I am a Primitive Man-Chapter 788: Bronze Speed

I am a Primitive Man-Chapter 788: Bronze Speed

Chapter 788: Bronze Speed
The early summer morning air was cool.
A thin veil of white mist spread over the wide river. Reeds and cattails, dressed in this beautiful white veil, suddenly appeared much more mysterious.
A gentle morning breeze blew, making the river sparkle with waves. Small ripples gently lapped the shore one after another. Water flowed into and out of holes made by fish, shrimp, and eels along the riverbank, producing some strange sounds.
Voices came from afar and grew closer. Birds waiting by the riverbank or in the shallow water for food were startled. They looked toward the source of the sound for a moment before spreading their wings and flying away, seeking a quiet place to be beautiful birds elsewhere.
Not long after the birds flew off, a group of people appeared at the river’s edge.
Leading the group was someone carrying a large bamboo raft with uneven edges.
Upon arriving at the riverbank, they skillfully put the rafts down and pushed them into the water.
There wasn’t just one bamboo raft — there were as many as five or six.
Once all seven or eight rafts were in the water, a raft flotilla instantly covered this relatively flat cove by the riverbank.
Then, someone came over to the raft anchored at the shore, placing several thick wooden sticks vertically across the raft, spaced evenly apart.
After finishing this, they began placing the lengths of cloth they brought onto the bamboo rafts.
They laid the hemp cloth horizontally across the wooden sticks, preventing the cloth from getting wet from water splashing up through the gaps in the bamboo.
In the busy activity, a large, round, red sun slowly but swiftly rose from the northeast, leaping into the sky.
As the sun’s color faded from blood-red, the sky brightened gradually, and the morning fog drifting on the river thinned and eventually vanished without a trace.
Meanwhile, the people on shore finished loading everything.
After a quick and straightforward farewell, the ropes tying the raft heads to the shore stakes were removed.
The person standing on the raft shouted a call, pushed the boat pole slightly toward the shore, and the raft drifted away from the riverbank, heading toward the river’s center.
After reaching a certain distance from the center, the raft turned direction and headed upstream.
Sunlight reflected on the water’s surface, scattering dazzling sparkling waves.
The Fire Tribe’s leader stood with the tribe members on shore, watching the raft flotilla stretch into a line on the sparkling river, moving farther and farther away.
Beyond faint worries, his heart was full of anticipation.
They hoped those who left with the rafts, loaded with hemp cloth, would return with delicious salt, soft clothing made from animal skins, and the golden millet cooked in water-filled clay pots that tasted wonderful…
Thinking of these things, the Fire Tribe leader couldn’t help but recall the wealthy, powerful, and kind tribe living upstream, and the wonderful changes his tribe had undergone since meeting them.
Aside from the increase in newborn children among the women during the first year of meeting this tribe, other aspects of life had also improved delightfully.
What made the Fire Tribe leader and his people happiest was the arrival of hemp and hemp cloth.
Thanks to hemp and hemp cloth, they could now obtain food even during heavy snowfalls, no longer having to hide in caves and struggle to survive on stored food in winter as before.
Now, in winter, they could turn soaked hemp skins into hemp threads inside the cave, then weave the threads into cloth.
At this time, they could also send people out with rafts carrying hemp cloth to that wealthy and friendly tribe to trade for many good things.
His tribe truly owed gratitude to that prosperous tribe — because of their arrival, life in his tribe had significantly improved compared to before…
After watching the rafts disappear around a bend upstream, the Fire Tribe leader stayed a while longer before leading those who helped carry things and see off the travelers back toward the tribe.
Near the cave, patches of lush green hemp grew about waist-high.
As they looked at the green hemp fields, all the Fire Tribe members, including the leader, showed happy expressions.
They carefully walked past the hemp fields, cautious not to accidentally step on the young plants…
At the same time, the Green Sparrow Tribe was holding a small-scale farewell.
The scale was indeed small, with only eight people leaving and about five to seven people seeing them off.
“I told Third Senior Brother, you must definitely tell him…” Han Cheng looked at the eight tribe members heading back to the Copper Mountain residential area and gave some earnest advice.
