“Don’t plant anymore?”
This sudden notification took everyone, including Dou, by surprise. In the autumn of last year, the soil on these lands was most fertile. It had already been decided to plant the chosen millet seeds here, so why weren’t they digging now? Was the Divine Child coming up with some new planting method, like growing excellent millet without turning the soil? Thoughts like these emerged in the minds of the people around them.
They all stopped their tasks and eagerly looked at their Divine Child, waiting for another miraculous feat. They were watching Han Cheng, and he was also watching them. Why weren’t these guys going to dig elsewhere? Why were they staring at him like that now?
Had something happened to his face?
Unable to bear the strange atmosphere, Han Cheng finally broke the silence. “Why aren’t you digging elsewhere?”
After staring at each other with wide eyes, one of the elder hands from the Green Sparrow Tribe finally spoke up, voicing what everyone was thinking. Understanding the reason, Han Cheng rubbed his forehead—there wasn’t some magical planting technique here; they didn’t need to dig.
The biggest mistake he’d made was feeding them all too much, Han Cheng thought bitterly, looking at these people. Otherwise, why would they have so much imagination? He hadn’t thought of any new farming methods at all!
“There’s no need to plant grains here anymore… just wait, we’ll build walls…” he told them.
Complaints aside, Han Cheng gave his plan to the people. It was bound to come out sooner or later, and now was a good time for them to prepare psychologically and stop overthinking.
It was truly impossible to climb—after living in the tribe for a while, Dou heard some of the elder hands talk about the Green Sparrow Tribe’s walls. They mentioned how the walls had blocked many enemies and effectively protected the tribe.
Even putting aside the tribe’s history, Dou felt incredibly secure with the walls around them at night. How could the Divine Child tear them down?
It seemed like what the Divine Child intended to tear down wasn’t just the walls but also some of the houses in the tribe. Coming from warm, spacious, and bright homes in winter, these were so much better than caves.
Dou and even some of the elder hands from the Green Sparrow Tribe were stunned, almost with their jaws on the floor after realizing Han Cheng’s plans. They couldn’t understand why the Divine Child would want to tear down such valuable things. How could he bear to do that?
The significance of the walls and houses was something they felt more deeply than Dou did. Having once built the walls and houses, they couldn’t bear to tear down these proud and hard-earned structures. After the New Year, Han Cheng told the tribe about repairing the houses and expanding one side of the wall outward. At the time, his idea was to extend one side of the wall without any grand plans for the entire tribe. It was merely a passing comment because everyone’s attention was primarily focused on the bronze tools, and with the houses already being familiar tasks, there was little reaction.
Now, Han Cheng’s idea of expanding and planning to make the entire tribe’s walls bigger took their attention away from the bronze tools. They suddenly realized that what the Divine Child had proposed could lead to significant destruction. It would not only encroach on arable land but also tear down some houses and the tribe’s main defense, the wall…
After a brief moment of shock, disbelief, and confusion, someone finally appeared to be somewhat agitated and spoke with a quiver.
One person started, and the others followed suit. The majority of the original inhabitants weren’t great with words, and especially in such a rushed situation, their ability to express themselves faltered.
Seeing these people staring at him, only repeating “Divine Child,” Han Cheng couldn’t help but rub his nose.
Tearing down old houses to build new ones and erecting a grand wall would be seen as significant achievements in modern times, ranking alongside marrying a son and having grandchildren—these were major life events.
How did everything change in this era? Building better houses, higher walls, and more spacious courtyards—these were wonderful things, weren’t they? Yet, it seemed everyone was reluctant now.
“After we tear them down, we’ll build better…”
Han Cheng scratched his head and tried to convince them.
But this time, it didn’t work very well. These guys were set on keeping the current houses and walls.
“…It’s good as it is now…”
Someone finally came up with a reason, and the others, hearing this, quickly nodded, agreeing that they felt the same way.
Seeing this scene, Han Cheng couldn’t help but rub his nose again—these guys were too quickly satisfied.
How could they not want to move forward?
“Go on and dig… these things can wait until after the spring planting…”
Han Cheng thought momentarily and decided not to dwell on this matter with them, letting them go back to digging elsewhere.
Dou followed the others, leaving the area. Like everyone else, he looked back at the tribe. He gazed at the high, standing walls and the houses hidden behind them, which he couldn’t see.