Chapter 17: Big Brother, full of surprise and excitement
Senior brother, eight men, and twelve women walked through the snowy landscape, enduring the biting cold that made them huddle and shiver.
A small icicle from his beard hung on the chubby face of the second brother, who liked to drool.
After a long and arduous trek through the snow, the harsh combination of cold, hunger, and prolonged walking had drained their strength and warmth.
The atmosphere in the group was somber.
All the strong laborers from the tribe were out, toiling in the freezing conditions for an entire day, and their efforts only yielded two scrawny mountain chickens.
In these circumstances, their spirits were understandably low.
The leader, the senior brother, appeared gloomy and burdened. As the tribe's chief, the lack of food weighed heavily on him.
Unable to provide sufficient sustenance, he felt the pressure on his shoulders increase.
It seemed like they would have to continue reducing food rations. Except for those initially assigned fewer provisions, the children and women were unable to endure prolonged activity in the snowy terrain, and everyone else would have to endure less food.
Giving the stronger members the available food was the only way to conserve strength for the tribe to search for more food and ensure survival.
This solution was not the leader's preference. If possible, he would want everyone in the tribe to eat their fill. However, reality forced him into this dilemma.
The familiar cave was in sight, with a warm fire, comfortable straw, and fur waiting inside, along with their fellow tribespeople.
Yet, the leader hesitated, reluctant to bring back the disheartening news of the lack of prey.
Suddenly, the blocked cave entrance opened, and a group of children and remaining women emerged, cheering and running towards the returning hunting party.
Witnessing this scene, the leader's spirits sank even further.
From the current situation, he could infer that those left inside the cave had been anxiously peering through the crevices, hoping for the hunting party to return with an abundance of food, ending the hunger in the tribe.
However, he had only brought back two meager mountain chickens.
As the jubilant crowd approached, the leader, for a moment, felt an inexplicable urge to escape.
"Chief!"
"Chief!"
Children from the tribe ran up, greeting the leader before rushing toward their parents in the group.
The leader found it strange that these children and the women from the cave did not exhibit the disappointment he had expected upon realizing the hunting party had brought back no prey.
When Big Brother saw the shaman standing at the cave entrance, looking towards them, his heart warmed. There was no need to say it. This must be the shaman worrying about them, giving prior instructions.
Thinking this way, he ignored the hesitant woman, quickened his pace, and walked to the cave entrance. Facing the calm and smiling shaman, he bent down, respectfully calling out, "Shaman."
His voice sounded somewhat low, filled with guilt, shame, and warmth.
The shaman smiled, touched his head, patted his shoulder, and said, "Go back, get warm."
Big Brother's eyes were a bit moist. He nodded vigorously, slightly lowered his head, and entered the cave.
The shaman stood at the cave entrance, going one by one to touch the head of each returning person, saying, "Go back, get warm."
This encouraged those who braved the cold to hunt for the tribe.
Han Cheng stood aside, silently watching, acknowledging the shaman's wisdom. Through this gesture, the atmosphere of the entire hunting team greatly improved, and everyone became more united.
"Fishes!"
"So many fishes!"
Hearing the senior brother's incredulous exclamation from inside the cave, everyone who knew the situation, including the shaman and many children, laughed happily.
Among them, the happiest was probably the Lame. Tears rolled down his cheeks from laughter.
Upon hearing the senior brothers exclamation and seeing the expressions of those inside the cave, the others who hadn't entered were curious about what had happened in the tribe on the day they went out hunting. How could there suddenly be fish?
Looking at the hundreds of fish piled together inside the cave, the people who returned from hunting were stunned.
They couldn't understand. There were no fishes now, so why did the tribe suddenly have so many fishes?
Of course, not everyone was shocked beyond belief. For example, Second Brother immediately began drooling after the initial shock.
"Shaman, this, this"
Senior Brother, for a moment, didn't know what to say as he inquired about the situation from the shaman.
The shaman's face was full of smiles. He pointed to Han Cheng standing on the side, then pointed to the Lame, who seemed awkward then, and began to explain.
The flames inside the cave flickered, and the aroma of roasted fish spread throughout the cave. The previously oppressive atmosphere due to the food crisis completely disappeared, replaced by a cheerful mood infecting everyone.
Senior brother had a great time tonight, taking out forty fish. It was a satisfying feast for the people in the cave who hadn't eaten a decent meal for a long time.
After roasting the forty fish, they were all placed on the stone slab to store food on ordinary days, forming a high pile.
Senior Brother first picked a delicately roasted fish of suitable size and brought it to the deepest part of the cave to present it to the shaman.
Then he returned, not as before, taking some food and leaving with his family. Instead, he carefully selected a fish about a foot long, carried it with both hands, and walked towards Han Cheng.
He bent down to Han Cheng and said, "Fish, eat."
Han Cheng waved his hand at Big Brother, signaling no need for such formality. However, Senior Brother insisted, and Han Cheng had no choice but to accept the roasted fish with a smile.
Big Brother returned to the food pile again. This time, he picked out the largest fish, almost two feet long and nearly 10 kg in weight.
Just when everyone Senior Brother was going to take the largest fish for himself, something unexpected happened.
Senior Brother held the fish with both hands, walked to the outermost edge, and bent toward Lame, saying, "Fish, eat."
Lame was stunned by Big Brother's gesture, awkwardly shaking his hands and repeatedly shaking his head.
Big Brother directly placed the fish into his arms, saying, "Eat."
Then, he patted the Lames head with a smile before returning to get his food.
Lame stood there, holding the largest fish, in a daze momentarily. After a while, he suddenly burst into tears.
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