As the temperature inside the furnace rose once again, I could feel the copper melting in the crucible at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After about twenty-five minutes, I braved the heat and carefully lifted the pottery jar out of the kiln using a hooked wooden stick, hooking it through a crack.
At this moment, you can see the molten copper, glowing red-hot, sloshing around like water as the earthenware pot shakes. This time it was also a success; my furnace exceeded a thousand degrees Celsius, completely melting the copper into molten copper.
I started pouring the mixture into the molds one by one. One jar wasn't enough, so I melted a few more. Anyway, I didn't lack materials; it just took a little more time.
Finally, there was the casting of the bronze pot. Because this pot could not be cast in stages and had to be formed in one go, I deliberately left it to be cast last.
This pot contained the most copper, and once it was completely melted, the molten copper almost reached the opening of the earthenware jar.
I held my breath and carefully took out the molten copper, then quickly poured it into the several pouring ports while it was still extremely hot.
As the molten copper flowed in, the dry straw filling inside couldn't withstand the temperature of over a thousand degrees. A thick plume of smoke immediately billowed out, and flames instantly erupted from the nearby edges.
After the molten copper was completely poured in, molten copper also overflowed from the flaming edges.
I know that the space inside must have been completely filled with molten copper, so there shouldn't be much of a suspense regarding my copper pot.
Before seeing the finished product, I still couldn't guarantee that this pot would be a success. So, with a bit of trepidation, I poured some water onto the surface of the clay to cool it down.
As water was poured in, the clay, instantly dried by the high temperature, hissed and a thick white mist rose up.
I swept away all the surface dirt, and my heart started pounding.
I feel excited at this moment, but some worries have also taken over my mind.
As the soil and white ash were removed one by one, the golden metallic surface beneath was revealed before my eyes.
Although this curved surface is not as smooth as that of a copper pot cast in the lost-wax method, and even has many uneven marks from the pressing of thatch, it is still a complete metal pot!
Looking at this pot, I felt a mix of complex emotions, both excited and conflicted.
I never imagined that someone who once had nothing, not even a pair of underwear, would be able to see the products of human civilization again in this wilderness.
I lifted the pot completely, ignoring the unsightly lumps of copper from the casting opening, and placed the freshly made pot on the fire beside me, then poured a bamboo tube of water into it.
I'm going to use this pot to cook a meal today, if only I didn't have any lard or other oil on hand.
I really wish I could immediately take my fish and some wild vegetables and stir-fry them together to make a dish.
But now that I have a metal pot, there's no problem using it to have a proper hot pot meal.
Although the pot was bulky, it was large enough. When Top the monkey and I ate hot pot, we no longer had to go through the hassle of constantly taking out the cooked food and adding new ingredients.
We can now add whatever we want to eat as we eat, without worrying about the food not cooking fast enough to keep up with our eating speed.
The pot turned out great, and I went to look at a few other molds. I figured if I could make large items, small ones should be even easier.
I broke open all the molds one by one and took out all the castings inside.
My haul this time almost made me feel a little giddy. The tools I forged included a wok for cooking, an axe with a handle ready to be attached, a small knife, a spatula, a slightly crooked bowl, and a spoon.
At this moment, I felt like I had become a luxurious tycoon, suddenly possessing so many tools in the wilderness, which was as absurd as finding a million dollars on the street.
It was completely dark, but under the bright firelight, I was so immersed in this joy that I didn't even notice the passage of time.
Seeing that the water had boiled, I added the dried fish and some wild vegetables I had prepared. Now that I had everything I needed, I could try eating from a bowl.
To be honest, I haven't had a proper meal here in over a month.
Top the monkey was still sitting on the side waiting for me to cook. It had long been used to eating and living with me, so it didn't mind if it was a little late.
But it was also curious about the big pot I made, so it reached out and touched it.
Just as I was about to stop it, the monkey cried out in terror and quickly pulled its hand back into its mouth to suck on it.
My body was kept far away from that pot, which it had previously used to hold my bamboo pot.
But it couldn't understand why this strange thing was so fierce today; it bit it just by touching it.
I felt a pang of sympathy and amusement looking at the monkey. Luckily, I still had some snake oil left, which I took out and had Top hold out his hand for me.
Top was initially very resistant to the thing, probably because the smell was too strong. I had to keep reassuring it before it reluctantly agreed to extend its hand.
I applied snake oil to its slightly reddened skin. As soon as I applied it, it brought its hand to its nose and smelled it. Then it stuck out its tongue with a look of disgust and shook its head like a rattle drum.
It's telling me, "You'd better not let me use this thing again, it's really too smelly, too smelly!"
Seeing this, I burst into laughter. Then I added quite a few more pieces of fish and wild vegetables to the banana leaf next to the monkey.
"Top, eat more. We've been working with you lately, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten all this good stuff."
Top still smiled politely when I spoke to it, but it never stopped eating.
I gained quite a few things today. Tomorrow I need to find a suitable rock to polish those knives, axes, and other tools, so it will be much easier to cut bamboo and other things in the future.
After dinner, I moved the fire back to the area below the shelter. After climbing the tree, I lined the leopard skin of the first leopard I had killed with the pelt I had lived in for so long.
The shack was still warm and comfortable, but at this moment, some thoughts surged up from the depths of my mind like a tide.
I've been here for over a month and a half now, and every night I hope that a plane will fly by in the night sky.
I even prepared a bunch of dry branches as fuel for a survival signal, but I never saw a plane.
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