I am a Primitive Man-Chapter 831: The Island in the Lake
Chapter 831 – The Island in the Lake
Shaman sat on the donkey cart, feeling the scenery on both sides slowly recede. He watched the tribe in the distance shrink gradually, and the people standing at the tribe’s edge to see them off grew smaller and smaller. His earlier unease had vanished entirely.
At this moment, his heart was calm.
The Divine Child had spoken very wisely. They indeed needed to give the younger members of the tribe a chance to handle responsibilities, to experience, and grow.
Only when they matured, when more and more tribe members could handle essential tasks, would the tribe prosper further.
Making mistakes now wasn’t terrible—so long as the Divine Child and he were there to support them, nothing could go seriously wrong.
If they didn’t nurture the tribe members at this time, then when the time came and he or others were gone…
Of course, the primary concern was whether he himself would be gone. Could Shi Tou become a competent next-generation shaman? After all, the Divine Child was still very young—not much older than Shi Tou.
It seemed that in the future, during tribal rituals, Shi Tou should participate directly alongside him.
As the donkey cart traveled west along the Bronze Highway, Shaman quietly made this decision in his heart.
The further the cart went, the more novel the scenery became for Shaman, Yuan, and the other eight people traveling this way for the first time. Leaving familiar lands, walking through unknown territory, everything appeared fresh and exciting.
Shaman had never traveled so far before. In his memory, the furthest he had gone was with Eldest Senior Brother and the others, retrieving the Divine Child from the wild, far from the tribe.
Now, with his worries set aside, he rode the donkey cart along the Bronze Highway, feeling exceptionally happy—an unfamiliar feeling he had never experienced before.
Especially knowing this territory belonged to the Green Sparrow Tribe, his heart swelled with pride.
Han Cheng sometimes rode the donkey cart too, but more often he walked, finding walking more comfortable than sitting on the cart—so long as he wasn’t tired.
Little Pea, experiencing such an expedition for the first time, was overjoyed. He ran back and forth beside Han Cheng, shouting excitedly.
When tired, he rode on the back of the panda Tuantuan, letting the panda carry him while continuing to shout and play.
After a while, Shaman and Yuan would also get off the cart to stretch their legs.
Little Xing’er, cradled in Bai Xue’s arms, stared at the sky with wide, dark eyes. Clouds drifting above or birds flying past immediately captured her attention.
Fu Jiang walked beside Han Cheng, carrying three squirrels—though it was unclear whether he regarded them as pets or food.
Altogether, it was a strange procession: humans, donkeys, deer, dogs, a panda, and three squirrels.
In the gentle early summer breeze, the group moved forward. Han Cheng glanced at Shaman sitting beside Yuan on the donkey cart, at Bai Xue holding Little Xing’er on another cart, and at his son riding the panda beside him. He couldn’t help but smile, deep joy radiating from his heart.
This was true relaxation—leisurely traveling with loved ones, without worrying about being led into places demanding spending, tricked into buying fake goods, or mocked for refusing.
Finally, a trip meant to unwind truly.
By evening, they reached the newly built Tongfu Inn. They unloaded supplies; the deer and donkey were unharnessed.
Some prepared dinner, others tended to the animals.
Shaman looked around the inn, unable to hide his delight. This was also their tribe’s territory. Even so far from the main tribe, there were still things belonging to them!
Seeing Tongfu Inn made Shaman eager to visit the Copper Mountain Residential Area.
If a newly built inn could be so impressive, how grand would the long-established Copper Mountain area, with many permanent residents, be?
Hearing about it was never as good as seeing it firsthand.
At this moment, Shaman regretted not traveling before. But luckily, the Divine Child had brought him out. Otherwise, he might have grown old and never seen these tribal lands—an honest regret.
With Han Cheng and the others’ arrival, the originally quiet Tongfu Inn instantly became lively.
Night fell, and everyone rested. The wind blew, pine trees whispered, and the jingling of bells on the donkeys and deer punctuated the night’s quiet.
The next morning, Shaman and Han Cheng collected the fish traps set in the river the previous night.
“There’s fish! There’s fish!”
Shaman pulled the rope tied to a trap, and as he drew it in, the fish inside stirred, tugging on the rope. Excited, Shaman increased his effort, and soon the trap emerged, revealing lively fish jumping inside.
Shaman didn’t ask for help, carried the trap ashore, and emptied it.
Suddenly, the scene was lively: seven or eight fish of varying sizes, transparent shrimp flipping about, two eels, two palm-sized turtles, and a bumpy toad.
This catch was abundant. Shaman, like a child, gleefully collected everything with some of the tribe’s minors, delighting in the harvest.
Empty traps were returned to the water to catch more fish.
