Traveling through the primitive world: I was a priest in the tribe

Speaking of hunting the wind, Ji Lang turned around to look for it. It was time to go back.

Then I saw the stupid dog digging in the dust at a nest of potato seedlings.

"Hunting the Wind!!!"

Ji Lang ran back after Liefeng with a hoe in his hand, while Xi Shi followed behind with a carrying pole, laughing so hard that he could hardly stand up straight.

The firing of Li's first kiln of pottery finally began.

The pottery they made was different from what Jilang had known before. In addition to the most common black mud here, the mud they used also included a kind of green mud dug from the foot of the mountain and yellow mud with sand dug from the lake.

And it is not a simple mixture. First, black mud and green mud are added in equal proportions. After mixing, yellow sand mud is added little by little. It is completed when the color of the mud becomes dark green.

There are no special tools for pottery making here, everything is done by hand.

Li has been making pottery in the tribe for many years, and he can make the pots, pans, and utensils used in daily life with his eyes closed.

Ji Lang followed and learned for a while, but he didn’t understand why the mud, which was very obedient in other people’s hands, was like a “helpless piece of mud” in his own hands.

After kneading and kneading for a long time, it returned to its original shape.

Fortunately, there is another person named Sa Shi who shares the same suffering as Ji Lang.

"What kind of broken thing is so hard to pinch." Sa Shiyi threw a ball of mud on the ground. Am insisted that she and Xi Shi make a bowl for the child to eat from, saying it was a good omen, representing Am and Father's expectations for the child. In this way, the child who used the pottery bowls made by Am and Father would be safer and healthier. It was after hearing this that Ji Lang tried to pinch a bowl for Xiaoman. He didn't expect that this thing was slippery in the hand and very difficult to handle.

Sa Shi was very upset. The child had just been carried in her womb for a short time, and it would take a long time before she could use a bowl. Yet, she had been kneading this piece of mud over and over for a long time, but every time she either accidentally flattened it here or broke it there, and she simply couldn't knead it well.

Xi Shi Ni reached out her hand and held Sa Shi's, scratching her palm soothingly, and after a while handed her a small and cute round bowl.

Sa Shi took it with a silly grin.

Li looked at the two small round bowls in front of him that were obviously made by the same person, glared at his daughter, and shook his head helplessly at Xishi, "Just spoil her. She's almost going to be Emu's woman, but she's still so irritable."

"Am, am I your biological child? Why do you despise me so much?" Sa Shi pouted in protest.

"Hmph, if this weren't my biological child, I would have chased you away long ago." Li stood up and carried the jar he had just made on the wooden board to the shady inner courtyard, letting his daughter and her partner have fun. He wouldn't be bothered if he didn't see it. He couldn't understand how a man so dexterous as himself and whose father was so diligent and meticulous, could give birth to such a careless girl.

The surface of the kneaded object is smoothed with a flat wooden board and left to dry overnight until only the surface is dry and no moisture is felt, but not dry enough to cause cracks. Then the wooden board is used to push the object into a pottery kiln that has been empty-fired overnight.

The temperature in the pottery kiln was very high, and Li did not allow anyone else to get close except Guo Qi who came to help.

Once all the things to be burned, from big to small, are put into the pottery kiln, the fire must be increased and burned vigorously. The fire must not be extinguished.

Keep the kiln door open and burn until dark. After dark, seal the kiln door, smear mud on it and wait for the fire inside the kiln to be extinguished. Open the kiln door before going to bed to cool down overnight, and you can leave the kiln early the next morning.

After working all day, everyone went out of the inner courtyard and went to sleep in their tents after opening the kiln door. When Ji Lang came out of the tent early in the morning, he saw Qing Jiu coming back with a cart. Ever since he accidentally hurt his shoulder when he went to fetch water last time, Qing Jiu would go to fetch water every day.

