"Wild… raw rice."
Thanks to my basic farming skills, I was able to recognize wild rice right away. I ran excitedly to where the wild rice was and took a closer look.
"Wild rice is right."
It was summer and the rice grains were just beginning to form, but judging by the overall appearance and leaf shape, it was clearly wild rice.
Moreover, wild rice was not just present alone, but formed colonies.
"If I do well, I can eat rice."
Wild rice was a little different from the white rice I was used to eating. The color was a bit redder and the rice tasted less bland.
However, if we grow wild rice well, we will be able to solve the food problem to some extent. I felt like I was flying. We were already having a hard time because of the food problem...
Just then, a 'swift deer' approached, carrying a basket of fish on his shoulder.
"Chief! What's going on, that makes you so surprised? Did you see anything?"
I calmed down my excitement and pointed to the wild rice and asked.
"This plant. Do you know it?"
The 'fast-footed deer' nodded slightly as if he knew it was obvious.
"I see. Isn't it rice? You were so surprised that I thought you saw a bear."
"······"
The Lenape tribe also knew about wild rice. However, it seemed like they didn't know much about how to grow or eat rice.
"A very big two thousand days! Are you going to take that to the village? Okay.
"It's not tasty, and it doesn't fill your stomach. Plus, if you take it before the fruit is fully ripe, you'll get scolded by the women."
"······"
As the saying goes, 'the swift deer', the wild rice was not fully ripe. And even if wild rice ripened, I had no intention of eating it.
We plan to later collect wild rice seeds separately and store them carefully, and then grow and harvest wild rice in earnest next year.
The 'swift deer' turned and walked towards the group.
"Chief! The kids are waiting. Let's go!"
"okay."
I marked this place, a wild rice field, on my map to remember it.
* * *
In the evening, we had a meal and conversation with 'Moon Rises' in the mobile hut. I asked about this and that, recalling the wild rice I had discovered a little while ago.
"······Rice ears are usually difficult to cook. And they don't taste very good either."
"I see."
As expected, I didn't really know how to eat rice. The Lenape tribe simply roasted rice grains over a fire and ate them.
After a while, after dinner, while 'Moon Rises' was cleaning up the empty plates, I was deep in thought about how to grow wild rice.
At that moment, something suddenly crossed my mind. Potatoes and sweet potatoes. I just thought of that crop now...
Potatoes and sweet potatoes originated in America. The excitement also made me tilt my head for a moment.
'I don't think I've ever seen it here before.'
Finally, 'The Moon Rises' came into the hut to sleep.
"The moon is rising! Potatoes and sweet potatoes. Got it?"
"Potatoes and sweet potatoes? What are they? Do you eat them?"
He asked for a detailed explanation with his eyes, as if he had no idea what 'the moon rises' was. For a while I explained potatoes and sweet potatoes to her.
"I'm sorry I can't be of much help. I don't know. I've never heard of such a plant."
"are you okay."
Disappointment was also briefly hinted at by 'The Moon Rises'.
"We'll be trading with other tribes soon. Then, ask around and find out about potatoes or sweet potatoes. Do you know anything? Other tribes know about that crop."
"Yeah. I get what you mean."
Her advice was helpful in its own way. Honestly, I never expected that we would trade with other tribes. I thought there were only hostile tribes like the Pequots who would fight and pillage when they met.
'Trading with friendly tribes···'
Suddenly, it occurred to me that it would be nice if there was something special just for our town.
* * *
The day has dawned. After the fence and watchtower were completed, the villagers were able to sleep comfortably for the first time in a long time.
Is that why? The complexions of the villagers gathered around me seemed bright.
"I will start building a house from today. You have to watch closely and learn."
"Yes, Chief!"
I never intended to build a shack from the beginning. Since I have basic architecture skills, I plan to build a proper house.
The problem is that no one else knows about that house except me. I would also like to entrust the house building to 'Rough Hands', but the design was so complicated that I knew I wouldn't be able to understand it.
So today I plan to demonstrate and teach the villagers how to build a house.
[Tiring!]
[Quest has been started.]
[Quest: Build a new home.]
[Reward: Lots of experience.]
Over the past few days, countless new quests have been triggered, allowing me to gain experience at a rapid pace. Anyway, it's a good situation for me to level up in many ways.
I spoke to the townspeople in a lively voice.
"Let's get started."
"Yes, Chief!"
People started moving busily according to my instructions.
"The land. It needs to be compacted."
"Dig the ground."
"Tree. Bring it."
"Here is the grass and dirt. Mix them with water and knead the dough.."
"Put up a tree and tie it with a rope."
"Split wood. Weave it like a basket."
"Stone. Put it on the floor."
"Put some dirt here."
As expected, the villagers were very dexterous. When I showed them an example, they quickly followed suit and worked enthusiastically, focusing on the 'rough hands' and 'lazy beaver'.
The house I'm designing has one kitchen and two bedrooms. Here are some of the new technologies showcased.
fireplace, chimney, etc. And the Ondol system. If it weren't for my beginner architecture skills, I wouldn't have even tried it.
As I was applying dirt to the wooden wall, I had a moment of dilemma.
'Do you make roof tiles too?'
* * *
Three days have passed in a flash. The townspeople looked around in amazement at the completed house.
"Are there two rooms?"
"Will the rain not leak through the ceiling?"
"That window will let in a lot of sunlight."
"The house is cooler than I thought."
"The women were really excited because they had a space to cook."
