Chapter 32 Visit
Except for Wu Jiong, no one in the tribe could imagine what glass was, nor did they understand Jian Mo's excitement.
Seeing this, Jian Mo simply discussed with everyone to advance the date of firing pottery, and he would also fire glass to show everyone.
The pottery was already dry, and now it only needed a layer of glaze.
Jian Mo followed the previous formula, carefully mixed the glaze, applied a layer of glaze to the pottery, and then waited for it to dry. But
firing glass was a bit tricky - he didn't know how to fire glass.
He had only watched videos of glassblowing, but that was not the same thing as firing glass.
He had no idea how to fire smooth and transparent glass.
Qingkuang suggested a few ideas:
"How about mixing it into glaze first, brushing it on the pottery and sending it in for firing?"
"Pour it into the kiln and fire it?" "Should it be dried in the air
first? Or, like making pottery plates, we can make the glaze thicker, make a glaze plate, and then dry it in the air before firing?"
Qingkuang and his friends gave their ideas in unison and all looked at Jian Mo.
Jian Mo nodded in confusion: "How about - should we all try it?"
He had no idea at all, so he could only try it with everyone.
Qingkuang smiled: "Then let's try it, it's not a big deal anyway."
The power of one person is still too small. If everyone works together, things will be much easier.
They went to the beach to get sand first.
There are more stones on the beach, and there is actually very little sand.
If you have to sift out the usable sand, there will be even less.
Everyone adds alkali to the sand to make a flat glaze plate, and puts it in a place specially for drying pottery blanks to dry in the shade.
Jian Mo looked at the glaze plates, and his heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
He has been in the tribe for a short time, but he has brought about considerable changes to the tribe.
The people of the tribe did not take him in in vain.
It takes several days for the glaze plates to dry.
It has been snowing again in the past few days, and Jian Mo and his friends are roasting fire and spending the winter in the tribe, chatting by the way.
The children in the tribe like Jian Mo very much, and often come to him. The furry cats, dogs, foxes, etc. also like to crawl into his arms and let him hold them.
When Jian Mo is bored, he will tell them some stories.
Whenever he told a story, the children and adults in the tribe would gather around him, making the room so crowded that no one could get in.
When people are idle, their thoughts tend to wander.
Jian Mo has really thought about a lot of things recently.
That night, Jian Mo was sleeping soundly in his quilt, hugging the giant wolf's front legs.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and sat up suddenly.
The giant wolf moved its legs and then opened its eyes: "What's wrong?"
Jian Mo: "I just had a dream. I dreamed that when we were burning glass, we put the glass in a ceramic box, and finally it was burned successfully."
The giant wolf patted his back gently with its claws: "Are you still thinking about it?"
Jian Mo: "Yes. But now that I think about it, it seems to be feasible."
Giant Wolf: "Go to sleep, and study it tomorrow."
Jian Mo picked up the fur coat from the end of the bed: "No, I have to write quickly. Come down, or I'm afraid I'll forget it at night."
The giant wolf held him down: "No, I remember."
Jian Mo paused and looked up at the giant wolf's eyes: "Really remember?"
The giant wolf said lightly: "I can't forget, go to sleep."
Jian Mo then lay down again and wrapped the quilt tightly again: "Go to sleep, hey, while the sleepiness hasn't completely gone away, hurry up and take another nap."
Winter is so leisurely, and there is nothing to do during the day. It's really not easy to successfully accumulate sleepiness.
Jian Mo lay down, hugged the giant wolf's legs, changed his posture, and fell asleep again soon.
From beginning to end, he didn't realize that if the giant wolf turned back into human form, he would be hugging the giant wolf's left hand.
The giant wolf didn't remind him, just waited for him to fall asleep, and wrapped the animal skin quilt around him.
Jian Mo woke up as usual at dawn.
After waking up, he still remembered the glass he dreamed of last night.
He rarely stayed in bed, and quickly got dressed and got up.
Wu Jiong was busy downstairs, and as soon as he got downstairs, he said: "I'm going to talk to Qingkuang about the glass, and I'll come back to cook later."
"I'll go with you." Wu Jiong put down the firewood in his hand, "Hurry up and make the pottery boxes?"
Jian Mo: "Yes! Do you still remember?"
Wu Jiong: "I promised, I won't forget. Let's go."
The two walked on the snow to find Qingkuang.
Qingkuang had just woken up, yawned, and after listening to Jian Mo's idea, he said: "We can try it. Do we have to burn the pottery boxes before using them?"
