When Hu Jiao Jiao arrived at the riverside, Ying Yuan was already there with ten strong, muscular males.

Seeing Hu Jiao Jiao approach, none of them greeted her warmly.

Their cold attitude was expected, and Hu Jiao Jiao calmly walked over, silently memorizing their faces to ensure she could recognize them later.

Ying Yuan, noticing her silence and how she stared at the males, frowned.

“Hu Jiao Jiao, tell us what you want us to do, and be quick about it. If I find out you’re deceiving us, I won’t let you off easily,” he said coldly.

The other males remained silent, but their disdainful glances at Hu Jiao Jiao spoke volumes.

Hu Jiao Jiao had no doubt that if Ying Yuan weren’t there, these males wouldn’t have bothered to show up at all.

She cast a glance at Ying Yuan, her soft voice tinged with a coolness. “There’s plenty to be done. If you don’t want everyone starving this winter, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and save your energy for work.”

With that, she ignored him and began inspecting the land around them.

The southern part of the tribe’s land was vast, originally reserved for building future homes as the tribe grew. It was flat, near the river, making it convenient for irrigation and drainage, and ideal for planting potatoes.

The soil, which had never been cultivated before, was still fertile, though overgrown with wild grass that needed to be cleared.

After surveying the area, Hu Jiao Jiao had a clear plan in mind.

From a distance, Ying Yuan and the others watched her as she moved about, occasionally squatting to touch the ground or making gestures in the air. Her strange actions made the males impatient.

“Why are we here, wasting time with Hu Jiao Jiao’s nonsense? Do you really think she can grow earth fruit?”

“I bet she’s just putting on a show to fool us.”

“Ying Yuan, maybe you should talk to the chief again. Hu Jiao Jiao’s words are simply unreliable…”

Ying Yuan’s face darkened. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t tried; he had gone to see the chief again last night, but the chief refused to meet him. He had to return to Lu Mian’er, who fortunately wasn’t angry, just worried he might get entangled with Hu Jiao Jiao.

He was determined to expose her lies.

Not far away, Hu Jiao Jiao waved for them to come over.

Ying Yuan, his face still cold, led the group over to her.

“Ying Yuan, I need you all to turn over the soil here,” Hu Jiao Jiao instructed concisely. “I’ve marked the area with branches.”

She pointed to the branches she had stuck into the ground, still fresh with green leaves.

Hu Jiao Jiao had marked off about two acres of land. Since potatoes are sensitive to excess water, the area chosen was some distance from the river.

In one autumn season, the tribe could harvest several hundred pounds of potatoes. One acre required 300 pounds of seed potatoes, and if successful, they could yield three to four thousand pounds—a staggering amount for the tribe.

This was Hu Jiao Jiao’s first time planting, and despite having knowledge of modern farming methods, she couldn’t guarantee the outcome. So, to be safe, she planned to plant two acres in case the yield was lower than expected.

Ying Yuan glanced at the marked-off area, his expression immediately darkening.

Behind him, the males were furious, feeling like she was deliberately making things difficult. “Hu Jiao Jiao, are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much prey we could catch in a day, and you want us to waste time turning the soil? This is ridiculous!”

Hu Jiao Jiao cast a cold glance at the male who spoke but didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to Ying Yuan.

“Ying Yuan, are these the males you chose? If they don’t want to work, I suggest you find others who are willing. We can’t afford to waste time.”

She spoke in a business-like manner.

Ying Yuan, irritated by her detached demeanor, felt a surge of displeasure. This female sure knew how to put on an act.

“Fine, Hu Jiao Jiao, have it your way!” he growled through clenched teeth, his gaze sharp as he ordered the others, “Do as she says.”

With Ying Yuan’s command, the others had no choice but to comply, though clearly frustrated.

Two acres of land wasn’t too large, but it wasn’t small either.

The tribe had no tools for farming, and Hu Jiao Jiao had no intention of bringing out tools from her space for them to use. She merely explained her expectations for how the land should be tilled.

The males transformed into their beast forms and began digging with their paws.

The beasts were much larger than wild animals, and with each strike of their paws, the soil flew into the air, creating quite a scene.

Hu Jiao Jiao had initially planned to teach them how to make stone tools for tilling, but when she turned around and saw wolves, bears, tigers, and leopards diligently digging up the soil, she thought otherwise.

Well… it seemed their claws were more effective than stone tools.

Hu Jiao Jiao abandoned the idea of making stone tools.

After the land was tilled, they couldn’t plant right away. The wild grass was tenacious, so they had to let it dry out in the sun first. Watering it prematurely would just bring the weeds back to life. Besides, they still needed time to sprout the seed potatoes.

“Ying Yuan,” Hu Jiao Jiao called, stopping him just as he was about to start digging.

“What now?” Ying Yuan asked irritably as he walked over, clearly displeased.

He didn’t believe Hu Jiao Jiao could grow anything, and he was just waiting for her to fail so he could expose her lies.

“Go find the chief and have him move the potatoes we dug up yesterday to the cave on the back mountain,” Hu Jiao Jiao instructed calmly, ignoring Ying Yuan’s sour expression.

Of course, she just wanted to send him away to avoid being around him.

Surprised, Ying Yuan stared at her. Wasn’t she trying to create an opportunity to be alone with him so she could pester him?

“Hu Jiao Jiao, you—” He was about to snap at her but froze when his eyes met hers. There was a clear, calm look in her gaze, so different from how she used to look at him, which used to fill him with disgust.

Had she been pretending all along?

“You what? The chief said you’re to follow my orders. Go move the potatoes. I need to stay here and supervise the digging,” Hu Jiao Jiao said, lifting her chin slightly.

Her voice, though soft and gentle, still carried authority, even if it sounded almost like she was pleading due to its natural warmth.

Ying Yuan blinked in surprise.

“Wait, you’re telling me to go alone?”

Wasn’t she trying to create an excuse to spend time with him?

Hu Jiao Jiao glanced at him, her tone impatient. “What do you think? You want me, a female, to move the potatoes by myself?”

In reality, anyone could have moved the potatoes, but she just wanted Ying Yuan gone so she didn’t have to deal with him.

For a moment, Ying Yuan was at a loss for words, his expression complicated as he gazed at Hu Jiao Jiao’s delicate, charming face.

“Fine, I’ll go,” he said before turning and leaving.

Once his back was turned, Hu Jiao Jiao stuck her tongue out at him.

Finally, she had gotten rid of him.