Chapter 267

Once the first person shouted out, many others followed suit in agreement.

"Right!""We won't split!""We are tribespeople of the Black Mountain tribe, always will be tribespeople of the Black Mountain tribe."

"We don't want to separate!"

Besides these few straightforward men who shouted out, some beastmen held their cubs, looking nervously at Yang Luo and Hou Yan on the stone platform.

But most tribespeople still looked bewildered at that moment. They didn't understand why, when everyone's days were going so well, the Priest and Leader—no, now it should be Priest and Elder—suddenly gathered them to talk about dividing things.

This wasn't like distributing daily food. Didn't they hear Elder Hou Yan just say? All the supplies on Black Mountain were to be completely distributed; everyone would have to manage on their own from now on.

"Wuwuwu, Priest Grandpa, Leader Grandpa, are you abandoning us?" Despite being held back by adults, Li Li couldn't help but cry out.

The half-grown cubs, hearing Li Li's cries, also felt their eyes redden, but they held back after all, each keeping their mouths tightly shut without a word.

They weren't like young Li Li, who couldn't remember things when they came to Black Mountain. These three years of having enough food and clothing made them dare to say whatever was on their minds.

These half-grown cubs had all suffered before. They understood better the consequences of not having the tribe's protection, but these anxieties could only be swallowed down.

Quick-witted ones like Zhu Ya and Ma Xiang couldn't help but sneakily look around. After searching for a long time without seeing any sign of Qi Bai and Wolf Ze, their hearts instantly turned half cold.

Zhu Ya's eyes rolled, and he sneakily shifted his steps, trying to slip out unnoticed to call for reinforcements.

"Quiet, everyone!" Hou Yan loudly stopped them), then casually threw a small stone that hit Zhu Ya squarely on the back of the head. "Priest Yang Luo is holding a meeting! What are you running around for!"

Hou Yan and Yang Luo stood on the stone platform, clearly seeing everyone's expressions and small actions below.

Seeing Zhu Ya's unconvinced face, Hou Yan pointed at his nose and said: "Behave. Don't think I don't know what you want to do. Want to go find the City Lord and High Priest, right?"

Everyone's expressions perked up. Right, they could ask the City Lord and High Priest for support; then they wouldn't have to live separately.

Little did they know, Hou Yan immediately poured cold water on them: "We have already reported today's matter to the City Lord and High Priest long ago. Not just the Black Mountain tribe, the other four tribes in the city will also distribute their supplies."

Hearing that the other tribes were in the same situation, everyone looked at each other and relaxed considerably.

But there were still those who were stubborn: "We are different from the others!"

Yang Luo's bear bone staff banged loudly: "How are you different? All five tribes are beastmen of Heiyao City. If you're different from them, what kind of person are you?"

The male beastman flushed red with anxiety and quickly took a step back. That wasn't what he meant; he didn't want to disrupt everyone's unity at all.

Yang Luo was already irritated. Glaring, he said loudly: "Before, it was you who wanted private property. Now the tribe wants to distribute things, and it's also you who don't want it. What exactly do you want?"

The Black Mountain tribespeople looked wronged. Before, wanting private property was because everyone couldn't eat their fill. Now that they had enough food and clothing, they naturally realized the power of the collective.

Although the Black Mountain tribe ostensibly said they had over three thousand people, their group totaled less than four hundred. How could they compare to the solid numbers of Yun Valley and Battle Bear?

"Think carefully. When has the tribe ever treated you poorly? We made this decision today surely for your own good," Yang Luo sighed. "Don't worry. Even though supplies are being distributed, we will always be Black Mountain tribespeople. Elder Hou Yan and I will never abandon any tribesperson."

Due to Wolf Ze's cooperation, Yang Luo and Hou Yan had always been their word was law in the tribe. Since the two had already made a decision, and everyone heard Yang Luo's promise, the unease in their hearts had mostly dissipated.

