The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 73

Chapter 73

A crayfish feast had emptied the tribe. Not a drop of sheep oil or chicken fat was left. Only a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns remained, and less than half a bag of chili powder. The perishable tree tomatoes were long gone, and the ginger that had been dug up last winter was almost all gone.

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. After a few days of eating plain boiled wild vegetables, the tribe members were even more anxious than Hua Shi’an. Every day, as if injected with chicken blood, they would run into the forest before dawn, looking for food and various seasonings.

The Giant Tree Forest was lush and fertile, with a myriad of strange flowers and exotic grasses. By exploring deep into the jungle and searching carefully, the tribe’s food and usable seasonings slowly increased again.

Wild grass was everywhere, but there were differences between grasses, such as the fresh and pleasant-smelling lemongrass, the spicy and slightly sweet perilla, and the refreshing and penetrating rosemary.

Wild mountain peppers only ripened in the fall. The small-headed Facing Heaven peppers that the tribe members had accidentally found in the forest had already started to turn from green to yellow, seamlessly taking the place of the wild mountain peppers. Not only that, but they had also found edible cat’s tail wood flowers, budding litsea cubeba, strangely shaped snake cucumbers, and pumpkin-like gourd vines in the forest…

Among them, the two plants that satisfied Hua Shi’an the most were the angelica that the gathering team had accidentally dug up while digging for wild vegetables, and the kudzu root that the tribe members had mistaken for a tree root.

Angelica was a traditional Chinese medicine and also a seasoning. Hua Shi’an loved the fragrance of angelica. And kudzu root was also a traditional Chinese medicine, rich in starch and dietary fiber, and could also be used to make kudzu powder.

The days without potatoes were particularly difficult. Hua Shi’an had been craving this carbohydrate for a long time, but the tribe had been too busy recently. They went out to gather and hunt during the day, and returned in the evening to turn the soil, water, and plant. One day was used as two, and there was simply no time to look for kudzu root everywhere.

It was indeed very tiring to both farm and gather and hunt at the same time. These past few days had been very fulfilling. There was nothing he could do. Work had to be done, and food had to be eaten. The crops in the fields had not yet matured, so they couldn’t go hungry.

This busy period lasted for nearly ten days. Fortunately, the hard work was worth it. Five new paddy fields had been reclaimed on the riverbank, and several new vegetable patches had been added. The tender green rice seedlings and fresh wild vegetables had taken root in the fields, growing vigorously under the sun, a scene of vitality.

The sky was a hazy gray, and a new day of busy work had begun. But unlike usual, after eating breakfast, the people did not rush out. Instead, they gathered in groups of three or five, talking and laughing as they walked towards the grass.

After dozens of days of drying, the unbaked pottery that had been pinched a while ago had completely dried out. During the drying process, they had been repeatedly checked and mended. Except for a few that had cracked and deformed, most of the unbaked pottery could be described as perfect.

Large-bellied clay jars, half-person-high clay vats, clay pots with small ears on both sides, smooth and round plates and bowls… the unbaked pottery was of all shapes and sizes, with a complete set of daily utensils. The people stacked them one on top of another, carrying a stack at a time, and hurried towards the kiln under the rising morning sun.

After more than ten days of drying, the kiln dug on the riverbank had long since dried out. Last night, a fire had been lit and had burned for half the night, completing the kiln opening. The clean and bright kiln chamber had been blackened by the flames and smoke.

This was his first time firing a kiln, and Hua Shi’an took it very seriously, doing everything himself. After staying up for half the night, he was completely exhausted, even dozing off as he walked. But as soon as he reached the kiln, he put down the unbaked pottery in his hand and immediately perked up, preparing to go down into the kiln.

The newly made bamboo ladder was beautiful and sturdy. It was placed vertically in the kiln chamber, leaning against the kiln wall. After shaking it a couple of times to make sure it was stable, Hua Shi’an climbed down the ladder into the pitch-black kiln chamber.