The cart was filled with buckets of all sizes. No one knew how this man was able to keep it steady. Even if the buckets were empty, Ji Lang would not be able to pull the cart down the mountain, let alone it was full. If he was not careful, the whole cart and even he himself could fall into the ditch.

When Ji Lang looked over, Qing Jiu happened to look over there as well, and their eyes seemed to be glued together, becoming a little sticky.

Xiaoman suddenly hugged his legs, waking up Ji Lang who was bewitched. He looked down at Xiaoman.

Xiaoman raised her head, her cheeks were a little red from the high altitude, and she was still a little sleepy, "Lang, I want to pee."

Qing Jiu helplessly watched Ji Lang holding Xiao Man to pee. This little kid, can't he pee by himself? And why did he have to pee now instead of earlier or later?

Qing Jiu realized what he was thinking and couldn't help but frown. He actually wanted to compete for favor with a little kid. He was really hopeless.

I continued to push the cart to transport water to the outside of the pottery kiln and put it there, waiting to be used to make pottery products after breakfast.

When the water tanks, big pots, and other objects in the kiln were moved out one by one and water was added to test for leaks and cracks, Ji Lang touched the smooth pot, which was stronger and more beautiful than he had imagined. The pottery gravel after firing was a very clean gray-green color. Ji Lang was once again amazed and impressed by their wisdom.

Knowing that they can make pottery is one thing, but witnessing them bake lumps of clay into such beautiful shapes is another.

"This is so beautiful." Ji Lang looked at the large number of large and small pottery pieces in front of him, and then looked at the crooked thing in his hand that could barely be seen as a bowl. He didn't know whether Xiaoman would be willing to use such a bowl.

And...can it really be safe and healthy to use this kind of bowl?

"This is not the most beautiful thing. When I was in the Taoli tribe, there was a potter named Fei. He had excellent skills and could use berries to get color and paint various patterns on the surface of pottery. Everyone liked him very much and would spend more fur and meat in exchange for his pottery." Li said regretfully, "It's a pity that after Hei Shiliu killed the old chief, he went to find Fei and asked Fei to make pottery only for their group. Fei disagreed and was beaten by that group of people and never woke up again." Li fell silent when he said this and sighed. It was not known whether it was for the tribe or for Fei who died innocently.

Ji Lang felt that Hei Shiliu was a barbarian with uncivilized thoughts. Fortunately, he was dead, otherwise, who knows how many people he would have harmed.

"Don't be sad, Aunt Li. Look, Qingjiu has already helped Fei, the old chief and others to get revenge, right? And even though you have left the Taoli tribe, we are living a good life now. This is not necessarily a bad thing." Ji Lang could only speak to comfort Li.

Li smiled, feeling somewhat relieved and cheerful. "You're right. I shouldn't have been thinking about the tribe all the time. Things are much better now. My family is all here. This is home."

Ji Lang waved his hands quickly, "Hey, it's not that you shouldn't think about it. In fact, I quite like listening to you talk about the things in the past tribe. I just don't want you to keep thinking about those bad things."

"I know, Xiaolang, you are a good boy. If you like to listen, I will tell you slowly." Li said.

"Okay." Ji Lang agreed quickly. It just so happened that he had something else to ask Li. "By the way, Aunt Li, I do have another question. When you process meat in Fengji, how do you do it before air-drying?"

After the cave is dug, they will also be busy preparing for the winter season. If they ask clearly now, they can get started directly later.

Li thought about it and realized that it was almost time. "Before drying, you need to salt it. Apply a thick layer of salt and put it in a jar for two days. You can hang it in a windy place and wait, or you can smoke it with leaves and then hang it up to dry in the wind."

Isn't this what Jilang saw his grandparents pickling bacon and smoking bacon at home when he was a child?

Very good, another thing he knows.

