The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 75

Chapter 75

“The kiln is open, the kiln is open! Those who want to join the fun, hurry up!”

As the sky darkened and the night enveloped the riverbank, it was bustling with activity. A sturdy and plump water buffalo had been gutted, its huge body cut into pieces of beef with clear texture and bright color.

Washing the meat and internal organs, the riverbank was busy and harmonious. Suddenly, a loud shout came from the riverbank above. The people all put down their work and stood up in unison, rushing downstream like a swarm of bees.

“Quick, the Lord Priest and the others have been gone for a while. We’ll be late if we go now!”

“What’s the rush? The pottery will be moved back to the tribe when it’s fired. It won’t run away.”

“You don’t understand. You only feel a sense of participation when you witness it with your own eyes!”

“The unbaked pottery I pinched today was also fired. I really want to see what it turned into.”

“The Lord Priest said there would be losses during the firing. Yours might have been ruined.”

“Pah, pah, pah, you jinx!”

…

After a lot of rushing, Chief Mu and the main group arrived just in time.

The back basket that had sealed the kiln mouth had been moved away, and the cracked mud fragments were scattered on the ground. The mud had been baked dry, and the five tree trunks were firmly welded to the kiln mouth. Hua Shi’an and the two beastmen gritted their teeth and, with great effort, managed to pry one open.

Once the middle trunk was moved away, it was much easier to use the gap. The three of them carefully dug out the mud, took down the trunk, and threw it to the side. Finally, the black hole of the kiln mouth saw the light of day again.

The kiln chamber had completely cooled down. A unique smell of firewood rushed to their faces. The kiln walls, which had been smoked and fired, were more than a shade blacker. Hua Shi’an stretched his neck and looked. It was pitch black, and he could vaguely see the outlines of the pottery.

Before Hua Shi’an could make anything out, the tribe members who had gathered to watch swarmed forward. As if they had been starved for three days and nine meals and had finally seen food, they instantly surrounded the already small kiln mouth, making it impenetrable.

“Hiss, it’s so dark. I can’t see clearly. Did it work or not?”

“Don’t push, don’t push. Let me see too!”

…

Except for the old and the young, the entire tribe was gathered around the kiln, crowded and noisy. Hua Shi’an’s ears were almost deaf. He looked around, intending to have Chief Mu maintain order, but he saw the chief squeezing through the crowd with great enthusiasm.

Forget it. It’s better to rely on myself than on others. I’m still waiting to go back and eat meat. Hua Shi’an decisively clapped his hands and shouted at the top of his lungs, “You can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry. Come, come, move to the side a little. Bring the ladder over. We’re getting ready to go down into the kiln!”

They couldn’t see anything anyway. Hearing this, the crowd no longer pushed forward blindly. They quickly dispersed, waiting with anticipation for them to go down into the kiln and bring up the pottery.

Dozens of pairs of eyes are staring. The pressure is a bit high!

It would be fine if it worked, but what if it didn’t… no, the preparations were very thorough. There was no reason for it to fail. Hua Shi’an’s hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists. With a sense of trepidation, he stepped onto the bamboo ladder and entered the dim kiln chamber.

Hua Shi’an was nervous, and so was Chief Mu. Watching Hua Shi’an and the beastman disappear into the kiln mouth one after another, on a cool evening with a gentle breeze, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his palms.

More than ten days of hard work can’t be in vain. It has to succeed!

The kiln chamber hadn’t changed much. Except for the kiln walls being a little blacker from the firing, it was basically the same as in the morning. Clay pots, clay basins, clay bowls… they were the same as in the morning, just that the color was slightly different, from yellowish-brown to a whitish, light yellow.

He had entered the kiln chamber with great anticipation, but Yan Qiuyu was dumbfounded. “Ah, did it fail? Why haven’t these bowls and plates changed at all?”

“The color has become a little lighter.” Mo Huaishan tried his best to find a difference. The only thing he found was the color, and it was only a slight difference.

Without answering their questions, Hua Shi’an looked around. Looking at the still-intact bottles and jars, he subconsciously held his breath and reached for the nearest pottery bowl.

His fingertips touched the rim of the bowl. The fine texture was clearly different from clay. Hua Shi’an’s heart skipped half a beat. He held his breath and picked up the bowl. But just as the pottery bowl left the ground, with a “crack,” a complete pottery bowl broke in two. Half was held in Hua Shi’an’s hand, and the other half fell to the ground and shattered.

