The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 41

Chapter 41

The sun retracted its light and slowly sank into the valley, its brilliant afterglow dyeing the sky red.

The temperature was dropping day by day, and it was getting dark earlier and earlier. After moving the demolded candles back to the warehouse, Hong Yinglan and Yan Zhile hurried back to the camp to help prepare dinner.

Not intending to help, Hua Shi’an put the three candles and three mini bamboo tubes filled with wax oil back in his tree hollow, slung his coir bag over his shoulder, and, treading on the soft green grass, walked towards the riverbank where he had washed up in the morning.

The sun was already setting, but a group of beastmen were still splashing around in the river. Hua Shi’an stood on the riverbank and looked from a distance. Looking at the river surface, which had been dyed amber by the setting sun, he almost mistook the group of beastmen for a flock of wild ducks playing in the water.

The beastmen’s fishing skills were becoming more and more proficient, and they were using their tools with ease. The fish were slippery and hard to catch, so they used their back baskets. At the right moment, they would slam the back basket into the water, and with a splash, the silver fish scales in the back basket would sparkle in the afterglow.

Missing was the norm, but occasionally, cheers would erupt. They were like tireless machines, burning themselves for their tribe members, for the tribe.

They caught fish during the day and set and collected the fish traps in the morning and evening. Thanks to the hardworking beastmen, the tribe had been able to eat fish every day recently. If they were frugal, they could even save some of the fish and make smoked fish using the method Hua Shi’an had taught them, to be stored in the warehouse for winter.

But this was not a long-term solution. Not only was the efficiency low, but it was also harmful to their bodies. The weather was getting colder, and soaking in the water for a whole day was something even the strongest constitution couldn’t withstand.

There were simpler and faster fishing tools.

Hua Shi’an stroked his chin and thought for a moment, and soon, a fishing net came to mind.

A fishing net was convenient, fast, and efficient. As long as you found the right waters and mastered the correct way to cast the net, one net could be worth several days of the beastmen’s work. It was just that weaving a fishing net… was time-consuming and laborious.

Living by the river, they would have to cast nets to fish sooner or later. It was better to put it on the agenda as soon as possible. It was impossible for one person to weave such a large fishing net. He could teach the tribe members who stayed behind to help twist the coir rope and weave the fishing net.

Yes, that’s what I’ll do!

Having made up his mind, Hua Shi’an withdrew his gaze from the distance, stepped on the gravel to the riverbank, and found a large, strangely shaped rock in the shallows.

He pushed the rock with both hands. The seemingly immovable behemoth lifted a corner. Hua Shi’an freed a hand and fumbled under the rock for a moment, and a wet sheepskin was pulled out.

After being soaked for a day and a night, the sheepskin, which had been harder than cardboard, had finally softened. The shriveled fat and sinew had re-expanded, and the lingering, gamey smell had been activated, smelling like the rotting corpse of an animal that had been dead in the mountains for ten and a half days.

He had to endure the smell. Hua Shi’an held his breath and spread the entire sheepskin on the ground. He took out a stone knife from his coir bag and slowly scraped off the residual fat and sinew from the skin layer.

After being dried and then soaked for a whole day, the sinew had lost its original toughness. It was not difficult to scrape it off, like shoveling off peeling wall paint. One scrape would remove a large piece, which was easy and stress-relieving.

To keep the sheepskin intact, the force had to be just right. After scraping off two large pieces with two scrapes, Hua Shi’an became complacent and couldn’t help but speed up. But in a moment of carelessness, the blade of the knife cut a slit in the sheepskin.

It was a good thing it was the edge that was cut. If the middle had been cut, Hua Shi’an would have been heartbroken.

He slowed down and scraped bit by bit. By the time the entire sheepskin was clean, the sun had completely disappeared. The gathering team, which had been out picking pine cones, returned with their back baskets, and the hunting team, which had been fishing in the river, also came ashore one after another.

He went back to the camp and filled two bamboo tubes with plant ash, and took a wooden stick as thick as his forearm. Hua Shi’an squatted by the river and washed the de-greased sheepskin clean, then began the second step, tanning.

Plant ash was mainly composed of potassium carbonate, which could be used as a neutralizing agent.

All he had to do was sprinkle it on the skin layer, spread it evenly by hand, and then fold the sheepskin and beat it repeatedly with a wooden stick. The “neutralizing agent” would slowly penetrate the skin layer, diluting the alkalinity in the rawhide, thus making it soft and elastic.

