Chapter 57 Exquisite Glass Tinware
The peninsula tribes living by the sea have a long coastline.
It includes alpine areas, rocky beaches, mudflats, sandy areas, and so on.
Yu Yan had seen a lot of fine sand when she was circling the beach before.
Today, as he flew overhead, he encountered people from the tribe turning over the seaweed they were drying; this was the next batch of "goods" to be delivered to the highland tribes.
They noticed him too, waving enthusiastically and calling out, "Yu Yan, wanna come beachcombing?"
Yu Yan answered loudly, "No~ I came here to dig some sand."
"We're almost done here, we'll come find you in a bit!"
Yu Yanzai carefully selected a piece of white sand after a long time.
It's hard to imagine that the sand could be so white and fine without any maintenance.
Yu Yan took off her shoes and walked barefoot on the beach.
The sun wasn't too strong in the morning, a gentle sea breeze blew by, and the sand was warm and comfortable to walk on.
Layer upon layer of waves lapped against the shore, creating a pleasant splashing sound.
Yu Yan squatted down, scooped up a handful of sand, which contained almost no stones, only some small fragments of seashells.
He took off the basket from his back, took out a metal shovel, and bent down to shovel sand into it.
The orcs who were drying seaweed came over and helped him fill the other baskets.
Qinghui, who was leading the group, asked curiously, "Yu Yan, are you digging sand to mix with cement?"
Yu Yan shook her head. "No, I want to try to cook something."
Qinghui's eyes widened slightly: "Sand can be burned?"
The orc behind him laughed, "Have you forgotten limestone and gypsum?"
Qinghui said embarrassedly, "Indeed, I don't know what the sand will look like after it's been burned."
"I guess it'll be a completely dark area?"
"Then why not just mine the black stones directly?"
On their way back to the tribe, they discussed it with curiosity.
The group landed at the altar square.
A large number of people had gathered here, but they weren't dividing up the prey; instead, they were queuing up to receive their stone mills.
Some of those who had already received their supplies were grinding the soaked white kidney beans.
They exclaimed in admiration, "The new stone mill is so good! It grinds the beans so finely in just one pass!"
"Haha, we don't have to fight over the big stone mill anymore."
Those who hadn't received theirs yet were getting anxious: "Chieftain, how much longer until it's my turn?"
Cangfeng's helpless voice came from the center of the crowd: "You can go back and wait. I will send it to you when it is finished."
"Then forget it, I'll just wait here."
"..."
Someone shouted, "Yu Yan and the others are back!"
The crowd immediately made way for Yu Yan.
He went inside and came to stand before Cangfeng.
Beside the tall, handsome man were metal tools such as chisels, files, carving knives, and hammers.
Wen Lie helped him hold the stone so that he could operate it more easily.
Chiseling stone is no easy task. Cangfeng had been working for who knows how long, and his forehead was covered in sweat.
He looked up, and Xin Yu, who was beside him, used a cloth to wipe his sweat.
"You're back?" Cang Feng smiled at Yu Yan.
"Hmm, how are these tools working?"
"Very good!" Having finished chiseling the stone mill, he turned to the person behind him and asked, "What kind of stone tool do you want?"
"Chief, I want a stone pot! This is the stone I chose."
A large rock was smashed to the ground with a loud thud.
Cangfeng laughed and said, "How long will it take you to heat up such a big pot? Let's get a smaller one."
The man said, "But I like the color of this stone. You can carve a small stone pot for me from it."
Cangfeng: "Alright."
Seeing that he was busy, Yu Yan silently took a few steps back.
Just then, people from the Qingqing tribe came looking for him, and he went to greet them.
The giant rabbits and Totoro transformed into human form, and Shuyu walked quickly toward him.
"Yu Yan, I heard that people from the Mingyuan Tribe and the Shenhu Tribe have already arrived. We're late," Shu Yu said apologetically.
"It's not too late," Yu Yan said understandingly. "Forging iron takes time. Did you bring any iron tools?"
"Yes, I brought it."
"show me."
Someone brought over a rectangular straw basket. Yu Yan opened the lid and found that there were also partitions woven inside the basket. The craftsmanship was amazing.
What shocked him even more was that it contained delicate little iron tools such as scissors, nails, and folding tools!
The tools sent over were crude blacksmithing tools like hammers and clamps, making the forging process incredibly difficult.
