Chapter 7: 7

Chapter 7: Making Bone Plows

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Now that they had a house, storing food became a priority.

It was autumn now, and there were many wild fruits and vegetables on the mountain. There was also a lot of prey, so there was naturally no need to worry about food.

However, Jiang Xuan knew from his memories that it would snow in the Southern Wilderness.

Once winter arrived and the snow sealed off the mountains, it would be very difficult to find food.

If they did not stock up food for the winter in advance, they would face the risk of starving to death.

Therefore, they had to store enough food in advance to deal with the coming winter.

Jiang Xuan thought for a long time and focused on digging for roots and fishing.

The roots of plants were durable, and fish could be raised in a pond until winter. Once it snowed, there was no need to worry about the food rotting.

Most importantly, these two foods were relatively easy to obtain, and they were in abundance.

If he wanted to forage for root plants and dig a pond, he would have to make suitable digging tools. Otherwise, how long would it take to dig with sticks and hands?

Jiang Xuan thought about it carefully and finally decided to make two bone plows.

The bone plow looked like a shovel. It was a tool used by the tribe to dig soil.

The materials required to make the bone plow were: the shoulder blades of an even-legged animal, sharp stones for drilling, a straight wooden pole, and ropes for binding and securing.

These materials were not difficult to obtain.

The lasso trap that Chi Shao set a few days ago had caught a green muntjac that looked like a deer with very short horns. The meat had been eaten, but the bones were left behind. Among them were two very wide shoulder blades.

The shoulder blades of even-legged animals were roughly triangular. They naturally looked like shovels and were the tribe’s first choice for bone plows.

Jiang Xuan found these two shoulder blades and brought them to the stream. He found a rough stone and started to grind the bones.

“Cha cha cha…”

By the stream, Jiang Xuan was grinding a shoulder blade with all his might. From time to time, he would pour some water on it with a bamboo tube to wash away the bone powder on the stone.

“Xuan, why are you grinding the beast bones?”

Chi Shao walked over curiously and asked Jiang Xuan.

“To make a bone plow.”

“Do you know how to make bone plows?” Chi Shao looked at him in surprise.

“I’ve seen people from the tribe do it before. I want to try it. If it works, it will be much more convenient for us to dig traps and look for wild vegetables in the future.”

As Jiang Xuan spoke, he continued to grind. The beast bone was relatively hard. It would take a long time and a lot of effort to grind it flat.

Chi Shao saw another shoulder blade beside Jiang Xuan, so she picked it up and said, “Let me help you grind this one.”

“Good!”

Jiang Xuan did not decline. If he had to grind these two shoulder blades himself, it would probably take an entire day.

With Chi Shao’s help, the time could be halved.

“Xuan, let us help too.”

Hook Vine, Stone Loach, and South Star also came over. Everyone wanted to contribute.

Jiang Xuan said, “South Star, go and help me buff a few ropes. I want the bark strands to be thin and strong enough.”

“Okay, I’ll go right away.”

South Star ran immediately to find suitable thin tree bark to buff into ropes. This was something that the children in the tribe had done since they were young. It was not complicated.

A 10-year-old was at his most demonstrative. He was happy to help others.

Jiang Xuan said to Hook Vine and Stone Loach, “Go and help me cut down two small trees. Choose the ones that can be used to make stone spears. The trunks should be as thick as three fingers.”

“Okay, let’s go and cut now.”

There were many bushes outside the bamboo forest. Some of them were very tough and suitable for making spears and wooden handles for bone plows.

Hook Vine and Stone Loach found a few sharp-edged gravel by the stream and then went to cut down trees.

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The five of them gathered the materials for making two bone plows in half a day.

The shoulder blades were worn flat. The wide end was worn thin and sharp. Four holes were drilled in the center with sharp stones, two on each side, for threading ropes to secure the wooden pole.

A thin rope woven from tree bark had been buffed. Jiang Xuan was very satisfied with the rope.

