This Is My Primitive Tribe-Chapter 44 - 40 - Five-Colored Duck_2

Of course, during this process, there will definitely be difficulties, which need to be patiently overcome.

"Splash..."

A ferocious big fish in the water unknowingly approached the flock of waterbirds and suddenly burst out of the water, opening its blood-red mouth to try to bite one of them.

"Quack, quack, quack..."

The waterbirds were very alert, and when the big fish rushed out, they had already taken flight, making startled cries.

The fish snapped at the air, flicked its tail, and quickly swam back to the deep waters, while the duck-like waterbirds escaped into the reeds, clearly taken by surprise.

Their sounds really did resemble duck calls, and their feet were also webbed, which made Jiang Xuan even more excited.

"Let’s go back."

Jiang Xuan planned to go back and fetch Chi Shao. Capturing these waterbirds alive was somewhat difficult, something with which Chi Shao was more familiar.

Jiang Xuan and Gou Teng immediately returned to the Vine Tribe, and then Jiang Xuan told Chi Shao about his idea of capturing the waterbirds alive.

"Since those waterbirds have hidden in the reeds, it implies that they usually live there."

Chi Shao thought for a moment and said, "Generally, birds eat insects. Let’s go get some insects from Da Jiao, and set some snare traps in the reeds to see if we can catch them alive."

Gou Teng was very interested in catching the waterbirds and excitedly said, "I’ll get the insects."

With that, Gou Teng quickly ran to where Da Jiao kept the insects.

Chi Shao said, "I’ll get some ropes and branches."

Soon, Gou Teng returned with over a dozen fat, white insects, and Chi Shao had prepared some rope made from tree bark and sturdy branches.

Armed with these items, the group returned to the riverside to set up snare traps and capture the duck-like waterbirds alive.

Chi Shao walked along the sandy and pebbly riverbank to the outside of the reeds where the waterbirds were hiding.

She observed the ground and found numerous footprints and droppings, with some paths frequently used by the waterbirds beneath the reeds.

"The reeds are too dense for placing snares, but we can place them where the waterbirds frequently move, which will be just as effective."

Chi Shao set a sturdy branch beside a path often used by the waterbirds and carefully set up a snare trap tied with rope.

She then placed two crushed insects in the middle section of the snare trap.

To be safe, Chi Shao set up a total of three snare traps, all placed on the paths frequently used by the waterbirds.

"Alright, now we’ll hide at the side and wait for the waterbirds to come out."

Chi Shao, Jiang Xuan, and Gou Teng hid on the road nearby, quietly waiting.

Hunting requires a lot of patience, and catching the prey alive requires even more.

If they chose to leave instead of watching over the traps there,

the snare might catch the waterbird by the neck, hanging it up, and by the time they returned, the waterbird might either be dead or eaten by other predators.

Therefore, they could only wait patiently.

While waiting, Jiang Xuan continued observing the river. He noticed that some fish in the river were absurdly large, occasionally swimming by with just a big shadow visible from the surface.

These big fish were very fierce, preying not only on smaller fish but also occasionally eating birds foraging by the water.

Besides these big fish, Jiang Xuan saw a water beast chasing small fish in the river.

In the water, the water beast appeared very large, with four limbs and a long tail, somewhat resembling an otter.

Jiang Xuan remarked, "The prey in this river seems more abundant than in the forest."

Chi Shao replied, "It’s probably because the forest is bigger and the animals are more scattered, whereas the fish and water beasts here have a smaller range to roam, making them seem more numerous."

"That makes sense."

Jiang Xuan agreed with Chi Shao’s explanation. Ultimately, it’s because river fish have less range to move around. If they were in the ocean, the situation would be different.

Gou Teng asked, "Leader, should we start fishing in the river in the future?"

"We can set up some fishing traps on the riverbank to lure the fish over. The river is too dangerous to enter until we have sturdy enough boats."

"What’s a boat?"

Gou Teng found that Jiang Xuan mentioned another term he hadn’t heard before.

Chi Shao also looked at Jiang Xuan, hoping he would explain.