Ji Lang's plan to use the carbon fiber tubes on the bicycle to make water pipes failed because it was too slow. He could only refresh one every day. Ji Lang calculated that the straight-line distance from the cave to the stream was nearly 500 meters. If he brushed a tube less than one meter long every day, it would take at least 500 days to brush enough materials for one meter. Ji Lang decided to give up this plan temporarily and use bamboo to make water pipes instead. Although bamboo may easily breed some microorganisms and mold, it should be fine for short-term use. After he has brushed enough carbon fiber tubes, he will replace them immediately. Moreover, Ji Lang estimated that the stream would be frozen in the cold season, and the water pipes would not be much better. When it snowed, he could use snow instead of water.

"Qingjiu, after breakfast, come with me to chop some bamboo." Ji Lang took a bite of the crispy potato pancake.

The potatoes are cut into shreds, mixed with a little flour and seasoning, and fried in a pan with oil. They become golden and crispy. A hole is made in the middle and some cold vegetables are added inside. It tastes very refreshing.

"Are the leftovers from last time not enough?" Qing Jiu asked. There were still some bamboos left from the last time Ji Lang made the fence.

"It's not enough. I plan to connect the bamboos together and then lead the water directly to the stream. This way, it will be much more convenient for us to drink and use water." He took another bite of the potato cake and continued, "But this can only be used for a short period of time. We will have to use something else in the end. Bamboo is prone to mold, which is a dirty thing that we can't see. Drinking water with mold can easily make you sick."

Qing Jiu sometimes really admired this person for having so many practical ideas. Using bamboo to bring water here is indeed a good idea. "Okay, let's go dig the kiln in the afternoon."

The air in the mountains seemed fresher and slightly moist in the morning, but Ji Lang liked this feeling very much, as it brought a rare sense of tranquility.

He picked up two dogtail grasses and made a very simple ring. He called Qingjiu, "Hey, wait a minute."

The person walking slowly in front stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Stretch out your hand, your left hand." Ji Lang grabbed Qingjiu's hand with a mysterious look on his face and put the furry ring on Qingjiu's ring finger. It was a little big, as Qingjiu's fingers were a circle thinner than Ji Lang thought.

"Okay, now I've got you trapped." The smug look on his face made Qing Jiu want to hug him in his arms and dote on him.

Shaking the fragile grass ring in his hand, Qing Jiu asked Ji Lang, "What does this mean?"

"This is called a ring. It's a token of love exchanged between partners. It's worn on the ring finger of the left hand to show both parties' loyalty and obedience to the relationship." Ji Lang explained to Qing Jiu.

"Then why wasn't it there when we held the ceremony before?" Qing Jiu felt a little regretful. This ring was very good and he liked it very much.

"Um... I forgot. And it definitely can't be made of straw. Rings must be made of very strong materials, such as gems or metals, which we don't have." Ji Lang said.

Qing Jiu also pulled out two wild grasses and weaved a ring, which he solemnly put on Ji Lang's ring finger. It was a little big at first, so he adjusted it.

Ji Lang raised his left hand and looked at the ring on his ring finger, which was much more beautiful than the one he had made. "This is pretty good, much better than what I made. This way we can trap each other." He turned around and reminded Qing Jiu, "Be careful when you work. Don't lose it."

This sentence was like a flag, which was quickly slapped in the face. Before they got home, both of them had nothing in their hands.

But it was lost, the invisible ring had already been tightly worn on the two people's fingers.

If the plan of using bamboo to make water pipes can be successful, water will be convenient in the future and we can take a bath as much as we want. Now we can only pour a basin of water and wipe ourselves simply each time we take a bath.

Ji Lang spent the whole afternoon trying to figure out how to break through the inner section of the bamboo. He first used a long knife, but after a few attempts, he accidentally pierced the bamboo with too much force, and couldn't break it open with too little force. Then he had an idea and found a thinner bamboo, which he quickly broke open.

In the following days, Ji Lang was either poking the bamboo or connecting and sealing the pipes with gum sap. In order to prevent the water pipes from freezing before the snow fell, he wrapped the bamboo tubes with moisture-proof mats that were refreshed every day.