I am a Primitive Man

Chapter 254: The Evil Nian

New Year!

This was the decision Han Cheng made after returning to his room and calming his mind a bit.

If he could produce pottery, salt, aquaculture, and farming, why couldn't he bring "New Year" here?

He would celebrate the New Year here since he cannot return to the past or experience the atmosphere of New Year celebrations in the future.

Besides Han Cheng's own unresolved emotions, holding such a festival could also subtly strengthen the ideological and cultural construction of the Green Sparrow Tribe, enhance the cultural identity and cohesion of the entire Green Sparrow Tribe, and even have a greater impact than the shaman's sacrifices.

After making this decision, Han Cheng went to talk to the shaman about it.

At this time, the Divine Child was looking at a ceramic plate with many moons carved on it.

Shi Tou occasionally made a few remarks, explaining the meaning of the carvings to the Divine Child.

Because Han Cheng had carefully explained the concepts of "year," "month," and "day" to the tribe when he talked about the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, the Divine Child already had a concept in mind.

Although not very clear, combined with the "moons" drawn by Shi Tou, it was still helpful. Slowly, those unclear areas in his mind became more evident.

Han Cheng asked Shi Tou to call the Eldest Senior Brother to discuss this matter.

Although he knew that the Eldest Senior Brother, as the leader, would not have any objections to this matter, Han Cheng still didn't want to bypass him. This man who led the Green Sparrow Tribe through difficult times deserved respect.

"New Year?"

The shaman repeated this new term he had just learned from the Divine Child, showing a thoughtful expression.

He didn't understand why the Divine Child suddenly mentioned this "New Year" thing, and couldn't figure out why he did so.

Shi Tou on the side, with their two shiny eyes, were rolling around, seemingly lost in thought.

The Eldest Senior Brother also remained silent, wearing a pensive expression.

It wasn't easy to make them understand the concept of "year" and what it represented. At least, it was more difficult than Han Cheng had thought.

Seeing that the three people most receptive to new things in the tribe had this kind of reaction, Han Cheng couldn't help but scratch his head.

It wasn't easy to promote the concept of New Year in the tribe.

How should he explain the concept of "year" to everyone?

Han Cheng pondered this with distress in his heart.

"The thing is"

Han Cheng opened his mouth again and paused slightly. When he saw the three pairs of eyes looking at him, he continued, "Deep in the mountains, a huge beast is living there. The beast's name is Nian"

After thinking for a while, Han Cheng suddenly remembered the tribe's fondness for stories, so he told the story of the "Nian" that had been passed down from who knows when with some modification.

The effect was surprisingly good. As soon as he started telling the story, the three people in the room were immediately captivated.

As Han Cheng talked about the terrifying Nian coming out of the deep mountains to attack the tribe, destroy their caves, and eat the tribe's people, the shaman's expression turned serious and panicked. He involuntarily stood up and blocked Han Cheng.

In urgency, the Eldest Senior Brother picked up a wooden stool and blocked the door, while Shi Tou, with a pale face, gritted his teeth and stood before Han Cheng. The shaman pulled him behind.

Han Cheng was moved yet somewhat amused. Could they not have such a big reaction whenever they heard a story?

Han Cheng helped the shaman back to the edge of the heated bed, pulled Shi Tou aside, and pulled the Eldest Senior Brother to let him put down the stool and sit back correctly. He said to the doubtful trio, "The Nian won't come now. It only visits the tribe on the last day of the year"

"We have walls, bows and arrows, and slingshots"

The most lively Shi Tou reacted, pulling a serious face and clenching his fists.

This was what the shaman and the Eldest Senior Brother wanted to say.

The two looked at Han Cheng, expressing the same meaning as Shi Tou.

Han Cheng smiled inwardly. Not bad. They had a fighting spirit.

But on the surface, he shook his head solemnly. "No, the Nian is tough. Stone spears, bows, and arrows can't hurt it. Stone caves can collapse, and our walls are made of earth."

Upon hearing Han Cheng's words, the initially somewhat confident individuals became even more panicked.

Han Cheng was worried that they would react in the same excessive way as before, so he didn't dare pause for too long. He continued, "But the Nian fears loud noises and fire. As long as we light fires and set off firecrackers on the last night, it won't dare to come out"

After hearing Han Cheng's explanation, the three gradually relaxed.

While thinking about the evil Nian, they also considered how to deal with it.

"Divine Child, what are firecrackers?"

This was a good thing to deal with the Nian. It was necessary to clarify.

When Shi Tou asked this, Han Cheng was secretly stunned. The story wasn't modified enough; he mentioned firecrackers casually but forgot that there were no bamboo trees around the tribe.

What should he do now?

Seeing the Divine Child's reaction, the shaman and the Eldest Senior Brother felt something was wrong. It seemed that the Divine Child couldn't produce "firecrackers" to scare the Nian.

"Firecrackers make a loud noise after burning," Han Cheng explained.

"We don't have that nearby No but we have drums. The sound of drums is louder than that of firecrackers"

At this moment, Han Cheng couldn't help but praise his cleverness. He managed to smooth over such a flaw.

The three people's eyes lit up when they heard Han Cheng's words. Yes, they had drums!

The drums made by the Divine Child sounded like thunder when beaten!

They were all somewhat afraid of that sound, let alone the Nian, which was already afraid of noise!

They asked when the last day of the year would come. Han Cheng came to the ceramic plate carved with moons by Shi Tou, and with a piece of charcoal, he circled twenty-five black circles behind the last question mark drawn by the Black Baby this month and blackened the last circle. He told them that this was the last day of the year.

This was actually Han Cheng's guesswork. Shi Tou didn't carve enough moons to find a pattern, so he didn't know whether this month was a big month or a small month.

But a one-day margin of error didn't matter. After all, there wouldn't be a Nian coming. Han Cheng just wanted to use this as an excuse to introduce the concept of the New Year to the Green Sparrow Tribe in a more acceptable way.

With the highest meeting about the New Year over, Han Cheng, the shaman, and the Eldest Senior Brother gathered the tribe's people together. Following the successful example not long ago, they first told the story of the evil Nian, and then proposed ways to deal with it. Naturally, everyone agreed.