Right, they not only had Yang Luo and Hou Yan, but also the City Lord and High Priest. As long as they were citizens of Heiyao City, they had nothing to fear.

Regardless of whether they were willing before, once the distribution of supplies actually started, everyone was overjoyed.

The Black Mountain tribespeople weren't those beastmen who just worked blindly. Many were production team leaders and naturally knew that for the past half year, the tribe's warehouse had only been giving out, not taking in. Newly harvested food had been stored in the city warehouse.

None of them expected the tribe to still have so much inventory: beast meat, animal skins, pottery, dried fruit, nuts... Everyone came forward according to their work points to receive supplies.

Each person was dizzied by this sudden wealth.

Yang Luo pursed his lips, muttering to himself: This is still after we took out last year's harvest for seeds. Otherwise, everyone could have gotten even more plants.

Yang Luo completely forgot at that moment that if they hadn't exchanged for seeds, they wouldn't have had so much beast meat either.

Everyone happily carried things back home. Some supplies remained in the warehouse—a small part was reserved for workers with extra points, another part was considered public property for the Black Mountain tribe, left for Yang Luo and Hou Yan to manage flexibly.

It wasn't until the sky was filled with rosy clouds that Yang Luo and Hou Yan knocked on Qi Bai's door.

Wolf Ze was leading the beastmen in training at that time. Only Qi Bai sat alone at the kang table, holding a feather pen and writing and drawing.

The waterwheel blueprints Qi Bai had handed over three months ago had finally been manufactured. On his table now sat two waterwheel models made according to different water flows and placement positions.

However, the person who developed the waterwheel wasn't Hu Huo, nor was it Hou Su who joined in the fun; it was actually Hu Huo's apprentice, Hu Bu, who had been mistakenly rescued from the A Mo tribe.

When Qi Bai first saw these two waterwheel models, he was so amazed he was speechless.

The blueprint Qi Bai provided was only for the simplest waterwheel that could turn relying on water flow. He never expected that Hu Bu not only completed the waterwheel's structure but also added connection devices somewhat similar to gears himself.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, who would have thought this was made by a beastman?

It just goes to show, one should never underestimate anyone. Many people have unique talents innately.

After Hu Huo and Hu Bu left, the more Qi Bai looked at the waterwheel, the more he liked it. Feeling that Hu Bu's talent shouldn't be buried, he spread out paper and started drawing designs for a tricycle.

Beastmen's beast forms were small; usually, they could only use handcarts. Qi Bai had long felt it was inconvenient and wanted to improve transportation.

But the difference between a tricycle and an oxcart wasn't just an extra wheel. The connection of gears, chains, and pedals—these things looked simple but were complicated to research.

However, Qi Bai's current attitude was quite simple-minded): he would only provide the ideas; let Hu Huo and Hu Bu figure out the rest. Maybe there would be surprises.

Qi Bai carefully put away his pen and looked up to see Yang Luo's listless face.

Although Yang Luo acted generous in front of the tribespeople, actually, he was the one who least wanted to split up the family.

Although the food in the tribe warehouse belonged to all tribespeople, Yang Luo had accumulated it day by day. Now that the warehouse was empty, Yang Luo's heart was also mostly empty.

Qi Bai didn't bring that up. He first demonstrated the waterwheel Hu Bu made for Yang Luo and Hou Yan, then asked: "When is everyone moving?"

"First thing tomorrow morning," Hou Yan replied.

The sheep herd had already been moved into the city. Now that the supplies in the warehouse were dealt with, it was time for the Black Mountain tribespeople to prepare to move.

Qi Bai asked: "How are you planning to handle Ma Liang and Ma Chong?"

Hou Yan and Yang Luo had come precisely to discuss this. Hou Yan said: "Ma Chong has been turning the millstone in the city every day lately, doing quite well. I see Ma Liang has been behaving more docile recently. Let him move to the city too."

Yang Luo also nodded: "There will be no one here afterwards, making it even harder to manage him. Better to bring him into the city where we can keep an eye on him."

