Orc Girl's Tribal Daily Life

Chapter 197 Strolling

Half a day passed, and many people came and went before the telescope conference finally came to a complete end.

At noon, Ge, who came to pick up Jiang Luoluo to go home for lunch, joined Shou as a porter, helping to deliver most of the transparent stones from Qing's place to Heng's house.

Meanwhile, the twins in Heng's house, whom Heng had asked a neighbor to look after before leaving, were now being complained about by the neighbor, who was treating them like chicks, recounting the many "incidents" the twins had done in just one morning.

Just as Jiang Luoluo, Ge, Shou, and the others stepped out of Heng's house, the twin brothers' duet of cries rang out behind them.

Looking at the "well-behaved" cub in front of him, Ge couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Fortunately, his own cub was so well-behaved and obedient, unlike those twin brothers who liked to cause trouble.

Shou also showed a conflicted expression. His and Yuan's child... it would be better if he were as smart as Luo!

"Luo, what are we going to do this afternoon?" Ge and Shou asked at the same time.

Meeting Ge's slightly hostile gaze, Shou took a step back and relinquished the right to speak to Ge.

Well, after all, it's someone else's cub, and I can't take it out to play with all the time. I still have to have one myself. But when I thought of the duet still echoing behind me, Shou hesitated a bit.

Could he really give birth to such an obedient child as Luo, instead of the kind behind him?

Realizing that his interaction with the cub was limited to mealtimes and bedtimes, Go immediately sensed something was wrong. Coupled with the upcoming large-scale hunt in a few days, Go decided that no matter what, he must spend the next few days with Luo.

We can't let anyone else steal Luo's attention.

Jiang Luoluo glanced back and noticed the movement between Ge and Shou. After thinking for a moment, she understood the interaction between the two.

With a smile on her face, Jiang Luoluo affectionately grabbed Ge's arm and replied, "I still need to go to Fish Cave this afternoon. I have something to say to Little Fish King Biao."

At the same time, he turned around, winked at Shou, and waved.

Upon receiving the signal, Shou stopped, slightly unaccustomed to the situation, and watched the cub and Ge walk away before turning in another direction.

Okay, so I can't play with the cubs anymore.

Jiang Luoluo always knew that, compared to herself, Ge was the one who couldn't live without her.

Because of her existence, to a large extent, she has become a pillar of stability for Ge's heart. Without her, Ge's psychological defenses might have completely collapsed, and he would have become a different person.

They might even do something completely unpredictable.

One reason for reducing the time spent with Ge was that he didn't want to affect Ge's growth and wanted to give Ge more time for training and learning.

But more than anything, he wanted to subtly get Ge used to living without Jiang Luoluo, and reduce the proportion of Jiang Luoluo in Ge's heart.

Jiang Luoluo did not want to be the "only" reason for Ge's existence, nor did she want Ge to become a "puppet" completely controlled by her.

Jiang Luoluo didn't think she could help Ge completely get rid of the impact of that accident, but at least she hoped that after enduring the pain, Ge could also face his future life.

Instead of dwelling on past memories.

……

"Luo?" Little Fish King Biao looked a little surprised when he saw Jiang Luoluo.

This wasn't the time he expected Jiang Luoluo to contact him, but then he thought it might be because she had something he didn't know about that she wanted to talk to him, so he quickly regained his original expression.

Following behind Jiang Luoluo, Ge looked at the drastically changed environment around Fish Cave. Thinking that these changes were all brought about by Jiang Luoluo, his expression softened even more.

Jiang Luoluo smiled and waved to Xiaoyuwangbiao. When Xiaoyuwangbiao came in front of her, she told him everything.

The main reason for coming to find Little Fish King Biao was the "preliminary processing" of the transparent stone. He learned that Jiang Luoluo was going to pay him for the transparent stone that he and the others had brought from the crack in the river cliff.

Little Fish King's first reaction was to refuse.

Jiang Luoluo had anticipated this, and calmly explained that the welfare work specially reserved for the children of Yuerdong was actually a "request" for help because the children were working too hard to make transparent lenses.

Sure enough, this prevented Little Fish King from uttering any more words of refusal.

He can refuse others' help and kindness, but he can't refuse others' "requests" to him.

Even if you realize later that you actually got the better deal again, you can't go back on your promise.

It only took a short while to discuss all of this with Little Fish King Biao.

The rest was that Little Fish King Biao selected a few other children from the Fish Cave who might have a little talent for stone tool making, and they went with him to find Qing to learn simple "transparent stone polishing" techniques.

It's impossible to simply assign the work to them and let this group of kids, the oldest of whom are teenagers, do it.

No matter what job you do, you definitely need a period of "training" to become familiar with the work process.

With nothing to worry about for the time being, Jiang Luoluo took Ge and began to wander aimlessly through the tribe.

"Lo, what are we going to do?" Go asked, somewhat unaccustomed to the situation.

At least before, there was always a reason, and you knew what you were going to do.

Like this, without any goals, just walking around with the cubs... doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Go realized that he seemed to be pursuing too many specific goals.

Knowing what you're going to do is the only way to do it with peace of mind... otherwise you'll feel uneasy and anxious.

But seeing the cubs moving freely ahead, even though he didn't know what they were going to do, Go felt at ease. And in that sense of peace, Go finally raised his head and looked at the tribe he had grown up in from a different perspective.

Jiang Luoluo simply took Ge around to relax and also to supplement her understanding of the tribe.

For so long, her understanding of the tribe was limited to a few specific places and locations; she knew little about other areas.

As the weather gets colder, the snow season is just around the corner.

According to Ge, it becomes inconvenient to go out after the snow season begins. Children like Jiang Luoluo can only stay in their own cave until the snow season ends.