Yu Yan glanced at Shu Yu in surprise, picked up the scissors, and found that they were also sharpened.
He picked up a thin twig from the ground, snipped it with scissors, and easily broke it in two.
"Great!" he exclaimed. "It's just in time for me to trim the green-headed bird's feathers today. Your delivery came at the perfect moment."
Shuyu and the others smiled with relief: "It's good that it can be used."
Yu Yan then examined the nails, hinges, and other ironware, all of which were so exquisitely crafted that they seemed out of place for this era.
He sincerely praised them, saying, "The people of your tribe are so skillful. I am very satisfied with these iron tools. I will draw some more diagrams for you later, and you can see if you can make them."
The people of the Qingqing tribe readily agreed, their eyes brimming with fighting spirit: "No problem!"
As before, Yu Yan paid them their wages.
It was still early, so they didn't rush to leave. Instead, they gathered around Cangfeng and watched him process stone tools for the tribe.
Stone is difficult to carve into the desired shape with claws, but it becomes brittle and helpless under the touch of a metal carving knife.
Cangfeng had become a skilled worker, and in no time, he had carved out a round stone pot.
"Here you go." He handed the stone pot to the waiting tribesman, who happily said, "Thank you, Chief!"
Shuyu and the others looked on with great envy and asked Cangfeng, "Could you make some stone tools for our tribe as well?"
Cang Feng: "What do you want?"
Shuyu: "Stone mill, stone pot, stone mortar, stone pestle..."
Cang Feng chuckled: "Just say you want them all."
Shuyu's eyes lit up: "Is that okay?"
Cangfeng: "Of course not, didn't you see that our tribe's people are all queuing up?"
Before Shuyu could show any disappointment, he added, "However, the people of Shenhu Tribe have transported another batch of iron ore back. In a few more days, the new knives will be forged. If you have any extras, I'll lend you a set."
"That's wonderful! Thank you!"
"No need to thank me. The people of the Deep Lake Tribe will definitely need the scissors, nails and such that you make. Consider it an exchange."
Shu Yu nodded emphatically: "We will also work hard to build it!"
He couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Previously, their tribes had been vying for attention and influence in front of Yu Yan, but in the end, it had actually led to cooperation.
Perhaps it's because they all want to make their homeland better and have more smiles on their faces.
Shuyu and the others stayed for a while, then returned to Qingqing Tribe with new charcoal and iron ore.
Just then, the beastmen who had been hunting returned, and Yu Yan had the others take over Cang Feng's shift, gathering Cang Feng, Lan Xiu, Xin Yu, and the others at the pottery kiln.
This area is patrolled every day, and kilns are burning white charcoal.
The tribe no longer lacks pottery, so the frequency of pottery firing has decreased significantly.
Cement is easily affected by moisture, so it is fired on the spot.
The work of smelting and forging ironware was handed over to several surrounding tribes.
Cangfeng, as if sensing something, asked Yu Yan, "Are you going to use a pottery kiln to fire something?"
Yu Yan nodded: "Yes, I want to burn something called 'glass'."
He showed everyone the sand he had dug up, saying, "This is the raw material."
"Sand..." Xin Yu scooped up a handful, gently rubbing it, and asked, "What do you need us to do?"
Yu Yan was very happy to see that everyone had shown her full support, and said, "We need to sift the sand first to get rid of the small stones, shells and the like."
"Then we need to transport a batch of alkaline soil from the tribe, filter it, evaporate it to get pure alkaline, and mix it into the sand."
"Finally, use clay to make a mold, pour in the mixed sand, press it flat, and put it into the kiln to fire together."
"If all goes well, after firing, we can just take the glass out, and the mold can be reused next time."
Xin Yu listened attentively and said, "Okay, then I'll take some people to sift the sand."
Xuefei: "I'll filter the alkaline soil."
Cangfeng: "We'll go dig up clay and mix it into pottery, and then let the sub-beastmen make the molds."
Lanxiu asked, "Should we use firewood or charcoal?"
Yu Yan: "Charcoal."
He didn't know if the firewood was hot enough (he guessed it wasn't, otherwise the shells were also alkaline and would have been able to burn glass long ago). Anyway, during this period, several nearby tribes had sent a lot of firewood, and they had accumulated a lot of charcoal, so they didn't feel bad about using it.
