Hidden Talents

Zhou Xu's first lesson for the tribe members was how to twist bark into rope.

It wasn't difficult; basically, anyone who paid a little attention could master it quickly.

However, based on their learning speed, he could roughly tell which ones were more adept at this kind of handicraft.

"Alright, you few, go help gather branches and tear bark."

Through this observational method, Zhou Xu directly replaced the tribe members who weren't very good at this task.

After all, besides handicrafts, there were still many things to do within their tribe.

For example, standing guard, gathering branches, tearing bark, tending the fire, and so on.

Putting aside guard duty and tending the fire for now.

At this moment, their demand for branches was still quite high.

Not only for tearing bark, but more importantly, to obtain sufficient Freshwater resources and keep the Fire Pit burning, they needed a continuous supply of wood as fuel.

Under this premise, the temperature would definitely drop after nightfall.

In fact, he was already feeling a chill at this moment.

And with about thirty of them, one Fire Pit wouldn't be enough; at least two were needed.

Now that they had successfully ignited a fire, this was a minor issue.

After roughly teaching them how to twist bark into rope, Zhou Xu took some time to build another Stone Stove on the other side of the tribe using the stones they had found, and started a fire for the tribe members to keep warm.

Unfortunately, there was only one Gourd Pot at the moment, and they couldn't find suitable bone plates either. Otherwise, Zhou Xu wouldn't mind creating another 'Freshwater Extraction Device'; this would increase their efficiency in obtaining Freshwater.

At the same time, this matter also made him realize another problem.

[With so many mouths to feed in the entire tribe, we can't rely on boiling everything every time we want to get Freshwater, can we?]

[If we can't create two sets of devices to increase the extraction speed, then we can only rely on storing more during normal times, which means we need containers.]

Thinking of this, Zhou Xu's gaze swept over those gourd bowls again.

Their quantity and capacity were limited, and considering future needs, they were simply not enough.

[I need to think of a way. For containers, using that bone dagger, I wonder if I can carve out a wooden bowl, but before that, I still need to find wood with sufficient thickness and width.]

Zhou Xu thought as he glanced at the distant Black Forest.

The trees in the Black Forest were thick enough, but the problem now was that to do this, he would have to cut down large trees first to get the main trunk wood, and even later consider the issue of splitting the wood.

To accomplish these things, they would definitely need a tool, and that was an axe!

Bone was not suitable for making an axe.

On one hand, they couldn't find bones of the right shape. Looking at the weapons in the hands of the tribe members, they were mainly daggers and bone spears, with no sign of axes at all.

On the other hand, the strength of the bones they currently possessed was probably inferior to that of more common stones. If they were forced to use them as axes, the bone parts would likely shatter during chopping.

Compared to stones, which were easier to find, this would be an unnecessary loss.

[A stone axe is definitely necessary, but even if we make a stone axe and cut down trees, it still feels very difficult to carve out a wooden bowl.]

Clearly, upon closer thought, Zhou Xu realized that under the current circumstances, creating a wooden bowl would be much more difficult than he had imagined.

And as for whether there was anything else that could be used as a substitute...

[Pottery?]

One of the important milestones in entering the New Stone Age in the games he used to play was the development of pottery making.

Unfortunately, he couldn't achieve this goal by clicking the mouse a couple of times or tapping the keyboard right now.

Zhou Xu hadn't studied pottery making at all, but! He had played with mud by the river when he was a child.

Pottery was fired from clay; this was common knowledge, and he knew that. As for where to find clay...

Based on the superficial experience of playing with mud by the river when he was a child, it would be by the river and in the river.

The mud in the river, due to being submerged in river water for a long time and being washed by the current, was very fine and sticky, making it easy to shape.

Of course, he couldn't get to this task for now; it was more urgent to make traps and solve the tribe's food problem.

After they had finished making most of the bark ropes, he began to teach the tribe members how to weave baskets from bark.

Needless to say, he was going to make simple basket traps. When he was a child, he and his playmates mainly used these to catch birds.

He had also considered making rope traps, but he wasn't familiar with those. Weaving baskets was something he was more comfortable with; at least, it wouldn't go wrong.

In the current environment, there wasn't much room for error. What he wanted now was stability.

As for what to put under the trap as bait later?

He had already planned for that: he would use the insect heads and entrails that they had plucked off and didn't eat, making full use of everything.

Considering efficiency, these baskets could be woven with gaps, not too dense. Anyway, the target was mice, and as long as the mice couldn't get out, it would save some effort and bark.

Essentially, it wasn't a very complicated thing. Moreover, the members who were weaving baskets with him now were those he had carefully selected multiple times; they could be considered the most Nimble Hands in the tribe.

After a few demonstrations, they basically understood. At most, they would need his occasional guidance when necessary.

Unlike the other tasks before, with this handicraft, once Zhou Xu got into the zone, his hands could move perfectly even without looking, a testament to practice making perfect.

This also gave Zhou Xu some free time, allowing him to shift his attention to the system that occasionally appeared.

[If there's a system, can I open a panel or something?]

Almost as soon as this thought flashed through his mind, Zhou Xu felt his vision blur, and a virtual interface suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Name: Zhou Xu

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Race: Human Race

Status: Hungry

True Word: Eye of Insight

Talent: Evolutionary Leader: Survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle, is the eternal and unchanging law of this world. Only through continuous evolution can one stand tall in the torrent of civilization! Lead your people to complete a great evolution!

Valor: ★★☆

Intelligence: ★★☆☆

Spirit: ★★★☆☆

Stamina: ★★☆☆

Command: ★☆☆☆☆

Subordinates: 31

Territory: Salt Lake Tribe

Looking at his attribute panel, as a modern person who had played quite a few games, Zhou Xu could basically understand the star rating.

If his judgment was correct, the filled-in solid stars should represent the current strength of his various attributes, while the empty stars should represent the future growth potential.

Putting aside other attributes for now, as he had a somewhat realistic understanding of himself, the Command attribute with a maximum of five stars truly surprised even him.

[I didn't expect to have this hidden talent?]

Update delivered. Thank you to book friends '慢慢来1998', 'crazybaggio', '乀时光旅者', 'firmament', 'fatefate', '残丨泪丶', '吾心安处是吾家', 'x悖言y' for their rewards and to everyone for their monthly tickets and recommendations~