Chapter 147 The Vine Tribe Can’t Be That Strong
“Dinner is ready!”
On the other side of the Feiyu River, with a shout from the Teng tribe warriors, more than 500 prisoners who were working put down their tools and ran to the dining area.
These captives were assigned various tasks: cutting down trees to build houses, clearing wasteland to plant food and vegetables, digging ditches, building roads, and collecting wild vegetables...
These jobs are not easy. Although they do not require risking one's life, they are more difficult than hunting.
Originally, these captives had all kinds of thoughts in their hearts.
But after a day of hard work, my stomach was empty and my mind was empty. I just wanted to fill my stomach quickly and then have a good rest.
"Everyone has a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Don't grab the food or eat with your hands. Otherwise, you won't be able to eat tonight."
Jingjie stood in front of the prisoners and made them line up in a rather rough manner. Then he distributed bowls and chopsticks and served them food personally.
The food in the pottery tripod was mostly wild vegetables and tubers. There was no meat, and the portions were not sufficient, only enough to keep the captives half full.
Winter had just passed, and even though the Teng tribe had sufficient food, it was not an easy task to feed 500 more people at once.
Therefore, being able to feed these prisoners half full so that they have the energy to work the next day was already a very good thing for them.
After the meal, the prisoners were dumbfounded when they looked at the chopsticks in their hands. They didn't know how to use the two sticks.
Jing Jie also picked up a pair of chopsticks. He held them in his hands skillfully, opening and closing them to demonstrate to the captives: "Look carefully, these are called chopsticks. They are used to pick up food. This is how they are used."
Jingjie picked up a piece of wild vegetable from the pottery bowl, showed it to the captives, and then put it in his mouth.
"Of course, you all just arrived at the Teng Tribe. It's impossible to expect you to use chopsticks right away."
"It's okay. You can start by holding the chopsticks together, bringing the bowl to your mouth, and scooping the food into your mouth. Isn't this method simple enough?"
Jingjie demonstrated to the captives again, holding the two chopsticks together. This way, there was no need to open and close the chopsticks, which was relatively simple.
"Remember, don't grab it with your hands, otherwise you won't have dinner tonight."
When you come to the Teng Tribe, you must learn to use chopsticks. This is the rule that Jiang Xuan sets for all new members of the Teng Tribe.
Soon, the captives began to make bitter faces and clumsily learned to use chopsticks, but these two small sticks were not so easy to master.
In the end, most of the prisoners resorted to the simplest method, holding two chopsticks together and using them as sticks to scoop food from the bowl into their mouths.
Learning to use chopsticks is just the first rule of the Teng tribe.
There are also rules such as not being allowed to urinate or defecate anywhere, washing hands and taking baths frequently, and drinking boiled water, which the prisoners need to adapt to and strictly abide by.
Once they got used to these rules, they naturally bore the imprint of the Teng tribe and were clearly distinguished from people from other tribes.
These rules are not only beneficial to physical health, but also can subtly influence everyone in the Teng tribe.
After the rather awkward meal, the prisoners were divided into men and women and forced to take a bath.
The warriors of the Vine Tribe used a rough bristle brush to brush each of them. The water that came out was black, which showed how dirty they were.
After taking a bath, the prisoners were finally able to go into the cabin to sleep.
Because there were so many people, there were not enough beds in the cabin, so they just spread hay on the ground.
The prisoners had no demands and soon fell asleep on the hay.
However, because their recent experiences were so tragic, most of the dreams they had were nightmares, and many of them cried in their dreams.
After a night's sleep, the prisoners had to continue working the next morning, whether they wanted to or not.
Such days will last for a long time, until they truly join the Teng Tribe and become members of the Teng Tribe.
In the first few days, several prisoners tried to escape.
Without exception, these people were killed and their bodies hung in the woods as a warning to other prisoners.
Perhaps the method is a bit cruel, but if it is not done, it will be difficult to intimidate these captives and more trouble will arise in the future.
Only by combining kindness and severity can these people gradually come back to their hearts.
This is a relatively long process that requires patience and time.
…
January 20th, the fourth year since the establishment of the Teng Tribe.
The weather is getting warmer, and the spring plowing in Teng Tribe has begun in full swing.
Jiang Xuan found the old man Heishi and asked him if he could make a stone plowshare.
"This is what a plow looks like, you see."
Jiang Xuan unfolded a piece of animal skin scroll, on which was a picture of the simplest curved plow.
The structure of the wooden part of the curved plow is actually very simple. As long as you find the right wood, it can be made with current technology. It is just a little more complicated and takes more time.