Not only did it soften, but the other components in the plant ash also had deodorizing and antiseptic effects.

It was very simple in theory, but in practice, it was unusually laborious.

Hua Shi’an swung the wooden stick and beat it repeatedly. In a short while, his arm was sore. He switched hands, and after who knows how many blows, the grayish sky had completely darkened, and he was also on the verge of collapse.

Estimating that it was about done, Hua Shi’an put down the wooden stick and kneaded it with his hands. The sheepskin had obviously softened a lot, but it was not enough. He immersed the sheepskin in the river again, repeatedly rubbing and washing away the residual plant ash, and then spread the wrung-out sheepskin on a rock.

He took out a mini bamboo tube from his coir bag and cut it open with a stone knife. Inside was the beeswax left over from making candles in the afternoon, a small stick, like a lip balm.

He spread the sheepskin flat. Hua Shi’an started from the edge and applied the beeswax to the skin layer, bit by bit. This step required patience. The sheepskin was wet, and the skin layer was particularly smooth, so it was not easy for the beeswax to stick. He fussed for more than half an hour to finish one sheepskin.

Beeswax also helped to soften the animal skin. Hua Shi’an was worried that the beating was not enough, so this was an extra layer of insurance.

He was almost done. All that was left was the final step—drying.

Animal skin and plant fibers were different. The fibers in animal skin would shrink during the drying process. If it was hung directly on a branch to dry, the sheepskin that Hua Shi’an had painstakingly tanned would most likely shrink by half.

To not have wasted all his effort, Hua Shi’an went back to the camp and cut four sections of golden bamboo. Two were the same length, and two were the same shorter length. He then used coir rope to tie them together and make a simple, large picture frame.

He made a hole in each of the six corners of the sheepskin with a sharp knife, threaded the coir rope through and tied it. The other end of the coir rope was tied to the bamboo frame. The tension had to be just right, ensuring that the sheepskin was stretched straight, but also avoiding tearing.

Soon, all six coir ropes were tied to the bamboo frame. The sheepskin that Hua Shi’an had painstakingly tanned was like a snow-white oil painting, firmly mounted on the frame.

Drying it this way greatly limited the shrinkage of the sheepskin, and the dried sheepskin would be large and flat.

He moved the bamboo frame and sheepskin back to the foot of the crooked-necked tree, and carried the coir bag and tools back to the tree hollow. By the time Hua Shi’an dragged his tired body to the camp, everyone was already eating with their bamboo tubes.

He had conveniently left his own eating utensils in the camp when he was making the bamboo frame just now. He didn’t know if anyone had gotten him food. Hua Shi’an looked around, and just as he was thinking of asking Hong Yinglan, Chief Mu, who was sitting in a corner and eating with Hong Yong, called out to him.

“Shi’an, Shi’an, over here!”

Chief Mu stood up directly with his bamboo tube, calling and shouting, as if he had something to talk to him about.

Hua Shi’an waved to him. “Wait a minute, Chief. I’m just looking for—”

“It’s here. Your bamboo tube is also here. I got some for you.”

Hearing this, Hua Shi’an no longer hesitated and quickly walked over.

Dinner seemed to have been served by the beastmen. Just as Hua Shi’an approached, the usually stern Hong Yong immediately put down his half-finished fish soup and handed him a bamboo tube of steaming fish soup with wild vegetables and chopsticks.

Hua Shi’an took it, thanked him, and then turned to sit beside Chief Mu.

He hadn’t even had a sip of the hot soup. Just as his butt touched the ground, Chief Mu grabbed a few wilted chives from his feet and shoved them in Hua Shi’an’s face. “Rangrang, you said this wild vegetable is Rangrang?!”

He had accidentally hyped it up too much. He knew that Rangrang had a different meaning for the tribe members, but he hadn’t expected the chief to be so excited. The vegetable leaves were almost poking him in the face. Hua Shi’an shrank his head and grunted in acknowledgment, steeling himself.

“Good, good, good!”

He stopped eating. Chief Mu put down his bamboo tube and slapped his thigh, his face beaming with excitement. “I remember, I remember you said that if Rangrang grows around the tribe, everything will go smoothly for the tribe. Now that we’ve found Rangrang, does that mean the Beast God has been watching over us? The Beast God has been blessing our Rangrang Tribe?”

