Volume 4: How big is the heart, how vast is the earth Chapter 125 Propaganda Front
“The first five years.”
Xiao Yun wrote down the number of days since it snowed on a homemade calendar, then put the thread-bound book into a wooden box and turned sideways to look out the window.
The first batch of cement houses built did not have windows. The glass with metal wires was inserted later by knocking down the walls. The aesthetics were negative, but the practicality was okay. On the windowsill, there was a row of ceramic square containers planted with onions and garlic, and next to it was a wooden rack with hydroponic sweet potato vines grown on it.
Under Xiao Yun's influence, the people of the grassland gradually developed the habit of using all the space to grow vegetables... Even the young caracal, which has the smallest appetite, would eat half a pound of vegetables in one meal! The more you grow, the better!
"The first five-year plan... was not implemented very well!"
Xiao Yun sighed. Other aspects were fine. Even if there was a gap from the goal, at least it was a start. The biggest failure was the population. The gathered population was only more than 1,700 people now. That was fine. There was not a single newborn - the youngest cub was brought over by the migrating tribe, a female snow wolf cub who was a little over six years old.
The grassland people had been used to not seeing newborns for several years, and Xiao Yun couldn't stand it. But it was useless for him to get anxious about this matter. The physiological structure and reproductive habits of the grassland people were different from those of humans. Adult human women could give birth as long as they lived a stable and healthy life, but the grassland people... It was a bit embarrassing to say this. They really didn't evolve well in terms of fertility. On the one hand, it was limited by the estrus period, and on the other hand, the reproductive function of females was affected by instinct. If they instinctively felt that the living environment was not suitable for giving birth, they would not choose to get pregnant.
In order to achieve the predetermined plan, Xiao Yun treated everyone, including himself, as animals. The females were all overwhelmed by work pressure and study tasks, and they could not lift their heads. It would be strange if they had the leisure to get pregnant...
But given the complicated external situation on the grassland now, Xiao Yun dared not let the females give up their work and concentrate on getting pregnant, so the only policy he could come up with to encourage childbirth was to start with welfare benefits - anyway, this was not considered unscrupulous. There were many pregnant women on Earth who insisted on working, but they did not even get double pay... In comparison, he was still very kind!
"The work content of the next five-year plan has basically started now. It's just a matter of time... Now we have to consider how to learn to be tactful from the minotaurs."
Following the lead of the Tiger Tribe does not mean that the Snow Wolf Tribe can learn the Tiger Tribe's tactics. Xiao Yun himself feels that the Tiger Tribe's ideas are too biased and too risky, and the success rate is not optimistic. He will definitely not be stupid enough to follow the Tiger Tribe's approach. Therefore, in the next five years, in addition to his own steady farming route, Xiao Yun will have to think carefully about his external strategy.
In this regard, the Tauren are undoubtedly the ones worthy of reference and learning from for the Snow Wolf Tribe - they are also a race with strong individual combat capabilities. Although they do not adopt the way of living in large tribes, their population is obviously larger than that of the Snow Wolf Tribe and the Tiger Tribe. They also make friends widely and are appreciated by their friends everywhere. What's more, they are never feared, and the elves on both sides have a good reputation for them. This is very worth pondering.
First of all, I would cross out the question of being a saint. It is impossible for someone to be a saint, and he or she will never be able to be one in this life.
It is very necessary to make friends with all kinds of people. In this regard, Xiao Yun even wants to go a step further. What's the point of running back and forth to beg for money? It would be perfect if the whole family could move in and eat and drink our food and drinks...
The next thing is the reason why the Tauren are so popular with the bosses... This is really puzzling.
"These idiots are so ugly and have communication problems, why do the elves think they are so kind and friendly?" Xiao Yun couldn't understand it, is the Halo of the Virgin Mary really that terrifying? !
But if Xiao Yun were asked to do the same thing as the Minotaur, he really couldn't accept it!
"Peace-loving but muscular...magnanimous...well...these can be learned." Xiao Yun touched his chin and wrote down these two points on paper.
