At the mouth of the valley where the Ba people live, a group of men are still busy building fortifications.
Most of the thirty-meter-wide stone wall has been built now.
The two-meter-high stone wall looks rough and simple, but it already has some majestic momentum across the valley.
The stone wall is designed to be wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. It is straight and steep on the outside. It is also designed with a crenel-like structure on the top, facing the inside of the valley. On the bottom, there are more than ten stone platforms specially used for archery to stand on.
Under the wall, a row of small stone houses will be built in the future to provide guards with a place to rest and shelter from rain and cold.
However, these are still in the planning stage right now, and the main focus is on the main body of the stone wall.
There is still a gap of nearly ten meters in the middle of the river, and a group of people are dividing into two groups and continuing to build and close it from both ends to the middle.
"Woo~~"
From the downstream direction of the river, there were faint sounds of horns.
A group of people were immediately surprised, and they all dropped what they were holding and ran to the river beach outside the valley.
As the sound of the horn became clearer and clearer, soon I saw a dragon flag fluttering in the west wind, and the figures of a group of people slowly appeared among the tall grass and thorns.
All kinds of wild beasts, large and small, that were foraging on the river beach became alert at the sound of the horn and began to run away from this group of terrifying humans.
Ever since the last time the horns disturbed the tide of beasts, all the beasts have been a bit disappointed in recent times.
As the group of people got closer and closer, when they saw that there were many people in the group, everyone couldn't help but cheer, and some people rushed forward to warmly welcome this group of Uzbek people who risked great risks to go on a mission.
Half an hour later, the two groups returned to the valley together.
Knowing that the trip went smoothly, Xu Chen also breathed a long sigh of relief.
Based on what Amu and Feng and others told themselves about what they saw, heard, and experienced in the Ba tribe, he had determined that the incident of the little witch's defection would basically not cause any further disturbances.
There is a high probability that the Uzbek people will not hold on to this matter again.
Then it seems that there is no need to rush to repair this fortification. The rest of the project will be built slowly by some people, and more people can start to devote themselves to the daily tasks and normal training of the tribe.
Mother and others returned safely, and naturally the whole tribe was lively and joyful, especially Mother, who burst into tears after listening to Mother's report, and her worries completely disappeared.
When the team went there, they brought a large amount of new-style wealth such as pottery, cloth, and fishing nets, but they did not return empty-handed. They also brought back a lot of meat, wild fruits and other food, as well as some feathers and animal skins presented by some tribal leaders.
The small gift was a worthwhile trip, and everyone was happy.
The little witch has always been very worried about her sister who stayed in the Uzbek tribe.
Xu Chen did not hide anything from her. He called her, his mother, and his mother to his room and explained his arrangements in detail. At this time, his mother and the little witch finally understood the ultimate reason why Xu Chen suddenly arranged this trip.
Purpose.
At present, communication between tribes is almost cut off. If the Ba people don't go, the Uu people won't come either.
However, in order not to affect the lives of the tribesmen and prevent a group of Uzbek people who came to help the little witch to defect from panic and have other ideas, he still told the three of them to keep it secret and not to reveal the identity of the little witch in advance.
The three of them also understood the importance of this kind of thing and said they would not talk about it carelessly.
At this point, the matter that had caused panic among the Ba people for a long time was finally settled.
Xu Chen could finally calm down and start making arrangements for the Witch Lord Conference.
Since the real witch designated by the great witch is in his hands, Xu Chen will naturally not let this advantageous resource go in vain.
And all his plans to disintegrate the Wu tribe this time actually revolve around the little witch.
He wants to turn the little witch into a witch of the Ba tribe, and a real witch who represents orthodoxy, and in this way he can win over the other four tribes, and even attract many internal families of the Wu tribe to join him.
To alienate, to suppress, to win over, to intimidate, to induce, to coerce, to bribe...
After all, it is a means and form of struggle for the development of human civilization. As long as it is conducive to the development and growth of the Ba people's strength, he will use them all.
Things like morality have different interpretations in different eras.
He wants to lead mankind out of this primitive and barbaric state of existence as soon as possible, where they eat hair, blood, clothing, and food. Some things cannot be too tender.
There is no shortage of any means that should be used.
The only thing is to reduce bloody battles as much as possible.
After all, there are too few people to bear the trouble.
…
August.
The lush green mountains and fields in the past have gradually become covered with a layer of red and yellow colors.
The sky is clear and the sun is shining, and the autumn breeze is refreshing.
The unique dry smell makes people feel cool and comfortable, while also slowly feeling a hint of autumn's unique silence and tranquility.
