Chapter 351 - 152: Offering Loyalty
On December 19th, when the island was nearly engulfed in darkness, two indigenous people followed Chen Zhou back to the cabin.
The moon had gone from full to waning.
The dim mountain path was illuminated by bright moonlight, and the lush crops swayed in the wind. The lookout tower inside the walls lit its lamps once again.
...
Duoduo Lu and Ah Tun sat on the edge of the bed covered with a mattress, staring intently at the oil lamp on the bedside cabinet.
Everything they saw and heard today was entirely new to them, unheard of experiences, even the work they did was something they had never done before, fresh endeavors.
From the cart pushed by Chen Zhou, to the camp at the foot of the mountain, the wooden and stone wall on the beach, and that menacingly hefty armor.
Then to the fishing rod in Chen Zhou's hand, the bonfire that didn't require wood-drilling to ignite, and the deliciously flavored grilled fish...
Life after being rescued was far from as bad as they imagined.
Due to the presence of companions, the two even felt life here was not only happier than in the tribe but also not lonely.
Thinking of this, Duoduo Lu couldn't help but rub his round belly from eating, got up, pulled open a drawer, and took out the remaining half piece of chocolate.
"Ah Tun, here."
Under the lamplight, he broke the half piece of chocolate into two and handed it to his thin companion.
Ah Tun originally wanted to accept it; however, thinking about his father's plight, he retracted his outstretched hand.
"This is a gift from the Celestial God for you, I can't take it..."
Before he could finish, Duoduo Lu grabbed his hand and forcefully placed the chocolate into his palm.
"Ah Tun, don't you understand?
We've left the tribe; this is the Celestial Kingdom.
In the Celestial Kingdom, the merciful Celestial God won't cut off your ears, and in the Celestial Kingdom, no one will take away the food you've gathered and only toss a few wild fruits to you."
His brown-black eyes reflected the burning light, flickering with a light named hope that had never appeared before.
His gaze passed through the glass window by the bed, Duoduo Lu looked toward the towering lookout tower, with indescribable reverence and longing in his tone.
"This is our new homeland, we've come back to life.
Do you understand?
Ah Tun, we are no longer who we used to be, we are now closer to the real Celestial God than the Leader and the priests.
He loves us as a father loves his children..."
After saying this, seeing Ah Tun still silently gazing at the chocolate in his palm, Duoduo Lu patted Ah Tun's shoulder, encouragingly speaking again.
"Go ahead and eat, after we finish we will sleep, tomorrow you can catch more fish to repay the Celestial God."
...
After hesitating for a moment, Ah Tun finally tentatively placed the chocolate in his mouth, carefully and slowly chewing, savoring the sweetness of this magical food.
He ate while gazing toward the stone wall behind the cabin or watched the door, as if afraid that two people would suddenly leap out and cut off his ears.
Fortunately, what he feared did not happen; until the chocolate was completely melted in his mouth, the night remained quiet.
Whew~
According to Chen Zhou's teaching, Duoduo Lu blew out the oil lamp, and the warm, dim light within the cabin faded away.
"Go to sleep, Ah Tun, I can't wait for tomorrow to arrive."
Saying this, Duoduo Lu took off his pants and climbed into bed.
The scent of lavender enveloped him, he pressed down on the soft mattress, slowly lay down, placing his head gently on the pillow.
He felt relaxed, he felt warmth, experiencing many feelings he had never felt before.
Turning his head, through the glass he could just see the stars above, and the outer wall of the kiln cave below them, Duoduo Lu sincerely rolled over onto his stomach, filled with piety.
He seemed to feel again, that invisible foot stepping on the back of his head; it remained gentle, still compassionate, and brought him a most anticipated feeling—
Safety.
...
Already having gained preliminary trust in the two indigenous people, on the night of the 19th, Chen Zhou didn't climb the lookout tower again to monitor them.
However, he didn't go to bed early either.
Compared to usual, today's workload was indeed unusually minimal, making him feel like he had taken a day off.
His muscles hadn't fully stretched; he had merely spent the afternoon fishing for hours, then starting a fire and grilling fish, having a big meal, and the day ended.
As evening approached, with nowhere to release his energy, he could only light the lamp in the kiln cave and get busy with other matters.
...
The addition of two helpers had already brought him benefits, and Chen Zhou eagerly wanted to train the two indigenous people well and then delegate all the tedious, repetitive tasks to them.
Tonight what occupied his thoughts was how to teach the two indigenous people to farm and pasture as quickly as possible, letting them take care of the crops he had painstakingly cultivated and the goats he had captured and domesticated.
Communicating through language or body gestures clearly wouldn't work.
Chen Zhou ultimately decided to leverage his strengths and use the most understandable method for teaching—painting.
There was still a considerable amount of white clay boards left in the kiln cave, and he worked through the night drawing several teaching diagrams illustrating the process of plant growth.
Each clay board was divided into several small images, marked with Arabic numerals, and annotated with Chinese characters—Chinese characters could play a role later when the indigenous people learn Chinese.
Chen Zhou thoughtfully marked many potential hazards to crop growth for the indigenous people.
For example, watering, the illustration demonstrated the process of watering adequately, with the crops then growing robustly to maturity, but also depicted the plants withering from insufficient water or getting root rot and dying from too much water.
Another example was wild grass, pest damage, and threats from rodents and birds to the crops.
With his knowledge of the biology surrounding the edge of the forest, even if he didn't see several common types of wild grass or parasitic plants similar to dodder at the moment, Chen Zhou accurately drew their appearance with a charcoal pencil.