After assigning tasks, they spent the afternoon working on it.
Just like when he made cement, Yu Yan knew that sand and pure alkali could be used to make glass, but he didn't know the specific ratio.
So he mixed different proportions of pure alkali into dozens of portions of sand and recorded them in his notebook.
The sifted sand is smoother and finer. Yu Yan spreads it evenly in the clay mold, trying to keep the thickness as consistent as possible.
After he finished laying the paving, a new idea popped into his head.
"Xinyu, could you please get some clay to seal this part of the mold?"
"good."
After sealing it, everyone carefully lifted the mold into the pottery kiln. The combustion chamber had been filled with white charcoal, and the bellows were set up.
Yu Yan nodded to Lan Xiu, who lit the charcoal. Cang Feng worked in coordination, pumping the bellows. Soon, a wave of heat surged out of the combustion chamber, burning Yu Yan's skin.
“That will do, Clan Chief Cangfeng. Find two people to keep watch here for me,” he said.
Cangfeng said solemnly, "Don't worry. I'll call you over to open the kiln tomorrow after it cools down."
Yu Yan: "Okay. Then we'll head back first."
"Um."
Yu Yan called Lan Xiu, and the two of them went back to the ginkgo tree together.
Feng Gui had already prepared dinner; the main dish was tofu, which was a gift from the tribe.
After a long day of work, Yu Yan was starving. She washed her hands and face, sat down, and ate voraciously.
After finishing his meal, he asked Feng Gui to wash the dishes and then took some scissors to trim the duck's feathers.
Lan Xiu offered to help. He nimbly jumped into the duck pen, caught the ducks that had become listless after dark, and brought them to Yu Yan.
"Cut this one first; it's the biggest and the wildest, always running outside."
Duck: "Quack quack quack!"
Yu Yan took one look and saw that it was a male duck, its feathers glossy from being fed, and its belly round and plump.
"I remember we caught five male birds this time, right?"
Lan Xiu: "Yes."
"Then let's not trim its fur, let's just kill it and eat it."
Lan Xiu: "Okay."
He was an excellent hunter; he broke the duck's wing in two swift movements.
"That way it won't be able to fly. We can kill it again tomorrow morning, and the meat will be fresher."
Duck: "Quack quack!!"
Yu Yan nodded in agreement.
He clipped the wing feathers of the remaining fourteen ducks at the base.
The ducks quacked in fright, unable to escape their clutches.
The scissors are sharp, and there's still plenty of time to finish the work.
After returning home, Yu Yan thought for a moment and then found the seeds of green beans, white kidney beans, and chili peppers.
To prevent mold, these seeds have all been sun-dried, and their outer skin is now extremely dry.
Yu Yan was worried that if she planted them directly, they wouldn't sprout well, so she first soaked them in slightly hot water for about fifteen minutes to disinfect them.
Then soak them in lukewarm water that is slightly cooler than body temperature until tomorrow morning, and they should be ready to be planted.
After doing all that, he took a towel, soap, and clean clothes, went to the river to take a bath, and returned to the bird's nest feeling refreshed to sleep.
The next morning, after having breakfast (the main dish was stewed duck), Yu Yan flew over to the pottery kiln to take a look.
The charcoal has burned out, but the kiln is still scorching hot; it won't be open until the afternoon at the earliest.
So Yu Yan went home and took the soaked seeds and farming tools with her.
Lan Xiu and he went to the fields by the riverbank. He used a hoe to turn the soil in front, while Yu Yan dug holes and planted seeds behind him.
The two worked together seamlessly and planted all the seeds in about an hour.
Yu Yan thoroughly watered them, then checked on the growth of the sweet potatoes, beets, cucumbers, and garlic. Confirming that even the later-planted ones were growing well, she returned home satisfied.
The sun was blazing in the afternoon, so Yu Yan rested for a while before seeing two patients.
In the evening, Cangfeng came to find him.
"Yu Yan, the kiln has cooled down, you can open it now."
Yu Yan's expression brightened, "Coming!"
Feng Gui and Lan Xiu accompanied him to the pottery kiln.
Unexpectedly, some people who hadn't participated in the glassmaking also came from their tribe and were peering into the kiln.
Upon seeing Yu Yan, they excitedly said, "Yu Yan, we heard you're working on something new again? Can we take a look?"
