Chapter 48 introduces the new concept of "work-for-pay" in cement production.
Limestone is very common by the sea.
The white cliffs and coral reef islands on the shallow sea are all made of limestone.
Because the main component of limestone is calcium carbonate, reef-building organisms such as seaweed and corals can secrete calcium carbonate; the main component of marine organism remains, such as shells, is also calcium carbonate.
Previously, when Yu Yan was making soap, she even ground seashell powder into it to increase the soap's hardness.
When seawater becomes saturated with calcium carbonate, it precipitates out, and the remains of shellfish and algae are deposited. After compaction and cementation, limestone is naturally formed.
Limestone can be further crushed and calcined to obtain slaked lime, which has wide applications.
He's about to build a house and wants to use limestone to make some cement.
The reason I didn't go limestone quarrying before was twofold: firstly, there's plenty of limestone by the sea, so I can go anytime I want; secondly, I didn't have the time.
Now that the charcoal is ready and metal smelting is gradually getting on track, he needs to speed up the construction of the house.
The people in the tribe didn't know what he meant by "limestone" and looked puzzled.
Yu Yan described it to them, and they immediately understood.
"Oh—it's one of those big, grayish-white rocks!" Yin Qing asked. "Are you going alone? How are you going to collect those big rocks?"
Others chimed in, "Yeah, these aren't the same stones you collected to build your house. You can't carry them, can you?"
Yu Yan smiled and replied, "I plan to ask a few orcs to come with me."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, then remember to bring your quarrying tools."
"good."
Aluminum tools are too soft to chisel stones. Fortunately, during this time, the tribe used other metal ores to forge tools such as hammers and chisels, which are less hard than iron tools.
The tools were very few, and the entire tribe could only put together one set for common use.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Yin Qing and the others left together.
Yu Yan glanced at the live fish they had brought and said to Feng Gui and Lan Xiu, "How about I make some sauerkraut fish for us tonight?"
The pickled cabbage is ready. Feng Gui used it to stir-fry meat before, and it tasted very good.
Feng Gui said expectantly, "Okay, I'll go kill the fish."
Lan Xiu thought for a moment, "Then I'll go find Cang Feng and the others and tell them about going to quarry limestone tomorrow."
Yu Yan: "Okay, go and come back quickly."
Lan Xiu smiled and nodded, then transformed into a large tiger and ran away.
While Feng Gui was cleaning the fish, Yu Yan took out tender ginger, garlic, and chili peppers, washed and chopped them, and set them aside for later use.
Then, he took a clean earthenware basin, opened the sauerkraut jar, and scooped out two sauerkrauts with chopsticks.
The pickled cabbage he makes using this method is still green in color, with a pungent sour aroma that makes your mouth water.
After washing and chopping the sauerkraut, Feng Gui returned with the fish.
Yu Yan took out an aluminum knife and cut the fish into slices.
"This fish is really good, it has very few bones. Which river did you catch it from?" he asked Feng Gui.
Feng Gui: "They are in our tribe's rivers, but they live in deep water, so we don't have many chances of catching them."
Yu Yan nodded, thinking about how she could weave a fishing net or make a fishing rod to catch fish in the future.
The aluminum knife worked very well; he quickly sliced the fish and soaked it in cold water with ginger juice.
About ten minutes later, he took out the fish fillets, dried them with paper, and then seasoned the fish with duck egg whites and salt.
After preparing the ingredients, he set the fish aside to marinate, heated oil in a wok, first stir-fried the pickled cabbage until fragrant, then added the freshly chopped seasonings and the fish bones cut into sections and stir-fried them together.
Feng Gui stood beside him, studying diligently.
"Father, please scoop some clean water into it for me."
"They're here."
Yu Yan seasoned the sauerkraut soup with oyster sauce.
Because the pickled cabbage is already very salty, he didn't add any extra salt.
The firewood in the stone stove roared and burned, and soon the sauerkraut soup boiled, its rich, sour and spicy aroma wafting out.
Feng Gui sniffed it, his eyes shining, and said, "It smells so good."
"Right? It's delicious for cooking fish fillets."
While waiting for the soup to cook, Yu Yan and Feng Gui prepared other dishes.
He kept glancing into the woods, and when he saw Lanxiu return, he immediately smiled and poured the fish slices into the pot.
The fish fillets cooked very quickly; after about a minute, Yu Yan served the dish.
There were no other side dishes; the soup and fish alone filled a whole large bowl.
