Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Upon hearing Qi Bai mention the forging room, Shu Lin held up two fingers and said, "It'll take two more days for the forging room to be completed."

The outer walls of the forging room were built together with the furnace room. What Shu Lin and Xiong Feng were currently leading the construction of was the small furnace in the center of the forging room. This furnace was specifically for heating iron blocks and didn't need to be as large as the big brick furnace in the furnace room.

Qi Bai smiled and said, "Okay, we'll take advantage of these two days to smelt more iron..."

Before Qi Bai could finish his sentence, Tu Ya rushed over in a hurry and exclaimed, "Leopard Bai, Priest Yang Luo! The sheep in the stone pen are about to give birth!"

Niu Xi laughed and said, "Why are you in such a hurry about the Four-Eared Sheep giving birth?"

Although the Black Mountain Tribe kept Four-Eared Sheep, the beastmen didn't know how to assist in animal births. Moreover, last year, the four ewes in the pen all gave birth successfully on their own. In Niu Xi's understanding, they only needed to wait to milk the sheep.

Tu Ya took a deep breath and said, "The stone sheep pen is in complete chaos, and I don't know what to do."

Qi Bai couldn't care less about the iron blocks on the ground now. He quickly emerged from the furnace room and jogged while asking, "Weren't the ewes separated into individual pens? How could it still be chaotic?"

Tu Ya kept pace with Qi Bai: "They were separated, but when the ewe started calling, the rest of the flock outside became agitated."

As soon as the group reached the outside of the stone sheep pen, they heard the noisy cries of the Four-Eared Sheep.

Since wild animals had a natural hostility towards beastmen, Qi Bai was worried that rushing into the pen now might startle the laboring ewe. So, he first observed from outside the pen.

One ewe in the small pen did seem restless and uncomfortable, constantly licking her belly. It looked like she was in distress.

Based on Qi Bai's observations of the four ewes giving birth last year, this one was indeed about to deliver, but it would probably take quite a while before the lamb was born.

Only then did Qi Bai shift his gaze to the larger inner pen.

In the middle of the flock, two Four-Eared Sheep were eager to fight. The sheep had actually cleared a space for them in the not-so-spacious pen.

Of course, this didn't mean the crowded flock was peaceful. One lamb seemed frightened and was running around wildly within the cotton-ball-like flock.

Coupled with the laboring ewe's mournful cries, the entire pen was truly in chaos.

When Qi Bai didn't see Chuan Chuan at first glance, he felt a bit worried. But the next second, he almost laughed.

The newly appointed Four-Eared Sheep leader, Chuan Chuan, was standing outside the flock with the pretty little ewe, showing no intention of getting involved. His demeanor was exactly like that of tribespeople watching a spectacle.

Hu Xue slapped her thigh and said, "It's these two sheep! They caused trouble a few days ago too!"

She Li stared at them for a long time and confirmed, "Yes, that one sheep has particularly long ears. I remember it too."

After hearing their explanation, Qi Bai learned that the sheep pen hadn't been very peaceful during the days they were away from the tribe.

However, Qi Bai wasn't surprised by this outcome. After all, the pen currently housed two different flocks forced to live together. There would always be troublemakers causing issues, especially since their leader was Chuan Chuan, who was happy to watch the spectacle as long as no one bothered him.

Seeing the increasing chaos in the pen, Lang Ze said in a deep voice, "They're rams."

Lang Ze's meaning was simple: the tribe kept Four-Eared Sheep for the ewes' milk. The rams were originally raised as reserves. Since that was the case, they might as well start with them.

Qi Bai hadn't been able to tell the gender of these two sheep, but looking at their plump bodies, he stroked his chin and nodded, "They're so fat. They can be eaten."

Although Four-Eared Sheep weren't as strong as wild cattle, their horns were quite sturdy. If this commotion continued, Qi Bai was genuinely worried they might break the partition between the two pens and injure the pregnant ewes.

Once the decision was made, Lang Ze immediately led three horned beastmen into the pen and quickly separated the two rams that had already started clashing.

The simple and粗暴 method had the most immediate effect. Aside from a few frightened sheep huddled in corners with their butts in the air, the flock returned to a superficial calm.

The low cries of the ewe in the small pen didn't stop. It wasn't until nearly noon, when two lambs were born one after another, that the pen finally fell completely silent.

The ewe giving birth in the pen was a happy event for the entire tribe, especially since many beastmen in the tribe had recently shown signs of pregnancy.

Lang Ze used grass rope to tie up his portion of mutton. The fresh sheep belly bounced on the stone slab—it looked like perfect material for lamb skewers.

Qi Bai swallowed and said to Lang Ze, "Let's have barbecue tonight."

Most of the meat at home was cured or smoked. It had been a long time since they'd had fresh roasted meat.

