Pottery
With the beastmen helping to make tiles, Bai Wu suddenly had much more free time.
In the evenings, he taught the tribe’s sub-beastmen how to weave and make clothes.
Weaving wasn’t too difficult, and the tribe’s people at that time were exceptionally skillful and quick-witted. Within a few days, they could weave large, smooth, and neat pieces of cloth.
Bai Wu, on the other hand, had to ask them for help.
Some fast-handed sub-beastmen could weave all the fabric needed for a set of clothes in a day, while others could finish in two or three days.
Bai Wu then began to teach them how to cut.
Cutting was even easier than weaving. Using vines to measure each person’s body, they divided the fabric into several pieces and then carefully and densely sewed them together.
Once the clothes were finished, Bai Wu noticed that each sub-beastman, consciously or unconsciously, had altered the style of their clothes according to their own preferences—for example, the length of the robes, whether they were fitted at the waist, and the size of the collar.
They seemed to have an innate sensitivity to aesthetics.
Bai Wu watched from the side, inwardly filled with admiration.
The sub-beastmen, however, were not entirely satisfied. Even An sighed, “If only we had other colored fabrics, this color is too pale.”
“Yes,” one sub-beastman chimed in, “I wonder if there are any other colors of white silk fruit.”
“I’ve searched all around here, and I’ve never seen any.”
Bai Wu, engrossed in weaving, overheard their comments and casually remarked, “We don’t have other colors of white silk fruit, but this fabric can be dyed.”
At his words, the sub-beastmen all looked up at him. “How do you dye it?”
Bai Wu felt a chill run down his spine under their stares and leaned back slightly. “You can use colored fruits and leaves.”
“Fruits and leaves? Just apply them directly? Won’t the color fade?”
“Hmm, it’s hard to say. When I have time, I’ll go out and find some suitable materials, dye it for you, and you’ll see.”
The sub-beastmen all wore expressions of regret.
Bai Wu comforted him, “It’ll be soon.”
Immediately, a sub-beastman asked, “Is pottery all you have left to make?”
“We still have tiles to finish,” Bai Wu replied. “There’s not much left to do. Wait for me for a few days.”
“How many days? Wu, wait a moment, I’ll go ask my brother to help you make some tiles.”
“Me too! My two brothers can come and help!”
“I… I’ll go find my father!”
The sub-beastmen were quick to act, immediately grabbing their robes and heading home to find help. Bai Wu tried to call after them, but couldn’t stop them.
The beastmen in the tribe, either at the request of friends or family, indeed went to help Bai Wu make tiles and chop firewood every day after hunting.
Since he already had help at home, Bai Wu planned to spend about half a month leading the beastmen to finish making the tiles.
Unexpectedly, the number of people coming to help surged, and the work that would have taken almost half a month was completed in just four days.
The clay blanks from Bai Wu’s family had already been air-dried and glazed; now, after air-drying again, they were ready to be fired directly.
Bai Wu told his family that he planned to fire the pottery first.
That day, Bai Wu’s whole family got up early, collected the fish traps, milked the goats, ate a simple breakfast, and then, carrying baskets on their backs, flew to the pottery kiln.
The morning mist was cool, and the family was sweating as they flew over.
Mo put down his basket, stretched his limbs, and said, “I’ll go to the other side to get firewood.”
The others followed Mo’s gaze to the other side of the river, where stacks of firewood collected by the tribespeople were piled up.
Bai Wu had specifically asked them to put the firewood on the other side of the river, so that it would be easier to extinguish a fire in case of one.
Chuan said, “Then let’s move the clay blanks out first.”
Summer brings a lot of rain.
They stored the clay blanks in the kiln to prevent rain from wetting them.
Now, to fire the pottery, they had to move each blank out and rearrange them.
Bai Wu ducked into the dimly lit kiln and began moving the blanks.
These blanks had first been air-dried, then glazed and air-dried again; now they were generally dark brown and felt very solid and heavy.
Especially the fifty large earthenware jars that Bai Wu had specifically requested; moving them out nearly broke their backs.
After moving the earthenware jars, An, catching his breath and supporting his back, said, “Most families only need ten jars. Even counting the ones that might crack during firing, that’s about twenty. We actually made fifty!”
Bai Wu didn’t look up. “Making more won’t hurt. We’ll need jars for brewing wine, making soy sauce, storing grain—there will be so many more uses. Twenty or thirty jars might not even be enough.”
An couldn’t believe it. “There are only four of us. We can’t possibly use that many, can we?”
“You’ll see later.”
Mo and Chuan were both experienced kiln workers. After arranging the clay pieces neatly according to size and firing requirements in the kiln, they began piling firewood in the firebox to start firing.
Such a large kiln, and with so much pottery in their household, would take at least two days to fire. Everyone couldn’t keep an eye on it the whole time; they had to take turns.
After the fire was lit, Bai Wu and Chuan watched the fire during the day, while Mo took An to watch it at night. The family split into two groups, taking turns.
Bai Wu sat by the fire pit with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth as he looked at the kiln. “I wonder how many pieces we’ll fire this time,” he said.
“With everyone helping this time, the clay is very well mixed, and the shapes have been repeatedly refined. The quantity should be plentiful. Wu, if you’re tired, go take a nap over there. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
The pile of grass beside the kiln was hay Bai Wu had specially cut to feed the sheep.