Jian Mo: "I think not, we can use them after drying."
Qingkuo: "Then let's make a few pottery boxes today."
Making pottery boxes is not difficult for everyone.
Everyone was curious about what glass looked like, so they made a few more pottery boxes in order to burn more glass.
When the pottery boxes dried, they mixed fine sand and alkali powder together, spread them evenly inside the pottery boxes, and then put them into the kiln, together with the previously made, glazed pottery blanks, ready to be fired.
Jian Mo was afraid that the temperature in the kiln was not high enough, so in addition to preparing a large amount of charcoal, he also made a hand-cranked fan.
This time, everyone had to work harder, shaking the fan continuously to send air into the kiln to increase the temperature inside the kiln.
This time, they were firing both glazed pottery and glass, so Qing Kuang and his team did not let the entire tribe fire together, but chose the backbone of the tribe to do all the work.
To avoid leaks.
Jian Mo was originally the leader, but later on everyone just let him direct the group, and they would do the work.
Jian Mo sat aside and said in a somewhat depressed tone, "I'm not that weak either."
Ye Luo touched his forehead tenderly: "It's not a question of whether you are weak or not. You will get sick easily if you are too tired. You can take a rest on the side and command us."
Jian Mo: "Actually, there is nothing to command. Just add charcoal in time and keep blowing air inside, and it will be almost right."
Ye Luo smiled and said "hmm", and kept shaking the fan.
The three-dimensional big fan made this time looks like the revolving door of a hotel. It is big and heavy. It is okay to shake it for a while, but it is very tiring to shake it for a long time.
When Jian Mo tried to shake it, he felt sore from his shoulders to elbows.
Ye Luo and the others took turns shaking it, but they didn't seem to feel tired at all. They could chat while shaking it, and the fans in their hands sent air evenly and steadily.
Jian Mo looked at them, and couldn't help but sigh at the abnormal physical qualities of the beastmen and sub-beastmen.
For Homo sapiens who are often in sub-health, such a strong body is really rare.
After watching for a while, Jian Mo said: "It's too late this time. Next time we want to burn the kiln again, we can bring the river water over and let the river water drive the fan."
Ye Luo was stunned for a moment, and his eyes lit up: "Then we don't have to shake it here all day."
Jian Mo: "Yes, using water power is much more convenient than using manpower."
The beastman Dejiang asked: "Just like the big stone mill in the Mengshui tribe?"
Jian Mo remembered and nodded.
Dejiang said: "They have been using water to push the big stone mill for a long time, but unfortunately they don't allow ordinary people to visit, and they are unwilling to teach other tribes this technology. We have always wanted to learn, but we have no chance."
Jian Mo: "I roughly know the principle, it shouldn't be difficult to try it out."
Qing Kuang patted his shoulder with a smile: "You are really from our tribe...how do you say that? Oh, lucky star!" It was
the first time to burn glass, and Jian Mo didn't know how long it would take.
But according to common sense, the longer the burning time, the higher the temperature in the kiln, and the easier it is to succeed.
So they started burning in the morning and kept burning until the sky was full of stars at night. Everyone stopped when all the charcoal was thrown in and burned.
After standing by the kiln for a day, everyone was covered in ash and the smell of smoke.
Jian Mo looked at everyone's mottled faces with hope and comforted them: "It's okay. Even if we fail this time, we can still gain experience and wait for the next time to burn it."
Wu Jiong nodded beside him: "You are right, this is a very valuable attempt."
Qing Kuang looked at Wu Jiong and said respectfully: "Other tribes want to try but don't have this opportunity. Our tribe can pick up Jian Mo, which is really a big win."
Jian Mo almost lost himself in the praise, and a slight blush appeared on the tip of his ears.
They left the beastman who was patrolling today to guard outside the kiln and went back together.
Once they returned to the tribe, Qing Kuang and the others took soap and went to the river to wash their hair and take a bath.
Jian Mo's physique was not as good as theirs, and he really couldn't stand the temperature, so he found some clothes, boiled water, and washed himself in the animal skin shed behind the house.
Today was tiring and nervous, and Jian Mo was a little too excited. After eating and washing up, he lay in the animal skin quilt but couldn't fall asleep.
The giant wolf stood by and listened to him tossing and turning. After listening for a long time, it suddenly changed back to human form, wrapped in an animal skin robe and went downstairs.
Jian Mo thought he was going to the toilet or something, so he didn't care.
