Chapter 39: The Tribe’s Big Cleanup

Su Bai stood on the high platform, looking at the crowd’s gaze. [Are those eyes that contain recognition?][Perhaps, but not for me specifically. They are only recognising my status, just because I’m the Shaman. I’m not being not recognised as Su Bai, myself.]

To put it bluntly, if an idiot were to sit in the Shaman’s position, the people below would blindly give them the same recognition. This was merely due to the prestige built up by generations of Shamans in the Flame Dragon Tribe.

When Su Bai was on Earth, he was inherently proud. Although he appeared gentle on the surface, he was actually more ruthless than anyone else. He usually restrained it. He knew there was no need to be ruthless towards his allies and friends. However, if facing against enemies, his gentleness would invert, turning into methods that did not mind soaking blood.

Yesterday, he convinced Yan Jiao, Hei Ya, and the other Totem Warriors.

Today, he wanted to make the people before him genuinely recognize him, not because he had inherited the identity of Shaman.

“Now that we have water, don’t you all want to take a bath?” Su Bai called out with a smile. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Yes,” everyone responded in unison.

“Then before bathing, shouldn’t we clean up the Tribe’s garbage?”

Su Bai raised his hand and fanned in front of his nose, saying with disgust, “Do you want to finish bathing and not smell your own odour, only to smell the stench of the Tribe?”

“Yes, the ground in the Tribe is too dirty.”

“It’s all because of those ‘Egg Stealing Monkey’ children, urinating and defecating everywhere.”

“I’ve wanted to say this for a long time, but those Totem Warriors also throw bones around as they please.”

“Shh! Keep it down.”

“…” As people started talking about the Totem Warriors, they collectively fell silent when they saw Mai Mang glaring at them.

“These gossipy people,” Mai Mang’s eyes twitched. He narrowed his eyes at those few people, deciding to throw bones in front of their homes at night.

“Everyone, let’s get moving and clean up the dirty things in the Tribe to welcome the arrival of water,” Su Bai motivationally said.

“Yes!” everyone responded in unison.

The crowd began to disperse, with those who were free returning to their Teepees to get tools for cleaning up garbage. They could not be expected to pick up faeces with their bare hands, right?

“Shaman, what should we do?” Mai Mang asked, looking up.

“Let’s dig holes. The Tribe needs four toilets and four bathing areas,” Su Bai replied.

“What’s a toilet?” Mai Mang didn’t quite understand, though he understood bathing areas.

“It’s a place for people to relieve themself,” Su Bai explained.

One reason the Tribe smelled so bad was that children and some people with mobility issues relieved themselves anywhere. The solution was to add a couple of toilets.

“Isn’t it fine to just go to the forest to take care of business?” Mai Mang said, a bit confused.

“That’s very dangerous,” Su Bai rolled his eyes. [The forest in primitive society is still part of the Wilderness. Who knows what dangers lurk in the bushes?]

“Shaman, just tell us how to dig,” Mai Mang did not ask too much, just needing to follow the Shaman’s guidance.

Su Bai pointed to locations, saying, “Dig two toilets and two bathing areas on both the east and west sides of the Tribe. They all need to be separated. Men’s and women’s toilets and bathing areas cannot be next to each other.”

“Leave it to me.” Mai Mang said enthusiastically, taking his Son, Mai Mao, to dig the toilets. He had left Yan Hua and four Warrior Trainees there.

“Shaman, what should we do?” Yan Hua asked in a clear voice.

“You’re responsible for digging a water storage tank. We need to store water when it arrives,” Su Bai said softly.

“Can the soil hold water?” Yan Hua blinked her beautiful eyes in confusion.

“If the soil is compressed, it will slow down the water loss and achieve a certain storage capacity,” Su Bai said softly. Without a storage tank, the water would flow away faster.

“I understand,” Yan Hua nodded, kind of understanding it. She was already preparing to lead people to dig up the water storage tank.

“Ah’Hua, two people are enough for that. You take some people to cut down some wood and bring them back,” Su Bai instructed.

“Alright,” Yan Hua, like a Big Sister, directed two men to dig the water storage tank.

“Also, cut and bring back some longer weed. We can use it to build hay houses,” Su Bai wanted to use hay houses to replace the animal hide Teepees.

Animal hides were too scarce. They had no extras to build toilets and bathing areas. They had to find an alternative. If enough hay was stacked properly, it could block rain and sunlight.

“Leave it to us.” Yan Hua said in a serious tone, leading the remaining two people into the nearby forest.

“Let’s go choose a place to build a classroom,” Su Bai stepped down from the platform and began walking around the Tribe.

“Yes.” Yu Ying quickly followed, but after a few steps, she suddenly remembered something and turned back, wanting to carry the filter.

“Just leave it there for now,” Su Bai said with a light chuckle.

“En,” Yu Ying nodded with reddened cheeks, obediently following behind.

Su Bai walked through the Tribe, seeing everyone working hard to clear garbage from the ground. The children were especially diligent, using large leaves twisted into funnel shapes as bags to collect bones.

He came to where Mai Mang and Mai Mao were digging holes. The two were using wooden sticks to dig the soil.

Mai Mang stopped and asked when he saw Su Bai, “Shaman, how are we doing?”

“Not bad, but for safety, pack the four walls to be a bit tighter.” Su Bai instructed.

He wanted to create toilets based on the design of rural pit latrines, with wood placed over the hole for people to squat on.

“Understood,” Mai Mang nodded, deciding to give the walls of the dug out pit a few more punches.