RPS – Chapter 45 Discussion

After dinner, a few of them sat in the living room. Li Feng held the baby, gently squeezing his little hands one moment and kissing his cheeks the next, the affection and tenderness between them evident. Li watched the two with a gentle smile, while Mo joined in, enjoying the warm atmosphere.

“Li Feng said that if we want to plant wheat, it’s best to do it in the next few days. Otherwise, it’ll be too late,” Nuo took the lead in speaking. Someone had to bring it up eventually—he might as well go first.

“Hm? And then?” Bu gave Nuo a squeeze on the back of the neck and raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean ‘and then’? Doesn’t the tribe have other seeds too? Shouldn’t we tell them it’s time to plant?” Nuo frowned. Why was Bu so dense? Wasn’t the implication obvious?

“Li Feng, what do you think?” Li asked Li Feng, who was currently gnawing on the baby’s little fist, looking as if he had no interest in their conversation.

Li Feng looked up, the smile still lingering on his face. “I don’t know. Whatever you guys decide, I’ll go along with it. I don’t have any opinion.” What could he say? Returning good for evil wasn’t always something you chose to do—it was often forced upon you by outside pressure.

“You really don’t mind?” Li moved to sit beside him, gently touched his neck, and smiled tenderly, his eyes full of indulgence. “Just do what you want to do.” He knew Li Feng was softhearted—he wouldn’t be able to watch food go to waste or see the tribe suffer. So he said this, but he also genuinely hoped Li Feng would follow his own heart, not act out of obligation.

“Mhm, it’s fine.” Li Feng gave him a warm, slightly shy smile. Li’s words felt like a balm to his heart. In that moment, he truly felt that none of it mattered—not the slander, not the tension—so long as their family was still together, and that gentle smile never left Li’s handsome face.

Li’s smile became even more genuine, his joy heartfelt. Li Feng’s trusting, slightly bashful expression only deepened his happiness.

“Li Feng…” Li lowered his head and gently kissed the corner of Li Feng’s lips—a light touch like a dragonfly skimming the water. Before Li Feng could even fully register the warmth, the lips had already left—no desire behind the kiss, only pure affection.

Touching his lips, now even hotter from that kiss, Li Feng couldn’t help but be affected. They’d done far more intimate things before, yet somehow this soft, feather-light kiss made his heart melt more deeply. In that moment, gender and roles didn’t matter—all that mattered was the beauty of it all. Such a light kiss, carrying such deep emotion—it hit him hard. That ruggedly handsome face with the faint stubble etched itself deeper into his heart.

“Have you finished discussing it?” This time, Nuo didn’t tease. The moment was so tender, he didn’t have the heart to interrupt it.

Li’s hand never left Li Feng’s neck. He turned and said, “Then let’s inform the tribe leader. This is a good thing—for the tribe’s sake, so no one goes hungry. Don’t you agree?” His smile was bright, and the gentle expression in his dark eyes hadn’t faded, making him appear incredibly attractive.

“I’ve got no objections. You guys decide.” Bu gave a straightforward answer. He never liked getting tangled up in complicated matters. Plus, this outcome aligned with what he wanted, so of course he was happy to agree.

“Li Feng, you’re okay with it too? That might mean you’ll have to teach them,” Nuo asked, looking at Li Feng, who had snapped back to attention and now looked a little embarrassed, the tips of his ears reddening.

Nuo asked because ever since the rumors had started, Li Feng had barely left the house. He stayed home doing all sorts of tasks, whether it was to avoid things or out of indifference—he hadn’t faced the rumors or the tribe directly. If he agreed to teach them now, Nuo feared the tribe might say unpleasant things. And those words… anyone could guess they wouldn’t be kind.

Li Feng lowered his head and ran his fingers through his bangs, brushing them back. Then, his expression became firm. “Yes, I can do it. No matter what, hiding won’t help. Since the rumors are still around and people are still talking, I’ll have to face them eventually. Besides, things have calmed down a lot now.”

“We’ll all stand by your side,” Li said as he wrapped his arm around Li Feng’s neck, pulling him into his embrace so that Li Feng had to lean his head against Li’s chest. His voice was gentle but full of conviction.

