Improvements

Long'er and a dozen or so companions rummaged around for most of the day without finding anything else useful. Still, finding an earthenware pot to cook food in was enough to satisfy them.

He led his companions to the riverside again, where they found some clay. Hoping to learn how to make earthenware pots himself, he joined the others in shaping plenty of pots from the clay.

Everyone gathered a great heap of dry branches to fire the earthenware pots.

The next day, he brought everyone back to the place where they had fired the pots.

When they broke open the earth sealing the firing pit, they found that many had shattered, but they also recovered some intact bowls and pots. Now they had things to eat from and cook with. Everyone was delighted.

From then on, they could use this method to make more earthenware pots and no longer worry about lacking everyday utensils.

Their biggest problem now was finding food. The snares they used to catch pheasants and wild rabbits were quite effective.

But those were no long-term solution, merely a way to get through their immediate difficulties.

The best way to solve their food problem was to bring down large game. Wild boars roamed the mountain in packs; how could they be easy to catch?

Relying on those little bows and arrows would only send them to their deaths. Those wild boars were ferocious.

Their best option was to set traps and lure the wild boars into them.

Long'er chose four companions who could run fast and climb trees: Shitou, Linzi, Xiaoniu, and Daniu. The five of them headed up the mountain, taking the three daggers along.

Long'er's mother reminded them over and over that it did not matter how much game they caught-they had to stay safe.

Long'er's mother and everyone else were worried, but such a large group needed to fill their bellies every day. Where else could their food come from? They could only swallow their anguish and let the boys go up the mountain to find some food.

His companions all followed Wenlong's instructions as they built traps to intercept the boars. It took them most of the day to build just two traps, leaving all five so exhausted that they slumped on the ground, gasping for breath.

Only after a long while did they get up to find wild fruit to fill their stomachs. They also put some wild fruit inside the traps as bait.

Wenlong repeatedly checked how sturdy the traps were. He had no confidence that they could withstand a wild boar's charge.

On their way back, they found that their snares had caught more than a dozen wild rabbits and pheasants. The five happily carried their game home, sweeping away the gloom of the past few days as they returned to the cave, talking and laughing.

Over the past few days, treatment with medicine and nourishment from pheasant soup had helped their fathers and uncles recover considerably. They could now sit up in bed and talk.

Seeing everyone doing well eased much of Long'er's worry. He stayed silent off to one side, preoccupied with his thoughts. We have to gather more food and store it away. Once winter comes, finding food will be much harder.

The next morning, Long'er again took Shitou and the other three with him to check whether any game had wandered into the traps they had set the day before.

The five reached the first trap and saw that the wooden stakes inside had been knocked every which way. Their hearts sank. It still had not been sturdy enough to hold the animal.

They hurried to the second trap, only to see from afar that it, too, had toppled to one side. All five instantly wilted like deflated balloons, their heads drooping in dejection.

Long'er went closer and noticed movement. Only then did he discover that a young wild boar was still trapped inside, and all five immediately regained their spirits.

Long'er drew his dagger, leaped into the trap, and stabbed the young boar furiously.

His ferocity stunned the others. Long'er paid no heed to anything else; he would finish off the young boar first.

While the others stood there in shock, the young boar was already on its last breath, unable to get up. Long'er shouted for everyone to get to work reinforcing the trap. Next time, they had to hold a full-grown boar. Only then did the four stunned companions snap out of it.

They helped reinforce the traps, then picked some wild fruit and placed it inside. After strengthening them, they inspected both traps again. They seemed reasonably sound. Now they would have to see whether they could trap another wild boar tomorrow.

Everyone was delighted as they looked at the young boar, which weighed nearly thirty jin. They hoisted their catch and went to collect the game from their snares.

The snares yielded about as much as they had the day before. Today's haul thrilled everyone-they had come back laden with game.

His companions were all delighted, because this was the most game they had caught in a single outing since arriving here, and their largest catch yet.