After nodding repeatedly, the group started their journey toward Copper Mountain.
Watching these eight people, who kept looking back as they slowly disappeared from view, Han Cheng felt little sorrow for the farewell — such departures had happened many times before.
Instead of sadness, Han Cheng felt a sense of happiness.
This happiness came from the tribe’s development and the growth of its people.
After nearly ten years, Han Cheng had deep feelings for the Green Sparrow Tribe — after all, it was a tribe gradually built under his guidance.
This place lacked noise and scheming but was full of united people working together.
There were shameless, disrespectful old shamans; beautiful women whose looks far surpassed those enhanced by makeup and digital editing, even surprising themselves; and his own mischievous little troublemaker…
He had already put down roots here…
Because of this, seeing good things happen for the tribe made Han Cheng so happy that he smiled like a Buddha weighing over five hundred pounds.
After standing there a while longer, since Bai Xue was pregnant with her second child, and perhaps due to excitement or some other indescribable reason, Han Cheng’s spirits were good, too.
With the same good mood, he leisurely returned to the tribe.
Some of the tribe’s women were busy extracting fibers and peeling bark, and Bai Xue, the best craftswoman, was among them.
Han Cheng went over, pulled Bai Xue aside to rest, gave his usual reminders, then walked to the hammock made of thick hemp rope tied between two trees.
Ignoring little Pea’s protests, he picked him up from the hammock and lay down himself.
As for barefoot little Pea, Han Cheng placed him on his belly.
The initially reluctant little Pea suddenly became happy, sitting on the soft “Father-brand” genuine leather sofa and grinning from ear to ear.
Sitting on the leather sofa, little Pea held a long, thin stick and clumsily poked an ant nest under a tree.
After playing enthusiastically for a while, he gradually fell silent, and the stick dropped to the ground.
Han Cheng quietly looked up and found the little one was already asleep.
Last night, Han Cheng had told little Pea the story of the crow drinking water; he only fell asleep past midnight, so feeling sleepy today was normal.
After some more fiber-extracting, Bai Xue also began to rest, following Han Cheng’s earlier advice.
She glanced around and headed toward Han Cheng’s hammock.
At this moment, Han Cheng lay on the hammock looking at the clouds in the sky. Little Pea was lying on Han Cheng’s belly, sleeping so soundly that she seemed about to drool.
With Han Cheng’s breathing, his belly rose and fell, causing little Pea on top to gently sway as if sleeping in a soft cradle.
Seeing this scene, Han Cheng suddenly understood why the little one had fallen asleep so quickly. With such a comfortable environment, he himself would surely fall asleep too!
Bai Xue, who had been walking over, stopped, and after a moment, a smile silently appeared on her face.
She looked for a while, gently touched her slightly rounded belly, and quietly approached the edge of the hammock.
After exchanging glances with Han Cheng, she reached out to pick up little Pea, intending to move her to the kang (heated bed) inside to sleep.
She worried that if they slept like this for too long, Han Cheng would feel uncomfortable being pressed down.
“It’s fine, just let him sleep here. You go get a thin hide blanket from the kang,” Han Cheng softly stopped Bai Xue.
She turned and headed to their room, returning shortly with a soft hide blanket that had been tanned.
This hide blanket was made by sewing together several hides and was similar to a thin quilt — perfect for covering oneself at this time.
Bai Xue carefully spread the animal hide blanket over little Pea and Han Cheng.
Then she said nothing, quietly standing there watching Han Cheng and the sleeping little Pea, the smile on her face refusing to fade.
After standing there for a while, Bai Xue returned to her work extracting fibers.
But unlike before, when she worked with full concentration, now she frequently glanced toward the hammock…
Han Cheng lay in the hammock, feeling calm. This time away from phones and computers, free from excessive worries, was truly beautiful.
He gently pulled the thin hide blanket, which had slipped off little Pea, back up to cover her better. He moved slightly to get more comfortable.
In this leisurely and comforting moment, Han Cheng’s thoughts drifted far away.