Nuo tugged Bu over and added, “That’s right. No matter what, we’ll be right there with you. Besides, I really don’t believe the tribe can’t tell right from wrong!” Nuo was clearly still upset that the tribe had doubted Li Feng so easily. Did the people really lack that much judgment?

“Uncle Li Feng, Baby and I are on your side too,” Mo said, holding Li Feng’s hand with a very serious expression. His round, shiny black eyes looked just like a puppy’s—both loyal and adorable.

“Heh, maybe things aren’t as serious as we think,” Li Feng looked at the people around him. So this is what a family feels like? A feeling he’d never experienced in his past life.

“Yeah, maybe it’s all a lot easier than we imagined. After all, we’re going to teach them how to live better lives, aren’t we?” Nuo, holding Bu’s hand, smiled cheerfully, his voice light and relaxed. It seemed that even though he had been pretending to be carefree lately, he’d still been worried deep down.

“Exactly, so there’s no need to stress so much. Then, Li…” Li Feng smiled brightly, as if the gloom from earlier had never existed.

“?” Li turned to look at Li Feng, whose smile was dazzling, and gestured with his eyes: What is it?

“Well then, I’ll have to trouble you to take a trip and talk with the chief—see if he’s willing to plant too?” Li Feng began delegating the task to Li. He still wasn’t quite ready to go to the chief’s house himself. The chief left a lingering shadow in his mind.

“No, we’ll go together.” Li cupped Li Feng’s face, his jet-black eyes locking onto Li Feng’s surprised ones. “We’ll go together. We’re in this together.”

“But… what would I do there?” Li Feng was a bit stunned. Was Li saying they’d always be together forever? Or just that they were going to the chief’s place together tonight?

“Did you forget? None of us know how to plant wheat. Only you can explain it properly.” Li broke into another smile—so breathtakingly handsome that Li Feng was left dazed.

That smile hit him like a wave, crashing directly into his brain, leaving him frozen. He could only nod along dazedly with Li’s words, his mind still replaying that beautiful, close-up smile again and again.

“Li Feng…?” Li looked at Li Feng in satisfaction. He could clearly see the shock and amazement in his eyes. Looks like Li Feng was very pleased with his face. Smiling once in a while did have a great effect.

“…Mmm?” Li Feng finally snapped back to reality, quickly responding—but wait, what was he being asked to do?

“The baby’s crying.” Li gave him another light kiss on the corner of his lips, then looked happily toward the baby, who was beginning to pout, clearly upset at being ignored. Just now, Li Feng’s dazed expression had brought Li so much joy, he couldn’t stop smiling.

“Ah—what? The baby’s crying?” Now flustered, Li Feng looked down to see the little one indeed pouting unhappily.

The baby bun, upon finally catching his dad’s eyes, started to perk up as Li Feng’s gentle voice rang out again. His little pouty lips slowly curled into a smile. Li Feng gently patted his bottom, saying, “Why do you want Daddy to look at you so badly?” The little guy looked absolutely thrilled to be back in his father’s arms, grinning so wide that his four tiny white teeth peeked out. He even reached out to pat Li Feng’s face while babbling happily, as if saying: “Daddy, you finally remembered me! Just now you ignored me—how pitiful I was!”

“Aiya, this little guy is already competing with his dad for your attention?” Nuo couldn’t help but tease again. The baby bun was just too cute! If he was like this now, imagine what it would be like when Li Feng and Li tried to get intimate—he’d definitely spoil the mood. This baby was too entertaining.

Almost as if responding to Nuo’s words, the baby turned toward him and gave a huge grin. His chubby little cheeks scrunched up, eyes nearly closed from how hard he was smiling. He babbled cheerfully, waving his little hands around.

That expression, that movement—it made them all burst into laughter. In that moment, all their worries, all their fears, all the rumors—completely vanished. Only the purest of smiles and the most carefree laughter remained.

“Chief, now is the best time to plant the wheat. If we wait even two more days, it might be too late,” Li Feng said, seated in the chief’s living room. The chief sat silently, his expression unreadable, and Li Feng had no idea what was going through his mind.

Li Feng’s entire family had already come over. They were essentially acting as a support group—after all, they had nothing to do back home, and this could be considered a big event for the tribe. It made sense for them to tag along. However, chief’s behavior was puzzling. They had been there for quite a while, yet he hadn’t said a word. It was making Li Feng so uncomfortable that he almost turned around and left. Luckily, Li had been holding his hand the whole time—otherwise, he really might have bolted.

