Chapter 75 Bamboo Raft

On February 15th, it rained heavily.

“Boom…”

“Clatter…”

The sky was covered with dark clouds, lightning and thunder, and heavy rain was pouring down.

“Ga ga ga ga…”

In the reeds beside the Feiyu River, some colorful ducks were pecking at insects that had crawled out of the ground because of the heavy rain, as well as some shrimps and crabs that had crawled onto the shore. When they were happy eating, they flapped their wings and cried out a few times.

Their thick feathers can effectively block rain, and there are reeds on their heads to protect them, so they are not afraid of getting wet.

The Teng tribe also raised a few colorful ducks, but they were locked in a cave and could only watch the rain and sigh.

“Quack…quack…quack…”

In the pond of Teng Tribe, the sound of frogs croaking could be heard from time to time. Those were the hibernating frogs coming out to start looking for food and courting mates.

Of course, along with the warm spring comes the pesky mosquitoes.

“Bang!”

Jiang Xuan was sitting in the bamboo house and he accurately slapped to death a mosquito that was about to cling to his leg and suck his blood.

Jiang Xuan said helplessly: "The mosquitoes are out, it's time to burn some stinky grass to drive them away."

Chishao said, "When the rain stops, I will go find some stinking grass, dry it and burn it."

After a while, Chishao found Jiang Xuan roasting some bamboos on the fire, so he asked curiously: "Xuan, are you making a new bamboo bed?"

"No, I want to make a bamboo raft."

"Bamboo raft? What are they used for?"

Chishao had never heard of this word, but she had gotten used to it because Jiang Xuan often came up with new things.

As Jiang Xuan tied the bamboos together, he replied, "Bamboos can float on the water. If we tie them together and make them into a raft, the buoyancy will be stronger and we can carry us to the water to fish."

Jiang Xuan's words attracted the attention of everyone in the bamboo house.

Nan Xing put down the half-sharpened spearhead in his hand, approached Jiang Xuan, and asked, "Chief, can this bamboo raft take us to the river?"

"Of course, if we do well, we can even take a bamboo raft to the other side of the river. Don't you want to see what's on the other side of the river?"

Uncaria next to him stared at the bamboo in Jiang Xuan's hand for a long time and asked a question: "Chief, what if it floats away with the water? It's like a piece of wood in the water."

“That’s a good question.”

Jiang Xuan picked up a relatively small bamboo pole and said, "This bamboo pole is called a boat pole. It can be used to control the direction of the bamboo raft in the water."

Uncaria found it incredible and developed a strong interest in the bamboo raft.

"Chief, once it's done, can you let me try it?"

Nanxing shouted, "I want to try it too."

Shi Qiu is relatively calm, but he is still young at heart, and his eyes clearly show an eagerness to try.

Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "Okay, after I'm done, everyone can go and try it."

"Chief, let me help you." Nanxing volunteered.

Uncaria rhynchophylla and Gnaphalium sphaerocephalum also came to help, but Paeonia lactiflora was relatively calm and continued to pound the medicine.

As the witch of the tribe, Chishao needs to prepare various medicines for the warriors of the tribe in advance so that they can carry them with them when they go out hunting and apply medicine in time when they are injured.

After acquiring witch power and learning witch medicine from the old witch, Chishao's temperament has become more stable, and she is working hard to be a good witch.

With the help of the three teenagers, Jiang Xuan continued to make bamboo rafts.

He selected sixteen old bamboos as thick as a bowl, burned them into similar lengths with fire, and then tied them together tightly with strong bark ropes.

The reason why we choose old bamboo is that it is stronger and tougher, and it is not easy to crack and let in water after being made into a bamboo raft.

In the end, Jiang Xuan obtained a bamboo raft that was about five meters long and one and a half meters wide.

To be on the safe side, he used two layers of bamboo, which provided greater buoyancy and prevented people's feet from getting wet when standing on it.

