This Is My Primitive Tribe-Chapter 73 - 68: Numbers and Cutting Planting

In the second year of the founding of the Vine Tribe, January 6th, night.

"Scrape, scrape, scrape..."

In the bamboo house, Jiang Xuan found ten logs, each about one person tall and ten centimeters in diameter, and carved numbers on every log.

He carved decimal Arabic numerals from zero to one hundred. It was no small task, and he had started three days ago, only finishing today.

"Finally finished carving!"

Jiang Xuan carved the last number, then put away the now blunt little Stone Knife, and stood up to stretch.

Next to him, Nan Xing curiously asked, "Leader, what exactly are these things you carved?"

Chi Shao, Gou Teng, and Shi Qiu also gathered around, having been quite curious for some time.

Jiang Xuan said, "These are called numbers, symbols used for counting. For example, we have ten fingers which correspond to the most basic numbers from ’1’ to 10."

"In the past, when you counted, you would use your fingers, and if the things were a bit more, it was hard to keep track, right?"

"If you learn these numbers, you won’t need to use your fingers anymore, and you can easily count a large number of things."

Chi Shao’s eyes brightened, and she said, "Leader, I want to learn!"

As the Witch, Chi Shao needed to keep track of the number of people and resources in the tribe.

But just as Jiang Xuan said, because she hadn’t learned arithmetic, she could only count them one by one using her fingers.

In the past, it wasn’t a big deal because the Vine Tribe had few people and things, so even using her fingers, she could easily count them.

But now, as the number of people in the Vine Tribe and the quantity of things increased, Chi Shao felt it becoming more challenging and could only estimate roughly.

For this reason, hearing Jiang Xuan’s explanation, she was eager to learn this kind of number and arithmetic.

Jiang Xuan said, "Actually, these numbers are very simple and easy to remember. I’ve carved all numbers from one to one hundred on the pillars, and if you look at them a few times each day, you’ll quickly learn them."

"Come, let me first teach you to recognize these numbers..."

Jiang Xuan patiently taught Chi Shao and the others the ten Arabic numerals from "0" to "9," and explained in detail how to use decimal numbers by pointing to the numbers on the pillars.

Then, he gathered a pile of small wooden sticks to teach them the most basic addition and subtraction.

After they learned addition and subtraction, he had them memorize the "Nine Nine Multiplication Table" and learn multiplication and division.

Of course, this was a lengthy process, and Jiang Xuan got a taste of the teacher’s frustrations.

"Shi Qiu, when you write ’3,’ can you not write it backwards?"

"Nan Xing, how did you come to the conclusion that 7+7=11?"

...

Of course, there were excellent students, namely Chi Shao.

Not only did Chi Shao have a talent for drawing, but she was also talented in arithmetic. She learned to write from one to one hundred in just two days and perform simple addition and subtraction.

Feeling happy, Jiang Xuan specially used wild boar bristles and Fish Swim Bladder Glue, along with reed sticks, to make a few simple Beast Hair Brushes, allowing Chi Shao to write more conveniently on Beast Skin Scrolls.

When Jiang Xuan finished teaching Chi Shao and went on to teach Gou Teng and Shi Qiu, he clearly felt his blood pressure rise, and he couldn’t help but want to open their heads to see what was inside.

Perhaps this is the difference between a poor student and a top student.

Once Chi Shao and the others learned the numbers, Jiang Xuan began to promote numbers and arithmetic to other tribe members, ordering everyone to learn them.

Initially, the Vine Tribe was filled with wails.

Many people wouldn’t flinch if you gave them a spear to fight to the death with prey, but asking them to write with a small pen made them scratch their heads and sit on pins and needles.

Even if the feet of a Seven-Colored Pheasant were dipped in paint and ran over the Beast Hide, it would look better than the few numbers they painstakingly wrote.

Fortunately, they weren’t children and weren’t truly foolish. After forcing themselves to learn for a while, they all managed to learn simple addition and subtraction.

As for the more than a hundred Wanderers, they hadn’t yet become true members of the Vine Tribe and weren’t eligible to learn numbers.

Jiang Xuan divided them into three groups, each group having about forty people.

The first group of Wanderers was responsible for gathering various edible plants and digging up fruit tree seedlings near the Vine Tribe.

The second group of Wanderers was tasked with following Gan Song to plow the land, clear fields, plant grains and vegetables, and dig drainage ditches.

The third group of Wanderers was responsible for setting up fishing traps, making fish cages, and catching fish and shrimp.

As for the true members of the Vine Tribe, they mainly focused on hunting and safeguarding the tribe’s safety.

Peaceful days always pass quickly; a month went by in the blink of an eye.

At the beginning of February, the weather gradually warmed, the trees on the mountain sprouted a lot of buds, and the ground was dotted with wildflowers of various colors, which were very beautiful.

There was also more rain, and countless spring bamboo shoots sprouted from the ground in the bamboo forest behind the Vine Tribe, growing rapidly.

