Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 117
Chapter 117
In the evening, the females of the Salt-Water Tribe resumed hunting as the water receded. Apparently, prey like the giant octopus and whale sharks were not common. The game that the group hunted today seemed to resemble a seal, only about two meters in size.
When Chen Qi arrived, he saw Achu explaining things to a few females dressed in animal hides, while Axu led a group of females, attempting to drive the seal closer to the shore. Animal hide clothes become extremely heavy when wet. Seeing that Axu wore cloth clothes, the females of the Salt-Water Tribe also switched to wearing fabric garments whenever they went into the water for hunting. Those few females still clad in animal hides were likely from the Flame-Hill Tribe.
The beastmen’s method of driving the seal was very simple and direct, just like how they had dealt with the whale sharks before. They stood on floating logs and used long wooden sticks to occasionally slap the water’s surface or insert the sticks into the water to block the seal’s path. This method worked better against large prey like whale sharks, but the seal was much smaller and more agile compared to whale sharks. The females’ long wooden sticks were ineffective against them, as the seal could easily evade and was not harmed by the sticks.
Chen Qi observed for a while and soon noticed that the seal rushed out of a gap between the exchanges of the beast people’s attacks. In no time, it swiftly entered deeper waters and disappeared without a trace.
The beastmen of the Salt-Water Tribe showed no signs of disappointment on their faces. However, the beastmen from the Flame-Hill Tribe were unable to hide their frustration. The leader, a gray-haired female, seemed to say something to Achu. Achu furrowed his brow, nodded, and then shook his head. The female sighed, and Achu gently patted his shoulder. Upon looking up, Achu noticed the few folks from Qi Ze City approaching. After a brief exchange with the female, Achu walked towards Chen Qi.
The past few days of using jars to catch octopuses brought a sweet taste of success to the beastmen of the Salt-Water Tribe. It was the active season for octopuses, so the beastmen found that they could yield a good harvest just by placing the jars in the water and patiently waiting for two to three hours. Chen Qi suggested that they vary the locations of the jars to maximize their catch, so the beastmen extended their battle lines, changing positions to be completely different in the morning, afternoon and evening. Each time they lifted up the jar, there would be an octopus crowded inside. Unfortunately, there were not that many jars in the tribe for octopus fishing. Achu was already considering sending a team to Qi Ze City to exchange for a new batch of jars when Chen Qi and the others went back.
Seeing Achu approaching, Chen Qi nodded slightly, “Is the hunting not going well?”
Achu shrugged helplessly. “It’s migration season after all, and there aren’t many large prey around. It’s a bit challenging to hunt enough prey for both tribes at the moment.” Before Chen Qi and the others introduced the beastmen to eating mussels and catching octopus, even the beastmen of the Salt-Water Tribe had to rely on wild fruits to stave off hunger for at least one meal a day.
“The current issue is that you can’t drive the prey ashore?”
Achu nodded. They still hadn’t learned how to swim. The only one who was somewhat proficient, Axu, could only stay in the water for a short duration. Achu was hesitant to let him dive directly into the deeper waters.
“Chen Qi, do you have any way to drive prey ashore?” Achu asked a bit awkwardly. If it weren’t for the people from the Flame-Hill Tribe seeking help, he wouldn’t have wanted to trouble Chen Qi further with teaching them. After all, Chen Qi had already taught them so much, and the tribe couldn’t offer anything suitable for exchange.
The beastmen were accustomed to a barter system, but now it felt like they were taking advantage of Qi Ze City, making Achu feel quite uncomfortable.
Chen Qi held his chin in his hand and thought for a moment, “I wonder if using fishing nets would work.”
“Fishing nets?”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
“En.” Chen Qi took his hide backpack from Aze and pulled out paper and pen. Nowadays, he always brought his backpack with drawing tools whenever he left the cave. Using the feathered pen dipped in black dye-fruit, Chen Qi roughly sketched the shape of a fishing net on the paper. “It’s something like this, but the prey here seems to be stronger. You can try weaving it with ropes.” Chen Qi handed the paper with the sketch to Achu.
These past few days, Axu and Ashu had explained the art of drawing to Achu. However, it was challenging for a beastman who had never seen a drawing before to decipher the true appearance of objects from a black and white sketch. Achu scratched his head, “Sorry, I don’t quite understand what this thing looks like.”
Chen Qi smiled, “If you have time tonight, I can demonstrate it for you.”
Achu’s eyes lit up with excitement. He eagerly grasped Chen Qi’s hand, pulling him back. He was all for making this fishing net right away. After all, since the hunting had failed, finishing it tonight meant they might be able to use it as early as tomorrow.
Aze took a few steps forward and calmly freed Chen Qi’s hand from Achu’s large grasp. Achu didn’t mind and called over a few people from the Flame-Hill Tribe. Then, on the spot, he dispersed the tribe members who had failed in hunting. The group of them returned in gradeur to Axu’s cave.
Chen Qi instructed them to gather a batch of roots from banyan trees. The banyan tree roots were much tougher than silk cocoon threads, and the rope made from them would have strong load-bearing capabilities. A net woven with this type of rope should be able to withstand the impact of seals with the body size they encountered earlier.
