Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming-Chapter 171 - 124: A Difficult Birth

’Whatever, who cares?’ Shalv shook his head, his blue-gray vertical pupils growing cold and distant again.

’Anyway, I’m not going to stay in this tribe for long. As soon as my injuries heal, I’ll leave immediately.’

Shalv transformed back into a fierce and terrifying Tiger Shark, slowly sinking beneath the water until he vanished without a trace.

Shimmering moonlight reflected on the deep blue surface of the water, where large and small shards of broken ice floated. A thick, bloody scent drifted up from below.

This was the hunting ground of the Water Beastmen.

They couldn’t stomach food from the land, even throwing up the goat’s milk the tribe provided. As a result, these Water Beastmen had scoured the entire river for food, taking it as their own supply.

Of course, the Beastmen possessed a deeply ingrained sense of conservation. They released all the small fish and shrimp, eating only the large, old, and slow-moving ones.

But even so, with the tribe’s population having surged dramatically, the food in the storehouses was rapidly dwindling.

Prey became scarce during the Great Cold Season. In the vast, white expanse of snow, one could go half a day without spotting a single creature.

Ling Hong could hunt for an entire day and only manage to catch two large beasts that were nothing but skin and bones—so tough they made his teeth ache just to chew them.

The river had been picked clean of fish and shrimp.

Only a few of the tribe’s penned rams remained, the rest having been slaughtered. Fewer than ten ewes had to be spared to produce milk for the females and Beastman cubs.

And the fewer than twenty lambs were to be raised, as eating them now would yield only a few mouthfuls of meat and wouldn’t be filling.

The Wild Grass Birds didn’t lay eggs during the Great Cold Season, so the Beastmen had roasted and eaten almost all of them.

Some of the tribe’s Old Beastmen were no longer receiving food rations, while the young Beastmen and females only had enough to be half-full. If they didn’t find an alternative food source soon, they would face a great famine, just like the surrounding tribes.

What could be done?

An Jin gathered the tribe members in the square and proposed, "We haven’t touched the tribe’s sweet potatoes yet. From now on, we’ll eat those."

"We’re supposed to eat those plant roots?"

A Beastman asked doubtfully, "Clan Leader, have you forgotten? Most of us are carnivores!"

"Eating a few plants as an occasional treat is one thing, but making us eat sweet potatoes for half the winter? That’s just torture."

"These plant tubers might be everywhere, but they’re disgusting to eat. They’re bitter and astringent. Many of the females and cubs get stomachaches if they eat too many. They might be poisonous!"

They had originally thought that when An Jin was collecting and planting these large tubers before the year’s end, it was for next year’s sowing. They thought she might grow delicious plants like wheat or corn.

They never imagined she actually intended for them to gnaw on them during a famine!

"Sweet potatoes aren’t poisonous, and they’re delicious," An Jin said confidently.

She often roasted them at home. Even Ling Hong, a carnivorous Beastman, would have one or two when he got tired of meat and thought they tasted great.

"But the females getting stomachaches is a real thing. Many of the females and cubs have experienced it."

A few females in the crowd nodded fearfully, shrinking into their partners’ arms with looks of strong resistance.

They had no desire to eat those disgusting plant tubers and suffer for it.

An Jin thought for a moment, and realization dawned on her. "You haven’t been eating them raw with the skin still on, have you?"

A Beastman scratched his head sheepishly. "Everyone has always eaten these plant tubers raw..."

"Don’t worry, Clan Leader! We wash all the dirt off and peel the skin. We won’t get any parasite sickness!"

"This has nothing to do with the parasite sickness from before."

An Jin rubbed her temples, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She didn’t bother trying to explain to the Beastmen that uncooked starch can cause excessive secretion of stomach acid.

So, she simply glossed over the details. "These sweet potatoes need to be cooked. If you eat them raw, you’ll get indigestion, and that’s why you’re getting stomachaches."

Ling Hong also nodded. His gaze swept over the restless crowd of Beastmen, and his deep, compelling voice carried a great deal of conviction. "The Clan Leader and I often eat them roasted and have never experienced any discomfort."

He licked his lips as if savoring the memory. "They really are delicious, sweet as candy. You can try it for yourselves at home."

With their leader having spoken, the Wolf Beasts naturally followed his lead. They immediately gathered armfuls of dry firewood, started a fire in a cleared-out spot, and tossed over a hundred sweet potatoes into the blaze. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

After roasting for just half an hour, a sweet aroma filled the air. The cold and hungry Beastmen couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Without a second thought, the Beastmen rushed to the smoldering embers of the fire. They scrambled to pull out two or three sweet potatoes each and, after peeling off only half the skin, impatiently took huge bites.

Their eyes lit up.

"AWOO~!" The taste was truly incredible. Cooked sweet potatoes were sweet and tender, completely different from eating them raw.

They were also incredibly filling. Eating a dozen or so felt like eating half a wild boar.

And the tribe’s two large storehouses were piled with thousands of pounds of sweet potatoes!

If they continued to take turns hunting and made do, no one would starve to death during this Great Cold Season.

The Beastmen were officially won over by the sweet, roasted sweet potatoes.

The females were even more delighted with the sweet potatoes than the carnivorous males. Many of the males even began discussing roasting techniques with each other, trying to figure out how to cook them perfectly without undercooking or burning them.

It gradually became a new trend for winning a female’s affection.

"AHH, it hurts so much—!"

Before dawn, just as the sky began to lighten, a scream erupted outside.

An Jin was startled awake. She quickly wrapped herself in a thick animal hide and ran toward Gou Ni’s cabin, braving the swirling snow and biting wind.

When she arrived, she found Chi Li and several other Beastmen already gathered around. Hu Che and Hei Xuan, meanwhile, stood frozen at the door like a pair of wooden statues.

They were all drenched in sweat.

Hearing the familiar footsteps, Chi Li glanced back at the worried An Jin standing in the doorway. His long red eyebrows furrowed. "She’s about to give birth, and it’s not looking good. The baby is in distress."

’Is Gou Ni having a difficult birth?’

An Jin was horrified. Gou Ni’s two partners turned deathly pale, their lips trembling as they staggered back several steps.