It's true that the Minotaur is peace-loving, but they are not weak either. If they get angry, they will fight the Tiger Tribe head-on. No matter which world they are in, the peace slogans shouted by people without muscles are meaningless.
This is what the Snow Wolf tribe needs. They need to build up their muscles while shouting slogans for peace. Ensuring the training supply for the warriors is one thing, and developing weapons and equipment is another. The former has been achieved after five years of hard work, but the latter still needs to be worked on. After all, the foundation is too weak, most of the tribe has just finished literacy, and the personnel still need to be trained. Don't talk about relying on external forces. Balk is fine, he is half of their own people, but Xiao Yun is not very reliable. And relying on Evelyn to point out the military and magic technology tree that adapts to the local area, which one should benefit the Snow Wolf tribe first or the forest elves first? Are you rushing to make wedding clothes for others?
Xiao Yun had no choice. Pulling Evelyn to his side to train a cat caster and then develop the magic military technology tree was his only choice. Otherwise, if he placed his hopes on Evelyn, she would just walk away halfway through the technology tree, and you would be left with nothing to do. The Soviet Union and the new China had a precedent of grievances and disputes, so we couldn't fall into this trap.
After pondering for a while, Xiao Yun suddenly had an idea.
He recalled the time when the Tauren taught farming skills without reservation - the Snow Wolf Tribe, who had never farmed before, came to him for guidance, and the Tauren gave them seeds and techniques without hesitation, and when they asked for iron farm tools, they also gave them. What does this show?
In this area of the northern continent, or in the entire Bloomfield continent, are the Snow Wolves the only ones who have been taught farming by the Tauren?
Before the Lich King died and the grassland was renamed the Cursed Land, the Tauren lived here. They have never reproduced on a large scale, and their muscles are only kept to the level of self-protection, but the bosses of all parties have tacitly accepted the Tauren's status as the landlord. Is there no reason for this?
The tiger tribe was so blind that they wanted to use the minotaurs to establish their authority, but before they could even make a move, the leaders from all sides sent people to suppress the tiger tribe without hesitation. Their reaction speed was extremely fast. On the other hand, the elves didn't even bother to say a word after the centaurs were wiped out ... Is there no reason for this as well?
Xiao Yun suddenly realized and slapped his thigh heavily.
The Tauren are saints themselves, and the bigwigs from all sides may not have the same problem as the Tauren. So why are these big forces so tolerant and preferential to the Tauren?
There can only be one reason: he loves to teach others and is willing to teach the farming techniques to the weak Snow Wolf Tauren who have no interest in him, especially the two staple foods, wheat and rice. The Tauren even teaches clearly how to take care of them at each stage (Xiao Yun knows how to grow wheat himself, and he relied on the Tauren to teach him how to take care of rice. The only thing he lacks is the use of fertilizers). Then, when other races asked the Tauren for advice not long ago, would the Tauren still be so selfish?
Xiao Yun couldn't help but jump to the ground and spin around barefoot, waving his arms excitedly.
A single leaf blocks the view of the mountain. His contact with the peaceful and low-key Tauren tribe made him miss too many details. He really should have discovered the peculiarity of the Tauren earlier - the daring slave traders even dared to secretly capture the elves, but neither Prince Carlisle nor the adventurers in the port had ever heard of Tauren appearing in the slave market!
The Lich King was suppressed by several big guys, and his first reaction was to run towards the grassland where the Tauren were.
The dragons will be slaughtered, but I have never heard of the minotaur who looks like the Bull Demon King being killed by adventurers to show off their martial arts.
In this world where magic and technology have gone astray and are not used for the people's livelihood, the elves can reproduce a population of several million, the Orc Empire can reproduce a population of tens of millions, and even the Dwarf Kingdom, which is recognized as a barren and barren place, has a population of tens of millions, not to mention the Human Kingdom of the Southern Continent - these folk scientists, Yuan Longping, have really made great achievements!
All races have to thank the Tauren for their kindness in food planting, and they all call the Tauren teacher in this regard. How can the Tauren not be proud!
Xiao Yun hurriedly put on his shoes and ran out towards dormitory 7-9.
