Orcs’ Time Through Time

When I woke up in the morning, I still felt very warm. I opened my eyes and realized that I was the only person on the bed. Luo Lei covered his animal skin on me. At the moment, the little one sitting on the opposite ground The skin of the animal was roasted with fire from the pot of fresh bacon that I had processed yesterday.

He didn’t put on the blindfold, but he tied his hair like I did yesterday, and it looks very good, and this hairstyle is also good, making his edges and corners more distinctive, and it hides him from not wanting to be seen. The place. Seeing me wake up, Luo Lei nodded at me: "It's pretty early, you can continue to sleep. We will go hunting early today."

I also nodded to him. After being lazy on the bed for a while, I got up and folded the two pieces of animal skins, and then folded the big piece of animal skins, and continued to put the hay into the bag. Put the wooden board upright and bake one of the pillars of the tent, and the three wooden blocks used as bedposts are also placed aside.

I saw that the hot water being boiled on the side of the fire pond was almost boiling, so I used a wooden spoon to pour out some of the water and place it in two large clean bowls. The residue of the filtered sweet potato is thrown into a clay pot and boiled-although there is no rice to make sweet potato porridge, you can also try the sweet potato soup.

At this time, Luo Lei had been roasting meat silently. I told him that I was going to wash my face, so I picked up my buckskin towel and a small handful of salt and fled under his somewhat focused gaze. Yesterday, Xin Mu When they were there, I still felt that Luo Lei's coercion was calmer than last time, and today I feel that he gives people a high-pressure feeling.

Luo Lei ate eight or nine pounds of meat, drank a wooden bowl of salty sweet potato soup, and asked me to fill his bamboo tube with a jar of water before he went out to gather.

I saw that the stone basin was filled with water, and I scooped out the clear water on the sweet potato powder that had settled over the night, and put the pan-shaped stone slabs on the fire and roasted them. I added some animal oil to prevent it from sticking, so I scraped a part of it into another large wooden bowl, added some warm salt water, and spread it on the stone slab.

In the past, I saw that sweet potato vermicelli was made with sun-dried sweet potato flour in the countryside, but I think since it can be made with sun-dried sweet potato flour and water, then this kind of sweet potato paste that already has water should also be made. ? Even though I think so, I don't dare to do too much so as not to waste it. Every bit of food is precious nowadays.

Fortunately, although it is not very good, this small bowl of sweet potato syrup is still spread out into a thin sweet potato vermicelli. Of course, it is not as good as the thin and transparent sweet potato vermicelli, but when food is scarce, I just ask No matter what you look like if you are full.

I hung a rope of animal skins on the two pillars supporting the tent, hung the big sheets of sweet potato skins on the ropes, washed the slate, and piled the remaining sweet potato pulp on the slab. Basking at the door, I went around the back of the tent and looked at the two little wild boars tied to the tree and the deer tied to the tree. They also fed some grass to the two tied with their hind legs and placed in the house. A female rabbit, planning to make a rabbit cage tonight. Only then carried two animal skin bags, crossbows and arrows on his back, and the long fork was ready to go out.

Not long after I went out, I saw the female of the patriarch came to me, and he came to ask Luo Lei about staying overnight. I didn’t expect that just for a while, Luo Lei would have known about Lore’s overnight stay. Looking around, it seemed that many people in the clan knew about it, so I had no choice but to explain, because both I and Luo Lei ate one yesterday. Tudou, I was afraid that there would be an accident when he fell asleep alone at night, so I stayed him in my tent for one night. If any accident happened to either of them, the other would find out early and go to the priest.

It happened that Xinmu's female Aman was passing by, so I pulled him over to testify. This explanation finally made the patriarch’s female feel reasonable, and sighed: "Although the marriage has not yet been officially married, it is fortunate that you have also booked a marriage, otherwise what will you do in the future? However, in this way, you can't Temporarily regretted it."

I don't know how to say that I went there again, I can only nod in frustration: "I won't regret it." This answer also made the patriarch's female nod in satisfaction.

Seeing that I was about to go out, the patriarch’s female was a little unhappy, no way, I have had two bad records, I smiled bitterly: "The patriarch’s family, I just want to dig some sweet potatoes today, that’s the last time I took the exam. I ran out of the food for you yesterday."

The patriarch's female is very serious: "Then you can't go out alone. You don't know when you will come back when you go alone."

Okay, this attitude is like treating a bad child who has no family, so I grabbed Aman who was standing aside: "I will go with Aman, right? Aman?"

Aman was stunned for a moment, but when I winked at him, he understood: "Yes."

The patriarch’s female obviously didn’t believe it, but we couldn’t do anything to say that, so she nodded: "Then you must be back before noon, especially Arnold. Today, Luo Lei will come back early to discuss something. You must come back earlier."

