The wicked female is extremely fierce, but she's pampered by her seven beast husbands.

Chapter 184 Drawing a Big Pie in the Sky
Chongzhen was indeed very efficient. Around noon, he sent the young of the Saide family to inform them that the underground ice cellar was dug.

Ling Chengen temporarily handed over the work on the stove to Bai Qingyu and Yu Shaochen, and followed the two cubs toward the place where they were digging the ice cellar.

When she arrived, a circle of orcs had already gathered near the entrance to the underground ice cellar.

Seeing her running over, Ling Xiao smiled happily and waved excitedly at her: "Come here quickly, Chongzhen's ice cellar digging is really impressive!"

Ling Chengen squeezed through the crowd and followed Ling Xiao down the bluestone steps to the open stone door.

She turned to the side and gestured with her hand to indicate the thickness of the stone gate, which was about twenty centimeters. The stone was made of pure natural bluestone, which should have been quarried from the neighboring mountain and then shaved to be extremely smooth and flat using her supernatural abilities. It had a cool feel to the touch, so it should be a natural cooling stone.

The moment she touched it, she felt that this stone would be perfect for making a bed to sleep on in the summer.

Once things are settled in the ice cellar, we can get a piece of bluestone and have Chongzhen make a small stone bed for us to put in our space. When we want to sleep, we can lie on the bluestone bed and sleep without having Bai Qingyu use his powers to cool us down every time.

After letting go, she became even more interested in the ice cellar that Chongzhen had created.

I thought that going through this heavy stone door would lead to the ice cellar.

Actually it is not.

Zhongzhen is very thoughtful, and perhaps because they were worried that the insulation effect was not good enough, they made a double-layer design.

Walking further in from the stone gate, there is another section of stone wall built of bluestone, and inside there is an even smaller stone gate.

The door was only slightly taller than her.

When Ling Xiao went in, he had to carefully duck his head to avoid bumping his head on the top of the door frame.

Inside the ice cellar, one could still hear hammering and chiseling sounds. Ling Chengen looked up and saw two or three orcs chiseling stones inside. However, the stones were not bluestone, but ordinary rock, though they were probably corrosion-resistant.

Because she saw that the chiseled stones were quickly filled into the planned drainage channel by Chongzhen using his supernatural abilities.

He probably intended to build this drainage channel with stones to prevent future rainwater erosion or the soil from becoming loose and collapsing, eventually blocking the entire drainage channel.

The drainage channel looked quite large, but after the stones were shaped and laid in, it looked much smaller.

She and Ling Xiao arrived late, by which time the drainage channels had already been mostly repaired.

Chongzhen told the three orcs in charge of the stones not to work anymore. He took the last few stones, knelt down on one knee with sweat pouring down his face, supported himself with one hand on the ground, and used his supernatural power to put the stones in his hand into the holes, and then used his supernatural power to make them fit into the surrounding stones.

After the drainage work was completed, Chongzhen turned around, dusted off his knees, and said with a smile, "You've come at the right time."

"After I clear away the rubble in the ice cellar, you can release the ice blocks and we'll see how it works."

Ling Chengen nodded, looking at his face covered in dust, feeling somewhat guilty for being a hands-off manager.

However, her initial guilt was short-lived. She quickly straightened her back, looked at the rubble gathered together by her superpower, and manually stuffed the larger stones into her spatial storage, intending to discard them when she left.

Several orcs who were helping filled bags with the rubble and dust from the ground and carried them out of the cellar on their shoulders.

However, there was still some dust on the ground. Chongzhen asked, "Why don't we find a water-type warrior to wash the ground and test the effectiveness of the drainage system?"

Ling Xiao immediately said, "I'll go find it."

Ling Chengen looked at the energetic Ling Xiao, sighed helplessly, and turned to Chong Zhen to ask, "Where does this drain lead to?"

Chongzhen pointed in a direction: "There is an underground stream near the north. I only discovered this stream recently. The stream connects to a small river with a very small flow north of the tribe, even smaller than the Qing Shi Creek near my house."

"Will the water reach this side when the river rises?"

"Don't worry, it definitely won't happen."

“When I connected the drainage channel to that underground stream, I took the issue of the high-water season into account.”

Ling Chengen glanced at the drain opening, which was about the size of two palms, and frowned, saying, "Use the ore to refine some metal, and build a fence around the drain opening to prevent rats and other things from climbing in and stealing the things stored in the ice cellar."

Chongzhen glanced back and immediately remembered the matter: "Okay, I'll go get it done in a bit."

