The inner area of the tribe was already full, so Ji Mo Ling selected a piece of land near the mountains. According to her preferences, she divided it into a front yard, a backyard, a main hall, a bedroom, a kitchen, a woodshed, and an outhouse.
Thanks to the efforts of the orcs, the large house, built from stones, mud, wood, and thatch, was completed in just six days. After three days of drying, Ji Mo Ling officially moved into her new home on the tenth day, finally having a place of her own in this unfamiliar world.
To celebrate her housewarming, every household in the tribe sent her gifts—food, clothing, various daily necessities. Among them was even a cassia tree, which she planted in her front yard.
With her new home settled, the next thing to consider was how to make a living. Although the tribe provided daily food, she couldn't just sit around doing nothing while everyone else worked hard.
The survival skills from her industrial and commercial world were basically useless here. Fortunately, she still had the memories and skills of the original owner, as well as a batch of medicinal plants she had brought along.
So, Ji Mo Ling decided to apply for a job at the "People's Hospital" of the Green Tribe. After a two-day trial period, the head doctor, Kong, decided to hire her as a pharmacist. With her arrival, the hospital's staff increased from two to three, with the remaining one being a senior nurse and apprentice doctor named Qian.
That day, Ji Mo Ling was sun-drying herbs in the front yard when she heard the sound of a puppy barking outside. Shortly after, someone knocked on her door. Upon opening it, she saw a beautiful young boy holding a white Samoyed puppy and a baby panda.
"Fa, it's you," she said, recognizing Chen Lan's younger brother, the fifteen-year-old who had been pursued by a woman from the Thin Wood Forest. "And you've brought Bai and Meng," she added, referring to the two adorable animals that had suffered from unstable forms but were now healed. "Come in."
"Sorry for bothering you," Fa said shyly. Despite his striking appearance, much like his mother's, he had a somewhat introverted personality. "Bai and Meng kept trying to come here, so my sister decided to let me bring them over for a visit." The two animals had been here before and had been treated so well that Bai couldn't stop thinking about it, sneaking away and even dragging the baby panda along.
"It's no trouble. I happen to have some free time now," Ji Mo Ling replied, looking at the little creatures that had already jumped to the ground and were happily frolicking around her feet. Their affection filled her with warmth. "Don't be shy, Fa. Have a seat," she said, pointing to a stone bench in the yard. "I'll get something for you." It was customary to serve guests water and fruit.
"Oh, thank you," Fa said, glancing at the open door and feeling more at ease, as everything in the yard was visible from outside. He sat down as instructed, picking up the two little animals who were attempting to cause trouble among the herbs. "You can't play with those."
Ji Mo Ling soon returned with a wooden tray, placing water and a plate of fruit on the stone table. "Here, have a taste."
Not wanting to refuse her kindness, Fa took a sip of water. Bai and Meng, however, made themselves comfortable, climbing onto the table. The puppy licked from a separate bowl of water while the panda grabbed a fruit half its size, using all four limbs to hold it as it started to nibble.
Watching the round little panda trying to eat a fruit nearly as big as itself—dropping it, rolling it around, and then grabbing it again to continue chewing—Ji Mo Ling couldn't help but laugh in delight.
Noticing that she was only paying attention to his little companion, Bai, the puppy, grew displeased. He patted her arm with his paw, and when Ji Mo Ling looked down at him inquiringly, he immediately wagged his tail, rolled over, and exposed his belly, begging for attention. "Woof woof woof!"
"Haha, so you want a belly rub, huh?" Ji Mo Ling chuckled and obliged, scratching under his chin and rubbing his little belly.
Watching his nephew behave so shamelessly, Fa couldn't bear to look, turning his head away in embarrassment.
They sat for a while longer when new visitors arrived. Two more young men came together, the older one named Qing, aged twenty, and the younger one, Shi, aged seventeen. Qing was tall and handsome, while Shi was slender and delicate. Standing together, both were equally pleasing to the eye, each in their own way.
"Ji Mo Ling, I caught a few mountain geese today and brought one for you," Qing said proudly, holding up the freshly cleaned game, while using his other hand to nudge Shi beside him.
