I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 214 – The Unreliable burning of charcoal
Hei Wa and the others followed eagerly, not knowing what the Divine Child wanted to do, but because, in such situations, the Divine Child could always perform miracles.
The winter here was colder than where Han Cheng lived in his later life. Although the sun had risen, the temperature hadn’t risen much yet. As they walked out of the Blue Sparrow Tribe, their breaths turned into white clouds, like monsters swallowing clouds and spitting mist.
Han Cheng instructed someone to dig a rectangular pit here using a bone shovel.
The pit didn’t need to be too deep. About twenty centimeters would do.
Despite the cold weather, the ground hadn’t frozen much due to the lack of rain or snow during this period. Digging with a bone shovel was still possible, albeit chilly on the hands.
Physical activity warmed them up, and after digging a shallow pit over a meter long and half a meter wide, the people involved were already sweating.
Everyone speculated about the Divine Child’s purpose in digging this pit.
Was he going to set up another line of defense here?
It seemed very likely because it wasn’t too far from the defensive line made of stakes, thorns, and vines.
However, this idea quickly disappeared because the pit was too narrow. With just a little effort, one could easily cross it. It wouldn’t serve much purpose in blocking the enemy.
After the pit was dug, Han Cheng was about to proceed to the next step when he heard someone from the tribe shouting for food.
In times like this, eating was the most important thing. This was the creed of food lovers, especially in such cold weather. Having a bowl of hot soup was incredibly comforting.
Han Cheng immediately stopped what he was doing and returned to the tribe with everyone to eat.
Having dealt with a batch of rabbits in the morning, rabbits naturally became the main dish for lunch.
After drinking a steaming rabbit soup, all the cold was dispelled, and they felt warm. Holding a golden-roasted rabbit leg and slowly tearing and chewing it was incredibly satisfying.
After lunch, Han Cheng used a pottery jar to carry half of the remaining charcoal from cooking. He led the people out of the cave, which was used as a storage room and dining hall, towards the outside of the tribe.
More people followed this time. In addition to Hei Wa and the others who had dug the pit in the morning, Shaman, who had satisfied his rabbit craving, and the children who were not afraid of the cold.
Tie Tou, Mu Tou, and Qi Qiu left after watching for a while, heading east.
They carried stone sickles and ropes with hooks under their arms.
Such ropes were very convenient for tying things. They would place the rope on the ground with things in the middle, wrap it around it, and then hook the end without a wooden hook onto a wooden hook and pull it in the opposite direction.
Tie Tou and the others climbed up the hill where the cave was located, removed the rope, spread it on the ground, and began cutting with the stone sickles.
They were harvesting completely dried thatch.
Before the widespread use of tiles, thatch had always been very useful. The thatch grew very well this year, and Han Cheng naturally didn’t want to waste it. This thatch would be of great use to him.
The golden thatch collided with each other when standing on the ground, making a “pipi boba” sound.
Those assigned to harvest the thatch were accustomed to cutting grass regularly, so they were very familiar with using stone sickles to harvest things over time.
Tie Tou, the grass-cutting enthusiast, was the fastest. While others hadn’t finished bundling one batch, he had already started bundling the thatch.
One leg half-kneeling, pressing down on the bundle of thatch. With each press, the hand holding the rope’s end pulls forcefully.
With his exertion, the gap just squeezed out by the leg disappeared. After repeating this several times, the whole bundle of thatch was securely tied up. The excess rope was tied to the taut rope so the thatch bundle wouldn’t loosen. Then, a rough rope made of straw was used to wrap around the rope, tying it tightly. After securing the knot, the rope with the hook was untied.
This was done to save rope, as using well-woven rope to tie thatch was too wasteful.
The rough rope made of straw was not convenient for tying, and it took quite a bit of effort to tie the thatch securely without loosening. This method perfectly solved this problem.
Han Cheng did not devise this method but Tie Tou himself.
Indeed, labor can make people smarter.
However, Han Cheng devised the method of tying the rope with a hook on one end.
At first, when tying, one end of the rope was looped and wrapped around, and then the other was pulled back through the loop.
The process was the same as with the grooved rope.
However, there were many inconveniences to this method. When untying, the rope was prone to getting stuck, and after numerous pulls, the loop would break.
Always breaking the rope, Tie Tou was quite distressed. Initially, to prevent the rope from breaking, he didn’t dare to use much force when tying things up.
The result was even more troublesome. If the grass and other things weren’t tied securely, it was very uncomfortable to transport them. Sometimes, they wouldn’t be able to walk far before the bundle of grass would loosen, and the grass would slide off…
Han Cheng didn’t pay attention at first, and it wasn’t until two or three days later that he realized something was wrong. Tie Tou had returned from cutting grass with high spirits in the past, and the grass bundles were neatly tied. Now, it was as if someone else had done it.
After inquiring about the reason and knowing the whole story, the rope with the hook was born.
The hook was not afraid of the rope wearing out; the more it wore, the stronger and even smoother it became.
After Han Cheng solved this problem, Tie Tou’s enthusiasm for cutting grass was once again aroused…
While Tie Tou was tying thatch, Han Cheng also directed people to use a bone shovel to fill the hole dug out in the morning with soil from the pile at the pit’s edge.
Inside the pit was a pile of burning firewood.
The people had no idea what the purpose of the Divine Child burying the fire with soil was. Lighting a fire in the wilderness was one thing, but… burying a perfectly good fire with soil?
With this, wouldn’t all the fires be extinguished?
While the people were puzzled, their hands didn’t stop moving. Shoveling soil one shovel at a time, they covered the burning fire with soil. The fire, which was burning brightly, was hit by this sudden attack and was quickly extinguished, not even struggling before it was buried alive.
After it was buried, Han Cheng, still unsatisfied, had people jump on top to compact the soil further.
It was almost as if they were burying the army of General Dan Xiongxin by the command of Niu Jin, then leading three thousand iron riders to trample it half the night.
Even now, the people still couldn’t figure out what the shaman wanted to do, and the Shaman had been pondering for a long time, but he still couldn’t understand the Divine Child’s intentions.
Of course, they couldn’t figure it out because even Han Cheng, the initiator, had no idea if the seemingly unreliable method could produce charcoal.