Chapter 541: Trivial Matters of Spring and the Stones Brought Back

Han Cheng climbed onto the wall again, not to shoot at geese, but to look around.

The current Green Sparrow tribe had an open landscape all around, with a far-reaching view due to the large areas of forest cleared for farmland.

Soil erosion had occurred, but it was not serious.

First, the cultivated land was generally flat, and second, Han Cheng instructed people to build extensive drainage systems in the fields.

After the new fields were cultivated in the first couple of years, there was more soil erosion, but once the built ditches became overgrown with grass, they could be ignored.

On this vast stretch of land, many people were scattered about.

The first crop of millet had already begun to be sown. The elders of the Green Sparrow tribe were shouting at the deer, using plows to start sowing.

Sowing was a privilege of the citizens of the Green Sparrow tribe; they regarded it as a critical task and did not allow slaves to interfere.

The slaves were only allowed to do the heavy labor of clearing and tilling the land.

While some were sowing, others were tilling the soil, and in the distance, slaves were still clearing new land.

The benefit of having many people was that they could spread out and perform many tasks simultaneously.

The gardener, Tu Ba Ge, was also busy tending to the tribe's fruit trees or managing the nursery.

Every spring was the busiest time for him.

Near the wall's outer edge, the shaman was digging ditches with a smaller stone hoe.

Next to him was a small bundle of green iron fence seedlings.

The shaman had never forgotten about strengthening the tribe’s defenses.

This matter was too urgent, so he didn’t let others get involved, instead working slowly on it himself.

About a hundred meters from the quarry, there was a small hill that was not too large but also not small.

The hill was covered with many trees, some too large for several people to embrace.

This proved that the hill was not as barren as imagined.

On the south side of the hill, more than ten people were cutting down trees that grew on this land.

Smaller trees were felled directly, while larger ones were stripped of their bark in a ring.

Sometimes, after clearing a sufficiently wide isolation strip, they would set fire to it.

This was something the Green Sparrow tribe had become quite skilled at over the past few years.

This was a task assigned by Han Cheng, who wanted to clear about four to five acres of sunny land on the south side of the hill before the end of spring.

Of course, it was not for planting crops.

There was still plenty of flat land around the Green Sparrow tribe available for cultivation, so it wasn’t a desperate measure.

This was because the mulberry seedlings planted earlier were now ready for transplanting.

He wanted to gradually clear the remaining trees from this hill and plant mulberry trees to turn the entire area into a mulberry mountain.

Once the silkworms in the tribe gradually improved, expanding silkworm farming with this mulberry mountain would be much easier.

Trees take ten years to grow, and a person takes a hundred years to nurture. These matters are typically calculated in years or decades and must be prepared in advance.

After scanning the front and back of the tribe for a while, Han Cheng's gaze again fell on the east side of the tribe.

That was where Shang, Mao, and others had taken the trading team out.

After such a long time, they should be coming back soon, right?

Han Cheng eagerly anticipated Shang and Mao's return. On one hand, he was worried about them; on the other, he was eager to see what they brought back and assess the harvest.

It felt a bit like waiting for a package after shopping online in later generations.

After waiting a while without seeing any figures, Han Cheng climbed down from the wall and went outside with the shaman to plant the iron fence seedlings.

The seedlings were planted quite densely, about five centimeters apart.

Not only was there one row but four rows were planted at once, with a ten-centimeter gap between each row.

When they grew tall at this density, they would completely form a green, environmentally friendly wall that only the wind could penetrate.

Three days later, on a drizzly day, the Green Sparrow tribe appeared quieter and more relaxed than usual due to the rain.

Han Cheng stayed inside, watching Bai Xue weave cloth.

Fu Jiang, a dog, had abandoned the other dogs and was comfortably napping at Han Cheng's feet, enjoying the tranquility.

Suddenly, Fu Jiang, resting his chin on Han Cheng's foot, woke up instantly, propping himself up and straining his ears to listen attentively.

Then, he dashed outside, howling toward the east of the tribe.

After howling several times, he even glanced at Han Cheng.

Seeing this, Han Cheng's initial confusion was quickly filled with joy and anticipation.

If he wasn't mistaken, the merchant caravan should have returned.

He removed his straw hat and stepped out of the house, listening carefully. Sure enough, he heard some wolf howls in a different tone from a distance.

It was clear that the dogs of the Green Sparrow tribe were howling.

When he reached the tribe's entrance and looked east, the returning caravan was not visible in the misty rain.

However, the howls were growing closer, and before long, five wolves appeared in his line of sight, running toward him.

Fu Jiang, who was with Han Cheng, excitedly wagged his tail and ran forward with more of his descendants.

When the wolf pack met, they quieted down, and Fu Jiang sniffed each of the five returning wolves before pretending to bite Da Fu.

As soon as his teeth touched Da Fu, who had slightly damp fur, Da Fu immediately lay down on the ground.

Of course, it wasn’t a hit from Fu Jiang.

Rather, Da Fu lay on the ground, exposing his belly and shaking his body.

This was how Fu Jiang confirmed his status within the wolf pack while the other wolves acknowledged their submission.

It was similar to how Han Cheng would habitually give a gentle kick to the behind of returning people, and those kicked, like Shang and Mao, would often smile instead of getting upset.

In total, he kicked out twenty times, and after confirming that everyone returned safe and sound, a smile appeared on Han Cheng’s face.

Leading the returning group were bags of goods entering the tribe.

The quiet tribe, shrouded in drizzle, quickly became lively with everyone's arrival.

Inside the main house, Han Cheng squatted on the ground, surrounded by a pile of large and small stones. Shang and Mao stood nearby, freshly returned from their journey.

The shaman, the eldest senior brother, the second senior brother, and several prominent figures from the Green Sparrow tribe were also present.

All of them were intently watching Han Cheng, eager to learn if there were any stones among those that could be used to smelt iron…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay