RPS – Chapter 40 Rumors and Apologies

Nuo and the others left gracefully, leaving behind a storm brewing in the tribe.

Li Feng let Li lead him home by the hand. His face was pale, and he looked deflated, nothing like the excitement and energy he had shown earlier. Now he resembled a plant struck by frost—drained of life, walking blankly beside Li. His mind kept replaying the chief Zheng’s seemingly mild yet relentlessly probing and suspicious words, as well as Ka’s final question.

All of it seemed to quietly confirm that Li Feng was a selfish, self-serving person who only cared about his own benefit, trying to hoard food for himself… These predictable assumptions chilled Li Feng’s heart. Maybe he was a bit selfish—he always prioritized his own family. But wasn’t that instinctive? Besides, he never intended to keep everything for himself; he just wanted to experiment first.

The food they had discovered so far wasn’t nearly enough to feed the whole tribe. Even if they shared it, the amount wouldn’t be much. And if they did share it, the distribution would surely be by some “fair” system—at that point, they might not even be able to keep any seeds for planting. Especially with winter approaching, everyone was only focused on food for immediate survival; no one would care about next year’s crops. That kind of thinking would only lead to a vicious cycle.

“Rest for a bit,” Li said, bringing Li Feng into the room and having him sit on the bed. He handed over the baby he had been holding, hoping it would distract him from all the negativity.

Mo sat quietly by the side. Seeing Li Feng’s still dazed expression, he reached out and gently took Li Feng’s hand. “Uncle Li Feng, don’t be sad.” He didn’t know what was making Li Feng upset—he had just seen Li holding Li Feng and hurrying home, so he ran after them. He had no idea what had actually happened.

Li Feng turned to look at Mo’s small face filled with worry. He gave him a faint smile. “Heh… I’m not sad. I just think it’s kind of funny, that’s all.”

He meant it. It wasn’t really sadness. Before Li Feng had transmigrated into this body, the original host hadn’t been especially close to the rest of the tribe. After he arrived, while some of his little “inventions” helped improve their relationship a bit, he never truly felt a strong sense of belonging. Aside from Li and the others, he had never been able to truly integrate with the rest of the tribe. And they had always kept some distance from him too. He didn’t mind—having a family of his own was enough for now.

Of course, having the tribe was important too, but it could never be the same as family. That’s why, although he had initially felt surprised and wronged by the chief’s aggressive questioning, what really hurt was that the chief actually doubted his intentions—believing he had selfish motives.

Although he had tried to maintain a good relationship with the tribe and welcomed the harmony between them, he had thought that all the small but significant improvements he brought to their lives would have made them truly accept him as one of their own. But what he didn’t expect was that, despite everything, the chief still regarded him as an outsider from another tribe.

In his eyes, that small and insignificant identity detail—being “not one of them”—had led to initial rejection. And even now, after everything he had done for the tribe, it still ended in suspicion. And it wasn’t even like he had done anything yet—they were already doubting him just for thinking about a plan. Wasn’t that ridiculous?

Mo looked puzzled. “Funny? Why?”

“These things… you wouldn’t understand now. You’ll understand when you’re older.” Li Feng patted his little head. The kid was really worried about him.

“Okay.” Mo didn’t ask further. He could tell Uncle Li Feng was still a little upset, and he didn’t want to make it worse.

“Here, have some water,” Li said, entering with a clay bowl. He handed it to Li Feng. After eating roast lamb, things were a bit greasy and dry—some water would help.

Li Feng looked up at Li’s calm face, then took the bowl and drank. The temperature was just right. He didn’t know how this guy managed it. “Baby, drink a little water too,” Li Feng said, holding the bowl to the baby’s mouth. The baby hadn’t had any water today, just milk. It was still good for a child to have some water.

The baby was as adorable and innocent as always, unaware of everything that had just happened. He happily reached out his tiny hands, wanting to hold the bowl himself. Li Feng kissed his little fingers, making the baby giggle, and then fed him a sip of water when he loosened his grip. Then he took another sip himself. The two took turns sharing the bowl of water, laughing together—and before long, the bowl was empty. Well, mostly drunk by Li Feng, of course.

