CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 56 EDUCATION

Perhaps due to the differences in species in the Otherworld, after half a month of growth, the kudzu vine in the first plot of reclaimed land has become very lush. Rows of branches are inserted into the ridge ground, and the surrounding vines climb over them to gain more sunlight, looking lush and emerald green. From a distance, they resemble rows of trees one or two meters high.

Under the care of the beastmen, even though these kudzu vines originate from wild kudzu roots in the wild, their growth and other traits are much stronger than those in the wild.

During the initial reclamation, weeds and various leaves and branches on the ground were burned into ash and used as fertilizer when the kudzu roots were planted.

During the cold winter season, Austin ordered the beastmen to build toilets and set up a small biogas fermentation pool next to them. In the hot climate of the Kawa Great Forest, the beastmen’s manure ferments very quickly, turning into excellent fertilizer in just over ten days. Although the biogas could not be utilized, the remaining fertilizer played a significant role in the reclaimed fields.

For the first reclaimed field of about twenty acres, the originally gray-brown soil has started showing signs of turning black, which is a sign of increasing soil fertility.

Perhaps after planting kudzu for one or two years, it will be possible to plant wild rice.

"You, you, and you, pull the weeds from these three rows. The rest of you, pull those four rows."

The pig-headed woman in charge of supervising the young beastmen casually assigned them tasks.

The newborn beastmen are cared for by their mothers until they can walk. These nursing beastman mothers will be grouped with pregnant females, responsible for net weaving, handling prey, cooking meals, and other tasks that do not require too much strength.

Once the young beastmen are old enough to walk and work, they will be assigned to another team led by the current pig-headed woman, responsible for teaching survival skills and doing various simple tasks within their abilities. This can be considered an Otherworld version of kindergarten.

However, this kindergarten does not teach literacy or cultural knowledge; instead, it requires them to perform various labor tasks. Of course, simple math calculations are taught, but hunting experience is the primary focus.

In Austin’s plans, this cohort of young beastmen will achieve roughly a first-grade level of cultural understanding once they grow up. Although some math and cultural knowledge can stimulate the beastmen’s rigid minds, Austin does not plan to establish schools like elementary, middle, or high schools or universities, at least not anytime soon.

For now, regarding education, Austin hasn’t figured it out yet, but it is certain that he will not spend massive resources on education.

No matter how you look at it, food has to be eaten bite by bite. Even if a few beastmen who understand calculus were to be taught now, it wouldn’t do much for the current Dragon Nest Tribe.

For the time being, what Austin needs are Clan Warriors who can obey his orders unconditionally and prove useful. In the short term, all that is needed for cultural education are indoctrination political lessons and a bit of basic math.

Undoubtedly, there is a reason related to educational resources. The Fox-faced Man Quik, who can calculate numbers within a hundred, is already considered a rare talent in the entire Dragon Nest Tribe, and Austin has no interest in teaching them. If education changes in the future, it will likely be not until Austin can establish a stronghold in the Kawa Great Forest and truly build an Empire.

Austin has another goal in separating the young beastmen for education, which is to instill loyalty from a young age. Even though the entire Dragon Nest Tribe already holds maximum loyalty to the Blue Young Dragon, some things still need to be done.

Regarding the separation of mothers and children, there’s nothing to worry about. The Dragon Nest Tribe isn’t that large; everyone lives in the same place, meeting early in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. It’s merely grouping the young beastmen together for teaching, which isn’t actually a separation.

Previously, when the mother beastmen worked, they also had to watch over the young beastmen running around. Now that there is someone specially tasked with care and supervision, the mother beastmen can focus on working, increasing production efficiency.

In front of the fields, the pig-headed woman has already assigned tasks. The Jackal Wolf People Meng Bi look at the seemingly endless kudzu fields with a slightly worried expression.

"Aisha, can you manage? If not, I’ll help you later."

Perhaps due to the climate, as the kudzu grows rapidly, weeds in the fields are also growing quickly, filling the ridges and competing with the kudzu for space.

If they were beastmen, they naturally wouldn’t care about these weeds. Without planting experience, they don’t have the concept that weeds can affect kudzu growth. However, Austin wouldn’t just stand by, so he ordered Vini to arrange for weeding work while observing these reclaimed fields during the trials.

Of course, weeding is a physically demanding task and cannot be entirely completed by the young beastmen. They are responsible for a very small part, viewing it as labor course training.

Under Austin’s requirements, these young beastmen must try every task out there, combining teaching and practice, training them to be the future mainstay of the Dragon Grass Tribe’s development.

"No need, brother."

Aisha quickly shook her head. It’s just pulling weeds, and although the work is somewhat dull, it’s far better than the days of enduring hunger and cold in the icy snow.

Thinking back to those times struggling between life and death, she wouldn’t forget that easily just because she had a few days of full meals.

Compared to those cold, foodless days of constant hunger, simply pulling weeds, having a full belly, and living in a warm house is nothing.

In contrast, Aisha feels that this is already much better.

The young beastmen obediently enter the fields in batches, pulling weeds alongside the kudzu. Having undergone military training even at a young age, they already understood the importance of following orders. Unlike the unruly children in Austin’s former life, they didn’t disobey or cause trouble, nurtured in hardship.

While the young beastmen were weeding the kudzu in the first plot of reclaimed land, further away, other reclamation work was also ongoing.

Lack of enough farming tools made the beastmen’s reclamation work not very smooth. Even though the beastmen’s physical strength is somewhat superior to humans, after more than half a month, they had only reclaimed about a hundred acres of land.

In the newly opened fields, the kudzu planted two days ago has just sprouted, but it will soon grow into a lush kudzu field. And in the near future, these reclaimed farmlands will become the most solid grain source for the Dragon Nest Tribe.