Volume 6: Helping the World Chapter 185: The Scheming Cat Tribe
"You really told Ayun?!"
In the dormitory where the big cats live, Fishbone & Rosemary look at Qiu in shock.
"Ayun thinks that if we make the same arrangement as the snake tribe, our fellow tribesmen will not agree. We need to consider the actual situation of the cat tribe and come up with a more suitable plan." Qiu nodded first, then asked curiously: "What's your reaction? The sweet potatoes planted in the tribe can only be on this scale at present, and it can't be expanded much further. Ayun will definitely be willing to develop more cat tribes for us to plant sweet potatoes."
In the policy planning for the support belt for the Snake Tribe, taking into account the technical difficulties of crops such as wheat, rice, and spices (that can adapt to the grassland climate), the Snake Tribe will only be allowed to carry out large-scale sweet potato and potato planting in the first five-year support plan. Other planting projects such as vegetables and forage only need to meet the needs of the Snake Tribe. Hongguo only plans to build two experimental fields.
After all, sweet potatoes and potatoes are easy to grow... They require low agricultural skills and low requirements for soil and water. Before the water conservancy project of the Snake Department is completed, planting these two drought-resistant crops can ensure that the Snake Department will make a profit as soon as possible.
The premise of the assistance policy is that the assisted persons can stand on their own feet. Unconditional support to useless lazy people, or uncooperative persons with a resistant mentality, not to mention Xiao Yun would not agree, and no one in the tribe would agree either.
The biggest problem for the cat tribe is the latter. The cat tribe in the southwest corner of the grassland comes to the Fire Tribe to exchange spices, but they basically stay in groups and don't interact with the people in the Fire Tribe at all...
Although Qiu, Fishbone, Rosemary and other cats felt embarrassed about this, they could understand it... If the Fire Tribe had tried to get close to them before their own tribe got into trouble, they would probably have had the same reaction.
Big cats are very vigilant.
Qiu stared at the subtle expressions of Fishbone and Rosemary for a few seconds, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly: "Wait a minute, the reaction of the two of you, could it be that you two have already thought of this, and are just waiting for others to mention it to Ayun?"
Fishbone blushed slightly, lowered his head to lick the back of his hand, pretending to be calm; Rosemary was shameless and laughed: "I wanted to discuss it with Qingyan when he came back, but I didn't expect you to get it done without saying anything, you are worthy of being Qiuqiu."
Qiu: "......─━_─━"
"Ayun really treats you differently. If it were someone else, Ayun would definitely take the opportunity to push a lot of things on me, but if it were you, there would be no additional conditions." Rosemary said shamelessly, "Don't look at me like that. The breeding team has changed. I have to calculate the details of the rabbit farm's materials every day and the weekly inflow and outflow. If I go, I don't know how much more work Ayun will have to add to my workload - Qingyan is busy enough now, and Ayun has no place to add more workload for Qingyan."
"Ayun isn't always this devilish... Never mind, he is indeed quite devilish." Qiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Ayun asked us to discuss the policy of supporting the cat tribe among ourselves first. What do you think?"
Yugu stopped pretending to be indifferent and looked up and said, "They may not accept the working group moving in. Even in our tribe before, if outsiders came into the tribe and lived with us for a long time, even if the tribe leader didn't say anything, the tribe members would not feel at ease."
Rosemary sighed, "Even if we want to help them build a house and let them owe us a large debt first, it's not possible... In the past, our tribe would never agree to such ill-intentioned conditions, let alone allowing a large group of people to come and go frequently."
"Not to mention that accepting our people to arrange jobs for them would affect their status as clan leaders... Let's not talk about others. How big of a dispute did Xia have with 'that gang' in the past?" Fishbone added.
The Snow Wolf tribe does not care who becomes the chief. If a Snow Wolf warrior feels that the chief is not capable, he can replace him openly, and this is acceptable to all members of the Snow Wolf tribe. If it is replaced by the Cat Tribe, the problem will not be so simple. Once the chief lacks prestige, the tribe will face division.
Apparently, Fishbone and Rosemary have been thinking about this issue for a long time. Ever since Ayun proposed the policy of supporting the Snake Tribe and developing the Snake Tribe into a downstream production base for the Fire Tribe at a work meeting, they have been thinking about this a lot. It is true that farming is hard work, but farming can indeed ensure that the tribe members have a more stable life. As members of the same cat tribe, there is no reason for them not to consider their own kind.