He didn’t force himself to think about anything, instead letting his mind wander between waking and sleeping — an enjoyable feeling.
Most of his wandering thoughts concerned the Copper Mountain residential area, as that had been the most significant recent event in the Green Sparrow Tribe.
It was time to start thinking about donkey carts.
After drifting for a while in his thoughts, Han Cheng realized this idea arose because he recalled the eight people carrying copper and tin ingots back, and remembered the experience of leading people transporting ore from Copper Mountain.
Transporting goods long distances on foot was not an easy job.
At present, when the Green Sparrow Tribe transports large amounts of food, copper, and tin ingots from Copper Mountain, it mostly happens in winter when heavy snow has fallen, using deer to pull sleds.
Because people are less busy then and sleds exist, transport volume is high and people’s workload is lighter.
But seasonal limits make this inconvenient.
At all other times except during heavy snow, sleds cannot be used.
In such cases, transport relies on human carrying or pack animals.
Obviously, such transport capacity is far less than that of sleds.
There is a solution to this dilemma: making donkey carts and deer carts.
Given they have sleds and know how to make wooden wheels, it would not be too difficult for the Green Sparrow Tribe to produce two-wheeled donkey carts.
Attaching two big wooden wheels under a sled essentially makes a basic donkey cart.
The remaining technical issues — how to secure wheels firmly, strengthen the axle and wheels to carry more weight — can be explored gradually and are not significant problems.
The real issue is not the carts or the donkeys but the roads.
Master Lu once said, “Where many people walk, a path is made,” which seems not too difficult.
But these footpaths only suit humans, not wider donkey carts.
For donkey carts to pass, a wider, flatter, and sturdier road must be built, or else the carts’ wheels will easily get stuck.
Building roads is not easy. Just look at how much manpower, material, food, and lives were spent building the Qin dynasty’s chidao (fast roads).
Qin’s chidao were national highways far beyond Han Cheng’s small project — they are hardly comparable.
But comparing the manpower and resources of the Green Sparrow Tribe to Qin’s, building such a “small project” road would still be an enormous undertaking.
Even compared to the large, tall walls built around the Green Sparrow Tribe two years ago, it’s not much easier.
Because of this, the idea of building wheeled deer or donkey carts for transport between the Green Sparrow main tribe and Copper Mountain has long been ignored by Han Cheng — whether deliberately or not.
Now, recalling it and thinking deeply again, besides the eight people returning from Copper Mountain triggering it, the most fundamental reason was that after conquering the semi-farming tribe some time ago, they gained a large number of people.
With this manpower, building a nearly 200-li (about 100 km) road between the Green Sparrow prominent tribe and the Copper Mountain residential area becomes somewhat feasible.
Moreover, once such a road is built, its function isn’t limited to transporting copper ingots and food.
Another significant effect is significantly shortening the travel time between the two places.
It would artificially “shrink” the distance between the Green Sparrow main tribe and Copper Mountain.
This function might even be more important than transport itself.
Because of this, the ties between the two tribes would become much closer.
This not only helps the central tribe control and govern the branch tribe but also allows mutual support in times of danger via the road connecting the two.
In short, such a road would break the relative isolation between the two, better unite the entire Green Sparrow Tribe, and make it tighter-knit.
After Emperor Zulong unified the six states, one primary purpose of building Qin’s chidao was to firmly control the reclaimed lands and tightly connect the six states with Qin, forming a unified country.
The Grand Canal, built by Emperor Yang of Sui, also served a similar essential purpose.
Lying on the hammock, Han Cheng leisurely pondered these things.
His earlier sleepiness gradually vanished.
As someone from the future, from history, and his era, he deeply understood the importance of roads and transport.
This road definitely needs to be built!
Once the road is completed, it will be called the Bronze Expressway — running from the Green Sparrow Tribe to the Copper Mountain residential area.
Well, calling this road an “expressway” might be a bit of an exaggeration, especially compared to the cement roads that future villages will have. It might sound like bragging that doesn’t quite match the reality.