But the plowshare part is the most important part. If it is not done well, then a curved plow will have no effect.
Old Man Heishi carefully looked at the overall structure of the curved plow, and stared at the plowshare for a long time.
"It can be done, but it is curved and it will take a long time to make it right."
The plowshare of a curved plow is curved, and is much more difficult to make than a straight one.
If the tools used by Old Man Black Stone to make stone tools were not sophisticated enough, he would not dare to take on this kind of job.
"It doesn't matter if it takes a long time. There's no rush. Our cattle haven't grown up yet anyway. You can polish them when you have time."
Jiang Xuan paused and asked, "Can this plow handle be made?"
The plow handle is a carpenter's job, but Jiang Xuan has seen Old Man Heishi making wooden handles for weapons, so he thinks he should know a little bit of carpentry work.
Sure enough, the Black Stone Elder nodded and said, "No problem."
“That’s great!”
Jiang Xuan smiled happily, feeling that he had picked up a treasure.
"I'll ask Da Jiao to bring you a killed unicorn later so you can try it."
Jiang Xuan knew very well that it was necessary to give more preferential treatment to a skilled stone tool master like this.
Old Man Black Stone did not refuse. He worked based on his own abilities. He ate whatever the tribe gave him. He did not ask for more and was not picky.
"That's right."
Jiang Xuan sat down next to the Black Stone Elder and said, "Do you plan to take in any disciples? It would be a shame if no one inherits such exquisite craftsmanship."
The old man Black Stone was silent for a moment, then said, "I had two disciples before, but they both died in the battle when the tribe was destroyed."
Talking about these two disciples, old man Heishi's eyes looked dim and sad, and it was obvious that he had deep feelings for them.
Jiang Xuan consoled them, "They are going to accompany your former totem gods."
The old man Black Stone nodded, then rubbed the stone tool in his hand vigorously, making a "crackling" sound.
"I can accept disciples, but I want to choose the people myself."
"No problem. Go ahead and pick one. If you find a suitable one, I will definitely let him be your apprentice. It would be better to have more than one. There are more and more people in our tribe, and stone tools are becoming less and less sufficient."
"Can."
After agreeing, Old Man Black Stone stopped talking and just focused on polishing his stone tools.
He is not a talkative person.
Jiang Xuan solved the two problems and did not stay for long. He said goodbye and left Old Man Heishi's house.
He first went to the breeding area and asked Da Jiao to select a fatter unicorn, wash and skin it, and send it to Old Man Heishi.
Then he checked the growth of the bison calves.
The bison calf is about one meter tall at the shoulders, and its horns are about thirty centimeters long. It looks very strong overall.
These wild buffalo calves have been tamed by the vine god. They are very docile and obedient without the need for nose rings.
But the next generation of calves will need nose rings, because it is impossible to always ask Fujin to do this, and they will have to solve it themselves in the end.
A calf without a nose ring is very difficult to control and has a bad temper, and once it grows up, even an ordinary soldier cannot control it.
"When these calves grow up, the curved plow should be almost ready, and we can use them to plow the fields then."
Jiang Xuan felt very relieved. Farming without cows would be incomplete and the efficiency would be too low.
With the addition of cattle, the productivity of the Teng tribe will be greatly improved, and more people can be fed through planting.
"Cry..."
Just as Jiang Xuan was inspecting the breeding area, suddenly, several sharp bird calls were heard in the sky.
Jiang Xuan looked up and saw twelve large black birds flying towards the Teng tribe from a distance.
Tangyuan, who was foraging for food in the distance, saw this and immediately flew back. He stood beside the stone mountain, staring at the big black birds vigilantly.
The giant eagle was relatively calm, still lying in the giant eagle's nest with its eyes closed and resting.
The warriors who had newly joined the Teng tribe thought that it was an invasion from other tribes, and they all nervously grasped their weapons.
"Don't be nervous. They are not enemies. They are the Black Tooth Tribe's traveling party."
Jiang Xuan asked everyone to put down their weapons to avoid being laughed at by the people of the Black Tooth Tribe.
The Black Tooth Tribe's traveling team is a team that specializes in trading. They ride on huge black-tooth birds and travel around the Southern Wilderness, purchasing and selling items, acting as the most primitive merchants.
Soon, twelve black-toothed birds landed one after another.
Because the fields had not yet been planted, the black-toothed birds landed on the spacious farmland.
"Is this the Vine Tribe? We're not in the wrong place, are we?"
