I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 895 – The First Lesson of the School
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Early in the morning, in the bamboo grove not far from the main settlement of the Green Sparrow Tribe, a series of loud noises rang out.
These were members of the tribe chopping bamboo.
Bamboo, once its roots take hold in an area, reproduces very quickly.
From a single bamboo shoot, many more could sprout.
After nearly ten years of growth, the bamboo grove of the Green Sparrow Tribe had fully proliferated.
It not only completely covered the original earthen hill but also extended further into the surrounding areas.
If Han Cheng had not later had people dig around the edges and construct a simple stone wall mixed with lime and rocks, the bamboo would likely have spread into the surrounding farmland.
Lying lazily in the bamboo grove, the pandas—Tuantuan, its mother, and two other bear cubs—perked up as soon as they heard the chopping sounds and saw Han Cheng’s actions.
Clumsily, they tumbled down from their wooden platform and waddled over on their short legs.
They immediately grabbed the bamboo that Han Cheng and the others had chopped, refusing to let go, rolling around and nuzzling their heads against people’s legs, acting cute and playful.
Being able to act cute allowed them to do whatever they wanted.
Indeed, in no time, these round, fluffy creatures had successfully obtained bamboo from Han Cheng’s group, sitting down to gnaw on it.
Bamboo, which humans needed knives and axes to cut, was effortlessly split by their sharp teeth, as easily as biting sugarcane.
Han Cheng even had the fleeting thought of using them to gnaw down bamboo stalks one by one.
Of course, this was impossible. If these creatures were that obedient, they wouldn’t steal bamboo that could already be easily torn down.
After casting a scornful glance at the lazy panda cubs, Han Cheng and Shi Tou continued chopping bamboo.
From morning until after breakfast, they had chopped six bundles, amounting to nearly two hundred bamboo stalks, which were then bundled and carried away.
This sight worried the pandas with sunglasses.
Seeing the large, delicious bundles about to be carried away, they immediately refused to cooperate.
They wrapped their front paws around Shi Tou and the others’ legs, plopped down, and began to throw a tantrum.
If not for Little Pea responding to his father’s call and running over quickly, Han Cheng and his group would have had to spend more time dealing with these mischievous pandas.
Downstream of the Green Sparrow Tribe’s small river, not far from the hemp-soaking pond, a new pond had been dug.
It was smaller than the hemp pond but still a reasonable size.
Since it was not yet hemp season, this new pond was not used for soaking hemp.
Under Han Cheng’s instructions, the freshly cut bamboo bundles were placed into the pond.
As with hemp, large stones were used to hold the bamboo down to prevent it from floating.
Unlike the hemp pond, however, this bamboo-soaking pond was divided into several smaller compartments, with no water connection between them.
Each small compartment contained one bundle of bamboo.
“Bring over three more loads of lime.”
Once the initial work was done, Han Cheng gave further instructions.
Indeed, what Han Cheng and the others were doing was making paper.
The art of papermaking had already been introduced to the tribe several years earlier, and they could already produce paper.
However, the previous paper was made from tree bark fibers, which were somewhat yellow.
The main problem was that it was too soft. While usable for writing, it was not as convenient as later specialized paper.
Moreover, if the ink was too dark or the writing too dense, it couldn’t be written on both sides.
Han Cheng had long wanted to improve this paper.
However, his knowledge of papermaking was limited, and guiding Shi Tou to make the existing paper had already exhausted much of his understanding.
Yet, after a period of copying and writing textbooks, he again became inspired to improve papermaking.
After much contemplation, a sudden flash of insight allowed him to recall some new ideas about papermaking.
This seemed to come from a faint memory before his time-travel, from something he had seen online.
At the time, he had barely paid attention, and the impression was vague.
If not for his current attempts to improve papermaking, he likely wouldn’t have recalled it.
Even now, the memory was hazy.
The idea of using bamboo as a raw material for paper and soaking it beforehand came from that vague recollection.
As for why lime was added, Han Cheng wasn’t entirely sure—perhaps to accelerate bamboo decay, or to bleach it.
He didn’t know whether lime should be added at the beginning, after some soaking, or near the end.
Nevertheless, he still instructed people to do so.
“Whatever!” he thought.
The general direction was clear. With repeated trials and careful recording of the process and results, the proper method would eventually be determined.
At this moment, tribe members brought over three loads of lime as requested.
“Evenly sprinkle two loads of lime into this pond, and pour one load into this one,” Han Cheng instructed, pointing to the two small ponds nearest the riverbank.
The two people followed his instructions, pouring the lime evenly into the ponds.
The lime was dry, so upon entering the water, it released heat and created bubbles.
Shi Tou, who Han Cheng had already informed, took careful notes on the process and time.
As for the remaining four small ponds, Han Cheng instructed that no lime be added yet.
He planned to wait until the bamboo started to decay before adding lime to two more ponds, in differing amounts.
