I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 251 – A punishment that even the primitives dare not think lightly
Push-ups, an exercise relying on one’s body weight, cannot be measured by the difference in individual strength.
Just like how an inconspicuous ant can lift its weight several times or even many times, while an elephant, whose strength is much greater than an ant’s, would struggle to lift something twice its body weight.
Similarly, while Han Cheng found push-ups relatively easy, for Second Senior Brother and others who had never done this exercise, it seemed like a matter of life and death.
The initial feeling of ease quickly vanished, and some people’s bodies couldn’t stop trembling.
Of course, not everyone struggled as much, but the initial sense of ease disappeared.
“Lower your buttocks,” Han Cheng instructed.
“Smack…”
As the Second Senior Brother tried to follow Han Cheng’s instructions, his buttocks touched the ground involuntarily.
And now, Han Cheng had only counted to eight.
“Get up! Don’t lie there!” Second Senior Brother gritted his teeth and pushed his body up, trembling.
It felt like ages before Han Cheng finally said “nine.”
Those who had been struggling quickly bent their arms to do one.
The most painful and frustrating part of doing push-ups was not doing them continuously but holding the arms straight to maintain the position.
In later years, during physical education classes and military training, Han Cheng often wanted to kick the buttocks of the slowly counting teacher or instructor to get them to finish counting faster.
However, now that it was his turn to count, his speed unconsciously slowed down…
Was this the kind of elusive, psychological revenge where others also experience one’s suffering?
It was like peasant uprisings throughout history.
In the beginning, they rebelled against corrupt officials as oppressed people. But once they achieved certain victories, their demeanor immediately changed. When they took action, they were even more ruthless and decisive than the previous corrupt officials…
“Ten.”
“Hoo~ Hoo~”
After completing ten push-ups, Second Senior Brother and Balloon, already sweating profusely, breathed heavily as if they had been released from captivity.
Thinking back on the experience just now made them feel a bit jittery.
At the same time, they were also filled with confusion.
Divine Child’s strength was not greater than theirs, so why was it so easy for him to do push-ups while they found it so difficult?
Was this the reason why Divine Child was Divine Child?
After pondering for a while, they couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation and could only attribute it to this.
“Twenty.”
Han Cheng’s counting speed for the next ten push-ups increased slightly, and he feared that someone on the spear team wouldn’t be able to hold on.
Some people didn’t mind sitting on the cool ground directly, gasping for air in big mouthfuls, feeling as if they had been reborn.
Seeing this, the devious Divine Child felt secretly pleased. See, don’t underestimate the strength of the Divine Child. In my later years, I was also an all-around outstanding youth in morality, intelligence, physique, labor, and art, right?
At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder, how did we end up here?
It was truly infuriating to encounter someone who said they would do twenty push-ups but could only count up to ten or nineteen in a row.
With this thought, he felt he had been merciful to the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe.
Eldest Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, and their respective teams, who had not been punished, saw Second Senior Brother and the others panting and red-faced and couldn’t help but exchange glances with each other.
Are push-ups really that terrifying?
The Divine Child could do them quickly, even though most tribe members were accustomed to physical labor and hunting. Why did they all look so exhausted?
Eldest Senior Brother wasn’t like Shi Tou, who liked to chatter incessantly. His approach to problems was to observe, ponder, and only ask for help when necessary.
So, after pondering fruitlessly, during the next assembly training session, Eldest Senior Brother deliberately waited until the Divine Child counted to one hundred and twenty before standing in line properly.
As the leader, he was stronger than most people in the Green Sparrow Tribe, so he didn’t bother with the punishment of ten push-ups.
A true man should take on challenges with greater difficulty, so he waited until the deity reached one hundred and twenty before doing his push-ups. Based on previous punishments, he would only have to do twenty.
With the introduction of the Han language and the teaching of basic arithmetic and algorithms, the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe had made significant progress in mathematics. While they weren’t proficient, most people could reach a first-grade level.
This was true, but how could he anticipate the wisdom of the Divine Child?
After successfully delaying until one hundred and twenty, as Eldest Senior Brother had expected, the Divine Child’s punishment came as promised, but he was taken aback.
Because instead of twenty push-ups, it was forty!
The Divine Child valued fairness and wouldn’t let people be foolish.
With smoke coming out of his head and sweat dripping, Eldest Senior Brother, amidst his panting, realized how he had “died.”
The Divine Child explained that since he had completed the task within thirty counts last time but had now reached one hundred and twenty, regressing so much warranted double the punishment.
After carefully considering the Divine Child’s explanation, Eldest Senior Brother and the Vine Shield team members felt it made perfect sense, and doing forty push-ups each wasn’t unfair.
As a real man, Eldest Senior Brother now truly understood the difficulty of push-ups; his arms were still trembling.
He now completely understood why everyone reacted the way they did when doing push-ups.
But he also became more confused. Why was it so easy for the Divine Child to do them?
He pondered it for a while, but the more he thought, the more puzzled he became. After hesitating, he finally asked about it, seeking an explanation.
The others also stretched their necks and perked up their ears, equally puzzled by the matter.
Han Cheng smiled and nodded. Amid everyone’s anticipation, he said, “Want to know?”
Everyone nodded eagerly.
Han Cheng, the great Divine Child, smiled faintly. “No way!”
Everyone was speechless.
Han Cheng added with a smile, “Just focus on practicing standing in line well. When you’ve got that down, I’ll tell you.”
With the motivation provided by the great Divine Child’s guidance, everyone’s enthusiasm for practicing standing in line soared.
They stared intently at the person in front of them. Once they noticed someone in front standing in the wrong position, they would pull them back forcefully.
In this atmosphere, after practicing dispersing and assembling five more times, all four squads could complete it within twenty-five counts.
The efficiency was simply unbelievable.
Amidst everyone’s eager anticipation, Han Cheng finally explained why it was so easy for him to do push-ups—practice.
This left the eagerly anticipating crowd somewhat disappointed. In their eyes, the Divine Child should be somewhat different from everyone else, preferably with some connection to the heavens…
While they thought this way, upon careful consideration, they also felt that what the Divine Child said was not wrong. For example, in archery, many didn’t even know how to draw a bow at first, but after practicing more, they could shoot arrows at the target.