RPS – Chapter 77 Little Wild Ducks

Since the tribe adopted a private ownership system, although not everyone, at least the majority have become more proactive. Those who were already working hard before have become even more diligent now. Every day, the men earnestly take on hunting and other outdoor responsibilities, while the women take full charge of all the household affairs, inside and out.

Li and Bu still hadn’t fully recovered from their internal injuries, but people from the tribe had already come looking for them to form hunting teams. Li Feng and Nuo grabbed onto Li and wouldn’t let them go out. Their injuries hadn’t completely healed yet, especially internal wounds, which took the longest to recover. They absolutely couldn’t go out; they needed to recuperate slowly, or it could leave behind lasting health issues.

Li was helpless. There didn’t seem to be anything visibly wrong with him anymore—even the bruises on his back had nearly faded. Though he still felt a bit uncomfortable in his chest when he coughed occasionally, it wasn’t really a big issue, was it? But not going hunting wasn’t an option either. How were their family supposed to eat? They couldn’t just live off what little they had left. Their food supplies needed to be replenished.

“Li Feng, we have to go hunting. You know how much food we go through every day.”

“I know,” Li Feng said, “but I also know that your injuries haven’t healed properly. So, you absolutely cannot go out. If you want to go, it can only be after you’ve recovered.”

No matter what was said, Li Feng was firm about not letting them go. How could he be at ease letting them out in such a state? What if their condition worsened? What if they felt unwell during the hunt?

“Exactly,” Nuo chimed in. “Bu, your injuries are even more severe than Li’s, so you absolutely can’t go either. If you’re really worried about the food, then I’ll go with them instead.”

Even the baby joined in on the commotion. Maybe it was because he had gotten used to being taught by Li Feng recently, or maybe he had just gotten good at it, but his little mouth kept chirping out “Daddy, Daddy…” with his smiling little face—utterly adorable. Li Feng, not to be outdone, picked the baby up and plopped him into Li’s arms.

As soon as the baby was in Li’s arms, his chubby little hands wrapped around Li’s neck, his mouth opened into a wide grin, and he planted several slobbery kisses on Li’s face. Then he looked up at Li with a silly smile, revealing four tiny white teeth—so bright and cheerful!

Li held the baby close and gave his soft little cheek a kiss, flashing him a dazzling smile. Then he turned to Li Feng with a helpless expression and said, “It’s absolutely impossible for you guys to go. Besides, if we don’t join a group now, then later we’ll have to go out on our own. By then, even the fixed groups might not be willing to take on new members, and no one might want to team up with us!”

Li Feng of course understood, but when it came to health, clearly Li’s recovery was the priority. “It’s alright. We can talk to them first. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll handle it when the time comes. Besides, we can still do some other things now. We can still find food that way.”

Li looked into Li Feng’s eyes and saw his persistence. Whether he genuinely understood Li Feng’s concerns or simply thought being an obedient man was the right thing to do, in the end, he agreed. If Li wasn’t going, then Bu certainly wouldn’t go either. Even if he wanted to, Nuo wouldn’t let him.

Li went and explained things to the people who had come to ask them to join the hunting team, telling them to find someone else. They all knew that there was no hope of Li Feng relenting, and Li wasn’t going to force his way into a team at the last moment, so they had no choice but to look for others to form a team.

“Don’t worry,” Li Feng said as he patted Li’s shoulder. “Didn’t Ka and the others get injured before too? I already spoke with the chief and the others—these internal injuries can’t possibly heal in a short time. You have to rest and recover properly. You’ll be able to join a team again later. Isn’t that perfect?”

“Huh? They’re not going hunting either? How is that possible? What are they eating then? The tribe isn’t doing food distribution anymore, is it?” Nuo exclaimed from the side.