Yes, babies were the best cure. Li Feng’s mood improved a little. He still felt a bit stifled, but it was much better than after hearing the chief’s words. And now, he decided to fully embrace his inner A-Q spirit and ostrich mindset.

Besides, if they didn’t want to plant the wheat, it was their loss, not his. He had tried to talk to them and they chose to doubt him? Fine. Then he wouldn’t trade. He had already traded over 20 jin with Ju and Hao and the others earlier—enough for about an acre of land. He’d just plant those himself. If they didn’t trust him, he wouldn’t keep pushing his warm face against their cold shoulders.

The corn had already been harvested. Now, with just a bit of preparation, they could directly start planting. He planned to clear out an acre of land near their house. That way, it would be not only convenient to take care of but also much easier to bring the crops home when harvest time came.

Li Feng, Li, and Mo were in the room playing with the baby. Li didn’t mention what the chief and others had just said, nor did he express any opinion. He respected Li Feng—more importantly, this matter wasn’t Li Feng’s fault. He was the kind of person who stood in front of Li Feng, shielding him from wind and rain no matter what happened. So even if he said nothing, he believed Li Feng would understand.

Li Feng did understand. Just now, by the bonfire, Li’s attitude toward the chief and the others had already made it clear that he believed in him and was on his side. That was enough. He wasn’t a woman—he wouldn’t cry and seek comfort. Li’s silent support meant much more to him than any attempt at consolation.

“Hey, Li Feng, we’re back too!” Nuo had already started shouting from the doorway, then came in together with Bu. “Guess what I’ve got here?”

Li Feng and the others looked up and all burst into laughter. Nuo had actually brought back all the sauces and condiments that Li Feng had used earlier.

“Haha, no way we’re letting them have this stuff for free,” Nuo said as if it were perfectly natural. They hadn’t even eaten their fill before getting angry and coming back. Since they weren’t staying there anymore, of course they had to reclaim their things.

Li Feng paused for a second, then suddenly laughed. “Right, no way we’re letting them get away with that!” As he spoke, he touched his stomach. “I’m still not full. Let’s roast another one ourselves.” He stood up, passed the baby over to Li, and said, “Come on, let’s go make something to eat.” Since everything was already figured out and he wasn’t going to brood over it anymore, there was no reason to wrong himself. Better to fill his stomach first.

If the sky falls, there are taller ones to hold it up. Besides, this wasn’t such a big deal. Let them say whatever they want. He hadn’t done anything to wrong anyone or betray the tribe. He had a clear conscience—if people wanted to gossip, let them.

Li held the little bun in his arms, who hadn’t reacted to being suddenly passed over and was about to pout and cry. He pressed his lips together. “Let’s go. Time to eat.”

Nuo had originally been worried that Li Feng would get upset and cry from sorrow. He’d even been thinking about how to play the fool and cheer him up. But before he could say a few words, Li Feng turned out to be not angry at all—in fact, he happily wanted to go eat again. It was supposed to be a good thing, so why did it feel so weird?

Forget it. No need to overthink. Since Li Feng was already cheerful and not depressed or upset, that was all that mattered. No point in worrying anymore. Time to eat—he was starving. He’d only had a little bit of mutton earlier. Such delicious lamb and still so much left… He really regretted not carrying the whole thing back.

This time, Li Feng didn’t make a whole roasted lamb again, but he still cooked a lot of delicious dishes, trying to make the best of the incomplete seasonings they had. There were both meat and vegetables. They’d always had a stock of meat at home, and plenty of wild greens too—some of which were even grown in their yard—so cooking was easy.

“Mm, I’ve decided. Tomorrow I’m going to prepare the wheat and get it planted as soon as possible,” Li Feng mumbled with his mouth full as he announced this.

“Okay, then I won’t go hunting tomorrow and will stay to help you,” Nuo nodded. He didn’t necessarily have to go hunting anyway, especially now that they had traps. He mostly just followed behind Bu wherever he went.

“Mm. Once we grow it ourselves, I won’t care what they think or want.” Li Feng said this ‘generously,’ though deep down, he was still a bit bothered. After all, he wasn’t a saint.

