Chapter 093: The Scarlet-Tailed Black Fowl

On the second day after sowing, the Han tribe gradually resumed its normal routine.

The Cripple continued crafting pottery, and Luo Chong selected a few of the older children among the new tribe members to assist him. The newly fired pottery had to be sufficient for the new members' daily use, while also ensuring a surplus for trade with other tribes.

Meanwhile, Monkey, Big Mouth, and the brothers Big Mao and Second Mao were tirelessly refining copper. At twelve years old, they were barely considered adults. Luo Chong planned to expand the number of workers in copper smelting and was currently selecting candidates.

The hunters, now equipped with bows and bronze-tipped spears, had no trouble securing prey. More often than not, the game they hunted exceeded the tribe's daily consumption. As temperatures rose, preserving food became a challenge, and on such occasions, the hunting team had to forgo their excursions the following day to prevent wastage.

But they couldn't remain idle. Luo Chong assigned them new tasks: some were sent to the back of the mountain to collect the thorns of the man-eating trees. These were crucial for making arrows, a strategic resource akin to ammunition in the cold-weapon era—stockpiling them was essential. Additionally, they needed to cultivate more man-eating trees. These plants, when their thorns were carried away by animals, would take root and grow. Once they reached a thickness of three or four centimeters, they could be used as spear shafts. Unfortunately, the young trees suitable for harvesting in the back mountain had been exhausted, making cultivation necessary. Luo Chong instructed them to plant the collected thorns near the small river and irrigate them daily with fresh fish blood and entrails, hoping to accelerate their growth.

Another group was assigned to continue felling trees—keeping the trunks for construction and drying the branches for firewood.

The remaining hunters were given a rather peculiar mission: catching chickens.

Yes, Luo Chong intended to expand the tribe's livestock, and poultry was the perfect choice. First, the Han tribe had no domesticated birds. Second, bird feathers were essential for crafting arrows, another strategic reserve. The biggest bottleneck in arrow production was not the shafts or the metal tips—it was the feathers. Relying on wild birds for feathers every time they needed to craft arrows was unsustainable. Domestication was the logical solution.

Luo Chong had spotted several potential species in the forested hills. One was the flightless dodo, which was easy to catch but unappetizing. However, for primitive people, no source of meat was to be wasted. There were also grouse and guinea fowl. But the species that intrigued Luo Chong the most was a turkey-like bird.

This bird was large, standing nearly as tall as a person's knee. It could fly, but only for short distances, mostly gliding at low altitudes. Omnivorous, it fed on fresh grass, wild greens, nuts, berries, and insects. Its eggs were a pale green color, sized between a duck egg and a goose egg. Luo Chong named it the Scarlet-Tailed Black Fowl, a fitting description.

The bird had a vivid red comb and two dangling red wattles on either side of its beak. Its neck was featherless, resembling a vulture, while the rest of its body was covered in black plumage. However, its tail feathers and primary wing feathers were a striking scarlet. When it fanned out its tail, it somewhat resembled a peacock—though its tail was much shorter, only about twenty centimeters. This made its feathers ideal for fletching arrows. Furthermore, it was an excellent source of meat, had a high yield, and wasn't picky about food—making it highly suitable for domestication.

Luo Chong decided that this would be the primary species for poultry farming. To increase the capture rate, he instructed the women to weave circular nets from the bark peeled off arrow shafts. Small stones were tied around the edges as weights. When they spotted these birds, they would simply toss the nets over them, significantly improving their chances of capture.

A new home was also being prepared for the Scarlet-Tailed Black Fowl. Luo Chong designated an area beside the rabbit enclosure. Using bricks, wooden poles, and thatch, they constructed a row of coops. Around the perimeter, they built a fence of closely spaced branches, standing about as tall as a person. The top was left uncovered since, upon capture, the birds' flight feathers and tail feathers would be plucked—rendering them flightless.

For now, the birds were fed a diet of wild greens and grass. Since their numbers were still low—fewer than twenty—the demand for feed was minimal. Children were tasked with foraging, gathering food from the grasslands west of the tribe. Luo Chong had previously scattered grass seeds in that area, and now the alfalfa and ryegrass had grown tall, providing ample feed for both the chickens and the rabbits.

On the third day after planting, as soon as Luo Chong stepped out of the fort, he spotted the elder and the Rat Shaman animatedly discussing something. The two old men had always been early risers, a common trait among the elderly.

Luo Chong was on his way to wash up at the artificial river when the elder and the shaman called out to him.

"Chief, come quick! The rice—you said it would grow, and it has!"

"The rice has sprouted? Are you serious?"

Luo Chong, still groggy, suddenly snapped awake. He bolted toward the rice fields, his heart pounding.

Sure enough, in the seedling bed, countless tiny green shoots had broken through the soil, stretching toward the sky.

"Yes! Yes! It really grew! I can eat rice again!" Luo Chong's voice trembled as he gazed at the tender sprouts, his emotions welling up.

"Chief, are you… alright?" The elder noticed Luo Chong's expression, puzzled by the sudden surge of emotion.

"Huh? Oh… I'm fine! Just… happy, that's all." Luo Chong quickly composed himself and turned to the two elders. "Listen, I need you both to spread the word: No one is allowed to walk through the fields. If anyone tramples these seedlings, they'll go a whole day without food. Have the children keep an eye on the livestock and wolf cubs—none of them are allowed near the fields. If someone disobeys, they go hungry for a day. If anyone dares to destroy our food, I will take their share of food away. Make sure everyone in the tribe knows."

"We'll tell everyone during breakfast," the elder nodded in agreement.

"Chief, should we build a fence around the fields with branches?" the Rat Shaman suggested.

"No need—that's a waste of manpower and time. Just enforce my decree, and it'll be enough." Luo Chong waved off the idea.

During breakfast, the tribe was informed of the new rule. No one objected. They all understood the value of food. If anything, they were eager to protect it.

One should never underestimate how much primitive people valued food. They had known hunger all their lives. It was only under Luo Chong's leadership that their situation had improved. If they saw modern people wasting food, they would probably beat them to death. In this tribe, no one would dare leave a single grain of rice uneaten.

By the seventh day, the peanuts and chili peppers had also sprouted. The rice had grown its first leaf, and the entire field shimmered with lush green vitality.

The Scarlet-Tailed Black Fowl population had grown to over thirty, and the rabbits were about to give birth. As Luo Chong surveyed the enclosures, his mind drifted to the four-wheeled cart they had yet to build.

The tribe was thriving, but there was still much work to be done.