Lan Xiu walked over and asked with a smile, "Is it ready?"
Lan Xiu: "Just a little bit more!"
He deftly sprinkled the chopped nuts, minced garlic, and dried chili peppers into the bowl.
Heat oil in a ceramic pot until it's very hot, then pour it over the pot with a sizzling sound.
The aroma of nuts, garlic, and chili bursts forth instantly, and the colors are bright and appealing.
Yu Yan examined it for a couple of seconds and nodded with some satisfaction.
Lan Xiu offered, "I'll take it."
Yu Yan: "Mmm. Slow down, don't burn yourself."
"knew."
The three of them started eating, and the first thing they all reached for with their chopsticks was this delicious-looking pickled fish.
The fish slices are very tender, so you can't use too much force when picking them up; they tremble precariously on your chopsticks.
Yu Yan pouted slightly, blew on it, and when it wasn't so hot anymore, she put it in her mouth.
His eyes widened as soon as his taste buds caught the flavor.
It's sour and spicy, really appetizing!
The fish has few bones, and because it's fresh, it's not fishy at all. It's smooth in your mouth and tastes incredibly delicious.
He ate with great satisfaction, and his beautiful eyes narrowed again.
After swallowing the food in his mouth, he used a ceramic spoon to scoop some soup into a bowl, blew on it, and slurped it up.
"Mmm! The soup is delicious too! The pickled cabbage flavor is so strong, and the fish flavor has infused the soup perfectly!"
It's no exaggeration to say that none of the pickled fish he'd ever had in modern times tasted as good as this! The original flavor is simply unbeatable!
Feng Gui also praised the dish highly. He loved the pickled cabbage in it and finished the whole bowl in no time, his face turning red from the spiciness.
Although Lan Xiu didn't say much, he ate quickly with his chopsticks, his eyes always sparkling.
Seeing that they enjoyed it, Yu Yan was happy too, and ate even more heartily, her lips soon turning bright red from the spiciness.
Lan Xiu put down his chopsticks and handed him a bowl of cooked animal milk.
Yu Yan smiled and said, "Thank you."
After taking a couple of sips of the milk, the pain subsided considerably.
He smiled and remarked, "If there were Sichuan peppercorns, the flavor of this dish would be even more complete."
...
The next morning, the sky was clear with light clouds.
After finishing their chores at home, Yu Yan and the others went to the altar square together.
Cangfeng, Moye, Senbai, Wenlie, and other orcs were already waiting here.
"Yu Yan, you're here."
"Hmm, shall we set off now?"
"Okay, you fly ahead, we'll follow you."
Yu Yan nodded, flapped her wings, and flew into the sky.
He led them to the shallow sea area, where they could see large expanses of grayish-white limestone cliffs from a distance.
After landing, he squatted down and checked it over.
"This is the stone I want. Please help me carve some out."
"good."
Cangfeng took out metal tools and distributed them to the beastmen, gesturing for Yu Yanfeng to step back, and began to chisel away.
With their strength and the aid of their tools, they quickly broke through the limestone.
Lan Xiu transformed into his beast form, and the other beastmen carried large stones onto his back.
Yu Yan stood on the shore directing the operation, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed some dark green seaweed floating on the shore, so she casually pulled it over.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the kelp had grown for several years, reaching lengths of several tens of meters.
The three of them probably wouldn't be able to finish eating it even by autumn...
Yu Yan was amused by her own thoughts, rolled up the seaweed, and stuffed it into the basket on her back.
Seeing that the stones were almost packed, Yu Yan flapped her wings and flew around the seaside.
Looking down from the air, the seaweed is even more clearly visible in the shimmering seawater.
Yu Yan asked Cang Feng and the others, "There's a lot of seaweed in the sea. Do you want to catch some to take back and eat? It tastes good in cold salads or soups, and it's nutritious too."
Yu Yan always talks about the word "nutrition," and everyone understands what it means.
Cangfeng put down the last stone, turned his head and said, "Okay!"
Mo Ye and the others said, "Let's grab some too."
One person scooped up another large piece of seaweed before heading towards the tribe in a grand procession.
On the way, Cang Feng flew ahead of Yu Yan and asked her, "Are you going to burn this limestone after you collect it?"
Yu Yan nodded: "Yes."
Cangfeng: "Use charcoal?"
Yu Yan: "Try using wood first. If it doesn't burn, then we'll have to use charcoal."
Cang Feng remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "Okay."
