Before dawn, fine stone chips began to drift in the cave.
Chi squatted in front of a bluestone slab by the fire pit, his back to the faint light from the cave entrance, clutching a polished flint.
He was slowly grinding a thick wooden handle.
His movements were slow, yet astonishingly precise — each friction, left only fine lines on the wooden handle, neither breaking the wood fibers, nor making the grip more comfortable.
The charcoal in the fire pit glowed a dull red, casting his wrinkled face in flickering light and shadow, and highlighting the calluses on his knuckles.
That wooden handle was for a new stone hoe.
Yesterday, Alex said that when digging yams, a handle that was too long would wobble easily, and one that was too short wouldn’t allow enough force.
Chi took this to heart, found a piece of hard wood of uniform thickness overnight, and slowly ground it while the fire pit still retained some warmth.
His knees rested on a palm-sized flint, the finest kind in the Tribe.
Its edge had been used by him for ten years, ground thinner than a knife, and now he was carefully shaping the curve of the handle’s end.
“Elder Chi, you’re up so early again?”
Yuna entered the cave with a pottery jar, filled with fresh water from the spring.
Seeing Chi, she couldn’t help but lighten her steps.
Ever since the Tribe had the steel axe, Chi seemed obsessed, waking up before dawn every day to tinker with tools, either grinding stone tools or repairing wooden handles.
He even held a stone and examined it for a long time while eating.
Chi didn’t turn around, just hummed in acknowledgment, his hands not stopping.
“This wooden handle needs to be finished before dawn, otherwise the Collection Team will take new stone hoes out in the morning, and it’ll hurt their hands to hold.”
He said, holding the wooden handle up to the light by the fire pit, squinting at it.
He then ran his fingers over it — confirming the handle was smooth and its curve fit the palm perfectly.
Only then did he set it aside with satisfaction and pick up an unsharpened flint nearby.
This flint was picked up by Ashi from the eastern valley yesterday.
It was hard and black, making it excellent material for a stone hoe blade.
Chi placed the flint on the bluestone slab, first using a coarse grinding stone to chip off the fragments from the edge, then switching to a fine grinding stone to slowly sharpen the blade.
His fingers were steady; even if the flint occasionally slipped, he could immediately adjust the angle, preventing stone chips from splashing onto himself.
These hands had been working with stones for over twenty years, from learning to make stone spears with the Tribe’s Old Craftsman when he was young, to later making stone axes and stone shovels himself.
He had touched every kind of stone and sharpened every kind of blade.
When Alex entered the cave, this was the scene he witnessed:
Chi, his back hunched, stared intently at the flint, the fire pit’s light falling on his grizzled hair.
Stone chips fell like fine snow onto his animal skin apron.
On the bluestone slab, three finished stone hoes were already laid out — their blades sharply ground, the wooden handles of moderate length, and the ends specially rounded, making them at least twice as refined as the stone hoes the Tribe used before.
“Elder Chi, these stone hoes you’ve made are truly excellent.”
Alex walked over, picked up a stone hoe, and weighed it.
The weight was just right, and when held, the curve of the wooden handle perfectly fit his palm.
Even without gripping it tightly, it wouldn’t slip.
“Yesterday I was just telling Yuna that the wooden handle hurt my hand when digging yams, and you’ve already fixed it today?”
Chi finally looked up.
Seeing Alex, a flicker of light appeared in his cloudy eyes, but still with a Craftsman’s stubbornness:
“Tools must be comfortable to use, otherwise work becomes tiring.
The stone hoes in the Tribe before, either had handles that were too long or too thick, and the blades weren’t evenly sharpened, so they’d chip after just a few digs.
I figured if I shortened the handle, added some curve, and sharpened the blade thinner, it would definitely be better to use.”
Alex’s heart stirred — he had only noticed before that Chi could make stone tools, but hadn’t realized that not only was his craftsmanship excellent, but he would also actively ponder improvements.
