Chapter 55: The Song of Pottery and Fire, the Birth of Hope Town's First Sewer Pipe...

The first pipeline technology research team in Xiwang Town faced a major setback on its very first day of operation.

The challenges of firing ceramic tubes are far greater than anyone imagines.

Lin Yue and his three newly recruited disciples plunged headlong into tackling this brand-new technological challenge. They were like a group of mischievous kids rolling around in the mud, covered in mud splatters, but their enthusiasm was at an all-time high.

They strictly followed the pottery-making instructions in the [Basic Clay Firing Techniques] that Lin Yue had redeemed from the system. They selected the high-quality red clay they had found earlier, mixed it with a certain proportion of fine sand to increase the aggregate strength, added water, and repeatedly pounded and kneaded it to try to completely expel the air from the clay. This process was extremely tedious and physically demanding. Amu and Tie Niu, two strong young men, took turns pounding the huge lump of clay thousands of times with newly made wooden mallets until the clay became fine and pliable, like a good dough.

The real nightmare begins in the sculpting stage.

They were trying to make the first batch of hollow, slender ceramic tube blanks. Lin Yue came up with a solution: he found several round wooden sticks about the thickness of an arm, which were smooth and polished. He then evenly wrapped the prepared clay around the sticks and carefully tried to pull them out.

As a result, these wet mud pipes were as soft as freshly cooked noodles and couldn't take shape at all. When the stick was pulled, the mud pipes immediately collapsed into mud cakes, creating a very awkward scene.

"No, this method won't work." Lin Yue wiped the mud off his face and rejected his brilliant idea.

Norm observed carefully for a while, then adjusted his non-existent glasses and offered a suggestion: "Lord Lin, perhaps...we...don't...take...the...core...out? Can we...dry...the core...together? Wait...until...the clay is half-dry...and set, then...take...the...wooden stick...out?"

"Great idea." Lin Yue's eyes lit up, and he immediately adopted the suggestion.

They made another batch, and this time, they patiently waited for the clay tube blanks, wrapped with wooden cores, to dry slowly in a cool, well-ventilated place. This process lasted two days. Only when the surface of the clay blanks turned white and the hardness was about right did they begin to carefully and slowly extract the wooden cores by rotating them.

This time the results were much better; most of the tube blanks successfully maintained their hollow tubular shape. Although the tube walls were uneven in thickness and the shapes were crooked due to my lack of skill, at least it looked like a tube.

Carrying these hard-won tubes of hope, the research team eagerly sent them into the simply modified brick kiln.

As a result, reality once again gave them a resounding slap in the face.

When Lin Yue and his apprentices, after a long and anxious wait, finally opened the kiln door, they were greeted by a scene resembling a disaster—a floor littered with broken, warped shards of pottery. An entire kiln's worth of hard work had been almost completely destroyed under the scorching heat.

Some, due to their thin walls, melted and collapsed directly in the high temperature, turning into an indescribable, glassy substance. Others, due to their thick walls and excessive temperature difference between the inside and outside, shattered directly into countless fragments. Still others, though barely retaining their shape, bent into various peculiar S-shapes or twisted forms, as if suffering from rickets.

"I told you long ago, burning mud pipes? It's pure nonsense, a waste of firewood and clay." Uncle Stone Fist appeared behind them with his hands behind his back. He circled the pile of scrap twice, unleashing a series of merciless, venomous taunts, as sharp as the blows of a warhammer. "With this effort, you'd be better off firing a few more kilns of good bricks, or properly repairing my blacksmith shop. Look at this ground, it's uneven, hindering my performance. And the wooden handle of that big iron hammer is almost cracked."

As he cursed, he kicked a cracked piece of ceramic pipe hard, making a crisp "crack" sound, as if playing a final elegy for this failed experiment, or venting the resentment he had accumulated over the past few days watching them work so aimlessly.

Amu and Tie Niu squatted dejectedly to one side, their faces and bodies covered in mud and dust, looking like two groundhogs just pulled out of a mud pit, their eyes filled with frustration. Norm, meanwhile, was also frowning, staring blankly at a pile of pottery shards, seemingly analyzing the mechanical principles and heat conduction effects of the failure.

Lin Yue's spirits sank to the bottom. He knew Shi Quan was speaking in anger, but it was also true. They had indeed wasted a lot of resources and time. He even began to doubt whether his idea for a separate bathroom was a bit too advanced. Was it simply impossible for them to realize it with their current level of technology?

