As the morning sun just climbed over the rock wall behind the new settlement, the open space by the spring was already crowded with Flame Stone Tribe’s Tribesmen.
The damp earth shimmered with a blackish-brown luster, mixing with the scent of green grass on the wind, and the clear water flowing from the spring tinkled, as if accompanying the labor about to begin.
Most of the Tribesmen wore freshly tanned animal hides, clutching stone hoe and stone axe in their hands, their eyes full of excitement.
This was their first time personally building their own ‘home,’ no longer a damp, cramped cave, but a true homeland that could shelter them from wind and rain, and where they could grow crops and raise livestock.
Alex stood in the center of the open space, holding a large, smoothly polished stone slab, its edges still stained with charcoal powder he had specially ground last night.
Beside him lay several rattan strips of equal length, which Yuna had woven overnight to mark distances;
John and several able-bodied men carried newly made stone hoe, their crescent blades glinting coldly in the sunlight.
These were ‘house-building specific tools’ that Elder Chi had rushed to make with his apprentices;
Yuna, meanwhile, led the women in setting up clay pots by the spring, boiling warm herbal water to quench the thirst of the working Tribesmen later.
“Alex, are we starting to build houses today?” Mark leaned closer, his eyes fixed on the stone slab,
“Should we just pick a spot and stack timber directly?”
In his understanding, the Tribe’s previous ‘houses’ were just a few thick logs stacked to form a frame, covered with animal hides.
He never imagined there would be ‘planning’—Alex said yesterday that he needed to draw a ‘map’ first, and Mark pondered all night without understanding what a ‘map’ was.
Alex smiled and shook his head, placing the stone slab on the ground and picking up a rattan strip dipped in charcoal powder:
“We can’t rush to stack timber.
We need to first decide where to build houses, where to plant crops, and where to store food.
This is ‘planning.’ I’ll draw my ideas on the stone slab, and everyone will understand at a glance.”
With that, he squatted down and began drawing on the stone slab with the rattan strip.
First, he drew a circle representing the spring, then several neat rows of squares on the east side of the spring:
“This is the residential area.
Each square is a house.
It’s close to the spring for easy water access, but also on slightly higher ground, so it won’t accumulate water.”
Next, he drew an open rectangle on the west side of the spring:
“This is the farmland.
In spring, we’ll plant crops here.
The soil is fertile, and there’s plenty of sunlight.”
Then he drew a slightly larger square on the north side of the residential area:
“This is the warehouse, for storing food and tools.
It’s chosen to be in the highest place, so it’s not afraid of dampness and is safe.”
Finally, he drew a small triangle at the only entrance to the open space:
“This is the guard post.
By guarding the entrance, whether it’s wild beasts or outsiders, we can see them in advance.”
The lines on the stone slab became clearer and clearer, like a miniature ‘homeland map’.
Each area was marked with a different symbol—houses were squares, farmland was horizontal lines, the warehouse was a square with a roof, the guard post was a triangle, and the spring was a circle.
The Tribesmen gathered around the stone slab, their heads together, their expressions changing from curiosity to shock.
“This…
this is our new home?”
Ashi pointed at the squares on the stone slab, his voice trembling slightly,
“Every house is the same size, and they’re arranged so neatly?”
He had lived for more than twenty years and had seen the’settlements’ of other Tribes.
They were all haphazardly built with wood, the houses crooked and uneven, nothing like this orderly appearance.
Elder Chi squatted in front of the stone slab, his finger gently tracing the squares of the residential area, his eyes full of awe:
“Alex, this location you’ve chosen is excellent!
The soil under the residential area is hard, so houses won’t collapse easily; the warehouse side has many rocks, which can be used directly for foundations, saving us the trouble of finding stone materials.”
and rocks made for sturdy foundations.
These were experiences he had gained from building temporary shelters, and he hadn’t expected Alex to have already considered them.
John, meanwhile, stared at the location of the guard post and nodded:
“The entrance is narrow.
If we set up a guard post and dig some traps, even if a pack of wolves comes, they won’t be able to rush in.
The residential area is inside, very safe.”
He cared most about defense, and Alex’s plan perfectly matched his thoughts.
The Old Shaman leaned on his wooden staff, walked around the stone slab once, and his cloudy eyes gleamed:
“In the past, the Tribe lived in caves, relying entirely on heaven’s will; now you’ve ‘drawn’ our home on a stone slab, even thinking about where to drink water and where to plant crops.
This is ‘following heaven’s will and doing our best’!
The Flame Stone Tribe is truly going to be different.”
Alex stood up and handed the rattan strip to John:
“The planning map is just an idea.
To make it real, we still need everyone to work together.
John, you lead the able-bodied men to mark the boundaries of each area first, using rattan strips to draw lines, so you don’t get the locations wrong;
Elder Chi, you take your apprentices to inspect the soil in the residential area and see where stones need to be added for foundations;
Yuna, you and the women prepare some dry food and water; everyone will get thirsty and hungry later while working;
Old Shaman, please help look after the elders and children, don’t let them get close to the work area, to avoid injury.”
“Alright!”
The Tribesmen responded in unison, their voices so loud they made the surrounding branches sway.
John immediately picked up the rattan strip, selected a few strong able-bodied men, and, according to the proportions on the stone slab, measured the distances with their feet.
They inserted wooden stakes at the four corners of the residential area, then connected the stakes with rattan strips, and a neat rectangular area appeared;
Elder Chi, with Xiao Shi, dug away the surface soil of the residential area with stone hoe to check the soil quality, marking soft spots where he planned to add stones later;
Yuna led the women, pouring the herbal water from the clay pots into wooden bowls, and then portioning out roasted dried fish into animal skin bags, preparing to deliver them to the workers.