Sensing that he was having trouble, Yu Yan asked, "What's wrong?"
Cangfeng spoke the truth: "Yu Yan, our tribe still has too few people. Right now, everyone is busy making paper, weaving cloth, firing pottery and charcoal, and doing metallurgy... We're a bit overwhelmed."
Yu Yan: "Indeed, even I haven't gone out to collect materials for a while."
Not to mention Cangfeng and the others who lead the tribe, they can't leave either.
"But don't worry, everything else can wait. Let's finish your business first."
Yu Yan was somewhat touched: "I was thinking, could we perhaps divide up some of the work?"
Cangfeng: "Oh?"
"For example, paper. Qingqing and the people of Mingyuan tribe can both make it, so we can just trade with them. As for weaving, we can have other tribes spin the thread first. The same goes for metal smelting; the beastmen can learn it and get started."
The peregrine falcon turned its head, its eyes lighting up. "You mean, transport charcoal and ore to other tribes so they can smelt it?"
Yu Yan: "That's right. We have the method for making charcoal, so we're not afraid of others learning it. We can even trade the wood needed for charcoal with other tribes. This way, we can save ourselves a lot of trouble."
Cangfeng: "Let me think about it."
Upon arriving at the tribe, they carried limestone toward the pottery kiln.
The more Cangfeng thought about it, the more he felt that Yu Yan made sense.
The peninsula tribes have many good things now; if we don't make some changes, people will get exhausted.
After unloading the limestone, Cangfeng called everyone over and discussed it with them. Everyone agreed with Yu Yan's suggestion.
Yu Yan also mentioned a new concept—payment in lieu of work.
"For example, if they want to exchange for our tribe's charcoal, metal tools, pottery, food, etc., they can exchange their labor for the goods. I believe many people would be willing to do it."
Cang Feng and the others were stunned. Could this really be done? How did Yu Yan come up with this?
If it were them, and other tribes had so many good things that they could exchange for simply by putting in effort, wouldn't they be scrambling to get them?
You see, the thing orcs have in abundance is strength.
"Yu Yan, you're amazing," Senbai said sincerely. "Let's do it this way!"
Yu Yan looked at Cang Feng: "You can discuss the specifics further."
Cang Feng nodded: "Okay, I'll send messages to several nearby tribes later."
Moye: "What should we do next?"
Yu Yan: "We need to smash the limestone."
Senber: "This job is easy."
Yu Yan: "Then you guys get to work first, I'll go to the tribe and call some more people to dig up some clay."
Feng Gui: "I'll go with you."
Yin Qing and Xue Fei went out to collect materials, Xin Yu was busy at the alchemy furnace, and Yu Yan called the other sub-beastmen to join them.
When they heard that he was going to dig clay, everyone was happy to help.
Yu Yan only knew that the raw materials for making cement were limestone and clay, but she didn't know the specific ratio.
So he plans to dig up several different types of clay to experiment with.
Metallurgical slag, which contains metal, can also be added and calcined to improve the quality of cement.
Since the clay was located in different places, everyone separated after leaving the tribe.
To Yu Yan's surprise, he was halfway through digging when he heard Fan Su's voice behind him.
"Yu Yan! We've brought you more food!"
A huge black python flattened the lush grass, crawled to his side, and transformed into human form.
Maoli and several other orcs from the Deep Lake tribe followed behind Fansu.
They were very handsome, like male models on the street. When they weren't smiling, they had a damp and chilling aura about them.
Yu Yan straightened up and asked with a smile, "What kind of food?"
Fan Su took off the basket from his back, opened the lid, and showed it to Yu Yan.
Inside were branches with clusters of small, green, bumpy fruits.
"Huh?" Isn't this Sichuan peppercorn?
Yu Yan picked up a twig, smelled it, then plucked a small fruit and put it in her mouth.
It definitely tastes like Sichuan peppercorns!
Mao Li leaned closer and asked expectantly, "How is it? Is it edible?"
Yu Yan: "Yes, these are the Sichuan peppercorns I've been looking for. How did you find them?"
Mao Li: "Haha, our mouth ulcers are all healed now. Everyone is really into exploring the wild and has tried a lot of things they wouldn't have dared to try before. Some people even hallucinated from eating mushrooms... This fruit tastes as strange as chili peppers. We thought you would like it, so we brought it to you."
Yu Yan: "..."
"Never mind," Yu Yan smiled, offering no further explanation.
"Are the people who experienced hallucinations from eating better now?"