It was not meal time, and it did not snow today. The living area was particularly quiet. Evelin was the only one in dormitory 7-9 who was still struggling to work on the math formulas that looked like a heavenly book. Xiao Yun ran in, took off his shoes, sat on the kang opposite Evelin, and reached out to move the thread-bound book in her hand away. "Evelin, I have something to ask you."
Evelin looked up and saw that it was the teacher, and quickly put down the quill and sat upright: “Teacher Ayun, please speak.”
"The most widely circulated periodical on the continent is the Bard's Travels on the Continent. If we, the grassland people, also want our stories to be known, can we use the Bard's channels and publish them in their publications?"
Evelin suspected that she had heard it wrongly: “…Huh?”
"Our stories of the grassland people include but are not limited to genres." Xiao Yun repeated. In fact, if you want to publicize the image of the Snow Wolf Tribe and the grassland people, it is best to publish a publication yourself, but looking at your own assets... and the backward impression of the grassland people... Xiao Yun thinks that we should not take too big a step.
Evelin was confused at first, then she thought of something and became nervous. “Teacher, I also think that those interesting stories will be very popular if they are spread out, but spreading content that mocks the human royal family and nobles so openly will inevitably cause dissatisfaction in the human kingdom, and that will cause great trouble…”
"Don't get me wrong. We don't want to spread simple stories." Xiao Yun waved his hand. "Things that are read after dinner won't make much sense even if they spread. What I want to spread and promote are some of the traditional skills of our Snow Wolf tribe, and knowledge that can play an educational role in healthy dining, handicrafts, and agriculture. Only this kind of knowledge is worth the effort to distribute and promote."
Evelyn: “…”
After studying at the Snow Wolf Tribe for more than a month, Evelin has already deeply understood her teacher's straightforward pragmatic style, which is devoid of interest or sentiment. The most obvious point is that the teacher only read a few pages of the elven art books she brought with her and then looked disgusted; even the mainland travel notes with the widest audience and the largest circulation, after she translated them for the teacher, the teacher's evaluation was "It's really water, if the online article is written like this, it will definitely fail"... Although I don't understand, I know from the tone and demeanor that it is not a good thing.
Now, Evelin has even less to say about Teacher Ayun’s way of thinking…
"So... Teacher, what you want to promote is... teaching materials that instruct cooking?" Evelyn tried to be calm.
"If we only teach cooking, the audience will be too narrow and it won't be very practical. In addition to our experience in cooking, the Snow Wolf Tribe also has certain strengths in agriculture, handicrafts, brick and tile making, pottery, cheap, easy-to-use and sturdy bark paper, coal mining, oil pressing, and anti-dyeing. We can publish them step by step from easy to difficult in the mainland travel notes and promote them to the entire continent, so that people who see our grassland reference books can learn a skill." Xiao Yun said confidently.
“…” Evelin was speechless for a long time, and tried to be tactful: “…Uh, teacher, I personally think that this kind of content is worth reading, but there has never been such an article widely circulated on the mainland…so…”
"I know that not many people are willing to read a simple reference book, and a bard probably won't be willing to post it rigidly. But we can package it and use the shell of a story to sell the content of the reference book. Isn't that okay?" Xiao Yun said.
“Well…for example?” Evelin wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"For example, I want to publish a long series of food in the Bard's Travels. Let me think, hmm, let's call it the Food Hunter's Travels. In each issue, I'll write a short story about a food hunter and publish it. The story will include a recipe. You can read the story and learn how to cook at the same time. Isn't that the best of both worlds? I can also advertise the agricultural products and non-staple food products produced by our Snow Wolf Tribe. Oh, and I can also advertise the spices of Saint Bridge. I will ask Carlisle for sponsorship when the time comes." The more Xiao Yun thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. "Come on, let me write a food story on the spot, and you write it down in common characters. I can't write your kind of winding characters, and you just happen to be a ready-made translator..."
Evelin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she couldn't refuse, so she had to pick up the quill and sit upright to listen to the teacher's dictation.