Alex, meanwhile, used a long rattan strip to draw the outlines of the foundations for four houses in the residential area.
Each house foundation was square, about two zhang per side, enough for three or four people to live in.
There were three-chi wide paths left between the houses for easy movement.
“When digging the foundations, follow the lines drawn by the rattan.
A depth up to the knee is enough; too deep is strenuous, too shallow makes the house unstable.”
He spoke as he used a stone hoe to dig a shallow trench in the ground, demonstrating,
“The sides of the foundation must be straight, and the bottom must be flat, so that the timber won’t be crooked when stacked.”
“I’ll try!”
Mark was the first to pick up a stone hoe, walked to the side of one of the house foundations, and following the line Alex had drawn, dug up a large chunk of soil with one swing.
He was strong and dug quickly and deeply, finishing half a circle in no time.
But when he looked up, the line he dug was crooked, far from what Alex had drawn.
“Oh no, why is it crooked?” Mark scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
Alex walked over, held his hand, and adjusted his direction:
“Look at the rattan strip when you dig.
Each swing must align with the line, don’t just focus on exerting force.
Look at Ashi, he digs slowly, but very straight.”
Everyone looked over, and indeed, although Ashi wasn’t as strong as Mark, he would compare each swing to the rattan strip, and the foundation line was perfectly straight, as if drawn with a ruler.
Mark imitated Ashi, slowed down, and sure enough, his digging became straight.
The able-bodied men also started to move, the ‘thud-thud’ of stone hoe hitting the soil, the shouts of the Tribesmen, and the sound of the spring water mixing together, creating a lively and energetic atmosphere.
The elders sat on the stones by the spring, watching the able-bodied men work, occasionally helping to organize the scattered stone hoe; the children ran around nearby, helping to hand over wooden stakes and pick up stones.
Although they couldn’t help much, they added a lot of vitality to the scene of labor.
Around noon, someone suddenly shouted, “There’s a big rock here!”
The stone hoe only left a white mark on it and couldn’t dig it out at all.
Ashi frowned: “This rock is blocking the foundation, what should we do?
Should we dig somewhere else?”
Elder Chi quickly walked over, squatted by the rock, tapped it, and then felt its shape:
“This rock is hard rock, very sturdy!
No need to change location.
Dig away the soil around it, let the rock expose above ground, and it can serve as a ‘pillar foundation stone’ for the house, even more stable than an earth foundation!”
Alex also nodded:
“Elder Chi is right.
Pillar foundation stones make the house stronger, not afraid of wind or rain.
We’ll leave the rock in the foundation, dig around it, and let it become part of the house.”
Upon hearing this, Ashi immediately changed direction and dug the foundation around the rock.
Other able-bodied men, encountering smaller rocks, also learned to leave them in the foundation, saving effort and strengthening the foundation.
Yuna then brought the herbal water and dried fish with the women.
The Tribesmen stopped their work, gathered to drink water and eat dry food, chatting about house building.
Some said they wanted to build a fire pit in the house, some said they wanted to cover the roof with thick thatch, and some said they wanted to build a fence around the house and plant vines.
“Alex, do you think our houses will be much warmer than the caves once they’re built?” Mark asked while eating dried fish.
“Definitely warmer,” Alex said with a smile,
“Our houses will have walls and roofs, blocking the wind in winter, and the heat from the fire pit won’t escape, making them much more comfortable than caves.
When spring comes, we’ll plant vegetables around the houses, and we’ll be able to eat fresh vegetables in summer.”
The Tribesmen’s eyes lit up as they listened.
After finishing their dry food, their enthusiasm grew even stronger.
Although the afternoon sun was scorching, no one complained of being tired.
Even a few able-bodied men who usually liked to slack off joined everyone in digging foundations.
By evening, the foundations for the four houses were finally dug—square foundations with several rocks of varying sizes exposed as pillar foundation stones.
The edges of the foundations were as straight as if drawn with a line, and the bottom was perfectly flat, looking very sturdy.
Alex squatted by the foundation, inspected every spot, and nodded with satisfaction:
“Excellent!
Today’s work was not in vain.
Tomorrow we’ll start stacking timber and strive to build the houses as soon as possible.”
The Tribesmen looked at the dug foundations, smiles appearing on their faces.
Although their arms ached and their hands had blisters, all fatigue vanished at the thought of this being their future home.
The Old Shaman walked to the edge of the foundation, drew a circle around it with his wooden staff, and recited the Tribe’s blessing, hoping the Sun God would bless their new home to be stable and firm.
Just then, Alex’s mind received a system prompt:
[Detected that the host has formulated the first tribal settlement plan, organized Tribesmen to complete the excavation of the first batch of house foundations, and established the basis of settled civilization.
Meets the criteria for ‘Civilization Progress – Settlement Planning and Infrastructure Construction,’ awarding Civilization Points: 90 points.
Current Civilization Points: 350 points.]
350 points!
Alex felt a warmth in his heart—this was not just a system reward, but also proof that the Tribe was moving towards settled civilization.
He looked at the excited Tribesmen before him, at the dug foundations, at the distant spring and farmland, knowing that the construction of their new homeland had taken its most solid step.
The setting sun cast long shadows of the foundations.
The Tribesmen packed up their tools and followed Alex back to the old cave, discussing tomorrow’s timber stacking all the way.
Mark and Ashi were already discussing which oak forest to cut timber from, while Elder Chi was contemplating how to fix the timber to the foundations.
Alex walked in the middle of the group, listening to everyone’s discussions, his heart filled with anticipation.
In a few more days, the first wooden house would be erected here, and the ‘home’ of the Flame Stone Tribe would truly take root.