"It's all better now! If it weren't, we would definitely come looking for you."
"Yes, thank you everyone for sending me Sichuan peppercorns. I'll teach you how to make paper later."
The members of the Deep Lake Tribe looked at each other, all very happy.
"No rush, no rush."
"Are you digging clay? Let us help!"
They didn't give Yu Yan a chance to refuse; they rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
Originally, Yu Yan's group had traveled the furthest, but because of their addition, they were the first to return.
Upon arriving at the tribe, Cangfeng came to greet them.
"Chief of the Fansu Clan."
"Clan Chief Cangfeng." The people on both sides greeted each other in a friendly manner.
Yu Yan was busy working with the clay and said to Fan Su, "My father is also an expert in papermaking. Can he teach you? I still have some work to finish."
They immediately said, "Go ahead."
Do you need our help?
Yu Yan smiled and shook her head: "No need this time."
Everyone watched Yu Yan leave. Cang Feng invited Fan Su and the others to sit at his house, and Feng Gui followed along.
On the way, Cangfeng told them that the peninsula tribe wanted to hire some helpers.
Fan Su immediately realized this was a golden opportunity and eagerly replied, "We can!"
The men behind him chimed in, "You saw how strong we are when we were laying the foundation last time. You can't go wrong hiring us!"
"We also found some metal ore in the tribe, so let's use it to make tools!"
Fan Su really has a great interest in the charcoal of the peninsula tribes. Last time I came, I held it and looked at it for a long time.
After returning to the tribe, he also led his people to try burning it, but unfortunately, the quality was far inferior to theirs.
Their reactions were exactly what Cang Feng had expected.
"Come on, let's sit down and talk."
Upon hearing the news, Xin Yu rushed back from the alchemy furnace and joined Cang Feng in entertaining the guests.
Fan Su and the others first learned the papermaking technique, and then had a serious discussion with Cang Feng about labor and compensation.
It was already afternoon when the two parties reached an agreement.
Fan Su and the others transformed into beast forms, loaded themselves with charcoal, aluminum ore, and forging tools, and then bid farewell to Cang Feng and the others.
Cangfeng called Senbai over and asked him to go with Fansu and the others to the Deep Lake Tribe to instruct them in metallurgy.
Senbo also transformed into his beast form, hovering in the sky. His feelings about going out this time were different from any other time.
In the past, the peninsula tribes were very weak, and birds, beasts and people ran errands for the people around them in exchange for supplies.
This time, he was tasked with strengthening the tribe. Even the chief of the Deep Lake tribe had to listen to his guidance. How could he not feel excited?
"Clan leader, please tell Yu Yan that we're leaving now!" Senbai shouted.
Cangfeng looked up and waved his hand: "Got it, have a safe trip."
The giant snakes left with the things.
Cangfeng transformed into a beast, carrying Xinyu, and flew towards the pottery kiln.
After landing, he discovered that Yu Yan had led a group of people to open a limestone kiln on the other side of the mountain.
Compared to a pottery kiln, this kiln is much smaller, but it has better ventilation.
Yu Yan realized this while crushing limestone; limestone produces gas when heated, and she worried that it might blow up the kiln.
"Yu Yan, we're here," Xin Yu asked. "How's things going on your end?"
Yu Yan was holding a notebook in her hand, instructing everyone on how to put the raw materials into the lime kiln.
These materials are crushed limestone and processed clay powder and slag, mixed in different proportions.
"Two batches have already been fired; we'll start firing the third batch soon."
"Cangfeng and I also came to help."
In the first batch, Yu Yan used wood to fire the furnace, which resulted in a significantly lower temperature, and the limestone barely decomposed.
Undeterred, he prepared the ingredients again, and for the second batch, he used charcoal and even added bellows. This time, the result was slightly better than the last, but it still didn't meet Yu Yan's requirements.
"There's no way to save this charcoal," he muttered.
By the third furnace, with the addition of white charcoal and bellows, the temperature inside the kiln became extremely high, and gases were continuously expelled, finally completely decomposing the limestone.
Seeing this, Yu Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief. On the bright side, at least they had charcoal to use.
If the temperature of the white charcoal is not reached, then there's really nothing that can be done.
With limited raw materials in the kiln, it was fired in about half an hour.
Yu Yan kept a close eye on the situation inside the kiln, meticulously recording the changes in the materials.
After extinguishing the fire and opening the kiln, he told everyone to be careful, carried out the fired materials, and went to check them himself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
