I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 919: Look! One of the Geese Is Unhappy! We…
Bai Xue reached out and plucked a down feather from the head of Xiao Wan-dou—the feather left floating when she had kicked a goose away—and casually tossed it aside.
But the next moment, she hurriedly reached for it again as it wobbled and floated down through the air.
The feather was light, and the wind caused by her hand made it flutter and dance up and down.
After a while, she finally caught it.
Children have short attention spans. Many times, they don’t remember things for long.
A slight distraction is enough to make them forget what just happened.
This was exactly what happened with Xiao Xing-er, who had been crying from fright at the geese, and Xiao Wan-dou, who had been looking at his mother with admiration. The moment they discovered this amusing feather, everything that had just happened was forgotten.
The two of them picked up other feathers their mother had kicked off the geese from the ground, tossing them into the air to catch with their small hands, or blowing them higher by puffing their cheeks, laughing and playing endlessly.
Little Xiao Xing-er, her tears still on her face, giggled joyfully, delighted beyond measure.
Bai Xue stood still, holding the feather in her hand, eyes sparkling with light.
The feather was light, yet in her mind, it felt as heavy as a mountain.
Yes, “lighter than a feather, heavier than Mount Tai” – that’s exactly how it felt.
The goose’s down felt soft, slightly warm, and comforting in her hands.
Bai Xue realized that she might have found a way to make a new kind of warm clothing.
In winter, when the weather was bitterly cold, geese and ducks survived the season wearing this very feathered coat.
Not only that, they could swim in icy water and even dive without showing any fear of the cold.
This was all thanks to the feathers covering their bodies!
If she could take these feathers and make clothing for humans, how warm it would be!
Even if humans couldn’t plunge into icy water like geese and ducks, simply walking in heavy snow without feeling cold would be enough.
With this thought in mind, Bai Xue became extremely excited.
Because this was a highly feasible idea.
Until now, the tribe’s people—including herself—had only focused on ground-dwelling prey, plants like hemp, and small insects like silkworms, completely overlooking the birds flying overhead.
If the fur of land animals could be made into clothing, why couldn’t the feathers of flying birds be made into clothing as well?
Holding a single feather, Bai Xue’s excitement grew, and her joy deepened.
This idea was like a window suddenly flung open, revealing a whole new direction.
After standing there a while, she bolted outside, charging straight at the flock of panicked geese.
The geese, just calming down moments ago, were thrown into chaos at the sight of Bai Xue charging at them. Unwilling to risk another flight, they scattered in a hurry.
Any parent protecting their young was impressive, but this one was extraordinary.
However, this goose had no escape. The goose that had pecked Xiao Wan-dou on the head was lifted off the ground by Bai Xue, held by its neck, experiencing the sensation of flying once again in a new way.
Some geese valued loyalty. Two of them saw their companion being treated this way, flapped their broken wings, stretched their long necks, and charged at her.
It was of no use. Bai Xue kicked each of them into the air.
The geese, now having “flown” and seen the world, landed, shook their heads frantically, honked in terror, and ran far away, abandoning any thought of rescuing their companion.
It wasn’t that geese didn’t care about loyalty—it was that the human protecting her offspring was simply too ferocious.
Bai Xue ignored the fleeing geese and focused on the one she had caught.
Holding its thin, long neck with familiarity, she used her foot to pin its two feet, preventing it from struggling. She untied the headband from its head and bound its flapping wings together, calming it somewhat.
But the nightmare was just beginning.
Bai Xue found two ropes, binding its legs and beak.
Under the terrified gaze of this once-arrogant goose, Bai Xue—now like a feisty rogue—began plucking the feathers from its body.
For the goose, these feathers were like its clothing.
The bound, fallen goose’s eyes were wide with fear.
A violent female rogue is truly terrifying.
All because it bullied her children? Was that enough to warrant such retaliation?
Feathers aside, geese didn’t need to maintain their grandiose image in front of the female goose anymore.
Had time been reversed, even if the two rowdy children had harassed the little goose, this bound male goose would never have dared to attack them again.
Perhaps it would even have forced the female goose to stay put in its own way.
Xiao Wan-dou and Xiao Xing-er, running from the inner courtyard, saw their once-arrogant goose being treated this way and clapped with delight.
