back to prehistoric savage

Chapter 145 Departure
Including Snake Berry, there were seven people from the Shepi Tribe, mainly young juniors, and most of them were visiting the Dahe Tribe for the first time.

They curiously observe everything around them, full of anticipation and freshness for the things around them and the people they are about to meet, as if even the trees here are different, and the air seems to be fresher.

The hunters recounted the deeds of the Dahe Tribe and the legends of their ancestors vividly for three days and three nights after their return, but seeing is better than seeing. Before entering the cave, they saw many novel things that had never been seen before. , even more novel than the hunters described!
For example, the camp made of wood and bamboo strips, and the boxy stone pile as red as a maple leaf. The flames at the bottom of the stone pile are burning, and smoke is constantly overflowing from the top.

"That's the wizard's wooden house. Without the wizard's permission, you can't go in, or you will suffer misfortune. It's a pottery kiln, which is used to make pottery."

Owl enthusiastically introduced to the guests.

Lan Hua came out to greet Grandma instead.

Entering the cave, they were even more amazed to see the people of the Great River Tribe gathering together to play with mud.

"What are you doing then?" Snakeberry asked.

"Make pottery." Xiao said, "Put various shapes of pottery into the pottery kiln you saw just now and burn them. After firing, they will become pottery as hard as stone."

It turns out that pottery is made in this way, which is incredible!

The snake mother took the children to say hello to grandma and gave them exquisite gifts.

Grandma's condition is not very good, her complexion is much worse than when she saw her last time, and she doesn't talk much... The snake mother looked at her "idol" carefully, and suddenly found that Grandma was much older and haggard than she remembered , can not help but feel a little sad.

But she hid her sadness very well, and said in a very lively tone: "Grandma, you didn't go to the tribal meeting this time, and everyone misses you very much!"

The snake mother is no longer young, but in front of her grandmother, she will always be the innocent, lively little girl back then.

Grandma was infected by her emotions, and her mood became happy. She smiled and said, "What do you think about me, an old woman? The young people today are very good, better than when I was young. Without me, they can still do very well. "

"It's not only good! I heard from Big Python that you won the three major competitions at this tribal meeting, and you also hunted the most prey. You have completely surpassed the three big tribes!"

When the snake mother chatted with Grandma and Lanhua, the young people of the two tribes had become one with each other.

"I also want to make pottery!" Snake Berry showed great interest in "playing with mud", "Can you teach me?"

"Of course!" Xiao agreed simply, "What do you want to do?"

"Well... let's make a bowl first! I think the bowl is relatively simple."

Xiao smeared a layer of plant ash on the pottery wheel, took a ball of clay, flattened it and put it on the pottery wheel.

The pottery technology of the Dahe tribe has evolved from the most primitive patch method and wire rod method to the wheel method. The wheel method is divided into two types: slow wheel and fast wheel. The former rotates the pottery wheel manually or by foot, which is a test Skill and patience, the latter drives the pottery wheel to rotate through the belt transmission by stepping on the pedal, and the operation is relatively simple.

The pottery wheel Zhang Tian burned it out very early, but the transmission function belongs to his blind spot of knowledge, so he can only cross the river by feeling the stones.He and Lin Yu tried several theoretically feasible transmission structures, but the results were not very good, either because of poor stability or too much friction.

"Slow wheel pottery is very good. In modern society, many ethnic minorities and primitive tribes still retain this traditional pottery craft, and it has been selected as an intangible cultural heritage!"

After not knowing how many times he failed, Dr. Lin said this.

Zhang Tian also felt that there was no point in trying to improve the pottery-making technology before the migration, so the two of them stopped talking and said nothing about Waterloo this time, as if they had never tried it.

Skilled "potters" can use both hands and feet to make pottery. While rotating the pottery wheel with their feet, they can shape the pottery blanks with their hands. However, Xiao Xiao and Snakeberry are obviously not included in this list. They can only cooperate with each other, one rotates the pottery wheel, and the other makes Pottery.

"Oh! Why did it collapse!"

"I come!"

Xiao immediately stretched out his hand to cover Sheberry's little hand, wanting to help her shape the pottery blank, but the moment his fingertips touched, it was as if he had been bitten by a little snake, numb and his heart was pounding.

He has touched the hands of girls in the tribe many times, but he has never had such an experience. He can't tell what kind of feeling it is. open.

He raised his eyes to look at Sheberry, but saw that she was also looking at him, with a strange light beating in her bright eyes.

Snakeberry, who has always been lively and bold, seemed a little shy at this time.

Xiao's heart beat faster, and he bravely grasped her hand tightly in the name of teaching, and taught her how to knead pottery. The warm touch passed between his fingers, and strange emotions rippled in his heart.

The two of them heard from their elders that when a person falls in love with a certain opposite sex, he will have an urge to throw him to the ground.

