Chapter 124: The Painful Rapeseed
Chapter 124: The Painful Rapeseed
Chapter 124: The Painful Rapeseed
The weather was getting warmer daily, and things that had been silent throughout the winter were now enthusiastically bursting.
Of course, some had already burst forth, such as the Deer Lord, whose dull fur made it appear listless, and the members of the Green Sparrow tribe.
These days, Han Cheng likes to run to the west side beyond the enclosure whenever he has nothing to do. There, a vibrant green expanse unfolded under the warm spring sun, releasing its passionate vibes.
The warm sunlight lazily enveloped the earth, creating a dazzling golden carpet of tiny, yellow flowers. They huddled together, forming a dreamlike tapestry.
Bees and various butterflies, having received news from an unknown source, buzzed around, arguing to compete for the title of flower thief.
Han Cheng stood there quietly, watching, with a somewhat foolish smile.
Without deliberately taking a deep breath, the unique fragrance of rapeseed flowers naturally entered his nose.
It was as if he wanted to marinate the tribe's chief in the fragrance of flowers, just like how the people of the Green Sparrow tribe marinated salted fish.
Han Cheng regretted not having a mobile phone to take a few beautiful pictures and share them on social media, but he had to ignore his current attire of animal skins.
"Woo, woo, woo."
Fu Jiang crouched on the ground, exerting force with all four limbs and pushing its butt backward to resist the shameless act of its master tying a rope around its neck.
Only after Han Cheng walked back and kicked its butt twice did this guy look at Han Cheng with resentment. It reluctantly stood up, drooping its head, and followed Han Cheng with a powerless demeanor, heading towards the sea of flowers.
There was a reason for Han Cheng tying a rope around Fu Jiang. This guy now followed him everywhere like a loyal dog. No matter where Han Cheng went, it stuck to him like glue.
When the rapeseeds began to bloom a few days ago, Han Cheng joyfully approached the rapeseed field to check the selected rapeseed plants earmarked for seed preservation. However, Fu Jiang was frolicking in the rapeseed field, knocking down a swath of rapeseed. Han Cheng, feeling heartache, refrained from the impulse to eat wolf meat that evening. Instead, he grabbed its ears and pulled it out of the rapeseed field. After kicking its butt several times, he decisively tied a rope around its neck.
Since then, every time Han Cheng visited the rapeseed field, Fu Jiang's neck had to be tied with a rope.
Han Cheng deliberately left several paths for easy traversal in the rapeseed field.
Even though the rapeseeds had grown now, careful traversal was still possible. However, it was unavoidable to get some yellow pollen on the body.
Han Cheng stopped at the end of a flower path where two or three dozen rapeseed plants grew exceptionally robust.
Not only were they large, but their flowers were also denser and more brilliant than the average rapeseed.
These were the ones Han Cheng had selected after traversing the entire rapeseed field following the melting of snow and the resurgence of all things.
Out of so many rapeseeds, only they were selected, and their luck could be described as divinely chosen.
They were already quite strong when Han Cheng had plucked out all the surrounding rapeseeds. They grew even more robust without competition from the same species for water and sunlight.
Moreover, aside from these privileges, Han Cheng also sprinkled some ash and manure around their roots after Han Cheng finished watering them.
Under such favoritism, if they didn't grow vigorously, it would truly be a disservice to Han Cheng. After watering them with manure, he ate less for dinner that night.
Of course, too much manure could burn them, and moderation was key, a saying that seemed applicable in various situations.
Han Cheng's height was still not tall; he measured himself with the ruler he made, finding it to be only 123 centimeters. There seemed to be a long way to go before reaching adulthood.
However, being short also had its advantages. For example, Han Cheng could kiss the radiant rapeseed flowers closely without bending over.
"If only I could grow taller, grow taller quickly," Han Cheng sincerely wished for the rapeseeds.
Of course, verbal encouragement was always hollow, lacking practical substance.
A warm urine stream was Han Cheng's best gift to them, but now it seems that Fu Jiang also contributed to it.
Leaving this place, Han Cheng went to another area where rapeseed was also deliberately chosen.
However, unlike the previous ones, these rapeseeds were living in discomfort. Their lower leaves were gathered together and bound with ropes.
Under such harsh conditions, it would be strange if they could live happily. However, life, most of the time, was resolute and moving.
For example, these rapeseeds, subjected to Han Cheng's severe treatment, still sprout flower stalks and bloom clusters of yellow flowers.
Han Cheng squatted down and pressed the leaves, bound together by ropes at the root of the rapeseeds. They still felt soft.
He couldn't help but sigh. The journey to cultivate Chinese cabbage was still a long one.
Sighing wouldn't help. Now, he didn't have the advanced equipment of the future. Even if he did, he couldn't create genetically modified Chinese cabbage. He could only rely on this ancient method, generation by generation, to cultivate.
As for whether he could eventually produce Chinese cabbage, it depended on whether heaven would favor this unlucky time traveler or not.
But thinking a bit more, Han Cheng still found Chinese cabbage particularly tempting.
This thing had a high yield and was extremely storage-resistant, making it an essential food during the harsh winter.
Considering the Chinese cabbage from the future and looking at the current ancestor-level rapeseeds bound by spells, Han Cheng couldn't help but sniff, feeling like this was a "living in the year" series.
Despite Han Cheng looking unsteady, he was worried about the food problem.
Because relying solely on the fish in the small river wasn't a long-term solution. Continually catching fish would eventually deplete the fish resources in the small river.
If the tribe couldn't find a stable food source before the fish resources in the small river were insufficient to support the tribe's consumption, the tribe would inevitably return to the days of constantly struggling for food.
Moreover, with the increase in the tribe's population, relying solely on hunting would make it difficult to feed so many people.
The Green Sparrow tribe would either move towards the path of dispersal or, like the Flying Snake tribe, divide the tribe into several parts in a semi-dispersed state. One part would hunt animals, and the other would hunt the remaining tribes.
Han Cheng didn't want to go down either of these paths. Fortunately, whether it was because there were too few people who ate fish in the primitive era or because there were too many fish in the big river connected to the small river, new fish would quickly fill the void every time the small river rose.
This allowed Han Cheng to breathe a sigh of relief because it meant he would have more time to develop agriculture and animal husbandry.