“It’s fine. Don’t they still have other people in their group? A short rest is okay. Plus, Ka and the others are still staying in the chief’s house. The chief is taking care of them, so there’s no need to worry. In fact, the chief is already preparing to build new houses for Ka’s clan. When they’ve recovered, they’ll be able to move out,” Li Feng said without a hint of concern. These were things they didn’t need to worry about—Chief and the others had everything under control.

“Oh, right! I completely forgot about that,” Nuo slapped his forehead. He hadn’t thought of it at all—his attention had been entirely on Bu.

“We can’t just stay home doing nothing for so long, right? There’s nothing much to do here. That’s not a solution either,” Bu said, leaning against the wall.

“Haha, of course not. Didn’t I just say we could go find other food? Have you guys forgotten about the reed marsh we visited before?” Li Feng said with a sly smile. He’d already had it all planned out.

That reed marsh was now just the right time for birds to return. They could catch a few wild ducklings to raise—then they’d have both duck meat and duck eggs to eat in the future. And the best part: there were no snakes around right now. Last autumn, the eggs they had found—who knew if it was because of the wrong method, insufficient warmth, or maybe Li Feng just couldn’t tell what kind of eggs they were—either way, they didn’t hatch. He had worked hard at it, but in the end, nothing hatched. Still, Li Feng blamed it all on the cold weather, saying it wasn’t his fault. He even told Li and the others that even if they did hatch, the ducklings would have frozen to death anyway—so it was actually better that they didn’t. “Next year, we’ll just catch live ones directly.”

And now was the perfect time—this opportunity had come. They could go back to the reed marsh again. There should still be some eggs, and maybe even some already hatched ducklings. Of course, it would be best if they could catch fully grown ones—then they wouldn’t have to raise them from scratch and waste grain. But wild ducks could fly, so who knew how easy they’d be to catch? Maybe they should also make a few rope traps?

“That’s right! Uncle Li Feng, let’s go there. It’s fun and there are lots of eggs,” Lu jumped up excitedly—it was he who had brought Uncle Li Feng there in the first place.

“Alright, then let’s get ready to go together. Oh, and let’s go tell Ka and the others too. After all, aren’t we going to form a team with them in the future?” Li Feng patted Lu’s head but turned his eyes toward Li as he spoke.

The reed marsh was still a mix of green and yellow, though more yellow than green—mostly already withered and dried out. These reeds had extremely developed root systems, growing deep underground and intertwining with one another. Many were from a single plant spreading outwards. So even though the reed stalks died from the cold each year, there was nothing to worry about. In fact, it was even good for them—it meant new reeds would sprout the following year.

When Li Feng and the others arrived, there were already birds circling in the sky, and more were joining them one after another. After an entire winter away, everything here still looked exactly the same as it had when they’d last left. Lu, Mo, and the brothers Period and Comma who had come along with Li Feng were already running wildly nearby. Children were naturally curious and adventurous, and the idea of searching for bird eggs and ducklings excited them. They had just arrived, while Li and the rest were still walking slowly behind, yet the kids had already started treasure hunting in the area. Each of them carried a small basket on their backs, which they had woven themselves during the winter when they had nothing else to do. Small and handy—perfectly suited for them to carry.

“Ka, are you getting used to living in the tribe? Have you decided where to build your house?” Li Feng asked as he walked alongside Ka, cradling the baby in his arms. Ka seemed even weaker than Bu and the others. Li Feng wasn’t sure if it was because Ka had been more seriously injured or if he hadn’t recovered properly afterward. What Li Feng didn’t know was that Bu and the others had recovered quickly thanks to the nourishing food he had painstakingly prepared every day—food specifically tailored for the injured. Ka, on the other hand, had to tough it out on his own and rely on his body to heal naturally. No one had been making him anything special to eat, let alone healing food, so he naturally looked far more frail than Li or Bu.

Ka smiled and said, “It’s great here, much better than before. As for the house, I was thinking of building it near yours. What do you think?”

