I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 867 – The Second Branch Tribe: Jingguan City
As Han Cheng had expected, those who had just heard Shitou speak in such a way were utterly stunned.
What he had said was too shocking.
Last night, they had all heard the Divine Child talk about those things. At that time, they were incredibly amazed by the vastness of the Earth, the expanse of the oceans, and the countless wonders of the world.
But the astonishment they felt last night suddenly seemed trivial compared to what Shitou had just proposed: an even more astonishing and daring idea.
Building a ship large enough to cross the vast, nearly boundless ocean and bring back all the good things from other continents to their own tribe…
Such a concept was beyond imagination and awe-inspiring.
After the initial shock passed, everyone thought carefully about what Shitou had said and found it thrilling.
If it were truly possible to accomplish this, to gather countless kinds of delicious foods into their own tribe, just imagining it made their hearts race with excitement.
Looking back on their tribe’s path of development, wasn’t it the Divine Child who had led them to find various foods all along?
Initially, they employed fish traps and other methods to catch fish. Later, when rapeseed and grains became available, they began cultivating land and raising pigs and rabbits.
Just yesterday, they found two more crops suitable for large-scale planting.
It was predictable that with these two new foods, their tribe would grow even stronger in the future.
From this perspective, what Shitou had said was not without reason.
Once they understood this, the people became excited.
They were thrilled and amazed by such a grand ambition.
Their tribe had already developed so well simply from having these foods; if they could realize such a great dream, how powerful their tribe could become!
Just thinking about it stirred their hearts fiercely.
Han Cheng looked at the eager, excited faces around him and couldn’t help but smile.
People often need to dare to imagine. Daydreaming, or indulging in wild ideas—daring to dream is always good.
Many things, if one dares not even imagine them, could never come to pass.
For example, the ancient concepts of “clairvoyant eyes” and “ears that hear over great distances”—weren’t they all eventually realized?
Planting such a seemingly distant, almost laughable seed in the tribe now does not mean it can never grow.
The future is long, and who can predict it?
After a wild and hearty breakfast, Han Cheng and the still-excited tribe members began to busy themselves, preparing to establish the tribe’s second branch here.
According to Han Cheng’s plan, it would have been best first to build walls, ensuring safety, before constructing the houses.
However, this was just a thought, because building walls consumed too much time.
He recalled that when constructing the inner wall of the main Green Sparrow Tribe, there were barely over thirty adults, men and women combined, roughly the same number as now.
At that time, he had already created fish traps, so food was mainly handled by the younger members, allowing the adults to focus on building the walls.
Even then, that scale of wall construction required working from spring to winter to make it usable.
The following year, it took nearly half a year to raise the height of the walls to their current scale.
Now, however, they had to handle their own food.
Even with vastly superior tools and everyone more skilled than before, building walls comparable to the main tribe’s inner walls might not be completed until winter.
And with the discovery of rice and sweet sorghum, even if the climate stopped getting colder, this area would inevitably be developed and utilized.
This meant the future population here would not be small.
Consequently, the walls could not be too small—they needed to be at least larger than the main tribe’s inner walls.
After this calculation, Han Cheng decisively set aside the idea of building walls first.
Moreover, considering the tribe’s current equipment and fighting abilities, the need for walls was no longer as urgent as before.
Even if a typical tribe approached, Han Cheng’s people could subdue them, just like they had subdued the one-eyed tribe leader encountered on the way here.
If they weren’t building walls, they could start constructing houses.
Regarding houses, Han Cheng naturally wanted to complete them in one step to save future trouble.
According to the current Green Sparrow Tribe house specifications, the roofs were generally tiled.
Tiles were unavailable here, requiring kilns to be built and fired, which took significant time and manpower.
They also needed ropes, fences, and other materials.
Calculating all this, Han Cheng sighed. With just over thirty people, the manpower always felt insufficient…
He assigned tasks: twenty people with axes and saws went to a nearby forest to chop trees.
Before felling, some people, armed and accompanied by dogs, beat copper gongs and patrolled the not-too-dense forest in pairs to ensure no dangerous beasts lurked that could harm them during logging.
In the process, they also gathered some food.
The rest stayed at the temporary camp, some using axes to make wooden tools that would be needed later, while others cleared weeds with sickles.
Han Cheng, accompanied by two armed men, surveyed the land and began planning the layout.
Although he came from a rough background, his experience with the Green Sparrow main tribe, its expansion, and the Bronze Mountain residential area gave him solid knowledge of building large compounds for hundreds or even thousands of people.
Preliminary planning was essential to create a reasonable layout, define functional areas, and minimize wasted effort.
After carefully examining the land, Han Cheng took paper and charcoal and drew a rough blueprint, considering all possible elements.