But the actual problem is also quite obvious... The Fire and Flame Tribe has gathered eight or nine out of ten Snow Wolf tribes on the grassland, and there is only one Cat tribe that moved to the Fire and Flame Tribe to merge...
"——It's really troublesome." Qiu sighed, and then he forced himself to do it. "No matter how troublesome it is, we have to do it. Let's think of a way and overcome the difficulties no matter what."
The three big cats discussed the matter all night, and gathered again during lunch break the next day to go find the leader of the cat tribe, a snow leopard named Arthur.
Of the two cat chiefs of the Fire Department, Xia was beaten by Xiao Yun for several years before he learned to cultivate his character and worked diligently to open a shop in the dungeon to make money; Chief Arthur was treated much better than Xia. She came to the Fire Department with her intact tribe. After arriving, she immediately joined the work meeting as the chief, and after being transferred to the position several times to adapt to the work rhythm of the Fire Department, she was assigned to the Mushroom House, where she has been working until now.
"Rosemary is here." Outside the mushroom house, Chief Arthur took off his gloves and licked Rosemary's face with his tongue, then looked at the other two people, "What do you want from me?"
Yugu looked at Qiu, and Qiu stepped forward and told him what had happened.
"It's like this..." Chief Arthur paused for a moment, "Before coming to the Fire Tribe, our tribe considered safety issues when choosing a place to live. We would not live in an open place like the Fire Tribe. If we want to arrange for the Cat Tribe like we did for the Snake Tribe, we must first persuade them to move."
Qiu, Yugu and Rosemary opened their mouths wide... They have really been living in the Fire Department for too long and have completely forgotten this!
"It's true that we cats don't trust others easily." Chief Arthur laughed, "In that case, why don't we force others to trust us. Here's what I think. Why don't we choose a place that's neither too far nor too close to the Fire Tribe? For example, on the other side of the water swamp in the east, on the mudflats downstream of the tributary of the Earth River, isn't there a large plain similar to the Fire Tribe? It takes most of the day to go there and back, and it's about the same distance as from the tribe to the hilly new area."
"Build a residence there, and tell the cat tribe that came to our tribe to exchange spices, and ask them if they are willing to send people to live there, and grow sweet potatoes under the guidance of the Snow Wolf tribe. We can exchange some of the sweet potatoes with vermicelli, and use the rest to pay for the seeds and housing expenses of the Snow Wolf tribe."
After a pause, Chief Arthur said shyly, "After the sweet potatoes are planted, let them grow grass and other crops for their own tribe in their free time. Tell them that they can bring most of the output back home... After one or two harvests, we will hint to them that they can bring all the tribe members to live there. It's quite far from the Fire Tribe, and the people with them are all cat tribes with similar views to them, so they should feel more at ease this way."
In short, it is to create an independent space with a sense of distance and security for the cat tribe that does not trust the Fire Tribe~!
The Snow Wolf Clan doesn't care about this, but the Cat Clan cares very much!
Fishbone and Rosemary looked shocked but also subtle... It seems that it's not just them, Patriarch Arthur has also been thinking about this...
The corners of Qiu's mouth twitched slightly. He finally understood why Ayun said that "everything on his mind is written on his face"... All the tribesmen are too "scheming"~!
The three of them immediately brought the embarrassed Chief Arthur to Xiao Yun, and Rosemary, who was the most eloquent, told him about Chief Arthur's ideas and their considerations. Xiao Yun's expression also became subtle...
"So, actually, you are all thinking about this secretly, but no one except Qiuqiu is willing to bring it up?" Xiao Yun stared with dead fish eyes .
Chief Arthur's gaze drifted into the distance, as if he didn't hear Xiao Yun's words. Yu Gu lowered his head and licked the back of his hand, pretending nothing had happened.
"Hehe... I wanted to discuss it with Qingyan when he comes back." Rosemary smiled shamelessly.
"Come on, you're just counting on Qingyan to take the blame for you, right? Wait, what do you think I am?" Xiao Yun was so angry that he grabbed Rosemary and put her between his arms, then rubbed her head with his fist, "You're so scheming! You're just scheming if you don't want good things!"
Rosemary was so sneaky that he licked Xiao Yun's arm with his tongue. Xiao Yun was so disgusted that he pushed him away...