"The dish taught in the first story should be easy to make and taste good. Let me think... well, rabbit meat seems to be eaten everywhere, so this first article will talk about eating rabbit cold."
Evelyn perked up when she heard the words 'cold rabbit' and began to salivate. The spicy diced rabbit was so delicious that she couldn't stop eating it even though she loved light flavors. She couldn't help but get a little excited when she thought about how to cook this food and spread it to every corner of the continent, so that everyone would crave the cold rabbit she had eaten.
"As for the character setting of the protagonist... well, the first chapter should still give the protagonist a mysterious background to make people look forward to the subsequent plot. How about this, Evelyn, you write it like this - a small town on the border of the Kingdom of Saint Bridge, a fat shopkeeper runs a tavern with poor business..."
Evelyn quickly wrote down the story Xiao Yun had made up. This story with food as the main theme was very simple and crude, without any literary flourishes. It started with a story about a tavern on the verge of bankruptcy, which used spices produced in St. Bridget and wild rabbits that could be found everywhere to create a delicious cold rabbit dish to go with wine, thus completing a Jedi counterattack:
The story begins with the fat shop owner being mocked by the handsome boss of the big hotel opposite for his slow business, and hinting that the fat shop owner should close the shop and go home to farm. Then the protagonist appears, a man in black robe with a desolate look sitting on the street to rest. The kind-hearted fat shop owner calls the man in black robe into the deserted tavern and gives him a free drink. The man in black robe then asks the fat shop owner to build a stove and cook in front of the shop, showing off his superb skills by catching more than a dozen wild rabbits and cooking cold rabbits for the fat shop owner on the street. The fragrance attracts pedestrians to linger, and the guests who walk to the big hotel opposite can't help but come back and enter the fat shop owner's shop. Even the handsome and rich boss opposite can't help but open the window to look outside. Then the cold rabbits are served in the shop as a side dish, and the business is booming and making a fortune every day...
This is a simple and crude cliché story without any connotation. The Chinese people, who have been bombarded with clichés, can guess the ending after reading the beginning. However, this cliché of a deity passing by to help a kind loser to slap his face and counterattack is popular on Earth because it is classic enough. Knowing that this is a story made up by Teacher Ayun, Evelyn, as a ghostwriter, couldn't help but wonder who the powerful, mysterious and cooking man is after writing the ending...
"I haven't thought of a name yet." Xiao Yun spread his hands. "I haven't even picked one yet. Otherwise, how could I have him just say 'I'm just a passing gourmet hunter' at the end? Of course, it's also very pretentious to introduce yourself like this. It will be very satisfying for young people to read it... I'll slowly think of a name in the next chapter!"
Evelyn: “…”
After writing the opening food story, the next is the agricultural promotion story... For this part, Xiao Yun stroked his chin and thought about it, and set the protagonist who led to the agricultural line to be a traveling forest elf ranger - he was still hoping that the serialized story that promoted his own image could be published in the mainland game developed by the elves. How could Xiao Yun do that without pleasing both of them!
Looking at those fancy and flashy articles on mainland travelogues is enough to let people know how narcissistic these elves are. Setting their people as knowledgeable and well-informed agricultural science education protagonists, they are not afraid that they will not buy into it~!
Of course, this is a series to promote the grassland people’s love of peaceful creation and the image of the Snow Wolf Clan. Snow wolves must have names, so this forest elf ranger must have a Snow Wolf Clan friend...
Xiao Yun was too lazy to think of a name, so he named the elf ranger Hailin and his friend from the Snow Wolf tribe Hongye. When Evelyn was writing, her hand shook and she almost broke the tip of the feather pen.
"Isn't this name too... informal?" Evelyn had personally experienced the teacher's ability to make up popular stories off the cuff. She knew with her knees that these two stories would be very popular. She really couldn't accept just taking the name of an elf warrior and using it for the protagonist.
Xiao Yun frowned and thought for a while: "If I name him Kleist, would it be disrespectful to General Kleist?"
Evelyn wrote the name of the elf general without saying a word .
