Chapter 43 Taming Bamboo Rat
After returning to the tribe, everyone was very excited to see that Jiang Xuan and his team had actually caught a nest of giant bamboo rats.
"Chief, can we eat this big bamboo rat?" Nanxing shouted excitedly.
Jiang Xuan said helplessly: "Why don't you think about it, if you eat this female bamboo rat, what will happen to the three little ones?"
Nan Xing scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "It seems so. These three little bamboo rats look like they are still nursing."
Jiang Xuan added: "Don't worry, when they multiply in number, we'll be able to eat them sooner or later."
The stone loach on the side said: "I have eaten roasted bamboo rats. The skin is roasted golden, and when it cracks, fat flows out. It smells so good."
After he said that, everyone stared at the big bamboo rats, drooling secretly, and the big bamboo rats in the animal skin bag shuddered with fear.
Jiang Xuan hurriedly warned: "I'll say it again, these bamboo rats are for breeding. No one is allowed to have any idea of taking them. If anyone dares to roast this bamboo rat secretly, I will beat him to death."
After hearing what Jiang Xuan said, everyone immediately became obedient. After all, it was a very stupid thing to anger the leader just to eat a big bamboo rat.
Jiang Xuan glanced at everyone, then carried the animal skin bag and walked towards the place where Dajiao was breeding insects.
Da Jiao had dug a new small cave, which was less than two meters deep, one person tall, and looked relatively round.
When Jiang Xuan went over carrying the animal skin bag, Da Jiao was still repairing the new cave. If there was enough time, he could dig deeper.
"Da Jiao, the giant bamboo rat has been dug up and will be handed over to you to tame from now on."
Da Jiao hurriedly put down his tools, walked out of the cave, and took the animal skin bag from Jiang Xuan's hand.
"Don't worry, Chief. I will definitely take good care of these big bamboo rats."
Jiang Xuan also explained to Da Jiao the key points of raising bamboo rats, such as not feeding them water, but directly digging some water-rich Miscanthus roots to feed them. You can also try feeding them small bamboos, fresh reeds and other plants.
In addition, if the female bamboo rat is pregnant, it should be raised separately from the male bamboo rat to prevent the male bamboo rat from biting the cubs to death because of his crotch.
These experiences were gained by Jiang Xuan from raising bamboo rats in his previous life.
He is not as good as Chishao when it comes to digging bamboo rats in the mountains, but he has quite a bit of experience in raising bamboo rats.
"Have you remembered everything?" After Jiang Xuan finished speaking, he looked at Da Jiao.
"Remember that." Da Jiao pointed his finger and said, "Don't feed them water. Feed them with grass roots, small bamboos, and reeds. After the female bamboo rats become pregnant, they should be raised separately..."
Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "Also, if a bamboo rat gives birth to cubs in the future, and the cubs haven't grown hair yet and can't run, don't look at them or touch them, otherwise the cubs will be contaminated with human scent and will be bitten to death by the mother bamboo rat."
"Chief, I remember this."
Da Jiao tried his best to remember every word Jiang Xuan said, but Jiang Xuan said too much and he was actually a little confused.
As soon as Jiang Xuan saw his expression, he knew what was going on.
"Don't be nervous. Just remember what you said before. If you forget or are unsure about something, just come and ask me. I will come and check on you often in the future."
"That's great." Da Jiao let out a sigh.
"Okay, this litter of bamboo rats is now in your hands. If you can raise them well, we will dig up more in the future."
"Don't worry, chief. I will try my best to raise them well." Dajiao promised, patting his chest.
Jiang Xuan nodded and prepared to leave.
But he had only taken two steps when he fell back and carefully observed the big horn's cave. He frowned and said, "It's okay to keep the colorful duck in the cave. Just make a wooden door. But it's not okay to keep the big bamboo rat. They dig holes too well and will escape."
"Ah? Then...what should we do then?"
Dajiao didn't expect that after digging the cave for half a day, he couldn't raise a bamboo rat.
Jiang Xuan frowned and thought for a long time, then said, "Unless we build a wall with stones to prevent them from digging."
"It's too late today. Don't let the bamboo rats out yet. Let them stay in the animal skin bags. I'll find someone to build a cave tomorrow."
"good."
Jiang Xuan returned to the bamboo house, and Da Jiao kept the animal skin bag next to him. As long as there was any movement, he would immediately get up to see if the animal skin bag was bitten through.
Fortunately, after the night passed, the animal skin bag was still intact.
The next day, Jiang Xuan brought three people and first went to the stream to dig several large baskets of clay, mixed them into mud, and then found a large number of stones, and little by little, they built the floor and walls of the cave with stones.
The reason why clay is used is that it is closer to cement and is not easy to crack after drying, unlike ordinary soil which cracks and falls off once it dries.
After the floor and walls of the entire cave were paved with stones, Jiang Xuan built up one-third of the entrance, leaving space for a door for people to enter and exit.
A wooden fence door needs to be placed at this location, so that it is more convenient to go in to clean up dirt or feed food.
Of course, the wood used for this fence gate must be hard and strong enough, otherwise it will be easily chewed through by the big bamboo rats and escape.
In fact, it would be better to use an iron fence gate, but this is a primitive tribe and we don’t have the conditions for that.
After finishing the wooden gate, Jiang Xuan found a large pile of soft grass and threw it into the cave for them to use as a nest and hide.
Finally, Jiang Xuan had people cut some fresh reeds and dig some Miscanthus roots and throw them into the hole as food for the bamboo rats.
"Okay, now you can put the big bamboo rat in."
There were quite a few Miscanthus roots in the animal hide bag, which were dug out during the process of digging bamboo rats. When I came back, I stuffed some of them into the animal hide bag as food for the female bamboo rats.
Dajiao poured all the Miscanthus roots, as well as the big and small bamboo rats, out of the animal skin bag and put them into the built cave.
The big bamboo rat quickly burrowed into the pile of grass and hid, and the three little bamboo rats followed closely behind.
Jiang Xuan closed the wooden door and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Xuan turned to the three people who came to help and said, "Everyone has worked hard. We will have meat tonight."
The three men smiled brightly immediately. For the tribesmen, as long as they could eat enough, doing some work was nothing. Having meat to eat made them full of energy.
Jiang Xuan said to Da Jiao again: "Keep an eye on this cave and listen for any noises at night. Don't let the bamboo rat escape."
"Don't worry, Chief. I live here. I will hear everything that happens."
Ever since Jiang Xuan asked Da Jiao to be in charge of breeding, Da Jiao asked people to help build a bamboo house in front of these caves. He usually eats and lives here, taking care of the insects and colorful ducks, and now there are a few more big bamboo rats.
Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "Go get a piece of meat later. You can stew it in a clay pot or roast it."
"I...I have a part in it too?" Da Jiao was a little unbelievable.
Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "Of course you have a share. You have worked hard these days. How can we leave you out when we eat meat tonight?"
"Thank you, Chief. Thank you, Chief..."
Da Jiao kept expressing his gratitude. This feeling of being recognized made him very excited.
"Don't thank me, you deserve it."
Jiang Xuan patted Dajiao's shoulder and said, "Work hard. Although we only have four colorful ducks and four bamboo rats now, as long as you take good care of them, sooner or later they will multiply into countless colorful ducks and bamboo rats."
"One day, the whole tribe will eat meat because of you, and everyone will thank you."
"Um!"
Da Jiao nodded heavily, his face flushed with excitement.
(End of this chapter)
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