Li Feng knew that Li and Bu had to go hunting. If they didn’t go because of what happened the day before, that would only give others more reason to gossip. Besides, they still needed more food. Although their family had almost enough, it was always better to have more than less—just in case.

Moreover, all the strong men in the tribe were required to go hunting. Right now, the prey was still divided based on fairness. Anyone who slacked off wouldn’t get a share, and the tribe wouldn’t tolerate such people.

The next day, Li Feng got up early together with Li. The baby and Mo were still sleeping soundly. After covering them with animal hides, Li Feng said, “We came back so suddenly yesterday. I wonder how the bonfire gathering ended. Do you think they’ll give you trouble today?” Li Feng was still worried about Li. As long as he stayed home and didn’t go out, no one would come to criticize him directly. But Li and the others had to go hunting with the same people they grew up with in the tribe. He hoped they wouldn’t exclude Li.

“It’ll be fine.” Li looked at Li Feng’s worried face and gently stroked his cheek. “They won’t.”

“Mm, I hope so.” Li Feng didn’t push his hand away. “Just be careful, alright?” Hopefully no one would gang up verbally on Li and the others—although it would most likely just be words.

After watching Li and the others leave, he quickly dragged Nuo, who had just gotten up, to cook, and then began preparing to plant the wheat.

The wheat needed to have its outer husk removed, leaving only the grains inside. That was quite labor-intensive. They didn’t have any tools here and didn’t dare use a stone mill, afraid it would crush the small amount of wheat they had. That would be a disaster—then they’d only be able to make flour with it. So for now, he could only rub and pick through it slowly by hand. Thankfully, it was just over twenty catties. Otherwise, his hands would be sore, and his eyes would be tired from sorting.

Nuo went to turn the soil nearby. The soil for planting wheat needed to be very fine—clumps just wouldn’t do. There were no iron tools here, and stone tools didn’t allow them to dig up much earth. Fortunately, they weren’t in a rush. An acre of land could be fully turned over in two days at most.

After cleaning the wheat seeds, Li Feng found that they weren’t developing very well. They weren’t as plump as in his previous life—some were even shriveled. But it probably had to do with them being wild. What was the most important thing in farming?

There’s a well-known saying: “Crops bloom like flowers, all thanks to good fertilizer.” And the fertilizer now, naturally, is the composted waste from the latrine pit—full of “Republic of Rice Fields” and wood ash. Li Feng dug out the manure that had been fermenting in the pit behind the toilet they had specially built when constructing their house. That manure had already been mixed with soil and had decomposed into fertilizer.

Li Feng tied a few large leaves around his nose—the smell was truly unbearable. Still, if he wanted strong, healthy crops, this was the only fertilizer he could use. This stuff was much more organic than chemical urea, and its fertility shouldn’t be inferior either!

When Nuo saw Li Feng starting to dig the pit, he immediately ran far away. Li Feng had expected that reaction and didn’t force him. He simply told him to finish tilling the land, and he would handle the fertilizing. If Nuo didn’t finish the tilling, then he’d have to deal with the manure himself. This motivated Nuo like never before—he managed to finish the whole task in less than two days.

The manure, mixed with daily household waste, was piled up in small mounds, spaced a few meters apart. Li Feng let them air dry naturally for two days. This reduced the strong odor and prevented overly rich fertilizer from burning the wheat seeds.

By the time Li Feng was done with all this, two days had already passed. During those days, he and Nuo had stayed home, busy with farm work, unaware that turmoil and rumors had spread across the entire tribe. When Li and Bu returned yesterday, Li Feng and Nuo immediately asked if they had encountered any verbal abuse or personal attacks. But Li and the others brushed them off, insisting everything was fine and that they didn’t need to worry.

That night, Li Feng and Nuo pulled every trick in the book—seduction and all—to coax the truth out of them, but they still got nothing. Instead, they got taken advantage of and left drained. Furious but helpless, they could only console themselves: maybe it really wasn’t that serious. If it had been, surely they would’ve said something already.