The strange thing is that none of them had the primitive impulse to throw each other down at this time, but they were caught in a hazy, pure, and fascinating atmosphere, unable to extricate themselves, so that they couldn't help but slow down. The movements of the hands, or deliberately not to finish the work so quickly.

"What are you doing! I made two pots by myself, but the two of you haven't even made a bowl yet?"

Langya on the side noticed the incompatible painting styles of the two, he couldn't understand this affectionate state, thought they were doing foreign work, and criticized them in an unsightly way.

Xiao Xiao and She Berry let go of their hands immediately, feeling a sense of embarrassment that their secret had been broken.

Xiao Xiao straightened his face and asked, "Will you do it?"

Sheberry nodded seriously: "Yes."

"Then I'll turn the potter's wheel, and you can knead the bowl."

"it is good."

The two of them re-divided labor and cooperated, started to work seriously, and quickly made the shape of the bowl.

"and then?"

"Then put the pottery blank next to the fire, wait for it to dry, then use stones to draw pictures on the pottery body, and finally put it into the pottery kiln and burn it with fire."

"Can you still draw?"

"Of course!"

Xiao took out the painted pottery just out of the oven, and showed it to Sheberry with a little satisfaction: "Look! I painted this!"

Snakeberry saw two long black lines drawn on Tao's body, a slightly curved horizontal line and a hanging vertical line, with an ellipse hanging from the other end of the vertical line.

"What did you draw?"

"Fishing! I told you that." Owl pointed to his abstract painting and said, "This is a fishing rod, and this is a fish."

Snakeberry has the impression that during the tribal conference, Xiao often mentioned fishing, saying that this is his best way of hunting, but she knew nothing about it, and she couldn't imagine the appearance of the fishing rod just by listening to the description. His abstract paintings are even more confused.

"follow me!"

Seeing that Sheberry was ignorant, Xiao naturally took her hand and took her to see the real fishing rod.

The fishing rod had been left unused in the cave for a while, and the owl waved the fishing rod lightly, remembering the days of fishing by the river.

Snakeberry looked at the long fishing rod made of bamboo and hemp thread, wondering: Can this thing catch fish continuously?
"When the warm weather comes, come to our tribe again, and I will take you fishing!"

Xiao really wants to show his ability in front of Sheberry. Fishing is impossible, but he can dance. He is very confident in his dancing skills.

When Xiao Xiao taught Sheberry to dance, Zhang Tian was solving the difficulties of the people.

Members of the Shepi Tribe complained: "It's too difficult to walk in the snow! It's still hard work!"

To solve the problem of difficult snow walking, the easiest way is to make a pair of large size snow shoes.

Zhang Tian picked up some branches and cut them into suitable size and shape.

The guests gathered around. They had long heard that the sky was guided by the sky and passed on the knowledge of their ancestors. No difficulty would trouble him. Hearing is believing is believing. Now they have the opportunity to witness it with their own eyes. Everyone was full of curiosity, watching him operate without blinking.

Zhang Tian bent the long branches into an oval shape, tied the ends tightly, and then tied the slender wooden strips horizontally and equidistantly to act as a skeleton, threading threads between the wooden strips, and threading as much as possible under the premise of ensuring lightness. Twine to increase the contact area between the snowshoes and the snow surface, and finally form the upper like a tennis racket.

The central part is the point of strength of the foot, which is reinforced with wooden strips, and then the foot is put on it, and twine is tied to make the snow shoes and the foot fit tightly.

Zhang Tian put on snow clogs, walked out of the cave, and set foot on the snow.

Everyone followed him step by step, and they were surprised to find that his feet didn't sink into the snow!He didn't even lift his feet, he was gliding rather than walking, and he seemed to be at ease, and soon he came back to them after a circle.

"Would you like to try?"

The answer couldn't be more obvious. As soon as Zhang Tian took off the snow clogs, everyone rushed to try them on.

They put on their snow shoes one by one and walked in the snow. Just like the sky demonstrated, their feet would no longer sink in. It felt like they were floating on the snow, which was very labor-saving!
"These are called snow clogs, which are shoes made by our ancestor Fuxi for snow walking."

"Snowshoes..."

Everyone memorized the name silently, praising the unparalleled wisdom of their ancestors, and Zhang Tian, ​​who made the snow clogs, was undoubtedly guided by the sky. After witnessing it with their own eyes, the guests looked at him with even more awe.

More snowshoes were made, and people who felt novelty stepped on the snowshoes to walk freely on the snow. At first, they were not used to it, and how to walk became twisted. As the proficiency gradually improved, they became more and more comfortable. Like walking on flat ground.

The winter in the north is cold and long, and the monotonous and unchanging life intensifies this feeling.