The fish and shrimp would feed the workers building bridges and houses that day.
Shaman and most of the group were thrilled—after previous shortages, they hadn’t seen such an abundant catch in a long time.
Han Cheng was excited too, but slightly helpless—now that the Bronze Highway was gradually complete, with nearby lakes and rivers, the main tribe’s pond had become less significant.
Still, this fleeting frustration vanished, replaced by complete delight.
These lakes and rivers could sustain the tribe even in disasters that severely reduced the food supply.
After handling the morning catch, Han Cheng, Bai Xue, Shaman, Yuan, and the others left the Longmen Inn construction site, heading north to Wild Duck Lake.
“Flap, flap~”
“Quack, quack~!”
Their arrival startled wild ducks and other waterfowl.
A flurry of wings rose into the air, forming a black cloud of birds, before landing some distance from the shore, quacking and fluttering, while some dived underwater and resurfaced elsewhere.
Shaman stared at the vast water, speechless.
Not just Shaman—all the first-time visitors were astonished—the sheer expanse of the lake was unlike anything they had ever seen.
Even Bai Xue, raised along a river in the Fire Tribe, was awestruck—the river’s width could never compare to this view.
“How many fish must be in here! How many fish!”
Shaman muttered, immediately thinking of the potential bounty for the tribe, not the scenery as Han Cheng did.
“Eggs! Eggs! Wild duck eggs!”
A minor shouted excitedly, holding two greenish, speckled eggs and jumping with joy.
The shout broke the awe, and others began poking the grass with sticks, hoping for similar surprises.
Han Cheng took Little Xing’er from Bai Xue, and she, with Little Pea, joined the egg hunt, delightfully childlike despite being mothers.
They were as excited as people seeing snow for the first time.
Han Cheng held Little Xing’er, speaking nonsense to her, smiling widely. Though neither understood the other, their communication was undeniably joyful.
“Shaman, let’s go to the island in the lake and take a look?”
In the afternoon, sitting by the lake, after eating some roasted wild duck eggs and grilled fish, Han Cheng pointed to an island in Wild Duck Lake.
The island was not far from the southern shore, roughly less than two li away.
From a distance, the side facing Han Cheng’s group was rocky, with trees behind, and birds occasionally took flight.
Han Cheng had noticed this island last year during a survey, but hadn’t visited due to time constraints.
Now, with more leisure, he decided to explore it.
Shaman naturally agreed—he already considered Wild Duck Lake part of his tribe’s territory.
Since it belonged to the tribe, it was necessary to understand it well, just as he had always measured the tribe’s land with his footsteps.
After making this decision, Han Cheng and Shaman returned, knowing that swimming across was impossible. They needed rafts or boats.
Upon returning, Han Cheng halted house construction temporarily and began cutting trees from the surroundings to build rafts.
Rafts were chosen over boats because they were easier to make.
As the workers built rafts, Han Cheng himself also wielded an axe, chopping continuously.
Sections of wood roughly the size of a bowl were tightly bound with rope.
These were Han Cheng’s primitive version of life jackets.
Though simple, the wood’s lightness ensured sufficient buoyancy.
Once finished, volunteers tested them in waist-deep water, confirming they could float fully.
With enough manpower and experience, the tribe quickly completed four large rafts.
Each raft was over two meters wide and more than three meters long. Fences were built around the edges to prevent falling into the water.
Posts at the front and back held oars slanted across them.
Due to their size, the rafts were very heavy—several people couldn’t lift them. Third Senior Brother and others, red-faced from effort, called for more help.
After six more people joined, the raft was finally lifted, and Han Cheng stopped adding more.
Next, they placed logs about 1.5 meters apart from the rafts to the lake’s edge, lifting the raft slightly with wooden poles.
This reduced the rafts’ weight and allowed them to be slid into the lake easily.
The workers cheered as the rafts touched the water.
The Divine Child had again solved a practical problem with wisdom, teaching them a new method.
With this experience, the remaining three rafts were launched without difficulty.
Once in the water, the rafts didn’t immediately head to the island. They first tested in shallow water, ensuring safety before sailing entirely.
Han Cheng carefully selected the first passengers for the rafts.
Elders, children, the physically weak, or those without previous experience on rafts were not brought along.
The rafts were stocked with weapons: vine shields, bows and arrows, bronze spears.
Since they had never been to the island, they didn’t know what might be there, so bringing weapons was prudent.
Besides weapons and primitive life vests, they also placed large split planks and coils of hemp rope.
These were for safety—if anyone fell into the water, they could throw a plank to hold onto, then use a rope with a small wooden block attached to pull them back.
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Chapter 831: The Island in the Lake
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