I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 404 – Pulling up the seedlings to help them grow Part 2
“￥4!”
As dusk gradually descended inside the cave of the Green Tribe after the leader told the people they were about to have salt to eat. The tribe members couldn’t help but let out a surprised cheer.
They were excited and even admired the intelligence of their tribe leader.
Seeing the people’s reactions and calmly accepting the praise and admiring looks, the leader of the Green Tribe became proud.
He was also pleased with his clever actions.
It was rare and admirable that he could always come up with such good solutions to problems!
That night, after the leader assured them that they would soon have salt, most of the people of the Green Tribe slept peacefully.
Some couldn’t sleep, like the leader of the Green Tribe.
Not because he was worried but because he was excited about the salt they were about to obtain.
As soon as the sun rose the next day, the leader of the Green Tribe and the rest of the tribe, who were also early risers, left the cave and headed towards the place near the tribe where wild grass was growing.
“4￥!”
It was easy to have a bit of mist on a summer morning.
This thin mist gathered into tiny dewdrops on the plants’ leaves, then along the slanting grass blades, collected at the junction of the leaves and stems, overflowed, flowed down the stem, and moistened a small patch of soil, wetting the already broken roots.
It was still far from the time when the sun would come out and combined with the fact that the sun wasn’t very strong when the leader of the Green Tribe acted yesterday, the sun wasn’t very strong now either, so these “pulling up seedlings to help them grow” crops, which had been ravaged, were still very strong, showing no signs of weakness.
During this period, it wasn’t just the leader of the Green Tribe who often came to see the wild grass. Now, when everyone came to see it, they found that, indeed, as the leader said, these wild grasses had grown so much taller all of a sudden.
The people couldn’t help but cheer, once again casting respectful glances at the leader.
The leader of the Green Tribe naturally accepted these and stayed here for a while before leading the people back to the cave. After eating, he took the strong ones who often hunted out of the cave to hunt.
As usual, the rest of the people dug for wild vegetables around the tribe or collected wild fruits to fill their stomachs.
The sun rose from behind the mountain and soon showed its power. The air, which had seemed cool, became hot in no time.
A somewhat thin and weak primitive woman returned from outside carrying some freshly dug, commonly eaten wild vegetables wrapped in animal skins. She didn’t walk with the same vigor as before, and through the mouths of the smarter people in the tribe, she understood that it was because she hadn’t eaten salt.
The matter of exchanging wild grass for salt touched the hearts of every member of the Green Tribe, and this primitive woman was no exception.
She didn’t need to pass through the area where the wild grass was growing to return to the cave, but she still went around.
Even though she knew that even with the magical touch of the leader’s hands, these wild grasses couldn’t grow shoots so quickly, she still couldn’t help but want to take a look.
“$%$^?”
Arriving here in a good mood, the primitive woman’s gaze froze as soon as she saw it.
The wild grass, which had looked very spirited when she came to see it with the leader in the morning, now looked listless and wilted, as if half-dead.
The primitive woman looked at the bright sun in the sky and then at the other grass around the wild grass, which looked lively. Standing here, she stood still for a while, unable to help but shout, her voice tinged with panic…
As the setting sun cast its rays amidst the somewhat hot summer air, the leader of the Green Tribe returned with the hunting party. Their harvest was not great, just enough for one day’s meal.
However, the people did not feel discouraged because they knew they would soon be able to exchange wild grass for salt.
Not having to spend any extra food made them all feel relieved.
“$%#%#?”
Walking at the forefront, the leader of the Green Tribe, seeing what lay ahead, couldn’t help but feel stunned and alert.
There was still a certain distance from the tribe’s cave, and in the past, the people who stayed in the tribe wouldn’t come here to greet them, but today they did.
Seeing the anxious people running towards them, he had a foreboding feeling.
Could it be that wild beasts attacked the tribe? Or people from another tribe?
As he thought this, he tightened his grip on the weapon in his hand, and the others, who sensed something was wrong and grasped their weapons, hastened their steps to meet the newcomers.
“%$%$&$!”
At a certain distance, he asked what had happened.
But the anxious people didn’t answer. They just kept running toward them, which made the leader of the Green Tribe even more uncertain.
$%$&;…?”
Learning about the situation from the newcomers, the leader of the Green Tribe was stunned for a moment and incredulously asked.
After staying there for a moment, he pushed aside the people before him and ran towards the growing wild grass.
Some of the Green Tribe people who had understood what was happening had already followed the leader’s footsteps and ran away, while others stayed behind in confusion.
What nonsense were the people left behind saying? The wild grass was still fine when they saw it this morning…
“￥…”
The leader of the Green Tribe said something meaningless weakly.
Looking at the almost withered wild grass, which was extremely important to their tribe, his eyes were somewhat distracted, and he felt dizzy.
Why did these wild grasses wither when they were fine just now?
After muttering for a while, he finally sat on the ground.
The people around him, as well as the other members of the Green Tribe, also seemed particularly uneasy and helpless.
Tonight, the cave where the Green Tribe lived seemed unusually quiet, with an indescribable oppressive atmosphere pervading the cave. Compared to last night’s relaxed and happy atmosphere, it was almost suffocating.
From hope to shattered hope, it had only been one day.
Once again, the leader of the Green Tribe couldn’t sleep, but the mood between the two sleepless nights was miles apart…
“$%$&…”
The Green Tribe leader squatted weakly on the ground, holding his head and looking extremely uncomfortable.
After squatting like this for a while, he finally stood up and ordered the people of the tribe to prepare food and animal skins to be sent to the wealthy tribe in exchange for salt.
Because most of the previous transactions had wild grass backing them up, many skins remained in their tribe.
However, since salt was more precious than pottery, the salt they obtained from this trip with animal skins would not last long.