The three of them packed up the bamboo shoots and small bamboos and walked back slowly. Not long after they left, a sound of surprise sounded in the jungle.
"Abba, it's a knot tree!" A male tribesman about seventeen or eighteen years old pointed to the continuous bamboo forest in front of him in surprise and said to the agile figure behind him.
As soon as he finished speaking, a man with a slightly ugly face came out from behind.
The right half of the man's face was uneven. He had obviously experienced a severe burn. The burn had reached all the way to his scalp. The scalp was also covered with ugly burns. There was no hair on this area of the scalp, making him look like a loser. Same, but apparently men don't mind their appearance.
"It is indeed a knotty tree. The tribe needs a large number of knotty trees to make the outer fence." The man's hand pinched the bamboo as thick as a bucket, and it easily cracked a crack.
"Let's cut some and take them back today."
"Okay, Abba."
While the two father and son were working, they chatted from time to time.
"The blood and fire memorial ceremony will be held in a few days. I see that you haven't been able to sleep these days. Are you too stressed?" the man asked seemingly casually.
The 17 or 18-year-old tribesman clenched his fists with his hands, tightened the muscles on his back, and said in a deep voice: "Abba, I, I'm a little nervous! I haven't succeeded in the past few years..."
The blood and fire memorial ceremony is held every year in every tribe. Anyone in the tribe who does not have the power of a totem can participate. The youngest age starts from the age of twelve. This young man from the Surcha tribe has participated in it for six consecutive years and still has it so far. Didn't get the power of totem.
Seeing his son in such a state, the man who was scalded patted his shoulder and comforted him: "Don't put so much pressure on yourself. It would be good if five or six people in the tribe who participated in the blood and fire sacrifice became totem warriors every time. Don't think too much."
…
When Lin Xiao and the other three walked back to the tribe, the sun was shining brightly, but each of the three of them had a straw hat on their head, blocking most of the sunlight. As soon as the three of them appeared, the eyes of the surrounding ronin fell on them involuntarily.
"Hey, Ariel, what are you doing cutting such small bamboo?" A few little kids squatting on the ground and playing in the mud asked with a smile.
"Yes, you all made big bamboos before!"
These children were Lie's playmates of the same age after they moved here. Every time they saw Lin Xiao coming back, they would always look at the three of them more out of curiosity.
Because Lie used to play with a few friends, they occasionally asked about those bamboo slices made by A Xiao. After Lie's publicity, the name "Jie tree" in the mouths of Ronin nearby gradually changed to "Bamboo".
Lie pouted and said, "I won't tell you!"
Several children made faces at Lie one after another. Because they were just asking out of curiosity, so when they heard Lie didn't answer, they were not angry, so they made faces at Lie, "Stingy!"
Lie Cai ignored these playmates of the same age. To be honest, if A Xiao asked him to play with these little brats, he would not play with these guys playing in the mud!
Back at the door, Lin Xiao saw a familiar figure.
Dreadlocks, feather staff, and bronze skin.
You can tell it is Bahrain Wuzhu at a glance.
Lin Xiao stuck out his tongue. At this time, Balin Wu Zhu also noticed Lin Xiao coming back. He smiled at Lin Xiao and whispered: "Back?"
"Yeah." Lin Xiao nodded slightly, and was wondering what kind of medicine the old fox was selling in his gourd, when he heard the middle-aged uncle cough lightly.
Bahrain Wu Zhu made a fist with his hand, put it lightly between his lips, coughed twice and said: "I heard that you all use bamboo to grill meat recently. Is there anything special about grilling meat like this?"
Lin Xiao glanced at him and said, "Wouldn't you know if you try it yourself?"
Bahrain Wu Zhu complained silently in his heart: How could he not have tried it?
Whether it is applying lemon juice on meat or grilling meat in a bamboo tube, everyone who lives around here has tried it, and everyone thinks that the meat grilled in this way is more delicious. Meat with lemon juice tastes better. The taste is fresh and tender, and the meat grilled in the bamboo tube has a light fragrance.
Indeed, after one more step, the meat tastes much better.
But the meat they grilled always tasted different from the meat grilled by Ah Xiao. He knew that the key was the salt Ah Xiao and the others used. Their salt was yellowish and white in color, had a good taste, and had no bitter taste.
Balin Wuzhu smiled and interrupted, "I brought a piece of meat. This piece of meat is good meat!"
Hearing this, Lie subconsciously looked at Balin Wu Zhu and noticed that he was holding something tied with a rope and wrapped in leaves in his hand, and his eyes were shining.
"I'm eating it alone. This piece of meat is too much and I can't finish it. Why don't you roast it like before and I'll eat a little. I ate a lot of your meat last time, and I feel bad about it."
If this guy shows his courtesy for nothing, he is either a traitor or a thief!
Seeing Lin Xiao's suspicious look, Balin Wu Zhu raised the meat in his hand and showed a sincere smile.
Lie looked at Lin Xiao, obviously asking for Lin Xiao's opinion. Seeing Lin Xiao nodding to him, he took the meat that Balin Wu Zhu mentioned and trotted to the kitchen to light a fire to barbecue.
As he spoke, Lei placed the soft and tender bamboo in his hand in the grass shed built outside. He bowed to Balin Wuzhu, made a fist with his right hand and placed it on the left side of his heart, and then silently walked to the kitchen to help with the work.
