Deep into the Swamp (Part 1)

Heaven knows how excited, wronged, and homesick Luo Chong was the moment he saw the rice grains. It directly led to his breakdown in tears. A man doesn't shed tears easily, only when he's truly heartbroken.

A perfectly fine young man died before even getting married, then inexplicably ended up in this godforsaken place, becoming a primitive. No vegetable oil, no vegetables, no seasonings, no iron pots, no rice or flour. It was just grilled meat or meat broth every day; he was practically sick of it.

While he could adapt to eating meat every day, that didn't mean he didn't want to eat staples.

Luo Chong wiped away his tears, smacked his forehead, and realized: rice grains are rice, and isn't rice just wild rice? Wild rice should naturally grow in swamps. Swamps are nature's best natural rice paddies! Why didn't he think of this sooner?

Finding it was a decision that required no thought. How could he ignore the first food crop he'd discovered in this world?

The rice grains in the goose's stomach had their husks corroded, revealing the rice inside. Luo Chong didn't know if this kind of rice could be planted and grown, so he had to find intact seeds.

Moreover, he had never seen this kind of rice before. Each grain was a bit bigger than a mung bean. He didn't know if it was because it hadn't been polished and processed by modern machinery, but one grain was equivalent to two or three grains of modern rice. However, he absolutely believed it was wild rice.

After finishing the roast goose, there was no rest time that night. Luo Chong was busy making equipment to go deep into the swamp. He had to harvest those rice grains before the animals did. Even collecting one extra grain could turn into hundreds the following year.

He gathered materials on the spot in the mangrove forest, cutting some long branches and saplings about two centimeters in diameter with the Stone Axe. He tied them together to form a spindle-shaped dugout canoe frame, pointed at both ends and wide in the middle. He covered the bottom with that huge silver Lungfish skin. The fish skin was waterproof, and wrapped around the branch frame, it became a simple dugout canoe.

Considering it needed to carry a lot of things, he made it quite large, four and a half meters long and about 80 centimeters wide, divided into three compartments: front, middle, and back. The person would sit in the middle, and items would be placed at both ends. This was also the maximum size the fish skin allowed; using the diagonal length of the rectangular fish skin as the boat's length was just right.

This kind of dugout canoe was very light; he could lift it with one hand. He had made one before, but back then he used plastic sheeting and willow branches; now he was using fish skin. This simple dugout canoe could even be made with cling film; just wrap a couple more layers, and it could still carry a person. It was very simple and practical.

He also found some thin tree vines and wove several vine mats. Two smaller ones were 50 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide. They could be tied to his feet to walk in the swamp. By tying his feet in the middle of these simple flippers, the distance between his feet would be about 20 centimeters. Although it was a bit awkward, it didn't affect walking and could reduce pressure. Being able to avoid sinking into the swamp was the key.

There was also a larger vine mat, half a meter wide and one and a half meters long. This was the final safeguard. If he accidentally fell down, he could place this large vine mat under his body, which would definitely save his life.

After finishing these, Luo Chong checked his equipment while building a fence for the Blue Antelope. The fence was simple: just erect a few wooden stakes and attach some horizontal logs.

It was a simple sheep pen with pasture and a small stream, enough for them to eat for one day. He wouldn't stay in the swamp until dark.

The next morning, Luo Chong drank a bowl of goose meat soup in the mist, cut some 6-meter tall Sweet Elephant Grass for Wuda and Ximen, and set off with his simple dugout canoe.

He found a slightly deeper spot in the water, put down the dugout canoe, and paddled into the depths of the swamp wetland with a simple paddle shaped like an inverted 'Y' and covered with a layer of snakeskin.

Meanwhile, in the Black Forest, Dashu of the Tree Tribe was leading his clansmen to catch Snow Rabbits. Now they weren't just hunting at night; they were even starting to catch rabbits during the day.

Because he had promised Luo Chong to help him catch live Snow Rabbits, but they also had to store food for the winter. Although Luo Chong promised he would exchange other prey, what if he didn't? What they held in their own hands was theirs. It wasn't that Dashu didn't trust Luo Chong, but as the Chieftain, he absolutely couldn't gamble with the lives of his clansmen.

