I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 875 – The Person Who Dared to Question the Green Sparrow Tribe’s Three Leaders’ Joint Decision
Han Cheng had very high hopes for the meteorite. After all, until the tribe could produce high-quality steel, obtaining a better material than this to make tools was simply impossible.
And tools carefully crafted from meteorite would certainly surpass bronze tools in many performance aspects.
Given this, Han Cheng naturally would not let such valuable material slip away.
Since these tribes already possessed so many meteorite weapons, it was very likely that more meteorites could be found nearby.
Sending people to search for them was necessary.
Moreover, Han Cheng also wanted to bring back the remaining members of those tribes.
Bringing these people back would benefit not only the Green Sparrow Tribe itself, but also the people being relocated.
This was not Han Cheng trying to glorify himself or sugarcoat the situation.
It was because, after losing so many strong adults, it would be tough for the remaining people to live safely. During regular times, it might be manageable, but in winter, it could easily become a disaster.
Especially after Han Cheng learned that those captured while attacking his tribe were not from a single tribe but from many, he became even more certain of this.
If he did not bring the remaining people to his tribe before the heavy snow arrived, even a twenty percent survival rate would have been exceptional.
With the construction of Jingguan City, the second sub-tribe of Green Sparrow, the main tribe also needed many people.
Once Jingguan City was built, people would need to migrate there to live.
After all, building just a single compound was not enough; someone needed to live there and manage it long-term for it to truly become a sub-tribe.
The migrants could not only be strong adults—they also needed to include older minors and people in weaker health.
These people could handle tasks that did not require strength.
In this way, the available workforce in the main tribe would not decrease, and production and daily life would not be affected.
When it was time to migrate to Jingguan City, the migration would primarily consist of the tribe’s older members.
Having lived in the main tribe for a long time, they had fully assimilated and had a high sense of identity with the Green Sparrow Tribe.
Separating them for migration would not cause them to forget their main tribe after a short time.
As for the new arrivals to the main tribe, most would stay there and continue being assimilated, gradually becoming actual members of the Green Sparrow Tribe.
Holding his daughter and leading his wife along the ridges of the fields around the tribe, Han Cheng looked very much like a landlord inspecting his own land.
The sense of satisfaction was indescribable.
Especially when he encountered Little Pea and the others catching grasshoppers, he put down Xiao Xing’er, joined them, and quickly caught a few large grasshoppers.
The children cheered and looked at him with admiration, which made Han Cheng feel even more satisfied…
As night fell, the busy Green Sparrow Tribe returned to calm.
Even in the slave quarters between the outer and inner walls, it was quiet. Aside from teeth grinding, flatulence, and snoring, there was no other sound.
After a day of labor, everyone was exhausted and soon fell asleep.
However, this did not include the leader of the Grass Tribe.
The Grass Tribe leader lay awake on her kang, staring into the darkness.
It was not the surrounding noise that kept her awake, but her thoughts.
When she first arrived at the Green Sparrow main tribe, she had planned to use the fish traps to gain status, learn the tribe’s techniques, and eventually find a chance to lead her people back to their original tribe.
But upon seeing the superior fish traps of the Green Sparrow Tribe, her plan to gain status via fishing failed.
Now, she and the others from her tribe had no special status within the Green Sparrow Tribe.
What truly kept her awake, however, was the realization that she seemed unable to leave the tribe.
Upon arrival, she and her tribe were separated and paired with older members of the tribe one-on-one.
Although she saw her original tribe members daily, they spoke little.
Moreover, the tribe forbade them from speaking their old language; any violation would be punished immediately by their assigned partners.
All communication had to use the complex language of the Green Sparrow Tribe.
The Grass Tribe leader worried about this, but what concerned her even more were the changes occurring in her people.
Initially, her tribe members were excited to see each other, seeking familiar faces during work and rest.
Over time, however, she noticed that her people had changed.
They no longer sought familiar faces, and even when interacting with the older Green Sparrow Tribe members, their relationships seemed stronger than those with their original tribe members.
This frightened the Grass Tribe leader.
She tried to intervene, using the Green Sparrow language to communicate and draw attention, but the effect was minimal.
As time passed, even when encountering her own tribe members, they no longer reacted with excitement.
They treated her no differently than they did others, and they were not especially close to their assigned partners either.
Previously, she thought that mastering the tribe’s techniques and finding the right opportunity would allow her to lead her people away, but now she no longer dared to think so.
She even feared that if she spoke to her original tribe about this, they might capture her without Green Sparrow Tribe intervention.
While she had feared the Green Sparrow Tribe before, she had never felt hopeless.
Now, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness consumed her.