Unexpectedly, after a while, Wu Jiong suddenly came up with a small pot of fruit wine, put it on the charcoal basin to boil, and then gave it to Jian Mo: "Drink it, you can fall asleep after drinking it."
After the fruit wine was boiled, the mixed smell in it evaporated a little, and the taste became more fragrant.
Jian Mo sniffed and muttered, "I'm not that sleepless."
Wu Jiong passed the fruit wine to him, and he finally took it, gulped down a small half, and then gave the rest to Wu Jiong, "I can't drink any more, you drink it."
The tribe had limited supplies, and Wu Jiong didn't mean to refuse, so he took the fruit wine and drank it in two gulps.
The alcohol made Jian Mo's body and mind relax greatly, and he fell asleep quickly while holding the giant wolf's front paw.
When he woke up the next day, he took a while to react, and asked the giant wolf in a daze: "Has the kiln cooled down? Has anyone come to see us just now?"
The giant wolf said in a low voice: "The patrol beastman came at dawn and said that the kiln could be opened. Everyone is waiting for you."
Jian Mo immediately got up and put on his robe: "Hurry up, let's go and take a look."
They rushed to the kiln.
They were not the only ones who were anxious, but everyone who participated in the kiln firing came over.
Everyone gathered around the kiln and chatted. Although they were a little anxious, they still patiently waited for Jian Mo to come and open the kiln together.
As soon as he saw Jian Mo, Qing Kuang immediately called him: "Hurry up, hurry up, we're just waiting for you to take the first piece of clay from the kiln."
Jian Mo trotted over: "Come on, has the temperature in the kiln dropped?"
Ye Luo: "It feels about the same as the temperature of the previous kiln firing. Maybe it's because the weather is cold, so it drops quickly. It's only a little warm now. I guess the pottery inside won't be too hot."
Everyone hurriedly took down the clay that sealed the kiln mouth. Dejiang went in to test the air and temperature in the kiln. Seeing that there was no great danger, he waved behind him, indicating that everyone could go in.
Jian Mo and the others couldn't wait to squeeze in.
The temperature in the kiln was actually quite high, a bit like a sauna, but it was still bearable.
Jian Mo, wearing fur gloves, took down the nearest pottery and looked at it carefully.
The pottery was a smooth yellow in color, much better than the off-white pottery they had fired before because the temperature was not high enough.
Jian Mo looked at it and felt that it was not much different from modern pottery on Earth. At most, the shapes were slightly different because of different aesthetics.
It was great to be able to make such progress in such a short time.
Qing Kuan saw that he was staring at it and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jian Mo: "The glaze is fired very well. It looks much smoother than before."
He tapped it with his fingers, and the animal skin made a dull sound when it came into contact with the pottery.
Qing Kuan flicked the pottery, and the joints made a crisp "dang" sound when they came into direct contact with the pottery.
At this moment, Qing Kuang nodded with satisfaction, withdrew his hand, held Jian Mo's shoulder and urged: "You can get a general idea of the pottery by just scanning it, and take a closer look later. Let's take a look at the glass you mentioned first!"
Jian Mo glanced down: "I have seen the glaze plate, it seems that it is not very successful."
Wu Jiong picked up a small piece of glaze plate.
The glaze plate was burned into pieces, but the piece picked up by Wu Jiong had been sintered.
This is a piece of translucent yellow glass, about the size of a palm. Even in the dim kiln, you can see its gem-like texture.
Qing Kuan reached out to take it, holding his breath and said: "Is this glass? It's beautiful!"
Jian Mo: "The transparency is not high enough, it will be better if the transparency is higher."
Qing Kuan passed the glass to Di Ya to see: "This is enough!"
Di Ya passed it to Ye Luo after reading it.
Ye Luo carefully looked at the glass: "It's a very good thing. If I don't tell you, people from other tribes will never think that this glass is fired."
Wu Jiong reminded: "Everyone remember to keep it secret."
Everyone present agreed.
Dejiang said: "When you make pottery kilns in the future, you have to send people to guard nearby."
Ye Luo: "There are no outsiders there, so we don't need it for the time being, right?"
Dejiang: "There are also curious people in our tribe. They may leak the secrets at any time. It's safer to send people to guard it."
Everyone looked at Wu Jiong together, and Wu Jiong said: "Send people to guard when making and firing, and don't use them at other times to save manpower."
He spoke, and no one objected.
The glass was passed around, and everyone was very satisfied with the fired glass.