Jiang Luoluo had always wanted to find an opportunity to explore Yinfeng Mountain properly, and coincidentally, she suddenly had nothing to do and Ge happened to be by her side.

Indeed, most things that happen in this world are just "whims."

There's no need for any specific purpose; she simply wants to do something. For example, Jiang Luoluo is getting to know this tribe and also the world.

……

In front of the entrance to Fish Cave, a large open space has been cleared out, and a simple fence has been made of wooden branches and plant vines around it.

It offers little protection against wild animals, but it does effectively deter some mischievous children from sneaking into the bushes.

Perhaps because this area at the foot of the mountain is so close to the river and has plenty of moisture, the vegetation is much denser than at the top. Once a child crawls in, they are almost invisible.

Many half-finished fishing lines were laid out on the open ground. The children, around ten years old, worked diligently and conscientiously, turning the fishing lines in different positions every now and then, as required.

The old clothes he wore, discarded by other tribesmen, were altered by the older members of the tribe to fit him properly.

Perhaps it was because the weather was quite cold; even though the sun was shining brightly, the occasional breeze carried a chill.

So in a cleared open space, there was a bonfire burning, with a broken stone pot on top, simmering with steaming soft-shelled turtle soup.

If you get cold or hungry, you can come over and get some food while warming yourself by the fire.

Further away, along the riverbank, several figures carrying water fish were walking towards the Fish Cave.

It's clear that this was another big gain.

Leaving the children's voices behind, Jiang Luoluo and Ge climbed up the main path.

This is the level above Fish Cave, with a large number of dense caves. However, no tribespeople live here; they are all empty. Some of them have even collapsed to varying degrees at the entrance due to long-term neglect.

Jiang Luoluo curiously walked to the cave that looked the best and cleanest and looked inside.

The stone bed that people used to sleep on was broken into pieces of different sizes, and the stone water tank used to hold water was also cracked and could no longer bear the heavy task of holding water.

The traces of fire were still clearly visible on the ground in the middle, and some pieces of wood that hadn't been taken away but weren't rotten were scattered messily on the ground in the corner.

Jiang Luoluo intended to glance at it and then look away, but her gaze fell on the marks on the wall.

It could be a child's doodle or an adult's engraving, proving that someone once lived here hundreds of years ago.

Further up, most of the caves are like this, but the traces are newer than those in the caves at the bottom, suggesting that they may have been inhabited by tribespeople decades ago.

After walking uphill for a while, we finally reached the area where the tribe lived. The number of empty caves decreased, and traces of the tribe's life began to increase.

The paths to Da Shi Shan and Xiao Shi Shan also diverge here.

Jiang Luoluo had been to Little Stone Mountain many times and was no longer curious about it. She had also been to Big Stone Mountain once during the last hunt, so she didn't go to either of those places. Instead, she took Ge and continued upwards.

A little further up is the area of ​​the cave where Jiang Luoluo and Ge live.

Jiang Luoluo hadn't paid much attention before, but now she realized that most of the people living here were actually "single-parent families".

For example, Mao and Ke, and Jiang Luoluo and Ge.

Or even just an ordinary family member who is the only one left in the family, and who has not yet reached retirement age.

Further up, there are the relatively intact ordinary families living in caves, and the voices of children gradually become more frequent.

The road also forked, leading to different paths.

The small paths leading to the retirement area for the elderly and the small paths leading to the living area for the disabled.

Jiang Luoluo had already visited the elders of the clan several times, so there was no need to go again.

As for the disabled people... Jiang Luoluo didn't want to treat them like tourists, observing them as some kind of "tourist attraction" out of her own curiosity.

So let's continue upwards.

From here on, the number of caves decreased, or rather, they gradually disappeared. Instead, various wooden houses appeared frequently in front of Jiang Luoluo's eyes.

Incidentally, the place where Yuan lives is actually on this floor, but it is located in a direction that is not suitable for building wooden houses, so most of the houses are still caves, and the inhabitants are all unmarried, but relatively powerful, single, and reclusive tribesmen.

The siblings Li and You, whom Jiang Luoluo knew, also lived here. Mao's wooden house before he moved was also here, and you can still see the ruins of his house now.

The contents inside were cleaned up several times later. The rotten and broken wood was also collected by the neighbors after the rainy season and used as firewood.

Only a rough trace remains, still in the same place, looking somewhat empty.

Jiang Luoluo quickly withdrew her gaze and continued upwards. This location was relatively unfamiliar; it was the residence of the middle and upper-class families in the tribe.

Although not entirely true, most of the families living here are the backbone of the tribe, possessing outstanding strength and shouldering the most important responsibilities.

They are also the group of people who best represent the strength and status of the tribe.

Jiang Luoluo withdrew her gaze from those harmonious and happy families, took Ge's arm, and walked upstairs.

At the same time, He Ge stopped in his tracks.

Ahead of them, a group of tribesmen were building a wooden house on a pile of ruins.

Even though it was only on the edge, Jiang Luoluo still remembered the towering flames she saw when she first woke up.

That was her and Ge's... former home.

To be specific, the ruins that were burned to the ground were actually located directly above the Great Stone Mountain, and there was a path leading directly to the Great Stone Mountain.

Although the main road is the primary route through the tribe, the mountain itself is structured in all directions, so there can't be only one road for passage.

Even if there is no road, the tribespeople will spontaneously create different paths for the sake of laziness or other reasons.

In addition, most of the tribespeople living here are key members of hunting teams or other groups, and they are the tribespeople who train the most on the big rock mountain.

Having such a small path that can quickly reach the Big Rock Mountain is much more convenient for them.

So even after such a serious accident, a few months later, this ruin still welcomed new residents.

The dead will eventually make way for the living.

"...Should we go take a look, Luo?" Go's voice was inexplicably hoarse.