Ling Xiao quickly returned with his men. The group walked a short distance away and watched as large amounts of water washed onto the ground, slowly flowing into the drainage channels along the man-made grooves carved into the ground.

Ling Chengen released the ice blocks from the space in batches, and Chongzhen and Lingxiao, along with several other beastmen, helped to neatly arrange the fallen ice blocks.

The ice cellar in Chongzhen was quite large. Ling Chengen was initially worried that there wouldn't be enough ice, but to her surprise, there was more than enough. The ice that Shi Ruoan gave filled most of the ice cellar. Because other things needed to be stored inside, she had to put away some of the ice to make room.

Once the ice was released, the temperature inside the ice cellar dropped instantly, making it feel like winter had arrived in a second.

In such an environment, the group, who were suffering from the high temperature, were so comfortable that they almost wanted to turn back into their animal forms and roll around on the ground.

Ling Xiao couldn't help but lean against the cold stone wall, let out a long sigh, and said with a smile, "It's so comfortable in here, I don't want to leave."

Ling Chengen glanced at the ice block that was still emitting cold air and said with a smile, "That won't do. We've only just put the ice block out. Tomorrow... the temperature inside will probably be very low. If we stay inside for a little too long, something bad might happen."

Chongzhen nodded in agreement and said, "The ice cellar needs someone to guard and manage it."

"If any cubs come in out of curiosity or to cool off, they might get trapped inside and freeze to death if they stay there for too long."

"This kind of thing must be stopped."

Ling Xiao crossed his arms in front of him, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "The ice cellar can't be opened too often, otherwise the ice inside will melt faster."

"Let's put a lock on the stone gate," Ling Chengen suggested, "and make a special key for it."

Chongzhen tilted his head in confusion: "Lock, key?"

Ling Chengen smiled and said, "I know how to do this. I'll teach you later."

However, locks and keys are ultimately just things that are out in the open, and they can't stop adult orcs.

It's basically about stopping the younger kids in the tribe.

"Locks are useless against adult orcs. A little bit of strength can destroy them by force, so we do need to have people keep an eye on this area."

Ling Xiao pondered, "The ice cellar is relatively close to the Saide family's house, so it would be most suitable for him and his partner to be in charge of guarding it."

Saide is a wood-type ability user. Because Yuheng joined Shilin, he gave guidance to Yu Shaochen and other wood-type warriors in the tribe some time ago, so the abilities of the wood-type warriors in Shilin have all been raised to a higher level.

Ling Chengen: "It's definitely not enough for just his family. Saide and Feli also need to ensure the survival of their young children, so they often go out with the team and can't keep an eye on this place all the time. It would be best to arrange for people to take turns guarding it, just like the patrol and defense team."

"I'll arrange that later, you don't need to worry about it."

Ling Xiao was most familiar with and experienced in the deployment of tribal manpower. Seeing that he had spoken, Ling Chengen did not continue the topic.

The remaining task is to transfer the food that the tribe cannot consume in the short term to the ice cellar.

This is not Ling Chengen's responsibility.

After she and Chongzhen, who had been busy all night and all morning, came out of the cellar, she took out some dark red dried meat from her spatial storage and stuffed it into his hand, with the look of a leader comforting a subordinate: "You've worked hard. I made a lot of delicious food for lunch today. Eat more."

Chongzhen glanced at the jerky in his hand and said speechlessly, "Isn't this what I prepared for you last time? You're just using it to fool me again."

Ling Chengen touched the tip of his nose and sighed, "We're out of stock. I haven't had time to prepare anything new these past few days. Just make do with what we have for now. You didn't eat breakfast this morning... Aren't you hungry?"

Chongzhen glanced at her profile and snorted softly. He stuffed the hard jerky into his mouth and slowly ground it with his sharp teeth.

The two walked back side by side. After Chongzhen finished eating the dried meat in his hand, he asked, "Do you want to take some time to go and check on the potato field? Although I've been keeping an eye on it, Bai Xu has also been leading his tribe to water it about every two or three days."

"But we had no experience before, and this batch of potatoes is very important to both of our tribes, so..."

Ling Chengen didn't wait for him to finish speaking: "I'll go take a look this afternoon."

"If there's anything else, just say it."

Chongzhen smiled and said, "Can I come with you this time?"

Ling Chengen's relaxed expression vanished instantly, and he frowned, saying, "I'm going to the Mulan Plain too. You just contracted the plague last time and only recently recovered. Do you still dare to go?"