Other Craftsmen in the Tribe made tools according to old ways, never thinking of changing them.
Only Chi would adjust based on actual work needs.
This was the most valuable quality of an excellent Craftsman.
“You try this.”
Alex took out a piece of fine sandpaper from his embrace — this was a small extra gift from the System when he exchanged for the steel axe last time.
He had been reluctant to use it, but now was the perfect time to bring it out.
The surface of the sandpaper was covered with tiny grains, making it even better than the Tribe’s fine grinding stones.
Chi took the sandpaper, felt it in his hands, and asked doubtfully:
“What is this?
Can it grind stone?”
“Yes, and it’s faster than a grinding stone.”
Alex picked up an unground flint, rubbed it on the sandpaper, and the rough texture on the flint’s surface instantly became smooth.
“See, using this to sharpen the blade is fast and even, and you don’t have to keep changing grinding stones.”
Chi’s eyes lit up immediately.
He quickly imitated Alex, grinding the flint with the sandpaper.
Indeed, the sandpaper’s grinding efficiency was much higher than the fine grinding stone.
In no time, the flint’s blade became thin and shiny, gleaming coldly in the fire pit’s light.
He excitedly held up the flint, examining it repeatedly against the light, muttering continuously:
“Good stuff!
Truly good stuff!
With this, sharpening blades will save half the effort!”
“Elder Chi, not only is your craftsmanship excellent, but you also ponder how to make tools better, which is the most commendable quality.”
Alex said sincerely, looking at Chi,
“For the Tribe to make good tools, whether stone tools or the ‘bronze tools’ we might make in the future, we need Craftsmen like you.
I want you to lead two young Tribesmen to specialize in tool making.
What do you think?”
Chi was stunned, the sandpaper in his hand stopped moving.
He had lived for over twenty years, always just an ordinary Craftsman in the Tribe, making tools and repairing weapons.
No one had ever specifically praised him, and no one had ever said he should “take apprentices.”
In the past, young Craftsmen in the Tribe learned by watching, no one systematically taught them.
Now, Alex not only recognized his craftsmanship but also asked him to lead others, which made his heart feel both warm and flustered.
“I…
can I do it?” Chi’s voice trembled slightly,
“I only know how to make stone tools.
I don’t understand anything else.
What if I don’t teach well…”
“You definitely can.” Alex interrupted him, picked up a stone hoe made by Chi, and said to the surrounding Tribesmen,
“Everyone, look at the stone hoe Elder Chi made.
The wooden handle is comfortable, and the blade is sharp.
Yesterday, the Collection Team used it to dig yams, and it was more than twice as fast as before.
If everyone uses tools made by Elder Chi in the future, work will be much less strenuous, and hunting and farming will be smoother.”
The Tribesmen nodded in agreement.
Yesterday, the women of the Collection Team came back saying that Elder Chi’s stone hoes were exceptionally easy to use, requiring no effort to dig yams, and the blades didn’t chip easily.
Mark and Ashi also said that the stone spears repaired by Elder Chi were straighter than before and threw more accurately.
“Elder Chi, please lead us!” a young Tribesman immediately said.
His name was Xiao Shi, the youngest Craftsman in the Tribe, who had always wanted to learn from Chi but was too shy to ask.
Another young Craftsman echoed:
“Yes!
We’ll learn from you and make more useful tools in the future!”
Chi looked at the eager eyes of the Tribesmen, then at Alex’s trusting gaze.
He suddenly straightened his hunched back and nodded heavily:
“Good!
I’ll lead!
I will teach them everything I know, so the Tribe can have more useful tools!”
In the following days, Chi became thoroughly busy.
He cleared an open space next to the cave, serving as a temporary “workshop.”
He moved all the Tribe’s grinding stones, flints, and hard wood there, and specially made several wooden racks, to display finished tools and materials awaiting processing.
Xiao Shi and another young Craftsman followed him every day, learning step by step from selecting stones, rough shaping, to grinding.
