The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 11

Chapter 11

Night fell. There wasn’t a single star in the pitch-black sky. A thick, heavy darkness enveloped the forest, with only the faint glow of a fire illuminating the wide, flat clearing between the trees.

After half a night of fussing, the wild vegetable and mushroom soup in the stone pot was finally ready. Hua Shi’an held a bamboo tube in his left hand and wooden chopsticks in his right, alternating between bites of mushroom and wild vegetables, soothing his long-starved stomach.

The cooked purslane was much tastier. The faint sourness combined with a rich, fresh fragrance was crisp and appetizing. The dried mushrooms, having absorbed the broth, had plumped up again. They were chewier and more flavorful than fresh mushrooms, with a rich, fungal aroma and an extremely delicious taste.

There were no other seasonings. The entire pot of soup had only the saltiness of salt and the original flavor of the food. But for the beastmen who hadn’t had a hot meal in over ten days, this hot soup was already a rare delicacy.

This was his first cooked meal since transmigrating, and Hua Shi’an was equally satisfied. After downing a full bamboo tube of soup and vegetables, he was still a bit wanting. He licked his lips and looked toward the stone pot on the fire.

Unfortunately, the mushrooms and wild vegetables in the pot had already been distributed, and it was now filled with clear water.

They had harvested a considerable amount of food in the past few days, enough to last for a few days even if everyone ate their fill. But there were many people and small pots. Five or six fires were burning in the basketball-court-sized clearing, each with a stone pot, and surrounded by more than ten people. It was perfectly normal not to have enough to eat.

Hua Shi’an’s side was relatively better. He was sitting with the beastmen, and the stone pot used for cooking was one of the two largest in the tribe, the same one used for boiling salt today. But… it wasn’t just the pot that was large; so were the beastmen’s appetites.

Fortunately, the tribe didn’t just have wild vegetables and mushrooms; they also had filling and delicious chestnuts.

Placing the bamboo tube and chopsticks beside him, Hua Shi’an picked up a long, blackened wooden stick from in front of Chief Mu.

He poked the stick into the fire and rummaged around. In a short while, more than ten round lumps the size of an adult’s fist, resembling coal briquettes, rolled out onto the empty ground.

A burnt smell filled the air. With a light tap of the wooden stick, the black “coal briquettes” shed some crumbs. Hua Shi’an used the stick to push one in front of him. He was about to pick it up but was deterred by the scorching heat.

From the moment the “coal briquettes” were dug out, the beastmen who had finished their meal all fixed their gazes on the charred lumps, holding their breath and waiting patiently, swallowing their saliva from time to time.

Seeing Hua Shi’an’s hand extend and then retract, Yong, who was sitting beside him, couldn’t take it anymore. He took the initiative to grab the “coal briquette” and bring it in front of him. “I’ll do it.”

“I’ll help too.”

The other beastmen also lent a hand.

Iron hands peeled away the charred exterior of the “coal briquettes,” revealing yellowish-green leaves. Tearing away the layers of leaves, which had been wilted by the high heat, revealed plump, distinct, and split-open chestnuts.

The burnt smell faded, replaced by a rich, sweet fragrance. Looking at the shiny shells and the golden flesh revealed at the openings, the beastmen exclaimed in unison:

“So fragrant. Do roasted chestnuts smell this good?”

“This is too fragrant, even more fragrant than the smell of melting beasts!”

“The color of the flesh has changed too. It smells so sweet.”

“Can we eat it now? I, I can’t hold back anymore.”

The sound of inhaling filled the air, and the oxygen around them was almost sucked dry by the beastmen. Hua Shi’an couldn’t help but laugh out loud and nodded. “You can eat them now. Be careful, they’re hot.”

“This packet is for you.” Yong placed a packet of roasted chestnuts in front of Hua Shi’an.

Not refusing his kindness, Hua Shi’an thanked him, picked a piping hot chestnut from the leaf packet, deftly peeled and skinned it, blew on it a couple of times, and popped it into his mouth.

