The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 62

Chapter 62

The gentle breeze dispersed the morning mist, and the morning sun rose slowly. The early spring sky was clear and pure, a deep blue. The clouds lazily unfurled, like clusters of white, soft cotton, hanging low on the horizon, as if within reach.

The air was exceptionally fresh. The smell of earth and green grass enveloped the forest. Wisps of golden thread pierced through the clouds and fell upon the land. The dew-covered grass shimmered with a fine silver light, complementing the moving figures in the distant fields.

Three days and another three days, the large, mottled plots in the meadow had changed again. The brown earth had turned scorched black, the fields were no longer flat, and rows of ridges had risen from the ground, dressing the “blank” farmland in a new, striped coat.

From the hazy dawn to the bright sun, the beastmen and sub-beastmen tirelessly sweated in the fields. They made ridges, dug pits, and with their mud-covered hands, they held the seed pieces and seedlings, burying their hopes in the scorched soil.

Potatoes, konjac, wild onions, blueberries… there were quite a few crops to be planted today. Different crops had different planting methods. To prevent planting them incorrectly and having to dig them up and replant, Hua Shi’an could only run back and forth between the upstream and downstream, acting as a supervisor and technical director.

He strolled from upstream to downstream. Just as he stepped onto the ridge of the blueberry field, a mournful cry came from the field, “Oh my, my back! I can’t, I can’t. I almost couldn’t straighten up.”

It was clear that his back was sore from squatting for too long. Chief Mu, who had just stood up from the field, was sighing and constantly pounding his back and waist with his hands.

Compared to potatoes and konjac, the blueberry seedlings, which had been dug up directly from the forest, were a little slower to plant. One person was responsible for two rows. Chang Yueyue, who was squatting behind the chief, had already started on her second row, while Chief Mu’s first row was only half done.

Hearing the chief’s complaint, Chang Yueyue looked up and said indifferently, “You’re old, so don’t overexert yourself, Chief. Just let it be and rest. I’ll plant it later.”

“Hey, what kind of talk is that?” Chief Mu raised an eyebrow and said defiantly, “Your chief may be a little old, but I’m a beastman, after all. You call planting a few blueberries overexerting? Who are you looking down on?”

“Exactly, exactly.”

Hong Yunlang, who was making ridges in front, was not afraid of stirring up trouble. He leaned on his hoe and grinned. “The chief has plenty of strength. Don’t look at how slow he’s planting now. He’s just not used to it. His speed will pick up in a while. Not to mention two rows, even twenty rows won’t be a problem.”

Chang Yueyue stopped trying to persuade him and teased with a smile, “Then you’d better hurry up, Chief. Twenty rows is a lot, almost a whole field.”

“I…”

Two rows had turned into twenty. Chief Mu’s face changed slightly, and he was at a loss for words.

He had been too quick with his tongue, and now he had to suffer for it. Chief Mu held his sore back, not knowing whether to stand or squat. But just then, his peripheral vision swept over the ridge not far away. As if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, he rushed towards Hua Shi’an.

“The Lord Priest is looking for me. You guys continue. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Hua Shi’an, who was just passing by: Do I?

He shouldn’t fool himself into a corner. Chief Mu climbed up the ridge and walked to Hua Shi’an, patting the remaining mud from his palms and grinning. “Shi’an, did you need me for something?”

He had already offered his hand. It didn’t seem right not to give him a way out. Hua Shi’an blinked, a soft laugh escaping his lips. “Do you want to take a walk with me and see how they’re planting?”

“Sure, sure!”

Chief Mu took the opportunity and went on a tour with Hua Shi’an.

The hunting and gathering teams had not gone out. With many hands, the fire burned high. The eleven neat fields were being planted at the same time. Blueberries occupied the largest plot, followed by cranberries. The two plots were next to each other, as the berries ripened at almost the same time, making it convenient for harvesting.

Potatoes occupied three plots, and konjac and ginger each occupied one. It wasn’t that Hua Shi’an didn’t want to plant more, but that there weren’t enough seeds. He would definitely have to continue looking in the forest in the future and plant more when he found them, especially potatoes and konjac, the more the better.

An entire plot at the edge of the downstream was planted with mulberry trees. Mulberry trees had many uses. The leaves could be used to feed the sheep and rabbits, and people could also eat them. The mulberries that ripened in late spring and early summer could also be eaten as fruit.

The remaining three plots were for vegetables. Chives, Chinese onion, fish mint, purslane… one plot was planted with several kinds of wild vegetables, mixed together, used as a vegetable patch. And the six Sichuan peppercorn trees that had been found were also planted on the edge of the vegetable patch.

The last empty plot was for the chili peppers and loofahs that had not yet sprouted.

Work had to be done, and food had to be eaten. For the first planting, they could only plant these. In the future, when they had time, they would slowly reclaim more land and sow more seeds. In the short term, a year and a half, and in the long term, three to five years, the tribe would definitely have no worries about food and drink.

The only regret was that he still hadn’t found the grains that Hua Shi’an had been thinking about day and night.

With meat and vegetables, if only there were a bowl of fragrant rice… sigh!

Hua Shi’an sighed heavily for his carbohydrate-loving stomach.

With the entire tribe working together, they would probably be able to finish planting this afternoon.

Planting row by row, the tribe members quickly went from inexperienced to skilled. After two rounds of inspection, there was nothing left for Hua Shi’an to do. So after parting ways with Chief Mu, Hua Shi’an borrowed two beastmen from Hong Yong and led them downstream.