Just as his feet touched the ground, a rustling sound came from above. Hua Shi’an looked up to see that Mo Huaishan had also climbed onto the bamboo ladder, and there were five or six heads peeking over the kiln mouth, as if they were lining up for food.

Curious about new things, the people were very enthusiastic about their work. But they really didn’t need so many people. After letting three people down, Hua Shi’an quickly waved his hand. “Alright, alright. It’s too crowded in the kiln chamber. Just leave a few people on top to help pass things down. Chief, you can take the gathering team and go first. Yan Zhile will stay and help me.”

“Go?” Chief Mu, who was squatting at the kiln mouth, was taken aback. “We just got here.”

Another sub-beastman chimed in, “That’s right. We’re still waiting to see the pottery.”

They seemed very disappointed. Hua Shi’an smiled. “It’s not much work. It’s just that there are a lot of unbaked pottery pieces, and I wanted you to help me move them. Now that they’re almost all moved, you should go out when you need to. Don’t delay your business. Go out and dig some more kudzu root today. When the pottery is fired, I’ll make you something delicious.”

The curiosity for the pottery had overcome the temptation of the food. Chief Mu’s face showed hesitation, and he continued to bargain with Hua Shi’an, “I just, I just want to see what this unbaked pottery will turn into when it’s fired. We can help with the fire and add firewood. When it’s done, we can go out later.”

“Chief, firing pottery is not like boiling water. It won’t be done in a short while. This firing, scooping, and simmering, if we open the kiln…” Hua Shi’an stroked his chin and thought for a moment. “It will probably be until night.”

“That long?”

No longer hesitating, Chief Mu sighed helplessly. “Alright then.”

“Gathering team, let’s go, let’s go. Shoulder your back baskets and let’s go!”

The gathering team left in a grand procession, leaving only Yan Zhile, who had been called by Hua Shi’an, and a group of beastmen at the kiln mouth. Hua Shi’an lifted his chin slightly and clapped his hands. “Let’s get to work, let’s get to work. Pass the unbaked pottery down. Be very careful. The unbaked pottery is fragile. Pass them down one by one. Don’t bump or knock them.”

“Alright, Lord Priest, here you go. I’ll give you a big one first.”

Many hands make light work. A group of people passed them down from above, and three people arranged them below. Soon, the unbaked pottery of various shapes and sizes was neatly laid out in the kiln chamber.

The kiln chamber was not full. For his first try, Hua Shi’an planned to fire a large half, but the quantity of this large half was already astonishing. Looking down from the bamboo ladder, it was densely packed. Anyone who didn’t know would think they had dug up the burial pit of some king or marquis.

The dry firewood had already been prepared and was piled up high on both sides of the firebox, almost level with the riverbank, which was more than enough. There wasn’t much work left to do. So after climbing out of the kiln chamber, Hua Shi’an let out a hot breath and turned to the beastmen. “You’ve worked hard. You can go now. The rest of the work is not strenuous. Yan Zhile and I can do it slowly.”

Although they really wanted to witness the birth of the pottery with their own eyes, they had been busy in the tribe recently and hadn’t had a proper hunt. It had been a while since they’d had beast meat. The beastmen didn’t dare to delay and immediately bid farewell to Hua Shi’an, leaving reluctantly but resolutely.

After the gathering and hunting teams had left one after another, the grass with only two people left became much quieter.

Hua Shi’an rested for a moment. When he had caught his breath, he waved to Yan Zhile to get to work. “Come on, let’s hurry up. We’ll continue.”

“Oh, okay.” Yan Zhile agreed readily and then turned to walk towards the riverbank.

Hua Shi’an was stunned for a moment. “No, where are you going?”

Yan Zhile’s footsteps faltered slightly, and he looked back blankly. “To start the fire. Now that the unbaked pottery is in place, shouldn’t we start the fire?”

Yan Zhile had also come to join the fun when the kiln was opened last night. He had probably seen that the kiln mouth was not sealed then and had thought that the kiln was fired in the same way. Hua Shi’an let out a helpless chuckle and pointed to the black hole on the ground, explaining, “That was the kiln opening yesterday. It’s different from a proper pottery firing. Do you see this hole on the ground? We have to block it now.”

