Chapter 67
In the morning, the mist that lingered in the forest had not yet dispersed, and the camp was already bustling with activity.
Children shuttled through the bushes, covered in a damp dew, and returned with a thick stack of leaves. After selecting a flat open space, the old man spread the large leaves on the ground. Yan Zhile and Hong Yinglan carried a heavy back basket and poured out the sticky yellow clay.
The clay dug up from around the reed bed was mixed with plant roots, gravel, and crushed stones, with a few too many impurities. Half a back basket of yellow clay was spread on the ground. Hua Shi’an, along with the old man, the children, and the two sub-beastmen, sat on the ground and sorted through the pile of clay.
Many hands make light work. Just as the sun poked its head over the horizon, the impurities in the yellow clay were almost all cleaned out. He scooped two bamboo tubes of water and mixed it into the semi-dry clay. Hua Shi’an and the two sub-beastmen reached out and started kneading the clay with a grunt.
Without a potter’s wheel, pottery was made entirely by hand. The yellow clay was too hard to work with, and too soft to shape, making it easy to deform. Hua Shi’an kneaded and added water as needed, and finally, he kneaded the loose yellow clay into a soft, pliable ball that could be easily rolled into a ball and flattened without sticking to his hands.
Although the ground had been swept, the muddy ground inevitably had some residual dust. The yellow clay, which had been painstakingly cleaned of impurities, could not be kneaded directly on the ground. Hua Shi’an had someone bring over a stack of winnowing baskets and distributed one to each person.
The winnowing baskets were woven tightly, the inside was flat and smooth, and there were almost no gaps between the bamboo splinters. They were perfect as a “mud-playing” workstation.
The pottery clay was ready, and the workstations were set up. They could start making them. But the tribe members, who had never come into contact with pottery before, were completely clueless. They all stared at Hua Shi’an with wide eyes, not knowing where to start.
One apprentice was the same as a group of apprentices. Hua Shi’an’s knife rose and fell, cutting off a small ball of clay. He placed it in the winnowing basket, slammed it, and kneaded it, at the same time explaining to the tribe members, “The amount of clay you take depends on what kind of container you’re making. For example, to make a small bowl for eating, a ball this big in my hand is enough.”
“Don’t be in a hurry to knead the clay when you get it. First, slam it and then knead it to squeeze out the air bubbles in the cracks. You also have to pick out any hard clay particles and stones you feel in time. That way, the clay will stick together tightly.”
At this point, Hua Shi’an looked up at the crowd and gestured with his chin. “You guys take some too, one small ball for each person, and follow my steps.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Yinglan, who was sitting beside Hua Shi’an, picked up a stone knife and made a few cuts on the large ball of clay, distributing a small ball of yellow clay to each of the tribe members present. A few children also got some, a palm-sized ball for each.
They followed his example. The sound of “slap slap slap” echoed in the camp. In a short while, the slightly rough balls of clay in their hands had become fine and smooth, and they were faintly glistening under the sun.
That was about it. Hua Shi’an wet his hands in the stone pot with water and rolled the kneaded clay into a shiny, smooth ball. He placed the ball back in the winnowing basket and gently flattened the bottom. He held the clay ball with one hand and pressed the center of the clay ball with the thumb of his other hand, slowly and forcefully.
He pressed the center with his thumb and scraped the walls of the blank with his four fingers. He had to dip his hands in water every once in a while, keeping them moist. So when the clay ball turned into an oval-shaped clay bun, there wasn’t even a single crack on the surrounding walls.
The camp gradually quieted down. The crowd didn’t even dare to breathe, staring at Hua Shi’an’s hands. They watched him press the clay ball, watched him turn the winnowing basket and rub the clay blank… finally, the clay ball in Hua Shi’an’s hands turned into a round, thin, and light clay bowl, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
The bowl blank was not perfect. The walls were thick on one side and thin on the other, and it was very likely to deform during the drying process. And there were some fingerprints left on the surface, which was not very beautiful. But to have made something like this on his first try, Hua Shi’an was quite satisfied with his own craftsmanship.