Of course, I nodded quickly, so I urged Aman to go back and get the animal skin bag.

Aman didn't expect that I really wanted to take him there. He was even more embarrassed. He only said that he only ate my food yesterday, so how could he grab the fruit I found.

In fact, I can't finish eating such a large piece by myself, but I don't dare to let others take risks with me easily. There are currently 97 people in the tribe. It is said that they are the most powerful of the three nearby tribes, and the number is also the largest. There are 56 males and 41 females. Among the males, the patriarch is the oldest. There are also six retired hunters who have been injured to varying degrees during hunting and can only do patrols in the clan, and there are 13 little males who have not been able to successfully transform from the age of six to fourteen, who can actually go out hunting. There are only thirty-seven people. There are 41 females. Among them, the high priest is the oldest. There are three priests and priests in the tribe. There are three females who have lost their partners and are older. Six females who cannot leave the tribe at the age of five to thirteen. People, because the job of the priests is to heal the people of the tribe, prepare medicinal herbs, etc., unless they don’t know the plants, they generally don’t pick wild fruits and wild vegetables. There are only thirty-two females who can actually pick wild fruits and vegetables.

However, the wild vegetables and wild fruits that can be collected on the hills and slopes around the tribe are also limited. In the past, there were more prey on this mountain and grassland, but in the past ten years, with the increase of hunting and gathering, prey and gathering have become more difficult. Maybe soon, we will have to relocate to another place. go with. It's as if we moved here from another place more than ten years ago.

Although Luo Lei always said that he would kill enough prey to feed me, but I knew it was not easy. In summer and autumn, females can still pick wild fruits and wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger, but in winter, when the mountains are covered by heavy snow, everyone can only hide in the caves, and rely on the food stored after the harvest festival to survive the cold and cold weather. Hungry winter.

The climate here is like a more extreme temperate oceanic climate. The summer is not very hot. At least this year, at the hottest time, I have passed by wearing a sleeveless thin deerskin gown and shorts, even though I was sweating. , But it is estimated that it should be less than forty degrees, but the winter is relatively cold, perhaps because it is close to the mountains, the winter has a freezing period of nearly two months.

Although this two-month-long freezing period does not snow every day, it is basically the snow that has not yet melted, and there is another layer covering it, and even the grass roots are hard to find. The prey also hides in the deep mountains, or migrates to warmer places. Even if there are prey, it is not easy to hunt, and they have to face the same hungry and difficult opponents.

There are no very old people in the clan, and there are no people who are unable to move. In fact, when food is scarce in winter, those who are too old to hunt, cannot pick or have serious disabilities, and those who have lost their partners and are elderly. The female will leave the cave and go to the wild on her own, leaving more food for other people in the clan. If we don't prepare well, we may lose some people next year.

At first I didn’t feel much about this. The day before yesterday, I saw the patrol team members, and saw a patrol team member smiled and told Luo Lei that if Luo Lei didn’t work hard this year, he wouldn’t even be able to do patrol next year. When I saw Luo Lei’s lowered head, when I saw the patrolman laughing and talking about his fate, when I watched them clearly want to survive, my eyes flashed with desire and helplessness, I watched Luo Lei in When I entered my tent and there was still a trace of heaviness and sadness from my body, I suddenly felt that maybe I could do something as best as I could, even if it was very few, at least what I could do, even if it weren’t for these people who worked hard to survive. For the sorrow I saw, for the helpless Luo Lei who wanted to take care of me.

Of course, I don’t dare to act rashly. After all, this is a matter of life and death. Secondly, I don’t want the usual and out-of-group Arnold to become too big after being thrown into the water, although the current changes have already made a lot of trouble. People were shocked. Fortunately, people here will not be jealous. Even though I have got prey myself these few days, there are small wild boars and deer, and I have brought back bags of wild fruits. They don’t see anything but envy me. The meaning of jealousy outside. The females I met on the road, regardless of whether they were impressed or not, also greeted me with a smile. Let me secretly make up my mind, and try again. If everyone has not changed, then I will tell the patriarch, even if it is suspected by the patriarch and the clansman, even if it may be kicked out, go and try.

Because I was carrying Aman, my attitude of disregarding going forward was much more restrained, and I had to stretch out the long fork to explore the way every step of the way. Aman was very interested in my long fork, and when I heard that Luo Lei made it for me, he said it was really good with envy. I laughed at him and asked Xin Mu to make one for him. Ah Man is very honest, saying that Xin Mu can't do anything except hunting, and the handwork is even worse. Every time he asks him to chisel a stone basin or something, he can always break the stone.

