“Hu Jiao Jiao?”

The chief looked slightly surprised upon seeing Hu Jiao Jiao. Quickly, a hint of apology appeared on his serious face.

“You must be here to talk about Lu Cuicui, right? I know she was in the wrong, but you also understand that there are very few females in the tribe. I can’t just expel her…”

He assumed Hu Jiao Jiao was dissatisfied with the punishment given to Lu Cuicui.

However, Hu Jiaojiao immediately understood the chief had misunderstood. She didn’t care about how Lu Cuicui was dealt with. After all, Lu Cuicui was one of the story’s villainesses, Lu Mian’er will deal with her. It wasn’t something Hu Jiao Jiao was going to worry about.

Shaking her head with a bright smile, Hu Jiao Jiao responded, “Chief, I’m not here to talk about that.”

“Oh? Then what is it?”

“I have a way to store more food for the winter.”

Upon hearing her words, the chief’s eyes widened, and his lips, surrounded by white whiskers, trembled slightly. His face was filled with excitement.

“What did you say? You really know how to store food?”

Without hesitation, Hu Jiao Jiao nodded. “Yes, ever since I hit my head last time, I’ve been having dreams. In those dreams, a beastman covered in golden light, flying in the sky, spoke to me and told me how to store food. I’ve remembered everything.”

The golden light and flying in the sky were all symbols of the Beast God in the minds of the beastmen. If she simply revealed the method, people might become suspicious. However, by linking her dreams to the Beast God—a sacred figure in this world—no one would doubt the truth of her words.

Hearing this, the chief clenched his fists, his eyes welling up with tears.

“The Beast God has appeared! This is a sign from the Beast God! Hu Jiao Jiao, quickly tell me the method. I will use the Beast God’s guidance to ensure the tribe prospers!”

Hu Jiao Jiao smirked slightly. As expected, her guess was right. She immediately shared the method of smoking meat and planting potatoes with the chief. The more the chief listened, the broader his smile became, his face wrinkling with joy.

“This is wonderful! With these two methods, our tribe will no longer lack food during the winter. We might even be able to store extra food to trade for sea salt. This is fantastic…”

Overcome with joy, the chief was visibly excited. Hu Jiao Jiao waited patiently for him to calm down before gently reminding him, “However, chief, we don’t have enough prey to smoke large amounts of meat. Winter is also approaching quickly, so we need to start planting earth fruit as soon as possible, or it will be too late.”

The chief nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Since the Beast God entrusted you with this method, you should be in charge!”

Since Hu Jiao Jiao had changed for the better—speaking more gently, treating others politely, and now bringing such valuable knowledge—the chief had grown quite fond of her.

He had always known this girl had potential.

“Chief, planting earth fruit requires using some of the earth fruit we have as seeds…” Hu Jiaojiao hesitated, looking at the chief.

Without thinking twice, the chief waved his hand. “No problem! Since this is the Beast God’s will, use as many earth fruit as you need!”

Although beastmen primarily ate meat, they used earth fruit as a last resort when food was scarce. Sea-dwelling beastmen, however, liked the earth fruit. If the tribe could harvest more earth fruit, they could trade them for sea salt.

“Thank you, Chief,” Hu Jiao Jiao bowed her head slightly. “I’ll take my leave for now.”

That afternoon, the females continued digging for potatoes. To avoid potential wild animal attacks, the group headed back to the tribe while the sun was still low in the sky, around four or five o’clock.

Once back, the chief gathered all the tribe’s beastmen. Hundreds of them crowded the open space, whispering and exchanging curious glances at the chief, who appeared unusually energized. No one knew what had happened.

When they spotted Hu Jiao Jiao, the crowd erupted in murmurs.

“Isn’t that Hu Jiao Jiao?”

“Why is she standing next to the chief? Did she do something foolish again, and now the chief is going to punish her?”

“Here we go again. Nothing good ever happens when she’s involved…”

The crowd’s disdain was clear in their expressions.

The chief raised his hand, signaling for silence, and then announced with a broad smile, “The Beast God sent Hu Jiao Jiao a dream, revealing a method to store food. From today, everyone will follow her instructions.”

His words were like a thunderclap, and the crowd immediately burst into an uproar.

“What? We have to listen to Hu Jiao Jiao?”

“Can we even trust what she says? She’s probably lying!”

“I’d rather die than take orders from her…”

The beastmen’s complaints grew louder, but Hu Jiao Jiao merely ignored them, casually rubbing her ears.

“Chief, the method for smoking meat is simple. What we need most urgently is to plant the earth fruit, which requires a large plot of land and strong males to do the heavy work.”

There was no way she could plant hundreds or even thousands of pounds of potatoes on her own.

“That’s easy enough. The land south of the tribe is unused. Can you plant the potatoes there?” the chief asked.

Hu Jiaojiao thought for a moment. The southern area was near the river, which would make watering the crops easier. It seemed suitable, so she nodded.

“As for the males… that’s even simpler.” Stroking his chin, the chief raised his hand and gestured towards the crowd. “Ying Yuan, come here.”

Ying Yuan, looking displeased, stepped forward from the group.

“What is it, Chief?”

“Ying Yuan, you’re the strongest male in the tribe. Planting potatoes is extremely important, so I’m putting you in charge. You can choose ten males to help Hu Jiao Jiao with the planting.”

Satisfied with his decision, the chief nodded. “Ok, that’s settled.”

Assign Ying Yuan to assist Hu Jiao Jiao? The tribe was in shock. Was the chief out of his mind? Everyone knew Hu Jiaojiao always pestered Ying Yuan. Wasn’t this just pushing him into the fire?

Hearing the chief’s decision, Lu Mian’er’s face also darkened.

Ying Yuan noticed her reaction, and worried that she might be upset, he quickly objected, “Chief, please assign someone else. I’m needed in the hunting party.”

Hu Jiao Jiao also chimed in, “Chief, planting doesn’t require someone as strong as Ying Yuan. It just needs someone with the strength to do the work. There’s no need to trouble him.”

Ying Yuan clearly didn’t want to help, and Hu Jiao Jiao had no desire to deal with his sour attitude every day. After all, Ying Yuan and Lu Mian’er were the protagonists of the story, and she had no interest in getting entangled with them. She would prefer to stay as far away as possible.

The chief stroked his chin, showing no intention of changing his mind.

“This is final. No more objections. Ying Yuan, make sure to assist Hu Jiao Jiao with planting the earth fruit. Don’t let me down—this concerns the entire tribe’s food supply for winter.”