After dealing with the fire fruits and stem-leaf trees, it's time to deal with the wood ash cement.
"Oh my God, how much wood ash have I wasted before!" After reading the production method of wood ash cement, Meng Yuqing covered his head and cried out in pain.
"What's wrong? Wood ash is not a rare thing. If it is wasted, it is wasted. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even know that wood ash has so many uses." Xuan immediately came over to comfort him.
During this period, he could feel that Meng Yuqing was putting too much pressure on him, and sometimes he would get emotional for no apparent reason. However, when he got emotional, he would just complain about the things he had made and then silently digest it.
I never take my anger out on myself. I always talk to myself after I calm down.
"When we make soap, don't we soak the wood ash in water? Soap only needs that water, and we throw away the rest of the mortar, right?" Meng Yuqing closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing. "Wood ash cement is made from this ash residue. We waste a lot of it."
He rubbed his face, filled a clay pot with water, poured the wood ash into the pot and stirred it with a piece of wood, then poured all the water into another container.
Put on the animal leather gloves you made earlier and shape the remaining mortar into small balls.
Xuan was also forced to wear gloves. Although the wood ash water was not as strong as caustic soda, it was not appropriate to soak his hands in it for a long time, as it would still burn his hands.
However, it is better to make a colander, pour out the water, scoop out the mortar with a spoon, wrap your hands with leaves or unwanted animal skins, and then squeeze it.
After kneading these, Meng Yuqing soaked a few more cans of wood ash, poured the water into another container, and then began to knead the mortar balls.
After all the mortar balls were molded, Meng Yuqing put them all into a basket, took them to his small pottery kiln, lit a fire, and threw them all into the fire to burn.
"You can take these balls out when they are burned to emit orange light." Meng Yuqing pulled Xuan away from the small pottery kiln because it was too hot there.
Xuan was staring at the mortar ball in the fire from a distance, while Meng Yuqing sat next to him and began to look at the drawings of the cotton gin. This thing was rather complicated, and he had to study it carefully.
"It should be fine over there. I see a lot of small balls glowing orange." After an unknown amount of time, Xuan suddenly spoke.
Meng Yuqing raised his head, put the blueprints into the warehouse, walked over to the small pottery kiln, and used a wooden stick to pick out the mortar balls. "Let's put them there for now. Fill two stone cups with water. When these balls are cool, throw two in and try."
"Okay." As he said that, Xuan took out the unused stone cup from home and went to the big water tank to fetch water.
There is a large water tank at the door of every household in the tribe. Every morning, the orcs carry the water tank to the stream to fill it with water and bring it back.
Xuan has always helped to fetch water for Meng Yuqing's house. Although he can fill the pottery jar with water by running many times, it is definitely not as fast as the orcs carrying the water jar directly to fill it up.
After the mortar balls cooled down, Meng Yuqing poured some more water according to the proportion and then dropped the two mortar balls into two cups respectively. Xuan opened his eyes wide as he watched the water bubbling in the cups.
"Aren't these balls cold?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
"Then why is it still bubbling? It's like it's boiling."
"Hmm...it's called a chemical reaction." Meng Yuqing touched his head. "I can't explain it clearly now. Anyway, just know that after burning these mortar balls and letting them cool down and then put them in water, this will happen. This will prevent you from being cheated in the future."
Meng Yuqing specifically mentioned this when he thought that many so-called magic tricks of ancient quacks were just chemical reactions, pretending to be gods and deceiving people.
"Okay, I remember. I won't be fooled again." Xuan nodded seriously.
The mortar ball quickly turned into mud in the water. Meng Yuqing found some pottery that had failed to be fired or was accidentally broken, crushed it according to the proportion and threw it all into a cup.
He put some sand into another cup according to the proportions, poured it all out after mixing it well, and then pinched each into two small cubes.
"Put it in the sun for two days. Once it's completely dry, we'll know if it's successful." Meng Yuqing put the two small cubes aside. "I'll see what the difference is between adding pottery shards and sand. If there's not much difference, I'll use sand."
"What about these unused balls?" Xuan pointed at the remaining mortar balls.
"Put it in a cool place first. When you need it, just soak it in water and add sand or broken pottery." After saying that, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I have completed another task. Although I don't know if it was successful, it should be fine. I followed the steps strictly." He said to himself.
Xuan walked behind him, looked at him with some heartache, and finally just raised his hand and patted his shoulder gently.
"Let's start preparing the materials for making cotton gins tomorrow. We need to make more cotton gins before the Shanjian tribe comes." Meng Yuqing took out the production drawings of the cotton gin from the warehouse.
What he planned to make was a pure wooden cotton gin that could be operated by one person. It was almost the most suitable cotton gin for this world, and it could be upgraded after iron was found.
Even if he could exchange for higher-tech equipment, it would be difficult to produce it. He was just an ordinary male college student without such professional skills, and he often had to cross the river by feeling the stones.
He felt a little distressed when he thought about the need for suitable fabrics to make cotton-padded clothes.
"What's wrong with you? What are you worried about?" Seeing his expression, Xuan asked softly.
"Are there any animal hides that have thick, short fur? Or are there any hides that have very soft, short fur that won't prick you even if you wear the furry side close to your body?"
We certainly cannot rely on cotton to make cotton cloth, at least it is definitely too late this year, and there are too few stem-leaf trees to rely on this, so we can only start with animal skins.
Hearing his question, Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Yes, many small beasts with little offensive power have short fur that is very soft, much softer than the fur on our abdomens. The tribe has stored a lot of them, but these animal skins can't survive the winter."
Xuan paused, "Actually, the warmest thing is the hides of wild beasts after they've shed their fur after the snow. However, by then, we can hardly find them. Most of the hides used by the tribe for winter are hunted during the autumn hunt, and their fur won't survive the winter. So, when winter comes, sub-beasts have to wrap themselves in layers of hides, making it difficult for them to move."
He carefully explained how the sub-beasts survive the winter, as if he was teaching a child who was going through the winter for the first time.
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