The children in particular were excited to see the large room that could accommodate ten people at once and ran around.
The innocent and happy faces of the children instantly relieved all the hard work and sweat that went into building the house.
'The Moon Rises', which was next to it, also elicited repeated admiration.
"Wow, big two thousand! I love this house. How did you come up with the idea to build a house like this? It's really amazing."
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah. I like it so much."
I also felt good seeing her happy face. And then the constant ringing in my head.
[Tiring!]
[Chimney revealed.]
[Stove revealed.]
[Fireplace revealed.]
[Ondol revealed.]
[Tiles revealed.]
[Tiring!]
[Level up.]
···
···
Along with a lot of experience points, the level went up by two levels.
* * *
Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!
The warriors were running after me, breathing heavily. I checked the map window several times and shouted loudly.
"Over there. There's a herd of deer. Brave wolf! Take your warriors and go to the left."
"Understood, Chief!"
The 'brave wolf' ran out with a few warriors.
"Swift deer! To the right."
"Okay, Chief!"
Warriors armed with bows and spears quickly followed the 'swift deer' that charged forward. After a while, he shot an arrow and threw a spear at a herd of deer that he had cornered.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Swish! Swish!
Several deer fell down one by one, bleating sadly. A total of ten deer fell to the ground. The warriors, led by the 'Brave Wolf' and the 'Swift Deer', took the last breath of the deer.
We took a moment to express our gratitude to all the gods and spirits of the world and mourn for the dead deer. As soon as the 'Brave Deer' finished praying, the 'Humble Bear' hummed with an excited expression.
"Hehehe! Oh... the hunting ended early again today. There are a lot of s... ts. It's all thanks to you, soy sauce."
"Honest bear! How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a soy sauce ...
The hunt, which took all day, was over before noon. Besides, there was plenty of game to take with them. Even the 'fast-footed deer' seemed to be in a good mood and flattered me by calling me 'nim'.
Phew!
I turned my head and gave instructions to my warriors.
"Take the game and return to the village."
"Understood, Chief!"
The warriors answered with bright expressions and strength.
* * *
As they entered the village, people flocked to them at the sight of the game carried on the warriors' shoulders.
"Why did you come so quickly?
"You weren't hurt while hunting?"
"You caught a lot."
The warriors' shoulders were seen tense.
'I think that will solve the food problem for the time being.'
We have stockpiled food, but we must conserve it, because we don't know what will happen in the future. We handed over the game we had caught to the people and walked around the village, which was not yet fully completed.
I designed ten houses. A village hall was quickly rising to replace the communal hut. Still, there was a shortage of workers.
The 'Rough Hands' and 'Big Turtle' people who had helped them settle into their new settlement had already returned, leaving them with a mountain of work to do.
Phew!
A sigh escaped me. I plan to solve the problems one by one, just like eating too quickly will cause indigestion. He turned his head and gave instructions to the 'brave wolf'.
"Take a break. Let's work on the field."
"Understood, Chief!"
* * *
A few days passed quickly. The days passed by so quickly that I didn't even have time to open my eyes. He postponed becoming the official chief and started by building a village hall.
And although it was a little late, they mobilized all the villagers who could muster the strength to make fields and planted beans and pumpkins.
Finally, today the first meeting was held at the village hall. Although there were a few older elders, most of the people in attendance, including me, were young.
As the chief, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Let's start the meeting."
The elders first brought up several agenda items.
"Now that we have safely settled into our new village, we must hold a festival in honor of our new chief."
"We need to increase our food reserves in preparation for the cold winter."
"We'll need to make a lot of leather, since we'll have to trade with other tribes soon."
Young people, including 'Brave Wolf', also participated enthusiastically in the meeting, each expressing their opinions.
Any agenda item brought up at a meeting must be agreed upon by everyone to pass. As the chief, I was bored just listening.
'What's the point of having a festival when there's no food...'
There was a lot to do and a lot of buildings to build, but it was frustrating. After a while, taking all the opinions into account, I quickly made a decision.
"Securing food. Priority. Leather to trade with other tribes. Make a lot of it. However, the coronation ceremony. Keep it brief. Also, the festival. Postponed until next year."
When I tackled the last agenda items, the elders strongly opposed it.
"The coronation ceremony is a sacred ceremony recognized by the gods and spirits. It's nonsense to say that it's brief."
"I think so too."
'The Moon Rises', who attended the meeting, secretly sent a glance.
'···hmm!'
If you get one, you have to give one. I took the elders' opinions into consideration and strongly insisted on my proposal regarding the festival.
"Understood. The chieftain's coronation ceremony will proceed as usual. However, the festival will be postponed until next year."
"Okay."
"There's also the food situation···"
The elders didn't particularly object to my proposal. Finally, as chief, I have one more suggestion.
"New houses. A few. I wish we had built more."
No one in the meeting objected, as everyone was impressed by the house I had designed. Rather, the atmosphere was welcoming.
"I don't know what kind of house they'll build, but I'm looking forward to it."
"It's the chief's job, so you can't oppose it. I will actively support it."
* * *
West watchtower. The meeting ended and it became night. It's not like he didn't stand guard just because he was a chief.
I stood guard alone on the watchtower and checked the messages. Level 20. I quickly completed various quests while building a new village.
As I expected, the Celestial Library opened when I reached level 20.
"I wonder what will come out? I hope it will be something related to iron."
With my wishes, I was transported straight to the heavenly library.