May 8, the first year of the establishment of the Vine Tribe. Night, clear sky.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz…"
"Pop!"
Jiang Xuan lay on the bed and swatted a mosquito that was planning to suck his blood.
But not long after, two more mosquitoes flew over and circled around him, looking for the best spot to suck blood. It was very annoying.
After killing five mosquitoes, Jiang Xuan finally sat up helplessly. He was no longer sleepy.
As the weather became hotter, the number of mosquitoes increased and they became very rampant. From time to time, they would sting people and suck a drop of blood, leaving a very itchy spot. It was very uncomfortable.
It was not just the mosquitoes. The number of other insects also increased. All kinds of insects flew in through the gaps in the bamboo house and then hovered around the fire pit. Some even pounced into the fire and were burned to ashes.
Jiang Xuan sat on the bed and said helplessly, "If only there is mosquito-repellent incense."
If there was mosquito-repellent incense, the mosquitoes wouldn't dare to come over and bite people openly. Those worms would also run away or faint from the smell.
In his previous life, he could buy a box of mosquito-repellent incense for a few yuan, but unfortunately, there was no way to find it in this primitive world.
Just as Jiang Xuan was feeling helpless, Chi Shao seemed to have heard the commotion and walked towards him.
"Why aren't you asleep?" asked the concerned Chi Shao.
"There are too many mosquitoes. I can't sleep." Jiang Xuan looked very helpless.
After hearing Jiang Xuan's words, Chi Shao thought for a moment, picked up her spear, and said, "Take a torch and go out with me."
"Good!"
Jiang Xuan did not know what Chi Shao was going out for, but he was very curious.
There were more than 10 torches in the bamboo house. They were made of broken bamboo and bound with a large number of oily branches.
As the tribe did not have any electrical appliances, torches were the most important lighting tool at night. They were usually made in advance. When they wanted to use them, they could just light them in the fire pit.
Jiang Xuan took a torch and lit it before opening the door of the bamboo house.
It was actually very dangerous to go out at night. However, there were ancient vines guarding the Vine Tribe. There were no ferocious beasts nearby. As long as they did not go far, it was relatively safe.
"Ji ji ji ji…"
After walking out of the bamboo house, the sound of insects became even more obvious. It was very lively, but it did not seem noisy. Instead, it added some interest to the summer night.
"Coo, coo, coo…"
"Quack, quack, quack…"
There were unknown birds chirping in the trees. In the pond and by the stream, all kinds of frogs were chirping. Some were attracting the attention of the opposite sex, while others had nothing to do.
Jiang Xuan listened to the sounds of various animals and felt the cool night breeze. He felt much better.
If it weren't for the annoying flying insects attracted to the flames, this feeling of walking at night would be a little better.
"Pop!"
A snake appeared in front of them. When it saw the fire, it did not leave. It was held back with a spear by Chi Shao. Then she cut off the snake's head with a stone knife. The snake's body was put into a beast skin bag.
Chi Shao's actions were smooth and fluid. Even her expression did not change.
Many animals would be attracted to the flames at night, and so were snakes. This unlucky snake had only been attracted for a little longer before it became food for the Vine Tribe.
Then Chi Shao caught two more unlucky frogs and big unlucky insects. Finally, she came to the forest on the left side of the bamboo house and found a cluster of short plants.
This was a type of wild grass. It looked no different from ordinary wild grass, but when one got close, one could smell a strange unpleasant smell.
He couldn't tell if this smell was fragrant or stinky, but it didn't smell good.
While cutting this grass with a stone knife, Chi Shao explained to Jiang Xuan, "This is called stinky grass. When the hunting team spends the night outside, they like to cut a few of these and throw some into the fire from time to time. It can drive away mosquitoes."
Chi Shao cut a large pile, then found a vine and tied it up. She carried the pile in her hand and walked back.
When the juice of this bundle of stinky grass flowed out, the stench became even more obvious. Jiang Xuan was surprised to find that even the flying insects attracted by the flames had decreased.
After returning to the bamboo house, Chi Shao placed a large bundle of stinky grass beside the fire pit. She also dug out a pile of red-hot charcoal from the fire, pulled out a handful of stinky grass, tied them up, and placed them above the charcoal.
Under the heat of the charcoal fire, some smoke rose from the stinky grass. The unpleasant smell was instantly triggered. The entire bamboo house was filled with this smell.
Even the three sleeping youths frowned slightly. They opened their sleepy eyes and glanced at the fire pit to make sure that there were no accidents before lying down to sleep again.
Although the smell was strong, the effect was obvious.
Jiang Xuan was surprised to find that almost all the flying insects and annoying mosquitoes around the firepit had flown away.
"Tie the stinky grass into bundles and put them on the coals," said Chi Shao. "It will last a little longer. If you throw it directly into the fire, it will burn to ashes before long."
Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "If the mosquitoes come again in the middle of the night, I'll release another bundle of stinky grass."
"It's good that you know. I'll deal with these prey first."
Chi Shao yawned and quickly cleaned up the snakes, frogs, and large insects she had caught on the way. Then she hung them above the fire pit to smoke.
She thought for a moment, then washed her hands again and went to bed.
Washing their hands was not because they liked to be clean. The tribesmen did not care about these things.
It was mainly because Jiang Xuan liked to be clean. Every time his hands were dirty, he would wash them carefully. Over time, Chi Shao had developed the good habit of washing her hands.
Jiang Xuan lay on the bed again. After waiting for a while, there were indeed no more annoying mosquitoes sucking his blood.
He breathed in the strange smell and gradually fell asleep…
The next day, Jiang Xuan had just walked out of the bamboo house when Sweet Pine ran over with a few vagabonds.
"Chief, it's bad. There are so many insects in the ground. Everything we planted is almost gone."
"What?"
When Jiang Xuan heard this, he immediately woke up. He immediately thought of an insect disaster.
He didn't even have time to wash his face. He hurriedly said, "Quick, show me."
The crops in the fields were a very important winter food for the Vine Tribe.
After working so hard for so long, they finally cultivated so much land and planted so many food crops. They could not be destroyed by the insect plague.
Jiang Xuan followed Sweet Pine to the fields and saw countless insects gnawing at the crops crazily. Many of the crops' leaves had been eaten, and even the tender stems and leaves were not spared.
The vagabonds were doing their best to catch the insects, but they were too slow. Outnumbered by the huge number of insects, they were struggling.
Jiang Xuan was shocked and furious. It was indeed an insect disaster!
"Chief, what should we do? There are too many insects to catch."
Sweet Pine, who had always been calm, could not hold it in anymore. He had put in a lot of effort into these crops. Seeing the crops being eaten by the insects, he felt his heart bleeding.
"Don't worry, I'm working on it."
Jiang Xuan forced himself to calm down. He kept searching his mind for all kinds of experience in dealing with the insect disaster and tried to find a way that matched the current situation.