After coming to Dahe Tribe, time seemed to speed up. The guests were immersed in the exploration and learning of new things, and every minute and every second was full of fun.

They are addicted to playing with mud, kneading the wet and soft clay into various shapes, and then full of respect for their ancestors, painting red and black stripes. The firing of pottery is the most incredible thing they have ever seen. The wet and soft mud passes through The fire turned into hard as a stone, who would have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes?
The moment they opened the kiln, they were as excited as a group of four or five-year-old children, admiring their masterpieces and arguing with each other whose work their ancestors liked more.

They enjoyed the delicious food praised by their own hunters, and it was the first time that they knew that the taste could be so rich and colorful. They also tasted the extremely pure salt, and felt the mellow and strong salty fragrance between their lips and teeth, which was unprecedentedly satisfying.

After night fell, they looked up at the sky with the Dahe tribe, prayed to the stars in the sky, and then returned to the cave, stood by the bonfire, followed Zhang Tian's narration, broke through the boundaries of imagination, and accepted the baptism of spirit and thought .

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and everyone from the Giant Rock Tribe and the Cave Tribe arrived as scheduled.

Both tribes are led by chiefs. The chief of the Youcao tribe, Huabao, is very old. He was not present at the tribal meeting like Grandma and Snake Mother. This time he came in person, which is full of sincerity. They are full of curiosity about the ever-changing Dahe Tribe, and want to see it with their own eyes.

The guests saluted and greeted Grandma and presented exquisite gifts.

The two tribes are far away from the Dahe Tribe, and they seldom communicate with each other, and usually only meet at tribal conferences.Of course, each tribe has a "guide" who is responsible for finding the way and making contact. They travel to each tribe all year round and are familiar with the road conditions and the situation of each tribe.

Eight people from the Juyan tribe came this time. Unlike the Cave tribe who traveled lightly, they carried a heavy load of salty sand on their backs. They hoped that the sky priest would purify it for them when they presided over the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky.

"After you went back, did you pray to the sky as I said?"

"Of course!" Chief Gao Shan said firmly, "We pray to the sky every night, and we never slack off!"

"Very good." Zhang Tian nodded, "Since you have done what I said, you don't need to wait for the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky. The power of the sky has already been integrated into the soil, and the salt can become pure at any time."

He explained the theory of "prayer is sacrifice" to the guests.

Everyone half understood what they heard, but they understood one thing: it can be purified now!
There was a busy scene in the cave. Under the guidance of Zhang Tian, ​​the members of the Dahe tribe dissolved and filtered the coarse salt. The large amount of salt soil brought by the Juyan tribe shrank by half in an instant, and the sand was abandoned, leaving only jars of bitter salt water.

Gao Shan was dumbfounded. He added water to the salt and then threw the salt away. What kind of operation is this?
Then start to boil the salt, evaporate the water, precipitate the crystals, drench the brine and purify... After many times of salt making, Zhang Tian is very proficient in this set of procedures.

The difference from the past is that this time the volume is relatively large, with multiple fire pits and dozens of pottery pots started at the same time, and the clansmen were mobilized to join the salt-making army.

The turbid and bitter salt water gradually turned into pure and flawless salt, and the power of the sky was displayed to the fullest. The guests were surprised and delighted, and piously praised the sky.

The salt soil that the Giant Rock Tribe carried back exhaustedly, only got eight jars of pure salt in the end. One can imagine how low the salt content is.

Gao Shan picked some salt with his little finger and put it in his mouth, his eyes lit up immediately.

That's it!

He licked his fingers and smiled contentedly.

In the past, the priests of the Salt Tribe were invited to help with the sacrifice, and the same amount could only be distributed to one jar of salt at most. Now, not to mention four jars, each jar of salt is extremely pure without the slightest smell!
The members of the Shepi Tribe and the Youcao Tribe looked at the white salt in the clay pots with envy.

Take a day off.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, no. 60 people from the four tribes carried their bags, put on snow shoes, and were ready to go.

Grandma looked at her children, and her reluctant eyes swept across the resolute or childish faces, and finally fell on the oldest Langya.

"What's the matter, Mom?"

For some reason, Langya feels that Grandma's mood is not high. Her old man has always done things neatly, but this morning she is a bit slow.

"It's nothing...take care of everyone."

"Don't worry!" Langya patted his chest, "With me here, who would dare to make trouble?"

Grandma nodded lightly, said no more, and followed the big team on the snow.

The river below the mountain has long been frozen, and the surface of the river is also covered with snow.

Grandma stopped, took a few breaths, and looked back at the familiar mountain forest. The cave that carried all her memories was already small and invisible.

Lan Hua wants to help Grandma.

"Need not."

Grandma broke away from Lanhua's hand, she looked away, cheered up, and started on the road again.

(End of this chapter)