Chapter 69 Numbers and Planting by Cuttings
It was the night of January 6th, the second year since the establishment of the Teng tribe.
“Scratch, scratch, scratch…”
In the bamboo house, Jiang Xuan found ten pieces of wood that were one person tall and about ten centimeters in diameter. He carved numbers on each piece of wood.
He was carving decimal Arabic numerals, from zero to one hundred. It was a big project. He started it three days ago and only finished it today.
“Finally finished carving!”
After Jiang Xuan carved the last number, he put away the dull stone knife, stood up and stretched.
Nan Xing, who was standing by, asked curiously, "Chief, what on earth are these things you carved?"
Red peony root, Uncaria rhynchophylla, and stone loach also came over, as they had been feeling curious for a long time.
Jiang Xuan said: "These are called numbers, which are symbols used for counting. For example, we have ten fingers, which correspond to the most basic numbers from '1' to 10."
"In the past, when you counted, you always counted on your fingers. If there were a little more things, you would not be able to count them clearly, right?"
"If you learn these numbers, you won't have to count on your fingers anymore. You can easily calculate the number of a lot of things."
Chishao's eyes lit up and he said, "Chief, I want to learn!"
As a witch, Chishao usually needs to figure out the number of people and supplies in the tribe.
But just like Jiang Xuan said, because she had never learned arithmetic, she could only count on her fingers one by one.
It wasn't a big deal in the past. After all, there were few people in the Teng tribe and few things, so it was easy to figure it out even if you counted on your fingers.
But now the number of people in the Teng tribe is increasing, and there are more and more things. When Chishao counted them again, he was obviously unable to do it and could only make a rough estimate.
That's why, after hearing Jiang Xuan's explanation, she was eager to learn these numbers and algorithms.
Jiang Xuan said: "In fact, these numbers are very simple and easy to remember. I have engraved all the numbers from one to one hundred on the pillar. You can come and look at them a few times every day, and you will learn them quickly."
"Come, let me teach you how to recognize these numbers..."
Jiang Xuan patiently taught Chishao and others the ten Arabic numerals from "0" to "9" one by one, and pointed to the numbers on the pillars to explain to them in detail the usage of decimal numbers.
Then he folded a bunch of small wooden sticks and taught them the simplest addition and subtraction.
After they have learned addition and subtraction, let them recite the "Nine-Nine Multiplication Formulas" and learn multiplication and division.
Of course, this is a very long process, and Jiang Xuan also experienced the madness of being a teacher.
"Shiqiu, when you write '3', can you please not write it backwards?"
"Nanxing, how did you come to the conclusion that 7+7=11?"
…
Of course, there are also outstanding students, and that is Chishao.
Chishao was not only talented in painting, but also in arithmetic. After only two days of study, she could write from one to one hundred and perform simple addition and subtraction.
Jiang Xuan was in a good mood, so he made a few simple animal hair brushes using wild boar hair, fish bladder glue, and reed stems, so that Chi Shao could write on the animal skin scroll more conveniently.
When Jiang Xuan finished teaching Red Peony Root and went on to teach Uncaria Rhynchophylla and Stone Loach, he clearly felt his blood pressure rising. He couldn't help but want to open their brains to see what was inside.
This may be the difference between a poor student and a good student.
After Chishao and the others learned the numbers, Jiang Xuan began to promote numbers and algorithms to other members of the tribe, and ordered everyone to learn them.
At the beginning, there was naturally wailing in the Teng tribe.
Many people will not even frown if you ask them to fight with prey with a spear, but if you ask them to write with a small pen, they will scratch their heads and feel very uncomfortable.
Even if the feet of a colorful pheasant were smeared with paint and running around on the animal skin, it would be much more beautiful than the few numbers they wrote after spending a lot of time trying to write them.
Fortunately, they were not children, nor were they really stupid. After studying hard for a while, they were able to learn simple addition and subtraction.
As for the more than one hundred tourists, they have not yet become true members of the Teng tribe and are not qualified to learn numbers.
Jiang Xuan divided them into three groups, each with about forty people.
The first group of tourists were responsible for collecting various edible plants near the Teng tribe, digging up fruit tree seedlings, etc.
The second group of tourists were responsible for following Gansong to plow the soil, reclaim wasteland, plant grains and vegetables, dig drainage ditches, etc.
The third group of tourists were responsible for setting up fishing traps, making fish cages, and catching fish and shrimp.
As for the real members of the Vine Tribe, they are mainly responsible for hunting and protecting the safety of the tribe.
Peaceful days always pass quickly, and a month went by in a hurry.
In early February, the weather gradually became warmer. The trees on the mountain grew a large number of new buds. There were a lot of weeds on the ground, and small flowers of various colors bloomed, which were very beautiful.
The rain gradually increased, and in the bamboo forest behind the Teng tribe, countless spring bamboo shoots emerged from the ground and grew rapidly.