Lang Ze naturally had no objections. Qi Bai pointed to the sheep kidneys nearby and said, "Then I want these."

Xiang Yu, who was responsible for distributing the meat, asked cheerfully, "Just these?"

Seeing Qi Bai nod, Xiang Yu cut off both kidneys and sighed, "I never thought these parts could become so delicious."

Since Qi Bai made stewed dishes on the courtship day, the previously unpopular offal now had many people willing to take extra portions during meat distribution. After all, with a little extra time, offal could offer flavors completely different from fresh meat and bones. For beastmen with limited diets, this was an excellent choice.

Qi Bai used a pottery bowl to scoop two bowls of sheep blood into a pottery jar. This jar was prepared beforehand by Qi Bai and contained salted water. Hearing this, he placed the two kidneys on a winnowing basket, blinked at Xiang Yu, and said, "There's no such thing as bad food, only beastmen unwilling to put in the effort."

Under the two large trees in the tribe's plaza, tribespeople were gathered together. Many held meat they had just received, clearly having come directly from the stone wall distribution without going home first.

Seeing Qi Bai and Lang Ze, an elderly man waved them over. Qi Bai recognized him—Ma Qian, an elderly beastman from the Horse tribe.

Ma Qian smiled, his face crinkling with wrinkles, but his eyes held a barely noticeable worry: "Leopard Bai, I heard from Zhu Zhu that one Four-Eared Sheep's milk can last a long time, but I'm still afraid. Can you tell me more?"

Several horned beastmen nearby quieted down upon hearing this and moved closer, all wanting to hear confirmed news from Qi Bai.

Although everyone had been at Black Mountain for a while and accepted that wild animals could be kept by beastmen, the idea that one Four-Eared Sheep could feed many younglings was something they had never seen or even heard of.

These elderly beastmen were close to Zhu Zhu, but for some reason, they needed to hear it from Qi Bai to feel at ease.

Qi Bai understood Ma Qian's concern. After all, his child might already be pregnant. Now that the lamb was born, he worried the ewe's milk wouldn't be enough to last until the youngling was born.

In the Beastmen Continent, where both younglings and elders struggled to survive, beastmen like Ma Qian, who were soon to become grandfathers, were rare. This was especially true in the Black Mountain Tribe, whose members came from different tribes.

Qi Bai reassured him, "It's absolutely true. The younglings will have milk until summer. Even all of us got to enjoy quite a bit too."

Ma Qian's smile widened: "Ah, that's good."

An elderly beastman beside them chuckled and waved his hand: "How could we eat the younglings' food?"

The milk of wild beasts was such precious food. The thought that they, these old folks, could still enjoy it was truly delightful.

"Of course you can eat it! And there are many different ways to prepare it too," Qi Bai said with a smile. "You won't have to wait long. The other ewes in the pen will give birth soon too. Then we'll have plenty of milk to spare."

Qi Bai and Lang Ze chatted with everyone outside for quite a while. By the time they returned home, the sheep blood in the pottery jar had mostly solidified.

Qi Bai used a small knife to cut the sheep blood into small pieces and directly added them to hot water. The blood instantly turned brownish-red in the water.

Fresh blood held special significance for beastmen. They believed it could grant horned beastmen warriors great strength, so the tribe never wasted animal blood.

When the Black Mountain Tribe didn't have many containers, the first blood drawn was directly drunk by the horned beastmen. Now, when the tribe slaughtered fresh prey, they collected the blood so every tribesperson could get a share.

Although most beastmen had iron stomachs, Qi Bai felt consuming raw blood was unsafe, so he wanted to cook it.

The method was very simple. Qi Bai had seen it before at fresh meat markets: just add light saltwater to pig or sheep blood, wait for it to solidify, then boil it.

Lang Ze found this process miraculous every time. The blood, originally like water, could become soft food in Qi Bai's hands.

While Qi Bai turned around, Lang Ze tried to sneak a piece but was caught red-handed. Qi Bai wrinkled his nose and said fiercely, "No stealing!"

Lang withdrew his hand, smiling: "I'll go cut the meat."

Lang wasn't actually fond of raw blood; he just couldn't resist teasing his partner.

He cut the brought sheep belly into cubes, scored the kidneys, and skewered them onto bamboo sticks.

Qi Bai moved out the stone trough that hadn't been used in a long time. He evenly arranged charcoal underneath it, then placed the lamb skewers on top of the charcoal.

The aroma of sizzling fat instantly wafted out. He sprinkled a layer of secret barbecue seasoning over them.

The smell made Qi Bai, who had eaten cured and smoked meat for so long, instantly lightheaded.

Qi Bai happily took down a small jar of berry wine from the shelf, lovingly dusting it off. Tonight, they would enjoy a few cups at home.