Even if she learned all the techniques and found an opportunity to leave, without her tribe’s support, she could not travel far enough to return.
What kind of tribe was this?
Why did her people change so drastically after living here for a while?
Unable to comprehend, she felt increasing fear and inner conflict.
Eventually, she fell asleep, but it was not a peaceful sleep. She woke up in a sweat.
In her dream, she found the chance to lead her people away, but when she told them, they pinned her down and struck her head off with a hoe, despite her struggling and asserting her authority as leader.
She wiped the sweat from her brow, touched her neck, and exhaled in relief—she was still alive.
Daylight came, and the Green Sparrow Tribe continued their usual labor.
In the inner courtyard, the furnace built earlier to use iron bacteria for making iron tools was burning.
Long unused, even with a stone cover, the furnace had some damage, but it had been repaired yesterday by Second Senior Brother and Hei Wa.
The freshly repaired furnace, under the roaring flames, dried the newly added mud.
“Shh shh~ shh shh~”
The simple bellows Han Cheng made was operated by Hei Wa, who rapidly pumped air into the forge.
Each gust of air intensified the fire.
Hei Wa, despite being a father of four, still had a high passion for pottery and related crafts.
Years of experience had made him skilled in kiln and furnace operations.
The charcoal in the furnace, carefully selected by Second Senior Brother, burned hotter and produced a crisp sound when striking each other—ideal for forging.
On the roaring fire lay two dark meteorites being heated.
Han Cheng and Second Senior Brother, holding a sizable bronze hammer, watched, waiting for the meteorite to glow red.
The Second Senior Brother looked particularly energetic.
To ensure focus for today’s forging, he had abstained from his three spouses the previous night.
Meanwhile, 120 li away at Dragon Gate Inn, five people locked the doors and led donkeys west along the bronze road.
These were the messengers sent yesterday to inform the Bronze Mountain settlement that Han Cheng and his team had returned safely and found the southern region, rice, and sweet sorghum.
The people at Bronze Mountain had been aware of the expedition and would now be reassured by the good news.
Back at the forge, after a long burn, the two meteorites finally glowed red.
The Second Senior Brother used bronze tongs to lift one onto a large bronze anvil. Another held it in place while he raised the hammer and struck it.
The meteorite could not be melted in the tribe’s current furnace, but heating it to red heat made it malleable.
After the first strike, parts of the meteorite flattened, and the bronze hammer was marked—a surprise to Second Senior Brother.
Excited, he struck repeatedly.
When no longer moving easily, the meteorite was returned to the furnace for reheating.
The bronze anvil below showed dents from the impact.
“Let’s forge a hammer first,” Han Cheng suggested.
They had initially planned to make an axe, but seeing the bronze hammer and anvil damaged, they changed plans.
Second Senior Brother agreed—without first forging a meteorite hammer, using the tribe’s bronze hammers on these meteorites would be too difficult.
They placed another large, flat meteorite under the one being worked on as a base.
With the base, hammering a red-hot meteorite became faster.
Han Cheng observed for a while, confirmed that heating and hammering could process the meteorite, and left.
He had worried that the meteorite might be too hard, but now it could be worked gradually by Second Senior Brother and others.
Han Cheng then went to consult the shaman and Eldest Senior Brother.
He needed to arrange for people to head north to bring back the remaining population and search for meteorites.
He preferred to send northern tasks first so that autumn harvests wouldn’t be delayed.
The shaman was hoeing casually, inspecting crops rather than laboring earnestly. The Eldest Senior Brother also worked energetically in the fields.
Han Cheng sat beside the shaman, discussing crop growth and comparing it with previous years.
When the Eldest Senior Brother arrived, Han Cheng briefed them about sending people north.
They had no objections.
The shaman was delighted at the prospect of gaining over a hundred people and a meteorite superior to bronze.
The Eldest Senior Brother enthusiastically volunteered to lead the northern expedition.
With Han Cheng and the shaman present, he could confidently lead the team.
To ensure they wouldn’t get lost, Han Cheng decided to have Mao—the tribe’s living map—accompany them.
Mao, having just returned from a long journey, would need a donkey to ride this time.
He was an invaluable asset, crucial for survival in this roadless era.
The shaman and Eldest Senior Brother agreed; however, someone objected—none other than Mao himself.
He dared to question the joint decision of the Green Sparrow Tribe’s three leaders.
“No worries. We have over thirty spare donkeys, and it’s not farming season. You must ride this time, or it will be too exhausting,” Han Cheng said, patting Mao’s shoulder, giving an unyielding order.
Mao felt a bitter taste in his mouth—he really did not want to ride…