“Huh?” Yan Zhile quickly walked to the side of the kiln mouth, looked down at the huge black hole, and his brow furrowed slightly. “How do we block this big hole? Why do we have to block it? Can’t we just fire it like this?”

Hua Shi’an shook his head. “We really can’t. If we block the opening and lock in the flames, the temperature in the kiln chamber will slowly rise. Firing pottery requires a very high temperature. The temperature we usually use for cooking is not enough. As for how to seal it… you’ll know after we’ve sealed it once.”

Staying up all night really makes people stupid and dazed. Only after Hua Shi’an had finished speaking did Yan Zhile realize that there were also things that the tribe members had helped prepare beside him: a strange empty back basket, two back baskets of semi-dry yellow clay, and five arm-thick peeled trees.

The bark had been peeled off, and the length of the trunks had also been measured, just a little longer than the kiln mouth. Hua Shi’an dug a few lumps of yellow clay to act as glue and fixed the trunks horizontally on the kiln mouth one by one.

After all five trunks were fixed, the kiln mouth was basically blocked, but there were still considerable gaps between the trunks. This was where the mud came in handy. Hua Shi’an and Yan Zhile dug mud from the back baskets and evenly applied and filled the gaps.

The yellow clay was different from the yellow clay used for making unbaked pottery. It was mixed with dried reed fragments and would not easily fall through the gaps. But worried that the clay would be dried by the high temperature and fall down and damage the pottery when the kiln was opened, they only applied a thin layer in the end.

The sealing was not enough, so there was also the back basket. The back basket, which was a circle larger and a section shorter than a normal back basket, was “custom-made” by Hua Shi’an from the tribe members. When it was placed on the kiln mouth, the size and height were just right.

Then, the two of them poured out all the remaining yellow clay and started to dress the back basket, layer after layer, blocking every gap in the bamboo skin, until it was completely unrecognizable as a back basket.

The smoke hole and the air hole had been reserved in advance. Hua Shi’an checked one last time and, after confirming that there were no problems, he didn’t even bother to wash his hands and hurried to the riverbank with Yan Zhile to add firewood and start the fire.

Once the fire was lit, the rest of the work was easy. All they had to do was watch the fire and occasionally add some dry firewood to the firebox. The easiest work was often the most tedious. Firing pottery required patience. Even the simplest bisque firing required more than six hours.

He hadn’t slept well last night. He had asked Yan Zhile to stay behind to have some company, to chat and relieve the boredom. But Hua Shi’an was too sleepy. One moment he was talking to Yan Zhile, and the next he was leaning against the pile of dry wood and had fallen asleep.

“Lord Priest, Lord Priest!”

He didn’t know how long had passed when a loud cry of alarm sounded in his ear. His arm was grabbed and shaken. Hua Shi’an quickly woke up, his sleepy eyes looking at Yan Zhile as he said weakly, “What’s wrong? Is it done?”

“No, it’s not done yet. It’s the hunting team, the hunting team is back!”

As if he had found a treasure, Yan Zhile squeezed Hua Shi’an’s wrist, his eyes shining with excitement.

Hua Shi’an was half asleep and on the verge of crashing. He drooped his head and let out a long yawn. “Oh? They’re back. So what?”

“Oh my, Lord Priest, you have to wake up. It’s only past noon. They’re back early, so of course they’ve caught some prey!”

Yan Zhile patted Hua Shi’an’s face and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him up. “You should hurry back and take a look. The big oaf ran over to find you just now. He saw you were asleep and didn’t dare to wake you. But he said that the prey is very, very big, like a mountain. More than ten of them almost couldn’t carry it.”

Hua Shi’an’s sleepiness was instantly half gone. He quickly got up from the ground and ran towards the camp.

A prey like a mountain, and more than ten people couldn’t even carry it…

Could it be that they’ve caught some large, fierce beast?