We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 92 Mutual Help to "Build a Cave"

To be on the safe side, they rested for another night near the Da tribe, and only set off for the Xia tribe at the crack of dawn.

When the sun felt like it was eight or nine o'clock, the group returned to the cave near the river.

As soon as Xia Minghao entered the cave, he saw the big orange cat doing a backflip inside the fence, seemingly trying to catch some butterfly.

However, the people of the Xia tribe did not begin their work as Xia Minghao had expected. Instead, they lay sprawled on the ground, still asleep.

"The chief is back!"

Upon seeing the group of people who were still asleep, Lipa immediately shouted.

Everyone immediately woke up from their sleep, and some of them looked at Xia Minghao with a clear expression of guilt on their faces.

Lipa, Shifa, and the others showed obvious anger on their faces.

They had followed the chief around, running errands and doing odd jobs. How could they be satisfied to see this group of people so lazy?

However, Xia Minghao did not show any anger. Instead, he calmly looked at the pile of pottery jars and the uneaten meat that was still drying outside because there were not enough pottery jars.

It was wishful thinking to expect primitive people to have a long-term vision, after all, they were used to living a life where they didn't know if they would have their next meal.

With food readily available, it becomes difficult to find any motivation stemming from a sense of crisis about survival.

This is actually understandable, and ultimately it is due to the mismatch between the systems.

Once everyone has a house, and then we start to promote private ownership, this problem will be easily solved without any need for further explanation.

The question then becomes: the more you put in, the more you get out, so who wouldn't do it?

Upon seeing Xia Minghao, everyone stood up, but did nothing; they simply stood there blankly.

Because they didn't know what they were supposed to do.

At that moment, Liba suddenly remembered something that had been troubling him for the past few days.

That means they couldn't find the cave...

Scratching his smooth, shiny back of his head, Liba spoke to Xia Minghao.

"Chief, should we go look for caves next? What if we don't find any and it rains?"

"Looking for a cave?"

After hearing what Li Ba had said, Xia Minghao looked at everyone and saw that they were all nodding slightly, and some of them had a hint of worry on their faces.

It seems that everyone agrees with Liba's words and resonates with him.

There was no immediate response; instead, she looked at the fired bricks.

All the bricks were fired according to Xia Minghao's requirements and then piled up to one side by the people of the Wa tribe.

Judging by the number of bricks, building five houses is no problem.

Moreover, judging from the brick kiln, it's still sealed off. I estimate that once it's opened, it will be able to produce enough bricks to build two or three houses.

After understanding the situation, Xia Minghao's expression brightened, and he looked at everyone again before pointing to the batch of bricks and speaking.

"This is the cave we'll be living in from now on!"

"This? A cave?"

Upon hearing Xia Minghao's words, everyone's expressions became somewhat puzzled.

Actually, from the very beginning of brick-making, no one knew what this thing was for.

There are all sorts of speculations.

Unlike other pottery, this thing doesn't have holes or pits that can be used to store things.

Since they couldn't use them, many people turned to weapons.

My mind immediately clicked...

Many people have found this brick to be very handy and easy to hold, and it's so hard that it would definitely be effective if used to hit the back of an enemy's head.

Some people find this thing to be very suitable for throwing; throwing it to hit someone is also a good way to do so.

Xia Minghao never expected that his tribe would discover another clever use for the brick so quickly. Seeing the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces, he still chose not to explain.

Since I have to lead everyone in building the first house anyway, I might as well wait until it's finished before making any decisions.

Although the Xia tribe is no longer as proactive, they are still very obedient.

Given the current material conditions, Xia Minghao plans to use the same construction methods as rural earthen houses.

That is, mud mixed with water and half a finger's length of dry grass is used as a bonding material between bricks.

In more technical terms, this stuff is called "reinforced yellow mud slurry".

Adding hay and mixing it thoroughly with the mud is what is known as "strengthening".

The purpose of doing this is to disperse the tension when the mud layer dries, so as to prevent the bonding layer from cracking due to shrinkage.

It also enhances toughness, so even if problems such as foundation settlement occur, the mud layer with hay as "reinforcing steel" is not easy to break directly even if the wall undergoes minor deformation.

Xia Minghao estimated that he would only live in a house built of ordinary mud for five to ten years.

Now that "straw mud" is used, the lifespan of earthen houses will at least double.

Of course, you can't just start building an earthen house right away; you have to lay the foundation first.

First, he ordered people to fetch the grass from the river, water and mud included, and then put the grass in, pounded and mixed it evenly.

Xia Minghao then led his team to begin selecting a location.

First of all, it must be far away from salt springs. Salt springs gush out water, which means the groundwater level must be quite high.

Building it on the side will cause all sorts of problems, such as uneven foundation settlement.

Secondly, the terrain should be relatively high, which is for drainage purposes.

However, the overall terrain of Yanquan Mountain is relatively flat, with only two slight ridges.

Let's just build in one place first, and then move to another area with slightly higher terrain once that one place is finished.

They set up the large wooden stakes one by one, and then, holding straw ropes, began the rudimentary work of laying out the lines.

The overall shape has been roughly determined, and it is 2×4 in the long direction.

This was determined by Xia Minghao using the length of the bricks. Rather than two meters by four meters, it would be more accurate to say eight bricks x sixteen bricks.

Although it is only eight square meters and looks quite shabby, it is the most suitable solution for the current situation.

Building many small houses is necessary to ensure that everyone has a place to live, in order to accommodate the upcoming polygamous marriage system.

Moreover, given the current state of productivity, such rudimentary construction equipment is simply incapable of supporting the construction of a sufficiently magnificent and exquisite house.

