Peaceful days always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, autumn arrived.
Jiang Xuan walked through the vast fields, looking at the crops that had matured or were about to mature, feeling a sense of satisfaction and pride.
As the population grew, the Planting Team became larger and more wasteland was cultivated. Without measurement tools, Jiang Xuan couldn’t figure out exactly how much farmland the Vine Tribe had.
Bamboo wheat was a new variety acquired this year through trade with the Black Teeth Tribe.
This wheat looks a lot like small bamboo but with much broader leaves. After it bears ears, it somewhat resembles sorghum.
Jiang Xuan picked a grain of bamboo wheat from a full ear, the surface green, placed it in his mouth and bit down, hearing a "crunch" as the kernel broke.
Jiang Xuan chewed, nodding, "Looks bamboo wheat is green, it won’t turn yellow, it can be harvested."
Gan Song stood beside Jiang Xuan, smiling, "I think it’s ripe too, so I’ll lead the people to harvest this afternoon."
Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "I’ll have people speed up weaving the reed mats, so if the weather is good, the harvested bamboo wheat can be sun-dried before being moved into the granary."
Grain crops are troublesome in this way; they require a lot of effort to dry, or else they can’t be stored for long and will get moldy.
Root crops like round potatoes and stone eggs don’t have this problem. At most, the dirt on them can be dried off before being stored in a warehouse or cellar.
Last month, the Vine Tribe built two more large granaries, now just waiting for the new grain to be stored.
Jiang Xuan was about to leave when he suddenly thought of something, turning back to say, "By the way, select the best and fullest grains and vegetables to store. After the autumn harvest, the tribe will hold a Great High Priest ceremony."
Hearing the words "Great High Priest," Gan Song’s eyes lit up.
For the tribe people, the Great High Priest ceremony is the most important day of the year, more important than any New Year in Jiang Xuan’s past life.
On this day, the entire tribe dresses in their finest clothes and prepares abundant offerings to worship the Totem God.
After the Totem God enjoys the offerings, more ordinary tribesmen often become warriors, enhancing the tribe’s overall strength.
The tribesmen provide offerings and devout faith to the Totem God, who, in turn, offers protection and strength to the tribesmen, benefiting both sides.
"Don’t worry, leader, I’ll make sure to select the best grains and vegetables as offerings to satisfy the Vine God."
Jiang Xuan nodded and then walked towards the new granaries.
Outside the new granaries was a large flat area, set aside specifically as a drying ground.
Right now, this flat land was piled high with reeds.
The women from the tailoring workshop, along with men Jiang Xuan had reassigned from other places, were diligently weaving large reed mats.
The Southern Wilderness is humid and rainy, making it infeasible to dry grain directly on the ground.
Without cement, they couldn’t harden the ground, so large amounts of reed mats were woven for drying the grain.
Reed mats are comparatively clean and keep ground moisture at bay. Moreover, if it rains, they can be collected quickly.
The Southern Wilderness is rainy, making drying grain rather troublesome. Often it needs to be dried for half a day, and upon seeing rain approach, it has to be collected again, which is very exhausting.
Luckily, the drying season isn’t long; it’s only tiring during the autumn harvest. After that, the Planting Team is relatively free.
With Fu Ling due to give birth soon, Feng Chao is temporarily in charge of the tailoring workshop, and naturally, the people weaving reed mats are under her command.
Jiang Xuan approached Feng Chao and inquired, "How many reed mats have been woven now?"
Feng Chao raised her head, wiping away the sweat almost dripping into her eyes, and replied, "Reporting to the leader, we have already woven more than fifty reed mats."
"Good, the Planting Team has already begun preparations for the autumn harvest. Make sure there are enough reed mats; otherwise, the grain won’t dry properly, leading to trouble."
Feng Chao firmly responded, "Rest assured, leader, we will definitely weave enough reed mats to dry all the grain."
Jiang Xuan nodded, saying, "Please work hard. After the autumn harvest, I’ll reward each of you."
After Feng Chao spoke, she continued weaving the reed mats, which was a very time-consuming task, so they had to work swiftly.
Jiang Xuan looked at the half-finished and finished reed mats, not finding any issues.
He was quite satisfied with this; Feng Chao’s ability was indeed impressive to manage so many people effectively and maintain good quality control.
Jiang Xuan then went to the breeding area, instructing Da Jiao to select suitable livestock and poultry as offerings and take good care of them.
Da Jiao was well-versed in this matter and confidently agreed to it.
Subsequently, Jiang Xuan visited the Hunting Team and Fishing Team, instructing them to seek suitable offerings as well.
These teams quickly sprang into action, working hard for the tribe’s Great High Priest ceremony.
That afternoon, the autumn harvest of the Vine Tribe officially began.
Regardless of whether they were tribesmen or captives, everyone participated in this busy autumn harvest.
Everyone divided the work; some were responsible for harvesting, some for stripping the grain from the stalks, others for transport, and others for drying.
Though the autumn harvest was tiring, every face was filled with joyful smiles.