The crowd exclaimed, but Chief Mu was unfazed.

They ate chestnuts every day. The taste probably wouldn’t change much even if they were roasted.

He peeled off the shell and skin, and popped the steaming chestnut into his mouth. With one bite, the mealy, soft chestnut flesh quickly melted in his mouth. Chief Mu was stunned. He almost forgot to chew, and a satisfied and surprised smile spread across his eyes.

The texture was delicate, sweet, and soft… Chief Mu’s eyes widened. He carefully examined the chestnut in the firelight, so excited he stammered, unable to speak clearly, “Is, is this really a chestnut? It’s completely different from what we ate before! It’s not crispy anymore, it’s soft, and it’s sweeter!”

“It’s so delicious. I’ve never eaten such a delicious fruit! I’m completely captivated by the fragrance,” Lang said, his cheeks puffed out as he popped one after another into his mouth.

Yong had one in his mouth and another in his hand, turning it over and over. “What a magical fruit. Why don’t we just look for chestnuts from now on and gather as many as possible? This fruit is delicious and filling. If we stock up enough, we won’t have to worry about winter.”

“That won’t do,” Chief Mu shook his head. “We have to gather chestnuts, but we also have to look for other fruits. An said this is the season for fruits. If we look around more, we might find food that’s even more delicious and filling than chestnuts!”

Lang chimed in, “That’s right. It’s too early to stock up for winter now. The chestnuts might go bad if we keep them for that long.”

Yong raised an eyebrow and turned to Hua Shi’an for confirmation. “Chestnuts don’t spoil easily, right?”

“They don’t spoil that easily,” Hua Shi’an replied after swallowing his food. “The uneaten chestnuts can be dried in the sun and then stored in a cool, ventilated place. They won’t go bad even until next year, but the taste will be a bit inferior to fresh chestnuts, more suitable for boiling.”

“Boiling? Chestnuts can be boiled too?”

“You can eat them raw, roast them, and boil them. Chestnuts are truly a good fruit!”

The chestnuts at the other fires were also roasted, and a rich, sweet fragrance filled the air. The tribe members ate chestnuts and chatted, and deafening cheers echoed in the night-shrouded clearing.

Life was slowly getting better. Seeing this, Chief Mu smiled with satisfaction. A thought suddenly occurred to him. He looked at the beastmen who were busy eating chestnuts and cleared his throat. “A new forest, a new beginning. What do you guys think… should our Squirrel Tribe take on a new name?”

“A new name? That’s a good idea,” Lang’s interest was piqued. He quickly swallowed his food and said, “What new name should we choose? Should we combine the names of all the previous tribes?”

“The Red Giant Rock Long Flower Tribe? What kind of name is that? It sounds terrible. No,” Chief Mu waved his hand.

The beastman Yong looked around and actively participated, “The Giant Tree Forest is full of giant trees. We can be like the forest and call ourselves the Giant Tree Tribe.”

“That works! The Giant Tree Tribe, it sounds similar to our Giant Rat Tribe!” Feng, from the Giant Rat Tribe, nodded eagerly, his face beaming.

Lang immediately jumped out to object, “No way! Our Red Pine Tribe has the most people. If we’re going to be named after a tree, it should be the Red Tree Tribe!”

“That’s nonsense. Where are there red trees in the Giant Tree Forest?”

“What are you arguing about?” Chief Mu interrupted their dispute, his face stern. “You two, don’t try to split the family here. There is no Red Pine Tribe, and no Giant Rat Tribe, only one Squirrel Tribe!”

His tone was a bit harsh. Lang and Feng, who had been reprimanded, lowered their heads.

“We understand, Chief.”

Not wanting the atmosphere to be too tense, Yong turned his gaze to Hua Shi’an. “Lord Priest, do you have any better ideas?”

The title “Lord Priest” caught Hua Shi’an off guard. It took him two seconds to realize he was being addressed.

