I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 367 – Personal Belongings
“Divine Child…”
Mu Tou held the two precious and significant iron tools, not knowing what to say for a moment, only able to murmur the Divine Child’s title.
Han Cheng raised his arm and gave Mu Tou’s shoulder an awkward pat, smiling as he said, “Just keep up the good work.”
Mu Tou nodded vigorously.
Shang’s expression was complex as he watched the two iron tools in Mu Tou’s hands, feeling a mix of envy, resentment, and dissatisfaction. Perhaps due to his experiences, he placed great importance on weapons and the like.
Now that there was iron, stronger and sharper than stone or bone, he naturally associated it with weaponry. If this sturdy and sharp iron could be mounted on wooden spears to replace stone or bone spearheads, wouldn’t that increase their power?
Iron spears would greatly enhance their combat effectiveness, whether for hunting or defense. If they were to encounter the evil tribes that had ravaged their own in the past, having iron spears would surely lead to victory.
With such thoughts in mind, Shang was the most fervent in searching for iron deposits within the Green Sparrow Tribe.
Seeing the newly forged iron chisel, he was overjoyed because, in his view, it was similar to the bone or stone spearheads attached to wooden shafts. Therefore, he assumed that these new tools were meant for him.
However, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. After spending so much iron to create these tools, they were used to smash stones… How could he calm down after this?
Previously, they made tools, and now they are still making tools. There were no weapons…
… Wasn’t it enough to thresh grain using wooden forks? Wasn’t that how the tribe had been doing it for the past two years? The grain had been brought into the houses, so why make some unknown-looking stone rolling mill?
“… Threshing grain with wooden forks isn’t tiring. We don’t need stone rolling mills…”
Even the calmest person can feel impulsive at times. After holding back for so long, Shang finally couldn’t help but speak up.
Han Cheng stopped in his tracks, looking at Shang’s somewhat anxious face with a hint of dissatisfaction. He sighed softly to himself.
Sharing adversity is easy; sharing prosperity is hard.
When everyone was equally impoverished and worried about their next meal, it was easy to work together. Firstly, because everyone was in the same boat, there was no room for comparison, and secondly, sticking together made survival easier.
However, once the hard times passed and life became more prosperous, it became less easy to work together harmoniously.
There would always be those who felt they were contributing more but receiving less, leading to a sense of injustice and resentment.
Moving from the most primitive form of communal ownership to private ownership was progress in history. However, as surplus wealth increased, desires for self-interest, personal gain, and power that had been suppressed began to grow and eventually surfaced.
This was an irreversible trend in historical development; there would be a loss for every gain.
This was also the reason for Han Cheng’s sigh.
To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.
What he desired, the harmony and unity they currently enjoyed, would one day be shattered by the increasing wealth and material possessions.
The downfall of humanity, the cause of mass death, would not be natural disasters but rather…
When nature ceased to be humanity’s adversary, more powerful individuals would turn their strife towards their kind.
However, in the face of all this, they were not powerless.
Through establishing systems, strengthening ideological education, and developing etiquette, one can guide and utilize these inherent aspects in people’s minds.
Thinking like this, Han Cheng smiled, feeling that he might have been thinking too far ahead and worrying unnecessarily.
The transition from public to private ownership is not immediate but a gradual, long-term process.
The Green Sparrow Tribe still has a long way to go to reach that point.
With its existence and the adoption of appropriate methods, the Green Sparrow Tribe may not necessarily find itself in the chaotic situation it imagines.
“Isn’t threshing tiring?” Han Cheng looked at Shang, who had stopped talking and asked.
Threshing is usually handled by a few people, and others don’t get involved much. Shang doesn’t have much experience with it.
In his view, threshing doesn’t require much effort; it’s just a matter of continuous beating. How tiring could it be?
However, he didn’t say anything because he felt what he was doing today seemed somewhat inappropriate, but with the iron weapons…
Without Shang saying anything, Han Cheng could understand his thoughts.
Having lofty aspirations but little skill, magnifying one’s own suffering while belittling others’ efforts, and always feeling that others can succeed easily are perhaps innate human nature traits.
He didn’t dwell on this matter any longer, instead looking up at the sun in the sky.
Despite the low temperature, the weather was fine.
Pointing to the pile of threshed grain stalks, Han Cheng smiled and said to Shang, “Let’s go thresh some more. What we did before wasn’t thorough enough, so let’s do it again today.”
Seeing the smile on the leader’s face and his lack of anger, Shang felt relieved.
He was genuinely worried about upsetting the leader.
Shang set off with his pitchfork. To make him understand the tiring nature of threshing, Han Cheng instructed others to help spread the grain, leaving Shang to handle the threshing independently.
Carrying the pitchfork, Shang lifted some of the lighter grain stalks, feeling the weight of the pitchfork and smiling.
This thing was too light, nowhere near as heavy as moving stones. Even when facing stone-breaking, he never felt afraid. How could such light-grain stalks daunt him?
The leader had indeed made a fuss over nothing this time.
“Whoosh, thud…”
The pitchfork whirled through the air, making a swooshing sound as it struck the spread-out grain stalks, appearing effortless.
Han Cheng stood by the iron furnace and watched Shang threshing the grain stalks in the distance with a smile on his face.
Light burdens can travel far. Many things seem easy at first glance, but you realize their difficulty once you do them repeatedly.
“Let’s continue forging,” Han Cheng said to the second senior brother, smiling as he looked at Shang, who had already removed his shirt.
Since Shang had some different thoughts, it was best to let him endure this threshing task for now.
“Huff, puff…”
Shang wiped his sweat and panted heavily.
At this moment, he no longer had the same energy as before. His strong arms had become somewhat sore, and there was a slight tremble when he lifted the pitchfork.
Why was it so tiring?
Looking at the remaining grain stalks yet to be threshed, he couldn’t help but think this way.
This task shouldn’t be this tiring. It’s even more exhausting than moving stones.
After resting for a while, he lifted the much heavier pitchfork again and resumed threshing the remaining grain stalks…
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