Chapter 270

Qi Bai shook his finger, letting Hu Xue carefully look at the crepe he had spread out: “This kind of dry crepe, once made, can be preserved for many days even in summer, and during spring and autumn it can be kept for thirty or forty days.”

Hu Xue’s hand holding the crepe paused: “Doesn’t that mean...”

“That’s right,” Qi Bai said, “This kind of portable food is excellent material for hunting and long-distance travel. It can be used alongside dried beast meat, dried tofu, and cheese tofu as wartime rations.”

This was no joke. It should be known that on Blue Star, crepes were once used as military rations.

The reason Qi Bai thought of making crepes at this time was not just because he was greedy, these crepes would also be the travel rations for him and Lang Ze.

As for the special pan Hu Xue mentioned, it was the round griddle specially used to make jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe snacks). The only regret was that the griddle was still made of pottery at the moment.

Qi Bai really wanted a large iron griddle like those found at modern snack stalls, but that was something he could only dream of for now.

The city’s ironworks had already started producing iron tools, but the iron produced now was all allocated to the military department for weapon making.

After experiencing the battles with the Yu Sang Fire tribe, everyone deeply realized the importance of iron weapons in warfare.

Reusable weapons were also remarkably effective in hunting. A highly skilled half-beast person with such weapons could even hunt wild beasts several times larger than himself alone, without worrying about the dangers of close combat.

The emergence of iron weapons could be said to have multiplied the combat power of Hei Yao City.

Therefore, at this stage, only when enough weapons for city defense were made would the ironworks gradually allocate iron to make farming tools and daily necessities.

Qi Bai’s thoughts drifted a bit far. Lu Ming tugged his arm hard: “Don’t daze off! Hurry and make another crepe, I haven’t had one yet.”

Qi Bai came back to his senses, looking at the oil pan gradually heating up beside him: “Wait, I’ll make you a super delicious one!”

Saying that, Qi Bai used a bamboo spatula to scoop a lump of batter from the basin.

Crepes are called mixed-grain crepes because the batter isn’t limited to just one type of flour. Wheat flour, corn flour, sorghum flour, rice flour, and other grain flours can all be mixed together.

Just add enough water and stir in one direction until the batter reaches the right consistency.

The batter Qi Bai prepared now was a mix of xiangke (a kind of millet) and soybean flour. As the batter fell onto the heated pottery surface, a puff of white steam rose instantly. With the rotation of the bamboo spatula in Qi Bai’s hand, soon a round thin crepe appeared on the pottery griddle.

Spreading crepes is not only physically demanding but also a technical skill. Qi Bai’s technique was still not very skilled — the thickness of the crepe was inconsistent, and the pottery griddle didn’t heat as evenly as an iron one, so the color changed unevenly.

However, since the pottery griddle’s temperature wasn’t as high as an iron griddle, Qi Bai had plenty of time to adjust.

Once the crepe firmed up, Qi Bai took out a duck egg from a bamboo basket beside him. The golden egg yolk spread over the crepe, immediately releasing a tempting aroma.

Everyone’s mouths watered, but Qi Bai did not stop, and they could only anxiously wait.

Qi Bai used a bamboo brush to scoop the prepared sauce and spread it evenly over the crepe, sprinkled chopped green onions, added a few pieces of golden thin crisp, and finally rolled the crepe up.

Thus, the beast-world version of the pure vegetarian jianbing guozi was freshly made.

Using the bamboo spatula, Qi Bai cut the jianbing guozi into small pieces and pushed them forward: “Try some.”

The group was already drooling; hearing Qi Bai’s words, they immediately reached out and took a piece.

Qi Bai also took one himself. The crepe was chewy, the thin crisp was crunchy, and the sauce was rich in fragrance. He chewed slowly, almost reluctant to swallow the jianbing guozi.

No wonder jianbing guozi could dominate the Chinese snack market and become popular nationwide. How many people could resist this taste?

“Really delicious!” Lu Ming clicked his tongue, clearly not satisfied, and said, “Hmm, it would be even better if there was more meat inside like the big pancakes we usually eat.”

Qi Bai laughed: “You sure know how to eat. It’s such a big crepe; anything you stuff inside would be delicious.”

As for frying the thin crisp and making the sauce, that was no longer a big deal for the big kitchen. People had eaten fried dough snacks wrapped in flour before; the thin crisp was just rolled thinner, not difficult.

After two crepes down, the group still stared eagerly at Qi Bai. Hu Xue quickly waved his hand: “Stop looking, you’ve all learned enough. Hurry back to the kitchen and get to work.”

The materials Qi Bai brought today were all prepared by himself. These foods were not cheap, especially the limited daily yield of duck eggs. No matter how much food Qi Bai brought, it couldn’t withstand so many people eating.

The group reluctantly returned to the kitchen to work, while Qi Bai sat in the courtyard continuing to spread crepes.

He first made four jianbing guozi, put them in the bamboo basket, ready to take home as a late-night snack. The rest of the batter, Qi Bai spread into crepes.

Qi Bai’s crepe-making skills became more proficient. By the time the horn sounded again on the square, Qi Bai had already stacked nearly a hundred crepes beside him, enough for him and Lang Ze to eat for a long time.

After dinner, many tribespeople gathered again in the central square, listening attentively as the speaker explained the laws to them.

The Hei Yao Code was compiled under Qi Bai’s leadership, so he naturally knew its contents better than anyone.

But on such a peaceful autumn night, sitting with everyone in the square enjoying the cool breeze, without worrying about food shortages or beast attacks, even if Qi Bai just blanked out and sat quietly, he felt extremely comfortable.

The next morning, at Hei Yao Council Hall.

The main personnel of the Seven Departments remaining in the city gathered in the meeting room.

