bookcurios Chapter 99 Burning Bricks
Chapter 99 Burning Bricks
He looked around at the beastmen in the cave and said in a deep voice, "Didn't you understand what Rabbit Forest said? They didn't stay here to do nothing."
In fact, in the Orcish continent, the chieftain and priests have a lot of power. He and Wolf Cang could directly decide to bring all these dwarf beasts into the tribe to work.
However, Lin Baiyan is not used to ordering others around like this. Of course, if they really can't be persuaded, they can just make the decision themselves. As the workload increases, the beastmen will understand why he is doing this.
He no longer wants to be a dictatorial priest; he knows he can make mistakes, which is why he consults with everyone.
It's a good thing that there are different voices within the tribe; at least it proves that the orcs in their tribe are slowly learning to think.
“But we can do the same jobs they can do.” Some of the beastmen still didn’t understand and muttered to themselves.
After listening to their ideas, Lin Baiyan took a step forward and said, "We'll start firing bricks and tiles tomorrow, and construction will begin in half a month."
A house? Some of the orcs' eyes widened in surprise.
Did they hear me right? The priest said to build a house!
Some of the beastmen looked puzzled.
At this time, houses did exist on the Orcish continent. Some tribes used mud to build their own settlements, but this knowledge was very precious and was tightly guarded by a few large tribes.
Most of the beastmen live in tents or caves.
Niu Lie murmured, "Is it the kind of house that doesn't leak when it rains and doesn't collapse when the wind blows?"
Lin Baiyan glanced at Niu Lie with some surprise, nodded, and said, "That's right, it's that kind of house."
Niu Lie felt all the beastmen in the cave turn their gazes toward him at once, and he explained, "I escaped from the western continent, where there is a large tribe called the Yellow Stone Tribe."
"They were able to harden the soil like stone and then build it into the shape of our thatched huts, with no exposed sides. Huts built with this kind of soil are warm in the snowy season and cool in the hot season."
Thinking of the advantages of the house, Niu Lie's usually sullen face showed a hint of excitement. "I once went to the Huangshi tribe and saw that all of them lived in these airtight sheds."
"However, this is a secret of the Huangshi tribe, and I don't know how they built it."
Lin Baiyan nodded thoughtfully; he hadn't expected there to be houses here.
After Niu Lie finished speaking, Lin Baiyan raised his voice and said, "That's right, but the kind of house we're going to build is different from theirs; it's a much more sturdy one."
“We’ll need a lot of stones, bricks, and tiles, and—”
Lin Baiyan sighed deeply, "Ai Shi can help me and Hu Jiang with carpentry work, can you?"
His gaze swept over every beastman in the cave. If only someone could actually do it, he wouldn't have had to worry about it every day.
The beastmen who were swept by his gaze shrank back somewhat guiltily.
They wanted to help, but they couldn't understand the priest's meaning at all. The priest's words about straight lines and curves were completely baffling to the beasts.
Everyone scratched their heads in a dramatic way, realizing that it was indeed the case; only that cub could help them make the cart.
The resistance on the orcs' faces lessened.
Seeing this, Lin Baiyan continued, "We'll start firing bricks and tiles tomorrow. You guys can work for two days first. If you can keep it up, I won't let them come over. How about that?"
Hearing the priest say this, everyone felt a surge of competitiveness. The priest was underestimating them. Could they possibly not finish such a small task?
The beastmen immediately agreed with Lin Baiyan's statement.
After the crowd dispersed, Ai Shi hesitantly pulled Ai Hong and Ai Cheng over, carefully observed Lin Baiyan's expression, and cautiously said, "Priest, have we caused you any trouble?"
Having spent these past few days with Lin Baiyan, Ai Shi is no longer so afraid of him.
Lin Baiyan nodded. "It is a bit troublesome, but we can still handle it."
"You don't need to worry about it. Just work hard with Hu Jiang from now on."
He said that on purpose, to let them know how difficult it was to stay, and that only what is hard-earned is truly cherished.
Ai Shi knew that the reason Lin Baiyan was so concerned about him was because of his skill. He nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, "I will definitely work hard!"
Lin Baiyan smiled slyly, recalling how indifferent everyone had seemed earlier. They hadn't realized the sheer amount of work they had actually undertaken.
Building a house will require at least four or five thousand bricks. You can start working on it now, but don't say a word.
The firing of bricks and tiles is not simple, and Lin Baiyan had already prepared all the necessary tools before firing.
Because this firing process was a very large undertaking, he spent several days figuring it out from memory and made a hand-cranked blower. When he put it into the kiln opening, it would increase the firepower and reduce fuel consumption.
There are also molds for making bricks. He and Ai Shi have been working overtime these past two days to make a bunch of them. These are relatively easy to make; you just need to make one and then make another one that is exactly the same.
The next day, Lin Baiyan led the male beastmen to work on a huge brick kiln, four meters wide, three meters high, and two meters in size, in the shape of a cuboid.
Practice makes perfect, and they are becoming more and more skilled at building earthen kilns.
After the brick kiln was built, the beastmen were divided into two teams: one team went to dig soil, and the other team followed him to mix mud and make brick blanks.
On the first day, the orcs began their work with great enthusiasm.
The next day, the beastmen got up early as usual and enthusiastically dug and broke bricks.
The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day…
The exact same work: digging soil, mixing mud, and making bricks...
Lu Xiao forcefully slammed the brick in his hand to the ground, looked up at the sky and sighed, "When will this ever end?"
The orcs who were throwing bricks alongside him also felt the same way. They had been throwing bricks for five days straight, and they still hadn't finished.
The orcs digging the soil weren't much better off; they mechanically repeated their actions: digging, loading, and hauling soil.
It seems like there's no way to finish it no matter what we do.
Lin Baiyan was checking whether the air inside the brick had been thrown out when he heard everyone's whispers, and he secretly smiled.
Didn't you say you could finish it? How come it's already not working after only a few days?
These past few days, everyone's workload has suddenly increased, and the tribe has gone back to eating from the same pot. There's no way around it; after a day's work, everyone is exhausted and like a dead beast, and nobody wants to cook for themselves.