Chapter 03: Planting Scallions and Weaving Fish Traps
“The taste…is so-so,” Changxia said.
She was drinking the soup and didn't hear the end of what Chen Rong said.
This pot of fish ball and vegetable soup was delicious, but it still had a way to go before being truly good. The main problem was the lack of deodorizing, and missing ingredients like ginger and cooking wine.
“This is the most delicious food I've ever eaten,” Chen Rong narrowed his long, slender phoenix eyes in praise. Eating the fish balls and drinking the delicious vegetable soup, he even felt the pain from his injuries lessen. Seeing that Changxia didn't look up, Chen Rong's hand stiffened slightly. Without changing his expression, he put Miracle away.
“Once I find ginger, scallions, garlic, and other seasonings, I'll make something even better for you. Are you full? If not, I'll make you some blanched river shrimp. The crab, we can just steam it.” Changxia shook her head, somewhat dissatisfied, and asked.
They had both been busy all morning, and they were hungry.
After cooking the fish ball and vegetable soup, the shrimp and crab were still unprocessed.
Chen Rong drank three bowls of fish ball and vegetable soup, rubbed his stomach, and felt he could eat two more bowls. So he nodded and said, “Eat.”
The bowls were made of polished wood.
Porcelain bowls were easily broken, and Changxia was poor and couldn't afford more pottery.
All the pottery in the den was given to her by the tribe. The He Luo tribe had a kiln—a stone kiln. The elderly who had lost their ability to hunt were responsible for firing the kiln, and tribespeople who needed pottery could exchange it with animal hides, bones, teeth, and food through bartering.
Poor Changxia, even when she came of age, hadn't left the three-li radius of the tribe.
Hunting was a fantasy to her.
Generally speaking, river shrimp needed to be kept in water for a day or two to remove sand.
But they weren't that particular now.
Changxia picked out the smaller river shrimp, preparing to dry them and grind them into powder with the shrimp peels to make shrimp powder for seasoning. After finishing the fish ball and vegetable soup in the pottery pot, she cleaned it, added water, and put in scallion segments and river shrimp to boil.
When the river shrimp began to change color, she gently stirred them.
Soon, all the river shrimp turned red, and Changxia quickly scooped them out. She placed two chopsticks in the pottery pot and put the river crab, tied with straw, inside.
Then, she gestured for Chen Rong to eat the river shrimp.
“Try it—”
Chen Rong, imitating Changxia, removed the head and shell.
“Wow?”
Chen Rong exclaimed, surprised by the sweet taste of the river shrimp, different from the fish balls. The river shrimp tasted more tender and springy. A gentle chew seemed to feel the shrimp meat bouncing between his lips and teeth; it was tender yet slightly chewy.
“If it were paired with vinegar or soy sauce, it would be even better!” Changxia sighed regretfully. Compared to the fish balls, she preferred this blanched river shrimp.
Chen Rong glanced at Changxia and silently ate.
After a few days together, he had gotten used to Changxia's occasional “nonsense.”
The four green fish, several pounds of river shrimp, and a palm-sized river crab filled them both up, and they lay down, unwilling to move.
“This afternoon, I'll go cut some green vines to weave new fish traps,” Chen Rong's mind was full of the taste of fish balls, river shrimp, and river crab. Without Changxia's prompting, he took the initiative to weave fish traps, wanting to make a big effort.
Changxia nodded and responded, “Okay. This afternoon, I plan to clean up the weeds near the den and plant the scallions. Tomorrow, we need to go out to gather.”
Chen Rong's injuries hadn't healed, and hunting was too dangerous.
Changxia didn't want him to go hunting with the hunting team, but gathering was still possible. Her body was too weak and needed exercise.
They would work together.
After resting for half an hour, the two of them washed the bowls and chopsticks clean.
They separated and began to work.
Chen Rong took a stone knife and went to the bushes at the foot of the hillside. There were many green vines growing there. Besides green vines, he also planned to look for vines more suitable for weaving fish traps.
Changxia, staying home, planned to clear the wasteland near the den.
She had chosen this den because of the hillside to the west, where she wanted to build a cave dwelling as her home in the He Luo tribe.
The loess layer of the He Luo tribe was very thick, similar to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region of Earth's China, very suitable for cave dwellings. The cold season in the Dusk Forest was dangerous. In the winter, beasts would even dare to attack the tribe.
The den couldn't give Changxia a sense of security, and building a cave dwelling had become her obsession.
With Chen Rong's help, Changxia planned to put building a cave dwelling on the agenda.
Therefore,
She couldn't clear the land haphazardly. Changxia planned to plant scallions to the left of the den. In the future, this area could be enclosed as a vegetable patch.
Without a hoe, Changxia fixed a sharp stone to a stick with vines, creating a simple stone hoe. She pulled out the weeds, then used the stone hoe to turn over the roots and stems, throwing them aside to pile up and wait until they were dry before burning them into wood ash. Firstly, wood ash could fertilize the land, and secondly, it could be used to clean kitchen utensils.
She hadn't found any soap yet, so she needed wood ash for washing and shampooing.
Beastmen, perhaps because of their fur.
Basically, few of them liked to bathe.
Changxia frequently bathed and washed her hair, didn't socialize, didn't play, and didn't date, so she naturally became a unique person in the tribe. Fortunately, she was a homebody, and the gossip of the tribespeople didn't affect her much.