After opening the meat wrapped in leaves, Lei recognized the piece of meat at a glance as a piece of moving meat. The meat in this position is delicious because of its constant movement. Only people with high status in the tribe can obtain this part of high-quality meat. Meat.
On the side, Balin Wu Zhu's eyes lit up when he saw Lei. He noticed the fresh bamboos that Lei had placed in the straw shed. He turned to look at Lin Xiao shamelessly and asked, "How can these small bamboos be used?" What's the use? Ah Xiao, are you going to do something again?"
Lin Xiao glanced at him and said without hiding anything: "I plan to make a backpack for Lie and the others. If you want it, you can exchange it for something!"
When the Balin witch heard the unfamiliar name of the backpack, he frowned slightly. He couldn't imagine what this thing was from the word Lin Xiao said.
A trace of confusion flashed in his eyes, and then he thought that what Lin Xiao made must be good, and he said: "I just gave you a piece of good meat, can't you give me a backpack?"
Lin Xiao said: "Why did you give me meat? Don't you have any idea in your mind?"
Bahrain Wu Zhu: "..." That is to say, I want to eat barbecue to satisfy my craving and occasionally indulge in luxury.
After Lei roasted the meat, there was still part of the piece of meat brought by Balin Wuzhu, which could be reserved for dinner for three people. He picked up the meat piece by piece with chopsticks and put it in a bamboo bowl of suitable size. He put four portions of lunch into it. put it on the table.
The Balin wizard rubbed his hands. Just by smelling the fragrance, he felt a little hungry. He was about to pick up the chopsticks to eat... when he suddenly found a pair of eyes staring at him.
Balin Wu Zhu shook his head speechlessly, walked towards the owner of his sight, and stretched out his hands.
Lin Xiao poured water into Balin Wu Zhu's hands. The middle-aged man rubbed his hands vigorously and washed them clean before returning to the dinner table.
Ah Xiao is good at everything, but he has many things to do and must wash his hands before eating. This makes Bahrain Wu Zhu really confused.
Balin Wuzhu skillfully picked up the chopsticks to pick up the meat and vegetables in the bowl. The taste was really great. There was no bitter taste, only salty taste and the fragrance of bamboo. It was indeed different from the roasted meat in the tribe. He ate the food with satisfaction and suddenly said, "Ah Xiao, I was chatting with those wanderers just now. Did you teach them the mortise and tenon structure?"
"Yes," Lin Xiao said nonchalantly, "This thing is so simple. Anyone who has seen me do it once can learn it. There is nothing to hide. Haven't everyone in your tribe learned it too?"
Bahrain Wu Zhu nodded and did not deny that he was well aware of the principle that "a person who is shameless is invincible" during his interactions with Lin Xiao.
"Actually, I thought you would be angry about this matter. I didn't expect you to teach these rogues around you."
"I never thought about being a carpenter and making furniture for other people to make money, so if they want to learn, just leave it to them." Lin Xiao waved his hand.
Seeing that Lin Xiao didn't care about this matter, Balin Wu Zhu was speechless for a while. He took another bite of food, looked at Lin Xiao carefully, and then said another purpose of his coming: "There are three days left for the blood and fire memorial ceremony. When the time comes, I will arrange a position for you near the pattern stone. You can decide among yourself who will stand inside and who will stand outside."
He thought for a while and added: "Every year in the tribe, all those who have not activated the power of the totem will attend the blood and fire ceremony. You are ronin. The most I can do is help you get a slightly closer position. If there are two people in the tribe, will object."
When the two brothers Lei and Lie heard the words of Balin Wu Zhu, a ray of light clearly flashed in their eyes. They were close to the pattern stone. The closer the blood and fire sacrifice was to the pattern stone, the greater the possibility of activating the power of the totem.
Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Bahrain Wu Zhu to make such an arrangement. Is this... a disguised show of goodwill?
Is this middle-aged man harboring some bad ideas?
Lin Xiao couldn't help but be more cautious, but he still thanked the other party for his kindness. After Lei and Lie were sure that the Balin witch had left, they lowered their voices and spoke to Lin Xiao.
"Axiao, it's close to the pattern stone!"
The two brothers were so excited that they couldn't help themselves. The closer they got to the pattern stone, the greater the possibility of activating the power of the totem.
"Haha, so excited?!" Lin Xiao's eyes slightly curved, he patted Lei's shoulder with his hand and said: "In such a good position, Lei, I believe you can activate the power of totem."
"Ah?" Lei looked at a loss when he heard Lin Xiao's words.
He had never thought about getting close to the position of the patterned stone. In his mind, this position belonged to Lin Xiao. The reason why he was excited was entirely because he was happy for Lin Xiao!
Like Balin Wu Zhu, he also believed that Lin Xiao's former tribe must have been very powerful. Lin Xiao had experienced many blood and fire sacrifices, but Lin Xiao did not become a totem warrior. This...maybe because A Xiao was too far away from the pattern stone, so the ancestors I didn't choose him. If I get close to the grain stone this time, maybe my ancestors will choose Lin Xiao!
Lin Xiao: "What's that shocked expression on your face?"
Lei: "Of course this position is for you, Ah Xiao!"
Lin Xiao: "Why am I here..."
Lei said of course: "Of course it is to activate the power of the totem!"