"Actually, it doesn't matter what it's called. What matters is the content~" Xiao Yun waved his hand and took a sip of water. "Okay, let's focus on the story content--"
The forest elf Crest and the snow wolf Hongye in the story are set up as mobile civilization communication towers that travel among various races, providing guidance on agriculture along the way and promoting the agricultural knowledge and handicraft skills of the snow wolf tribe.
After discussing the "world background" with Evelyn, Xiao Yun set the opening of the story in the Dwarf Kingdom of the Western Continent. The Dwarf King's home has the worst agricultural environment in the entire Bloomfield Continent. The country is covered with plateaus and mountains, and has a temperate continental climate. Although there is no shortage of rain, the arable land area is scarce. Except for the fact that there is a mine at home, everything else is a tearful story...
Most of the Dwarf Kingdom is mountainous and desert, so let’s not talk about the latter and skip it. The focus will be on the mountainous area, where the story unfolds.
The Elf Ranger Crest and the Snow Werewolf Hongye, who are good brothers, traveled across the Western Continent on an airship rented from the Bards Guild. They encountered a storm on the way and were blown to an unnamed mountain area. They sent out a distress message and waited for rescue from the association, but the food they brought was not enough, so they had to ask the locals for help and began to deal with the local mountain dwarf villages.
The dwarf village was located in a place with seven mountains, two rivers and one acre of land. It was poor and barren, which made people feel sad. The snow wolf Hongye, who was good at farming, and the well-informed Crest racked their brains to find a way to open up terraces for the dwarf village on the mountain and build a waterwheel to carry water up the mountain to irrigate the crops...
It was the first time that Evelyn herself heard that terraces could be grown in the mountains. After asking Xiao Yun about this for a long time, she was deeply shocked and wrote down the details of this part very devoutly.
The food story only had 20,000 words, while the agricultural promotion story had a full 30,000 words. Evelyn didn't even bother to have dinner, and stayed up all night to finish writing these two detailed and informative opening stories. With red eyes, she looked at Xiao Yun while holding the precious manuscript. "I can't let such an important story sit idle in my hands, teacher. I want to go back now and ask General Crest to contact the Bards Association."
Xiao Yun kept yawning, feeling extremely sleepy: "Why don't you check and correct the typos?"
“I wouldn’t make a spelling mistake!” Evelin shook her shoulders in shame and annoyance, jumped off the kang and ran outside. She stepped on the snow and felt it was cold before she came back to put on her shoes.
"Then be careful on your way back. Wait, you forgot your homework book!"
“…” Evelin went back for the second time to get her homework book.
After the snow began to fall, Evelyn's mount mingled in the delivery room of the cattle and sheep, enjoying the care of the cubs. She went out and ran halfway towards the livestock area when she suddenly thought of something and turned back... and ran towards the kitchen, shamelessly asking Niu Jiao for half a jar of cold rabbit.
Flying mounts are the fastest and quickest means of transportation on the continent. Even if the sky is covered with snow and the flight speed must be reduced, it can still maintain a speed of 70 kilometers per hour. Before noon, Evelyn, who was shivering with cold, returned to Ananas City and broke directly into General Crest's house.
The general's wife held back her laughter and brought Evelyn a towel. Anxious Evelyn didn't even bother to take a shower to keep away the cold, and directly handed the manuscript she had written to Kleist.
The title of the manuscript on top was "Travels of a Gourmet Hunter". With his chin rounded, Kleist's eyes lit up and he took it and started reading...
Halfway through reading, the Elf General raised his head and looked at Evelyn with sharp eyes.
Evelyn stood up and walked to the fireplace to pick up the jar that was thawing there. She scooped out the greasy, bright red cold rabbit with a spoon and put it on a plate, then handed it to the elf general.
After reading the story of the gourmet hunter while eating cold rabbit, Crest's heart was beating fast, his eyes were shining, and he looked at Evelyn again with a sharp gaze: "Who is this powerful, mysterious and gourmet man? What's his name and what race is he?"
“…” Evelin said with difficulty, “Teacher Ayun said that he hasn’t thought about it yet.”