The water in the creek has become nothing more than a narrow stream.
The lush weeds and thorns on both sides of the bank also began to wither.
Various plant seeds have already matured and fallen. Although some oats and beans can still be found, they are also late-maturing varieties, so searching and collecting them is already very troublesome.
After the harvest, the farmland turned into a withered yellow early, and the wild beasts and birds that came to catch food could no longer be seen.
Wild birds such as wild geese, wild ducks, herons, and white cranes that once built their nests and laid eggs on the rippling blue river beaches are as dim as shadows. Most of them went to the south in groups to overwinter, leaving only large stretches of empty and lonely river beaches.
The activities of wild animals in the valley began to decrease. Except for drinking water in the evening, most of them lived in the low shrubs and jungle areas at the foot of the mountain foraging.
Because only there can you find leaves that are relatively rich in juice.
The lush and difficult-to-travel hillsides in spring and summer slowly begin to look empty as the leaves begin to wither and fall.
The place where women collected plants gradually moved from the foot of the river beach to the woods on the hillside.
Right now, it is the season when all kinds of nuts are ripe.
Hazelnuts and chestnuts are the most common wild fruits that are also easiest to harvest and store.
However, most of these two wild fruits grow halfway up the mountain toward the top of the mountain. In previous years, this area was the territory of a large group of monkeys.
But this year, the monkeys have disappeared, and the large trees on the mountain are full of fruits, all of which have become trophies for the Ba people.
Of course, there are also a large number of badgers, martens, squirrels, foxes and even wild boars and other large and small beasts competing with humans for the right to own this piece of food, but compared to the various collection methods of humans, these animals are not enough.
But whether they are hazelnuts, chestnuts, or other types of edible miscellaneous nuts, they generally grow on tall trees. Women are no longer able to collect them alone and need the assistance of men.
Therefore, after entering August, the men of the tribe were divided into three groups. Feng led a group of hunters to continue hunting and fishing, while a group of strong or disabled ones went to the mouth of the valley to continue building fortifications, but the number was reduced to only eight
On a human scale, the four kiln workers basically do not participate in other labor and are mainly responsible for firing pottery.
The remaining young and nimble men, including Xu Chen and Gu Ju, went to the mountain forest to help a group of women collect various nuts.
On the road up the mountain that I hadn't walked for a long time, there were obvious trails one after another.
There are indeed a lot of hazelnuts and chestnuts on the top of the mountain, but the trip up and down is too tiring, and the time spent on the road alone takes two or three hours. After Xu Chen went there twice, he never wanted to go there again.
His main goal recently is to get the vine fruit.
The huge crooked-neck tree hangs diagonally on the edge of the steep cliff, and below is the milk fruit hillside. However, the milk fruit begins to mature in June, and some can still be found last month. After August, they have begun to wither in large areas, completely
Can't find it.
Last year, Xu Chen spent several days making safety ropes and long fishing nets to pick vine fruits.
But even so, a large number of vine fruits were not picked.
After tasting the vine fruit wine and dried vine fruits, the common wish of the whole family this year is that it is best to pick all the vine fruits without missing a single one.
Of course, this is an extremely difficult task.
In Xu Chen's opinion, it was almost impossible.
But in order to satisfy the appetites of himself and the whole family, he decided to try his best.
Therefore, after settling the issue of the Uzbek people at the end of July, he began to actively prepare for picking vine fruit wine. He built hundreds of meters of safety ropes alone, and also prepared hanging baskets and stronger long-handled net bags. And this year
There are also two methods of harvesting.
One is where it is easy to pick, so use a long-handled net bag to pick directly. If it is a difficult place far away, just use a long pole to knock them all down, and then go to the milk fruit hillside or the canyon below to pick them up.
Although many overripe fruits knocked down in this way will break, it is much better than leaving them on the tree to fall naturally and go to waste.
Of course, as the main pickers, they are still Gu and Ju, and there are also two teenagers of similar age who defected from the Uzbek tribe to escort the little witch.
The huge crooked-neck tree has been lying prone on the edge of the cliff forever.
An ancient vine as thick as the waist is wrapped around it like a giant python.
The strange combination of one tree and one vine constitutes an extremely rare parasitic state.
Gu and Ju climbed up the tree with ropes.
Two Uzbek teenagers were assisting below.
Xu Chen was naturally a bystander.
As the core figure of the tribe, he does not need to do anything dangerous.
Creation and invention are his duties, and the rest of the time is spent eating, drinking and having fun.