Chapter 43

“Shaman, Father and the others are back,” Yan Hua softly said.

“Oh?” Su Bai turned to look and saw several figures running from the direction of the forest.

He looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun had moved far to the west.

“Shaman, we’re back!” Hei Ya shouted from afar.

Shortly after, all four arrived before Su Bai, curiously examining the newly built classroom, toilets, and other buildings.

“Has the pipeline been connected?” Su Bai hurriedly asked.

Yan Jiao suppressed his confusion and quickly replied, “It’s done. We’re just waiting for the water to come through.”

“Let’s go take a look,” Su Bai said, walking towards the storage tank.

“Huh? Was this pool dug out today?” Hei Ya asked in surprise.

“Qing Mu and Chi Tu dug it out,” Yan Hua said, naming two Warrior Trainees.

“Not bad, they’re finally of some use,” Hei Ya praised.

*Hee hee hee…* Qing Mu and Chi Tu chuckled embarrassedly. Usually, Hei Ya only scolded them and rarely praised them.

“This storage tank needs to be kept clean. No one is allowed to throw anything into it,” Su Bai sternly warned, laying down some ground rules. “For drinking, use the water flowing from the pipeline. For bathing, use the water from the storage tank.”

“Yes!” Everyone responded in unison.

“Shaman, don’t worry. I’ll have someone keep an eye on it,” Yan Jiao said, knowing the importance of the water source.

“The building over there with one wooden post outside the door is the men’s toilet,” Su Bai explained, taking advantage of the presence of the main members of the Tribe. “The one with two wooden posts is for women. Don’t get the doors mixed up.”

“Hahaha…” Everyone burst into laughter, especially the men, who laughed loudly. Meanwhile, the women lowered their heads in embarrassment.

“Also, the building without animal hide tied to the wooden post outside is the men’s bathing area. The one with animal hide is the women’s bathing area,” Su Bai continued with a stern face. “Let me be clear, if anyone is caught peeping while others are bathing, they will have one thumb cut off as punishment.”

He had to lay down strict rules. The Tribe was currently full of illiterate brutes, with no concept of laws and regulations. They acted based on their whims. If rules were not strictly established now, there might be trouble once the Tribe became prosperous.

*Siiiii…*

Many men drew in a sharp breath, their smiles gradually fading as they all nodded seriously. Losing a thumb would be crippling.

“Did everyone hear the Shaman? Control yourselves!” Yan Jiao glared at everyone, strongly supporting the Shaman’s proposed rules.

“Yes!” Everyone responded in unison.

*Splash…*

Suddenly, the sound of running water broke the tense atmosphere.

“Water’s here!” Hei Ya shouted excitedly.

Su Bai turned to look and saw water flowing out of the Hollow Log pipeline into the storage tank. Though it was not gushing, it was still a heartening sight.

“Great. We finally won’t lack water anymore.”

“We can bathe tonight, and we have bathing areas to use.”

“Shaman, you’re amazing.”

“…” After a whole day of hard work, everyone felt that it was all worth it upon seeing water.

“Tell the rest of the Tribe to not fight over the water source. Have them line up to fetch water,” Su Bai instructed Yan Jiao.

“Yes.” Yan Jiao gave Hei Ya a look.

“You two, come with me,” Hei Ya immediately took Qing Mu and Chi Tu to maintain order.

Su Bai walked towards the newly built classroom, with Yan Jiao and others following. They were all curious about this huge building.

“Shaman, what is this building for?” Yan Jiao asked eagerly.

“It’s a classroom. A place for the children to learn how to read,” Mai Mang answered excitedly before anyone else.

“Learn how to read?” Yan Jiao’s red eyes narrowed as he stared at Su Bai’s calm face in shock.

He blurted out, “Shaman, you know how to read and write?”

“Yes, and you can all learn to read and write in the future,” Su Bai said with a light chuckle.

By teaching everyone in the Tribe how to read, when more people joined the Flame Dragon Tribe in the future, they could use the existing Tribe members’ culture to assimilate newcomers. This would allow newcomers to quickly integrate into the Tribe, rather than relying solely on benefits and force. Spiritual and cultural assimilation were what truly formed the foundation of a group.

Regarding the population issues, Su Bai was not that worried about it. As long as they had linen to trade for food, they could rapidly expand their population. Growing to over a thousand people in a year should not be a problem. However, winning others’ hearts was another matter, the most crucial aspect.

“That’s great! Our Tribe will have our own writing one day!” Yan Jiao shouted excitedly.

“In the future, I’ll make time to come to the classroom to explain how to read and write. All children under fourteen in the Tribe must attend. The rest of you can come if you have nothing else to do,” Su Bai set the main task for the Tribe’s children: learning.

Teaching writing for an hour each day would be enough for these people to start learning, and it would not take up too much time.

The Tribe’s children were still too young for heavy work. Gathering and foraging was still too dangerous for them. Rather than running wild in the Tribe, it was better for them to spend some time each day learning a few characters.

“Yes. I’ll have someone keep an eye on those Egg Stealing Monkeys,” Yan Jiao glanced towards the storage tank where a group of children were playing rowdily, thinking it was time to manage them.

With limited food in the Tribe, it was difficult to constantly let children eat their fill. Pausing physical training and using the time to learn how to read and write was far better than letting them cause trouble.

“Tomorrow, focus all efforts on searching for plants to make linen. We only have six days left,” Su Bai said in a dire tone.

The premise for all his plans was that the Tribe needed to have a specialty product. Linen was a crucial part of that.

After all, he would not be able to produce other products even if he wanted to. He had no materials or tools. In the end, his understanding of primitive society was too limited, and the Spotted Deer Market six days later was the best opportunity to trade.

“Understood,” Yan Jiao said earnestly.