Chapter 91

The next day.

As soon as it was dawn, Lin Bei got up and prepared to take a bath in the Dragon Pond.

It seemed unusually quiet, and Lin Bei felt a bit unaccustomed. He then looked up at the bird's nest on the grapevine and suddenly realized that it was because there were no chirps from Doudou and Qiqi. Normally, the two little ones would have woken up by now.

Lin Bei climbed up the locust tree to check. The bird's nest was cold, clearly indicating that the two little ones hadn't returned last night. Lin Bei fell silent, feeling a mix of emotions—both relieved and a bit sad. The two little birds had finally grown up and started to leave Lin Bei's protection. He wondered if they would ever come back.

Then Lin Bei thought of the little wolf cub with the birthmark. This little guy probably had already forgotten about Lin Bei. Lin Bei smiled wryly and submerged himself to the bottom of the Dragon Pond. Everyone is a passerby, including these animals.

Cui Lan and the others gradually woke up and began to wash their faces with the spring water. They were no longer surprised by Lin Bei staying in the pond. As Cui Lan washed her face, she recited the characters Lin Bei had taught her the day before.

In the past few days, whenever there was time in the evening, Lin Bei would teach Cui Lan to recognize some characters. Bian Ji would also watch. Cui Lan had never learned to read before, but because of this, she progressed quickly with what Lin Bei taught her. After all, adults have a much stronger ability to absorb new things compared to children.

When it was about time, everyone gathered and headed towards the school. The main task for today was still to catch elephants in the Elephant Valley. Bian Ji and Zhen Ding, of course, wouldn't go, but Bian Ji would visit the school every day to check on the progress.

When they arrived at the school, the laborers hadn't shown up yet. Lin Bei went outside and caught two wild rabbits, which he then gave to Cui Lan to roast using the things left by the villagers, while waiting for the others.

Bian Ji had drunk a bit too much of the Meiyah wine last night and still felt a bit dizzy. Cui Lan made some meat soup for Bian Ji. Drinking the warm soup, Mr. Bian immediately perked up.

"Sir, there's already frost," Cui Lan said, her hands still busy.

Lin Bei nodded. Indeed, it was getting a bit cold at night, and in the morning, a white mist could be seen on the leaves. Of course, the weather was still quite hot during the day, but it was clear that winter was approaching.

"Have the villagers stored enough food for the winter?" Bian Ji asked.

Cui Lan smiled. "No worries. No one has gone hungry while building the school. I've noticed that many people have even gained weight."

"That's true. These laborers are well-fed every day, and they even eat meat. I'm sure many of them hope this can continue indefinitely," Bian Ji laughed heartily.

Zhen Ding added, "In the past few days, many villagers have been selling us mountain goods, mostly wild rabbits and pheasants. These are likely the things they exchanged for earlier. If Sir continues to do this a few more times, I'm sure the villagers of Xishan will have a good year."

Lin Bei was speechless. A few more times? No way, if that happened, Lin Bei would be in tears. However, after the school was built, Lin Bei planned to have the villagers raise rabbits and pheasants. By the time they were ready to be sold, there would be no problem.

The group chatted and laughed, and time passed quickly. Finally, they could see the laborers approaching from a distance, with An Zhongzhi leading the way.

Seeing Lin Bei, An Zhongzhi's face lit up, but he didn't forget his duties. He first instructed the clerks to get the laborers to work, then quickly ran to Lin Bei, looking worried.

"What's wrong?" Lin Bei asked curiously.

"Sir, it's about the long-nosed beasts."

"Is there a problem?" Lin Bei's heart tightened.

"No, it's just that they eat too much," An Zhongzhi said with a bitter smile. "Yesterday, they ate a whole cart of grass, about 200 pounds. That's the food for several oxen for many days. Sir, what do you think...?"

Lin Bei smiled. It was normal for elephants to eat a lot. If they ate less, it would be a cause for concern, as it might indicate they were sick. "Did you have people take the long-nosed beasts to the nearby mountains to eat today?"

"Of course. About fifty people are following them, just to make sure they don't run away," An Zhongzhi replied, showing that he had taken Lin Bei's instructions seriously.

"Then let's do that for now. We'll see how it goes by evening."

By evening, the elephants would have eaten all day and wouldn't be able to eat much more. If the elephant keepers were smart, they could cut grass from a distance to feed them, so by evening, the elephants might be full and wouldn't be as hungry as when they were first caught.

Lin Bei's words made An Zhongzhi nod, but he suddenly thought of something else. "Right, Sir, the long-nosed beasts produce a lot of waste. It's very hot now, and just one night, the smell is unbearable, and there are flies everywhere. What should we do, Sir?"

Elephants eat a lot, and they also produce a lot of waste. It was the first time An Zhongzhi had seen this. This morning, he found several piles of waste in the elephant shed, attracting many flies and causing a terrible smell. This was just from two elephants. If there were more, An Zhongzhi couldn't imagine the consequences.

Lin Bei listened and felt a bit amused. He had caught the elephants with this in mind. The next step was to build a biogas digester.

Given the size and strength of elephants, there weren't many practical uses for them in rural areas, as most of the time, oxen could do the same work. Comparatively, elephants eat more than oxen but can do about the same amount of work. Anyone would prefer oxen over elephants. Therefore, the waste, or feces, could be a way to highlight the advantages of elephants.

Is producing a lot of feces an advantage? Lin Bei assured everyone that it was indeed an advantage. Elephants produce nearly 100 kilograms of feces daily, more than 100 people combined. Of course, without a biogas digester, the feces would be useless except for fertilizing the land. However, with a biogas digester, the feces could be converted into biogas, which has many uses. The efficiency of using elephants would greatly increase.

If each household could raise one elephant, the biogas produced from the elephant's daily feces could meet the household's needs. Additionally, biogas can be used for heating and cooking, and the residue and liquid from the biogas digester can be used for fertilizing fields and raising fish. Lin Bei believed that while raising an elephant requires a lot of food, if these resources were utilized and formed into a production chain, raising an elephant would not only be profitable but could even be profitable.