I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 893 – Everyone Loves Little Red Flowers
After issuing the selection standards for underage slaves, Han Cheng had basically covered all the necessary announcements.
As the tribal leader, after a few words from Eldest Senior Brother, the stage was set for the shaman to perform.
Holding a formal assembly to worship the sky deity, report all the good happenings in the tribe, give thanks, and pray for continued blessings so that the tribe could grow richer and stronger—this was something the shaman had thought about for many days.
Now that Eldest Senior Brother and the others had returned, and the assembly was being held today, it naturally made sense to place the sky deity worship after the main assembly.
Many events change according to circumstances, including the tribe’s worship of the deity.
Initially, rituals were performed inside the tribe’s cave.
Later, as houses were built and people moved out of the caves, the tribe’s totem poles were relocated indoors. When a worship ceremony was needed, the poles would be carried back into the cave.
Now, with the tribe’s population steadily increasing, the caves could no longer hold everyone, and even the worship location had to change.
Moreover, moving the worship from the cave to Green Sparrow Square was actually suggested by the shaman himself, who was usually reluctant to make changes regarding the deity or the rituals.
Han Cheng readily agreed.
Although he was the tribe’s divine child, nominally the tribe’s highest-ranking spiritual leader, he was far less devout than the shaman when it came to worship.
After all, the tribe’s current prosperity was due to the efforts of Han Cheng and its people—not the deity.
Of course, he did not oppose these rituals or speak against the deity.
Not only was this because he still bore the title of divine child, radiating a halo of authority, but more importantly, the tribe had not yet reached a point where faith needed to be abolished.
For the tribe at this stage, such primitive worship held far more positive significance than negative.
Society and things develop in stages; what suits the tribe’s current reality is most practical.
Forcing advanced concepts onto an inappropriate stage could be harmful rather than beneficial.
Han Cheng had no objection to the tribe’s level of primitive belief and worship.
Most of the time, he observed as a bystander, much as he would later view a temple fair.
Amid the sounds of gongs and drums, the totem pole from the house where Han Cheng and the shaman resided was carried out by Eldest Senior Brother and others and placed on a newly prepared platform.
Under the fluttering Green Sparrow flag stood the rough, primitive totem pole, and Han Cheng, the divine child, stood beside it as usual, treated with the same reverence as the totem itself.
In front of Han Cheng and the totem were several tables covered with red-dyed hemp cloth, bearing offerings for the deity.
There were none of the ancient “three livestock” or “five livestock” sacrifices.
On the tables were items Han Cheng had brought from Jingguan City: rice, white kaolin clay, a bowl of freshly drawn cold well water, a piece of meteoric iron, and a white skull.
These represented the tribe’s prosperity and achievements for the year.
In Han Cheng’s view, such offerings were far more meaningful than traditional livestock.
A fire had been lit in front of the platform, essential for the ritual.
On one hand, people of this era revered fire, seeing it as both sacred and potentially dangerous.
On the other hand, without roaring flames, the ritual lacked ceremony.
Watching the flames, the shaman, wearing a feathered crown and holding a bone staff, assumed a solemn, excited, and devout posture.
Han Cheng, standing by the totem, squinted—not out of disdain, but because smoke blew into his eyes.
This time, more than just the shaman performed the ritual.
Shi Tou, who had been trained by the shaman for years and was now an adult, joined.
He wore similar ceremonial attire: a feathered crown and a bone staff, though his feathers were sparse and dull, and his staff smaller.
Shi Tou didn’t enjoy this; the ritual was tedious and far less interesting than other matters.
More importantly, the deity had never responded to him—no guidance, no communication.
Sometimes, Shi Tou felt frustrated with the aloof deity, even wanting to wake it by striking the totem pole.
Under the shaman’s guidance, Stone had practiced repeatedly. After being included in this public ritual, he was no longer timid or nervous.
With the eldest senior brother beating the drum, the primitive ritual began.
The shaman and Shi Tou danced wildly, chanting words only they understood.
They circled the fire, then the platform, and around Han Cheng by the totem pole.
After a while, they circled the tribe members, who stood reverently.
Finally, the shaman stopped and loudly called to the deity between the fire and the totem.
The tribe followed, placing hands before them and bowing to the totem.
“Divine Child!”
The shaman raised the bone staff, shouted with fervor, and bowed deeply.
Shi Tou and others imitated, showing reverence.
The fifty guards raised weapons and bowed.
For a moment, the entire tribe resonated with sound, all bowing except Han Cheng, who alone remained standing.
