The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 70

Chapter 70

“I found it, I found the rice seedlings the Lord Priest was talking about!”

“Is this it? It looks just like a weed.”

“Here, here’s a big clump. Quick, bring the back basket over.”

“Coming, coming! Wow, what a big patch. One back basket probably won’t be enough to hold it all.”

“Sister Yueyue, we need two more back baskets over here!”

“Got it. You guys try to keep your voices down. The Lord Priest and the hunting team are over there catching crayfish. We need to be quiet so we don’t scare them away.”

“Okay, okay. We’ll be quiet.”

…

As the last rays of the setting sun faded, the wetland hidden deep in the forest was shrouded in a thick night mist.

It was dark, and it was time to go home and rest. But at this moment, the beastmen and sub-beastmen, who should have been enjoying their food and relaxing in the camp, had just gone out, fumbling through the mud in the dark, on the tribe’s first night exploration.

The sub-beastmen were in groups of two or three, carrying back baskets and wandering around the depression, leaving deep footprints with every step.

Weeds and rice seedlings grew together. Their target was the inconspicuous, lush green clumps of grass that grew freely in the wetland.

Their good night vision allowed them to easily find the clumps of grass with rice seedlings in the darkness. They would uproot the entire clump, discard the weeds, and carefully wrap the roots of the rice seedlings in a layer of wet mud before placing them neatly in their back baskets.

In the woods to the front right of the depression, more than a dozen tall and sturdy beastmen were scattered, each carrying a back basket and searching in the darkness. They moved very quietly, almost without a sound, but strangely, the forest was still filled with a rustling, strange noise.

The moonlight shone on the mud and the rotting fallen leaves. The pitch-black wetland suddenly surged with a dark red tide. The nocturnal crayfish had awakened in the night, breaking through the mud and coming out of their nests.

Thousands of crayfish, like a majestic army, their pincers drawing winding silver marks on the ground. They climbed over the fallen logs, burrowed into the piles of rotten leaves, and the crisp sound of their shells rubbing together and the gurgling of bursting bubbles intertwined. The entire wetland instantly came to life.

It was too exaggerated. The densely packed crayfish soon occupied the wetland. They were not afraid of people, swaggering past them, not paying any attention to the intruders in their territory.

They had even bumped into his foot. How could he tolerate this? Hua Shi’an could no longer hold back. He quickly took out the pre-prepared bamboo tongs from his back basket and called out to the others in a low voice, “Catch them, quick, catch them. Remember to use the bamboo tongs. Don’t use your hands directly!”

These words added fuel to the already boiling wetland. In an instant, the poised beastmen all moved at once, striking the ground with their bamboo tongs, quick, accurate, and ruthless, catching a large, writhing crayfish with each clamp.

What was the difference between this and picking up money? Hua Shi’an was ecstatic. He picked up the crayfish and threw them into his back basket, his eyes, which had blended into the night, filled with unconcealed excitement and joy.

Two days ago, he and Yan Zhile had found a crayfish hole in this area. Hua Shi’an knew at a glance that there were many crayfish here. For this reason, he had specially cut bamboo to make bamboo tongs and had persuaded the chief to come and catch them at night.

Crayfish are typical nocturnal animals, active at night and hiding during the day. If they came during the day, they would have to dig holes, which was too much trouble. At night, it wasn’t even called catching, but picking. But this scene in front of him, Hua Shi’an had not expected. He wouldn’t even dare to dream of it. The crayfish were completely rampant. It was not in vain that he had prepared in advance and had even argued with Chief Mu for two days.

Speaking of the tribe, the beastmen had been diligently turning the land for two days, and the five paddy fields had been completed this afternoon. So the gathering team had also come along. The well-grown rice seedlings were pulled up and would be planted in the fields tomorrow.

Delicious crayfish, rice seedlings that could grow rice. This wetland was truly a treasure trove! Hua Shi’an was in a great mood. He stood in the wetland without moving his feet, but the crayfish in his back basket were increasing.

This was the first time they had seen this kind of ferocious arthropod. At first, the beastmen were a little disgusted and hesitant to catch them. Perhaps the pie that Hua Shi’an had drawn was too big, or perhaps they had been infected by Hua Shi’an’s excitement. As they caught them, they got used to it, and at the same time, their competitive spirit was aroused. They started to compete to see who could catch more and who could catch them faster.

As soon as it became a competition, the nature of it changed.

Picking them up with bamboo tongs was not satisfying enough. Yan Qiuyu directly used his hands to scoop them up from the ground. Anyway, he had thick skin and calloused hands, so it didn’t hurt to be pinched a couple of times by the pincers.

Ju Ming, Chang Yuansen, and the others followed his example, scooping up the crayfish into their back baskets, one faster than the other. But Hong Yong disdained to learn from them. He directly placed his back basket horizontally on the ground and, while pushing it forward, shoveled the crayfish into it.

No wonder he was the captain. He had a good head on his shoulders. In a short while, he had a full back basket.

Of course, there was a downside to catching them this way. Those small, meatless ones were also collected in the back basket. But Hua Shi’an did not stop them. After a long day of work, they had to work overtime at night. Let them have some fun. At worst, they could pick out the small ones later. Anyway, they had brought many back baskets tonight.

First, catch them. Catching them was all that mattered!

Catching crayfish in the wetland was very interesting. Hua Shi’an experienced the joy of catching seafood. Even though he had been working until late at night and was so tired and sleepy he could barely open his eyes, the excitement was still greater than the fatigue.

He was so sleepy he was dazed. Hua Shi’an couldn’t remember exactly how many crayfish he had caught. In short, all the usable back baskets in the tribe were used up, either for rice seedlings or for crayfish.