Seeing Qi Bai had no objections, Hou Yan said: "I will have a good talk with Ma Chong about this. If Ma Liang dares make any more小动作 (sneaky moves), no matter how much Ma Chong pleads, it won't help."

The matter was thus settled. Yang Luo looked around and noticed Qi Bai's house was still maintained as before. Frowning, he said: "Why haven't you packed your things yet?"

Qi Bai blinked uncomprehendingly: "What do I need to pack?"

His and Wolf Ze's house wasn't even built yet. They weren't moving.

Yang Luo said irritably: "There are several empty houses in the Black Mountain residential area. What's two more people? You should just move down."

Not just the Black Mountain tribe; the other four tribes also had a few empty houses more or less. Everyone just assumed Qi Bai and Wolf Ze would live in the Black Mountain tribe's houses, so they hadn't asked.

Qi Bai thought about it: True. If all the other tribespeople leave, only he and Wolf Ze remain here; it would be too lonely/desolate. "Then I'll discuss it with Wolf Ze tonight."

After seeing Yang Luo and Hou Yan off, Qi Bai first delivered the blueprints to Hu Qiao and Hu Bu. Both were overjoyed to receive them. If not for Qi Bai drawing them, they would never have seen such tools in their lifetime.

When Wolf Ze returned home, Qi Bai told him about Yang Luo and Hou Yan's suggestion.

Wolf Ze didn't care where he lived; he even thought it was nice for the two of them to live alone on the mountain undisturbed. But he was about to go out for the autumn hunt. It would be inconvenient for Qi Bai to travel back and forth alone, and living alone wasn't safe.

Wolf Ze had originally planned to find a house in the city for Qi Bai when he went out. But since Yang Luo and Hou Yan had brought it up, he didn't need to find one himself.

Wolf Ze took out a hundred catties of cured meat from the cupboard and said to Qi Bai: "I'll go find Yang Luo now to exchange for a house."

Tribespeople actually didn't need a hundred catties of cured meat to buy a house, but since the two of them hadn't worked with everyone, he took a bit more.

Qi Bai had no objections. One thing归 (belongs to) one thing. Since they were going to move in, and not just for a day or two, they naturally had to pay. Otherwise, he wouldn't feel comfortable living there.

Wolf Ze walked on the street carrying the meat, his steps unconsciously lightening.

Qi Bai hadn't refused his proposal to exchange for a house. He could finally justifiably live with Qi Bai without having to run back and forth between two places.

The next day, the Black Mountain tribespeople pulled loads of supplies and moved into the city.

It was called moving, but actually, the city houses had already been in use. Usually, everyone would rest here at noon anyway; it was just that today they formally moved their belongings over.

The other beastmen in the city watched the Black Mountain people pulling cartloads of things, their eyes full of envy.

"When will we have so many supplies?"

The four tribes had indeed distributed supplies yesterday, but even including those, they were far behind the Black Mountain tribespeople.

"Look, that big stool is so nice. I want to make one too. "That big wooden box would look great at home too."

Small things were packed away, but the large furniture left visible was enough for the city beastmen to enjoy watching.

"Where does this go? "Where to move this?"

"Over here, over here. Be careful. Just put it here."

In the Black Mountain residential area, many beastmen familiar with the Black Mountain tribespeople came over to help. For a while, the atmosphere was very lively.

Especially many came to help Qi Bai and Wolf Ze. Although they had many things, they finished moving in just one morning.

The house Wolf Ze got from Yang Luo had only one main room and a side room on the left. On the right were a cart shed and a toilet.

Although there weren't many rooms, the yard was very spacious. There were many houses with such layouts in Heiyao City. As long as the yard was spacious, it would be convenient for future expansion or raising livestock.

After having a simple lunch at the new home, Qi Bai took out a stack of paper from a wooden box, checked it carefully one last time, and then headed towards the central square.