Jiang Xuan walked along, observing as he went, and he discovered that the cave dwellings of the Rabbit Tribe were truly numerous.
They say a clever rabbit has three burrows, and just one clever rabbit digs three caves for itself. With these enormous rabbits all over the hills, how many caves must they have dug?
Sometimes, while walking along the path, they had to detour because there were caves in the middle of the road, covered with branches and weeds, making them into traps.
If a tribe were to attack, facing these hills full of caves, they probably wouldn’t even find where the Rabbit Tribe’s people were.
For a tribe without particularly strong combat abilities to exist for a long time, its ability to survive must be very strong.
The Rabbit Tribe is a typical example.
When they reached halfway up the mountain, they finally saw the houses of the Rabbit Tribe.
The houses of the Rabbit Tribe were different from those in other places; their houses were half underground and half above ground, connected to cave dwellings.
The way they obtained wood was also different from other tribes.
Other tribes laboriously chopped down trees, using stone axes bit by bit for small trees and resorting to fire for large ones.
The Rabbit Tribe was different; they didn’t have to chop down trees themselves at all. Those giant rabbits helped them by gnawing through large trees!
As Jiang Xuan arrived at the living area of the Rabbit Tribe, he saw firsthand a giant rabbit gnawing through a tree with ease, which was quite absurd.
Their pair of large incisors were as sharp as steel blades.
Shan Feng invited Jiang Xuan and the Old Witch into the largest wooden house in the center of the tribe, where he lived.
After entering the main door, there was a downward dirt staircase, leading inside this peculiar building.
Jiang Xuan also noticed that there were deep drainage ditches dug around the house, clearly to prevent rainwater from flooding into it.
Aside from this, there were two smaller holes in the corners of the room, and it was unclear where they led to.
The middle of the room resembled other tribes, with a perpetually burning hearth used for warmth and cooking food.
"Leader Xuan, please have a seat,"
Shan Feng warmly invited Jiang Xuan and the Old Witch to sit on the floor by the hearth, which was covered with wood and a layer of Beast Hide, making it comfortable to sit on.
Shan Feng’s several women attended to them, while his seven or eight children, who were shy, hid in the caves upon seeing strangers come in.
The women served many foods to Jiang Xuan and the Old Witch.
There was fresh beast meat and Beast Bone, along with various wild fruits, which were rather abundant.
Beast meat and Beast Bone were thrown into Pottery Jars to cook, while the wild fruits could be eaten directly.
Jiang Xuan laughed and said, "Leader Shan Feng, your wooden houses are quite distinctive."
Shan Feng proudly replied, "Our wooden houses can withstand cold winds in winter and offer a cool shelter in summer, quite comfortable."
This half aboveground, half underground architecture had good drainage, and with a hearth keeping it dry, it was indeed warm in winter and cool in summer, making it a comfortable place to live.
But the premise was that the Rabbit Tribe lived halfway up the hill, and those giant rabbits had hollowed out the underground.
Otherwise, given the humid and rainy climate of the Southern Wilderness, these houses would have long turned into fish ponds, uninhabitable.
This is also why each building can’t be the same; architecture that adapts to the environment can execute its intended function.
After simply eating some wild fruits, both parties proceeded to the main topic.
Jiang Xuan said, "Leader Shan Feng, we’re here this time to find a large piece of top-quality stone. If you have any, we can trade with salt and pottery."
The Old Witch sat quietly, but there was a noticeable expectation in her eyes.
Shan Feng confidently smiled and said, "Leader Xuan, you’ve come to the right place. Besides us here at the Rabbit Tribe, top-quality stone of large sizes is hard to find elsewhere."
Upon hearing Shan Feng’s words, Jiang Xuan knew there was hope, so he followed up and asked, "Can we go and have a look?"
"Sure, sit for a while, and I’ll go find someone to move the stone,"
Shan Feng stood up and went into a cave on the side of the house, disappearing in an instant.
Jiang Xuan and the Old Witch could only sit and wait.
Once the beast meat in the Pottery Jar was cooked, Shan Feng’s women used sticks to pick out the meat, put it into Pottery Bowls, reluctantly sprinkled some salt on the steaming hot meat, then served it to Jiang Xuan and the Old Witch.
The Beast Bones were not wasted. After cooking, the women fished them out, picked up stones and cracked open the bones to reveal the marrow inside, which was also served to Jiang Xuan and the Old Witch.
"Why aren’t you eating?"
After taking a few bites, Jiang Xuan noticed that the women only watched them eat but did not start themselves.
One of the older women said, "We’ve eaten already. This is all for the guests."
Since they said so, Jiang Xuan and the Old Witch continued eating.
However, he distinctly noticed the women swallowing discreetly.
Children from the caves peeked out, also drooling.
Suddenly, Jiang Xuan understood what was going on.
They hadn’t already eaten until full; rather, they brought out the good food to serve to guests, holding back from eating it themselves.
As a small tribe not strong in power, it was quite luxurious just to eat to one’s fill, let alone to regularly eat meat.
Although every tribe frequently went hunting, the food obtained from hunting was not stable. With good luck, everyone could feast; with bad luck, they would have to go hungry.
Because of this, the tribe mainly ate various wild vegetables and fruits, along with the relatively easy-to-catch and numerous insects.