The last two ponds would receive lime only after the bamboo had fully decomposed.
This way, comparing the final products would make it easier to determine the optimal timing for lime addition.
Han Cheng also instructed Shi Tou and the others to prevent the ponds’ water from mixing, especially from flowing into the river.
This was not only to avoid affecting the experiment but also because the soaking water, particularly after lime addition, could kill fish.
Han Cheng had experienced similar incidents before: villagers had poured lime into a pit near a drainage ditch, and after a heavy rain, the lime water washed into the stream, killing fish and shrimp.
The tribe members followed Han Cheng’s instructions carefully.
After these tasks, Han Cheng and his group left to attend to other matters.
Meanwhile, the earliest-planted crops in the tribe had grown tall and were close to harvest.
The tribe needed to prepare for the autumn harvest and for Han Cheng’s southward expedition.
Inside the blue-brick, tile-roofed building, Shi Tou held a language textbook wrapped in coarse hemp cloth.
Standing on the podium, he read aloud the story of The Little Donkey Crossing the River to the children of the tribe.
After a period of preparation, the tribe’s first batch of language textbooks was completed—thirty-one books in total.
One book was for the teacher, and the others were distributed among the children.
The tribe had about nine hundred minors in total. Even excluding the youngest, nearly five hundred children sat in the building, but there were only thirty books, roughly twenty children per book.
Due to limited time and resources, this was all that could be managed for now.
Despite the scarcity, the children were excited and fascinated.
They had never imagined being able to study from such a “book,” neatly compiled and containing everything taught by the divine child.
The books were exquisite, bound with leather cords and wrapped in fine hemp cloth.
Upon seeing the books for the first time, the children treasured them as if they were rare, fragile treasures.
They carefully washed their hands before handling the books and turned the pages with utmost care.
Those who could read well were immediately captivated by the content, which included familiar stories like Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother and The Monkey and the Moon, as well as many new tales.
Even adults observing from the classroom doors and windows were attentive.
Han Cheng watched the children, satisfied—they treated the books as if discovering treasure.
Shi Tou, after reading the story, transferred the book to his left hand, took a chalk stick from the bamboo chalk box, and wrote The Little Donkey Crossing the River on the blackboard.
He then wrote “1.” beneath it and began listing the key characters to teach.
The blackboard was made of wood, planed smooth, and coated with ink multiple times.
The chalk was made from lime and water, molded into sticks, and dried.
Although not as convenient as later blackboards and chalk, it was far better than a sand tray.
The children also had personal small double-sided blackboards for writing practice, which could be held up for the teacher to check.
Initially, the chalk would stain the hands, but after several uses, this problem diminished.
As Shi Tou wrote, the classroom fell silent.
Realizing that reading alone wasn’t enough, Shi Tou selected a slightly older child, familiar with many characters, to stand and read aloud The Little Donkey Crossing the River, allowing the others to familiarize themselves with the text.
Shi Tou continued writing the new characters on the blackboard while the child read aloud, occasionally stuttering.
Han Cheng sat quietly, observing, just as a teacher would during a lesson observation.
When the lesson ended, the children were thrilled, reluctant to leave, and many begged those who could read to continue reading additional stories.
Stone, teaching in this new method for the first time, was also excited.
Afterward, he humbly asked Han Cheng for advice.
Han Cheng praised his performance, highlighted his strengths, and pointed out areas for improvement, offering suggestions.
“Don’t just rely on me,” Han Cheng said. “Reflect on your teaching, find your shortcomings, and come up with ways to improve. Adapt based on the tribe’s situation…”
Teaching may seem simple—just speaking—but it requires careful attention to many aspects.
Different teachers would have different styles. Han Cheng could only give general guidance; the rest needed to be explored and improved by Shi Tou himself.
Shi Tou nodded vigorously, then went to the next room to reflect on his teaching.
This was the first truly formal lesson in Green Sparrow Tribe’s history.
Overall, it was successful, though many challenges remained.
The most significant problem was the children’s varying ages and abilities.
Some could read the text fluently, while others recognized only a few characters.
Additionally, there were too many children for one teacher to manage.
Han Cheng’s solution was familiar: divide the children into grades and classes based on ability.
This would perfectly solve the problem.
However, it required more teachers.
Besides Han Cheng and Shi Tou, only Yuan, who excelled in mathematics, and two others had teaching experience.
Han Cheng couldn’t stay in the tribe to teach; he needed to lead a team to rebuild the second branch in Jingguan City.
Time was also pressing.
The earliest-planted grains would soon be ready for harvest.
Although rice differs from other grains, in northern regions, harvest generally occurs in autumn.
At Jingguan City, farther south and slightly warmer due to latitude and the Qinling Mountains, the rice would mature even earlier.
If they arrived too late, many grains might be eaten by birds…
0 Comments