"This is indeed a feasible solution." After complaining, Xiao Yun sat down and continued to talk. He did not pursue the fact that the big cats were not honest enough. "In the past few years, it was you, Chief Arthur, who negotiated with the cat tribes to exchange spices with us. Chief Arthur, tell me, how many tribes do you think are willing to accept our arrangement so that we can make corresponding preparations."
Chief Arthur is about the same age as Chief Huoyan, but in the past, the cat tribe had a much better life than the snow wolf tribe, so she looks like an ordinary adult cat and does not look old. Hearing this, she said seriously: "The Xiu tribe, the Kong tribe, and the Sunny Sky tribe are relatively friendly to us. The chief of the Sunny Sky tribe once inquired about our winter situation. I think there is a great possibility that these three tribes will send people. The attitudes of the Yongzhen tribe and the Amber tribe are rather ambiguous, and they do not take the initiative to talk to us, but when Chief Sunny Sky and I are chatting, they will intentionally approach..."
The more Xiao Yun listened, the more shocked he became. He had only asked Chief Arthur to be in charge of negotiating with the cats who came to trade with him in order to avoid trouble, and he did not have too many expectations for other aspects. After all, Chief Arthur's performance had not been particularly outstanding. Compared with Rosemary, who was full of cleverness, and Fishbone, who had a strong learning ability and was able to draw inferences from one instance, he was quite an ordinary person. He never expected that this big cat was also very different. He was indeed worthy of being the chief of the cat tribe...
"...My idea is that the large farms similar to those in our tribe and the Snake Tribe are not suitable for the Cat Tribe. It would be better to organize small farms of varying sizes according to the people from each tribe. Each farm should be responsible for itself to avoid conflicts among them during the work... Uh, Ayun, did I say something wrong?" Chief Arthur was very good at observing people's expressions. He stopped immediately when he saw that Xiao Yun's face was not right.
"No, no, you are right, it is very useful." Xiao Yun clapped his hands vigorously, "I will not say any empty words about helping others without asking for anything in return. We all know that the income from vermicelli produced in the tribe now accounts for one-third of our total export revenue. We do need downstream producers who can provide us with raw materials. The cat tribe gives us raw materials in return, and we provide the cat tribe with production conditions. This is a win-win situation for both parties."
"To understand the cat tribe, the cat tribe is still needed. Chief Arthur, if you are willing, why don't you take the lead in organizing this cat farm?" Xiao Yun's eyes were sharp.
Rosemary immediately cast a knowing look at her good friend Fishbone. Her smug look seemed to be saying, "I knew that nothing good would come of sticking up for Ah Yun." Xiao Yun wanted to teach him a lesson...
Fortunately, Chief Arthur was not as troublesome as Rosemary. He tilted his head and thought for a while before saying, "What about the work in the mushroom house?"
"You can pick a capable person from other staff members to take over your job." Xiao Yun said, "Let's bring this up at the work meeting. It will be fine as long as everyone has no objection."
Xiao Yun would definitely not allow the emergence of "hereditary system" in the tribe. The incumbent leader can only choose the successor from the old employees. If the person chosen is not qualified, the old leader will be held accountable and the power of the old leader to choose the successor will be stripped away. People will continue to be selected from the old employees. Xiao Yun will never tolerate the situation of laymen commanding experts. No matter in the last life or this life, he is annoyed by "airborne factions"... (Black-faced Chief & Gwendolyn)
Chief Arthur was originally the person in charge when Sal was transferred to the MSG factory. He had experienced this process and nodded in agreement: "Okay."
After Chief Arthur went through the process of the "Cat Farm Production Base Proposal Plan" at the work meeting, the relevant departments began to take action.
A Yue's Second Engineering Team had just completed the tribal expansion work for this quarter and immediately set out to the farm's reserved site for site selection and construction; as the two main engineering teams in infrastructure construction, they all had "public funds" and did not have to worry about revenue issues, as long as they completed the goals set at the work meeting.
At the same time, Yu called out Xiaohua's name in the team of warriors and asked Xiaohua to lead a team of warriors to accompany Chief Arthur to the Sunny Sky Tribe, which had the greatest potential for cooperation, for contact and negotiation. In another month or two, the Cat Tribe would come to trade one after another. In order to increase the success rate of the negotiations, it was naturally necessary to first open a breakthrough from within the "enemy" and pull a comrade to their side in advance.
