We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 51 After the rain, the sky is clear
The dark clouds dispersed, and the sunlight shone through.

The light drizzle could no longer stop the primitive people's footsteps.

Everyone was fully prepared and began to carry out the work assigned by the chief.

The entire hunting party set out for the riverside forest.

The 23 newly joined women of the Wu tribe were all assigned to do what they were best suited for.

It's been so long, it's time to release some maps of the area around the Xi tribe's cave.

Besides collecting all sorts of things to bring back, Xia Minghao also arranged something even more important: collecting all the wood that grows those edible white mushrooms.

During these past few days of rain, Xia Minghao discovered the key to starting a mushroom farming business.

Based on the results of the three sets of samples, only decaying wood that has previously grown mushrooms can be used for mushroom cultivation most quickly.

The other two samples were obtained by Xia Minghao by patting the mushroom spores into the collected soil and by planting the spores on a thick tree branch.

There was absolutely no sign of mushrooms growing.

Only decaying wood that already has mushroom mycelium begins to grow rapidly when rainy days arrive.

In other words, if there is decaying wood with mycelium growing on it, as long as it is kept moist and placed in a cave environment, mushrooms can be harvested multiple times!

Although this still carries uncertainty, it has undoubtedly taken the first step in breaking free from complete dependence on nature.

At least next time it rains heavily and we can't go out to collect mushrooms, we can eat white mushrooms grown from rotten wood.

And I must say, the mushrooms really do taste pretty good in soup. If we can find a source of milk in the future, having a bowl of "cream of mushroom soup" on a rainy day would be quite a treat.

The remaining women did not make pottery, but instead began to "twist ropes".

The rope was made to tie the wood together to form the bottom of the boat, and the material chosen was the bark of the tree that was once used to weave fish traps.

The toughness of tree bark is no match for that of reed vines; this was the conclusion Xia Minghao reached after his experiments.

Moreover, the rope made from the bark is long enough to fully bind the wood.

Sheets of bark were peeled off, torn into long strips, and transformed into thick ropes in the women's hands.

Xia Minghao walked back and forth in the woods, observing the bark of various trees.

They stopped in front of a towering tree.

The bark of this large tree was rough, yet not a single drop of water remained, unlike other trees whose surfaces were smoother but still contained a lot of water.

"This waterproofing is sufficient..."

I poured some water from my military water bottle onto the tree and saw the water droplets rolling down quickly without stopping, which confirmed my suspicions once again.

Then, Xia Minghao took out his survival knife and cut off a piece the size of a napkin. He tore it apart, but it was still intact, and he was finally satisfied.

He took a survival knife and began to perform a "bark girdling" on the big tree.

The entire bark was easily peeled off, and to Xia Minghao's surprise, the bark was unexpectedly thin and soft in his hand.

"What a wonderful tree! From now on, we'll call you Sail Tree!"

The careful search for tree bark was not for making ropes for the women, but for making sails for boats!
What materials can be used to make sails?

Xia Minghao had never really heard of this before, but even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen pigs run.

My own tent is made of canvas. As long as you find a material with similar properties to canvas, it will definitely be a good material for making a sail.

Lightweight, strong, and waterproof.

These are the characteristics of canvas that Xia Minghao summarized.

For this bark, it's lightweight and waterproof, all that's left is strength and toughness. I just tested it and it seems fine. I'll wait until I get back to have the leaves test it to confirm.

"If this thing can be used as a sail, then we won't have to take down our tents before we build the house."

As he thought to himself, Xia Minghao retraced his steps and headed back towards the cave.

The women had already twisted out a lot of thick ropes from tree bark and had begun binding.

Everyone was whispering among themselves, wondering why the chief wanted to do this.

Xia Minghao offered no explanation, saying that everything would be clear once the ship was launched in a few days, and there was no point in saying anything more now.

Even these primitive people couldn't possibly understand how this thing could float.

They worked feverishly until the rain completely stopped and the sky cleared up!
Xia Minghao, who was testing the bark strength with the leaves, suddenly heard the women exclaim in surprise. Turning his head, he saw that a rainbow had appeared.