The two straight little trees had also been cut. Hook Vine and Stone Loach had also peeled the bark and used stones to flatten the surface to make wooden poles.

Everything was ready. The rest was up to Jiang Xuan.

Could he make it? Chi Shao and the three youths were looking forward to it.

“Let’s begin!”

Jiang Xuan took all the materials into the bamboo house and rubbed his hands excitedly. Then he began to make bone plows.

Actually, it was best to use the two wooden poles after they were dried. This way, they would not crack or warp easily. However, Jiang Xuan could not wait that long.

He placed the wooden pole on the fire pit and used the flames to bake quickly.

After the wooden pole was burned, its surface water quickly evaporated and then it carbonized.

After the surface of the wooden pole was slightly charred, Jiang Xuan moved the wooden pole away from the fire pit and glanced at the slightly curved area. He wanted to straighten it while it was hot.

After the wooden pole cooled down, it was basically fixed. It was not easy to change shape again.

Then Jiang Xuan cut one side of the bottom of the wooden pole into a flat surface with sharp gravel blocks. This way, it could better match the smooth shoulder blades. On the other side, he cut two grooves to secure the rope.

If there were no grooves and the bone plow was used with a little more force, the rope would easily shift and loosen.

After dealing with the wooden pole, Jiang Xuan placed the flat side of the wooden pole on his shoulder blade. He continued to cut the uneven part until it fit perfectly.

Then, using the thin rope he had rubbed together, he passed it through the hole drilled in his shoulder blade and wrapped it around the groove on the wooden pole. Then, he wrapped it and tied it layer by layer.

Each time he wrapped it, the two ropes crossed. By the time he finished wrapping the rope and tying the knot, the wooden pole and shoulder blades were tightly tied together.

“Done!”

Jiang Xuan held the bone plow with both hands and tried to swing it a few times. It felt very smooth, and he was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

“Xuan, you’re really amazing. You can do anything!”

Hook Vine, Stone Loach, and South Star looked at Jiang Xuan in admiration.

Jiang Xuan built a bamboo house, made bamboo beds, and now constructed a bone plow. He was really amazing.

Jiang Xuan was also quite proud in his heart. He said humbly, “It’s all thanks to everyone’s help. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to do it alone.”

“That’s not right…”

Chi Shao frowned slightly. She looked at the bone plow that Jiang Xuan had made and felt that it was still lacking something.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Xuan asked in surprise.

Chi Shao pointed to a spot a few inches above where the shoulder blade met the wooden pole. “Here, there’s still a short horizontal pole missing. As I recall, it’s a bone wedge that can be stepped on with one’s foot. It saves energy.”

Jiang Xuan thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case. He said in shame, “I forgot about the horizontal bar. Thanks to Sister’s reminder, I’ll add it now.”

The ends of the small tree that Hook Vine and Stone Loach had cut down were still there. Jiang Xuan used sharp stones to cut down two sections, each about 20 centimeters long.

He skinned and roasted the two sections of the short pole. Then he shaved and fitted one side of the long pole and the contact side of the short pole. He cut out grooves on the other side. Then he tied the long pole and the short pole tightly together with thin rope.

After he was done, Jiang Xuan checked it first before handing the bone ingot to Chi Shao. “Sister, do you see any flaws?”

Chi Shao placed the bone plow on the ground and stepped on the short pole. With the help of her feet, the shovel of bone plow quickly sank into the soil. She pressed down on the long pole and a piece of soil was easily lifted.

Chi Shao smiled in satisfaction. “Xuan, you did well. This is as good as the bone plows I used in the tribe.”

Having obtained his sister’s approval, Jiang Xuan finally heaved a sigh of relief and smiled happily.

The three youths also took turns to try using the bone plow. They admired Jiang Xuan even more because in the tribe, the people who knew how to create these tools were usually adult warriors.

After learning from the experience of making the first bone plow, Jiang Xuan successfully created the second bone plow.

With these two bone plows, Jiang Xuan could finally carry out his next plan—fishing.

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