"Congratulations to the people of the world for creating the first festival in the micro-world - the Groundbreaking Festival."
"During the Breaking Ground Festival, all inhabitants absorb spiritual energy at twice the rate, and poplar trees planted during the festival are protected from pests."
On the day the Groundbreaking Festival began, the Microverse suddenly gave all its inhabitants a message.
The entire micro-world erupted in cheers the moment they saw this message!
The fact that Microworld not only recognized the Groundbreaking Festival but also gave rewards makes it all the more significant.
People in the world are increasingly appreciating the human-centered design of the micro-world.
“I believe that God must have created the micro-world; only God would be so merciful,” said a Christian resident of the micro-world.
How exactly the Microverse came into being, and who controls it, is a question that the inhabitants have discussed countless times. At this moment, no one cares much; they are more focused on celebration, celebrating the Groundbreaking Festival.
The first and only competitive activity of the Breaking Ground Festival is the fire-making contest by rubbing sticks together.
The competition has few rules. The first rule is that you must use a hand drill and cannot use any tools or make things like a hand-operated fire drill or a bowstring drill.
The competition venue is a campsite, but participants must prepare their own competition materials.
You can use dead wood, tree bark, or dry grass, as long as you can get a fire going, and then hold the fire and light the prepared paper.
Even with a hand drill, there are different methods and techniques, and the materials used will also affect the results, so this is a test for the villagers.
However, Chen Yang absorbed the skill book "Sacred Flame" and became proficient in hundreds of fire-making techniques, including dozens of those that could be done with bare hands. He also had a great understanding of fire-making materials.
In the first few years, absolutely no one could beat Chen Yang. But after the competition has been held for a few more years, everyone will have more experience and start to study it specifically. Maybe then they will be able to beat Chen Yang.
Therefore, in the first year, Chen Yang was the referee.
Many residents signed up, both old and new. However, 90% of the new residents were just there to make up the numbers. Apart from the earliest batch who entered the micro-realm, even some of the old residents didn't know how to start a fire by rubbing sticks together.
After deciding on the competition format, the citizens who wanted to participate did some intensive training, and a few actually managed to put in the necessary effort.
However, it took them three or four hours to get a flame going, just like Chen Yang did back then.
That's considered good; most of the people in the realm didn't succeed.
Therefore, the most likely candidates to win this competition are still those experienced veterans. After registering for the competition, they also practiced intensively and can basically finish within half an hour, or in less than ten minutes if they are lucky.
The competition was held in a large square in Xindu Town. They even set up contestant booths, with a piece of white paper hanging in front of each contestant. The first person to light the paper with the fire they generated was the winner.
As for the winner's prize?
No! Honors are enough; what need is there for rewards?
Everyone was enthusiastic, especially the veteran residents and the new residents who had figured out the ways of life on their own; they were all eager to try.
At Chen Yang's command, all the contestants began to move.
Most people use a drilling method, rotating in place to generate sparks through friction, and then placing the sparks on tinder to ignite the flame.
Some also use a fire plow, which is formed by rubbing back and forth on wood or bamboo to create a fire plow. This fire plow also generates embers to ignite tinder.
Experienced residents and those with prior knowledge of the area would carve out tinderboxes beforehand to help the embers fall onto the tinder.
The principle is simple, but sitting up is not so easy.
Some people tried to experiment at home, but even after rubbing their hands raw, they still failed. Their fire drills kept slipping, and sometimes they even produced smoke, but no sparks or embers came out.
As soon as the match started, a series of screeching sounds rang out in the arena.
Jack was the first to make wood smoke and produce embers.
Jack truly lived up to his reputation as a wilderness survival expert; of all the people present, he was the most experienced.
However, starting a fire by friction sometimes depends on luck. Jack had never participated in such a competition before, and in his impatience, he failed to ignite the tinder with the embers.
Instead, Jiang Bo came from behind and was the first to light the paper, winning first place this year in three minutes and ten seconds.
Surprisingly, the second place went to Li Su'er, who finished in four minutes.
The difference in the third second is quite significant. It took Jack seven minutes to re-emerge from the embers.
Other contestants also succeeded one after another, but those who failed to ignite the paper within half an hour did not get a score.
Making fire by friction with materials prepared in advance is much simpler than finding materials in the wild and making fire by friction yourself. If you can't make fire in half an hour, then there's basically no hope.
Jiang Bo won the championship in the first year of the fire-making competition.
Although there were no prizes or trophies, he was still very happy. Holding his daughter Jiang Wen and hugging Ye Wen, he took a victory photo in front of the fire he had lit.
The groundbreaking ceremony lasts for ten days. During these ten days, everyone puts aside all work except for the most basic tasks and spends most of their time eating and drinking. They also go on group trips and organize some activities. Although it is called a festival, people also go out to have fun.
Ten days is actually a long time, but this period happens to be a relatively free time for the entire micro-world, so everyone can find a legitimate reason to relax.
In the micro-world, some necessary tasks, such as feeding animals, still need to be carried out, but other tasks can be put aside for the time being.
The next two events of the groundbreaking ceremony were carried out separately.
However, for the sake of easier scoring, the poplar trees were planted within the Night Park.
As for burying wishes, that depends on the individual. They can bury them wherever they want, and couples or lovers can choose to bury them together, but it would be awkward if they broke up.
After the Breaking Ground Festival comes the Cold Dew. Ten days of fun are enough, and people will start to miss the days when they have something to do.
After the groundbreaking ceremony, all the residents of the area resumed their work with renewed enthusiasm.
Such activities are also very helpful for unity among the residents, and some residents who were not originally on good terms got to know each other through this activity.
The next holiday will be the New Year.
This year, the number of people in the micro-world is approaching three hundred, so it's no longer appropriate to gather together for the New Year.
This year, we'll be spending Chinese New Year in three different places.
The town of Xindu is definitely the place with the largest population. In addition to the residents of Xindu who have lived there for a long time, there are also residents from the two islands and the Tianyin Mountains.
The second place is the West Boundary River Camp. People from the Little Western Camp would also ride to the West Boundary River Camp to celebrate the New Year together. During the New Year period, the Four Gates were not enough.
We spent time together on the eastern plateau and the eastern steppe.
However, after the New Year, the camps can visit each other. With the current number of people, the Four Directions Gate can arrange for them to visit each other in batches if they are properly organized. But if there are another one or two hundred more people, it will not be enough.
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