Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming-Chapter 108 - 100: Traitor?

"Waaah~"

Xi threw himself into An Jin’s arms and sobbed, "Ah Jin, you have to teach that Snake Beast a lesson! He’s so awful!"

The Little Merfolk looked like he was about to burst into tears. His moist, azure vertical pupils were pitiful and aggrieved, and the sight of his flushed, red-rimmed eyes was enough to make anyone’s heart ache.

"He was trying to kill me and the Wolf Beast!"

"Even if we were in the wrong and accidentally provoked him, he can’t just start a fight right in front of you, Ah Jin!"

"He doesn’t respect you at all!"

The Little Merfolk’s voice trembled slightly. He sounded more and more aggrieved, his words catching in his throat, until he finally let out a delicate, tearful hiccup.

"You..." Ling Hong, who was standing beside them, shot him a hesitant look. He opened his mouth to speak, his expression strange.

’I’ve never seen this fish act so delicate before.’

’Something felt off, but since the two of them were on the same side, Ling Hong ultimately kept his mouth shut, tacitly accepting the narrative of the Snake Beast’s heinous transgression against them.’

Xi grew more animated as he spoke. He picked up two pottery shards from the ground and presented them sorrowfully to An Jin, his face a mask of shared, tragic indignation. "Ah Jin, look! You worked so hard to make these, and now they’re broken! It’s all because of that Snake Beast!"

"..." An Jin rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a wave of exhaustion. The scene inexplicably reminded her of the grand spectacle of an Emperor’s consorts all vying for his favor, and she was instantly mortified.

’It must be my imagination.’

"We’ll deal with it when he gets back. Right now, let’s hurry and tidy up the house."

An Jin flicked Xi’s forehead. She was kicking pots and jars with every step, which was incredibly frustrating. Squatting down, she beckoned the other two to help her clean. "If we don’t tidy up now, there won’t be any room to move."

"...Fine." Xi could tell Ah Jin was still siding with that snake, and his heart sank as if doused with cold water.

The three of them cleaned the house. After dinner, the sky had grown completely dark, but Gu Yin still hadn’t returned.

For half a month straight, there was no word from him.

An Jin wasn’t worried in the slightest.

As a Wandering Beast, Gu Yin was naturally free-spirited and hated being tied down. He often liked to run off and disappear for a couple of days, and he was so powerful that he rarely met an opponent who could match him.

"Clan Leader, we’ve unraveled the silk from all the cocoons! We’re ready for the next step!" a few Beastmen called out, rushing into the room. Through constant exposure, they too had learned the word "cocoon."

"Take me to the workshop."

An Jin nodded, a sense of joy blooming in her heart. She rose, setting aside the half-woven bamboo basket she was working on, and followed the Beastmen to the crowded, stuffy workshop.

The people had already processed the cocoons into long, fine strands of white silk. They gazed up at the confident and gentle female before them, their eyes shining with anticipation as they waited for her next command.

"CLAP, CLAP." An Jin clapped her hands to gather the sweat-drenched crowd. "Thank you for your hard work. You’ve all done an outstanding job. During the tribe’s next supply distribution, you can all take an extra half-share."

The people’s faces lit up with excitement, touched and proud.

"It’s just what we’re supposed to do! The females have all been so motivated lately, so of course we males have to work even harder!" one of them said, stepping forward with a chuckle and scratching his head.

An Jin then assigned a group of the most industrious Beastmen to go to a nearby mountain and chop enough wood to fill half the room.

’Just having thread isn’t enough. It has to be woven into cloth, and only with soft fabric can you make clothes.’

’Yes! The very first loom in the Beast World will originate from her tribe!’

The primitive wooden loom, an embodiment of thousands of years of Huaxia’s culture and wisdom, had a design that wasn’t exactly simple, but not impossibly difficult either.

Unfortunately, everyone has their own specialty. An Jin’s careers, both in this life and her last, had not been in this field, so she lacked the specialized knowledge. Expecting her to conjure a loom out of thin air was indeed asking too much.

Thankfully, after the System Mall upgraded to Intermediate, it now contained thousands of different tool blueprints and materials. The variety of goods was dazzling.

Among them were the [loom design drawings], priced at 403 Gold Coins.

[Ding—403 Gold Coins deducted! We wish you a pleasant shopping experience! Please come again!]

An Jin’s account balance was instantly back in the single digits.

’Her heart ached all over again.’

Now that she had the blueprints, actually building the loom required precise measuring tools. Otherwise, the machine would be lopsided. Forget weaving—it might not even be able to stand on its own.

An Jin bought a ruler from the System Mall, found a clean, smooth plank of wood, and used a charcoal stick to mark it into ten equal sections. From this, she created several one-meter rulers and distributed them to the Beastmen.

She also introduced the Beastmen to the concept of a unit of measurement, the "meter," as well as the basic concept of the numbers "0" through "10."

The Beastmen only half-understood, which was to be expected. After all, absorbing a completely new concept out of thin air would be difficult for any ordinary person who wasn’t exceptionally clever.

But at least they were serious and tried their best to remember that one ruler board was "one meter," and that it was divided into ten equal parts. One small part was a "little-one meter," and two small parts were "little-two meters."

With a standardized unit of measurement, a concept of numbers, and all the necessary blueprints, materials, and tools prepared, the mass production of looms began in the tribe’s workshop, continuing day and night...

CREAK~ CREAK.

During this period, the tribe was filled with the ceaseless sound of weaving, day and night.

