The Autumn of Matriarchal Society (Novella) Zhang Baotong 2018.10.10

Mama decided to take her daughters to chop firewood in the pine forest. In winter, the amount of firewood used is even greater, and in addition to protecting the fire, they also have to roast and heat the meat, so they must stock up on a lot of firewood. On the other side of the river below their mountain is a vast sea of forests, and along the river into the depths of the forest, there is an endless pine forest. They had to cut down large quantities of pine trees and branches to make fires and roast meat. Pine wood and pine branches contain fat and are very easy to burn, and the grilled meat has an attractive aroma. In a few days, the temperature will drop significantly, and by then, the water will be cool, and if you go down into the river, you will easily get sick.

They came to the river with two stone axes and some rattans, ready to strip down to the river. They have long since stopped wearing clothes made of leaves, which can only hide the shame of the lower body, but cannot protect them from the cold. The upper body is no longer naked. Because the temperature in the mountains had dropped, especially in the morning and evening, they were already dressed in animal skins. This kind of clothing is very simple, it is a piece of sheepskin or fox skin wrapped around the upper and lower body, and then tied with rattan. Although this wraps around the chest, waist, abdomen, and buttocks, the arms and legs are still exposed.

They came to the river, laid down what they were holdings, took off their clothes, and went down into the river. The river was cold and had a biting feeling. They wet their bodies and let them slowly adjust to the temperature of the water, and then they began to cross the river with their clothes and tools. The river was not deep, but only up to their waists, so they quickly crossed the river and went up to the opposite bank. However, when I went up to the shore, I was blown by the wind, and my body was shivering with cold. They hurriedly wrapped their clothes tightly around their bodies.

After a short walk east along the edge of the river, we came to the edge of a pine forest. The pine forests here are tall and dense, and there are many small trees that are very easy to cut down. It was much easier to collect firewood than to hunt, and they didn't have to go up to the trees, they could get as much firewood and pine branches as they wanted by standing by the trees. The taller trees were very hard and tall, so they only cut down the lower ones. Stone axes are not very sharp, and they are easy to break, so they use their hands to break the pine branches, of course, they also have to cut some thicker trunks, this kind of firewood is more resistant to burning, especially at night when sleeping, you must add some dry and hard firewood to the fire, such firewood can be burned for an hour or two. So, they went for pine trees that were more than one person tall and cut them down.

They cut two deep nests under the tree, and with a single push, they knocked it down. By noon, they had cut down a large pile of pine trees and branches. They tied the pine trees and branches together with rattan. Originally, they could have returned with a full load, but they saw some pine nuts under the pine trees. These pine nuts fell to the ground, soaked by rain, and the surface was already somewhat blackened, covered with leaves and grass on the ground. In the past, they have come here to pick up pine nuts, but because they have been busy lately, they have not bothered to come here to pick pine nuts.

After chopping firewood, they saw that it was still early, so they picked up some pine nuts on the ground, wiped the soil on them with their hands, put them in their mouths and bit the hard shell, but the pine nuts inside were full of fragrance. So they threw the bundles of firewood on the river and began to pick up pine nuts on the ground. Although this kind of pine nuts cannot be eaten as food, when they have eaten, sitting by the fire and sipping pine nuts, it is a very rare enjoyment.

After a while, they picked up a lot of pine nuts, and when they had nothing to pack, they took off their shirts and wrapped them in animal skins. Because the pine nuts are scattered and covered with leaves and weeds, they are picked up very slowly. However, the deeper you go into the forest, the more pine nuts there are. By the afternoon, they had already picked up a lot, and their tops were full, but they could not fit their tops, and they could take off their lower clothes. Because it was already afternoon, the temperature in the forest was already a little warm.

When they went deeper into the forest, they suddenly heard a chirping sound, and they were startled, and when they looked up, they saw that the trees above them were full of monkeys. The monkeys were staring at them with very hostile eyes, as if they had invaded their home. When they saw that it was a group of monkeys, they didn't care, because monkeys generally don't attack people, and they don't hurt people, so they continue to pick up pine nuts on the ground.

When the monkeys saw that they were walking deeper into the woods instead of leaving, they began to roar together and warn them. However, their warnings did not go unheeded. When they had gone more than ten paces, they found monkeys jumping towards them from all directions, and their cries were drowning out like the roar of the sea.

The fawn hid beside Wu Ma in a panic and shouted, "Mom, go away!"

Wu Ma has never seen so many monkeys, a large area of black pressing, and there are more and more of them. If the monkeys did pounce on them, they would tear them to pieces. She immediately said to her daughters, "Hurry up!" and ran briskly toward the river, taking her fur tunic full of pine nuts in her hand.

They ran to the edge of the creek before they stopped, and then looked out into the woods, which were now very silent. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief, and bundled the hides in their hands one by one, ready to transport the bundled firewood home. There were five large bundles of firewood they fell, and each bundle was so large that it could not be carried by hand. However, they have their own way.

They dragged five large bundles of firewood to the river, took off their clothes, and put them in the water. Although the firewood is heavy, it floats to the surface when it reaches the water. They put their clothes, stone axes, and pine nuts on the firewood, and went down to the river, where they swam and pushed the firewood forward. The water in the creek is very gentle, but the temperature is still very cool. They swam slowly in the cold river, pushing the firewood forward until it reached the river below them.

They pulled the firewood to the shallow water, put the contents on the shore first, and then went down into the water and dragged the firewood to the river bank with all their might. When they put on their clothes and bathed in the warm sunshine, they felt a kind of warmth.

The firewood was soaked in the river, and it was very wet and heavy. They can't bring firewood home yet. So they untied the rattan from which they bundled the firewood, threw it on the grass to dry, and then moved it home when it was dry.