"Dig out the bamboo shoots that are not growing well or are in the way, and leave the ones that are growing well to grow into bamboos."
In the bamboo forest, Jiang Xuan took a bone hoe and dug out the bamboo shoots that sprouted on the road leading to the altar.
Behind him, there were many tourists following. They looked at the altar in the distance with awe, and carefully dug out the bamboo shoots that grew crookedly in the bamboo forest or on the road.
Some of these bamboo shoots will be eaten immediately. The rest will be peeled, cooked in a ceramic pot, then torn into strips, dried in the sun, and kept for later consumption.
As for the bamboo shoots that are not dug up, it won’t be long before they grow into large bamboos that are more than ten meters high, or even twenty or thirty meters high. They can then be cut down and used to make various tools.
After digging up the bamboo shoots, Jiang Xuan continued to improve the defense line against dangerous plants on the north and south sides of the tribe.
The first to be removed were the eight saplings of the Thunder Tree.
When capturing the Earth Armor Beast last year, Jiang Xuan detonated a piece of Thunder Fruit. The terrifying power of the explosion still makes him feel frightened when he thinks about it.
If the Thunder Tree is planted together with other dangerous plants, the exploding Thunder Fruit may destroy the other plants, leaving a huge gap in the plant defense line.
However, the bark and trunk of the Thunder Tree are extremely hard and can be used to make tools and weapons. If the Thunder Fruit is used well, it can also be a powerful weapon.
Jiang Xuan did not intend to give up planting the Thunder Tree, he just moved it to a place away from the plant defense line.
As for dangerous plants such as the biting flower and whip tree, Jiang Xuan continued to fertilize them and add soil to them, allowing them to form a plant defense line to prevent the invasion of wild beasts and outsiders.
"Oh, and there's also the cage vine."
Jiang Xuan had been trapped by a cage vine before, and he was very interested in this dangerous plant.
The vines of the cage vine are extremely tough and contain a paralyzing toxin, which makes them a very good thing if used properly.
However, so far, Jiang Xuan has only found one cage vine near the Vine Tribe, which is the one where he was trapped. In order to save Jiang Xuan, Chi Shao cut down that cage vine.
Jiang Xuan took two warriors, crossed mountains and rivers, and found the cage vine.
"Hey, it's growing so fast!"
When Jiang Xuan saw the cage vine again, he found that it had grown into a vine net again, lying flat on the ground like before, waiting for prey to pass over.
One of the warriors asked, "Chief, are we going to dig it back?"
Jiang Xuan shook his head and said, "No need. This cage vine has been growing for many years. It must have a lot of roots underground. It is difficult to dig up the whole plant. If we dig up a few roots, I'm afraid it will die."
"What should we do?" The two soldiers looked at each other and were at a loss as to what to do.
Jiang Xuan observed the newly grown vines of the cage vine and found that some of the vines had a small number of aerial roots, which usually absorbed nutrients from the soil.
"Find two pieces of wood to hold down the vines on the ground, cut back the new vines with aerial roots, and try to plant them through cuttings."
The two warriors immediately found two thick dead trees nearby, and then pressed down on the cage vines on the ground together.
The poor cage vine had never encountered such a situation before. All its vines struggled and twisted desperately, trying to close, but they couldn't get up at all.
Even the vines with poisonous thorns could not pierce the two warriors because they were also pressed down and could not reach too far.
"Hey, are you being honest now?"
Jiang Xuan took out a sharp stone knife and painstakingly cut off the still twisting cage vines with aerial roots, then wrapped the broken ends with a ball of moist soil and put them into a hide bag.
After the severed vine twisted a few times, it gradually stopped moving and looked no different from an ordinary vine.
Jiang Xuan cut a total of nine vines with aerial roots, then tightened the mouth of the animal skin bag and said refreshedly: "Let's go back to the tribe."
The two warriors removed the dead tree that was pressing down the cage vine, and all the vines of the cage vine immediately wrapped upwards, forming a round cage.
But because Jiang Xuan cut a lot of vines, the cage had several obvious gaps.
The poor cage vine, like a good girl who had been bullied, was crying silently in the forest.
The instigator, Jiang Xuan, had already walked away with two warriors.
After returning to the tribe, Jiang Xuan planted nine vines wrapped in soil at the designated plant defense line locations.
As for whether these vines can successfully take root and sprout and grow into new cage vine plants, it all depends on luck.
February 8, noon.
“Boom!”
The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the first spring thunder of the year exploded, waking up all kinds of insects underground.
Jiang Xuan once again carved the words "Qingzhe" on his calendar bamboo tube.
"The first thunderstorm last year was on February 5th, and this year it was on February 8th, so the timing is relatively close."
Jiang Xuan was quite satisfied with the result. It at least showed that the weather in this world was also regular, which was of great help to his calendar making.
Jiang Xuan believed that sooner or later, he would be able to create a calendar that truly suited this world.
…
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…
This chapter has 3,100 words.
(End of this chapter)
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