But there’s no denying that, in this era, such a road truly holds epoch-making significance. So calling it the Bronze Expressway is not too much to say.
Of course, the biggest reason for the name is Han the Great Divine Child’s own quirky taste — or rather, his nostalgic way of recalling life in the future.
Thinking of these things, Han Cheng didn’t immediately get up to urgently discuss the plan with the shaman and the eldest brother.
Because for the Green Sparrow Tribe, this is a considerable matter. Han Cheng needed to carefully consider all aspects and not make a rash decision in a moment of excitement.
Also, little Pea was still asleep — getting up now would wake him.
With this in mind, Han Cheng lay back in the hammock and continued mulling over the idea of the Bronze Expressway.
Compared to his recent calm and carefree mood, Han Cheng’s mind was no longer so peaceful.
Could this be what they call “the sea embraces all rivers, greatness lies in tolerance; a wall standing a thousand fathoms, strength comes from desirelessness”?
Too bad Bai Xue had settled on the name, and it wasn’t very rich in meaning — otherwise, calling it “Tolerant Sister” Expressway wouldn’t be bad either…
With these thoughts, Han Cheng gradually fell asleep. During this time, Bai Xue came over once, saw that the father and son were sleeping soundly, and didn’t disturb them.
She quietly adjusted the animal hide blanket covering them, then sat nearby, tilting her head with a smile for a while before quietly leaving to continue extracting fibers.
Little Pea woke up, slowly sat up, rubbed his eyes with his chubby little hands, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, and looked a bit dazed.
“Dad, dad…”
After a while, little Pea started calling out to the still-sleeping Han Cheng.
Han Cheng placed little Pea on the ground, got down from the hammock, and stretched vigorously, his bones making cracking sounds.
This hammock, woven with rough hemp rope, was fine for lying and playing for a while, but not suitable for sleeping long hours.
Han Cheng’s sore back and waist were testimony to that lesson learned firsthand.
Standing still for a bit, feeling a bit dizzy, Han Cheng shook his head and splashed half a basin of clear water on his face, feeling much more awake.
Without wiping the water off, still dripping, he walked to the space between the inner and outer walls, looked towards the rabbit pen, but seeing no sign of the shaman, he didn’t ask anyone and instead went out of the courtyard toward the fields.
Sure enough, before long, Han Cheng found the shaman squatting in a field, using a small bronze shovel with a wooden handle to weed the millet field.
The weeds he shoveled were left on the ground, but the bigger grass was picked up and piled together to feed the rabbits later.
Seeing the shaman working so diligently, Han Cheng’s face, rare for him, warmed with a bit of embarrassment, thinking back to his nap in the hammock.
But that heat quickly faded.
Han Cheng comforted himself — his nap was well worth it, since before sleeping, he had thought about donkey carts and the Bronze Expressway, which was far more beneficial to the tribe than pulling weeds.
Feeling justified and a little proud, he thought, “This nap wasn’t just sleep — it was exhausting myself for the tribe’s development!”
Indeed, for one’s peace of mind and happiness, besides “thinking well,” shamelessness is sometimes necessary…
The millet seedlings in the field had grown past ankle height. Han Cheng walked up near the shaman and squatted on a ridge, pulling weeds while discussing donkey carts and the Bronze Expressway with him.
As Han Cheng spoke, the shaman’s weeding slowed and finally stopped.
Han Cheng knew this wasn’t a quick matter, so he suggested they find a shady spot to continue talking.
The shaman’s face was bright with joy throughout.
This wasn’t because he immediately understood Han Cheng’s ideas. Still, from experience, he knew that whenever Han Cheng spoke seriously about something, it meant the upcoming task would be crucial and bring significant benefits to the tribe.
After spending some time grasping the gist of Han Cheng’s plans, the shaman couldn’t help but grin broadly, revealing his missing teeth.
“Divine Child, this road must be built quickly…”
The shaman, true to this era’s style, was decisive and action-oriented — once he understood the benefits of the road and carts, he was eager to start immediately.
However, Han Cheng didn’t rush to gather people and announce the project.
