Chapter 30 – Ke’s Gif (2/2)

“Hey, is this stone crock for Ah-Xuan?” Lang Ga asked something obviously apparent, just to change a subject.

“Yes. Old Ke made it for Ah-Xuan especially.” As Ge explained, he emphasized “Old Ke” and “especially” while looking at Shao Xuan constantly.

From Ge’s understanding of Old Ke, the old fellow must have been very satisfied with Shao Xuan. In the past, Old Ke had also planned to take in some apprentices and teach them seriously, however, it was such a shame that none of the kids were good enough. They were either too impatient, or too indecisive. Some did not even dare to swing the hammer once they were dealing with some fine stone cores. Old Ke directly drove them away and he never spoke to them again. Many would say that Old Ke was too harsh on the others, however, the fact was, he was merely too disappointed.

Yet, after such a long time, Ke had finally found a satisfying apprentice. But he kept his poker face up all day long. If he drove Shao Xuan away this time, how could he find a better person to inherit his skills? Even Ge felt anxious about the situation for him.

In fact, the very night that Shao Xuan had awakened, Ke asked Ge to find a proper big stone after the ritual ceremony was over. He worked for two nights and made this stone crock.

This crock was almost the same size as the one that Ge used to deliver food to the orphan cave every day. However, this one was a much better workmanship. The edge of the stone crock was nearly the same thickness, and the inner side of the crock was polished very smoothly. While on the outside, not only was it polished properly, it was vividly carved with some pictures and patterns as well, including natural scenery, birds, and animals. There were some animals that Shao Xuan had not seen before, Ke had probably seen them when he went out for hunting in the past.

Normally, Ke focused more on a stoneware’s practical use, and seldom decorated it with art. Now, seeing the stone crock he made for Shao Xuan, one could understand how much he valued him.

“This is such a nice stone crock!” Lang Ga and the others said with admiration as they surrounded the stone crock.

Even though all of them valued the practical use more, and a stone crock was no big deal, who wouldn’t like better looking stoneware?

Not only was the stone crock large in size, with patterns carved on it, but it also had a matching stone cover. Usually, many families would cover their stone crock with animal skins, straw mats, or with a piece of stone plate. Rarely did they have a cover that especially matched the crock. Even the two young warriors that lived in the mountainside district had no such cover back in their homes.

“Indeed! What a nice crock! I have lived for all these years, yet the stone crock in my house is not as good as this one.” Ge added.

“This Ke you’re talking about… Is he the one who used to be famous for setting traps?” Ang asked, he had come to Shao Xuan’s place with Lang Ga.

“Yes, that’s the one.” Lang Ga nodded.

“I heard that many people used to learn the crafting skills from Ke, but later on…” Ang did not finish his story.

“Later on what?”

“Later on, all apprentices that followed Ke for his skills, were either pushed away by his bad temper, or were driven away by force from him. Gradually, no one approached him to learn anymore, and Ke moved down to the mountain foot district, where he now lives.”

Ke was indeed very famous in the tribe, but now he was rarely spoken of by others.

“Old Ke is very skillful. He is harsh, but you can learn useful stuff from him.” Ge told Shao Xuan seriously, which was quite rare.

“Oh, are you learning from Ke now, Ah-Xuan? Hang in there! Ke really was awesome back in his day!”

Lang Ga, in order to encourage Shao Xuan, shared his own story of when he was learning to set ground bows from his grandfather. Back then, his grandfather rained down curses on his head like hell. Not only was he being yelled at, but he also got beaten up sometimes. Lang Ga’s grandfather was an excellent warrior, and Lang Ga could never escape from his grandfather’s hands.

Other kids would mock him every time they saw him get beat up. At that time Lang Ga felt very ashamed of himself, and secretly blamed his grandfather for everything. However, as time went by, and Lang Ga became a real warrior, he finally realized his grandfather’s care and thought.

When they were hunting in the forest, ground bows were not considered as direct-killing weapons, however, they were critical to the mission as well. Just because of the fact that Lang Ga was quite skillful in setting ground traps, he was quickly accepted by the hunting team. And every time when food was distributed, Lang Ga would get quite a big part of it. At least he was getting more food than the others with a similar level.

“Mastering more skills means that you will have a smoother road than the others. It’s not only about your position within a hunting team. If I may say some unlucky words, once you get wounded and lose an arm or a leg, like old Ke and me, you will no longer be able to join any hunting missions in the future. With more skills, you can live an easier life in the tribe and keep yourself away from starvation.” Said Ge.

So, Lang Ga and Ge both agreed on the theory that you should keep it going even when being yelled at like hell. You should grasp the opportunity and try to learn as much as possible. It’s best to absorb all your master’s skills! Not to mention that Ke had a lot of good stuff to teach. There was so much to learn!

At their words, Shao Xuan nodded solemnly, “I know what you are talking about. When you want to learn things from someone, you must acquire many qualities, and having no sense of shame must be the most important quality of yours.”