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Chapter 242 An Eventful Winter
A rain fell and knocked down all the dead leaves.

At first it was cold raindrops as big as pitter-patter, but gradually it turned into a dense and even heavy rain.

Tree frogs chatter loudly on the oak trunks, greeting the rain with sudden bursts of song.The crickets fell into silence. Their short lifespan ended in this cold rain. In the next autumn, their descendants will once again occupy the forest with loud songs.

Before the rain came, the women had put the food that had been hanging outside to dry into the warehouse.

The warehouse is the largest building in the camp, and the waterproofing and moisture-proofing work is the most careful and complete. It not only stores dry food for the winter, but also a lot of dry wood and bamboo.

The wizard's magical power can make even wet wood burn brightly, but she cannot do anything else but only be responsible for this one thing. If she wants to keep the flame alive, she must rely on dry wood.

People returning from the rain gathered around the fireplace to keep warm. The children either lay on the warm and soft kang made of thatch and fur, listening to the patter of rain on the ground, or they sat by the door and watched through the narrow door. Look at the slanting rain lines.

The young babies are curled up in their mothers' arms. The women who were pregnant during the winter hunting last year have all given birth. There are 23 new members of the clan, with a population of more than 400.

Lactating mothers are arranged to live under the same roof, so they can take care of each other, and it is also convenient for new mothers and mothers with insufficient milk supply to seek help from others.

"Ow!"

"Wow!"

Panic wolf howls sounded in the camp, and soon it became quiet.

They were very lucky. The rain came after the bamboo house was completed, not during the construction.

Zhang Tian has been paying attention to the roof, and the time has come to check the quality.

It was raining heavily, so he was not worried about water leakage. What he was worried about was "the howling autumn wind in August, blowing up the triple thatch on my house." After the thatch absorbs a large amount of rainwater, it will also test the load-bearing capacity of the roof.

Facts have proved that the load-bearing and waterproof performance of the bamboo house is quite reliable. In the face of such heavy rain, only a few thatches were knocked down.

Everyone was busy cleaning up the mess after the rain.

"Oh my God!" Lin Yu trotted over with excitement on his face, "The wolves have entered your den to take shelter from the rain!"

"I saw."

Zhang Tian also laughed.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, but the wolves have overcome their resistance and have taken another small step towards becoming human friends.

This rain seems to announce the change of seasons. The world is getting colder and colder, and the temperature is getting lower day by day. Everyone knows that cold weather is coming.

Over the next week, frost passed through the canopy intermittently, leaving the branches bare and tangled, using black lines to describe irregular patterns and dividing the clear sky in sight.

After a few more days, finally, the ice and snow returned to the earth, the first snow in Taoyuan.Compared with the terrible blizzards in the north, the snow here is much gentler. Hexagonal snowflakes fall in pieces, covering the low-lying herbaceous plants on the plain with a thin crystal blanket.

"Xiao, are you still recording the number of days?"

Xiao Xiao answered in the affirmative and found the wooden board full of scratches.

From the day he left the river valley camp, he kept track of the days every day and never missed a day.

"Today is the 172nd day." Xiao handed the board to Tian, ​​"Do you want to count?"

Zhang Tian didn't count the scratches on it. There was no need. He and Lin Yu were doing the same thing. He knew Xiao was right.

He casually put the board aside, took out a piece of bamboo strips, and said: "Starting from today, we will count again. Every day, we will carve a mark on the bamboo strips. When we have thirty marks, we will use a new bamboo strips to continue counting." Count, save the old bamboo strips. Do you know why you do this?"

Xiao thought for a while and said: "There are 30 days in a month, and a bamboo strip represents a month!"

"That's right." Zhang Tian smiled, "Recording until the first snowfall on the next cold day is a complete reincarnation, which is one year old. In this way, we can know how many children there are in one year old. Months, how many days has it been?”

Using the first snow as an indicator is relatively intuitive, tangible and easy to understand. However, the first snow does not necessarily fall on the same day every year. Sometimes it falls later, sometimes earlier, and the error may be large.

First record according to this method. It is best to be accurate. It doesn't matter if it is a few days off. If the error is too large, Zhang Tian can still find a way to guide him to the correct answer.

Xiao was so happy that he immediately took out his knife and carved a deep mark on the bamboo strips.