The scene was awe-inspiring—even Han Cheng, who sought only to develop the tribe quietly, felt a slight thrill.
But as an experienced time traveler, he quickly suppressed any other thoughts.
By the eleventh year, after absorbing the Feng and neighboring Tribes, Green Sparrow’s population reached 1,169, with 807 adult citizens.
Adult males: 123; adult females: 225; total adults: 348.
Minors: 459.
Slaves: 362; adult slaves: 182; minor slaves: 180.
Thanks to the Black Stone Alliance’s attacks on Copper Mountain and the incorporation of the Creek Tribe, the population surged.
From the Black Stone Alliance alone, over 450 were gained; Creek added 58, nearly half of the previous total.
Including newborns over 6 months old, Green Sparrow now has 1,732 people.
By year-end, releasing 100 slaves as citizens, plus 19 reaching adulthood, would total 467 adult citizens.
After implementing underage slave selection standards, many minor slaves would become citizens quickly.
Han Cheng estimated that by year-end, the citizen population would number around 1,150, with over 600 slaves.
Such a population seemed huge to those unaccustomed to large tribes, though Han Cheng knew villages in plains often matched or exceeded this size.
Thus, any ambitious ideas he might have had were set aside; the priority was gradual development.
After the sky deity ritual ended, the totem was returned indoors.
The tribe didn’t disperse; some matters remained.
Arranged by the tribe, former Creek Tribe members, led by their old chief, came to the high platform beneath the Green Sparrow flag.
They stepped forward one by one, allowing the divine child to personally place a name-inscribed tribal-citizen identity token on each of them.
After wearing the ID, they received a ceramic Green Sparrow figurine and the ceremonial Green Sparrow wine.
The ID and wine were as meaningful to new citizens as modern marriage certificates and weddings.
While the ID confirmed citizenship, drinking the wine symbolized full integration—like having a certificate but no wedding celebration.
“Drink this Green Sparrow wine, and you are Green Sparrow people from now on!”
After reiterating the wine’s meaning, Han Cheng lifted the cup and drank, followed by all the new citizens.
Even children tasted the wine with a finger on their lips.
The scene inspired envy among old and new slaves alike, who wished to experience such honor.
The half-day assembly energized the tribe.
Immediate actions included converting immature slaves into citizens and holding a test for older slaves.
As planned, the exam focused on reading and writing, with fill-in-the-blank questions.
For example, Green Sparrow’s classic Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother was partially blank for children to complete.
For fun, Han Cheng added illustrations of animals for children to label.
Since pinyin hadn’t been taught, dictation was done by Han Cheng, reading the standard answers.
Additionally, each child drew three bamboo slips from a container and read them aloud.
Those who weren’t terrible were passed.
Most examined minor slaves had lived in the tribe long enough to have decent literacy, particularly in speaking.
Many were moved to tears by the difficulty, but numerous children passed—83 in total, nearly half of the “old” minor slaves, exceeding Han Cheng’s expectations.
Han Cheng publicly announced them as citizens, awarded each three lollipops and a little red flower, and pinned them to their clothing.
The children, proudly clutching their sweets and flowers, swelled with pride, inspiring envy among other minors and adult slaves.
Even newcomers like Songzhen wished to receive such a flower from the divine child.
This naturally sparked a craze for learning Mandarin and Chinese characters.
Many minors practiced at night under firelight or moonlight, reciting Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother repeatedly.
Existing minor citizens joined in earnest learning.
Those who passed the exam continued studying diligently, taking advantage of their newfound recognition.
Han Cheng watched, extremely satisfied.
However, as a mischievous divine child, he soon announced the next exam would include math, in addition to literacy.
The announcement elicited wails from children who understood the difficulty of math.
Many regretted not studying the divine scripts earlier—they would have passed the prior exam easily and avoided arithmetic torture.
Yet, spurred by citizenship, lollipops, and red flowers, the children, under the guidance of their new math teacher, Yuan, began earnestly studying these dreaded calculations.
Han Cheng smiled at their struggle, noting that, like in later times, making a subject part of a high-stakes exam naturally made it popular, even among initially reluctant learners.
Originally, Han Cheng had planned to proceed south to build the second branch at Jingguan City after finishing these matters.
But seeing the tribe’s enthusiasm, he stayed temporarily to compile a proper Chinese and mathematics textbook.
Previously, the tribe had informal teaching with stories like Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother and Monkey Fishing for the Moon, but materials weren’t consolidated.
Mathematics was even more fragmented.
Now, with learning fervor high, failing to refine the curriculum would be irresponsible toward both the people and the tribe’s future.