Fertile Fields by the Stream
Spring has truly arrived, and the stream flows merrily. The Fire Tribe is able to cultivate so many paddy fields entirely thanks to this stream. The fields are built right next to the stream, a location that has been exceptionally well chosen.
Simply being near the stream wasn't enough. Wang Yan led his men to dig several Little Water along the Daxi. These ditches followed the terrain, winding and meandering around the paddy fields. This made irrigation much more convenient, eliminating the need to carry water bucket by bucket.
What amazed everyone even more was that Wang Yan had also devised ten small wooden waterwheels that would work automatically.
These waterwheels are simple to make; they are made of wood wheels with a bamboo tube tied around them. When the waterwheel is placed in a fast-flowing stream, the current makes the wheel turn by itself. When the bamboo tube is turned to the bottom, it fills with water, and when it turns to the top, the water automatically pours out. Next to it are bamboo tubes with hollowed-out joints, and the water flows down the bamboo tubes into the irrigation ditch.
"Look! The water is rising by itself!" When the tribespeople first saw the waterwheel working, they all gathered around to see this amazing sight.
This thing is so useful! When there's a drought, or when the fields desperately need water, just put the waterwheel in the stream, and water will flow continuously into the irrigation canal, filling dozens of small ponds nearby. When not in use, you can simply lift the waterwheel out and store it away—it's so easy!
The old men stroked their beards and nodded repeatedly. "How does Yan, this child, have so many good ideas!"
After finishing the spring plowing, Wang Yan went to see his father, Jianshi.
"Father, we need to continue cultivating the land," Wang Yan said, pointing to the uncultivated areas in the valley. "While everyone is still working hard, let's cultivate another thousand mu of paddy fields. By autumn, we'll have two thousand mu of rice!"
Jianshi now obeys his son's every word. "Okay! We'll do it your way!"
In fact, it wouldn't be a problem to cultivate 10,000 mu of paddy fields along this stream in the valley of the Fire Tribe. With proper planning, 20,000 mu could be developed. This doesn't even include vegetable gardens and orchards. All in all, hundreds of thousands of mu of land could be developed and utilized. In addition to continuing to cultivate a new 1,000 mu of paddy fields, everyone is also busy in their spare time.
The kiln for firing pottery was constantly emitting smoke. Now that the tribe has more people, the need for pots, pans, and bowls has also increased. The extra pottery is stored away so that it can be traded with the Fish Tribe when it's time to make a deal.
They also secretly make salt, but only for their own use, never exchanging it. This is a tribal secret. Salting meat allows it to be preserved for a long time without spoiling, ensuring its survival through the winter.
What made Wang Yan happiest was that last year he actually managed to exchange for a kind of seed called "soybean" at the Fish Tribe. Although there wasn't much, only enough to plant half an acre of land, Wang Yan treated it like a treasure.
"These beans," he carefully put away, "We'll keep ninety percent of them as seeds after the summer harvest, so we can plant even more in the summer."
He had another clever use for the remaining beans. He remembered his knowledge from his previous life: he could use soybean milk to purify coarse salt. The salt the tribe was currently eating was bitter and astringent, and some of its components were bad for their health if consumed for a long time. The tribespeople had short lifespans not only because of food and clothing shortages and lack of medicine for illnesses, but also because of their long-term consumption of this coarse salt.
Once we have a large quantity of soybeans, we can make fine, white salt that will be healthier for everyone.
Wang Yan also obtained some good things in exchange—wild onions, wild garlic, wild chili peppers, and wild ginger.
The first time these were used to make fish soup, the entire tribe smelled a unique aroma.
"What's that smell? It smells so good!" Everyone sniffed hard.
Upon tasting it, they exclaimed, "This fish soup is so delicious!"
With these spices, not only fish, but other meats also taste much better. Now, Wang Yan is encouraging everyone to plant more of these spices in their vegetable gardens.
Today, the Fire Tribe has nearly 2,000 acres of vegetable gardens and almost 1,000 fruit trees. It's not that they don't want to plant more, but they simply don't have the capacity.
The tools everyone used were made of bone, wood, or Shitou, making their work inefficient. Although the tribe had over a thousand people, there were just too many things to do: farming, raising livestock, hunting, building houses, making tools... There were simply not enough people to go around.
Wang Yan watched his busy tribesmen and thought to himself: If only we had harder metal tools, it would be great, but unfortunately we haven't even seen a trace of copper ore yet.
But that's enough for now. Looking at the newly reclaimed fields, watching the waterwheels irrigate automatically, and smelling the aroma of food wafting from the pot, Wang Yan felt at ease.
The Fire Tribe is getting better every day, and that's enough. As for the rest, we'll take it slow; it will come eventually.