Uh…

Not knowing how to respond, Hua Shi’an stuffed a large mouthful of wild vegetables into his mouth, pretending he couldn’t speak.

In fact, there was no need for him to speak. Chief Mu laughed heartily and answered his own question, “Yes, it must be so! Our salt is increasing, our food is increasing. It’s all thanks to the Beast God’s protection. At least we don’t have to worry about this winter.”

The old chief was as excited as a child, his face flushed, his speech incoherent with excitement.

Hua Shi’an was busy eating and didn’t speak. Hong Yong couldn’t stand it anymore and, in between bites, said perfunctorily, “Don’t worry. It’s not just this winter. The Lord Priest said that after winter, we’ll start planting. In the future, there will only be more and more food.”

“Don’t just talk, Chief. Hurry up and eat. The fish soup will get fishy when it’s cold.”

“Oh, right, right, eat, eat first.” Chief Mu picked up his bamboo tube and took a large gulp of the fish soup.

It was obviously impossible to have a quiet meal. After a gulp of the fish soup, Chief Mu patted Hua Shi’an’s shoulder with the hand holding the chopsticks and said with a smile, “Yueyue told me that the place where she found Rangrang is not far from the pine forest.”

“It just so happens that the pine cones in that forest are almost all picked. I’m planning to have the gathering team go and dig for Rangrang in the forest tomorrow after they’ve picked the last of the pine cones. We’ll dig them up and plant them in front of our own tree hollows, just like you did. What do you think?”

Chives have a higher priority than potatoes? Hua Shi’an’s brow furrowed slightly. He swallowed his food and said, “Rangrang is cold-resistant and has strong vitality. It will indeed survive if we transplant it. But I think potatoes are more important. Rangrang is not even as filling as purslane, and the taste might not be ideal if it’s not paired with other food.”

“But, but Rangrang is not just a wild vegetable. It can also bring good luck to the tribe! Attract the attention of the Beast God and let Him protect the tribe more!” Chief Mu added fuel to the fire, his tone righteous.

Hua Shi’an was dumbfounded.

Did he say all that? Did he embellish it himself?

“We can plant Rangrang, but there’s really no need for the entire gathering team to go and dig for it.”

He didn’t want to question the chief’s arrangement, but for the sake of the potatoes he had been longing for, Hua Shi’an thought for a long time and came up with a plan, “The weather is getting colder and colder. If we don’t go into the mountains soon, we won’t have the chance. Chief, what do you think of this? After the pine cones are picked, let the gathering team go and dig for potatoes first. Just leave three or four people for me. I’ll take them to dig for Rangrang and plant it.”

“It’s not just Rangrang. The sub-beastmen in the gathering team have also found several other kinds of plants, some of which are also very delicious and useful. We can pick them on the way.”

Chief Mu’s interest was piqued. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Oh? What other plants? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Hua Shi’an refused to be sidetracked. “We’ll talk about that later.”

Chief Mu: “We should indeed go and dig for the potatoes. But if we only leave three or four people for you, won’t that be too few? You have to dig, plant, and pick other things. Can you manage?”

“Manage? Why do we have to manage?” Hua Shi’an smiled. “We’re not relying on Rangrang to get through the winter. We can dig and plant slowly. If we can’t finish, we can plant again next spring.”

Chief Mu nodded thoughtfully. “You know, that’s actually true. Alright then, we’ll listen to you. After they’ve picked the pine cones tomorrow, they’ll go into the mountains to find potatoes.”

With that, Chief Mu turned his head and gestured to Hong Yong with his chin. “Your hunting team will go too. That sweet honey is so delicious. The tribe members all love it. You guys go up the mountain and get some more. Anyway, Shi’an said it’s durable, so we can store it and eat it slowly in the winter.”

Hearing that the hunting team also had a task, Hong Yong frowned. “What about the fish? Didn’t you say yesterday that we should catch more fish for the winter? You’re so fickle.”

Hua Shi’an suggested, “Let’s split up. Half of the beastmen will catch fish, and the other half will go up the mountain to collect honey. The team collecting honey can be led by Mo Huaishan and Yan Qiuyu. They’ve been there once and are familiar with the way.”

“Alright, that’s what we’ll do!” Chief Mu made a final decision.