sbdcsierra Chapter 87 Pottery Making
Chapter 87 Pottery Making
Lin Baiyan stepped out of the pit. "I'm not sure if it will work, but I have to give it a try."
Rabbit Forest stared blankly at the orc in front of him. "Is this all the mud you're going to use?"
Lin Baiyan nodded and started kneading the yellow mud.
"Then give it a try. It's okay if you don't succeed," Tu Lin said, though she herself was a little apprehensive.
Pottery is not something that can be made so easily. Even if they knew that Lin Baiyan had a lot of knowledge inherited from the Beast God, pottery was extremely rare on the Beastman Continent, even more precious than salt.
The surrounding beastmen looked at him with disbelief, but Lin Baiyan calmly accepted their gazes as he prepared to knead a thick, large disc out of yellow clay.
That's normal; Lang Cang had already explained the significance of pottery to him.
He turned and walked towards the cave, not knowing what he was thinking, and couldn't help but glance back.
Lin Baiyan lowered his eyes and very seriously fiddled with the mud in his hands.
For some reason, Tu Lin always felt that Lin Baiyan might actually be able to successfully fire the pottery.
Firing pottery requires higher temperatures, so the relatively low earthen kilns they had built before were no longer suitable.
Lin Baiyan had Hu Qiu dig a pit to build a simple stove at the bottom, which would increase ventilation and allow the flames to reach a higher temperature.
Not only that, the stove plate he was making also served the same purpose. He mixed yellow clay into a playdough-like state, shaped it into a grate about one meter in diameter, and then poked a ring of holes about three fingers thick around it.
After the grate was made, he made a few more grate bars and put them on the fire to dry.
Meanwhile, Zhu Shan and Ma Yuan had already ground the loess into a fine powder, mixed it with chopped dry grass, and stirred it evenly.
Lin Baiyan began to use the kneaded clay to make a stove on top of the pit.
The most important thing in firing pottery is to keep it well-ventilated while maintaining a certain temperature and heat.
Lin Baiyan mentally rehearsed the shape of the pottery kiln many times, simulating the most likely form.
Lin Baiyan slanted the pit downwards, and then piled mud on the top part, which became the front wall of the pottery kiln.
He stacked them into a circle, with the empty space in the middle for placing the grate.
After stacking it up, he dug a small hole in the outer wall; this hole was used to store firewood.
Light the fire and let the outer wall of the kiln dry.
When the outer wall is dried out, the grate and stove are almost finished.
Place the furnace in the empty space of the pottery kiln, and start stacking the clay layer by layer around the shape of the building, building a cylinder. This is a painstaking task, and you have to do it slowly, one circle at a time, otherwise the outer wall of the pottery kiln will easily collapse.
Several male orcs worked together with Lin Baiyan to build an earthen kiln. This was why he chose Zhushan and Mayuan; these two male orcs were meticulous and steady, and could calm down and do these trivial things.
Hunting at Tiger Hill is alright, but this is a good time to do odd jobs.
In no time, the group had built the outer shape of the pottery kiln, which was about 1.5 meters tall and cylindrical.
Lin Baiyan reached in to widen the kiln opening, and then placed furnace bars inside the kiln, which increased the temperature inside the kiln several times over.
Before long, a simple pottery kiln was built, and Lin Baiyan lit firewood at the kiln opening to let the kiln air dry.
While waiting, Lin Baiyan began making pottery. The clay used for making pottery is particular; it must be clay, which has higher viscosity, and the pottery will be more durable after firing.
I don't know where Lang Cang got this clay from, but it feels pretty good and is very sticky.
He mixed the clay with water until it was slightly firm, then had the male orc slam it on the ground to knock out the air bubbles from the soil.
Then the pottery making begins. The clay is kneaded into a round shape, a hole is hollowed out inside, and the outer wall is shaped to create a ceramic bowl.
The pottery jar is a bit more complicated. A circular base is pressed out, and then clay strips are stacked layer by layer until the shape of a pottery jar is gradually formed.
Lin Baiyan was very skilled with his hands, and in no time he had made seven ceramic bowls, five large ceramic jars, and five ceramic plates.
These also need to be dried by burning.
The pottery kilns they made were quite large, capable of holding all the pottery at once. Lin Baiyan made more than he needed to, considering the possibility of losses. He didn't know how many of these pottery pieces would be successfully fired.
Another possibility is that none of them succeed, which is the worst-case scenario.
Lin Baiyan had a good attitude. After all, he had never done it before, so it was understandable that he didn't succeed. He could just try again next time.
Once everything was ready, Lin Baiyan placed the pottery into the kiln, then sealed the top layer of the kiln with yellow clay, and poked several finger-sized holes along the edge of the top.
After lighting the kiln and firing it, there was a very long waiting process. Lin Baiyan estimated that it would take at least two days to fire. Charcoal would take about a day and a half to fire, and the pottery would take even longer.
Lin Baiyan patted the mud off his hands and then said to the male beastmen, "Alright, from now on, just stand by and keep watch, adding fuel to the fire from time to time."
The male beastmen were all very surprised, and Huqiu's eyes widened even more. "It's over already? Can pottery really be fired like this?"
Lin Baiyan calmly wiped her cheek. "I already said, I'm not sure either."
"But the fire can't be put out, otherwise it will definitely not work."
"I'll take the night watch!" Huqiu said quickly.
He wanted to be the first witness!
Lin Baiyan nodded, "No problem, of course you can if you're willing."
The tribe organizes male beastmen to keep watch every day, and he was planning to tell Lang Cang to make sure the fire in the pottery kiln doesn't go out.
"I'll keep an eye on things." At this moment, Lang Cang's voice came from behind. Lin Baiyan turned his head and saw him staring intently at him.
He was covered in dirt, and you can imagine how disheveled he looked.
Lin Baiyan felt a little embarrassed by his stare.
Lang Cang stepped forward, glanced at the pottery kiln, then turned his gaze back to Lin Baiyan, before reaching out and wiping the young man's cheek.
He held out the mud off his fingers to Lin Baiyan, looking at him with deep eyes, "It's all mud, go wash it off."
"I've made arrangements; the fire won't go out."
Lin Baiyan looked into his dark eyes, and the deep meaning within them made him feel somewhat embarrassed. He subconsciously tilted his head and stammered, "Then, then I won't care."
After saying that, he jogged back to the cave.
After seeing Lin Baiyan run far away, Huqiu sneakily approached Lang Cang and asked, "Boss, what did you do?"
The priest had the aura of a leader, a rather strong scent that exuded an unconscious aggression. Even if they lived together, it shouldn't be like that.
Is it...
My wild and chaotic imagination about Tiger Hill.
Lang Cang gave him a cold look. "Keep your eyes to yourself and don't tell the priest."
"If you run two more laps around the mountain today, I think you still have too much energy."
They can even let their imaginations run wild.
"Awooo~" Huqiu cried and ran away with his head in his hands.
I'll never dare to do that again!