I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 140 – You will be remembered
Limping swiftly, Lame, despite his injured leg, arrived at the courtyard and immediately began crafting the hooks. He wanted to keep up with the Divine Child’s pace and contribute to the tribe’s efforts to overcome the difficulties posed by demons.
The paused construction projects resumed with more vigor than before. Han Cheng observed this scene, sniffing slightly. Indeed, people needed some spirit.
With the tribe’s efforts, the construction of the houses progressed rapidly. At this point, the stone walls had exceeded one meter in height.
Initially, Han Cheng planned to use stones for the foundation and then build mud walls using planks, as transporting stones was somewhat cumbersome.
However, after careful consideration and recalling grass huts he had seen in his past life, he realized that structures rarely had walls rising directly from the ground. This made sense since walls made of compressed earth wouldn’t withstand prolonged exposure to rain.
He recalled the ancient Chinese military strategist Lame Qi, who conquered a heavily fortified city during the Warring States period by digging a canal to flood it. The primary reason for the city’s downfall wasn’t drowning its inhabitants but rather the collapse of the earth-rammed walls due to prolonged soaking.
Imagining being asleep in a house during continuous rainy days, suddenly having the roof collapse, and burying oneself, Han Cheng immediately changed his initial plan.
After constructing a one-meter-high stone wall and outlining the overall structure, it became evident that the first real house of the Green Sparrow Tribe was taking shape.
A door appeared in the middle of the house, measuring 1.2 meters wide. Due to the lack of iron-made nails and the underdeveloped technique of framing triangular beams, two additional walls were added inside the rooms to separate the three spaces.
This arrangement facilitated future roof construction and created relatively independent spaces.
With the foundation laid and a one-meter-high stone wall constructed, the next step began.
Wooden planks were tightly bound on both sides of the one-meter-high stone wall, and then they started making compressed earth walls.
The Green Sparrow Tribe members were highly skilled at this task, and the process was familiar, making it faster.
The earth walls were thick, approximately 40 centimeters, a specification Han Cheng chose, considering that compressed earth walls weren’t as sturdy as brick walls and additional thickness needed to withstand freezing temperatures in winter.
The front wall, however, was more complicated than the others. This wall had a door and two windows on each side for the adjacent rooms.
Lame was currently making the windows. He crafted wooden windows with the hand drill and the method of using a stone chisel with a burning charcoal tip. For Lame, a skilled craftsman, it wasn’t a particularly challenging task.
Of course, it required Han Cheng’s guidance, and he drew the approximate structure of the windows on the ground.
The window-making process wasn’t too complicated. They split a tree stump, one meter and three centimeters long, and ten centimeters in diameter, in half. Then, they used a stone chisel and burning charcoal to make holes every fifteen centimeters on the flat side.
These holes didn’t need to go all the way through; a depth of three centimeters was sufficient.
Once the holes were made, like a ladder, one-meter-long tree branches with a diameter of around three centimeters were inserted into the corresponding holes, creating a window.
The wooden windows looked somewhat loose because there were no additional vertical frames on the sides, but that was fine. Once embedded into the wall, they would be extremely secure.
Lame was very busy, crafting ladders, hooks, wooden windows, doors, and the upcoming fence. He was overwhelmed with tasks.
So, making holes in the windows was handed to Liang, whose foot injury improved significantly.
Of course, the window locations were chosen by Lame, and he circled them with unburned charcoal.
Watching Liang blowing into the blowpipe to create holes, Han Cheng’s eyes showed a look of approval. Not because he was working despite his injury but because he remembered their conversation from some time ago.
The scene back then was like this:
On the second day after being hit on the foot, Liang’s foot had swollen and turned red, making him furious.
The two front toes were purple and swollen, making the entire foot unbearable.
Shaman, who came to check on the situation, furrowed his brows slightly. Liang’s foot injury did not show any significant improvement, similar to the conditions of the previously injured individuals.
Liang himself appeared uneasy and anxious.
Throughout this process, Han Cheng ensured that people burned willow branches and saltwater daily. He instructed them to carefully clean the wounds on Liang’s foot, mimicking his actions from the initial stages of the injury.
A reversal occurred on the third day. The extensive wound, which had covered almost half of Liang’s foot, had completely scabbed over. Additionally, the swelling had reduced considerably, showing no signs of suppuration or ulceration.
Faced with this unexpectedly positive result, Liang, who had been anxious all along, couldn’t help but cry tears of joy. The horrifying memory of his mother’s death due to infected wounds caused by stone tool grinding had left a deep impression on him.
Shaman was also overjoyed. In his memory, individuals injured during hot weather were prone to suppuration. Sometimes, they would even develop a fever, lose consciousness, and eventually die. However, after the Divine Child’s treatment, Liang’s foot, which had suffered such a large wound, healed without any issues, recovering faster than those injured during winter.
Facing such results, the Shaman couldn’t help but be delighted. Last year, the Divine Child improved the birthing process, significantly reducing infant mortality within the tribe. Now, with this method unknown to him, the Divine Child was helping Liang recover quickly.
This meant that, in the future, as long as their people didn’t suffer fatal injuries, deaths due to wound suppuration would significantly decrease.
The excited Shaman eagerly asked Han Cheng about the principles involved. Han Cheng smiled and said, “Salt is not only for eating; it’s also a medicinal herb that can treat certain ailments. Willow branches can be used to weave baskets, but the water boiled with them is also a type of medicine, good for cleaning wounds.”
After saying this, Han Cheng continued with a touch of emotion, “My knowledge is limited, but I know that most diseases and injuries in this world can be treated. If the treatment isn’t effective, it’s because the right method and herbs haven’t been found. Many plants are medicinal; we just don’t know what diseases they can treat and how to use them.”
Listening to these words, the Shaman felt somewhat despondent. Although he learned from the Divine Child about a path that could reduce the tribe’s suffering, the difficulty of this path made him sigh in frustration. Even the Divine Child, considered highly intelligent, admitted to knowing little.
“Divine Child, I am willing. I am willing to search for and identify medicinal herbs to treat the injuries and illnesses of our people,” Liang said, his eyes sparkling with excitement, suppressing the inner turmoil.
“This path will be very difficult and dangerous. Sometimes, you may die,” Han Cheng warned, looking at Liang seriously.
Even though he heard the Divine Child’s warning, the memory of his mother’s painful death made Liang discard any concerns. He tilted slightly and said, “I’m not afraid.”
“If you walk down this path, many people will remember you—many people,” Han Cheng assured, patting Liang’s shoulder.
“Really?” Liang looked pleasantly surprised. He had not expected such additional benefits from walking this path.
Han Cheng thought momentarily, recalling Shen Nong’s status, and nodded emphatically. “Indeed.”