Wu Yu, the leader of the traveling team, got off the back of the black-toothed bird. He looked at the neatly arranged houses, ponds, farmlands, and a large number of members of the Teng tribe and felt unbelievable.
He opened a scroll of animal skin, on which were some lines and totem patterns of various tribes.
The totem pattern of the Teng tribe is also painted on it, but it is smaller.
This animal skin scroll is the most original map of the Black Tooth Tribe.
Of course, this kind of map does not have any mountains, rivers or lakes. It just uses a few lines to connect the tribes on the ground and draws totem patterns to distinguish them.
The Black Tooth Tribe came in the spring of the second year of the Vine Tribe. Now it is the spring of the fourth year of the Vine Tribe, and only two years have passed.
In his impression, the Teng tribe was a very small tribe with a population of just over a hundred and not many houses.
If it were other tribes, there wouldn’t be much change even in a few more years, let alone two years.
However, the Teng tribe has grown several times stronger. How can this not be shocking? "Chief Wu Yu, long time no see."
Jiang Xuan, along with some Teng tribe warriors, calmly walked up to Wu Yu.
"You are... the leader of the Ivy Tribe?"
"Yes, I am the leader of the Vine Tribe, Xuan."
When Wu Yu saw Jiang Xuan, he looked as if he had seen a ghost.
After not seeing each other for two years, Jiang Xuan has grown taller and stronger. The most eye-catching thing is the four warrior lines on his face!
Wu Yu had a deep impression of the Teng tribe because he had sold two spider silk clothes in this small Teng tribe.
If he remembered correctly, two years ago, Jiang Xuan was just a two-color warrior.
Now, Wu Yu is still a three-color warrior, but Jiang Xuan has become a four-color warrior, which Wu Yu cannot accept.
You know, he rode the black-toothed bird around to trade all day long and ate a lot of exotic fruits, but his strength didn't increase much.
How could a boy from a small tribe be stronger than him? Wu Yu felt his mind break.
Wu Yu couldn't help but ask, "Chief Xuan, I see that your Teng tribe has changed a lot."
Jiang Xuan said casually: "In the past two years, other tribes have often invaded us, so we had no choice but to fight them. Unexpectedly, we always won."
Wu Yu knew that things were definitely not that simple, and it was not a secret of the Teng tribe, so he was smart enough not to ask any more questions.
As a primitive businessman, he has learned not to ask questions that should not be asked, which can save a lot of trouble.
"Captain Wu Yu should have brought a lot of goods this time, right? Come on, let's go to my yard and rest for a while."
Jiang Xuan warmly invited Wu Yu to his yard, because the Teng tribe currently did not have a house specifically for entertaining other tribes.
After arriving in the bamboo forest, Wu Yu first looked up at the sacred vine on the stone mountain.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but when he looked at the sacred vine, he felt a sense of fear and an indescribable fear.
This divine vine is even more terrifying, this is Wu Yu’s intuition.
He didn't dare to look around anymore and followed Jiang Xuan obediently.
After walking into Jiang Xuan's yard, Wu Yu saw a purple bird of prey squatting in a tall bamboo shed, staring at them vigilantly.
As the size of the glutinous rice balls continued to grow, the bamboo shed had to be rebuilt several times, becoming taller and taller. Jiang Xuan's yard had also been expanded several times accordingly.
Wu Yu stared at Tang Yuan for a long time and said in surprise: "Is this... a rare purple snake sculpture?"
Jiang Xuan asked, "Has Chief Wu Yu ever seen this kind of bird?"
Jiang Xuan has never known what kind of bird of prey Tangyuan is. It would be great if Wu Yu could help him solve the mystery.
"I have seen snake eagles of other colors, which look similar to this one. This one has purple feathers all over its body, which is the first time I have seen it."
"But I once heard from the elders in the tribe that there is a kind of purple snake eagle that is not only bigger but also more ferocious than ordinary snake eagles. I have never seen one before. I didn't expect to see it in your Teng tribe today."
Wu Yu was deeply moved. A small vine tribe had given him so many surprises.
Jiang Xuan suddenly realized, no wonder Tangyuan was good at catching snakes and liked eating snakes since he was a child, it turned out that this was his nature.
Wu Yu asked again: "Chief Xuan, where did this purple snake eagle come from? If you have other purple snake eagle chicks, I can trade them with precious items."
Jiang Xuan said: "I picked it up by chance when I went hunting. I didn't find any other young birds."
“That’s a shame.”
Wu Yu felt very sorry. If he could find a few more of these young birds and sell them to the big tribes, he could exchange them for a lot of precious goods and make huge profits.
(End of this chapter)
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