Chapter 589 News From Taihe
Since the green ducks landed in the tribe, many who had seen them before were elated, their eyes gleaming with excitement—especially those who used to live on the other side of the sea. Bai Guo, who used to pick the eggs from the duck’s shed, looked curiously at the green ducks flying above.
“Let’s build it here, a duck shed.... No, let’s build two. If these ducks are here, maybe some other wild ducks would be attracted to come here as well,” Shao Xuan told the people who took care of the animal pens.
The worker nodded his head furiously, “Alright, so we’ll build the ones similar to last time?”
Although this was a duck shed, the conditions were better than many of the houses the tribesmen lived in.
“Yeah, let’s build it like before, just in case. They’ll get used to it faster,” Shao Xuan said.
To make these ducks stay, the people of the Flaming Horn tribe came up with many plans and put in much effort.
The ducks that had followed Shao Xuan to the man-made lake were satisfied with the place. As soon as Shao Xuan stopped walking, the green duck flew right onto the lake, relaxed its wings, and started gulping down water. It then moved its head as if it was stretching.
“There’s not many fish in the lake. Let me prepare some food for them,” The worker who used to take care of the duck shed left cheerfully.
These green ducks loved fish. Unlike normal ducks, they could eat a large variety of food. Their mouths were full of sharp teeth.
Fish were living in the lake, and they came from the time they guided the big river’s water inland. Some small fish entered the lake at the time and remained here ever since. Perhaps some fish-eating birds came and devoured most of the fish while the Flaming Horn left for four years. When they came back, Shao Xuan saw a lot of bird faeces and feathers near the lake.
Now that they knew how to guide the river water from the river into the lake, they could do so, but except the fact that piranhas lived in the river, most of the river beasts had left the place. If they wanted to keep fish that were edible and not aggressive, they had to look elsewhere.
After some thinking, Shao Xuan jotted these things down in his notes. He kept a reminder for himself so that the next time they went hunting, they should catch some fish too, and see whether they could get some suitable fish back to the lake.
The workers who raised the animals had a lot of experience. Whether they came from the other side or the mainland, they had already mastered many techniques of animal breeding. Even though this was the first time many of them saw the green ducks, they learned quickly after conversing briefly with the other workers.
They had to change whatever recipe they used to feed the ducks from before. Because they lacked the same food, they followed another method and modified the recipe so although most of the ingredients were different from before, the flock of green ducks would still eat it.
Perhaps they were tired from the journey, or they were starving. The group of fifty-something ducks gorged themselves with food around the animal feeder. Some of them were still hesitating, but after seeing the others eat, they also followed.
Shao Xuan looked at the green duck that appeared hungriest. Many factors had caused it to become scrawny, but once it settled down, it would return to its original fatness and regain much of its weight.
When the ducks started eating, Shao Xuan noticed a cloth string tied onto one of the duckling’s legs. Seeing the dirt on the string, he knew it had been a long time since it was tied. The knots were very professional and familiar too.
Whenever people from the Taihe tribe were injured, after they put some medicine on, they would use some linen cloth or other string to tie onto their wound.
A member of the Taihe tribe clearly knotted the string tied onto the leg of the green duckling.
Shao Xuan did not grab it right away when it was eating. He waited till the duckling had finished eating and grabbed it with his hands.
He had experience dealing with fat ducks, so it wasn’t hard for Shao Xuan to catch the duckling. He untied the knots on its leg and took a close look at the wound underneath.
There was a scar from long ago, and it had already recovered. The injury wasn’t too visible, and feathers had already begun to grow in its place. If he didn’t look closely, he wouldn’t have noticed the disappearing scar amidst the feathers.
There was also some noticeable powder on the scar with a colour different from the bird’s feathers. It was the medicine for the injury. Because the knots were done so well, the medicine did not completely get washed away over time.
The medicine rubbed off along with the string.
When the people from the seaside departed, the Taihe tribe had said that they would take care of the ducks. From this, he knew that they had kept their promise.
He released the duckling into the flock. It ran and hid beside a fatter duck. The duckling eyed Shao Xuan cautiously.
But the fatter duck only looked at him for a while. After some time, it continued to eat. When Shao Xuan grabbed the duckling, the fatter duck twisted its head to look, but that was it. It did not take any actions and continued to eat. Even when the other ducks had finished with their food, it was still eating.
Shao Xuan left the rest of the matter to the workers who took care of the ducks. He also told the patrolling soldiers to keep watch over them. If they were a threat to any member of the tribe, the tribe would not let them live. After all, these green ducks were not normal. It was better to remain observant. Especially those ducklings. They were unfamiliar with the men from the Flaming Horn tribe.
After he left the lake, Shao Xuan ascended the mountain and told the shamans and hunt leaders about the cloth string he found on the duckling’s leg.
Speaking of the Taihe tribe, Zheng Luo and Duo Kang suddenly became reminiscent of the past. ‘When should we get some of our friends from Taihe over?’ wondered Duo Kang.
People from the Taihe tribe liked strange herbs. Amid the mountains and forest, where they used to send advance teams to survey the grounds, there were many precious herbs. If people from the Taihe tribe were here, they would have loved it.
Shao Xuan also told them that if it were as the Rain tribe had said, that the two lands had gotten closer from the earthquake, then there might be a war. If the ruler of the desert and other slave masters wanted to take revenge, there was a chance that war might break out. After all, Rock Hill City had made so many preparations. They didn’t do all that for nothing.
If that was the case, the people who were living on the other side were probably not safe.
The Taihe tribe would not be at peace living there, and if they decided to move over here, they could continue to be neighbours. Taihe was a lot more reliable than the other tribes. Having ties with them was good for the Flaming Horn tribe.
Right, they had bronze weapons too! If the Taihe tribe came over, the Flaming Horns would show off their new bronze weapons to them!
Now that the recipe green-bronze weapons was recorded, the warriors could decide if they wanted to use it. They were even allowed to put down an order for their preferred weapons, and warriors who made more significant contributions would have their weapons forged earlier.
Duo Kang had a name list in his hands. According to the warriors’ levels of contribution, they would be called upon by Duo Kang one after the next, and he would arrange for them to meet with the blacksmiths to tell them what type of weapons they preferred so the weapons could be specifically forged in their favour.
They would already have a lot of green-bronze weapons when they meet with the Taihe tribe.
Zheng Luo and Duo Kang were thinking the same thing. They were excited to see how the Taihe tribe would react to their new weapons.