Chongzhen's eyes held a hint of resentment, and her tone was cool: "It's so boring at home, and you're gone for so long without a word. How am I supposed to develop feelings for you?"

"If you find more lovers outside, and I don't work harder to improve myself, won't my status at home continue to decline?"

Being outshone by Bai Qingyu and Yu Heng is one thing.

One of them is exceptionally talented, a rare professional; the other is the white moonlight of my carefree little female…

With his unremarkable abilities and limited screen time, it's naturally difficult for him to surpass the two men in her heart.

But he could at least compete for third place, right?
If other male orcs were to overtake him, he would really break down.

Ling Chengen felt somewhat uncomfortable after being struck by his resentful words.

"I feel like you're making fun of me. Where have I ever had a lover outside? Don't ruin my reputation." Ling Chengen seriously corrected his statement.

Chongzhen chuckled and asked, "How did Yuheng get here?"

Ling Chengen lightly rubbed his arm with his fingertips and calmly replied, "He is the best partner."

"Then what about the merfolk of the sea tribe?" Chongzhen suddenly asked.

This topic caught Ling Chengen off guard. She asked, looking puzzled, "What does this have to do with merfolk?"

“I know you quite well. You generally don’t take the initiative to save people unless they have something of value to you, or they are already one of your own.” Chongzhen said very bluntly.

His observation of Ling Chengen was long-term and continuous.

They also figured out some things about her habits and personality.

Ling Chengen is a very wary female, but also a very sincere person. This sincerity is limited to people she approves of or those with whom she has established a clear relationship.

He and Su Weihua belong to the latter group. Thanks to Ling Xiao's sudden inspiration to find her more beast husbands to distract her, the two unlucky guys were reborn from their predicament and even gained more reliable partners.

The merfolk that Ling Chengen mentioned clearly did not belong to her own camp, which meant that they had some value that made her very concerned.

This value naturally includes...excessive beauty.

Merfolk are known for their beauty among sea creatures, especially the male merfolk, who are said to be all beautiful.

For orcs who live on land, the threat posed by sea creatures that come ashore is greatly reduced.

Aside from beautiful women and the profits he could gain from the sea, he couldn't think of anything else that Ling Chengen would care about.

The benefits derived from the sea are nothing more than food and other resources.

However, food is no longer the biggest problem for Shilin.

As for resources for winter protection, the merfolk couldn't offer much help either...

They still have velvet trees and rainbow fruits, and with the autumn hunt, they will surely replenish their supplies with animal pelts, store a large amount of firewood, and build a heated kang (traditional heated bed) that is not difficult to construct. This cold season will certainly not be too difficult for them.

It's not that he's suspicious; it's just that in this situation, it's really hard not to overthink things.

Chong Zhen was a head taller than Ling Chengen. He looked down at her expression, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "You dare say that the male merman wasn't good-looking?"

Ling Chengen thought back for a moment.

Okay, Shi Ruoan and Shi Panxing's faces have absolutely nothing to do with the word "ugly".

Seeing her silence, Chongzhen already knew what was going on: "How are the merman's injuries now?"

Ling Chengen blinked, noticing that he had changed the subject again. She pondered his intentions, but the topic was so abrupt that she couldn't find any connection for the moment. Nevertheless, she answered truthfully, "Not far from death, I suppose."

Chongzhen frowned and said, "Even in this state, you still want to save him?"

“That person is a member of the royal family of Beihai.” Ling Chengen looked up, blinked, and said with a smile, “As a person, you can’t be too short-sighted. Although we don’t lack food this year, we can’t live a miserable life with the idea of ​​barely making ends meet.”

"As the tribal chief, and with our own city about to be established, the next step is to continue improving the living conditions of our people. The ocean is vast, and its seafood is incredibly abundant. If we do good deeds every day and connect with the sea, our food supply will become increasingly plentiful..."

"At that time, we won't be passively choosing what to eat each day; instead, we'll be able to buy whatever we want to eat."

"Don't you find this change very appealing?"

Chongzhen was astonished by her wild imagination and flicked her forehead: "You really dare to dream big!"

Ling Chengen said frankly, "People should still have dreams, in case they come true."

"Leaving aside distant issues, let's take the problem of water beasts in the Mesopotamian region of the Mulan Plain as an example. If the sea creatures were willing to help, and there were no flying beastmen to help, the danger of crossing the river on one's own would definitely be greatly reduced."

Chongzhen gazed intently at her spirited expression, then smiled slightly and said earnestly, "Actually, you don't need to worry about this anymore. I've already come up with a solution to the problem of crossing the two rivers."