He hadn’t lost face in front of the tribe members. The clay bowl’s advantage was that it was smooth and thin. Compared to those thick, heavy, and pitted stone bowls, this kind of clay bowl looked very useful.
It didn’t seem that difficult. Hua Shi’an’s ease and casualness gave the tribe members great confidence. Without waiting for the Lord Priest to speak, the others also started to move, rolling clay balls and pinching clay bowls.
They learned as soon as they saw it, and they ruined it as soon as they did it. Many people failed at the first step. The clay balls they rolled were either not round or had cracks. And the tribe members who had finally managed to roll a round ball also failed one after another during the pressing process.
“It’s not working, Lord Priest. I’m clearly following your steps, but there are cracks no matter how I press. Can you help me take a look?” After several failed attempts, Yan Zhile’s face was filled with annoyance, and he looked at Hua Shi’an for help.
Hong Yinglan, who was sitting beside him, had also failed. She angrily kneaded the yellow clay into a ball. “Lord Priest, you should help me take a look too. I managed to roll a clay ball, but it deforms as soon as I press it.”
“This thing looks so simple when the Lord Priest does it, but it’s really hard to do it yourself!” The white-haired Uncle Qing was frowning, staring at the clay ball in his hand and sighing.
Teacher Hua’s little class had officially begun! Hua Shi’an washed his hands in the stone pot beside him and slowly stood up. Like a teacher patrolling the classroom, he walked behind the “students” and gave them instructions one by one:
“There are impurities in the clay. Be a little more careful, Yan Zhile. You didn’t pick out the small clay particles, so of course there are cracks no matter how you press. Yinglan, you’re being too heavy-handed. Gently, use the pads of your fingers, not your nails. Try again after you’ve rolled it.”
“Uncle Qing, yours is too dry. Dip it in water. Your hands have to be kept moist. Did you drop this on the ground? Where did all these impurities come from? Don’t be lazy. Pick them out one by one…”
Meticulous work was not tiring, but it was tedious, and it was especially tiring for Hua Shi’an.
Hard work did not pay off. The warm sun hung high in the sky. By the time the hunting and gathering teams returned with yellow clay and reed shoots, the first batch of unbaked pottery was barely finished.
More than ten people were sitting around in the open space, which was particularly conspicuous. Chief Mu saw them from a distance. He had heard that they were going to make unbaked pottery today, and he was extremely curious. As soon as he returned to the camp, without even putting down his back basket, he hurried over, panting, and eagerly looked inside.
“Is the Lord Priest teaching you how to make unbaked pottery? Are they done? Let me see—”
His words came to an abrupt halt. Looking at the unbaked pottery in front of the crowd, Chief Mu’s gaze was dazed for a moment, and a few words slowly came out of his trembling lips, “No, what, what is this?”
The unbaked pottery in the winnowing baskets could only be described with the four words “strangely shaped.” They were tall and short, round and flat, one side was upright and the other was collapsed, and there was even a whole piece stuck to the winnowing basket.
Chief Mu’s brow furrowed as he looked at them. His hand, which was pointing at the unbaked pottery, trembled slightly, and he looked at Hua Shi’an in disbelief. “Lord Priest, this, this… is this the unbaked pottery you were talking about? Are you sure these strange things can hold water and be used for cooking?”
“What does it look like? Let me see.”
“Let me take a look too.”
Putting down their back baskets, the beastmen and sub-beastmen swarmed over. Looking through the crowd and seeing the unbaked pottery in the winnowing baskets, a burst of laughter like thunder exploded.
“Hahahaha, what is this? Such a strange shape.”
“Sister, is that one in front of you the one you made? Why is it high on one side and low on the other? It’s so ugly!”
“Does pottery really look like this, Lord Priest? It doesn’t look like it can hold water or be used for cooking.”
“Hahahaha, that’s hilarious. It’s really so strange.”
“Did it fail, or does it really look like this?”
“It probably failed. Look at the one in front of the Lord Priest. It’s not bad.”
…
The sound of discussion and laughter rose and fell. The tribe members who had participated in making the unbaked pottery were blushing, and they lowered their heads in embarrassment. Only Hua Shi’an had a stern face, glaring at the people who were laughing at them.