……

Despite the cold weather, there are still many animals in the mountains and forests.As the daytime temperature rises, small insects emerge, including ants, spiders, millipedes... These invertebrates are a rich source of food for birds.

After the weather turns cold, migratory birds such as warblers have left here and migrated to the warmer south. Some birds are recent refugees from forests further north.

A squirrel swayed on an impossibly thin branch at the top of a maple tree, holding tightly to a branch with its hind legs while using its front legs and mouth to pick up clusters of fruit that had not yet fallen.Seed husks and twigs rained down on the ground as the squirrels disturbed them.

Not long ago, the thicker, fleshier nuts from the pecan tree were the better choice; now that the nuts are gone, it's relegated to something less flavorful.

Suddenly, it heard the bird's alarm, and immediately climbed up the tree trunk to hide, revealing half of its little head to peek.

A group of tall two-legged beasts appeared in its sight. They were new predators in the mountain forest, and they were very ferocious.It quickly withdrew its gaze and hid itself.

Unlike the far north, the mountains and forests here are not blocked by heavy snow even in cold weather. Hunters will patrol the mountains every few days to cut some firewood and catch some fresh prey.

Today is rather special.

Because tomorrow we have to offer sacrifices to heaven, earth and ancestors.

They have stored a lot of dry meat and dry food, and it is okay to use these dry goods as sacrifices. The sky priest said that what is important is not the sacrifice, but the intention.

But people still want to offer the best food. They believe that only by doing so can they fully express their intentions to the sky and their ancestors.

Zhang Tian knew that many tribesmen had left forever along the way. Many elderly people, including grandma, could not even wait for the day of migration. In order not to slow down their children, they chose to end their lives early. .

Therefore, this time of worshiping heaven and ancestors has a stronger meaning.

They wanted to comfort the spirits of those who passed away: They did it!They lived up to the expectations of their ancestors!
Zhang Tian did not stop him.Whether it is worshiping heaven, ancestors, or any other object, to put it bluntly, it is to make yourself feel at ease.If the tribesmen feel that they can feel at ease by doing this, then just do it. Anyway, the sacrifices will be eaten by them in the end and will not be wasted.

Regarding this sacrifice, Crow and Leopard Gan's moods were more complicated and worked harder than others.

Because the sky priest said that as long as you pray devoutly during the heaven-sacrifice ceremony, you can get the protection of the sky and lift the curse of the snow spirit, so you don't have to flee in the future.

The two were very happy.Who would be willing to embark on an unknown and risky journey unless they have no choice?They remember clearly how the prairie people treated them.

The Sky Clan came from the same place as them, spoke the same language, and had similar habits. After getting along with each other for this period of time, their relationship became closer and closer.As long as the curse of Xue Ling can be lifted, they are happy to stay!

The time for offering sacrifices to the sky was naturally fixed, and was set after the first snowfall every year.

Because I had just arrived, I didn’t have time to build a place for worship.

When it comes to the sky and ancestors, the sacrificial site cannot be set up as casually as a bamboo house. This is an extremely serious matter and the most important activity of the clan. Either there is no altar, or if it is built, it should be built in a more presentable manner to show respect.

Sooner or later, the venue for the sacrifice will be fixed, but this year, just like last year, we can only find an open space to hold it. I believe the ancestors can understand.

Of course, it's not set in stone.

Compared with last year, there were more people participating this time, the food was more abundant, and the children's playing skills were greatly improved. After all, there were no entertainment activities during the migration. Playing the flute was one of them, and it was very popular among the children.

Zhang Tian took the opportunity to teach them a few serious flute songs. Even though they were the simplest ones, their listening experience was still much better than those of Little Stars and Two Tigers.

The ancient tunes also match the dance style of the prehistoric girl group led by Lin Yu.

Zhang Tian does not intend to set too many rules and regulations for the sacrificial ceremony. Red tape is based on strong productivity. This condition is not available now. If nothing else, it will take many years to get together the three animals alone. .

After worshiping the heaven, earth and ancestors, Crow and Leopard Gan found the Sky Priest and asked nervously: "Has the curse of the Snow Spirit been lifted?"

Zhang Tian didn't answer but asked: "When you go to bed at night, do you feel cold?"

"not cold!"

"Are you hungry?"

"Not hungry!"

Zhang Tianzheng said: "Xue Ling's curse will make people cold and hungry. You are neither cold nor hungry, which means the curse has been lifted."