When Chen Rong dragged back a large pile of green vines, Changxia had cleared three parts of the land. Next to it, piles of weed roots were piled up, the soil sandy and dark, good land.
Changxia wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking forward to the day when this land would be covered with vegetables and fruits, bearing abundant harvests. At the same time, she also planned to build some sheds not far from the vegetable patch to raise poultry such as chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep.
A person without dreams is no different from a salted fish.
Seeing Changxia drenched in sweat, her yellowish face looking haggard, Chen Rong felt a pang of heartache and scolded, “Changxia, if you want to do something, just tell me, I'll do it.”
“It's fine, my body is weak, so exercise is good,” Changxia waved her hand, not caring. Beastmen females weren't weaker than males, and Changxia also wanted to learn to hunt, so physical training had to be put on the agenda.
“I'm going to use this land for planting. Currently, we only have scallions. We'll transplant other things later when we find them.”
“By the way, why did you cut so many vines?”
Among them, there were several types Changxia had never seen before.
After hearing this, Chen Rong could only stop nagging, pointing to the vines, “The green vines are a bit hard, I'll try other vines and choose the most suitable one for weaving fish traps. Besides fish traps, we don't have enough backpacks and baskets at home.”
Hearing this, Changxia patted her head.
“We lack backpacks, baskets, and winnowing baskets. Try to see if you can split the vines; thin vines are easier to weave.” Changxia said, standing up and helping Chen Rong drag the vines to the side of the den. As she walked, she gestured, “…Weave two vine curtains; they can be used for sleeping, hanging up to block the wind, or drying things. Weave backpacks and baskets of different sizes to hold things at home.”
Chen Rong didn't interrupt, nodding repeatedly.
He tried to picture what Changxia was saying in his mind, and at the same time, he marveled at Changxia's suggestions.
The two worked together to drag the vines to the side of the den.
Changxia fetched water to wash her face and hands, “Chen Rong, come wash your face and hands.”
A half-man-high stone tank was placed at the entrance of the den. This stone tank was left by the previous owner. Fortunately, there was this stone tank; otherwise, Changxia and Chen Rong would have to go to the lake for water, and going back and forth would consume a lot of time.
Right now, Changxia and Chen Rong were too poor.
They couldn't afford a pottery tank for now, and the existence of the stone tank saved a lot of trouble.
After cleaning up, Changxia didn't rush to work. Instead, she went into the den, took out two green fruits, washed them, and handed one to Chen Rong.
She sat down on a stone stool at the entrance of the den.
“Chen Rong, I want to build a cave dwelling,” Changxia ate a green fruit, squinting her eyes, gazing at the clear blue sky. The breeze blew across her cheeks, warm, with a hint of coolness, comfortable enough to make her want to transform into her beast form and take a nap.
“Build a cave dwelling?” Chen Rong tilted his head, astonished, looking at Changxia, hesitantly said, “You mean a new den?”
“No, it's different from a den,” Changxia shook her head, picked up a branch and drew a cave dwelling on the ground. At the same time, she pointed to the hillside to the west, “I want to build a cave dwelling there, with a vegetable patch on the left, and sheds for raising chickens and ducks on the right, and fruit trees planted on the right. The wasteland at the foot of the hillside, near the lake, will be used to cultivate…”
Chen Rong was confused.
But this didn't prevent him from understanding Changxia's meaning.
This was a completely different way of life from the current beastmen. It sounded interesting.
“What do you need me to do—”
“Help. We'll go out to gather in the morning and dig the cave in the afternoon. Of course, let's weave fish traps first. We can't participate in hunting, and fish and shrimp are our current staple food. Also, I plan to store some food and invite the tribespeople to taste the delicious fish balls.”
“Okay, I'll listen to you.”
After saying this, the two looked at each other and smiled slightly.
Then they tacitly began to process the pile of vines, sorting them. The green vines that Changxia had used to weave fish traps before were relatively hard and not very suitable for weaving fish traps. However, after roasting them, it would be different.
The entire afternoon,
The two wrestled with the vines.
Before sunset, Chen Rong had woven three fish traps using soft, thin vines. Two vine curtains, a winnowing basket, and several vine baskets were also woven. The remaining vines were split and put aside to dry, waiting for the next day to continue.
Changxia rubbed the split thin vines and measured them against her foot.
“Changxia—” Chen Rong called softly, asking.
Changxia said, “I wonder if I can weave these thin vines into straw sandals—no, vine sandals.”
Beastmen were thick-skinned and didn't care much about these things.
Males often walked and hunted barefoot, and females would wrap themselves in animal hides. Changxia was not used to it, so she tried to punch two holes in the animal hide and tie it with grass rope to make simple animal hide straw sandals.
The grass rope was too brittle and easily broke.
The thin vines in front of her, split into long strips by Chen Rong, were carefully rubbed by Changxia; they felt like thick hemp rope, so she had an idea.
(End of chapter)
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Tranlator's Note:
Hello, readers! “Transmigrated to a Prehistoric Tribe to Farm and Build Infrastructure” is currently a side project, so updates here won't be frequent. I'm prioritizing other works, but I'm committed to completing at least ten chapters. For those eager to read ahead, you can access exclusive content and join my Patreon, Ink and Espresso, for free!
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