To meet the needs of Luo Chong and his own tribe, almost the entire Tree Tribe was mobilized. Only the Elder and children under six were left to guard the home. The rest were either catching rabbits, gathering mushrooms, or collecting some grass that Snow Rabbits liked to eat; this was reserved for the rabbits.

To increase production, Dashu was no longer satisfied with baiting and trapping. He even started forceful eviction. After finding a rabbit hole, he would directly start digging. If they didn't come out, he would use fire or smoke. He actually caught quite a few, and even caught several nests of recently born little rabbits.

This result was unexpected by Luo Chong; otherwise, he would have definitely thanked Dashu properly. But even more unexpected was that Dashu and his group encountered some enemies while hunting.

In autumn, every tribe needs to store food, and the Cannibal Tribe is no exception. Their food is people, live people. Men can be eaten; women can be kept to have children or do work. Humans, this animal, have no sharp fangs or claws, no thick and sturdy fur, and they don't run fast; they are the easiest to catch.

On the day Luo Chong went deep into the swamp, a hunting team from a Cannibal Tribe encountered Dashu's group. This team was composed entirely of adult males, numbering forty, and they were actually riding two Dinophants. The two Dinophants weren't large, only slightly taller than humans, and hadn't reached adulthood yet; they were likely captured and raised from a young age.

Their weapons were all Stone Axes and wooden spears, making them formidable in combat. Compared to them, the Tree Tribe, even with all the men, women, and children combined, didn't have as many people, let alone that the other side were all adult males.

The reason for their encounter was the fire Dashu used to smoke out the rabbit holes, which attracted them.

Facing such a powerful enemy, Dashu chose to run away immediately. Are you kidding? Should he go and fight them head-on with tree branches? The other side could kill him with one axe, not to mention they came riding Dinophants; those monsters looked terrifying.

Dashu relied on fighting on his home ground—no, wait, running away—because he was familiar with the terrain. So he immediately gathered his clansmen to escape. The Cannibal Tribe pursued closely behind. Dashu deliberately chose difficult paths, so the enemy couldn't catch up for a while, but some people still fell behind.

A little girl who came out to help gather mushrooms, only nine years old, tripped over a tree root while running because she was scared and fell behind. As a result, an axe thrown from behind hit her back, and then an enemy caught up and stabbed her to death with a spear. A group of savage cannibals laughed and gathered around to drink her blood.

Dashu's eyes turned red with rage, and his teeth ground together, but he didn't stop. He knew he was absolutely no match. Even if the entire tribe fought together, they would only be at the mercy of the enemy.

Because of the dead little girl, the enemy's pursuit finally paused for a moment. Dashu quickly returned to the tribe's treehouse and told Elder Tree about the incident.

The enemy was too strong; they couldn't fight them at all. The only option was to migrate, but they had lived in this Black Forest for generations. Where could they move to? They didn't know much about the outside world.

Mutong suggested finding Luo Chong. Back then, Luo Chong left a feathered arrow and said they could go to his tribe for help if they had difficulties. Moreover, judging solely by the weapons Luo Chong used, his tribe should be very powerful.

Dashu also agreed with this idea, but they didn't know where Luo Chong's tribe was, only that it was on the other side of the river. How could they get help?

Seeing that the enemy was about to reach their doorstep, Elder Tree finally made a decision: he would have Dashu lead the clansmen east into the Black Forest to find Luo Chong, while he himself would stay behind to delay the enemy. Anyway, he was about to die and couldn't walk anymore, so he wouldn't be a burden to his clansmen.

Dashu nodded sadly and hurriedly had everyone pack their belongings.

Each person in the Tree Tribe wore a single animal skin and carried only a small amount of dried meat; they couldn't carry more. They carried all the wooden barrels in the tribe on their backs; containers were the most valuable things. Many live rabbits were also packed in the wooden barrels; these were what Luo Chong specifically requested. Dashu also hoped Luo Chong would help them for the sake of these rabbits; this could be considered leverage.

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Thanks to the book friend 'Ice Cloud Speaking Moon' for the tip. Thanks for the support.

Still asking for votes (^_^) The super serious kind