This fall quieted the kiln chamber. Yan Qiuyu and Mo Huaishan, who had come down with him, froze in place. Hong Yong, who was standing on the bamboo ladder, was also stunned. The three of them didn’t even dare to breathe, only daring to secretly glance at Hua Shi’an’s expression.

Hua Shi’an held the broken pottery bowl for nearly a minute without moving, and the three of them also froze for a minute. This stalemate didn’t seem to be a solution. Mo Huaishan’s lips parted slightly, and just as he was about to comfort him, the motionless Hua Shi’an in front of him burst out laughing.

“No, what are you guys doing? Are you playing freeze tag?” Hua Shi’an was overjoyed. His eyes narrowed into a slit, the corners of his mouth lifted wide, and his shoulders trembled with laughter.

“What’s freeze tag?” Yan Qiuyu’s focus had strayed.

Hong Yong still remembered his business. He coughed lightly into his fist and comforted him tactfully, “It’s good that Shi’an is not unhappy. If it didn’t fire well this time, we’ll just fire it again next time.”

“It didn’t fire well? Who said it didn’t fire well?”

Hua Shi’an’s smile faded. He handed half of the pottery bowl to Mo Huaishan and then picked up a pottery jar from the ground. This time, the pottery jar did not crack and lay completely in his palm. Hua Shi’an gently tapped it with two fingers. Two crisp “ding ding” sounds echoed in the dim kiln chamber.

Hong Yong’s breath hitched. “It didn’t crack. The sound is different…”

“This is,” Yan Qiuyu’s voice rose several degrees. “It worked?”

“What?! It worked?”

Chief Mu’s cheerful shout came from above. In an instant, the kiln turned into a megaphone, and the tribe members’ cheers and discussions poured down.

“Quick, quick, move them up, Lord Priest, Brother Yong!”

“That’s great. We have pottery to use. We’ll use a pottery pot to cook meat tonight!”

“All you know is how to eat. That pottery vat is so convenient for holding water and watering vegetables.”

“What does the fired pottery look like? I really want to see!”

His head was buzzing. Hua Shi’an, who had been planning to inspect them: …

Forget it. I’ll inspect them as I move them. The broken ones have to be taken out anyway.

They passed them down from below and received them from above. Soon, the fired pottery and the broken pottery fragments were all moved to the grass.

The tribe members, who had never come into contact with pottery before, were extremely excited. As if they had entered a wholesale market, each of them picked up two and walked back, studying the difference between the pottery and the unbaked pottery as they walked.

Hua Shi’an walked at the end of the group, holding two pottery jars, and silently calculated the losses.

Roughly estimating, the loss rate of this batch of unbaked pottery was about one-fifth, which was a bit high. Especially since two of the four large pottery vats had been ruined, Hua Shi’an’s heart was bleeding. He was heartbroken.

But in this primitive society where there was nothing, a one-fifth loss rate was actually not high. Practice makes perfect. The kiln was dug and could be fired at any time. In short, the tribe would no longer be short of utensils.

The bisque-fired pottery and the dried unbaked pottery did not look very different, but their use was worlds apart. Clay would soften and deform when it encountered water, while pottery could hold water at will. Only a few of the poorly fired pottery pieces would leak.

After a leakage test, two large pottery vats, three large pottery pots, and some plates, bowls, bottles, and jars were moved back to the camp. The slightly larger, less leaky rejects were thrown by the fields to be used as watering containers or flower pots.

The broken pottery shards were piled up in the woods behind the camp. The broken pieces were sharp, so as not to accidentally step on them and cut their feet.

They had the pots, and they had the meat. After a whole day of hard work, it was time to prepare dinner.

The dry firewood was crackling and burning. The new pottery pot was washed and filled with clear water, and placed on the fire pit to heat up. It was just boiling water, but as if they were afraid the pot would be stolen, Chief Mu, Yan Zhile, and Hong Yinglan guarded it without leaving, their eyes glued to it.

Hua Shi’an walked by with a bone knife and found it amusing. He stood behind the three of them and asked, “What are you guys looking at? Didn’t you just test it? It won’t leak.”

“Lord Priest.”

