmen during non-hunting days are their own. This includes wild vegetables and fruits collected by females, which do not need to be handed over to the tribe for distribution."
Wild vegetables and fruits are considered grass by male beastmen, and they are not filling. There is no use in distributing them, so it is better to let the females keep them.
After Shuyue roughly finished explaining the distribution, she continued, "Sister, Dragon Beasts are considered top-tier existences on the beastmen continent. They are very strong, so we don't need to worry about not having enough food."
"However, we need to be careful during winter."