The hay was now growing lush and tender; he had cut it and dried it, intending to use it in winter.
The pile of grass beside the kiln served as a natural bed.
Bai Wu declined to rest, and Chuan didn’t try to persuade him further.
The father and son worked and chatted, and the day passed quickly.
That night, Mo and An came to watch the fire and keep watch, and the next day, Chuan and Bai Wu were on duty again.
On the third day, around noon, Chuan judged that this batch of pottery was almost fired. The two then added firewood one last time, mixed wet clay, sealed the kiln, and went home to rest until it cooled down before returning.
The kiln cooled for a day and a half.
The next morning, Bai Wu simply cooked some goat milk porridge for his family, then hurriedly pulled them to open the kiln.
The fruits of their labor accumulated over a month were all here.
Before opening the kiln, Bai Wu was very nervous.
Chuan and Mo both looked calm.
Chuan patted Bai Wu on the back, reassuring him, “Don’t worry, we’ve done everything perfectly. If it really doesn’t fire, it’s the will of the Beast God.”
Bai Wu couldn’t help but worry.
He needed the earthenware jars for brewing wine, making sauces, and storing food; the earthenware pots for stir-frying vegetables, frying meatballs, cooking hot pot… he’d need them for so many times, he couldn’t help but be nervous.
Mo used a wooden stick to pry open the damp mud sealing the kiln, and a smell of burnt earth mixed with the smell of charcoal wafted out.
Chuan reached inside and checked. “It’s not hot. You can take the pottery out now.”
“I’ll do it!”
“Wu, wait for me.”
The family carried out various pottery items from the kiln—jars, basins, pots, bowls, plates, and more—and neatly piled them on the open ground outside.
At a glance, there were at least two or three hundred pieces.
They were so densely packed on the ground that there was almost no room for Bai Wu’s family to step.
An looked at the pottery scattered on the ground and slightly opened his mouth. “There’s so much pottery this year!”
Chuan said, “One firing of ours is equivalent to ten firings by others.”
“Thanks to Wu for asking everyone for help, firing so much pottery isn’t too tiring. Wu, come and check this batch of pottery.”
Bai Wu didn’t even look up. “You guys look first, I’ll come over later.”
He had already done a rough inspection.
Most of the pottery was intact, a few cracked, and a tiny fraction burned to slag.
The firing was a success; he should have enough pottery for his needs.
Now he was more concerned about the tiles.
Bai Wu crouched down and crawled into the kiln, finding the tiles he had tried placing in a corner.
He placed three tiles in total; two were intact, neither deformed nor cracked.
He gently tapped the two tiles in place, and they fit perfectly.
Thank goodness!
Bai Wu breathed a sigh of relief, a genuine smile spreading across his face.
Presumably, once all the tiles dried and were fired, they could be used for roofing.
Bai Wu took the tiles to the riverbank and dripped a few drops of water onto them.
The water droplets landed steadily in the concave center, without seeping in.
The tiles had been fired successfully and did not absorb water.
Rain, snow, and frost should not have a significant impact on the tiles.
It’s much better than their thatched hut.
Bai Wu watched intently.
An, standing beside him, counted on his fingers, “One, two, three… thirty-two. Wu, there are thirty-two usable earthenware jars alone!”
Bai Wu snapped out of his daze and pointed, “These, these, and these few have cracks, don’t they?”
“They’re just small cracks, it’s nothing. They’ll be fine for storing things. There are twenty-seven usable pottery pots too. Dad, this batch of pottery is quite good!”
“It is good. An, don’t move them yet, these pottery jars are too heavy. Let your father carry them.”
The family put the pottery pots and jars into baskets and carried them back.
Pottery is very fragile. When transported in animal-shaped containers, it could only be carried individually, but now, transporting a large quantity, they had to walk back.
The pottery was successfully fired, and the family breathed a sigh of relief.
For dinner, Bai Wu personally cooked, frying and boiling several dishes in the pottery pots, and the family enjoyed a good meal.
At dinner, Bai Wu said, “Father, Dad, tomorrow I’m taking the tribe’s sub-beastmen out to gather dyes. We’ll probably be back a little late, so don’t wait for me to eat.”
An nodded repeatedly, “I’ll go with Wu, so don’t wait for me to eat either.”
Chuan asked, “Wu, do you have a plan? What are we going to gather?”
“Right now, the most abundant thing is black fruit. Today we’ll probably focus on black fruit, and also see if we can gather any other dyes.”
Black fruit is a small, finger-sized fruit, sweet and sour with many seeds, found all over the mountains.
The tribe’s sub-beastmen love to eat it as a snack, but they can’t eat too much as it can cause constipation.
Bai Wu plans to pick black fruit tomorrow, peel off the skin, crush it, and use it as dye to color the fabric.
Picking black fruit isn’t dangerous.
Chuan didn’t stop them, only asking, “Which way are you going?”
“Towards the salt lake, we’ll fetch some salt lake water while we’re at it; we’ll need it for dyeing.”
An nodded frantically beside them, “Right, right, right.”
Chuan muttered a few words about being careful and didn’t ask any more questions.