Building a wide road wasn’t just a matter of starting — it required a series of preparations.
For example, determining the road’s width, route, tools, and materials all needed to be decided first.
Fortunately, the Copper Mountain residential area was getting on track; grain production and other related activities were not fully developed, and transportation demand and pressure between the two places were not high.
The tribe had enough time to undertake this long, labor- and resource-intensive project.
The route planning could wait; the most urgent task was to build the donkey carts first.
Only after making the carts could the road width be determined appropriately.
According to Han Cheng’s plan, the road would be wide enough for two donkey carts to drive side by side, with some extra width for future development.
This was forward-thinking.
The Green Sparrow main tribe was close to the Salt Mountain, and the Copper Mountain area was adjacent to Copper Mountain — both resources were strategically vital to the tribe.
As long as these resources did not run dry, the Green Sparrow main tribe and the Copper Mountain branch would not decline; instead, both places would grow more prosperous.
As for when these resources might be depleted — judging by current mining speeds and consumption — Han Cheng believed that was decades or longer away.
With prosperity, demand for the road would only increase.
By then, the tribe might have acquired larger livestock such as cattle and horses, which could pull even bigger carts than donkeys.
If the road wasn’t built wide enough, in the future, when two large carts met, they might not pass each other without expanding the road — which would waste time and effort.
Han Cheng and the shaman arrived at the carpenter’s workshop, where Carpenter Lame and several other master woodworkers and weavers were sitting in the shade outside, weaving rattan armor.
Rattan armor weaving was complex and required high-quality materials, so progress was slow.
Even a master like Lame could weave only two suits per day at best; usually one and a half.
Apprentices typically made one suit a day, sometimes less.
This was under the condition that someone specialized in collecting and processing rattan vines.
If Lame and the others had to collect rattan themselves, the speed would be slower.
Though slow, they believed “slow and steady” was better than nothing.
Thanks to Lame and five apprentices’ tireless efforts, the tribe now has nearly a hundred suits of rattan armor.
For the Green Sparrow Tribe’s population and the typical size of tribes at this time, nearly a hundred suits could form an armored unit!
“Divine Child! Shaman!”
“Divine Child! Shaman!”
As Han Cheng and the shaman arrived, everyone stood up to greet them.
Han Cheng smiled and waved them off to keep weaving, then walked over to Lame.
After watching Lame weave a bit, he patted him on the shoulder, signaling for him to come along.
Lame put down the half-finished rattan armor he was weaving and got up to follow Han Cheng and the shaman to the building in the tribe where the sleds and wheelbarrows were stored.
Well, once the donkey carts are made, this place could be called a parking lot…
Han Cheng didn’t explain these things to Lame right in front of the carpenter’s workshop, partly because standing here by the sleds and wheelbarrows allowed a more intuitive explanation about the donkey carts, helping Lame get a clearer picture.
Another reason was to avoid distracting the other apprentices, so they wouldn’t be interrupted from weaving the rattan armor.
Hmm, in essence, Han the Great Divine Child also really enjoys watching others work hard…
As Han Cheng explained, Lame’s initially somewhat bewildered eyes—caused by seeing two big shots from the tribe, Han Cheng and the shaman, come together—began to shine more and more brightly, almost as if light was flickering within them.
Filled with excitement, Lame looked at the many sleds stored here, then at the wheelbarrows over there, and kept rubbing his hands back and forth in excitement.
So clever!
The Divine Child is truly so clever!
Lame had always felt deep regret that sleds could only be used during heavy snow, but that regret remained only regret—he had never thought of a way to fix it.
But now, with just a few light words from the Divine Child, the problem was solved.
If a wheelbarrow with a wheel could be pushed and run, why hadn’t he thought to put wheels on a sled?
This way, even without snow, the tribe’s animals could pull these wheeled sleds.
And a single sled could carry more goods than four wheelbarrows combined.
Once these were made, then…
“Divine Child!”
The more he thought about it, the more excited Lame became. He came before Han Cheng, bowed deeply, and respectfully called out, expressing his profound admiration…

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Chapter 788: Bronze Speed