Chapter 3 - Zhou Ji (1/2)
Ch3 - Zhou Ji
Xiong Ye’s father was the former tribal chief and was once the strongest man in the tribe. Unfortunately, this man, who had awakened as a brown bear just like Xiong Ye, had died when Xiong Ye was just five years old.
After giving birth to him, Xiong Ye’s mother continued on to have five more children with different people. Four of them survived, and although his mother was very strong, she couldn’t always look after Xiong Ye. So after Xiong Ye awakened his animal form when he was ten, he took the initiative to move out of his mother’s cave and lived in the big communal cave with the other children who had left their parents, the elderly, and the disabled who couldn’t hunt.
These children, elderly, and disabled could obtain the most basic food allocation from the tribe, and at the same time, were required to do some basic gathering work or other chores.
For example, during this season, there were very few plants that could be collected, so they went to gather firewood or other things from areas nearby.
They didn’t have to do too much work, and when they were free, the elderly and the disabled would generally lay down in the valley or in the cave to conserve their physical strength. Some of the children would also do the same, but Xiong Ye was different.
Although his father died relatively early, he still remembered when his father used to take him out hunting. Back then, he had thought that when he grew up, he would become as powerful as his father, become the tribal chief, and make it so that the people of the tribe didn’t have to go hungry.
Since he wanted to become the tribal chief, he certainly couldn’t act like everyone else and do nothing simply because he was hungry - his father had instructed him to eat more and exercise more!
People in the tribe were very friendly towards the children. The elderly weren’t stingy about teaching and sharing their experience with them, and before Xiong Ye turned ten, he liked to ask them about what it was like outside. He learned how to fish, how to set traps, and even learned what kind of insects were edible. After he turned ten, he tried even harder to find a way to learn from them whenever he had a chance.
He even had the cheek to shamelessly help Grandpa Priest with his work in exchange for food.
The food distributed by the tribe would ensure that they didn’t starve to death and would grow up, but it was impossible for them to eat well. However, Xiong Ye knew how to get around and could always feed himself well. Later, he met Shi Li. The two of them clicked instantly and began to scavenge for food everywhere together.
It was because of this that he had already become one of the most powerful warriors in the tribe right after reaching adulthood - just having a strong beast form didn’t necessarily mean he would become a powerful warrior!
After eating the lesser half of the Lesothosaurus, Xiong Ye returned to his cave where there was a lot of wood piled up at the entrance.
His cave was very empty. There was nothing inside except for a stone bowl and stone axe that he had made himself.
Before winter last year, he had stored a lot of food and hay in the cave, but after winter had passed, the food was all gone, and the hay had become dirty.
He had just thrown the hay away the other day, and now the cave seemed particularly desolate.
He planned to marry Shi Li and become mates. Shi Li’s cave would be given to Shi Li’s mother and younger brother to live in, and he would definitely move in here. In that case, this cave was really a bit shabby.
Xiong Ye looked at the pile of wood that was lying in the sun by the entrance, then brought some of it into the cave before turning into animal form so he could strip the bark off with his claws.
The bark he peeled off was piled up in the corner since it could be used for the fire in the future. The remaining tree trunks were then laid down in the innermost part of the cave.
The cave was too cold and sleeping on the bare ground wasn’t comfortable at all. They would normally lay something on the ground and sleep on top of it.
He used to sleep alone, so it was enough to casually lay down some hay, but there would be two of them in the future… Xiong Ye felt that he should be a little more particular, so he set up a layer of wood according to Grandpa Hou’s instructions and created a nest - in the future, when they added a mat made of hay and dinosaur leather on top, it would become very comfortable to sleep on.
Additionally, he could use wood to make some tables and stools… He could go and get some more wood tonight.
After Xiong Ye laid out seven or eight pieces of wood, he heard his uncle’s voice calling from outside, “Distributing meat!”
Upon hearing this call, he snatched up the stone bowl lying in the corner and practically flew outside. The rest of the tribe reacted just as quickly as he did.
This was a habit they had developed from childhood - no matter how busy they were, they couldn’t miss meals!
Every day, the happiest time for everyone was when it was time to eat.
The hunting team had a bountiful harvest today and everyone could obtain a big piece of meat. As the chief of the tribe, Xiong Ye’s uncle, Xiong He, was responsible for dividing up the meat.
First, he cut off a piece of the liver and a piece of the most tender part of the meat, and sent it to the priest. Then, he divided the rest of the meat among the tribe.
The elderly and the children consciously made way so that the hunting team could go up and collect their meat first.
The hunting team, men and women alike, would be given more meat. Those who had made large contributions would receive additional rewards for their efforts. When it was Xiong Ye’s turn, Xiong He not only gave him a large piece of raw meat, he also gave him a portion of the Struthiomimus’ heart.
Xiong Ye accepted it, then went to the bonfire and barbecued the meat for himself.
People came up beside him, one after another, and roasted their meat around the fire with him, but… Shi Li didn’t come.
Xiong Ye stood up and tried to look for him in the crowd.
Although Shi Li liked to sleep, he had never missed out on the division of meat before. Sometimes, he would even begin to eat the meat before it was cooked… Why wasn’t he here today?
However, he couldn’t find Shi Li, and could only spot Yang Ying and Yang Su.
Xiong Ye walked over and saw that Yang Ying and Yang Su were currently roasting meat. It was a very large piece of meat, and the two of them wouldn’t have received that much on their own, so it had to include Shi Li’s share… Xiong Ye asked, “Where’s Shi Li?”
Yang Ying glanced at Xiong Ye. Since there were outsiders present, he was very polite to Xiong Ye, “He’s sleeping. He had us come out and help him get his share of the food.”
Xiong Ye originally wanted to ask Shi Li to go with him to cut down some trees that night, but since Shi Li wanted to sleep and didn’t even come out to eat… He’ll just go by himself.
When the time comes, he can give Shi Li a surprise.
Xiong Ye returned to his spot by the fire and ate a quarter of his portion of meat, planning to bring the rest back to his cave.
He liked to store food. He had finished everything he’d stocked up over the winter, and in truth, he couldn’t get used to not having anything saved up… Tomorrow, he definitely needed to find a way to bring back a big one!
There were many people who were like Xiong Ye and saved up their share of the food. Some would only eat a fifth or less - the hunting team wouldn’t be going out to hunt tomorrow, so no meat would be shared amongst the tribe the next day.
Not to mention, there was bone soup to drink today.
They boiled the Struthiomimus bones with some wild vegetables to make soup. Although the taste wasn’t very good, people could still fill their bellies by drinking it!
But Xiong Ye didn’t go get soup-he didn’t like to eat grass.
Night had come, and the bonfire in the square had gone out. Xiong Ye took the remainder of the meat back to his cave and stored it away, then left the cave with his stone axe and headed towards the exit that led to the mountains.