Chapter 162 Increase in Wildlife
Early that morning, Xu Que was awakened by the roars of the newly established enclosures for wild animals outside the cave. In just a few short days, the Black Deer Tribe had built enclosures for raising wild animals. He dressed and went to the outside of the enclosures to look inside. Good heavens, everyone had been busy doing other things yesterday, and the animals' feed hadn't been replenished in time. They were howling in agony from hunger!
Xu Que quickly called Ha Gang and other young men from the tribe who had nothing else to do, and they carried buckets of manure to the overgrown weeds not far from the tribe to cut grass for the herbivorous livestock.
After a few minutes' walk, they arrived at their destination!
Xu Que took out a boning knife and haphazardly chopped at the roots of the half-meter-tall green plant!
The other primitives following behind him gathered the green grass that he had just cut down, rolled it up, and pressed it firmly into the manure bucket!
When each tribe's buckets were full of grass, Xu Que waved his hand and returned to the tribe with them!
Xu Que took a bucket full of grass from the primitive man and said to all the primitive men surrounding him, "Now I will teach you how to feed livestock!"
"Actually, there's not much to teach! To sum it up in one sentence: Pick up the bucket, grab some hay, and throw it directly into the enclosure! When the hungry animals see the hay we throw in, they'll go looking for it and eat it on their own!"
"Here you go! Here's the bucket, you can feed them yourselves! Practice a few more times!" Xu Que said, handing the bucket he was carrying to a younger man beside him.
The young man picked up a bucket, grabbed some grass, and, imitating Xu Que, began feeding the wild animals in the enclosure.
Inside the wooden enclosure, they were all eating happily!
Several wild donkeys were scrambling for grass inside the pen, kicking and thrashing about in a rather flamboyant manner.
Upon seeing this scene, Xu Que recalled the miserable days when he was kicked in the thigh by a donkey.
He gritted his teeth, frowned, and warned the other cavemen around him, "You all have to be extremely careful when throwing grass to these wild animals! They kick up their heels! You might get kicked in a groin if you're not careful! So everyone has to be extra, extra careful!"
"Especially tribal members who enter these wild animals' enclosures to clean their droppings or do other tasks should be extra careful! They could easily get jostled or kicked by these wild and aggressive animals!"
"Oh! By the way! There are a few rather large and imposing bison here. I suggest we tie them all up! This will provide some protection for us outsiders and the other wild animals inside!"
Xu Que pointed inside again: "Look! These strong bulls inside the pen are using their powerful bodies to cause trouble, headbutting and fighting everywhere! If this continues, it won't be long before they break down the pen!"
Ha Gang glanced at Xu Que and nodded: "Tell me! How can we tie them up?"
Xu Que picked out a few pieces of wood suitable for tethering cattle from a pile of leftover wood beside him, sharpened the ends, and handed them to Ha Gang.
"Put the pointed end firmly into the soil inside the enclosure, then put the bridle I made on their heads, tighten the leather rope, and tie them directly to the cattle post!" Xu Que demonstrated to Ha Gang.
"Okay! I understand!" Ha Gang nodded to Xu Que, then picked up several tethering posts, opened the gate, and walked straight into the herd of bison, wild donkeys, wild goats, and other animals!
The strong bulls, who were usually defiant, were utterly intimidated by Hargan's imposing, Hulk-like physique. Not one of them dared to challenge him to defend his territory! Instead, they cowered in a corner of the pen, bowing their heads in submission, like lambs frightened by wolves.
Ha Gang sharpened the wooden stake, found a good spot on the ground, picked it up with both hands, and forcefully shoved it into the ground!
The tethering stakes were perfectly nailed in by Hagang's terrifyingly violent methods!
Hou returned from who-knows-where, carrying two bundles of thatch stalks. He stood motionless in front of the cave entrance all afternoon, as if pondering something.
When Xu Que saw that his wife was not as lively and active as usual, he quietly walked to her side, squatted down, and carefully studied what she was studying.
Three to five minutes later, Xu Que finally understood her intention.
"Are you thinking of using these white thatch stalks to make a straw hat? To wear on your head to shield yourself from the rain or sun?" Xu Que gently poked her waist from behind.
After carefully considering Xu Que's words for a few seconds, Hou nodded repeatedly: "Yes!"
"Was it you who just now wanted to weave these white thatch stalks together like you're weaving a leather rope?" Xu Que roared!
"Yeah! Yeah! Look! I was trying to weave them together, but they broke as soon as I twisted them! What should I do? How do I solve this problem?" Hou scratched his head, seemingly at a loss, looking at Xu Que with a questioning expression.
"Soak these white cogongrass stalks in warm water for three to five minutes and then take them out! Twist them and they won't break anymore!" Xu Que said as he went into the tribe's cave, took out a wooden thermos, and soaked the white cogongrass stalks in a small wooden trough.
Three minutes later, Xu Que scooped the straw out of the wooden trough and handed it to Hou: "Here, try again and see if you can break it!"
Hou took the white thatch stalk and twisted it hard; sure enough, it wouldn't break!
She looked at Xu Que with admiration: "Wow! It really won't break! In a little while, I'll weave something really beautiful for you using these white thatch stalks! It'll broaden your horizons!"
Hou ran back to the cave, gathered up all the straw stalks woven by the other women of the Black Stone Tribe, and placed them in front of Xu Que: "Then take a look and see what you can make from these woven things!"
Xu Que wove the women of the primitive tribe into long strips of straw, like film reels, and gradually spread them outwards in concentric circles from the center!
Hou squatted down next to Xu Que, his head gently resting on his shoulder, and he also started imitating with a long strip of white thatch stalk in his hand.
As Xu Que rolled it down, he sewed it with a bone needle. Before long, a brand new sun protection hat was finished!
Three minutes after Xu Que finished putting on his sun hat, Hou Cai followed suit!
Looking at his accomplishments, which he had made all by himself, Hou felt an indescribable sweetness in his heart! He was filled with a sense of accomplishment! "Besides making hats to protect against the sun and rain, what else can these white thatch straws be used for?" Hou asked Xu Que.
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