I laughed, even then you chose him. Aman blushed next to me and said, "That's because even then, Xin Mu treats him very well. He always feeds him if he has food. He would rather eat less by himself. Although he doesn't know how to make stone tools," After hunting in the clan, he would always come back later alone, pick up small prey to exchange with others, and would not make his female too tired.

I think this is probably the simple love of primitive people. So I told Aman: In the future, everyone will be able to eat and live a better life. Aman also nodded: I believe in you and Luo Lei.

I don't know what this has to do with Luo Lei, but when he said that, I nodded hastily.

When I got to the sweet potato field, I told Aman to be careful of his steps, and briefly demonstrated how to dig sweet potatoes, and then let him dig it himself.

Because I dug a few more traps last time, I first went to check those traps. Today’s harvest is less. Only three of the eight traps have rabbits. It is estimated that there will be fewer and fewer in the future, because animals will also Because experience is smart.

I concealed the eight traps as they were, and went to dig sweet potatoes myself. This time I dig more because I only plan to dig sweet potatoes. Aman didn't plan to dig a lot. I said that we could dig two for everyone in the tribe so that everyone could taste it. So he carried more than 70 catties, I carried more than 40 catties, and I carried three rabbits back.

It was the first time Aman left the tribe and went to other mountains. He was very excited. In addition to the sweet potatoes on his back, he had to pick a few wild vegetables he knew on the road. When he was picking wild vegetables, I found nearby There are several things that look like pumpkins hanging on the tree!

I greeted Aman and asked him to dig his wild vegetables first, so I leaned under the tree and found out that not only this tree, but also the trees next to it were hanging a lot. At this time, I hated that I was timid and didn't dare to climb trees when I was a child. Unfortunately, this thing didn't know what it was, it actually grew up the tree. I finally found two on the ground that couldn't climb the tree.

I cut off the two pumpkins with a bone knife. Only then did I find that today’s harvest made me unable to harvest it. It was sweet potatoes, rabbits, and now there are pumpkins. I really don’t know how to take them. Fortunately, Aman, who came to see me, took the initiative to help me carry some sweet potatoes.

Aman is four years older than me and not much taller than me, but he can endure hardships. He carried sixty catties of sweet potatoes in an animal skin bag and insisted on walking back to the tribe, only to see that he was reddened by the animal skin bag. Both shoulders made me determined to catch a calf or something to raise, but first of all I have to try to make a bamboo basket or something. After all, there is a large bamboo forest next to the tribe, which is easier and easier than catching a calf. Realize soon.

Back to the tribe, it was almost noon, and the hunters had returned one after another, but they had not yet begun to divide their prey. We went directly to the patriarch's house.

The patriarch did not go hunting today, because he was busy discussing things like harvest festivals and winter storage with the priests. I heard that there are other things to discuss today.

When Aman and I went in with things on their backs, the high priest was there, and the eyes looking at me were a little strange. I didn't have time to pay attention to him, but simply nodded. The high priest is the oldest female in the clan, and the more prestigious old man in the clan, and the two little priests are his disciples.

Because priests in the clan are more doctors than gods, they only preside over the sacrificial rituals occasionally, other times they treat the clan’s wounds and illnesses, deliver births for females, and so on. So they are very respected in the clan and they are very talkative. I don't know what he is doing here today. It seems that no one in the patriarch's family was injured.

Aman was very happy to report to the patriarch about the edible food that I found. He also showed the sweet potatoes to the patriarch, and said that I was willing to share things with the whole clan. The patriarch’s female sat aside with Luo Lei.

Because the sweet potato was also eaten by the patriarch last time, the patriarch just nodded and asked Aman to go back first and let me stay. Aman was very obedient, put down the animal skin bag containing the sweet potatoes, and returned with only the few wild vegetables he dug.

Asking me to sit down, the patriarch said: "Arnuo, you have discovered a lot of things recently, but it's a big improvement from before."

I felt a little bit in my heart, and looked at Luo Lei subconsciously, and found that he was also looking at the patriarch with a frown, and then gave me a soothing look. I nodded, "Yes, because I'm hungry..." Of course it's just Casually.

The high priest glanced at me and then came: "You didn't even dare to go out before, but now you dare to go out hunting and gathering alone. I'm very happy."

I also nodded to him, "Thank you."

At this point, it was a bit unable to proceed, the patriarch fiddled with the fire, and seemed to be thinking carefully, the patriarch's female just looked at Luo Lei.

The high priest saw that everyone did not speak, but looked at him as an old man, so he sighed quietly and said, "Is this you really Arnold?"

I don't know whether it is good or bad for these primitive people to borrow a corpse to restore one's soul, but for the ancient Chinese, this is definitely an evil thing. I dare not admit it, but I can't oppose it either.

So I just lowered my head.