Chapter 720: In This Era, No Spirits Allowed!
As the name suggests, “cellar storage” means digging a pit in the ground to store grain.
But unlike carrot cellars, sweet potato cellars, or cabbage cellars that need moisture, grain cellars must not be damp.
After recalling this cellar storage method, the construction process also appeared clearly in Han Cheng’s mind.
You select a higher ground spot where underground water is not too abundant, then dig downward to build the grain cellar.
Once dug, the interior walls are rammed with earth, then piles of brushwood are placed inside and set on fire to thoroughly bake and dry the bottom and four walls. After that, dry wooden planks are laid over a layer of wood ash at the bottom, and grain is piled on top.
However, the grain must not directly touch the earthen walls. Instead, the walls are lined with woven barriers made from corn stalks, hemp stalks, or similar materials.
The gaps between these barriers and the walls are filled with layers of wood ash, wheat chaff, rice husks, and other moisture-proof materials.
Once filled, the cellar is sealed, and the process is complete.
Grain stored in this manner can last for at least three to five years without spoiling.
Because it is sealed underground, there’s no need to worry about pests or mice.
Also, unlike usual grain storage, it doesn’t require the grain to be taken out and sun-dried at least once a year.
Most importantly, because the grain is sealed underground, there is no risk of fire destroying it!
Thinking of all the advantages of cellar storage, Han Cheng became more and more excited.
As for the effort required to dig the cellar, Han Cheng didn’t care at all.
Compared to such an excellent storage method, a bit of hard work was nothing.
Besides, for the Green Sparrow Tribe, which was currently engaged in massive construction, digging some grain cellars was not much trouble. After all, building houses required a lot of earth daily.
They had already dug two big fish ponds outside the tribe!
Having figured it out, Han Cheng bit deeply into a raw radish, chewing hard, then happily ran toward the tribe to share the good news.
Just then, the dogs wandering around the tribe started barking loudly — “Woo woo woo” — running eastward.
Han Cheng squinted and looked toward the fields’ end, seeing several human figures.
Too far to see who they were.
But since they didn’t turn back or attack the dogs with weapons, it was clear these people had visited the tribe before.
Han Cheng stayed put, not going east. The Eldest Senior Brother, alerted by the noise, came out with some others.
The Green Sparrow Tribe’s vigilance hadn’t dropped one bit.
When they emerged after hearing the noise, they all carried weapons.
This was a valuable lesson from the previous two attacks by the Flying Snake Tribe and the sudden assault by the Bone Tribe.
After a brief wait, the Eldest Senior Brother led some armed men eastward, while Han Cheng kept watching.
“It’s the Sheep Tribe!”
Shortly after, the Eldest Senior Brother returned and shouted from a distance to inform Han Cheng.
Every year, around this time, the Sheep Tribe would come with many sheep to trade.
He had been so focused on grain cellars that he’d forgotten the Sheep Tribe hadn’t come yet!
Haha, he thought, this time he’d have good food—fresh mutton stewed with fresh radishes, a rare delicacy.
And the lamb ribs, although few, grilled over charcoal, were especially tempting.
Han Cheng swallowed his saliva and thought this, but his brow gradually furrowed.
As the Eldest Senior Brother and others got closer, Han Cheng could see the Sheep Tribe visitors.
This time, their number was small, and they brought no sheep.
Moreover, the Sheep Tribe leader was not among them.
After seeing Han Cheng, an older primitive man from the Sheep Tribe, who looked restrained and fearful, but quickly overcame it after recalling their tribe’s plight, and began speaking rapidly in their language.
Han Cheng frowned deeper.
Partly because their reaction confirmed something bad had happened to the Sheep Tribe, partly because the old man spoke so fast that Han Cheng couldn’t understand well.
Han Cheng stopped the old man, signaling them to enter the tribe and talk there.
At the same time, he ordered someone to quickly find Mao, the tribe’s interpreter familiar with many tribal languages, and also to prepare food for these visitors.
From their exhausted looks, they hadn’t eaten in a long time.
Since this wasn’t a trading occasion, there was no need to haggle as before.
After arranging this, Han Cheng instructed the Eldest Senior Brother to organize guards and call everyone outside the yards back in.
The situation was unclear; it was better to be safe than sorry.
With the Sheep Tribe visitors’ arrival and Han Cheng’s orders, the Green Sparrow Tribe grew tense immediately.
Of course, this tension was a cautious, serious attitude in the face of danger, not fear.
With Mao translating, Han Cheng’s frown deepened, and the high leaders like the shaman and Eldest Senior Brother also looked grave.
Han Cheng didn’t think about how the Sheep Tribe knew a sheep migration route, but worried about their leader’s fate.
According to the Sheep Tribe man’s account, their leader was most likely in trouble.
The attackers were probably a strong tribe.
Nearly twenty adult primitives wouldn’t be wiped out by wild beasts.
And if it were wild beasts, they wouldn’t have taken the pottery away!
After all, in this era, no spirits or magical creatures were allowed.