Axu had learned the craft of rope-making during their time in Qi Ze City, so Chen Qi asked him to teach the others how to do it. Meanwhile, he and Ahxu worked on figuring out how to make the fishing net more sturdy.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
The method of weaving the fishing net was quite simple, similar to beastmen’s method of weaving fabric, with the only difference being the larger gaps left in between the weaves. After some collaboration, Chen Qi and Axu successfully crafted a section of the net. With one person twisting the ropes and another weaving, they completed a fishing net that was around five to six meters long and three meters high shortly after the sun had set.
Chen Qi attached long wooden sticks to both sides of the fishing net, stretching it taut. He then had Ale climb up and jump on it a few times to ensure it showed no signs of breaking. Satisfied, he nodded approvingly.
“If you want to lengthen this fishing net, just weave another section like this and tie it to the outermost wooden sticks.” Chen Qi explained, handing the fishing net to Achu.
Achu took it cautiously, as if afraid that any rough handling might damage the fishing net.
Chen Qi looked on at his movements with amusement and continued, “The area of the floating logs you are using to stand on is too small, and prone to slipping. How about trying to make a raft?” Chen Qi had witnessed the beastmen falling into the water more than once during these days of hunting. Fortunately, they were always tethered to vines and floating logs, preventing potential drownings due to the beastmen’s inability to swim.
“Raft?” Achu looked at Chen Qi with delight. Although he didn’t know what this thing looked like, but, since Chen Qi suggested it, it must be something useful. Over these days, Chen Qi, this young male, had repeatedly surprised Achu with his knowledge and skills.
Chen Qi nodded, but rejected Achu’s idea of making a raft right away. Axu’s cave was located halfway up the mountain. Even with the strength of the females, Chen Qi felt it would be more practical to wait until the next morning to move materials to the lake shore. They could then directly construct the raft and push it into the water to use it, avoiding unnecessary extra efforts.
Achu suppressed the urge to immediately drag Chen Qi to the riverside. He silently took note of the materials Chen Qi needed to make the raft, and then proceeded to make two more fishing nets. Only after completing these tasks did the group disperse.
Achu arrived early the next day, even before dawn. Though there were faint dark circles under his eyes, he showed no signs of fatigue. In fact, his mood seemed very upbeat. Even before he arrived, his hearty voice woke everyone in the cave.
Aze watched as Chen Qi reluctantly got out of bed, rubbing his eyes. With a stern expression, he glanced at Achu, contemplating whether or not to throw him out of the cave.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
After everyone had finished washing up and eating breakfast, the sky was just starting to light up. When Chen Qi arrived at the shore of Salt Water Lake, he found many beastmen already waiting there. Beside them was a mound of thick bamboo. Chen Qi couldn’t help but twitch his eye at the suspicion that Achu had brought people to chop down an entire bamboo forest.
Since the material was bamboo, they could only make a bamboo raft. The construction of a bamboo raft was also straightforward. They just needed to open a hole at both ends of the bamboo, thread them together with a long wooden stick, and secure them with ropes. To prevent the bamboo raft from being too long and spreading apart, they added several wooden sticks in the middle as crossbeams to stabilize it.
After completing the bamboo raft, they pushed it into the water. Even with several people on board, there were no signs of it sinking. Moreover, the females’ range of movement increased significantly. They no longer had to worry about attacking prey while also fearing slipping and falling into the water, as they had before.
Following the fishing methods he had seen from fishermen before, Chen Qi taught them how to use the fishing net. However, having theoretical knowledge didn’t guarantee practical success. It was Aze and Ahxu, who were familiar with him, that managed to grasp the technique after a few pointers. After a few failed attempts, they finally succeeded in hauling some fish up.
The gaps in the fishing net were quite large, so the fish they caught were on the larger side. Although the people of the Salt-Water Tribe primarily consumed various fish from the Salt Water Lake, most of their diet consisted of soft-bodied animals like octopus or massive creatures like whale sharks. A common characteristic among these prey was the lack of bones or having few bones.
In the past few days, when Axu and the beast people of Qi Ze City occasionally went to the small river outside the tribe to wash up, they would also catch some fish and bring them back. The beastmen of the Salt-Water Tribe had already tasted dishes made from fish. They knew that when handled properly, there was no danger. Now, seeing the fishing net made from vines effortlessly haul in a bunch of fish, everyone was astonished. Even Axu, who was helping pull the net, was momentarily stunned, forgetting to gather the net and allowing many fish to escape.
“Axu, pull the net.” Ahxu, who was also responsible for pulling the net on the other side, called out to him. Axu quickly snapped out of his stupor and, along with Ahxu, worked together to drag the caught fish back to the shore.
Because the fish were relatively large, it seemed like a lot at first glance, but upon closer examination, there were only about ten or so.
To Chen Qi’s delight, he saw a lobster among the catch – a large lobster that was over half a meter long. He pointed at the lobster and asked Achu, “Achu, can I have that lobster?”
Achu picked up the lobster and, before Chen Qi could say anything, he removed the two potentially harmful large pinchers and then handed it to Chen Qi. “Take anything you want.” After all, Without Chen Qi, they would not have been able to catch so much prey so easily.
Chen Qi picked up the two large pinchers that Achu had so simply tossed aside. Achu had snapped them off quite cleanly, and there was still plenty of tender meat inside the claws. Chen Qi wouldn’t just let it go to waste.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: So much seafood!
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomNight73
Proofreader: Yume
Editor stepping into the realm of MTL translating, starting with CLWP. Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
Normally, going to the beach means fanservice, here it’s foodservice?