After the lines were laid out, more than twenty people began digging under Xia Minghao's command.

Because the earthen house is relatively small, the excavation depth does not need to be too deep, only about one meter is needed, just waist-deep.

After digging out one of the "short sides", Xia Minghao suddenly noticed something was wrong.

How come more than twenty people, with bone hoes, haven't finished digging this or that four-meter-long side yet? Based on previous observations of the efficiency of digging holes with bone hoes, the long side should have been dug long ago.

It seems that the Xia tribe's enthusiasm has declined even more than mine.

After a moment's thought, Xia Minghao didn't say much, deciding to wait until he had roughly completed the initial draft before making any further comments.

After the four sides are dug up, the foundation is compacted, and then some small gravel and soil are used as the base for filling.

The time has finally come to build the house.

Fortunately, making grass mud is not complicated, and even if you are lazy, you can still make it properly.

First, a "plumb bob" was made from iron ore. Later, the "plumb bob method" was used to calibrate the verticality when building the wall to prevent it from being crooked.

Under Xia Minghao's direction, bricks and mud were added layer by layer, and the small mud house rose from the ground.

Because right in front of the chief, the Xia tribe people also became much more diligent.

With everyone's joint efforts, all four walls were completed, and doors and windows were left in the middle.

The door faces the direction of the salt spring, and the main work area can be seen as soon as you step out.

The windows face the caves on either side.

The mountain winds flowing through the caves on both sides are always howling, so the windows are designed in this way to ensure good ventilation inside.

After the construction was completed, looking at the small mud house with four walls finished but no roof, someone finally guessed what was going on.

"Chief, may we stay inside?"

Hearing this, Xia Minghao finally smiled.

"That's right, this is where people live, just like a cave. Once we cover the top, we won't have to worry about rain!"

Everyone then realized that the chief's claim that these square objects could really turn into caves!
Moreover, this "cave" is much better than the cave we lived in before!

Liba didn't understand for a moment, and asked Xia Minghao again.

"But this cave is so small, how are we going to live in it?"

Looking at Liba's bald head, Xia Minghao thought to himself that the phrase "exceptionally intelligent" didn't seem to apply in primitive times.

"There are still many bricks, enough to build more caves. And this cave isn't for everyone to live in together; you will all have your own caves to live in, everyone will have their own!"

"My own cave! A cave where I live all by myself!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes widened. Such a wonderful cave, how comfortable it would be to live alone!

"Chief, whose cave is this?"

Hearing this, Xia Minghao thought for a moment.

"This cave could be yours, his, or anyone else's. But as long as more caves are built, everyone will have one."

These words, once spoken, evoked mixed feelings in the ears of the others.

But everyone at least figured out one thing: this cave might be theirs, and if they quickly built more caves, they would eventually have their own.

Without Xia Minghao even asking, everyone spontaneously began to organize themselves according to their previous assignments.

Xia Minghao was pointing and instructing the people on how to lay the line and how to use the plumb line method.

The houses we were building weren't particularly difficult to construct, and the basic knowledge was easy to learn.

Driven by the great interest of the crowd, they mastered it at an astonishing speed.

After guiding them through the completion of the two walls, they were able to finish them on their own.

Of course, there had to be a quality control system, so Xia Minghao assigned the task to Xia, who was the fastest learner.

Shea has almost completely stopped doing physical labor and now mainly teaches children basic math; she doesn't have much else to do.

Shea was already feeling bored, but after receiving the new task assigned by the chief, she was even happier.

"This might be my house, please do it carefully."

"That house might be mine then, so you all need to be careful."

Seeing the discussions emanating from the crowd, Xia Minghao looked at the people encouraging each other and a triumphant smile appeared on his face.

Wouldn't that immediately boost their enthusiasm?

At that moment, Xia Minghao suddenly realized something.

That is, in the Xia tribe, the main contradiction in society has quietly changed.

It is no longer like before, where the main social contradiction was between the most basic survival needs of primitive people and extremely low productivity.

In the past, there was no time to do things that had nothing to do with having enough to eat.

And they were working together so enthusiastically.

Clearly, the main contradiction in society today has become the contradiction between the basic needs of people and the imperfect material foundation.

A fundamental change has occurred, from mere survival to a genuine way of life.

Seeing the changes in everyone under his guidance, Xia Minghao was naturally delighted.

A familiar melody suddenly popped into my head, and I couldn't help but hum it.

The lyrics were just slightly modified...

"An eight-square-meter nest"

"And he has a gentle and kind wife."

"The children ate their meals successfully."

"A good life comes from hard work."

……

When the houses are allocated, Xia Minghao plans to teach this song to the Xia tribe so that they can understand more directly what kind of "life" they are striving for.

Of course, besides everyone's joint efforts, there is another very important factor contributing to this lifestyle: the Xia tribe's "hard power."

Only by possessing sufficient hard power can we ensure that we are not harmed by external forces and can focus on development with peace of mind.

Walking up to the tendon drying rack, Xia Minghao checked the condition of the wolf tendons, bear tendons, and tiger tendons.

The tiger tendons of the saber-toothed tiger were recently removed and were being soaked in a pottery jar of wood ash to remove excess oil.

The bear tendons have just started to air dry, while the wolf tendons will probably be ready in another day or two. At that time, they can be separated and glued together to become a truly useful bowstring!

Xia Minghao picked up a wolf tendon and tested it, making a comparison in his mind.

"This is far superior to the bowstrings made by the Bada tribe from some unknown plant fiber."

At that moment, as Xia Minghao recalled the slender bowstring of the Da tribe, something suddenly occurred to him…

I have some fishing line in my bag that I've never used!
Can my own fishing line also be used as a bowstring?
(End of this chapter)