Ever since Jiang Xuan fabricated a story about a mysterious witch imparting knowledge through dreams, nothing he said surprised Chi Shao anymore.

Jiang Xuan thought for a moment, then pointed to a piece of driftwood by the riverbank and said, "Do you see that log?"

"I see it," Gou Teng nodded.

"A boat is a waterborne tool made by joining many pieces of wood together. It floats on the water, and people can sit on it, using paddles to row and control the boat’s direction."

Jiang Xuan used a small stick to draw a simple rowboat on the ground, helping Chi Shao and Gou Teng understand what a boat looked like.

"With boats, we can fish in the water and travel to farther places along the river."

Gou Teng’s eyes lit up. "Leader, will our tribe have boats in the future?"

Jiang Xuan smiled. "We will. As long as the tribe grows stronger, we’ll have everything."

Just as Jiang Xuan was outlining visions of the tribe’s future, suddenly, the sound of flapping wings came from the reeds.

"We got one!"

Chi Shao was the first to sprint toward the snare trap, with Jiang Xuan and Gou Teng following closely.

Soon, they saw a waterbird caught in the trap, frantically flapping its wings trying to escape.

That waterbird had evidently stretched its neck to eat the insects in the trap’s center, triggering the trap, and a rope caught its neck, pulling it taut with the resilient branch, hanging the bird in the air.

Yet, the more it struggled, the tighter the rope constricted its neck, suppressing any sound from its throat.

Chi Shao approached and accurately grabbed the waterbird’s wings with both hands, restricting its movement.

"Leader, quickly bind its feet."

"Alright!"

Jiang Xuan took out a rope from his beast hide bag and tied the waterbird’s webbed feet together, preventing it from walking.

Gou Teng then released the snare from around its neck to prevent the waterbird from suffocating to death.

Then, the bird was placed into the large beast hide bag Chi Shao brought.

The waterbird was panicked inside the beast hide bag, but its feet were tied, and its wings couldn’t spread, so its head could only tuck into a corner.

Chi Shao fastened the bag’s opening, pleased. "Not bad, catching one so quickly."

Jiang Xuan lifted the beast hide bag, estimating that the bird must weigh around a dozen pounds.

Besides its size, this bird indeed resembled a duck in other aspects.

Jiang Xuan noticed the bird’s feathers were a mix of various colors, quite beautiful.

After thinking for a bit, he said, "Since we plan to domesticate it, it should have a name. Its feathers are colorful; let’s call it the Five-Colored Duck from now on."

"Five-Colored Duck, that’s a fitting name," Chi Shao agreed with the name Jiang Xuan gave.

Gou Teng also expressed his approval.

Chi Shao looked at the Five-Colored Duck in the beast hide bag and said, "We’ve caught one today. Those Five-Colored Ducks probably won’t come out here for now, so let’s head back. We’ll change the trap’s location tomorrow."

"Sure."

Jiang Xuan and the others temporarily removed the remaining two snares, then returned to the tribe with the captured Five-Colored Duck.

After returning to the tribe, the first thing Jiang Xuan did was weave a large rectangular cage with vines, lining it with some dry grass, and then tie one foot of the Five-Colored Duck with a rope, keeping it in the cage for rearing.

In the days that followed, Chi Shao managed to catch three more Five-Colored Ducks, all kept by Jiang Xuan in the same cage and fed with insects, small fish, shrimp, and water plants.

Strangely enough.

With only one Five-Colored Duck in the cage, it seemed depressed, with little appetite and a lethargic demeanor, constantly quacking loudly.

But when there were four Five-Colored Ducks together, although they still called out, they appeared much more spirited, with a noticeably stronger appetite.

Indeed, social animals need companionship.

This relieved Jiang Xuan, for he no longer had to worry about not being able to keep them alive.

The next step involved the patient process of domestication.

Since all captured Five-Colored Ducks were adults, direct taming was impossible, so Jiang Xuan pinned his hopes on their next generation.

As long as these four Five-Colored Ducks were well-reared and laid eggs, once the ducklings hatched, they could be gradually domesticated by frequent human contact, turning into poultry over time.