Vu Elder glanced for a moment, though a bit surprised, he didn't object.
A tribe guided by divine intervention would not suffer from hunger and cold deaths in the harsh winter days.
As for Minh Vu, he was also impressed by Klu's gesture.
He knew how influential the feathered hat was within the Stone Giant tribe.
After some contemplation, Minh Vu used both hands to accept the feathered hat, symbolizing his assumption of the leadership position in the Stone Giant tribe, the second-in-command after Vu.
Seeing him donning the feathered hat, the entire tribe roared in celebration, as if heralding a new era for the Stone Giant tribe.
After the cheering, Minh Vu took on Klu's responsibilities of food distribution.
He chose the biggest and largest fish for ceremonial offerings to the "Spirit" and then allocated portions to Vu and Klu.
Following Klu was Orc, one of the hunters with tremendous strength.
Despite his strength being on par with Klu's, his expression revealed a dull and foolish countenance, likely due to a central blood-related issue.
Orc stared attentively at the feathered hat on Minh Vu's head, filled with admiration.
The aroma of grilled fish caused his mouth to salivate uncontrollably.
Receiving a 2kg fish, he voraciously devoured it, as if he had not eaten for three days.
The hunting party, including Klu, now consisted of only 13 members, with 10 healthy individuals and 3 seriously injured ones who couldn't work for a short period.
The number of women was three times that of men, with around 35 women aged 18 to 38, the remaining being children aged 3 to 14, including Minh Vu.
The rest were elderly individuals over 40, with limited labor capacity. They couldn't join the main hunting team or perform strenuous tasks.
While distributing food and observing, Minh Vu quietly calculated the upcoming tasks. In this final stage of autumn, he had a myriad of responsibilities and needed time to plan and rearrange everything.
After dinner, the sky had darkened.
Klu and Orc worked together to seal the stone door to ensure the tribe's safety.
In the past two consecutive days, the Stone Giant tribe suffered more than 3 casualties from Wolf Fang's raids, causing anxiety among the tribal members.
At this moment, everyone gathered around the fire.
Minh Vu sat in the highest position, beginning to instruct tribal members on crafting the Spirit Trap for fishing.
The components included a string made from tree bark and small, straight sticks made from flexible branches. While teaching, Minh Vu also crafted, making it a lengthy process.
The second Spirit Trap was only completed after a while, and the one below was far from finished, as their hands lacked the finesse to complete it in a single attempt. Nevertheless, Minh Vu was satisfied.
Night fell, and the tribe members were concentrated near the fire.
Minh Vu, sitting in the highest position, began instructing and demonstrating the crafting of the Spirit Traps to catch fish.
The components consisted of a string made from tree bark and thin, long sticks made from flexible branches with high elasticity. Minh Vu simultaneously explained and crafted, so it took quite a while to complete the second Spirit Trap.
The one below remained incomplete because their hands lacked the necessary skill and precision for a one-time accomplishment.
Despite this, Minh Vu was content.
As darkness enveloped the surroundings, only the sounds of peaceful sleep could be heard in the cave. Occasionally, the night was interrupted by quiet moans.
The Stone Giant tribe immersed itself in dreams, envisioning a hopeful tomorrow.
When the first light of dawn appeared, the Stone Giant tribe began a day of great harvest under the distribution plan of their new leader, Vu.
Vu, along with the tribe members, went to the riverbank to initiate the work. A complete processing site for seafood was established by the riverbank.
Beneath the smooth water surface of the river, various aquatic creatures, such as shrimp, crab, snakes, and even dangerous creatures like swamp crocodiles, coexisted.
However, in such a small stream, the predatory animals were less attracted.
The dominant creature in this river segment was the smooth-skinned fish, holding the advantage in numbers. Moreover, it was a species with strong reproductive capabilities; as long as there was enough space, they could reproduce endlessly.
With the experience gained from the previous day and the addition of three Spirit Traps for fishing, courtesy of Minh Vu, the Stone Giant tribe's daily production could increase four to five times.
Initially, Vu opposed Minh Vu's idea of a large-scale harvest. He argued that, as it was the end of the season and there wasn't enough sunlight for drying the fish properly, it would lead to spoilage and waste. For the Stone Giant tribe, wasting food was a matter of great significance since food was the essence of life.
However, for Minh Vu, this was a minor issue. Lack of sunlight for drying fish could be compensated for by other methods, such as using a smokehouse, which was simple but effective at this time.
One regrettable thing was the absence of seasonings to make the smoked fish more flavorful, and the most crucial of these was salt. This item was exclusive to the Stone tribe.
Minh Vu had numerous ideas in his mind, but he needed to proceed cautiously, advancing step by step without making sudden leaps in this era.
Returning to the riverbank work site, the wild grass around the fishing area had been cleared. Under Minh Vu's guidance, the Stone Giant tribe members began constructing temporary grass and wooden pole houses.
Additionally, they built four 1-meter-high platforms underneath for making fires, intending to dry the fish.
Fish caught from the river were gutted and cleaned by the hunting team members using bone knives, and the women then washed them with water before placing them on the firewood racks.
While some children and elderly individuals followed Minh Vu's instructions to mine stones, others searched for fragrant plants. What Minh Vu needed were purple herbs, particularly sage and chili, the strategic ingredients in the smokehouse technology.
Since the smooth-skinned fish had a strong fishy odor, proper handling was essential to avoid spoilage. Minh Vu had learned from the hunting team members that animals eating grass or stones were occasionally spotted. Given that the Stone tribe had a salt mine, there was likely to be salt or salt ore in the vicinity. Finding these substances would increase the Stone Giant tribe's health by more than five times, reducing the risk of infant mortality by 8 times.
Initially, Vu was skeptical of Minh Vu's fish-drying method, but he used the excuse of divine guidance to avoid objections. However, his experienced eyes continued to observe the four smoking platforms.
Each tribe member had their assigned task. Minh Vu also had to research and create other useful items.
Based on what he knew, not only the Stone tribe but also other tribes had not yet produced items made of clay or, in other words, pottery. The vessels used to store water during the dry season were bamboo tubes.
Although Minh Vu had never made clay utensils, he knew what they looked like. Pottery was the foundation of a developing civilization. When pottery appeared, the primitive humans in this era would rise to a new level. Furthermore, the food chain would become more diverse and abundant.
Minh Vu gathered some clay from the riverbank and a flat piece of stone. He had to utilize the short time available to create pottery before the winter season arrived. When pottery became available, he could boil water, which would help retain body heat and provide an additional layer of security for this vulnerable tribe.
Assisting him were two girls around 13 or 14 years old. In this era, 13 or 14 years old was truly a useless age, spending the whole day playing with electronic devices and engaging in unbearable mischief.
However, in this environment, these children had overcome numerous dangers since birth to survive until now. In the primitive age, human life was like trash, living today and dying tomorrow.
Therefore, the children who survived until now had experienced many incidents.
Under the guidance of Chief Minh Vu, the three of them began a magnificent project that surpassed the era.
They lifted the clay from the riverbank, mixed it with ashes, and molded it into a smooth, flexible substance.
At this point, Minh Vu started shaping it under the watchful eyes of the two curious girls.
He intended to create a clay pot with a diameter of 30 cm and a depth of about 20 cm.
The two girls followed suit, creating smaller items not suitable for pots but perfect for bowls.