“That’s enough from you guys. Is it that funny?”
For the few beastmen who were laughing the most, Hua Shi’an gave each of them a glare, his face darkening. “Everything is difficult at the beginning. Making unbaked pottery is not an easy task. It’s already very good to be able to make something like this at the beginning. Yan Qiuyu, Ju Ming, Chang Yuansen, you three are laughing the loudest. Why don’t you sit down and try?”
“N-No, Lord Priest. I was wrong.”
“I won’t laugh anymore, I won’t laugh anymore.”
Ju Ming and Chang Yuansen quickly waved their hands and admitted their mistake.
Taking advantage of his familiarity with Hua Shi’an, Yan Qiuyu lifted his chin and looked at him with a grin. “I’ll try if you want me to. I happen to want to work with the Lord Priest too.”
Before Hua Shi’an could speak, Hong Yong glanced at Yan Qiuyu with dissatisfaction, a cold laugh escaping his lips. “Isn’t digging for clay tiring enough? Let’s go, hunting team. No rest. Let’s go straight to the forest!”
“Don’t, Brother Yong. I’m tired!”
“I haven’t even had a drink of water yet. Let’s rest for a while.”
“It’s all your fault, Yan Qiuyu!”
It was no use talking until his mouth was dry. Hong Yong was determined to leave. So amidst a chorus of complaints, the dozen or so beastmen gradually walked away.
Fearing that he would be asked to sit down and try too, the guilty Chief Mu touched his nose and turned to the sub-beastmen of the gathering team, waving his hand. “Gathering team, pour out the reed shoots, shoulder your back baskets, and let’s go. We’ll continue to pick.”
“Aren’t you going to rest for a while, Chief?” Hua Shi’an asked casually.
Chief Mu’s face changed slightly, and he gave a dry laugh. “No, no. Picking reed shoots is not tiring. There are still a lot in that area. We have to hurry up. We still want to look for wild vegetables in the afternoon.”
Hua Shi’an: “Alright then, be careful.”
Chief Mu: “You bet.”
The two groups of people had just returned and had left in a hurry. The camp was once again left with only a dozen or so people.
It was a long and arduous road. Hua Shi’an twisted his neck and gave the crowd an encouraging look. “Continue. The method I taught you just now might be a bit difficult. Now, I’ll teach you another, simpler method, suitable for making large pieces of unbaked pottery.”
Theoretically, the hand-pinching method was simpler, but it was not suitable for the tribe members who had not played with mud much as children and had no foundation in handicrafts. The coiling method looked complicated, but as long as you followed the steps and controlled the amount of clay, anyone could learn it.
The clay bowl he had just pinched was already a little deformed. Hua Shi’an simply kneaded it into a ball and turned it back into raw material. He slammed it and kneaded it again, still rolling the clay into a ball. But this time, he didn’t just flatten the bottom. He directly pressed the clay ball with his palm, repeatedly adjusting and trimming the cracked edges, and pressed the clay ball into a smooth, round clay pancake.
He took another piece of clay, divided it into six small pieces, and then kneaded them in the winnowing basket, rolling them into six long and consistent clay strips. The length of the clay strips was determined by the size of the clay pancake. After all of them were rolled, Hua Shi’an picked up a clay strip and placed it along the edge of the clay pancake, just enough to go around once.
It was really simple. He coiled the clay strips circle after circle, layer by layer. The only troublesome part was that after each layer, he had to smooth the seams with his fingers to ensure the structure was stable and sealed. Otherwise, the fired pottery would most likely leak water.
Circle after circle, Hua Shi’an took another piece of clay, rolled a clay strip, and stacked it layer by layer. It took him more than half an hour, and finally, a large bowl, bigger than his head, with a wide mouth and a small bottom, was formed and sat steadily in the winnowing basket.
From small to large, from simple to complex, more yellow clay had also been brought back. It was no surprise that they would be playing with mud for the next few days. Hua Shi’an pushed the winnowing basket forward and looked at the crowd with a smile, talking nonsense with a straight face, “You all saw it clearly, right? Isn’t it much simpler than the method just now?”
“One for each person. Mine is already done. Now it’s your turn.”