The work of weaving was tedious yet simple, so most of it was taken on by the females who were usually idle at home. The females were very happy about this, suddenly feeling that their lives were full of purpose and hope.

A purpose beyond just mating, bearing cubs, and raising children!

’An Jin didn’t expect the fabric to have any overly complex patterns. That would be too much trouble. Forget about whether the Beastmen could learn it—even she couldn’t master such an exquisite, ancient art without several years of practice.’

’As long as the fabric was comfortable and soft, in the primitive Beast World, it would already be a priceless treasure.’

’She couldn’t say for sure if she could popularize it across the entire Beast World and get every Beastman to accept this novelty, but An Jin could guarantee one thing—the noble Beastmen would be scrambling over each other to buy it.’

In just half a month, the Beastmen had already woven dozens of bolts of exquisite fabric of varying lengths, and the number was still growing by the day.

An Jin also found a *Water Giant Worm Feeding Manual* in the System Mall. The price wasn’t high, so she bought it on a whim.

She opened it to take a look.

Inside, it explained in detail how different types of feed could make the Water Giant Worms produce silk of varying colors and tenacities. An Jin planned to try it out next year when raising the new generation of silkworm babies.

"Ah Jin, there’s something... I don’t know if I should say it..." Gou Ni sidled up to An Jin hesitantly, her voice trailing off as her face flushed a deep red.

Having spent a lot of time with her, An Jin knew Gou Ni had a simple personality and wasn’t the type to gossip behind people’s backs.

"What is it?"

An Jin stopped what she was doing. Gou Ni leaned in even closer and lowered her voice. "There’s a Beastman in our tribe named She Nuo. Do you remember him?"

"I remember him. He came over with the others from the Luoten Tribe," An Jin said.

She had an excellent memory and could clearly recall the origins of every Beastman in the tribe and the relationships between all the households.

"Yes, yes, that’s him!"

Gou Ni stood up, filled with righteous indignation. Her face was bright red, but she kept her voice low. "You know my Hei Xuan is on the reconnaissance team, right? For the past few days, he’s been seeing that She Nuo sneaking around the outskirts of the tribe!"

"It’s not even a designated hunting time, but he’s always heading out. And he goes in the direction of the Luoten Tribe..."

Gou Ni didn’t dare say the rest, but An Jin already understood what she was implying.

"I’ll have a few Beastmen keep a closer eye on him for the next few days. Have your Hei Xuan and his reconnaissance team tighten their patrols as well," An Jin said, her brow furrowed.

"Mhm, mhm!" Gou Ni nodded, her expression grim.

As luck would have it, the very next day, An Jin was gathering plants around the tribe to make feed for the next generation of silkworm babies when she happened to see a Beastman walking toward her.

’The timing was so perfect, she almost thought he’d been waiting there for her.’

"Lady An Jin, let me help you gather those!"

The approaching Beastman was young and handsome, with what seemed to be an extremely sunny and cheerful personality. He had rugged, bronze-colored skin, and the lines of his muscles were sleek and powerful.

’A standard, factory-produced male specimen from the Beast World.’

She commented silently to herself.

The Beastman blushed as he looked at An Jin, scratching his head. His simple-minded act made him seem all the more honest and loyal.

An Jin’s eyes narrowed for a moment before she broke into a smile. Handing him the basket, her lips curved into a gentle, sweet arc. "Perfect, I was getting a little tired. You can help me gather some plants. Thank you for the trouble."

’What a coincidence, indeed.’

’She Nuo had served himself up on a silver platter.’

Seeing the female’s beautiful smile, She Nuo faltered for a second. A dark glint flashed in his eyes, but it vanished in an instant as he quickly resumed his honest and simple-minded facade.

The two of them gathered a full basket of plants together, working until the sun set and dusk began to fall.

She Nuo escorted her back to the tribe.

"Lady An Jin, you’re incredible! To think you can make so many amazing things!" She Nuo did not stop praising her the entire way back, his every word full of admiration.

An Jin listened to his endless flattery, feeling completely unmoved, but she kept a gentle smile on her lips.

She Nuo diligently carried her basket for her, thinking he was scoring major points with the female.

"Is the fabric our tribe is making going to be used for trade?" he asked, slowing his pace and looking at An Jin with a curious expression.

An Jin met his gaze, her lips curving slightly. She answered without hedging, "Yes. This fabric can be made into soft, comfortable clothing to replace the animal hides we wear."

"The Beastmen in the large cities should like such a novelty, so we can use it to sell the fabric and trade for valuable supplies..."

As An Jin spoke, She Nuo nodded along in agreement, surreptitiously committing her every word to memory.

「The sky gradually darkened.」

The two returned to the tribe. As they parted ways, An Jin gave him some food as payment for his help.

"Thank you for the gift, my lady!" She Nuo’s eyes crinkled into a smile. He subconsciously scratched the back of his head, appearing somewhat bashful and shy.

After the two went their separate ways, She Nuo’s sunny, harmless expression vanished in an instant. His eyes took on a cunning, shadowy glint, and his lips twisted into a sinister sneer.

He turned, shifted into his beast form, and ran out of the tribe. His figure disappeared into the jungle, heading straight for the Luoten Tribe.

"SCREE—" Several Black Eagles circled high above. From thousands of meters up, their sharp eyes could clearly track the Beastman’s movements below.

After seeing him enter the territory of the Luoten Tribe, the Black Eagles turned back and returned to their own tribe to report everything to An Jin.