Chapter 68
The coiling method was indeed more suitable for the primitive physique. In just three short days, the tribe members, who had been clueless when they first saw the yellow clay, had transformed into pottery masters. They could handle anything from small plates and bowls to large pottery pots and water basins. Their pinching techniques became more and more skilled, and their speed became faster and faster.
The camp was visibly shrinking. The winnowing baskets filled with unbaked pottery were densely packed and had nowhere to be placed. A row was placed in the corner of the fire pit, half a circle was piled up in the leeward area behind the firewood pile, and there were also winnowing baskets under the trees where people ate and rested… they were really everywhere.
To prevent dust from falling on them and to prevent the unbaked pottery from being blown over by the wind, each winnowing basket was also covered with a larger back basket. This made the camp even narrower, and at night, they could only eat standing up with their bamboo tubes.
Having found the joy of making unbaked pottery, the tribe members were full of energy. The number of unbaked pottery pieces increased day by day. And these wet pieces had to be dried for at least ten and a half days before they could be fired. If this continued, the camp would not be able to hold them all.
When he woke up in the morning and saw the messy camp, Hua Shi’an’s head started to hurt a little. He stood by the fire pit and thought for a moment, and his sleepiness was mostly gone. He shouted to the crowd, “Yan Zhile, Hong Yinglan, come here for a moment!”
The clay had already been kneaded. The tribe members who had woken up early were sitting in the open space, skillfully pinching the unbaked pottery. Hearing Hua Shi’an’s voice, Yan Zhile and Hong Yinglan both stood up and, without even bothering to wash the yellow clay from their hands, hurried over.
“Morning, Lord Priest. You’re awake.” Yan Zhile was full of energy and in good spirits. He greeted Hua Shi’an with a grin.
A greeting is a greeting, but what’s with the special mention of being awake?
Hua Shi’an, who had overslept, was a little sensitive. He unconsciously touched his nose and explained in a low voice, “Morning. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t sleep last night. When I opened my eyes this morning, it was already bright. I got up a little late.”
“It’s okay. We just got up not long ago,” Hong Yinglan, who was good at reading people, smiled and smoothed things over, quickly changing the subject. “Lord Priest, what did you call us for?”
One sentence had relieved the awkwardness. Hua Shi’an smiled gratefully at Hong Yinglan and then got down to business. “There are more and more unbaked pottery pieces, and they’re making a mess in the camp. Yinglan, you take some people later and move these unbaked pottery pieces to the grass to dry in the sun.”
“Move them to the grass to dry in the sun?” Hong Yinglan was taken aback for a moment. “But didn’t you say the other day that if you put the wet pieces directly in the sun, they’re prone to cracking?”
The pottery clay had not been screened for purity, and the impurity content was relatively high, making the unbaked pottery relatively fragile. To avoid cracks on the walls of the blanks, they had chosen a gentle drying method, slowly air-drying them.
Hua Shi’an had indeed said that, but that only applied to three days ago. Hua Shi’an lifted a nearby back basket and pointed to the slightly whitish, already dry bottles and jars in the winnowing basket. “The ones that have just been made are called wet blanks. These, which have been drying for two or three days and have a dry and set surface, are not afraid of the sun.”
“The spring sun is still gentle. You can leave the ones you’ve just made in the camp to dry. When they’re half dry, you can move them to the grass to dry. That way, they’ll dry faster, and we can also tidy up the camp a little. Otherwise, in a few days, there will be no place to cook.”
Hong Yinglan listened attentively and nodded solemnly. “I’ll remember, Lord Priest.”
Whether it was air-drying, wind-drying, or sun-drying, the unbaked pottery was still prone to cracking. It was unavoidable. If the cracks were large and deep, they would be sent back to the furnace to be remade. If the cracks were shallow, they could still be salvaged.
He had taught them how to mend the cracks yesterday. Fearing they had forgotten, Hua Shi’an asked again. After receiving Hong Yinglan’s affirmative answer, he was completely relieved.
