Chapter 11
Yang Yi also had a very important thing to do today. That is following Jiao, Jing, and the others to the wasteland, hoping to find a habitable place to live and dig out the well.
Today was much better than yesterday. After wining and dining, they felt so much freshened up. Now was not a good time for hunting. Simple labor and moving about was no problem.
Other wounded people also improved under Ting’s special care. If they could make a full recovery, they could add to the tribe’s manpower.
They set off at the crack of dawn.
Under the scathing sun, Jing stopped. “After the rows of trees over there, we will officially enter the wasteland. The farther we move ahead, the more dangerous it gets.”
“There are more animals here than the places we live in. This is a sign that it is free from the threats of the Black Forest.” Jiao also said, “I wonder if we can dig up some water here?”
“Let me check.”
Yang Yi surveyed the situation. There were not many trees and space was vast and open.
The weeds grew so tall that they could bury people.
If he was not led by someone down the road, Yang Yi would have been cut off by grass despite being “armed” from head-to-toe.
There were no rivers and streams nearby, but it looked like there would be plenty of water under the ground.
Yang Yi found a low-lying place. It rained yesterday and there was a little water in the grass roots.
“Dig out the weed, clean it up, and then make a bonfire.”
Everyone did not understand why he did this, but still did as told without any objections.
Yang Yi intended to use the fire test method as described in the “Agricultural Government Book” to judge whether there was water below according to the trajectory of the fire smoke.
If the smoke rose in a winding shape, it meant it was hindered by steam, which meant that there was water underground. If the smoke rose straight up, it meant no water under the ground.
“Just dig here.” With the smoke shown in the former state, Yang Yi suggested.
Two people started to dig with the military shovel, and they were not very skilled at first because they had never used such a tool before. Soon they were quicker and faster.
They seemed to know no fatigue. Yang Yi proposed to change people, but they declined.
After digging out a while, baskets were filled with mud. As they dug deeper and deeper, they saw no trace of water.
In fact, Yang Yi had no confidence in the water thing. Although he learned it from the book that he spent a lot of time to find out, it was theoretical.
He was very worried that the aquifer here was too deep, or that he picked the wrong place. Both likelihoods were great.
“The water is out! There is really water in the ground!” An exclamation was heard from the bottom of the well.
After digging the well as high as two floors, they finally saw the water poured out from the ground.
The people standing on the ground quickly dropped the rope and pulled two diggers up. When they were just pulled up onto the ground, they saw that the water was flooding the bottom of the well and there was a steady stream of water sprouting up.
“Oracle, we can move the tribe here!” Jiao was very excited.
Walking all the way, they could deeply feel that it was relatively safe here, and it had a certain distance from the Black Forest. It was not too far away.
They could not only let the Black Forest hold back the foreigners, but would not be threatened by it.
If there was water here, then they could move here.
“First fill a pot with water and see if we can drink it.” Yang Yi was not in a hurry to rejoice but insisted they test the water quality first.
If the water tasted bitter or salty, then they rejoiced and celebrated their hard work too soon. Further detailed mineral testing in the water needed to be done until they went back.
After the water settled for a while, Yang Yi tied the rope to the sugar pot that was used yesterday, dropped it, and let it be filled with water before pulling it up.
Because they did not wait long enough for the sediments to settle, the water still looked muddy, but it displayed no odd color. It also did not taste bad.
“Oracle, let me try it.” Jiao said.
Yang Yi shook his head. “We need to boil the water before drinking it, otherwise we would easily get sick if we drink raw water.”
Jiao smiled. “We can’t wait. I’ll only drink a little. It’ll be fine.”
Others have also expressed their desire to find out exactly what it tastes like. They usually drank water directly.
Yang Yi thought that there was no pollution here, and the groundwater was generally clean, so he handed the water to Jiao.
Jiao only had a small sip. His eyes suddenly brightened, and he said very surely, “This water is drinkable.”
Others also tried a small sip and agreed with his view.
Because they were human beings who lived in the wild since childhood, some of their life habits were not as healthy or science-based, but just as useful as unique on their own.
However, on the safe side, they still needed to pass the water test. After all, the water here would be their main water resource.
Yang Yi was also very satisfied with this place. It was spacious and vast, which was conducive to their future development.
The land was fertile and was not with many trees, so they did not need to do with tree roots. The groundwater resources were abundant and could be used to water the land, perfect for farming.
If the tribe grew and prospered in the future, they could also dig ditches and divert water, which made it easier to irrigate.
The group returned to the temporary station in a pleasant mood. In the distance, they heard laughter coming out from the tribe, which was something completely different from a lifeless tribe. Everyone could not help but smile.
“Oracle! Today the hunting team hunted a giant sheep and a giant deer!” Mao scampered and announced this great news with great excitement.
The people of the survey team were very surprised to hear this. The deer that the hunting team got back was just an ordinary deer, but they already felt lucky. I didn’t expect today to be full of surprises!
Mao is very happy to see everyone’s shocked expression and said, “Kun said that they would’ve got more were they not worried about bloody smell attracting beasts and decided not to stay outside for too long.”
Other than the hunting team, they could travel farther and gain something they never had before since the collecting team now had a cane basket and weapons.
When Yang Yi walked to where they were stationed, he was astounded by the giant deer and giant sheep in their mouths!
They were huge!
The sheep he saw before was already large. It was about the size of the largest bighorn sheep on the planet. He didn’t expect the giant sheep to double the size and it looked like it weighed two or three thousand kilograms.
The same was true for the giant deer. The one that he ate yesterday was like the size of a cub. He really had no idea how these people carried these huge creatures back.
The air was filled with a bloody smell. A group of people were using the sharp knives Yang Yi gave them to peel the skins of deer and sheep. Unlike Yang Yi who used every bit of strength he had in him to peel off the skin, they really breezed through it.
The food collected by the collecting team was also piled up as high as a mountain. Inspired by the hoes, potatoes, and sweet potatoes yesterday coupled with the tools, they dug a lot of plants today. They found that some of them were edible.
They had seen the rootstock when the tribes exchanged foods with one another, but they had no clue what kind of plants the rootstock belonged to. The person who gave them was not willing to reveal the secret. They couldn’t find it near the Blackrock tribe and didn’t expect to see it here.
They called this kind of food Ficus Tikoua whose taste and size were similar to betel nuts. It was easy to make people feel full.
The whole tribe was immersed in joy. With so much food, they would not have to suffer from hunger anymore!
When Jiao announced that they had found a safer place to live in, the whole tribe was elevated.
They danced around the bonfire. They were full of hope for the future and no defeat seen on their faces.
At the same time, a team was approaching in their direction.