Everyone looked at Ka—in their neighborhood? There was still some open space nearby, but their home was located toward the rear mountain, relatively secluded. Most of the tribe had chosen to build their homes around the central area of the tribe. Their place was practically on the outskirts. “Won’t you find it too isolated?”

Seeing their surprised expressions, Ka explained with a smile, “No, I think it’s great there. There’s lots of space and it’s beautiful. Plus, Period and Comma can play with Mo and the others—they get along really well. Do you mind?”

“Of course not! We’d be thrilled—it’s great to finally have a close neighbor…” Li Feng hurried to explain. Though there were a few other families living nearby, they were all separated by several hundred meters—technically neighbors, but not close enough to visit easily.

“That’s great. It’ll be convenient to go hunting together in the future too.”

“Uncle Li Feng, come quick…!” Just as they were chatting, Mo suddenly called out from ahead.

“What is it?” Li Feng and the others quickly ran over. Last year there had been snakes, but this year there shouldn’t be any. Could it be they’d found something good?

Li Feng jogged over with the baby in his arms, and saw several tiny wild ducklings in a dry grass nest. Their feathers were a mix of black, brown, yellow, and white. Each duckling was small and fluffy, their plumage made up of all four colors. The tops of their heads were covered in fine, smooth black down, while the sides of their black eyes were dotted with soft yellow fuzz. The flat upper parts of their beaks were black, but the front tips were a bright, vivid orange. Because of the cold weather, the ducklings’ fuzzy down was puffed up, making them look even fluffier—utterly adorable. Who would’ve thought wild ducklings were even prettier than domesticated ones?

The ducklings were surprisingly adorable. Their brown feathers were speckled with the occasional small white dot, making them look naturally cute. The fluff under their bellies was dense and faintly yellow when looked at up close, but from afar, it appeared white. Maybe it was because they were all huddled together, but a few of the ducklings suddenly got frightened and began flapping their tiny wings in a panic, letting out loud “quack quack” cries.

The baby didn’t know whether he was excited or something else, but when he saw the fluffy, quacking little ducklings, he started squealing “ah ah” too. He was clearly delighted—his little mouth was grinning wide, and his tiny hands reached out, wanting to grab one to play with. But Li Feng was holding him tightly. The baby struggled in Li Feng’s arms, trying to get free but failed. Since he couldn’t touch the ducklings, he simply began calling out, “Daddy, Daddy…” while bouncing around in Li Feng’s embrace, as if trying to get down and walk on his own. He was overjoyed.

As for the ducklings’ parents, it was unclear whether they’d gone off to forage or had been scared away by the commotion—either way, they hadn’t returned in quite some time. Li Feng crouched down and set the baby on the ground, holding him steady so he could slowly waddle over to the ducklings. The baby, drooling and flashing four tiny white teeth, reached straight for the prettiest duckling. Though the ducklings could already move, they were helpless—Li Feng’s family, along with Ka’s family, had the whole group surrounded tightly. There was nowhere for the ducklings to run, so the siblings could only huddle together and cry “quack quack” frantically.

The baby’s chubby little hand caught hold of the one he liked and refused to let go. His tiny fist could only grab at the duckling’s feathers. The poor duckling was yanked forward by its feathers, flapping wildly in terror and quacking even louder. The baby thought it was playing with him, so he used both hands to grab onto more feathers. He was surprisingly strong and actually lifted the duckling off the ground. The baby giggled with delight. The louder the duckling cried, the happier he became.

Li Feng had originally planned to bring that duckling home for the baby to play with since he seemed to like it so much. But in a moment of distraction, the baby suddenly threw the duckling away and then flashed a sweet smile at Li Feng as if nothing had happened.

Li Feng rubbed his forehead helplessly. Did the baby think it was a toy? He had always felt bad that the baby didn’t have any toys to play with. If they were living in modern times, the baby would surely have lots of toys. But here, they had nothing. So Li Feng had started making some himself—he collected sticks, bits of wood, and slivers of bark, then strung them together with small ropes to create wooden wind chimes. He also made one using river mussel shells, though that one was only hung up when he was watching, since the edges could be sharp and might hurt the baby. The wooden one, however, was safe for the baby to play with freely.