A flawed design on paper would make construction very difficult.
This meticulous work required patience. Even a simple plan, referencing past constructions like the Green Sparrow main tribe and Bronze Mountain residential area, took considerable time.
By noon the next day, Han Cheng finally finished.
The paper now contained many rectangles of various sizes, each labeled.
Near the north were identical rectangles labeled “Houses.”
Near the south gate, smaller rectangles were labeled “Slave Housing,” while others were labeled “Kitchen,” “Pigsty,” “Duck Coop,” and so on.
While Han Cheng planned, the tribe chopped down trees—some were brought back, while others were submerged in shallow water.
Soaking wood in water killed pests and prevented cracking, making it ideal for use in beams and pillars.
They chose shallow, isolated pools so the wood wouldn’t drift away during rain.
“Clear all the weeds here and start building houses.”
Using the blueprint and a measuring tape made from leather cord, Han Cheng pointed out locations.
Before construction, a shallow trench had been dug along the planned wall positions to save time later and guide the rest of the layout.
The area Han Cheng pointed to was near the wall’s gate, planned for the slave quarters.
The slave quarters would be built first—a deliberate decision.
They were the simplest residences: small, low, and with thatched roofs instead of tiles.
The workload was manageable, suitable for the current group.
Once built, the next time the tribe arrived, there would be a proper shelter while constructing other buildings.
Following Han Cheng’s orders, the tribe quickly cleared the weeds.
Han Cheng and Shitou measured the land, determined house positions, and drove stakes with a cord to mark foundations.
Then, the team dug the foundations, marking the beginning of construction.
This second branch tribe officially started construction, named Jingguan City.
The name evoked the famous Shu brocade and the short-lived Later Shu dynasty of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Historically, flowers were planted across the city, creating a scene as dazzling as its name suggested.
Han Cheng wouldn’t plant such flowers here, but plenty of mulberry trees could satisfy the name, as Bai Xue liked raising silkworms.
Building houses was familiar work for the tribe, and with metal tools, progress was fast.
Foundations were shallow—less than half a meter.
Instead of building walls with stone, Han Cheng had nearly one-meter-long sticks, arm-thick, charred with fire, sharpened, and driven into the ground.
This method saved effort since stone was scarce and the slave quarters were low.
Stakes were driven along the foundation, and then the area was tamped with soil to form the walls.
Tools for tamping soil were easily made with metal.
From the moment work began, everyone was busy.
Gradually, this previously untouched land began to transform under their labor.
“Twang~”
A bowstring snapped, sending an arrow flying. A large bird, caught by surprise, flapped frantically. Before it could escape, a dog snatched it and brought it back to Third Senior Brother, wagging its tail proudly.
Third Senior Brother smiled, took the prey, placed it in a basket, and patted the dog’s head. Then he continued hunting with the others.
Far from the main tribe, they relied on hunting and gathering to survive.
The Third Senior Brother and other skilled archers were tasked with hunting. Other women collected familiar wild vegetables and maintained the fish traps.
On top of the original fish traps, they had woven dozens more—forty or fifty in total—and placed them in the water.
After years, many in the tribe could now weave traps; while not as perfect as Shitou’s, they were effective.
Without so many traps, securing food would have been a serious problem.
Once the food was sufficient, Third Senior Brother and the others joined in the house construction.
When houses were half-built, Han Cheng stopped assigning them to wall construction.
Instead, they harvested marsh plants like calamus for thatching, since no reeds were found nearby.
These old plants were deep-rooted and sturdy for roofing; the new shoots were too shallow and tender.
Night fell, the campfire lit, and after dinner, the busy tribe worked another round.
“Rip~ rip~”
A strange sound echoed as the Second Senior Brother stripped bark from trees called mulberry trees, which was strong enough for ropes.
This bark would be twisted into rope by skilled women, primarily for use in fencing.
Although the main tribe and Bronze Mountain had enough ropes from hemp or cordgrass, here it was necessary.
Even after dinner, the tribe continued to work tirelessly.
They had no complaints—this was building the new branch tribe, something every member should do.
Moreover, the Divine Child promised that once the houses were complete, they would return to the main tribe and share the wonders discovered here.
Han Cheng also enjoyed this setup, able to subtly guide the tribe while seeming to relax, like a black-and-white TV in the 1980s, entertaining everyone nightly.
Rain fell heavily outside, making the tents damp and uncomfortable.
Through the tent seams, the completed twelve houses could be seen, and everyone wished to finish them soon so they could shelter properly during the next rain.
The rising rivers, swollen from rain, threatened the rice fields nearby, though Han Cheng knew his worries were probably unnecessary…