Chapter 298: A Race Against Time

Chapter 298: Chapter 298: A Race Against Time

"Yes, the Young Clan Leader has been leading the Yellow Rank Beastmen to ambush the Bear Clan Beastmen specifically. Their clan has already lost a considerable amount of combat strength."

Xin Feng’s voice held a hint of pleasure.

Bai Wanwan was taken aback. "Isn’t that the same as declaring war on the Bear Clan? Why haven’t they attacked the Golden Lion Tribe directly?"

"Not yet."

Xin Feng seemed to think of something, and a layer of worry clouded his gentle eyes. "But I’m afraid this snow season won’t be peaceful. The Bear Clan will definitely retaliate."

The Bear Clan and the Golden Lion Clan had already completely torn away all pretense of peace. First, they obstructed the tribe from stockpiling food for the winter, which was clearly just the beginning.

Now, in the face of the Golden Lion Clan’s counterattack, the Bear Clan had gone quiet.

Something was clearly wrong. They were likely plotting something much bigger.

Seeing Bai Wanwan fall silent, Xin Feng thought she was scared and immediately enveloped her cool fingers with his large, warm hand.

"Don’t worry, the Golden Lion Clan and the Bear Clan are evenly matched. Jin Cang Clan Leader is very experienced; he’ll definitely make thorough preparations."

"Yeah, it’s no use for me to worry about it."

Bai Wanwan forced a smile. "The most I can do is figure out how to keep everyone from going hungry."

As they spoke, the two arrived in front of the field.

Lush green stems and leaves covered the ground, swaying in the gentle breeze.

’The potatoes must have been planted successfully and entered their growth period, right?’ The sight brought a flicker of joy to Bai Wanwan’s heart.

But she still didn’t dare to let her guard down, as this was directly related to the major issue of whether the tribe would face a famine.

She squatted down, picked up a flat piece of stone, and carefully pushed aside the soil.

When she saw the plum-sized potatoes hidden in the dirt, joy instantly bloomed in her eyes.

"It’s a success!" She looked up at Xin Feng and smiled.

Xin Feng reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair from her cheek behind her ear.

A relieved smile also appeared on his face. "Feeling better now?"

Beaming with joy, Bai Wanwan nodded emphatically. "Mhm, in another ten days to half a month, they’ll grow to the size of a fist. We can harvest them then."

"Let me check some more."

She immediately got up and walked to other spots, checking several more places and finding that the growth was excellent everywhere.

Now she was completely at ease. Even if they dug them up now, it wouldn’t be a loss.

She stood up, dusted the dirt from her hands, and asked Xin Feng, "About how long until the rainy season arrives?"

"Only about ten days or so."

"Then we have to pay close attention to the weather."

Bai Wanwan’s expression was serious. "We have to dig up all the potatoes before the rainy season, or they’ll rot easily if they get soaked."

Even if they were a little smaller, it was better than letting them rot in the ground.

*******

In the days that followed, Bai Wanwan eagerly awaited the arrival of harvest time every day.

Meanwhile, the tribe also welcomed a brief period of bountiful hunting.

Under the protection of Jin Yi and the other Yellow Rank Beastmen, the males were finally able to bring back more prey.

The tribe, which had been subdued for so long, was once again brimming with life.

One afternoon, Bai Wanwan was with Shi Hua, rushing to make winter clothes for the cubs.

The snow season was bitterly cold, and newborn cubs could easily freeze to death.

So the children could have a warm winter, she decided to model some small padded jackets for each cub after modern pet clothes.

"Big Sister, do I sew it like this?"

Shi Hua held a Bone Needle, carefully threading it.

Although Bai Wanwan’s needlework wasn’t refined, her strength was her broad knowledge, so she knew a little.

She taught Shi Hua step-by-step and discovered that Shi Hua had a real Talent for handicrafts.

The first finished piece was already quite impressive, and the second could have been used as a model.

"You learn so fast!"