As the department responsible for the city, the Seven Departments held a small meeting every ten days. Today was the first ten days since the departments officially began operation.

Qi Bai sat at the end of the long table, listening to everyone report on the work progress during these ten days.

The beastmen were handling their work for the first time, and problems of various sizes kept emerging.

However, everyone soon discovered that no matter how tricky the questions and difficulties were, once reported to the High Priest, the High Priest could answer them one by one and help find solutions.

Looking at Qi Bai’s fair and handsome face, everyone in the meeting room felt even more determined.

As long as they followed the High Priest’s footsteps, they had nothing to fear.

Qi Bai had become resistant to everyone’s burning gazes. No matter how they looked, Qi Bai continued speaking without changing his expression: “This year’s grain harvest has been gathered and stored in the city warehouse. Everyone can clearly see the results of this year’s farming.”

Everyone nodded with joy.

“I have two things to say next.”

“First,” Qi Bai looked at Tu Ya, “there are still many barren lands north of the city. These lands can be reclaimed into fertile fields. You will measure these lands, create maps, and divide them into plots. Notify the beastmen in the city — all adult beastmen can obtain up to ten mu of land, and all cubs over fourteen can obtain up to five mu of land.”

“After spring next year, all those who claim land need to cultivate their fields themselves. The city will build irrigation canals for them and provide seeds. After autumn’s harvest, they only need to pay the city fifty liters of beans per mu as rent, and all other produce will be theirs.”

After deducting the cost of seeds and labor for canals, the land rent of fifty liters per mu the first year actually left little surplus.

But from the second year on, the land rent income would have a considerable surplus. Together with the city’s original 8,000 mu of land, it would be enough to cover the city’s expenses.

This was a price Qi Bai and Lang Ze had carefully calculated.

Ruling a territory was not easy — they couldn’t charge too much to exploit the people, nor too little to cause financial deficits. Every step had to consider many factors.

Everyone looked at each other and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.

The city only collected that little grain!

Yun Zhang couldn’t help but ask: “City Lord... Does the City Lord know about this?”

Qi Bai nodded: “Of course the City Lord knows. This is the result of discussions between me and the City Lord. We just hope everyone supervises all city residents to farm well and not waste good land.”

Yun Zhang smiled widely, repeatedly saying: “Of course, of course.”

“As for the second thing, you should all already know.”

Hou Yan nodded: “Shu Lin showed us the blueprints for the city walls yesterday. Starting today, twelve production teams will take turns hunting and gathering. We will ensure that nine production teams work together daily on building the city walls.”

Excluding those hunting outside and cubs who couldn’t work, the nine production teams had about six thousand people.

Although there were many workers, building the city wall was a huge project. Even with powerful beastmen who had beast forms working on it, it wouldn’t be finished easily in less than a year or two.

Qi Bai still trusted the beastmen’s work attitude. Most people then had not become lazy or crafty yet. Still, he couldn’t help but say: “The city wall is the greatest barrier protecting the tribe’s safety. Don’t be fooled by comfortable days. Beast tides and enemies can attack anytime. The city wall must be indestructible.”

Everyone present were smart people and naturally understood this. Some hit their left shoulders with their right fists, others placed their hands on their foreheads, and lowered their heads to shout in unison: “Must be indestructible!”

Everyone gradually left the meeting hall. Lu Yan lagged behind and came to Qi Bai’s side.

Qi Bai asked: “Have you thought it through?”

Lu Yan nodded firmly: “The Giant Deer Tribe is willing to offer their healing techniques to the City Lord and the High Priest.”

Qi Bai looked at Lu Yan’s resolute expression and felt as if he and Lang Ze had forced him.

Though the Giant Deer was just one tribe, their healing techniques were considered among the best in the entire Northern Wilderness and much of the northern continent.

Further south was the presence of the temple. From Sang Wei’s attitude, she or the temple likely had more advanced medical techniques. After all, the temple governed many cities and presumably had real expertise, though Qi Bai had never seen it himself, so he couldn’t judge.

Lu Yan stiffened: “We were not forced. We are willing.”

Qi Bai waved his hand: “Don’t be so nervous.”

The city needed more than just food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Especially on the perilous beastmen continent, a stable hospital capable of treating various injuries was indispensable.

Besides, Qi Bai also wanted to train battlefield medical personnel to ensure timely and proper treatment of the wounded.

The construction of hospitals and medical schools naturally could not be without the Giant Deer Tribe’s healing techniques.

Qi Bai had previously discussed the construction of hospitals and medical schools with Lu Yan and Lu Jian. But for over a hundred years, the Giant Deer Tribe had relied on their healing arts to survive in the Northern Wilderness. They were understandably worried that teaching their techniques to others might cause them to lose their standing in the city.

“However,” Lu Yan said, “the healing arts have always been passed down only within the Giant Deer Tribe. Apart from the loyalty of our people, many healing methods can only be performed by those with the spirit deer beast form.”

Qi Bai was not surprised by this.

Although he had not seen particularly extraordinary supernatural abilities or magic on the beastmen continent, he did not force each tribe to reveal their secret survival skills. He nodded, indicating his understanding.

Seeing Lu Yan still frowning, Qi Bai chuckled lightly: “Alright, stop looking so gloomy. If you teach some students, I will definitely treat you well.”

“Remember when I taught you the method using wooden flowers at the trading day in Xu Mountain?”

Lu Yan looked at Qi Bai and suddenly felt a bit guilty. The High Priest had already passed on the Giant Deer healing arts, yet they were still hesitating now, which was improper.

Qi Bai ignored him and continued: “To ensure wounds don’t rot, just using wooden flowers to stop bleeding is not enough. Using specially made wine will have a better effect.”

Lu Yan was stunned — the High Priest... was going to teach them medical techniques again!