I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 45 – A panicked male rabbit
After confirming that the ruffian with two feet had indeed left, the rabbit couple began to get busy.
First, the male rabbit entered the container for inspection and then packed the grass inside. After coming out, he and his wife carried their unwilling little rabbit cubs, one by one, into the container, starting their happy life as a family of seven.
Han Cheng was extremely pleased. He instructed the two sisters, Xiao Mei and Xiao Li, to bring back some grass, being careful not to include yellow leaves. After careful selection, he finally placed the grass in the rabbit enclosure.
This time, he was more meticulous than before.
As he added grass inside, only two big rabbits could be seen inside the enclosure. It was obvious that they had hidden the little rabbit cubs somewhere.
Han Cheng was now looking at these two rabbits more favorably. Although the male rabbit looked at him with some vigilance, as if afraid Han Cheng would snatch its wife, Han Cheng was still very happy.
This was a very good start.
Planting and breeding were the two fundamental conditions people transitioned from primitive to ancient times.
Relying solely on hunting was insufficient to solve the food problem because the food obtained through hunting was too unstable. Sometimes, they would have a surplus, but they might not catch a single animal during unlucky times, leading to hunger.
Moreover, there was always the danger of life, and the relationship between hunters and prey often changed.
In the case of the Green Sparrow Tribe, getting injured during hunting was common, and members of the hunting team were often injured.
Fortunately, during Han Cheng’s time here, they had only suffered minor injuries, with no one losing their lives or developing major injuries like Lame.
However, such incidents were common. If you walk by the riverside, there are always wet shoes. To reduce such incidents, the best way was to minimize hunting.
Planting and breeding provided a stable source of food and significantly freed up labor. It allowed the strongest people in the tribe, who were usually busy with constant hunting activities, to engage in other tasks during their free time.
Of course, planting and breeding were not easy either, but they were much better than the frequent life-threatening hunting activities.
At least planting crops had periods of rest and busyness, and raising livestock only required feeding a few times a day, unlike hunting, which had no fixed idle time.
However, the Green Sparrow Tribe was just taking the first steps in planting and breeding. At this stage, hunting remained the main source of food for the tribe.
But relying solely on hunting, the tribe couldn’t sustain itself in the long run, and it couldn’t grow into a community of tens of thousands relying only on hunting.
Although the matter of rabbit offspring was small, its significance was enormous. This was the reason for Han Cheng’s joy.
The children were familiar with Han Cheng but couldn’t understand why the Divine Child was so happy.
These two rabbits and the newly born rabbit cubs were not enough for a single meal for everyone in the tribe.
Divine Child was not as happy as today, when the leaders previously brought back a sheep and two wild boars.
Not only were they puzzled by Han Cheng’s contrasting behavior, but even the most intelligent Shaman and the equally intelligent Eldest Senior Brother were equally puzzled.
The Shaman was a bit better than others. He vaguely sensed some of Han Cheng’s intentions, but this feeling was too vague, and he couldn’t grasp the key point.
Regarding this matter, they all came together to inquire, running to the rabbit enclosure whenever they had time, trying to peek at Han Cheng feeding the rabbits.
There was nothing to hide about this. After all, it was for the sake of the entire tribe.
Moreover, Han Cheng wanted to develop the domestication of livestock quickly. It was necessary to make the Shaman and the Eldest Senior Brother fully understand the significance of this matter.
Only in this way could the entire tribe’s strength be mobilized, and efforts could be directed towards a common goal.
This time, the discussion did not occur in the shaman’s inner cave, as usual, but beside the rabbit enclosure.
The male rabbit was anxious because the number of people who used to peek at his wife feeding milk had increased to three. Moreover, the eyes of these three two-legged creatures looking at his wife were getting brighter and brighter.
It was very worried that they would barge in and compete for milk with its children.
Although its wife’s milk was abundant, there were five cubs to feed. Adding three large two-legged creatures like this would leave its children hungry.
It quietly shifted backward, covering the entrance of the burrow behind it more effectively. It watched the three cunning two-legged creatures outside warily and nervously.
Shaman was indeed very excited. He didn’t expect things to turn out this way. Setting aside the wonderful prospect of being able to slaughter an animal whenever they wanted to eat, without the need for a life-and-death struggle during hunting, there was something beautiful about raising some animals in the tribe. In inclement weather, such as heavy snow or rain, when hunting was impossible, or on days when no prey was caught, they could slaughter and eat. This thought alone thrilled him.
The Eldest Senior brother, having become the leader of the tribe, was strong and quite intelligent. Upon hearing Han Cheng’s description, he was in a state of excitement. He wished he could lead a hunting party immediately and bring back more live prey.
At the same time, he felt some regret. The sheep they had brought back today could have been brought back alive. They only killed it to prevent it from escaping and for the convenience of bringing it back. If he had known about its significant role, he would have brought it back alive no matter what.
The Eldest Senior Brother had secretly made up his mind. In the future, during hunting, they would try to keep as many animals alive as possible.
Han Cheng noticed the eldest brother’s thoughts and quickly waved his hand, telling him that in the future, after obtaining enough prey for the tribe’s daily consumption, they could consider capturing live ones. However, not all prey needed to be captured alive. Animals like tigers, leopards, foxes, and other carnivores didn’t require this. If they encountered them, they would avoid them if possible. If avoidance was impossible, they would fight them to the death.
The ones to be brought back alive were grass-eating animals, such as pigs, horses, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese.
Of course, all of this was contingent on ensuring that the hunting party members were not in danger. If there was a risk of injury or threat to life, regardless of how valuable the animal was, they would immediately abandon the idea.
For Han Cheng, nothing was more precious than the lives of the people in the tribe.