Chief Arthur had led a cat tribe. Although her tribe was quite small, with only about 200 cats of all sizes, at least she knew what the chief of the cat tribe was worried about and what moved them easily. She rode on Xiaohua's back for two days, traveling by dawn and by night, and arrived at the Sunny Sky Tribe, with whom she had established a certain friendship. After meeting the chief of the Sunny Sky Tribe, she went straight to the point after exchanging pleasantries: "Chief Sunny Sky, are you willing to let some of your people suffer a little so that the others can earn abundant food?"
The Sunny Sky Tribe is located on the hillside of a circular mountain range. The location is somewhat similar to that of the former Li Tribe. The advantage over the Li Tribe is that their cattle and sheep can be driven into the valley surrounded by the mountains to spend the night. The valley, like a natural sheepfold, avoids a lot of trouble from being attacked by wild beasts.
"What do you mean?"
Chief Sunny Sky is a golden cat, which is relatively rare in the cat tribe where leopards (except cheetahs) are usually the chiefs. But it would not be strange if you knew Chief Sunny Sky's age... This golden cat with round ears is over eighty years old, but he doesn't look old at all, and is no different from an ordinary adult cat.
"The Fire Tribe doesn't have enough sweet potatoes." Chief Arthur said directly, "The thousand kilograms of vermicelli you exchanged for last year were made of sweet potatoes. The vermicelli made by the Fire Tribe is sold to the dungeon, the Elf Forest, and even to the Human Kingdom across the Inland Sea. The Fire Tribe can't grow enough sweet potatoes, and I thought that the production of wool is fixed, and you can't get enough spices by exchanging vermicelli, so why don't you just grow some sweet potatoes and exchange them for vermicelli from the Fire Tribe, then there will be no conflict."
Chief Qingtian was somewhat tempted. During the trade last year, he found that the Fire Tribe was not only willing to exchange spices for raw wool, so he tried to exchange some vermicelli and dried vegetables. These vermicelli kept the tribe members from starving throughout the winter. But after thinking about it, he shook his head and said cautiously: "We don't know how to grow crops."
The fact that he didn't know how to plant crops, instead of using the excuse that his tribesmen were unwilling to plant crops and only willing to graze, clearly showed the attitude of Chief Qingtian. Chief Arthur smiled and said, "To the east of the Fire Tribe, there is a plain suitable for farming above the tidal flats that takes about half a day to walk. The Fire Tribe doesn't have the manpower to cultivate that land, but what if your tribesmen go there to cultivate it? The Fire Tribe will send people to build a place for you to live and teach you how to cultivate the land. Sixty percent of the sweet potatoes you grow will belong to you, and you can bring them back in the form of vermicelli, which is much more than what you can earn from working hard to save wool for a year."
"This..." Chief Qingtian frowned. If Chief Arthur had proposed to take his people to the Fire Tribe, he would have refused without hesitation. Now, although he still felt uneasy about Chief Arthur 's proposal, he was reluctant to refuse it...
His tribe did have enough manpower. After years of peaceful living, the tribe's population had grown to about 400 people. There was not enough space for grazing and hunting. Big cats could always be seen lazily basking in the sun in the tribe. It seemed like a good idea to let these tribesmen go out to work and bring back food.
Chief Arthur knew that he was a little tempted, so he continued to persuade him, "Not only can we grow sweet potatoes, but also grass for feeding cattle and sheep, spices and vegetables that can adapt to the climate of the grassland. Your people can grow whatever they want, and 60% of the output will still belong to you, and you can bring it back."
Chief Qingtian was obviously moved. After struggling for a while, he still didn't agree outright: "That's what you say, but our people don't know how to farm. If we can't grow crops... what do we do?"
Chief Arthur laughed: "The Snow Wolf Tribe can grow food, so how can our Cat Tribe not grow food? Apart from other things, we are much better at herding than them. What we lack is just experience. The Snow Wolf Tribe will send people to teach us in this regard. There is nothing to worry about."
Chief Sunny thought about it and realized that it was true. The cattle and sheep raised by their tribe were much better than those of the Chestnut tribe that originally lived nearby. He couldn't help but laugh: "Thank you for considering our tribe so much, Arthur, but I can't give you an answer right now. I have to discuss it with the warriors."
"It's what we should do." Patriarch Arthur nodded.
Chief Sunny let Chief Arthur do what he wanted, and he left the tent in high spirits to look for the soldiers on patrol in the valley. Seeing his gleaming eyes, Chief Arthur felt that the matter was at least half done...
