This Is My Primitive Tribe-Chapter 47 - 43 Taming the Bamboo Rat

After returning to the tribe, everyone was really excited to see that Jiang Xuan and the others had indeed caught a nest of large bamboo rats.

"Leader, can this big bamboo rat be eaten now?" Nan Xing exclaimed excitedly.

Jiang Xuan said helplessly, "Why don’t you think about it; if you eat this mother bamboo rat, what will happen to the three little ones?"

Nan Xing scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Seems like you’re right, these three little bamboo rats still seem to be nursing."

Jiang Xuan continued, "Don’t worry, later when they reproduce in larger numbers, you will eventually get to eat them."

Shi Qiu on the side said, "I’ve eaten roasted large bamboo rat, the skin is roasted golden, and after breaking it open, oil comes out, it’s so fragrant."

Hearing him say this, everyone stared at those few large bamboo rats, secretly salivating, scaring the bamboo rats inside the beast hide bag into shivering.

Jiang Xuan quickly warned, "I’ll say it one more time, these bamboo rats are for breeding, no one is allowed to have any ideas about them; whoever dares to secretly roast this bamboo rat, I’ll beat them to death."

With Jiang Xuan’s words, everyone became obedient, after all, angering the leader for the sake of eating one bamboo rat was a very foolish thing.

Jiang Xuan glanced at everyone, then carried the beast hide bag and walked towards the place where Da Jiao was raising insects.

Da Jiao had already dug a new small cave, less than two meters deep, person-height, which looked fairly round.

When Jiang Xuan carried the beast hide bag over, Da Jiao was still working on this new cave, if he had more time, he would be able to dig it a bit deeper.

"Da Jiao, the large bamboo rats have been dug up, from now on it’s up to you to tame them."

Da Jiao quickly put down his tools, came out of the cave, and took the beast hide bag from Jiang Xuan’s hand.

"Leader, don’t worry, I will definitely raise these bamboo rats well."

Jiang Xuan then instructed Da Jiao on the essentials of breeding bamboo rats, such as not feeding water, and to dig some roots of grass rich in moisture for feeding, and also try feeding them small bamboo shoots, fresh reeds, and other plants.

Additionally, if the mother bamboo rat gets pregnant, it should be breed separately from the male bamboo rat, to prevent the male from biting the babies for its own desires.

These experiences were all gained from Jiang Xuan’s previous life breeding bamboo rats.

In digging bamboo rats on the mountain, he wasn’t as skilled as Chi Shao, but when it came to raising bamboo rats, he had considerable experience.

"Did you remember it all?" Jiang Xuan asked after explaining, looking at Da Jiao.

"I remembered." Da Jiao noted with his fingers, "No feeding water, feed grass roots, small bamboo shoots, reeds, separate breeding for pregnant mother bamboo rats..."

Jiang Xuan nodded, then added, "Also, if in the future the bamboo rats give birth to young ones, if they haven’t grown fur and can’t run yet, don’t look at them or touch them, otherwise the babies will pick up human scent and be bitten to death by the mother."

"Leader, I’ve remembered."

Da Jiao tried his best to remember every word Jiang Xuan had said, but Jiang Xuan said too much, he was actually a bit bewildered.

Seeing Da Jiao’s expression, Jiang Xuan knew what was going on.

"Don’t be nervous, just remember the earlier parts, if you forget something, or if you’re uncertain, just come ask me, I will also come by often to have a look."

"That’s really great." Da Jiao let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, this nest of bamboo rats is entrusted to you, if breeding goes well, we will dig more in the future."

"Leader, don’t worry, I will do my best to raise them well." Da Jiao promised chestily.

Jiang Xuan nodded and planned to leave.

But after walking only a couple of steps, he returned again, carefully inspecting Da Jiao’s cave, and frowned, "Keeping the Five-Colored Ducks in the cave is fine, just make a wooden door, but for bamboo rats it’s not feasible, they dig too well, they will escape."

"Ah? Then...what should be done?"

Da Jiao hadn’t anticipated that after digging for half a day, the cave wouldn’t be suitable for raising bamboo rats.

Jiang Xuan frowned and thought for a long time, then said, "Unless the ground and walls are all built with stones, so they can’t dig."

"Today is too late, don’t let the bamboo rats out, let them stay in the beast hide bag, tomorrow I’ll gather people to build the cave."

"Alright."

Jiang Xuan returned to the bamboo hut; Da Jiao placed the beast hide bag beside him, and as soon as there was any movement, he would quickly rise to check if the beast hide bag had been bitten through.

Fortunately, after this night passed, the beast hide bag remained in good condition.

The next day, Jiang Xuan brought three people and first dug several large baskets of clay by the creek, mixed the mud, then collected a large amount of stones, to brick the ground, walls, with stones little by little.

The reason for using clay was that mixed clay is closer to cement, less likely to crack when dry, unlike ordinary soil which cracks and falls when dried.

After the ground and walls of the cave were all bricked with stones, Jiang Xuan also built up one-third of the cave entrance, leaving a door space for entry.

This location requires placing a wooden lattice door, so no matter it’s cleaning filth or feeding food, it’s convenient.

Of course, the wood chosen for the lattice door must be hard and sturdy enough, otherwise, it can easily be chewed through by the bamboo rats then they escape.

Actually, it’s best to use an iron lattice door, but in this primitive tribe, there’s no such condition.

After finishing the wooden lattice door, Jiang Xuan also threw a heap of soft grass into the cave, letting them make nests and hide.

Finally, Jiang Xuan had people cut some fresh reeds and dug some grass roots to throw into the cave, providing food for the bamboo rats.

"Alright, now the bamboo rats can be placed in."

The beast hide bag contained quite a few grass roots dug during catching the bamboo rats, and they also incidentally stuffed some in the beast hide bag when returning, to provide food for the mother bamboo rat.

Da Jiao poured those grass roots, along with the large bamboo rat, small bamboo rats, from the beast hide bag into the bricked cave.

The large bamboo rat swiftly burrowed into the pile of grass to hide, with the three little bamboo rats following closely behind.

Jiang Xuan closed the wooden lattice door, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Jiang Xuan turned to the three people who came to help and said, "Everyone worked hard, tonight we’ll have meat."

Immediately those three beamed with joy; for tribal members, as long as they get to eat their fill, doing some work is nothing, having meat to eat fills them with enthusiasm.

Jiang Xuan also told Da Jiao, "Keep an eye on this cave, listen for any movement at night, don’t let the bamboo rats escape."

"Leader, rest assured, I live right here, any movement won’t escape my ears."

Ever since Jiang Xuan assigned Da Jiao to specialize in breeding, Da Jiao had assistance in constructing a bamboo hut in front of these caves, where he usually ate and slept, watching over the insects and Five-Colored Ducks, now added with a few bamboo rats.

Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "Go over and collect a piece of meat later; you can simmer it in a pottery jar or roast it to eat."

"I...also have a share?" Da Jiao was somewhat incredulous.

Jiang Xuan laughed, "Of course you do, you’ve been working hard these days, how can we leave you out when everyone’s having meat tonight?"

"Thank you, Leader, thank you, Leader..."

Da Jiao kept expressing gratitude; this feeling of being recognized made him very excited.

"No need to thank me, it’s what you deserve."

Jiang Xuan patted Da Jiao’s shoulder and said, "Do well; though now we only have four Five-Colored Ducks, four bamboo rats, if you take good care of them, eventually they’ll proliferate into countless Five-Colored Ducks, countless bamboo rats."

"One day, everyone in the tribe will eat meat because of you, everyone will thank you."

"Mm!"

Da Jiao nodded heavily, his face was red with excitement.