The camp was really too messy. Hua Shi’an couldn’t stand the sight of it. He pondered for a moment and then turned his gaze to the small hill of clay, continuing to instruct, “When the beastmen come back, have them dig a large pit in the grass and move the clay over there. It’s too much of a nuisance to have it piled up in the camp. It will be very troublesome if it rains.”
“As for pinching the unbaked pottery… let’s move it to the grass too. Yinglan, you take them. Another four or five days should be enough. We don’t know if they’ll turn out well when they’re fired yet. We might have to adjust depending on the situation.”
“Alright.” Hong Yinglan turned to look at the crowd who were making unbaked pottery, thought for a moment, and then added, “Let’s finish using the kneaded yellow clay first. After that, I’ll take them to move.”
Hua Shi’an: “Mm, you can arrange it as you see fit.”
He had clearly called the two of them over, but every word was directed at Hong Yinglan.
Yan Zhile puffed out his cheeks with dissatisfaction and opened his mouth to find some sense of presence for himself. “Lord Priest, from what you just said, you’re not going to make unbaked pottery with us anymore? What are you going to do?”
Hua Shi’an turned to look at him, a soft laugh escaping his lips. “It’s not that I’m not going with you. It’s that the two of us are not going with them. Let’s go, Yan Zhile. You’re with me today.”
Normally, he would have come as soon as he was called. But today, Yan Zhile seemed a little reluctant. His mouth drooped, and his tone was sullen. “Where are we going? What are we doing? I was doing a good job of making unbaked pottery. I don’t really want to—”
“I want to go!”
Before he could finish his refusal, Hong Yinglan eagerly volunteered, her eyes filled with unconcealed excitement. “Lord Priest, I’ll go! Let Yan Zhile lead them in making the unbaked pottery.”
“What are you doing? I haven’t finished talking yet!” Yan Zhile, who had just been so reluctant, suddenly took a step forward, like a child vying for favor, and stood between Hua Shi’an and Hong Yinglan.
Although he did want to stay in the tribe and make unbaked pottery, Yan Zhile knew that Hong Yinglan was smarter and more diligent than him. If he let the Lord Priest take her out, he would completely lose favor in the future.
So, he absolutely couldn’t let her!
Yan Zhile grabbed Hua Shi’an’s arm and shook it left and right coquettishly. “Lord Priest, listen to me. I was just about to say that I don’t really want to make unbaked pottery. I want to work with you. I’ll do whatever you want!”
“Yan Zhile, you’re so annoying!” Hong Yinglan glared at him with a displeased expression.
Both of them wanted to go, and it was time to choose one of the two again. But there was no need to hesitate at all. Hua Shi’an pushed away Yan Zhile’s mud-covered hand and smiled apologetically at Hong Yinglan. “Next time. The main thing is that the tribe needs someone to watch over it. Yan Zhile is not very reliable. I’m not at ease if he stays behind.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
Yan Zhile was not annoyed at all and nodded vigorously in agreement.
The Lord Priest was praising her for being reliable in a roundabout way. Hong Yinglan pursed her lips and smiled. “Then, then alright. Lord Priest, you guys be careful on the way.”
It was getting late. After bidding farewell to the sub-beastman, Hua Shi’an and Yan Zhile shouldered their back baskets and hoes, and under the gentle, warm sun, they walked towards the grass, and then along the ridges towards the downstream.
He was out. The Lord Priest couldn’t go back on his word. Yan Zhile let himself go again.
The journey was boring. He thought of something to say, and for some reason, he thought of what he had seen in the tree hollow last time. He secretly glanced at Hua Shi’an. “Lord Priest, did you have a fight with the big oaf?”
He had come out of nowhere with that. Hua Shi’an was completely bewildered. “No.”
“Are you… regretting it?” Yan Zhile asked again.
“Regretting what?” Hua Shi’an’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Can you start from the beginning when you talk?”
Yan Zhile acted as if he hadn’t heard. “Then why haven’t you moved in with him yet?”