But he couldn't give up. He was the backbone of the team; if he backed down, the project would truly be doomed. Everyone's expectations would turn into disappointment.

"Failure is the mother of success, don't be discouraged." Lin Yueqiang clapped his hands, trying to boost morale. "We're doing scientific research, there's no such thing as success on the first try. Edison failed more than a thousand times to invent the light bulb. We've only just begun! Pick up the failed samples, study them carefully, and see where the problem lies! Is it the wrong mud ratio? Or is the heat not controlled properly?"

As he spoke, he took the initiative, picking up a few representative pieces of scrap and carefully examining the fracture surfaces and signs of deformation. But looking at Shi Quan's expression that seemed to say, "I'll just watch you keep showing off and see how long you can keep it up," he knew that conventional motivational speeches were no longer effective.

To deal with this stubborn, soft-hearted, and meat-loving tech geek, you have to serve up a hearty meal and launch a full-on food attack.

“Uncle Shi Quan,” Lin Yue suddenly put on a mysterious smile, leaned closer to Shi Quan, and lowered his voice, “You are an old man with keen insight and sharp eyes, you must have seen through our problem long ago, you just wanted to test us young people, right?”

Shi Quan was taken aback by his sudden flattery and instinctively wanted to refute it, but he swallowed his words and just snorted heavily, which was taken as an admission.

"Look," Lin Yue continued, "you've been busy all morning, instructing us and worrying about us. You must be hungry, right? To thank you for your kind and friendly technical guidance, and to celebrate the valuable experience we gained from our failures, I've decided to treat you to a special lunch today. Try my latest creation, a fusion of potato and wheat essence, the ultimate dish that will make you forget all your troubles after you finish eating!"

Without saying a word, he half-pulled, half-dragged Shi Quan, who was still pouting, towards the kitchen.

Half an hour later, an incredibly strong aroma, a blend of rich wheat, caramelized potatoes, and the salty fragrance of dried meat, wafted out of the kitchen, like an invisible hook, precisely piercing into everyone's nostrils.

Lin Yue walked out triumphantly, carrying a masterpiece made on a newly polished stone slab as a plate.

On the stone slab lay several golden, round flatbreads with enticingly browned edges. These flatbreads were made from freshly ground, still slightly luminous, starlight wheat flour, mixed with steamed and mashed stone-skin potatoes, and then finely chopped dried meat cubes marinated with exotic herbs and a small amount of fire pepper powder. The mixture was kneaded into a dough and then slowly pan-fried over a low flame in a scorching hot iron pan coated with a small amount of animal fat.

Golden brown on both sides, crispy on the outside and incredibly soft and chewy on the inside! With one bite, the aroma of roasted wheat and the crispy crust explode in your mouth with a soft "crunch," followed by the unique, mineral-scented, smooth and sweet flavor of the Shifu mashed potatoes. Finally, the dried meat chunks hidden inside release a rich, savory, and slightly spicy meaty aroma as you chew!

The research and development funding for this dish, which Lin Yue named "Golden Potato Wheat Pancake," completely won over Uncle Shi Quan's increasingly discerning palate.

At first, he was reserved, using the small iron fork Lin Yue handed him to savor the food bit by bit. But soon, his primal, craving for delicious food overcame his dwarf pride. He threw the fork aside, grabbed a whole piece with his large, fan-like hand, and stuffed it into his mouth in a few quick bites. His mouth was greasy, and his beard was covered in golden crumbs. He mumbled indistinctly, "...Hmm...this...tastes alright...better than...better than eating potatoes dry...um...is there any more tomorrow? It would be even better with more diced meat."

Lin Yue was secretly delighted to see his tsundere attitude.

Just as Lin Yue was about to strike while the iron was hot and continue to persuade Shi Quan to help improve the kiln by promising to upgrade the food standards for tomorrow, an unexpected technical helper took the initiative to come to his door.

A middle-aged Silent Woman named Ella, with exceptional dexterity and a gentle demeanor, had been silently observing them from a distance. She witnessed Lin Yue and his companions' repeated failures, and then saw Lin Yue successfully bribe the grumpy dwarf with food. After hesitating for a long time, she finally approached, encouraged by her companions.

She first performed a graceful, chest-touching gesture characteristic of the Silent Ones, then whispered, "Lord Lin...Lord Lin Yue...Master Shi Quan...I...may...know...how to burn...that...long tube..."