"This… these are some apples I picked. I hope you like them," Shi said, lifting the banana leaf covering a basket of bowling ball-sized fruit. He glanced at Ji Mo Ling expectantly before blushing and lowering his head.
"Thank you," Ji Mo Ling said, accepting their gifts and inviting them to sit as well. After storing the items inside, she brought out two more bowls and sliced a plate of cured meat.
In truth, even if she didn't work, she wouldn't starve. The orcs often sent her gifts like this, and her kitchen was getting too full.
At first, when unfamiliar orcs brought her gifts, she had wanted to refuse. However, the chief noticed her intentions and intervened, instructing her to accept them. In private, he explained that for a female to reject an orc's goodwill was considered an insult, very disrespectful.
Receiving gifts didn't mean accepting courtship, and the orcs wouldn't pester her for it. Doing so would invite scorn from the others, so she shouldn't worry. Even the chief himself still received love gifts.
The guests didn't stay long, not daring to say much to Ji Mo Ling. After some pleasantries, they left, each taking a small packet of cured meat with them, leaving Fa feeling a bit embarrassed.
After closing the door, Ji Mo Ling checked on her drying herbs, then practiced martial arts in the yard. The original owner's combat skills had been honed through life-or-death battles in the forest. Since Ji Mo Ling hadn't personally experienced those, she could only rely on the memories to recall the scenes and gain insights. She practiced the only set of fitness punches she knew, trying to see if there were any techniques she could combine.
After a tiring evening, she ate a bit, took a cold bath, and went to bed early, as there wasn't much entertainment.
The next morning, before dawn, she was woken up by a loud knock on the door.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Ji Mo Ling got up to open the door. "Who is it?" she grumbled, annoyed at having her sleep disturbed so early.
"It's Qian! Our hunting team has many injured! Kong sent me to get you to help!" The anxious apprentice didn't wait for her to agree and pulled her along.
Sensing the urgency, Ji Mo Ling's drowsiness vanished. "What happened?"
"It's the hunting team that's been gone for a long time. They were supposed to return seven days ago but hadn't sent any word. The chief sent people to search for them, and they encountered them yesterday. But out of twenty, only thirteen returned. They said they ran into a Tyrannosaurus rex, and seven died. The survivors are all injured," Qian explained, her voice breaking into sobs.
Hearing this, Ji Mo Ling didn't know what to say. She simply patted Qian on the shoulder to offer some comfort.
Since the number of injured was too large, they couldn't fit in the medical hut, so the wounded were gathered in the square. When Ji Mo Ling arrived, the scene was busy but not chaotic. The chief, Chen Xiao, was overseeing everything while Kong and several other orcs were tending to the wounds.
Seeing Ji Mo Ling, Kong pointed to the various medicinal plants placed nearby and assigned her a task: "Ji Mo Ling, we need thirty portions of both blood-stopping and bone-setting medicine."
Glancing at the rows of orcs lying on the ground, their injuries varying in severity, Ji Mo Ling walked toward the designated area. "Bring me two torches, closer."
Two orcs with torches quickly stepped forward. Nodding in thanks, Ji Mo Ling immediately got to work.
Five hours later, all thirteen injured orcs were finally settled.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, Ji Mo Ling accepted a bowl of water handed to her and drank half of it in one go.
"Hey, slow down. No one's going to take it from you," said Chen Lan, who had approached her. "You've worked hard. Come, let's go to my house for something to eat."
"Thanks, I'm starving," Ji Mo Ling replied, knowing that Chen Lan's husband would have already prepared breakfast. She didn't feel like cooking for herself anyway.
As soon as they stepped inside, He came to greet them. "I made fruit cakes with sweet bean soup. Ji Mo Ling, help yourself."
Seeing that the meal was clearly prepared just for her, Ji Mo Ling felt grateful. "This is already wonderful. Thank you," she said, taking a bite of the fruit cake. "It's delicious."
"Eat more if you like it. I'll leave you two to talk." He left some space for his wife and Ji Mo Ling, heading to the back to check on the children.
Chen Lan sat down beside Ji Mo Ling and waited until she finished eating before bringing up the tribe's plans to hunt down the Tyrannosaurus Rex.