Yan Zhile turned to greet him and pointed to another fire pit with a stone pot. He said with a grin, “Didn’t you say that a pottery pot cooks water and rice faster? We’re having a race to see how much faster a pottery pot is than a stone pot.”

“Yo, that’s quite an idea.” Hua Shi’an’s interest was also piqued. He took two steps forward and sat down beside Chief Mu. “But this race is not fair to the stone pot. The stone pot is a circle larger than the pottery pot, and there’s more water in it. There’s no comparison.”

Chief Mu laughed heartily twice. “Actually, there’s no need to compare. The pottery pot is more than a little bit thinner than the stone pot. One look and you know that the water in the pottery pot will boil first. We’re just trying it out. After hearing you say so much, we also want to see it with our own eyes.”

The pottery pot had just been put on, so it must have been a while. Small bubbles were forming under the water. It was about to boil. Hua Shi’an rested his chin on one hand, a faint smile on his lips. “Don’t worry, Chief. I didn’t fool you. See, you can see for yourselves. It’s about to boil.”

“Wow, it’s true!” Yan Zhile looked up at the pottery pot and exclaimed in surprise.

Hearing is one thing, but seeing is another. Glancing at the hot water in the stone pot, which was starting to steam, Hong Yinglan’s eyes widened, and she praised him unstintingly, “Lord Priest, you’re so amazing! This pottery pot is so light, and it boils water so fast. It’s really so useful!”

“How long has it been since the water started to boil? What kind of life did we live before?” Chief Mu couldn’t hide his excitement and couldn’t stop smiling. With that, he rubbed the goosebumps that had appeared on his arms and glanced to the side. “Look at that stone pot. The water in this pot is almost boiling, and it hasn’t even made a sound.”

“Useless thing. I’ll have someone move it out and throw it away tomorrow. It’s a nuisance and takes up space.”

“No, you can’t throw this away.”

Hua Shi’an quickly dispelled this idea. “Although we have pottery pots now and don’t need stone pots anymore, it still has other uses. In the future, when we grind some chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, or make konjac or something, we can use it as a mortar.”

Chief Mu: “We have small stone pots for grinding things. This one is too big.”

Through the hazy night mist, he looked at the grass. Hua Shi’an chuckled softly. “You think it’s big now, but when the rice is ripe, you’ll definitely think it’s too small and not enough.”

“What do you mean?” Chief Mu asked with interest.

Hua Shi’an: “When rice is ripe, it’s very small, the kind that’s in grains, even smaller than chili seeds. It has a shell on the outside, and we’ll have to use a mortar to hull it. It’s very troublesome.”

He seemed to find it troublesome. The corner of Chief Mu’s mouth twitched, and he let out a soft “tsk.”

Yan Zhile grinned and immediately chimed in, “I’m not afraid of trouble. The Lord Priest said that hulled rice is called rice, and it’s the most, most delicious food in the world!”

“One of the most delicious foods. Don’t add fuel to the fire,” Hua Shi’an said with a smile.

“Speaking of eating…” Chief Mu turned to look at the beastman who was cutting meat in the open space, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes. He withdrew his gaze to look at Hua Shi’an and said tentatively, “Aren’t you stir-frying the meat tonight? Such good beef, are you really going to let a group of beastmen mess it up?”

“It’s ruined, it’s ruined.” Hong Yinglan’s face was filled with disgust.

This back and forth, he knew they were trying to trick him into cooking.

Hua Shi’an rested his chin on his hand and did not move, as steady as a mountain. But the three pairs of eyes grew more and more fervent, almost burning a hole through him. Hua Shi’an finally couldn’t take it anymore. His shoulders trembled slightly, and he let out a soft laugh. “They’re just helping to cut the meat and prepare the ingredients. I won’t let them ruin the meat.”

Chief Mu was visibly relieved. “That’s good. You stir-fry, and I’ll—”

“I’m not stir-frying either.” Hua Shi’an deliberately kept them in suspense.

Yan Zhile was bewildered. “Then who will stir-fry? Then what will we eat?”

Hua Shi’an: “Fresh beef often only needs the simplest cooking method. Tonight, we’ll have roasted meat, a self-service stone slab barbecue. In a bit, you can go to the river to get your own stone slabs, go to the open space to get your meat slices, and roast and eat them yourselves.”