All eyes instantly turned to her.

Ella seemed a little nervous, a blush rising on her fair cheeks, but she still mustered her courage, picked up a fairly intact tubular clay piece from the ground, and used her long, slender, and dexterous hands to gesture and explain: "We...the Silent Ones...long ago...had an...ancient...pottery-making technique...used to make...long, slender vessels for holding holy water and for sacrifices..."

She explained that in order to prevent the slender pottery from collapsing and deforming due to its own weight during firing, their ancestors would first fill the inside of the pottery blank with some dried, flexible straw or tough stems of specific plants as a temporary internal support framework.

“…When…it’s put into the kiln…and fired…the grass inside…will…slowly…burn away…and turn to ash…” Ella struggled to organize her words, her eyes clear and earnest. “But…the mud outside…has been slowly…hardened by the fire…and has its own…bones…and pipes…won’t…collapse…”

Her seemingly simple suggestion, which contained ancient wisdom, was like a wake-up call, instantly enlightening Lin Yue.

“That’s right, internal support, how come I didn’t think of that?” Lin Yue slapped his thigh and excitedly grabbed Ella’s hand. “Sister Ella, you are a genius! You are our savior! This is not just pottery making, it is a perfect combination of long-lost structural mechanics and materials engineering.”

Ella blushed at the incomprehensible words he uttered and his sudden enthusiasm, quickly withdrawing her hand and lowering her head in embarrassment.

Stonefist, standing to the side, fell into deep thought after hearing Ella's explanation. He had always believed that the dwarves possessed the true hardcore technology, the art of strength and fire, but he hadn't expected that the ancient techniques of these seemingly weak races also contained such exquisite and ingenious wisdom, although he still didn't like the Silent Ones who had an elven air about them.

With the core technology provided by Ella, and the kiln modification plan provided by Uncle Shi Quan, who had been completely won over by Golden Potato Wheat Cake—he grumbled as he redesigned the fire channels inside the kiln, added several side holes specifically for dehumidification and observation, and together with Lin Yue, used his rich experience and the scientific theories provided by Lin Yue to jointly develop a new heating curve that was smoother and more scientific, divided into five stages: "preheating, drying, heating, constant temperature, and cooling." The ceramic tube firing project team was once again filled with confidence.

They gathered a large quantity of dry straw and a type of bagpipe grass that Old Patton recognized—a hollow and exceptionally tough variety—and carefully, evenly filled it into the new ceramic tube blanks. This time, they were even more meticulous, ensuring that the wall thickness of each tube blank was as uniform as possible.

Then, these cored tube blanks, like precious treasures, were carefully placed into the newly modified kiln and ignited again.

This time, everyone held their breath, waiting nervously. The atmosphere was even more tense than when the molten iron was first heated.

Lin Yue and Shi Quan took turns guarding the kiln entrance, constantly monitoring the color of the flames and the changes in the blanks through the observation hole. Graeme, along with his people, prayed silently in the distance, asking the spirit of the sacred tree to bless the successful firing.

It took a long time, feeling like an eternity, of baking, heating, roasting, and cooling.

When the kiln door was opened again, everyone couldn't help but let out a suppressed gasp.

Inside the kiln, although there were still a few defective products that failed due to uneven filling or incorrect firing temperature, the vast majority of the ceramic tubes miraculously maintained their complete, straight, and hollow tubular shape.

They are all a hard, terracotta red color. Although some are slightly bent due to uneven burning of the internal filling, the surface and the inside are quite smooth. They produce a crisp sound when struck and are full of texture.

[System Notification: Through multi-party technical cooperation and cultural exchange, the first batch of [Hope Town No. 1 Ceramic Pipes (Rough)] has been successfully fired! Quality: Ordinary. Properties: Fair pressure resistance, good corrosion resistance, average inner wall smoothness. Suitable for basic sewage and water diversion systems.]

[Unlock achievement "A Song of Pottery and Fire"! Gain +1200 experience points and +250 system points! Community technical integration level greatly improved! Ella gains the title "Master Potter," and Norm gains the title "Apprentice."]

Lin Yue held up a still-warm, slightly crooked, but significant ceramic pipe, like holding an Olympic torch, and with all his might, announced to the residents of Hope Town who were watching, their faces filled with shock and elation:

"The pipeline to civilization has been laid! The next step is to make the water flow!"