It was fun to catch them, but it was a pain to carry them back. The wetland was far from the tribe. Even if the strong beastmen walked at full speed, it would still take them about two hours to go back and forth.

They ran back and forth, carrying one back basket after another. The advantage was that there were many people. But by the time all the rice seedlings and crayfish were brought back to the tribe, and all the tribe members had returned to the camp, it was almost dawn.

Before they left, he had thought they would catch a lot of crayfish. Worried that the crayfish would die and the smell would be strong, affecting the taste, Hua Shi’an had specially had someone clean out a tree hollow. He sprinkled some water in the tree hollow, and it would not be a problem to raise the crayfish in it for a few days. But crayfish, like rabbits, could dig holes. For this reason, they had specially laid a layer of bamboo slats on the ground to prevent the crayfish from escaping.

The crayfish were poured into the tree hollow, and the rice seedlings were left in the back baskets. After the excitement, sleepiness came. The people dragged their tired bodies to the river, washed their faces, bathed, and went back to their tree hollows to sleep.

He had never stayed up all night in his two lifetimes. Hua Shi’an was so sleepy he was numb. He was so sleepy he was dazed. After washing up and returning to the tree hollow, he lay down on the bed. He felt as if someone had hit him on the back of the head with a stick. His vision went black, and then he completely lost consciousness.

The spicy and fragrant crayfish had soaked up the soup. Before eating the shrimp, he would first take a sip. The rich and stimulating numbing and spicy taste instantly activated his taste buds. He twisted off the shrimp head, peeled off the shell, and the Q-bouncy and firm shrimp meat was brought to his lips. He was about to eat it, when suddenly—

“Lord Priest, Lord Priest, wake up!”

The bamboo door was being knocked with a “clang clang.” The sub-beastman’s shouts were deafening. The shrimp meat that was almost in his mouth disappeared. The sleeping Hua Shi’an swallowed his saliva and groggily opened his eyes.

Sunlight shone through the cracks in the bamboo door. It was clear that it was already noon.

Hua Shi’an rubbed his head and gradually came to his senses. He propped himself up on the bed and answered the person outside the door, “I’m awake, I’m awake. What’s wrong?”

There was more than one person outside the door. The male voice had turned into a female voice. “We’re about to go down to the fields to plant the rice seedlings. We just don’t know how. Lord Priest, you should teach us first. You can go back to sleep after you’re done.”

Staying up all night was like having a serious illness. Hua Shi’an’s head was heavy and his feet were light. His head was dizzy, and his reactions were slow. He was stunned on the bed for two seconds before he finally regained consciousness. He put on his shoes and went to open the door.

Two young sub-beastmen were standing outside the door. As soon as the door opened, they greeted Hua Shi’an respectfully. Hua Shi’an nodded in response, looked past the two of them to the camp, and only saw a few people.

They must have all gone to the paddy fields. Hua Shi’an didn’t want to keep them waiting. Without washing his face or rinsing his mouth, he followed the two sub-beastmen and hurried to the grass, and then along the grass to the upstream.

The paddy fields were dug upstream, next to the potato fields. Everyone was indeed there. Hua Shi’an saw a row of back baskets and a large group of people standing by the fields from a distance. The ridges were almost too crowded.

It was clear that they were treating the planting of the rice seedlings as an important event. The gathering team and the hunting team were both there. But the people did not have their usual vigor. Everyone had dark circles under their eyes to varying degrees, and they were yawning. Chief Mu, who was waving to Hua Shi’an, was no exception.

“Shi’an, over here, over here. We were just waiting for you.” Chief Mu had dark circles under his eyes, but his spirits were exceptionally good. He was waving to Hua Shi’an from a distance, a bright smile on his face.

What good energy. Hua Shi’an sighed in his heart. He walked unsteadily onto the ridge and stood beside Chief Mu, his voice weak. “So early, Chief. We only went to bed at dawn. Why didn’t you let everyone rest a little longer? The roots of the rice seedlings are wrapped in mud, so they won’t wither in a short time. It wouldn’t have been too late to plant them in the evening.”

“Late! How could it not be late?” Chief Mu patted the back basket with the rice seedlings and said righteously, “Didn’t you say? The earlier you plant, the earlier you harvest. Half a day earlier is still earlier! The main thing is that you described the rice seedlings so magically. We’re curious. We all want to see what kind of fruit these rice seedlings will bear.”

A watched pot never boils. Hua Shi’an glanced at the yawning tribe members on the ridge, then turned back to Chief Mu and said, “Work and rest should be balanced, Chief. Look at how sleepy everyone is. Planting rice seedlings is not troublesome. With so many people, it won’t take long to finish planting. Let’s give them a break in the afternoon. Let them have a good sleep. It’s not worth it if they get sick from exhaustion.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll listen to you.” Chief Mu nodded repeatedly, then took a handful of rice seedlings from the back basket and handed them to Hua Shi’an. “Here, you teach everyone how to plant first. You can go back to sleep after you’re done.”

“Since I’m already here, there’s no reason to leave halfway,” Hua Shi’an chuckled, took the rice seedlings from Chief Mu’s hand, took off his coir shoes, and was the first to wade into the paddy field.

“Get in the field, get in the field! Everyone, get a handful of rice seedlings and get in the field!”

“Lord Priest, I’m coming!”

“Me first, I’ll take them first.”

“Hey, don’t push. I want to be next to the Lord Priest.”

…

Sleepiness and fatigue were swept away. With a series of “plops,” muddy water splashed everywhere, and the clear paddy field gradually became turbid, densely packed with people.

The warm sun hung high in the sky. The people sweated in the fields, bending over to bury the seeds of hope in the fertile soil. Spring planting, autumn harvest. Those who worked hard would always be able to taste the fruits of their labor. A life without worries about food and clothing—was just around the corner.