"Dig out those that don’t grow well or are in the way, and leave the good ones to grow into bamboo."

In the bamboo forest, Jiang Xuan dug up the bamboo shoots that sprouted on the path to the altar with his Bone Plow.

Behind him, there were quite a few Wanderers following. They gazed at the distant altar with reverence while cautiously removing the bamboo shoots that were growing crookedly or in the path within the bamboo forest.

Some of these bamboo shoots would be eaten immediately, while the uneaten ones would have their shells removed, be cooked in a Pottery Cauldron, then torn into strips and dried into bamboo shoot jerky, to be consumed slowly over time.

The bamboo shoots that weren’t dug out would, in a short time, grow into large bamboos reaching ten meters, even twenty or thirty meters high, which could later be cut down to make various tools.

After digging out bamboo shoots, Jiang Xuan continued to refine the dangerous plant defense lines on the north and south sides of the tribe.

The first to be removed were the eight seedlings of the Thunder Tree.

Last year, when capturing the Earth Armor Beast, Jiang Xuan detonated a bunch of Thunder Fruit, and the terrifying explosive power still gave him chills.

If the Thunder Tree were planted alongside other dangerous plants, the exploding Thunder Fruit could destroy these other plants, causing significant gaps in the plant defense line.

However, the bark and trunk of the Thunder Tree were extraordinarily hard, useful for making tools and weapons, and Thunder Fruit, if used well, could be a formidable weapon.

Jiang Xuan didn’t plan to give up planting Thunder Trees, but just moved them to a place far from the plant defense lines.

As for the Head-Biting Flower, Whip Tree, and other dangerous plants, Jiang Xuan continued to fertilize and cultivate them to form a barrier against the invasion of beasts and outsiders.

"Oh, there’s also the Cage Vine."

Jiang Xuan had once been trapped by the Cage Vine, and he found this dangerous plant quite fascinating.

The vines of Cage Vine were unusually tough and contained paralytic toxins, making them excellent if used properly.

However, near the Vine Tribe, to date, Jiang Xuan had only found one Cage Vine—the same one that had trapped him, which Chi Shao had cut down to rescue him.

Jiang Xuan, along with two Warriors, traversed mountains and found the Cage Vine.

"Wow, it’s grown so quickly!"

When Jiang Xuan saw the Cage Vine again, he found it had regrown into a vine net spread across the ground waiting for prey to pass above it.

One Warrior asked, "Chief, should we dig it up and take it back?"

Jiang Xuan shook his head and said, "No need. This Cage Vine has been growing for many years, its underground roots must be numerous, making it very difficult to unearth entirely. If the roots are few, it might die."

"Then what do we do?" The two Warriors looked at each other, uncertain.

Jiang Xuan observed the newly grown vines of the Cage Vine and noticed that some had a few aerial roots which absorbed nutrients from the soil.

"Get two logs, press down the vines on the ground, and cut away those new aerial-rooted vines. Let’s try propagating by cuttings."

The two Warriors immediately found two thick logs nearby, then together pressed them down onto the Cage Vine on the ground.

The poor Cage Vine, having never faced such a situation before, its vines thrashing around wildly, twisting and trying to close up, but it couldn’t rise.

Even the vines with thorns couldn’t prick the two Warriors, as they remained pressed and couldn’t reach far.

"Hey hey, settled now?"

Jiang Xuan took out a sharp Stone Knife and cut the struggling aerial-rooted Cage Vines, then wrapped the cut end in a clump of moist earth and placed it into a Beast Hide Bag.

The cut vines twitched few times before gradually calming, looking no different from ordinary vines.

Jiang Xuan cut a total of nine aerial-rooted vines, then tightened the Beast Hide Bag and said, rejuvenated, "Let’s go back to the tribe."

The two Warriors removed the logs from the Cage Vine, and instantly all the vines wrapped upwards into a round cage.

However, with many vines cut by Jiang Xuan, the cage had some obvious gaps.

The poor Cage Vine, like a decent girl bullied, silently wept in the forest.

Meanwhile, jiang Xuan, the initiator, was already walking away with two Warriors.

Upon returning to the tribe, Jiang Xuan planted the nine vines wrapped in soil in the designated plant defense line.

Whether these vines would successfully root, sprout, and grow into new Cage Vine plants would depend on luck.

February 8th, noon.

"Boom boom boom!"

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the first spring thunder of the year roared, waking the various bugs underground.

Jiang Xuan once again carved the words "Awakening of Insects" onto his Calendar Bamboo Tube.

"Last year’s first thunder was on February 5th, this year it’s February 8th. The timing is still quite close."

Jiang Xuan was quite satisfied with this result, as it showed that the world’s weather has its patterns, which greatly helped his calendar-making.

Jiang Xuan believed that one day, he could create a calendar that truly fits this world.

...

Here’s the update on progress.

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