He had been pondering this himself while listening to the beastmen’s discussion. Tribe names were usually based on the environment or beast form. Since there was a meadow and a river nearby, the Clear River Tribe would be a good name, simple and easy to remember.

But… Clear River Tribe shared a character with Rock River Tribe. To prevent the beastmen from arguing again, it was better to scrap that name.

What would be a good name? Hua Shi’an thought for a moment, threw the chestnut shell in his hand into the fire, and looked up at the crowd. “If you ask me, I think we can call ourselves the Rangrang Tribe.”

Chief Mu was completely bewildered. “Rangrang? Is that a wild vegetable or a wild fruit? Why haven’t I heard of it?”

Yong, who had initiated the naming, also didn’t understand and looked at Hua Shi’an with a blank expression.

Peaceful times and bountiful years, a house full of abundance. The meaning was auspicious times and a storehouse full of grain.

Explaining it to the tribe like that wouldn’t work. Hua Shi’an smiled and rephrased it in a more colloquial way, “The chief is right. Rangrang is a type of wild vegetable, a vegetable that symbolizes hope.”

“It is said that if it grows around a tribe, everything will go smoothly for that tribe. We will have endless food and endless salt in the future, so much that our tree hollows won’t be able to hold it all.”

Before he could finish, a series of “wows” erupted from the crowd.

Completely forgetting that they were still naming the tribe, Chief Mu eagerly asked, “Such a magical wild vegetable? Does Rangrang grow around our tribe?”

Hua Shi’an shook his head regretfully. “I haven’t seen it, so I thought of borrowing its name to get some good luck.”

“Good, good!” Chief Mu slapped his thigh and made an immediate decision. “We’ll listen to the Lord Priest. From now on, our Squirrel Tribe will be called the Rangrang Tribe. We’ll borrow its name and its luck, and we will have endless food in the future!”

“Rangrang Tribe, Rangrang Tribe, hehe, it sounds nice.”

“Rangrang Tribe, so much food we can’t finish it all!”

The beastmen shouted at the top of their lungs, each more excited than the last.

What a good opportunity… A thought occurred to Hua Shi’an. He coughed lightly into his fist and deliberately raised his voice, “A new name, a new atmosphere. The tribe has a new name, so people should probably have new ones too. I’ve decided to change my name. From now on, you can all call me Hua Shi’an.”

The noisy beastmen gradually quieted down, their eyes wide with confusion as they looked at him.

“Hua Shi’an, hiss.” Chief Mu repeated it, still not understanding. He asked Hua Shi’an with a puzzled expression, “I understand changing your name, but why is your name so long? And what does it mean?”

Hua Shi’an patiently explained, “Hua is the surname, Shi’an is the given name. It’s actually just one extra character. The meaning of the name is… ahem, peace at all times.”

“Then what’s a surname?” Shan scratched his head and asked.

It was a good thing he had transmigrated into a chipmunk. Hua Shi’an apologized in his heart and made up a story with a straight face, “I am a sub-beastman of the Chipmunk Tribe, and my beast form is also a chipmunk. Although the Chipmunk Tribe no longer exists, it was the tribe where I grew up. I want to add it to the front of my name to always remember it.”

Understanding the meaning of a surname, Chief Mu was greatly shocked and was speechless for a long time.

It wasn’t until the beastmen around him started clamoring again, all proposing to change their names, that he came back to his senses and slapped his thigh. “Change! I want to change too. From now on, I’ll be called Hong Mu!”

Hong… Hongmu? Hua Shi’an almost choked on his saliva.

He really couldn’t bear to see the tribe members come up with strange names. He recovered and quickly reminded them, “You can be like me, add a character to your original name, and then add a surname. If you really can’t think of anything, you can come to me, and I’ll help you choose.”

“Me, me, Lord Priest, help me!”

“I want to add one too!”

“What should my name be, Lord Priest…”

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.