"But Clan Leader, the more it’s like this, the more it proves they’re safe. We’re only here to avoid the Beast Tide. Who cares what demands they have? Just get inside, isn’t ensuring our own safety the top priority? Can’t we figure out the rest later? Even if they want us to fend for ourselves, surely they’ll cover our first al after we enter, right? Everyone’s been starving for days. Isn’t it only right to have a full al?"
"Yeah, Clan Leader, why didn’t you discuss it with everyone before coming out? Now what, in this snowy wilderness, where will we go?"
The Clan Leader’s self-perceived pride was imdiately criticized by his people the mont he turned around and hadn’t walked a hundred ters; they were full of dissatisfaction.
His face flushed red with embarrassnt, all the more because he couldn’t co up with a single retort—all the criticisms were valid, after all. He started feeling so regret. They were too hungry to keep going. It really was like the old saying: "Pride cos at the expense of one’s own suffering."
Just look at the other Clan Leaders—dressed sharply and brimming with vitality, whereas his people shrank their necks, looking like drowned rats.
There’s no hurt like that from comparison.
He had impulsively turned away, too shocked to think straight. Now, reflecting on it, what was face worth anyway? Filling one’s stomach was what truly mattered!
Besides, he had already swallowed his pride by proposing to join their tribe en masse, yet they hadn’t agreed, had they? It was in a mont of great agitation he had made a foolish decision.
---
"What? Left and then ca back? Haha, what kind of move is that?"
By Noon, Tiantian was preparing lunch when Lang Sen walked in and said they needed to cook for ten more people today. Those people had not only returned but had also t all their demands. However, they had been starving for too long and needed to be fed first. The food would be divided among the households, with each taking in three to five people. Lang Sen offered to take on more, considering his family was better off.
After all, there were elderly people in the village; it wouldn’t be good to trouble them to attend to others, so those individuals were allocated to his household.
Yin Ye agreed with this, so upon returning, he planned to help Tiantian cook.
Cooking for ten wasn’t difficult, but deciding what was appropriate to serve was the challenge.
In the end, she decided to use the mixed grain dough that had been left to rise since yesterday, steaming a big pot of stead buns and stewing a pot of vegetables.
"Are these people coming to our house to eat?"
Yin Ye nodded, "They’ve got nowhere else to go right now. Our tribe’s folks and their people are negotiating to have them chop wood, start by setting them up in a sowhat large shelter that offers so protection against wind and rain. Fortunately, our tribe has a surplus of straw mats. After we erect the wooden houses, we can lay these mats on the outside, adding several layers to keep the wind out. Afterward, they’ll have to earn their living supplies through their own labor."
Tiantian nodded and looked around the courtyard before turning her attention to the cured at hanging under her porch: "Collect all this at. Hide anything that might show off our wealth. The corn can stay covered—they won’t recognize it. The pig and cow pens filled with firewood are okay; that doesn’t matter much. Lock up all the doors to the rooms. I’ll also need to do so makeup; after all, these are folks from the Wanshou Clan, and who knows if they might recognize that Beining fellow. I’d better stay out of sight."
It’s necessary to guard against others, especially since these people are known to be lazy and driven by appetite. Wealth in this age ans food and drink.
"Don’t let them inside; have them eat outside. Don’t let them use our own tableware either. Just find a few random bowls and plates. Once they’re used, set them aside. If each household has to provide for a few people, then these utensils will be reserved for their use."
Tiantian had a thing about cleanliness, and her instructions were ticulously detailed to Lili and the Beastn, who all silently noted them down.
Then Lang Sen went to knead the dough using the coarsest mixed grains. When stewing the vegetables, no spices were added—just salt, cabbage, lotus root, and radish. There was no at, only oil residue from fried food, with no glass noodles or tofu added. The dish was a simple hodgepodge, ant to be clean but not necessarily tasty, exclusively for the guests.
Two large pots of stead buns were stead, totaling seventy to eighty, intended solely for those ten guests. Their own household would make a fresh al later.
In addition to the stew, he prepared a plate of salty pickled vegetables from sumr.
After that, a large wooden table with around ten wooden stools was set up in the courtyard, and then it was ti to call the guests.
Among the ten guests were two females and six males, in addition to two children—a mix that seed to include three generations of the sa family. They entered with evident discomfort, first astonished by the grandeur and layout of the house and subsequently filled with envy at its architectural design.
The yard was arranged ticulously because the design of the house was not only beautiful but also practical. Every plant and tree showed careful attention from the owners. A stone path had been laid from the entrance to the front door, ensuring mud-free access on rainy or snowy days.
Moreover, they were all wearing shoes, with even the children’s feet wrapped in shoe covers. The females wore hats and scarves, and the males wore leather caps and coats that looked thin but sohow seed to keep them warm.
Of course, they didn’t know what shoes, scarves, or hats were; they simply found the attire attractive. Though it looked scant, they didn’t seem cold. A shelter had been erected in the yard with a prepared table underneath. Seeing these tables and chairs, the guests swiftly exchanged glances with their kin.
Heh, it seed the hosts didn’t plan to let them into the house at all!
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