Qing Kuan: "Stop looking at it, let's check whether the glass in the pottery box has been successfully fired! That is the key."
So, everyone cleared out the pottery around and looked at the pottery box. As
soon as the pottery box was opened, Jian Mo knew that this was definitely a successful attempt.
However, perhaps because of the different placement positions and the different temperatures inside the pottery box, the glass fired in the box was of different sizes.
In some pottery boxes, the fired glass was as big as a 16-page book, and in some, it was only as big as a palm, and the rest was still sand.
The difference is that because there is only sand and alkali in the pottery box, it is particularly transparent after firing, and looks like crystal, without any mixed colors, and at most a little yellowish.
Jian Mo looked at the familiar glass, and for a moment he couldn't tell what he felt in his heart.
If these glasses were placed on Earth, they might be worthless waste. But being placed here means that their technology has reached a new level.
It might also mean that the civilization of the beastmen has entered a new stage.
He didn't know whether this was good or bad, but change was bound to happen, and a civilization couldn't stand still forever.
Wu Jiong and Ye Luo stood on both sides of Jian Mo and patted his shoulders respectively.
Everyone else's attention was on the glass.
Qing Kuan looked at the pottery box, sniffed, and watched in ecstasy: "It's so successful, it's simply a miracle."
Di Ya hugged him: "Yeah."
De Jiang: "Next time we can put the pottery box directly on the charcoal, maybe it will be more successful. It's really worse to burn it like this."
Qing Kuan: "Next time don't put pottery, burn glass directly. One layer of charcoal and one layer of pottery box, it will definitely burn better than this time."
De Jiang: "We can hold on tightly "We will take the time to burn the charcoal, and when we have enough charcoal, we will start to burn the glass."
Qing Kuang nodded repeatedly: "Yes! The sand does not need to be dried in the shade, we can just make the pottery box. In the next two days, we will take some time to collect the alkali, bring a basket, and directly pick up the alkali from the bottom of the salt lake. It is too cold."
The two people who are very dedicated to their careers talked to each other and soon decided on the next work. Others present had no objections. It is
rare to burn glass, so we must press on.
After dinner, they cleared out the pottery and glass in the kiln.
Due to technical reasons, there are still many broken embryos, but the total number of embryos sent in for burning is large. In the end, they got 203 pieces of various pottery and 25 pieces of usable glass.
After soliciting everyone's opinions, Qing Kuan first distributed five pieces of glass and ten pieces of pottery to Jian Mo.
Jian Mo did not refuse and took them home happily.
These five pieces of glass were as big as a 16-page book.
Wu Jiong thought Jian Mo would make something else, so Jian Mo pulled him to make a few wooden frames with grooves as soon as possible, and inlaid the glass in them to make simple glass windows.
Then, Jian Mo used glass windows instead of tree bark and carefully installed them on the windows upstairs and downstairs.
The light came in through the slightly yellowish glass, and the whole room became a lot brighter, making the clean and tidy house look extremely warm.
Jian Mo looked at the house with satisfaction: "I've always felt that the windows were awkward, and now they're finally fixed."
Wu Jiong looked at him and his Adam's apple moved.
Jian Mo wondered: "What's wrong? Don't you like the glass window? Don't you think it's strong enough? It's okay, just fix it with wood, it shouldn't fall off."
Wu Jiong's voice was low: "No, you decorated it very well."
Jian Mo said happily: "That's right, I am also well-informed, I still have this aesthetic taste."
Jian Mo thought Wu Jiong was a little strange, but he couldn't tell what was strange for a while, he was about to ask in detail.
Suddenly, Jiang Xing, a child from the tribe, ran in from outside with a group of children, shouting at the top of his voice: "Brother Jian Mo, Chief, the chief of the Mengshui tribe is here, Dejiang asked you to go out."
The children saw Jian Mo and Wu Jiong standing side by side in front of the glass window, curiously looked at the glass window, and then looked at them.
But now there was something important to do, so the children held back and didn't ask.
Jian Mo's hand stopped for a moment, he looked up at Wu Jiong, and said in confusion: "The chief of Mengshui tribe? We have no friendship with them, what are they doing here?"
Wu Jiong: "Maybe they heard the news about pottery and glass."
Jian Mo frowned: "The news came too fast, we just got out, could they have put an undercover in our tribe?!"
Wu Jiong: "We will know if we go out and take a look, they can't be here to fight."
Jian Mo pushed his shoulder: "Come on, let's go and take a look together."
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