He had already let bygones be bygones and come to teach them—why was the chief still wearing that expression? If he didn’t want to go along with it, he could just say so, and Li Feng wouldn’t bother wasting his effort. He’d rather spend the time with the baby.

Moreover, every time Li Feng looked at the chief, he felt a strange sense of discomfort. Even though he no longer cared much about gossip, he was still a little angry that the chief had made him look like someone with selfish motives. Yet he couldn’t fight him—nor win, even if he tried. chief wasn’t someone to be trifled with. To become the leader of the tribe, his strength was not to be underestimated. And even if Li Feng wanted to argue, he had no grounds. It was clear that chief had cornered him with words back then—somewhere between coercion and a verbal trap. Li Feng had unknowingly fallen into it, and in the end, even though chief hadn’t directly accused him or asked anything explicitly, the tribe still ended up believing that Li Feng was a selfish schemer, a petty man.

He really was like an old fox. But Li Feng had no choice. Their survival depended on the tribe—if they wanted to continue living here, they had to contribute to its development and earn chief’s approval. So he had no choice but to be the one to speak up again. Every time there was a “confrontation,” he always seemed to be at a disadvantage, always the one who had to break the silence first. It had been the same with the salt discovery—chief always seized the upper hand. Even though they were the ones offering something beneficial, it always felt like Li Feng was the one begging for a favor. It was truly frustrating—but what could he do? chief was, after all, the one with greater power and authority.

“Chief, what do you say? Are we planting or not?” Nuo couldn’t hold it in any longer. What was chief spacing out for? Just give a yes or no!

chief stared at them for a long time before finally speaking. “This wheat… is it really more filling than meat?”

Li Feng nearly fainted. So after all that thinking, this was what the chief had been fixated on?

“Of course! It’s more convenient than meat, and you can harvest a lot at once,” Li Feng quickly replied. Though, truth be told, he wasn’t sure what “a lot” would be in this world. In modern times, an acre could yield around 1,000 to 2,000 jin (pounds), which was definitely worthwhile. He just hoped they could get even a fifth or a tenth of that here.

“Also,chief, even if it doesn’t go well, we don’t have to worry. We still hunt every day. Growing wheat won’t interfere with anything. We can plant it in open spaces near the tribe, and the women and children can help,” Li added, giving the most persuasive reason. They really had nothing to lose, and besides, the people in Ka’s tribe didn’t even like wheat. They preferred meat anyway.

Chief fell silent again, as if deep in thought, not moving a muscle like a statue. After a long pause, he finally said, “Go call Ka and the others to discuss this. If there are no objections, we’ll start tomorrow.”

Everyone was relieved to hear that—so long as he agreed, all the effort wasn’t in vain. Otherwise, not only would they have wasted a trip, but they’d have wasted valuable grain too.

Ka and his people were actually already living in chief’s home. Since chief’s house had originally been built for a large number of residents, it was quite big—almost like a Beijing courtyard house, but much larger. So when Li Feng and the others came over, they hadn’t realized Ka was there too.

“Alright, I’ll go call them over for a discussion. I don’t think they’ll have any reason to refuse,” Nuo nodded. Why wouldn’t they agree to something so beneficial? They’d have to be fools not to.

Ka and the others arrived quickly. Ka was more or less the acting chief of his tribe. Their previous leader had been killed by a wild beast while defending the tribe. The people had then chosen Ka as the new chief, but he hadn’t wanted the role, so he was only temporarily serving in that capacity. As a result, he was the one handling most tribal affairs.

As soon as they walked in, they saw Li Feng and the others sitting to the side, cheerfully playing with the baby. The chief sat nearby watching them silently.

“Chief, what did you call me for?” Ka asked. He was no longer officially chief now, since their tribe had merged with the new one. He was actually somewhat relieved to be free of that burden. Still, since the integration was still recent, many matters needed him to temporarily step in, acting like a spokesperson for his people. The others weren’t yet fully assimilated into the main tribe, and there was still a slight divide between them. It was like a province managing a city—the two were coexisting for now, with Ka’s group essentially a subsidiary tribe sharing the same space. But this was only temporary. Once full integration happened, Ka could finally set the burden down completely.