Accustomed to living in spacious dormitories, Chief Arthur was no longer used to the cramped tents. She stretched out of the tent and looked around at the situation in the Sunny Sky Tribe. Chief Arthur felt even more uncomfortable - broad daylight was a good time to work, and the Snow Wolf warriors who sent her here had all gone to the foot of the mountain for training, but in the Sunny Sky Tribe, there were big cats lying here and there lazily taking naps.
"Too lax!" Chief Arthur couldn't help but mutter. If such a situation happened in the Fire Tribe, every one of them would be tortured to death by Ayun.
That night, the tribal meeting of the Sunny Sky Tribe lasted until late at night.
The warriors of the Sunny Sky Tribe didn't have much of an objection to whether to go or not. After all, their tribe was relatively close to the Fire and Flame Tribe. In recent years, every time they went to the Fire and Flame Tribe to do business, they were always envious of their fellow tribesmen who were well-fed and well-maintained by the Snow Wolf Tribe... ahem.
But the cats are conflicted about who should go...all want to go, andall don't want to go; why are they so divided? The former yearn for the treatment they receive from the Fire Tribe, while the latter are because of the cats' instinctive rejection and distrust of outsiders - unless they are forced into a desperate situation, it is difficult for cats to accept living with outsiders.
Although Chief Arthur promised that only a small number of Snow Wolves would appear in the "Cat Farm" as "agricultural technical guides", the cats would be unhappy to see foreigners wandering around in their "territory" all day long...
To put it bluntly, cats are territorial and arrogant.
Chief Arthur sat by and listened calmly throughout the whole process. To her, as long as someone went, it was fine. After all, once they went, they couldn't escape...
Ten days later, accompanied by Chief Arthur, Chief Sunny Sky brought a hundred big cats to the construction site of the Fire Tribe's "Cat Farm" - that's right, Chief Sunny Sky, who was always worried, left the tribe to the care of the warriors who were watching over the house and came here in person.
A Yue had warned them in advance to keep a "safe distance" from the cats and not to treat them as casually as they did with the snakes. When she saw the cats coming, she did not step forward to negotiate, but instead sent out the big cats from the second engineering team... Several of Chief Arthur's tribesmen also joined the engineering team, doing work like surveying, mapping and planning. Considering the cats' acceptance, A Yue specially brought these big cats out this time.
The big cat of the construction team exchanged pleasantries with the chief of the Sunny Sky tribe, and did not take them to the construction site where the Snow Wolf people were working. Instead, he pointed over there from a distance and introduced: "Each tribe lives in one place. The area where the wall is being built now is where your tribe lives. After the Snow Wolf people have laid the foundation, made the kang, and built the walls, they will move to another place to start the work. The rest of the work, such as installing doors and windows, painting the walls, paving the floor, sealing the roof and laying tiles, will be done by ourselves. The wide and long one is the living room, the square one is the bathing place, the shorter shed at the back is for excretion, and the cement platform next to it is a washbasin for washing. The sewage should be discharged into the drain, which is the place with the iron frame..."
Chief Sunny Sky and the warriors in his tribe nodded as they listened, their eyes narrowed. The Cat Tribe liked cleanliness and neatness, and the Snow Wolf Tribe was quite considerate of them in this regard.
"For food, we will build a canteen in the middle of several residential areas. Look, that piece of open space is where we plan to build the canteen. The Fire Tribe will send people to manage this, so don't worry." The big cat from the engineering team introduced the construction of the farm living area, turned around and pointed to the vast wasteland not far away, "This piece of land is reserved for your Sunny Sky Tribe to reclaim land. Now that the weather is warm, we suggest that you quickly open up the land and plant sweet potatoes first, and dig drainage and irrigation canals from the riverside... The triangular plow for turning the soil has been delivered, and two of us cats can pull it together. If there is no problem, follow our engineering team to have a meal later and then start reclaiming the land."
The big cats were still looking around curiously, trying to familiarize themselves with the new environment. When they heard this, Chief Sunny Sky was quite surprised: "So urgent?"
The big cat from the engineering team nodded as a matter of course: "It's past spring plowing, so we can open up wasteland now in time for summer sowing. The yield from wasteland opened up in the first year will be relatively poor, and it needs to be cultivated before it can become cultivated land. Let's plant sweet potato vines now and give the sweet potatoes more growing period, so that the harvest in autumn will be better."
Chief Sunny Day: "..."
When facing Chief Arthur, Chief Sunny Sky didn't feel anything. He had only been dealing with the big cats in the engineering team for a short time, but he felt like something was wrong.