Maybe all children are like this—they just enjoy throwing things and watching them hit the ground. Whether it’s the sound or something else, they find it funny. Perhaps the baby had mistaken the duckling for a wind chime and just threw it out of habit. Thankfully, the baby wasn’t strong, and the duckling was light. It also kept flapping its wings while falling, so it didn’t get hurt. But it was clearly more frightened. It stumbled away, shaking its tiny backside, and hid behind its siblings, refusing to come out again.

Li Feng lightly patted the baby’s chubby little bottom. “You little rascal, why are you so naughty? You can’t just throw everything. This duckling isn’t a toy to toss around.”

Of course, the baby didn’t understand what Li Feng was saying. He thought his father was playing with him and threw himself into Li Feng’s arms, calling out “Daddy” in his soft, sweet little voice while squirming around like he was trying to snuggle. Li Feng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Was the baby trying to act cute?

Their outing this time had been fruitful. They found several nests with bird eggs, and caught wild ducklings and other birds. But Li Feng’s group only took the ducklings—the other small birds couldn’t be kept alive anyway. He even took the whole nest of ducklings. When the ducklings’ parents came back, they caught them too. They had to sacrifice two animal-skin coats and a basket to finally capture the big wild ducks that had been guarding the babies.

Once they got home, they planned to clip the wings of the adult ducks so they couldn’t fly away. Then they’d build a proper coop for them. With the parents around, the ducklings would have a better chance of surviving—otherwise, Li Feng wouldn’t have dared to take the whole nest in the first place.

There were several dozen ducklings and seven or eight adult ducks. Li Feng’s family took two-thirds since they had more people, while Ka’s family took one-third. But since Ka’s house wasn’t finished yet and they had nowhere to raise them, a few of their ducks were temporarily left with Li Feng’s family. Once their house was built, they’d have some livestock of their own. As for the rest, they gave them to the tribal chief—after all, they were still staying at his house and relying on his support. The bird eggs were also distributed and taken to the chief’s home to be shared.

They placed the ducks in a small fenced shelter in the backyard. The change in environment made the ducks uneasy, and they kept quacking loudly. Among those most excited about the ducklings were the baby, Mo, and Lu. The baby in particular was overjoyed and kept trying to grab the ducklings to play. He was so restless in Li Feng’s arms, bouncing non-stop on the way home, that Li Feng was exhausted from carrying him. After they got back, the baby’s eyes stayed glued to the ducklings—wherever they went, his gaze followed. Even Li He and Li Feng felt a little jealous. How come this little guy was more interested in the ducklings than in them? He’d never stared at them so intently before. What a little traitor…

Even Mo and Lu crouched by the fence, unwilling to leave. Seeing how much they liked the ducks, Li Feng gave them a task—those ducklings were now their responsibility. Since it was spring, fresh grass and wild vegetables would soon be abundant. They could gather those to feed the ducks. For now, the ducklings were still too small, but they could start feeding them tiny fish and shrimp. That way, when the time came, the duck eggs would be large, thick, and a deep orange-red—tasty and pretty.

They could also mix leftover bits from grinding cornmeal or other grains with wild greens to feed the ducks. From now on, their family’s supply of duck eggs would depend on them. When the ducks grew up, the males could be slaughtered for meat, while the females would be kept for egg-laying. Just the thought of duck meat made Li Feng think of roasted duck, braised duck, cured duck, duck heads, duck necks, duck feet… all kinds of delicacies. Before his eyes, the fluffy little ducklings were already turning into full plates of duck feasts in his imagination. The poor ducklings, already frightened, puffed up even more. Their feathers stood on end like little porcupines, and their cries grew increasingly chaotic…

Of course, in the baby’s eyes, all those ducklings were just toys. From now on, he would have something new to play with every day.