Li Feng and the others glanced up as Ka entered, giving him a slight nod as a greeting before returning to playing with the baby. Ka was a little surprised—he hadn’t expected Li Feng to greet him. He’d thought they’d still be on bad terms because of the wheat issue.

“I called you here to discuss the matter of planting wheat,” chief explained, seeing Ka’s surprise at Li Feng’s greeting.

“Wheat?” Ka was confused. What was there to discuss about wheat? Could this be about the rumors from before? He hadn’t expected that Li Feng and his group would actually be willing to teach them how to grow wheat.

“Li Feng and the others say that now is the right time to plant wheat. If we sow it now, we might get a better harvest next year,” chief explained. No one in their tribe had ever grown crops before—this idea was completely new to them. They had always relied on foraging in the wild and never considered that some things could be cultivated, rather than just waiting for the gods to provide. That’s why chief had taken so long to think earlier. He was wondering how it would even work, and whether it was truly feasible.

“Is that true? You’re willing to teach us? But wheat doesn’t taste good—what’s the point of planting it? Wouldn’t it be better to eat meat?” Ka was initially excited—Li Feng was actually willing to teach them. He had thought that after the previous exchange had failed, Li Feng wouldn’t bring it up again.

“It doesn’t taste good only because you’re eating it the wrong way. But let’s not talk about that now. The main thing is that once it’s grown, we can discuss how to eat it then. Either way, it’s edible,” Li Feng said, feeling a bit exasperated. Wheat doesn’t taste good? But he didn’t want to reveal too much too soon—what if it made people suspicious? Better to take it slowly. Just convincing them to plant it was already a risky move.

“Besides, even if it doesn’t taste good, it can still fill your stomach, right? Our tribe doesn’t have any. If we can grow some, then even if we don’t catch anything while hunting, we won’t starve,” Li added, blocking Ka’s overly enthusiastic hand that was reaching for Li Feng’s arm.

“Yes, you’re right. But… how do we plant it?” Ka was still excited. So it could really yield more?

“I’ll teach you tomorrow. But if you want, I can tell you the basic steps now,” Li Feng offered kindly, looking at the excited Ka. He figured it was better to share a little, so they wouldn’t think he was deliberately holding back.

“There’s no rush. We can go over the details tomorrow,” Li quickly stopped him. If they got into it now, they might not get any sleep. Besides, it wasn’t urgent.

“But Ka, how much wheat do you still have in your tribe?” Li Feng asked with concern. He really hoped they hadn’t eaten it all.

“Well… there should still be quite a bit left. Apart from what we ate on the journey, no one’s touched it since we arrived at the tribe,” Ka replied. After all, with meat available, who would want to eat tasteless, husk-covered wheat? “Each person probably still has a large animal-hide sack of it.”

Li Feng knew the kind of sack he was referring to—the same kind that Juhao and the others had used to carry the wheat. One sack held about 40–50 jin (20–25 kg). When they had bartered with Juhao before, half a sack had been about 20 jin—enough to plant half an acre. If Ka was right, and each person had a full sack, that was actually quite a lot. With 40 or 50 people in their tribe, that would be enough seeds for 2–3 acres per person. If it all got planted and there was a good harvest, the output could be substantial.

But if the harvest went poorly, it was entirely possible that they wouldn’t get a single grain. Li Feng needed to make that clear to them, to avoid wasting effort for no gain. He had said from the start that he couldn’t guarantee the outcome. It was chief who had pressured him into saying anything in the first place. Now that it was out in the open, it would be up to them whether or not to plant it.

Li Feng repeated what he had said earlier to chief—that he couldn’t promise a good yield, since he didn’t fully understand it either. Whether or not to plant the wheat would be up to them, and they’d have to discuss it with their own people. “Let’s wait until tomorrow to make a decision. Go back and talk it over thoroughly.”

Fortunately, the only people involved in today’s conversation were chief, Ka, and his two younger brothers, Ju and Hao. No one else was there to bring up the old rumors or the harsh words that had been thrown at Li Feng in the past. That was a relief. But tomorrow, when he’d have to face the entire tribe… who knew what kind of situation it would turn into?