I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 233 – The First Snow
Within the tribe, Han Cheng was directing Lame, who was proficient with the stone knife and a specially prepared wooden club suitable for pounding, to split the sawn mulberry tree trunk in half.
Lame had become quite skilled at this, and although the tools were rudimentary, his superb technique compensated for this drawback. Now, the wood split by him generally wouldn’t have the uneven width at both ends.
After splitting the wood, one half was set aside. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Han Cheng fetched a piece of charcoal and sharpened one end on a stone before beginning to write on the other half.
The onlookers were puzzled. Why would someone making bows and arrows need to write? Moreover, the writing looked strange, and it seemed pretty challenging to write, even for the most proficient in a divine script like Divine Child, who had to erase and rewrite constantly.
Of course, Han Cheng wasn’t writing; he was drawing.
He was sketching the approximate outline of the bow on the trunk with charcoal, and then Lame would use the drawn lines as a guide for shaping.
For something as new and demanding as a bow, it was difficult to convey its shape just by describing it verbally. Drawing directly on the split trunk made it much clearer and faster.
After outlining, shaping along those lines was simple and less prone to errors.
It was a good idea, but Han Cheng’s hands were not cooperative. In his previous life, he hadn’t learned sketching or other drawing techniques, so it wasn’t easy for him to draw the shape of the bow that existed in his mind.
Thus, he could only make continuous revisions until his hands were covered in black soot and half of the trunk was dyed black. Only then did the outline of the bow finally appear complete on the trunk.
However, by this time, the outline was not very clear due to the surrounding area being blackened by the charcoal. Moreover, it was easy to wear away during the subsequent shaping process. So, Han Cheng warmed his hands by the fire for a while before taking them back and picking up a small, cold stone knife to carve along the outline, firmly leaving it on the trunk.
After completing these tasks, it was time for Lame’s performance.
Having received specific requirements from Han Cheng, Lame began to shape the trunk with the stone knife.
It wasn’t easy to turn such a large trunk into a bow with a stone knife. Even though Lame’s skills were good, progress couldn’t be too fast without convenient tools.
Watching for a while, Han Cheng remembered the charcoal burning outside and prepared to go out and check, although he knew very well that it probably wouldn’t succeed this time.
“Divine Child, I…” He hadn’t left yet, and Third Senior Brother, who had been watching Lame make bows and arrows until now, finally spoke after much thought.
Pointing to the other half of the mulberry trunk placed aside, he expressed his thoughts to Han Cheng.
In the entire Green Sparrow tribe, the Third Senior Brother was probably the most enthusiastic about bows and arrows. The consecutive hits in the morning had made him develop a deep affection for this new weapon, which appeared and was touted by Divine Child as having endless prospects.
Since Han Cheng began preparing to make bows and arrows, he had been watching here all the time, feeling that it wasn’t too tricky. A solid desire to personally make a bow and arrow arose in his heart, and this desire became stronger and stronger.
Han Cheng, who didn’t hold much hope for the charcoal kiln, naturally didn’t hesitate to put aside the matter of checking the charcoal after hearing the Third Senior Brother’s words.
After Han Cheng finished the final stroke on the trunk, the weather gradually darkened.
Firstly, his drawing skills were not commendable. It would be a simple task in the hands of a skilled person, but for him, it was challenging. Secondly, after the Third Senior Brother expressed his desire to make bows and arrows, others who were enthusiastic about them also expressed their desire to make one.
Previously, Third Senior Brother and the others had directly brought back a mulberry tree, which could at least be cut into three segments of 1.2 meters each. So, after outlining these, it was almost dark.
Han Cheng washed his hands with warm water, warmed his hands by the fire, and looked towards the gate while calculating that he would go and check later.
However, the sound of finishing dinner rang out before he could dry his hands by the fire.
After dinner, the night had fallen entirely, and the cold wind was rising. Han Cheng tightened his clothes around him and ultimately headed towards the room with the burning heated bed, ignoring the now icy earth kiln outside the door.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
Inside the warm room, there was the somewhat harsh sound of knocking.
The Eldest Senior Brother, Lame, Third Senior Brother, Shang, and Hei Wa, were each squatting on the aisle next to their allocated heated beds, knocking with stone knives and wooden clubs. Fine wood chips constantly fell from the mulberry trunk under their feet.
As they continued knocking, the mulberry trunk under their feet gradually changed and began to show the outline of the bow.
Among them, Lame, a professional carpenter, made the fastest progress, not only because of his skill but also because he started first.
The second Senior Brother’s room was next to the Third Senior Brother’s, and at this moment, he was lying half on the heat bed against the wall, looking very comfortable.
He tilted his head to look through the gap and saw Third Senior Brother squatting on the ground, knocking with a stone knife. He silently smiled.
Compared to these troublesome bows and arrows, he trusted his arms more.
With this thought in mind, he suddenly lifted a half-grown child somersaulting on the heated bed over the low wall.
Seeing the bewildered child, the Second Senior Brother laughed and put him back down.
He raised his arms and looked at them confidently. His conviction that his strong arms couldn’t be matched by something made of a bent stick and rope grew stronger.
After looking for a while, he put his arms down, glanced at Third Senior Brother still knocking there, shook his head, and pulled over his companion, starting to untie the rope from his body with his hands…
Third Senior Brother, squatting on the ground, heard the primitive tune coming from not far away but didn’t turn his head to peek. He was already accustomed to such things.
At this moment, he was focused entirely on the wooden stick beneath his feet.
Lame, seeing that most of the bow had been completed, put down the stone knife and wooden club, rubbed his sore hands, and started to lie down on the heated bed.
The others who wanted to make bows and arrows also went to bed one after another, leaving only Third Senior Brother still squatting there, knocking one after another.
Later, as the noise awakened more and more children, the Third Senior Brother took these things and the fire starter and went all the way to the cave that was now empty. There, he lit a pile of fire and continued knocking persistently.
Indeed, interest is the best teacher. With it, one can erupt with great enthusiasm without needing reminders from others.
The wind outside stopped blowing at some point, and the whole world seemed to quiet down suddenly. In this sudden silence, some faint noises seemed to emerge.
As the night deepened, the firelight flickered, and the person squatting knocked the stone knife one after another, making the night quieter.
After an unknown amount of time, the person finally stood up, glanced at the bow before him, and felt quite satisfied.
Then, he extinguished the fire, ensured no flames would ignite again, and groped his way out in the dark.
Only at this moment did he feel the overwhelming fatigue. His legs and feet were somewhat numb, and there was pain in his fingers and wrists.
Outside the cave was not the darkness he had imagined. Something fell on his neck, chilling him to the bone.
The first snow of the year had fallen…
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