Has a rainbow never appeared before?
Of course it has happened, and rainy weather naturally leads to rainbows appearing quite often.

But only now, when the rain stops and the sun shines, do these primitive people no longer need to look down to find food and relieve their burning hunger, but instead look up at the sky.

"Chief, is this also a transformation of Pangu's body?"

Just then, Ye Zi's voice rang out. Xia Minghao looked at the rainbow and casually said...

"No, it's about Nuwa patching up the sky. We'll talk about that another time."

"Nuwa, mending the sky?"

A glint of light appeared in Ye Zi's eyes. She was more fascinated than anyone else by the myths Xia Minghao was telling. Just hearing those few words had already sparked endless interest in her.

Just as I was about to turn back and continue testing the performance of the bark as a sail with the leaves, I suddenly saw several figures appear in the forest towards the river.

It was Hifa and his party.

Why are you back so early?

Moreover, all the women in the hunting party had smiles on their faces.

"Chief! The river has grown bigger! There are so many more fish!"

The river has gotten bigger?

After a moment's thought, Xia Minghao immediately understood what was going on.

The heavy rains of the past few days have caused the river to swell, which is why Shifa said, "The river has grown bigger."

The increased number of fish is likely due to the higher dissolved oxygen levels in the water after the rain, making the fish more active and eager to feed, thus making them easier to catch.

It could also be due to a surge in water flow causing fish to migrate.

In any case, this is a good opportunity to get food quickly.

If we don't count the pheasants kept in the cave, we only have half a jar of wild boar meat left in our food supply.

This is a good opportunity to replenish our supplies, so that when the people from the Lizhu tribe come again, we won't have to worry about their "wages".

"Don't twist the ropes yet, weave them all into fish traps!"

Xia Minghao immediately changed the plan, and the women immediately started their new work.

The thought of being able to eat as much blackfish as they wanted filled everyone with enthusiasm.

Xia Minghao then put all the fish he brought back into the large ceramic jar.

The rain has now washed away all three kilns, leaving no conditions for storing roasted fish.

Moreover, Xia Minghao did not plan to rebuild the kiln. Once the Li tribe arrived, the ship would be ready in a couple of days at most, and they would immediately begin their migration to Yanquan.

This place will be completely abandoned, and there is absolutely no need to go to great lengths to develop it.

Using fishkeeping as a storage method is the most cost-effective solution. Although the fish can only be kept alive for a few days due to oxygen consumption, they won't live much longer anyway, and most of them will be eaten tonight.

The women in the hunting team also began weaving fish traps, and some of them couldn't help but recall what happened the day after they "picked up" Xia Minghao.

They also discovered the enormous thing Xia Minghao was building, which was made of several tree trunks bound together, and were filled with both confusion and anticipation.

With everyone's concerted efforts, the fish trap was quickly completed.

The hunting party women made two trips back and forth, and the blackfish and various small fish they caught filled two large earthenware jars.

As the sun gradually set, the women of the Wu tribe returned to the cave one after another, bringing back a total of seventeen pieces of wood of varying sizes, each covered with small white mushrooms.

Unexpectedly, the harvest after the rain was so plentiful. Seeing the fruits of his labor for the day, Xia Minghao was naturally quite satisfied.

The stone stove was rebuilt, and the earthenware pot was placed on it.

After being processed, the blackfish were put into the pot to cook. Everyone, who had worked hard all day, gathered around the pot, watching the steam gradually rise from it, their eyes filled with nostalgia.

Just as they were about to have a big meal, Wangcai shouted into the forest again.

The women of the hunting party were the first to stand up with their wooden spears, only to see familiar figures emerge from the woods, the most striking being the one with the unique bald head.

Is he a man from the Li tribe?
Why are you so late?
Just as doubt arose in his mind, he saw that there were women behind the man, and among the women was Wamu!
What's going on? Wasn't it just that Wamu was asked to persuade her people to join?
Could it be that Wamu tricked the entire Li tribe into coming here?
(End of this chapter)