He had taken away two of the twelve beastmen. It was an honor to be chosen by the Lord Priest, but when he was suddenly asked to bring a hoe, the excited Yan Qiuyu, who had just climbed up the ridge, had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, after walking straight downstream along the grass for not too long, about a hundred meters from the mulberry field, Hua Shi’an, who was leading the way, stopped. And on the green grass at his feet, a huge black circle was particularly conspicuous.

“What are you doing, Lord Priest? Are, are we digging again?”

His arm was aching. Yan Qiuyu stuck his hoe in the ground and shivered, holding the handle. He had guessed it, and the facts were right in front of him, but he still wanted to struggle a little.

He had been walking for too long in the morning, and his shoelaces had come loose. Hua Shi’an threw down his hoe and tied his shoelaces. Only then did he turn to look at him and tease with a smile, “What, you’re not willing?”

“It’s not that I’m not willing,” Yan Qiuyu pouted and muttered. “It’s just, it’s just…”

He stammered for a long time but couldn’t get to the point. Hua Shi’an stopped waiting for him, patted his coir skirt, and stood up. He turned his gaze to the other beastman, the smile in his eyes deepening. “What about you? You’re not willing either?”

“I’m willing! I, I’m very willing.” Mo Huaishan said without thinking, in a hurry.

Not planning to let him off the hook just like that, Hua Shi’an asked again, “After we finish planting today, the hunting team can go hunting in the forest tomorrow. Helping me might delay you for two or three days. Are you really willing? It’s not too late to regret it now.”

He had been too busy recently. They could see each other every day, but it was hard to even say a few words. Mo Huaishan glanced at Hua Shi’an’s slightly flushed cheeks and looked at his eyes very seriously, his speech stuttering again. “N-No regrets. I want to work with you.”

Yan Qiuyu rolled his eyes. “Heh, you’re so capable.”

“Tsk.” Hua Shi’an glared at Yan Qiuyu with dissatisfaction. “Less talk, more work. Let’s get to it. Start digging.”

Yan Qiuyu pointed at the ground with his hoe. “You have to tell us how to dig, Lord Priest. Do we dig inside the circle or outside? How deep? I don’t even know where to start.”

He had been so busy chatting that he had almost forgotten his business. Hua Shi’an picked up his hoe again and, using the black circle he had drawn on the ground in advance, explained to the two of them, “Dig inside the circle, vertically downwards, and dig a deep pit. When you’ve dug to a depth where a person can stand, continue to dig diagonally outwards, expanding the deep pit.”

“The top can’t be too big, no bigger than this circle, and the inside doesn’t have to be too neat. Try to dig it into a circle that’s small on the outside and large on the inside.” The shape that Hua Shi’an wanted was actually very similar to a steamed bun, but the beastmen had never seen a steamed bun. He rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment, and finally thought of a suitable reference.

“A tree hollow! The pit I want is a vertical tree hollow. This circle on top is the entrance. You need to dig a round tree hollow for me inside the ‘entrance,’ and even polish the sides smooth.”

Yan Qiuyu was confused and dumbfounded. He stared blankly at Hua Shi’an and only came to his senses after a long while. “This is too complicated! And this circle… it’s about the size of a back basket, right? It’s hard to even turn around inside. How do you dig outwards when it’s deep? How do you swing a hoe?”

Hua Shi’an: “I know it’s troublesome, but there’s no other way. If you can’t remember, you can ask me. I’ll be here digging with you. Let’s dig first. When you can’t dig anymore, you can go in and dig. I’ll bring you some tools tomorrow.”

Without cement and bricks, a kiln built of mud could only be used once or twice, which was laborious and unrewarding. Hua Shi’an had been wandering around the vicinity these past two days, pondering, and had finally decided to use the riverbank cross-section to dig a larger horizontal kiln, once and for all.

The structure of a horizontal kiln was relatively simple, but what he had just told them was only a part of it, the kiln mouth and the kiln chamber. To successfully fire pottery and charcoal, they also had to dig a firebox below the riverbank cross-section, and then dig out a fire eye and a fire channel to connect to the kiln chamber.

And before that, they had to dig the slope leading to the creek into a vertical cross-section.

Telling them everything at once would only confuse the beastmen. Hua Shi’an stopped there and then waved to the beastmen. “Come on, don’t just stand there. Qiuyu, you dig on top. Huaishan, you come with me to the river—”

“What? I’m digging on top alone?” Yan Qiuyu exclaimed.

Hua Shi’an grunted in acknowledgment and pointed to the black circle with his hoe. “What else? With such a small space, can two people swing their hoes?”

“Don’t be biased, Lord Priest. Mo Huaishan is bigger and stronger than me. If anyone should stay on top, it should be him.” Yan Qiuyu was relentless, his fluttering gaze a little unnatural.

Why was he being so petty? Hua Shi’an chuckled softly. “The work on top is more meticulous, but not very strenuous. Digging the cross-section below is hard work. Are you sure you want to switch?”

Yan Qiuyu was very straightforward. “Yes, I want to be with—”

“N-No!” Mo Huaishan’s voice rose, and he refused very firmly.

The honest beastman had suddenly become assertive, interrupting others’ words uncharacteristically. This was a rare sight.

The air froze for a moment. Hua Shi’an and Yan Qiuyu were shocked and stunned.

Seemingly realizing that his tone was too harsh, Mo Huaishan scratched his head and stammered, but he was very firm. “I, I’m strong. If I dig more, Shi’an can relax a little. Qiuyu, you, you just dig on top. Don’t, don’t let Shi’an get tired.”

He wasn’t biased, but he did have his own selfish motives. Hua Shi’an answered for Yan Qiuyu, “Okay.”