Their admiration and respect for their mother soared.
After a short while, the two children joined Bai Xue in plucking feathers from the goose.
This little family was relentless—like sheep shearing, they each grabbed a spot and plucked fiercely.
Young Xiao Xing-er had a bit of obsessive-compulsive behavior, carefully plucking any stray feather left behind.
When Bai Xue finally stopped and untied the goose, half its neck and upper chest feathers had been removed, making it look like it wore a stylish vest—regal and imposing.
The battered goose had no choice but to flee, going to find the remaining geese.
The other geese, seeing this dramatic change, froze in shock, even dropping a blade of grass from their beaks.
Bai Xue had no time to care about the majestic goose—it was her feathers she was interested in.
She carefully wrapped them and brought them inside.
She gave three feathers each to Xiao Wan-dou and Xiao Xing-er, letting them play outside so the wind wouldn’t scatter the feathers everywhere.
Bai Xue sat inside, thinking about how to turn these feathers into clothing.
After studying the fresh feathers for a while, she encountered a new challenge: how to make clothing from them.
She thought of the feathered crowns worn by the shaman and the next shaman during rituals.
The crowns consisted of three rings, each with feathers tied to it.
If she tried something similar…
She immediately grew excited and began experimenting.
But she soon realized it wouldn’t work. The shaman’s crowns used large wing feathers, while she had only small down feathers. Tying them individually would be far too difficult.
She considered fetching large wing feathers from the geese, but thought better of it.
Large wing feathers were not as warm as the down.
Her goal was to make clothing to combat the cold. Large feathers weren’t suitable, so she abandoned that idea.
Bai Xue fell back into frustration.
After a while, she acted again.
She took a piece of her hemp cloth clothing and a small basket for needles and threads, and carefully began sewing the small down feathers into the inside of the garment, meticulously and attentively.
Time passed, and night fell.
After Xiao Wan-dou and Xiao Xing-er fell asleep, Bai Xue sat on the kang, back against the wall, working by the dim light of the oil lamp.
The sound of thread pulling through fabric, in the warm orange glow, created a cozy and peaceful atmosphere.
One by one, she sewed the feathers into the garment.
After a few days, having caught several geese and styled them, Bai Xue’s original version of a down jacket was finally complete.
She wore it and felt its warmth. Wearing it longer even made her sweat—such a joy!
After enjoying this success, she paused, tilted her head, then removed the prototype down jacket and retrieved her winter clothes made of animal hides.
These were soft and warm against the skin.
She put on last winter’s outfit, and soon began sweating—even more than in the feathered prototype.
She immediately realized: the warmth of the feather-and-hemp garment wasn’t because it was especially warm, but because the weather hadn’t yet reached the depths of winter.
In other words, her laboriously crafted garment was still far less warm than animal fur.
This discovery left Bai Xue somewhat disappointed.
It’s natural—anyone would feel the same after working hard and not achieving the desired result.
But the disappointment didn’t last long. As someone skilled in weaving thread into cloth, Bai Xue had ample patience and resilience.
She put away the winter fur clothes and returned to examine the feathered hemp garment, seeking a solution.
She soon discovered the problem: she had sewn too few feathers.
Even though she had sewn as many as possible, the garment was still sparse compared to the dense plumage of a goose.
Realizing this, and remembering the sweat-inducing warmth of the fur clothes, she finally understood what needed to be done next.
Meanwhile, in the goose pen, one goose appeared glum and dejected, tugging at her heartstrings.
Bai Xue, extremely kind-hearted, couldn’t bear to see suffering—not just in humans but even in geese.
She knew a remedy, reminiscent of the legendary physician Hua Tuo’s treatment of Cao Cao’s severe headache: a simple, direct solution.
So she picked up the dejected goose.
Not with an axe to the head, but by firmly gripping its long, thin neck and twisting, she cured its “ailment” completely.
Bai Xue then stood by a tree stump, holding a sharp copper knife, carefully skinning the goose.
Previously, when the tribe ate geese, they simply scalded the bird with boiling water to pluck the feathers, then gutted it.
But this time was different—she wanted the feathers and skin to test whether they could make warm clothing, so she cut directly.
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