The sun is golden, the sky is blue, the vegetation is green, and the earth is mottled. [Liu'an City] seems to be as busy and prosperous as in previous summers, both inside and outside.
On the east side of the city, the pontoon bridge made of grass leaves and stems between the nest and the shore needs constant maintenance, otherwise it will be destroyed by wind and rain in a day or two. But it is such a simple pontoon, with thousands of ants coming and going on it.
These are basically harvester ant slaves, with a few overseers of the worker ants from the hairy forest ant family. As for the nobles, they would not lower themselves to the dirty and muddy foraging places on the east coast.
The destination of the harvest ant slaves is the large expanse of lush grass and scattered shrubs on the east bank of the pond. Now is the season when the February orchids are fading and the small yellow flowers of the Compositae family are blooming. Some wild vegetables and early-maturing grass seeds are available. There are also preys to collect and hunt. This is one of the most important food sources in [Willowbank City].
On the surface of the pond, ants are also coming and going. Today is not the day to worship the water god. There is no need to clear the water before a large group of hairy forest ant workers are dispatched. This is also the third main task of the hairy forest ant workers in the hairy forest ant country besides fighting and serving the nobles.
Workers of the hairy forest ant may walk along the shore and nearby water bodies, looking for usable parts of the floating objects that are pushed to the shore by the ripples. Or simply ride on leaves, grass branches and other floating objects, use your arthropods to gently paddle, and try your luck in the depths of the pond.
The water striders in the pond are a delicacy, but unfortunately they are too flexible and generally cannot be caught by hairy forest ants. You also need to be prepared for sneak attacks by water mantises and water hyacinths. But the larvae that can be found everywhere in those shallow pools are the targets that tempt them to join in.
I saw these hairy forest ants riding on natural floating objects. After arriving at the water surface where the larvae were most concentrated, they let the wind and water flow carry them slowly. The hairy forest ants themselves remained motionless, but they were using their skills seriously. Observe with compound eyes and search for something with antennae.
Soon, a hairy forest ant made a discovery. It was a small conical tube that stuck out of the water and popped up. The other end of the tube extended into the water, and there was something connected to the end. Clearly, because the water in the pool is shaking and shimmering, and the worker ants have poor eyesight.
But experienced woolly forest ant fishermen know that this is the tube the larvae use to breathe, and at the other end of the tube is a plump larvae. The two hairy forest ants immediately clamped their breathing tubes with their jaws and worked together to "pluck" the worm hidden underwater. This is a translucent, fat little worm that is twisting its body vigorously and in vain, but in the end it can only accept its ending at the bottom of the food chain!
This bird is so plump and tender that you can even see the long digestive tract in its body running through the head and tail through the sunlight. The twisted body is chubby, and it will be tender and juicy if you take a bite!
This is what two hairy forest ant workers did. One bit off the head of the larvae, and then sucked on its body. The other bit off from the tail, and quickly sucked out the meat and juice from its body, and then Just throw away the wrinkled and nutritious skin.
Hairy forest ant workers have the right to fill their stomachs first during fishing and hunting. After eating and drinking, these hairy forest ant fishermen will bite off the heads of the remaining larvae and string them together with fiber until the harvest is full or If they can no longer catch the fish, they will call their fellow fish on small and medium-sized flying insects in the air to take them and the fish back to their nest.
The nobles who were drunk in the banquet had long been impatient to wait. As soon as the fresh insects were transported to the nest, the hairy forest ants waiting at the entrance of the nest to serve the nobles immediately picked up the freshest insects and quickly burrowed into them. Entering the passage, he was sent to his main gate as quickly as possible, where he served wine and food to the nobles.
However, the larvae that are no longer fresh have a bad taste and are no longer suitable for sucking the juice directly. They can only be dried or salted. They need to be soaked in water when eating. They are just for workers and slaves to satisfy their hunger and supplement. It’s just bad food for protein.
As the most important trade hub in the eastern part of the Maolin Ant Kingdom, there are always caravans flying around inside and outside [Liu'an City], as well as those weather-beaten merchant ants.
These caravans are all "state-owned" by the Maolin Ant Kingdom, but they are specifically owned by each nest. For example, there are more than 20 caravans in [Liu'an City], with hundreds of locusts and dragonflies suitable for long-distance flights and dozens of other caravans. Thousands of business ants. These caravans mainly go to the eastern highlands or further places to trade with the indigenous tribes they have good relations with and the civilized ant tribes in other areas. There are also a small number of caravans going to the north and south.
The caravan brought abundant commodities and prosperity to [Willowbank City]. However, there are several leading nobles in each caravan, but their status is at the lowest level in the Maulin Ant noble system, and they are often discriminated against. These nobles were either born with disabilities or were demoted after making serious mistakes. They could only give up the warmth and comfort in their nests and travel long distances with the ants and slaves in the caravan, enduring the wind, sun and rain. The pain of showering.
While most of the nobles were drunk and feasting, these caravan nobles were not invited, let alone allowed to enter without permission. Even when sober nobles discuss military and political matters, they cannot participate. Even in the war that almost all nobles have to participate in, they have no share.
However, the caravan nobles are always the first to come into contact with the good things in the trade. Just like the fishermen who hunt for larvae, the caravan nobles who are allowed to taste the food are not bad, and they can be regarded as good. A kind of compensation.
In addition, these caravans also have to do domestic transportation part-time. Recently, the eastern border has been busy transporting supplies and building fortifications. Two-thirds of the caravans have been deployed for transportation. Therefore, the caravan nobles in [Liu'an City] rarely gather together and usually go their separate ways.
On this day, they were summoned outside the conference room for the first time, but they talked to each other one by one. They didn't know why, and no one told them the reason.
At present, the army of destroyers has approached [Willowbank City], and the current busyness and prosperity of this lair is the last scene of peace.
And "Jug" these days has to devote himself wholeheartedly to military affairs that he originally didn't care about. It wasn't until the war was imminent that "Jug" discovered that he still had many legions under his own nobles, and there was a huge shortage of captains and squad captains.
At the military affairs meeting on this day, "Juju" also acted urgently. After the routine discussion, he suddenly proposed to recruit caravan nobles to serve as captains. As for the vacancy of squad captains, they could only rely on newly married people as previously discussed. Fei is a young male ant that has not experienced war yet.
There were many voices of opposition at the Military Council, but in the face of practical difficulties, the main nest nobles took the lead in compromising. Later, the local nobles also stopped opposing, and the "water jar" proposal was approved!
