With Han Cheng leading the way, the eighteen individuals who ventured out were evenly split between men and women.
Among those left behind, the leader was Second Senior Brother, skilled in using slingshots.
The reason for not letting him go along was twofold: firstly, the tribe needed someone to stay behind, and secondly, slingshots were more suitable for defense than hunting.
Thirdly, his large size would take up too much space on the boat, causing discomfort for everyone, especially Han Cheng, who was worried he might sink the boat.
So, the Second Senior Brother stayed behind, and the remaining eight adult males were mostly individuals like Lame, Mu Tou, and Hei Wa, who were not considered professional fighters.
There were more adult females left in the tribe, totaling twenty-seven.
Except for one woman in labor, the rest gathered on top of the wall, participating in the great "Defense of the Green Sparrow."
With the experience from the defense against the Flying Snake Tribe's attack two winters ago, the people of the Green Sparrow tribe were somewhat adept at handling the aftermath of war.
After waiting for safety confirmation, half of the people left the wall carrying rattan shields and stone spears.
Only two wounded individuals were left behind, as four of the injured, in their attempts to flee, were killed during a second attack by the Green Sparrow tribe.
The two terrified primitive women were dragged back to the tribe.
The nine corpses, after the arrows stuck in them were removed, were gathered together and burned in a place far from the Green Sparrow tribe...
The shaman was furious. Despite their tribe providing them with delicious salt, the Bone Tribe still dared to attack their tribe!
It was simply outrageous!
At this moment, the shaman had selectively forgotten about his plan to use salt to strategize.
Filled with anger, he meted out severe punishment.
Following the methods previously taught by the shaman, the two primitive women were treated for their injuries. However, instead of offering comfort, they were slapped repeatedly while the shaman muttered curses under his breath.
The two women, already terrified, curled up in fear, barely daring to move, occasionally letting out uncontrollable cries.
To those who didn't know, the shaman seemed as vigorous and powerful as ever.
Meanwhile, Han Cheng and the others downstream were unaware of what was happening here.
At this moment, they rowed their boat, steadily approaching the tribe.
Each boat had four oars, two at the bow and two at the stern.
With their combined efforts, the four oars paddled in unison, propelling the boats against the current faster than one might imagine.
The clouds in the sky, the grass and trees on both banks and the birds in the air were all reflected in the water, giving the illusion of the boat gliding through a painting.
As they neared the tribe, everyone, including Han Cheng, wished they could rush straight to the tribe.
In the ceramic jar used as a vase, besides the well-cared-for Chaihu, a few more plants were added: the wild hemp that Han Cheng had ordered to be dug up on the way back.
Although he knew there would be another trip in autumn when the wild hemp would be ripe, he still wanted to bring some back now.
After a long journey, it was always good to bring something back to the tribe.
With a bowl in her hand, Milk Tea Sister reached into the water, scooping up some water and pouring it onto the Chaihu and wild hemp planted in the jar, mimicking Han Cheng's actions.
Her illness had completely recovered, and she learned from Han Cheng that something called Chaihu cured her illness. So, in the past few days, she had been very concerned about these things planted by Han Cheng in the jar.
After spending this time together, Milk Tea Sister was no longer as timid as when she first arrived. She became much more lively.
However, her liveliness was only limited to Han Cheng. When facing adults like Eldest Senior Brother, she still appeared timid, like a frightened little deer ready to flee at any moment.
This might be related to the fact that she was once threatened with being thrown into a fire and burned to death by adults in the tribe.
Han Cheng called out.
She immediately looked towards Han Cheng.
Han Cheng smiled and pointed to the boat's bow, saying to her, "Write."
Milk Tea Sister immediately put down the ceramic bowl she was holding, put her two hands in front of her eyes for a moment to identify them, found her right hand, dipped her right index finger in the water in the bowl, and, relying on her somewhat blurry memory, clumsily and earnestly wrote on the bow of the boat stroke by stroke.
The characters were crooked and irregular, especially the first character, "奶," which looked like two characters to those who didn't know.
"Milk~ Tea~ Sister~!"
After finishing writing, Milk Tea Sister pointed at the disappearing character "奶" and the following two characters. She looked awkward and slightly tongue-tied as she pronounced each word.
After pronouncing them, she thought momentarily and pointed at herself with her finger.
Han Cheng smiled and nodded at her, rubbing her head.
Milk Tea Sister was very clever. Along the way, Han Cheng occasionally taught her some simple Mandarin, such as "Chaihu" and "Milk Tea Sister," which she remembered and could say.
She could even write her name now.
Praised by Han Cheng and having her head rubbed by him, Milk Tea Sister showed a happy smile.
The two braids swayed back and forth.
Of course, this was Han Cheng's handiwork.
Milk Tea Sister's hair had probably never been washed since birth and was messy like a chicken coop.
After she had recovered from her illness, Han Cheng boiled water and washed her hair with Mu Tou ash. However, no matter how he tried to style it, it was still unruly.
So, after it dried, he carefully burned off the ends with fire.
Even if he was careful, using fire to burn hair never looked good.
Feeling guilty as he looked at her hair, which looked like a blessing had gnawed on it, Han Cheng found two pieces of rope and tied two braids for her. Although they were somewhat crooked, they looked much better than before.
However, it made Milk Tea Sister look like the village's silly little girl...
Milk Tea Sister liked her two braids very much. Perhaps it was the innate skill of women. After trying a few times with water, she surpassed Han Cheng...
The small boats continued, and from afar, they could see the animal-hide flag waving proudly on the bank not too far away.
They were almost at the bamboo forest by the Egret River!
They had to dock here. Compared to wild hemp and Chaihu, bamboo shoots, which could be eaten as food, were undoubtedly more suitable as gifts to bring back home.
The four small boats successively docked. Tie Tou, the most active one, jumped off the shore, pulling the rope by hand to make the bow of the boat tightly against the riverbank so that the others could disembark more steadily.