You like to ask questions, do you? Hua Shi’an also asked, “Why should I move in with him?”
Yan Zhile was unconcerned and took Hua Shi’an’s question as an answer, shouting at the top of his lungs, “I saw you last time. Didn’t you guys kiss?”
As if he had shouted with all his might, the last word echoed across the river.
Hua Shi’an’s steps came to a sudden halt. He gritted his back teeth and glared at him with a complicated expression. “Yan Zhile, my ears are fine. You don’t have to be so loud with such words. Secondly, we didn’t kiss. Don’t spread rumors, okay? Who else did you tell this to?”
He didn’t care what others thought of him, but Hua Shi’an was a little bothered by his private affairs being spread around.
“I haven’t told anyone, but I’m not spreading rumors either.” Yan Zhile pouted. “Don’t be shy. I saw it clearly last time. Your mouths were touching!”
Hua Shi’an was so angry he laughed. “Which eye did you see it with?”
Yan Zhile held his eyelids open with his hands and widened his eyes. “Both of them.”
He didn’t really want to continue this topic, but it was necessary to explain. Hua Shi’an started walking forward again and coughed lightly into his fist. “You saw it wrong. We just hugged. We didn’t—”
“Don’t try to fool me. Why were your faces so close if you were just hugging?”
“He was talking to me.”
Yan Zhile: “Your ears are not bad. Do you have to be so close to talk?”
Hua Shi’an: …
Forget it, I’m too lazy to explain. Hua Shi’an spread his hands and completely gave up. “Alright, alright, we kissed, we kissed. So what?”
“Nothing,” Yan Zhile shrugged and said with a straight face, “Only mates kiss. That’s why I’m asking you. When are you moving in together?”
A “plop” sound came from the river. When Hua Shi’an turned to look, the fish that had jumped out of the water had already submerged again, leaving a circle of ripples spreading out.
He didn’t have to answer, but Hua Shi’an inexplicably wanted to. He looked at the gradually calming river surface, a faint smile on his lips. “Soon. I’ll cook something delicious for you guys then.”
“Really? Wow, wow!” Yan Zhile danced with excitement.
A casual question had actually gotten him a benefit. Yan Zhile was even more excited. He hadn’t gone far before he started asking again, “Lord Priest, what does it feel like to kiss a beastman? Is it comfortable?”
What a shocking thing to say. Hua Shi’an was choked by his own saliva and coughed for a long time, patting his chest. Before he could recover, Yan Zhile was muttering again, “Kissing should be fine. It won’t be uncomfortable. I’ve heard that sleeping with a beastman will—”
“Alright, Yan Zhile, shut up!”
It was unclear whether it was from coughing or from embarrassment, but Hua Shi’an’s face was flushed, and his ear tips were also an abnormal pink, like a fully ripe peach, his whole person white with a hint of red.
Yan Zhile didn’t notice the abnormality and wanted to struggle a little more. “Why—”
“So many questions. Don’t speak.”
“Don’t. It’s so bo—”
“Shut up. Don’t make me say it a third time.”
“Oh my, I was wrong, Lord Priest. Let’s not talk about this anymore,” Yan Zhile really couldn’t learn to shut up. He quickly changed the subject to show his determination. “I just wanted to ask, where are we going? You haven’t told me what we’re going to do.”
Hua Shi’an: “We’re going to the downstream wetland, to the place where they dug for yellow clay before.”
“What’s so interesting about the wetland?” Yan Zhile had never been to the wetland, but he had heard the sub-beastmen mention it. He felt that there was nothing there but mud and reeds.
As if he had guessed his thoughts, Hua Shi’an patiently explained, “It’s not just mud and reeds. That wetland is very large, unusually large. There must be many water-loving plants growing in it. If we take a look around and look for them, we can expand our diet. If it weren’t for making unbaked pottery, I wouldn’t have waited until now.”
Yan Zhile’s interest was piqued. “Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s walk faster.”