He would tell his apprentices what kind of flint was suitable for stone axes (black in color, hard in texture), and what kind was suitable for stone hoes (gray in color, not prone to chipping).
When rough shaping, one should start from the edge and not use too much force, otherwise the stone would break.
When grinding, one should follow the stone’s grain, otherwise the blade would not be smooth.
He would also personally demonstrate, teaching his apprentices hand-in-hand how to adjust the grinding angle.
Even if an apprentice made a mistake, he wouldn’t scold them, but patiently point it out and teach it again.
Alex also often came to the workshop to observe, occasionally offering suggestions to Chi.
For example, he suggested Chi make the stone axe handles shorter for easier chopping in the forest.
He also suggested making the stone hoe blades wider to cover a larger area when digging.
Chi initially hesitated, feeling that “the old way was more reliable,”
but after trying it, he found that Alex’s suggestions were indeed useful — shorter handled stone axes were more flexible in the forest, and wider bladed stone hoes dug faster.
This made him trust Alex even more and become more willing to try new ideas.
This evening, Chi and his apprentices created the first “improved stone axe” — its handle was half a foot shorter than before, the axe blade was an inch wider, and the edge was ground thin and shiny with sandpaper.
Mark happened to return from hunting outside.
Seeing the stone axe, he immediately picked it up to test it.
He chopped at a small tree nearby, and with a “crack,” the small tree broke in response, the cut surface much smoother than with the stone axes used before.
“Excellent!
This stone axe is ten times better than before!” Mark shouted excitedly,
“Elder Chi, your craftsmanship is truly superb!
From now on, all the Hunting Team’s stone axes must be made by you!”
The Tribesmen all gathered to look, praising Chi’s craftsmanship.
The Old Shaman walked over, leaning on his wooden staff.
He looked at the neatly arranged tools in the workshop, and then at Chi, whose face was full of pride, and said with a smile:
“Chi, you’ve brought out a lifetime of skill.
It’s a blessing for the Tribe to have a Craftsman like you.”
Chi touched the improved stone axe in his hand, a long-lost smile appearing on his face.
He looked up at Alex, his eyes full of gratitude — if not for Alex recognizing and encouraging him, he might have remained just an ordinary Craftsman his whole life, never realizing, that his craftsmanship could bring such great help to the Tribe.
Just then, a System notification sounded in Alex’s mind:
[Detected host has discovered and motivated the Tribe’s core Craftsman “Chi,” promoting the development of tool improvement technology, and increasing Tribe production efficiency, meeting the “Civilization Progress – Technology Inheritance and Talent Cultivation” standard.
Awarding Civilization Points: 50 points.
Current Civilization Points: 190 points.]
Alex’s heart warmed.
190 points — not just recognition for Chi, but proof of the Tribe’s technological development.
He looked at Chi and his apprentices busy in the workshop, and at the Tribesmen gathered around the improved tools.
He knew he hadn’t misjudged.
Chi was not only the Tribe’s Old Craftsman, but also key to the Tribe’s future development of metal tools and establishment of handicrafts — with Chi, the Tribe’s tool making could change from “following instructions” to “innovating,” and thus gradually move towards a more advanced civilization.
The setting sun fell on the wooden racks in the workshop, making the finished stone axes and stone hoes gleam.
Chi was discussing with his apprentices how to make the wooden handles lighter.
Alex walked over and patted his shoulder:
“Elder Chi, when we find the stone for making ‘bronze tools’ in the future, we’ll still need you to turn it into tools.”
Chi looked up, his eyes full of determination:
“Don’t worry, Alex!
As long as we find the materials, I can definitely make tools better than stone tools, even better than that steel axe!”
Alex smiled.
He knew Chi wasn’t speaking idly.
With the persistence and craftsmanship of this Old Craftsman, the Tribe’s tool development would surely take a bigger step forward.
And the spark of civilization of the Flame Stone Tribe would burn brighter because of these Craftsmen quietly pondering tools.