The boulder weighing on their hearts finally fell to the ground. The two took a deep breath, looked at each other, smiled, and praised the sky priest for his kindness.

After winter, people follow their old habits and start living in small dwellings to reduce energy consumption.

Most animals deal with cold weather in these two ways: store food or fat in warm weather, reduce activity in cold weather, or even hibernate altogether.

But a bamboo house is no different than a cave. The space of a cave is much larger. In the past, when you stayed in a cave, you could do some crafts to pass the time, or take a few steps if you had something to do. However, the bamboo house is only so large, and it would be difficult for ten people to lie in it and even turn over.

The direct result of staying at home for a long time and doing nothing is: the frequency of reproduction increases significantly.

The tribesmen even specially set aside two bamboo houses specifically for reproduction.

Xiao also completed his transformation from boy to man during this period. The person who took away his first time was neither Snakeberry, He, Pinecone, or any of the sisters he was usually close to, but Snake Tail.

At this point, he admired Tian.

Tian was as old as he was, and he was still in his prime of life. How could he sleep while listening to the melancholy sounds from the next room every night?
"Oh my God, don't you want to give it a try? You can ask Sister Snake Tail, she is very good at it, I promise!"

His eyebrows were dancing, he probably didn't sleep well last night, and now he still had two huge dark circles under his eyes.

Zhang Tian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He thought to himself that you thought it was just a foot massage, and you brought an Amway technician with you?

He said in a very serious tone: "We have just arrived at our new home, and there are still many things to do in this cold weather. As a sky priest and a clan leader, I shoulder the important task of letting the clansmen live a prosperous life. In realizing this Before I achieve my goal, I can’t muster any interest or desire to do anything else.”

Xiao Xiao was immediately in awe, and at the same time felt ashamed, thinking that Tian's consciousness was so high!No wonder only he can hear the sound of the sky!He is so pure and has no distracting thoughts!
"God, you are right! I want to learn from you! From today on, I will never go there again!"

The next morning, Xiao looked at Songye lying in his arms and regretted it.He wrapped his shirt and skirt, rolled out of bed, and secretly swore: "I will never come here again tonight!"

The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day... Xiao found painfully that there was always a woman in his arms when he woke up every morning, even though the woman changed every day.

Seeing Tian Helin busy doing "carpentry", he felt even more embarrassed.

"Never go again tonight!"

He clenched his fists and swore for the first time. Then he walked up to the two of them and asked, "What are you doing?"

Zhang Tian said without raising his head: "I'm making farm tools."

"farm tools?"

"When the ice and snow melt, we will plant grains. The tools used to grow grains are called farm tools."

There are a lot of things to do in this cold weather. This is not just an excuse. We really need to make some preparations for farming in the coming year.

The Yougu tribe had experience in growing grains, but they used the most primitive slash-and-burn method. After cutting down the trees and burning the wasteland, they just scattered the seeds. They had not yet developed corresponding farming tools and sowing tools.

If Kui hadn't used bluestone to increase the yield, the grains they grew would probably not be enough to survive the winter!

Now, there are four descendants of Nuwa in the tribe, and Lin Yu is one of ten, so it will be easier to borrow the power of bluestone.

But neither Zhang Tian nor Lin Yu intends to take shortcuts.

Among the four descendants of Nuwa, Lin Yu and Wolf Boy will probably never mate in this life, Zi Yan has been trying hard for several years but has never been able to get pregnant, and Kui's daughter He has still not shown her ability.

The power of the five-color stones will eventually be cut off, and only knowledge can be passed on forever.

They must teach the tribesmen how to farm in a step-by-step and down-to-earth manner, and teach them to be self-sufficient without relying on any external force and relying only on their own hard-working hands.

Xiao squatted down, took a closer look, and said in surprise: "Isn't this a digging stick?"

"It's a digging stick." Zhang Tian said, "With a few modifications, the digging stick can be used for farming."

The development of technology is a step-by-step process. The most primitive sowing agricultural tool is called a seed stick, which evolved from the digging stick in the collection era.

The stick is thick at the top and thin at the bottom. The lower end is in the shape of a pointed cone, and the cone is formed into an eye, and then the seeds are inserted.

Some ethnic minorities in southwestern my country still used such tools until modern times, and there are also physical remains of them in primitive agricultural sites.

(End of this chapter)