Now, Nuo even refused to follow Bu out anymore, saying he needed to stay home and help Li Feng take care of the baby and sow the wheat. In any case, going out wasn’t an option for now.

Since they couldn’t go out, they focused on farming at home. That day, just as Li Feng and Nuo were preparing to spread the now-dry manure over the soil and mix it in again, two kids from the Ka tribe—Ju and Hao—showed up.

They stood hesitantly at the gate, not daring to knock. Mo was the one who noticed them, but he had no intention of letting them in. Hmph! It was their fault Uncle Li Feng hadn’t gone out for days. If it hadn’t been for what they told the chief, how could Uncle Li Feng be this sad? Mo had already learned the full story from Nuo, so he wasn’t showing them a friendly face.

“What are you doing here?” Mo asked sternly, holding the baby in his arms as he stood inside the fenced courtyard. Outside the fence, Li Feng had planted rose-like flowers—both safe and beautiful.

“We… we came to… play with you,” Ju said nervously, stumbling over his words.

Mo might be young, but he was sharp. Play with him? They hadn’t come around in the past few days. “I’m busy. Go play by yourselves. Don’t come looking for me again,” he said, turning to head back into the house with the baby.

“Wait! We came to apologize!” both Ju and Hao shouted in unison.

“Apologize? What for?” Before Mo could respond, Nuo came out from behind the house, having overheard them while spreading fertilizer.

Ju and Hao walked in together—Nuo had already opened the gate. It was better to talk inside rather than yelling and attracting attention. Besides, he wasn’t about to argue with a couple of kids. “Come in. Tell me why you’re here.”

Nervously twisting their fingers and picking at their nails, Ju and Hao stammered, “We heard people in the tribe say Uncle Li Feng is selfish, only thinking about himself, wanting to keep the wheat to himself…” They blurted it out in one breath, then looked up at Nuo—only to find his face frozen in fury. Terrified, they dared not say another word.

“And what else?” A new voice joined the conversation—it was Li Feng. He had just finished working the soil and decided to rest for a bit, planning to water the field later and sow the seeds the next day. But as he walked toward the main hall, he overheard what Ju and Hao were saying. Surprisingly, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he felt calm. He wanted to hear it all—how bad could it get? Had their time together, all the benefits and goodwill, really been erased by some baseless rumors?

Nuo jumped at the sound of Li Feng’s voice. “When did you get here? Did you hear everything?” he asked anxiously, afraid the words might hurt Li Feng deeply.

“Yeah, I heard. I just want to know—what other opinions are there about me?” Li Feng sat down and looked at Nuo calmly. He had long suspected such rumors.

“Well… actually, that’s about it…” Ju and Hao quickly clarified under Nuo’s threatening gaze. “Ka said the chief only asked Uncle Li Feng because of what we said. Sorry! We just heard Uncle Li Feng mention wheat and accidentally brought it up while chatting with the chief. We didn’t mean any harm…” They really liked Li Feng—he washed their hands, made delicious food for them.

“This isn’t your fault. Who told you to come apologize?” Li Feng asked the teary-eyed boys.

“We did, ourselves. We heard people talking a few days ago and wanted to come, but there were too many people saying bad things about Uncle Li Feng… we were scared.” As kids from another tribe, they weren’t familiar with the locals and didn’t dare come directly. It was only when Ka questioned them that night that they realized their casual words had thrown Li Feng into a storm of rumors. Even at their young age, their hearts were uneasy—they just wanted to say sorry. They still wanted to visit Li Feng’s home, eat his delicious food, and be with Li Feng and Nuo, who were both so kind to them.

Despite trying to ignore the rumors these past few days, Li Feng and Nuo had now heard everything. Their emotions were complicated. After sending off the two sobbing boys, Li Feng couldn’t stay angry—not with their heartfelt tears. After all, they were just the trigger. Even if it hadn’t been them, wouldn’t something else have happened eventually?

Feeling dejected, Li Feng didn’t feel like watering the field anymore. He hugged the baby and lay down for a nap with Mo. By the time they woke up, it was already raining heavily outside. The autumn wind, mixed with the downpour, brought a sudden chill…