That night, the starlight was dim. The woods by the lake were pitch-black, and hardly any moon could be seen in the sky. Yet the Han Tribe's camp by the lake blazed with light—the glow of calcium carbide lamps.
They had long since grown accustomed to this wondrous artificial light source. The Han Tribe's camp lit calcium carbide lamps every night, and those who wanted to join the Han Tribe not only felt no fear, but were actually thrilled.
The more powerful the things displayed by the Han Tribe were, the more firmly they resolved to abandon their tribes and join the Han Tribe.
Thus, when it was around nine that night and almost everyone in the tribe had fallen asleep, the few men responsible for going out to monitor the Han Tribe all quietly returned to the tribe. They tiptoed around waking their wives and children, had them wrap themselves in animal hides, and then quietly fled under cover of darkness.
At the same time, next door to those families, four or five men were also secretly waking their wives and children. They kept things as simple as possible. They did not bring even the iron pots, iron buckets, and machetes they had traded for from the Han Tribe before. They merely felt their way to the two porcelain bowls distributed to each of them, then prepared to sneak away in the dark.
What they did not expect was that before they had even set out, there was already movement next door. One man immediately grabbed his wife and children and whispered to them,
"Don't move yet. Someone's coming out next door."
The man hid his wife and children, then quietly poked his head out to look. He discovered that it was the fellows responsible for monitoring the Han