Because the bamboo raft is very large, except for the process of burning the bamboo, all other work is done outside after the rain stops.

After making the bamboo raft, Jiang Xuan and Gou Teng carried the brand new raft to a wider section of the stream to try it out.

Chishao, Shiqiu and Nanxing also followed, and some members of the Teng tribe also came over to see the novelty.

"Get in the water!"

After Jiang Xuan lifted the bamboo raft to the water's edge, he put the front end into the water, and used the Uncaria rhynchophylla to push the back end, pushing the entire raft into the water.

"Okay, come up!"

Jiang Xuan followed the tail end of the raft and then used a bamboo pole to support the raft to temporarily prevent it from drifting away with the stream.

“Here it comes!”

Gou Teng rubbed his hands excitedly, then followed Jiang Xuan onto the bamboo raft.

However, when he stood on it, the raft began to sway in the water due to uneven force, which scared Uncaria so much that she quickly squatted down.

"Chief... Chief, we are not going to fall into the water, are we?"

Jiang Xuan said unhappily, "I'm here, what are you afraid of? Besides, this is not in the river, you won't drown."

"Then... then leader, please be steady."

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Uncaria moved to Jiang Xuan's side, still feeling very nervous but also a little expectant.

Shi Qiu shouted from the side: "Gou Teng, if you are afraid, come down and I will go up."

Uncaria was provoked by these words, and stood up with gritted teeth, saying unhappily, "Who's scared? I'm just trying to get used to it first."

Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "Then stand still, let's go!"

Jiang Xuan used a bamboo pole to gently push towards the shore, and the slanted bamboo raft was immediately straightened, then slowly drifted forward along the stream.

Although they knew the stream was not deep, the tribesmen had never gone into the water, let alone taken a boat.

The bamboo raft was shaking. Uncaria rhynchophylla insisted on standing for a while, but finally sat down, feeling a little embarrassed.

While supporting the raft, Jiang Xuan comforted him, "Everything takes a process of adaptation. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Once you get used to the swing of the raft, you will naturally not be afraid anymore."

Uncaria nodded and looked at Jiang Xuan gratefully.

When the bamboo raft drifted along the stream and approached the Feiyu River, Jiang Xuan immediately paddled it to the shore and stopped it from drifting forward.

Because the water in the stream is not deep and the plants on the shore have been cleared away, there is no danger.

But it’s different in the river. There are many dangers hidden in the river, including scary big fish and water beasts. It’s too dangerous for a small bamboo raft to enter it.

"Okay, let's carry the raft back so others can try it."

Jiang Xuan and Gou Teng pulled the bamboo raft ashore, and then the two of them carried the raft back to where Chishao and others were.

"Who's next?"

The bamboo raft returned to the water, and Jiang Xuan was still holding the pole.

"I, I, I...I'll go first!"

Nanxing couldn't wait to get on the bamboo raft and was extremely excited.

"Okay, let's go!"

Jiang Xuan tapped the shore lightly with a bamboo pole, and the bamboo raft set off again.

When on the shore, Nanxing thought it was very fun, but when he actually sat on the bamboo raft and was carried forward, Nanxing felt fear in his heart, just like Uncaria rhynchophylla.

"Chief...Chief, stay steady."

Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "It's okay, don't worry, I'm here, nothing can happen."

The bamboo raft floated downstream again, and then, like before, stopped when approaching the Feiyu River, was pulled ashore, carried back to its original place, and then the next person took over to experience it.

Eventually, most people in the Teng tribe went to experience the ride on the bamboo raft.

Jiang Xuan threw the bamboo raft into the largest pond again, so that everyone could get familiar with the feeling of being on the water first. After they got used to it, they went to the creek to learn how to paddle with bamboo poles.

This is a gradual adaptation process.

After they can really control the bamboo raft, they can try fishing in the shallow waters of the Feiyu River. The harvest will definitely be much greater than fishing on the shore.

(End of this chapter)