Bai Wanwan praised her sincerely. She decided to hand over all the delicate work to Shi Hua, while she focused on cutting the beast hides and stuffing them with cotton.

Looking at the ample Points on her system panel, she calculated how to ensure her whole family could get through this snow season comfortably...

Just as she was concentrating on spreading out the cotton, the sky suddenly darkened.

The abrupt darkness made her vision blur, and she almost cut the beast hide crookedly.

"It’s going to rain!" Shi Hua exclaimed, dropping her needle and thread. "Big Sister, I have to go bring in the dried meat!"

After Shi Hua left, Bai Wanwan immediately thought of the potatoes.

She shot up with a start and yelled at Zhu Xiu, who was butchering prey, "Quick! Zhu Xiu, let’s go harvest the potatoes!"

She had repeatedly emphasized during this time that all the potatoes had to be dug up before the rainy season.

So, her Beast Husbands were all well aware of how much this meant to her.

Zhu Xiu grabbed Bai Wanwan, who was about to rush out. "Don’t panic. The two of us won’t be fast enough."

He looked up at the dark, oppressive sky. "Wait a moment."

With that, he turned and went into the house, shouting to someone opposite them, "Jin Yu, could you do me a favor and run to ask the Clan Leader to send some males to help harvest the potatoes?"

Without a word, Jin Yu put down his work. "I’m on my way!"

Only then did Bai Wanwan breathe a sigh of relief. "That’s right, we can ask the Clan Leader for help!"

Zhu Xiu deftly put the youngest cubs into a wicker basket and headed for the field with the other half-grown cubs.

Bai Wanwan followed closely by his side, her steps hurried, her worried gaze constantly darting to the sky.

The heavy, dark clouds were like spilled ink, rapidly swallowing the last sliver of daylight.

This storm looked like it would be even more violent than the last one.

They had to race against time.

After arriving at the field, Zhu Xiu put down the cubs and began digging quickly along the edge of the plot.

Bai Wanwan also picked up a piece of stone to help, while saying to the cubs, "Babies, help Mommy dig up the soil, but be careful not to hurt the potatoes, okay!"

She held up a freshly dug potato for the cubs to see.

The little ones jumped up and down excitedly, then immediately dove into the field and started digging.

In an instant, dirt flew everywhere, splattering all over Bai Wanwan’s face and nearly getting into her mouth.

PFFT... PFFT...

"Cubs!"

The cubs seemed to know they had caused trouble, hopping and bounding around her to try and get back in her good graces.

Seeing this, Zhu Xiu called out, "Snakelets, take your brothers and go dig further ahead..."

The wolf pups had turned digging into a game, their movements completely chaotic.

But the few snakelets were exceptionally calm. After hearing their Father Beast’s command, they immediately slithered over to their brothers, flicking their tongues with a "HISS... HISS..."

Although they couldn’t communicate with words, the snakelets’ natural intimidating presence immediately made the other cubs settle down and obediently follow them to dig further away.

Bai Wanwan couldn’t help but smile at the sight. ’Even at such a young age, the snakelets already have their father’s bearing...’

As she was sighing with emotion inwardly, she suddenly saw Jin Cang Clan Leader arriving in a hurry with dozens of Beastmen.

"Clan Leader, why did you come in person?" Bai Wanwan stood up and greeted him.

"This matter concerns our entire tribe. I had to come see for myself."

Jin Cang Clan Leader looked at the vast expanse of green. "What should we do now?"

Bai Wanwan spoke very quickly, telling them, "We need to dig up the ground before the heavy rain starts, but everyone be careful not to damage the potatoes, or they’ll spoil easily. It’s best to grab them by hand. Clan Leader, you’ll also need to arrange a place to store these potatoes."

The moment her voice fell, a deafening clap of thunder suddenly exploded, and it was clear the downpour was about to begin.

"Hurry!"

Bai Wanwan urged them on anxiously, bending down to start digging herself.