Yu Yan smiled and replied, "Of course."
Cangfeng: "I'll go carry it out."
Soon, Cangfeng and Lanxiu brought out a heavy stack of molds.
Yu Yan stepped forward a few steps: "Be very careful, handle with care."
They became more serious, carefully putting down what they were holding before moving on to the rest.
To be on the safe side, Yu Yan will be firing glass of about 50 by 50 centimeters this time, and the mold will be a little larger.
The top few are sealed with clay, and they look like ordinary square pottery.
He took one down, pulled out a small hammer, measured it up, down, left, and right a few times, and gently tapped the surface of the mud shell with the hammer.
With a cracking sound, cracks appeared in the mud shell.
Yu Yan used her hands to peel off the broken mud shell, revealing the true appearance of the items inside.
A single piece of dark green, frosted glass lay quietly in the mold.
Before Yu Yan could even take the whole thing off to take a look, Yin Qing had already rushed up.
"My Beast God, what is this?!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Such a huge piece of jade!!"
The crowd erupted in uproar.
After all, they heard Yu Yan mention "glass," but they didn't know what it actually was.
They do recognize jade, but it's often hidden inside rocks, making it difficult to obtain, and it's also rare to find such a large and smooth piece!
One person rubbed their eyes hard: "Am I seeing things? Is it really jade?"
Yu Yan said, "It's not jade, it's just glass made from sand."
As soon as he finished speaking, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
"The sand looks so beautiful after it's been burned!!"
"Oh my god, I have to send a message to Qingdie right away. He insists that the sand is black after it's burned and there's nothing to see, so he refuses to come. If he sees this, he'll probably regret it to death."
Others expressed doubt: "Is it really made from burned sand? You're not kidding us, are you?"
Cangfeng said, "Why would I lie to you? Besides, how could a piece of jade found in the wild be this smooth?"
As she spoke, Yu Yan took out the entire piece of glass and polished its surface with a piece of clay containing sand, making it much shinier.
Afterwards, he observed the scene using the afterglow of the setting sun.
The glass is not very uniform in color, and its light transmission is not very good.
To be honest, he wasn't very satisfied.
The crowd of onlookers was in an uproar, exclaiming incessantly.
"Such beautiful colors...I'm so moved by how beautiful they are!"
"And it's such a big piece! Light can shine through it!"
"I didn't even see any impurities in it!!"
"Ahhh, it's so beautiful! If this were made into jewelry, it would be so dazzling!"
Some people excitedly transformed into beast forms, flew into the sky, and sent messages to the people in the tribe.
Seeing how much everyone liked it, Yu Yan handed over the glass she was holding: "This color is too dark, I don't want to use it. I'll break it and share it with you all later."
Everyone stared at him in astonishment.
"Break it? Break it?" Yu Yan really didn't care about the glass!
Yin Qing said hesitantly, "Such beautiful jade... glass, it would be such a waste to break it."
Yu Yan: "Then you two can discuss it yourselves."
He has already gone to make the second mold.
The sand in the sealed mold was fired into complete glass. Depending on the amount of pure alkali added, the color and texture varied.
Even without a sealed mold, the glass is basically fired and formed, so Yu Yan estimated that whether it is sealed or not has little impact on whether the glass is fired or not.
The effects of pure alkali are significant; adding too much or too little will render the resulting product completely unusable.
Of course, this is from Yu Yan's perspective.
The onlookers were stunned by the colors reflected in the glass.
Dark green, deep green, blue-green, light green... each one was so beautiful it made their hearts flutter.
Whenever a new person arrives, a gasp of surprise erupts from the open space.
"My God, how can there be so many jade stones?!"
"Huh? You're saying this was made from burned sand? Impossible!!"
"Jade is hard to find, but our tribe has as much sand as we want! Aaaaah, we're rich!!"
Some people even hugged each other and cried tears of joy.
Yu Yan picked out a batch of completely unusable glass and said to them, "These can all be divided among you, so have you discussed whether you want to smash them?"
The sub-orc, Qingdie, who arrived later, raised her hand with red eyes: "Is glass easy to melt?"
Yu Yan nodded: "It's quite easy."
Then what's there to hesitate about? Everyone shouted in unison, "Knock!"
They all wanted glass jewelry, but there weren't enough whole pieces of glass to go around!
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