The animal hides dried by the sun had a very pleasant smell and were extremely comfortable to lie under. After a night of good dreams, Lu Xuan stretched lazily and went to check on the mud bricks.
Nine out of ten mud bricks had succeeded, an exceptionally high success rate.
Lu Xuan’s excitement was too obvious. Tian Xuan came to his side: “Success?”
“Very successful.”
If time allowed, Lu Xuan would even want to study how to fire them into red bricks or gray bricks, but with housing urgently needed, these sun-dried mud bricks would work for now.
“Next, we need to make a large number of mud bricks.”
Tian Xuan picked up a mud brick to examine it. The mud brick in his hand was even smaller than his beast-form claws.
“How many bricks are needed to build one house?”
“That depends on how big the house is, but my idea is to use mud bricks and timber together.”
Lu Xuan took a small tree branch, squatted on the ground, and drew as he spoke: “First, lay the foundation, then use mud bricks for the lower section, and continue with good quality timber for the upper part. Inside the house, we also need to build a heated pit. We won’t be afraid of the cold period. We can build a single two-story multi-room house. If that’s too difficult, we can also build single rooms, a row of four or five rooms, leaving one room specifically for cooking and storing firewood, etc.”
Lu Xuan spoke quickly and drew quickly. On the ground were simple line drawings of a villa-style building and a row of houses.
He wasn’t a professional artist, he had just been forced by his mother to learn drawing as a hobby for over ten years when he was young. Simple line drawings were no problem for him.
“Clear out an area around us for farming. Transplant the edible wild vegetables and such from the forest over here, so we don’t have to go so far to pick them every time we want to eat.”
“Also, build a pen, catch some docile animals, and raise them for meat.”
“I like this two-story house. I’ve never seen a house like this before.”
Xiong Yue’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear. Lu Xuan, who had been speaking absentmindedly, looked up and his pupils dilated, how was everyone gathered around?
Xiong Yuan said with strong interest: “I also think this kind of house is unusual. Lu Xuan, are all the houses in your tribe like this?”
“That’s not the case. My tribe has a small population and basically lives in caves. This is something I came up with myself.”
Lu Xuan held up a mud brick, his eyes curving into crescents: “So we need to work together to build the house.”
Xiong Qi was the first to speak: “I’m familiar with this. I was the one who carried back the mud. I’ll continue to follow Lu Xuan and help make them.”
Tian Xuan glanced at him and said, “I’ll join too.”
So Xiong Xuan and Xiong Yan continued to go out hunting. To make it convenient, Lu Xuan decided to make the bricks right at the foot of the mountain. Since there were no other beastmen nearby anyway, there was no fear of theft.
Xiong Qi dug the mud, Tian Xuan made the molds, Lu Xuan chopped the hay, Xiong Yuan looked after the cubs, and Xiong Yue carried a basket and pulled weeds nearby.
The weeds needed to be dried into hay. Actually, it was said that wheat straw worked better, but there was none here, so they had to use the freshly dried hay.
Everyone had their own role, and things were fairly orderly. The only problem was that the tool for chopping the hay wasn’t comfortable to use.
“Using a stone tool just doesn’t feel right. For real efficiency, nothing beats a kitchen knife.”
Tian Xuan looked up and asked him, “What kind of knife is a kitchen knife?”
Lu Xuan said, “It’s a knife made of iron. Right now we only have two small iron pots. Is there any way to get iron tools and pots?”
Xiong Qi straightened up for a short rest and said, “Even in large tribes, not everyone can have iron things. Our current location is remote and desolate. The possibility of finding a place to trade for them is slim.”
Lu Xuan picked up a stone knife, found a large stone, and began to sharpen the knife.
“I was just saying. By the way, what are your thoughts on the salt issue?”
When the red-haired orangutan had come with his mate seeking medical treatment, he mentioned a salt cave, but said there were beastmen specifically guarding it.
Were those beastmen wandering beastmen, or exile beastmen who had been expelled by a large tribe? How many were there? How strong were they?
If the other party was friendly, Lu Xuan thought trading goods for goods would be acceptable.
“Xiong Xuan and Xiong Yan will go take a look today.”
Tian Xuan worked very quickly at making the molds, and his speech remained simple and clear.
Lu Xuan finished sharpening the knife and continued chopping hay. After chopping, he mixed it into the mud, and Xiong Qi began stirring.
Lu Xuan counted the molds. Deciding there were enough, he had Tian Xuan stop making molds and go dig mud instead.
After Xiong Qi finished stirring, Lu Xuan called Xiong Yue over to help fill the molds with mud.
“The main thing is to smooth it flat and pack it tight.”
There really wasn’t much difficulty. After watching and then making a few themselves, they all learned.
Fortunately, Xiong Xuan and Xiong Yan hadn’t gone out hunting yesterday. Everyone had stayed around the animal hide shelters pulling weeds and leveling the ground.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been enough hay.
Soon a large area of ground was covered with mud bricks. In the end, even Xiong Yuan was helping. Everyone had fine beads of sweat on their faces.
Every time Lu Xuan wiped his face, another streak of mud appeared on it, making even Xiong Yue unable to hold back a laugh.
“Lu Xuan, go look at your face in the water. It’s almost the same color as your tail.”
His tail?
Lu Xuan was momentarily distracted and remembered, he was now a sub-beastman who could partially shift into cat ears and a cat tail.
With most of the mud bricks made, Lu Xuan walked a few steps to the river and sat down directly.
Working really was tiring. He could already feel the fat on his stomach tightening up. At this rate, six-pack abs wouldn’t be far off.
The reflection on the water’s surface was a mess of colors. Lu Xuan found it amusing. He scooped up water and washed his face clean, feeling a cool and refreshing comfort.
Suddenly, a stone bowl appeared in front of him, filled with water.
Lu Xuan looked up. It was Tian Xuan, his face as expressionless as ever.
“Drink some water.”
Lu Xuan raised a smile and took it: “Thank you.”
Tian Xuan lowered his eyes: “No need for thanks. What do you want to eat for lunch?”
Lu Xuan drank all the water in the bowl in one go, wiped his mouth, and said, “Anything is fine. What do you want to eat?”
Tian Xuan: “Anything is fine for me too.”
Xiong Yue came over to wash his hands just then and said upon hearing this, “How about potato and meat soup, and grilled fish?”
Lu Xuan nodded: “Okay.”
After lunch and a short rest, Xiong Qi and Tian Xuan were going up to the top to select trees for building the house.
“After you select them, how will you bring them down?” Lu Xuan asked. They couldn’t just pull them up live again, could they?
Xiong Qi partially shifted one hand into a bear claw, extended just a single sharp claw, and lightly scratched a small sapling beside him. In an instant, the sapling snapped and fell to the ground.
Lu Xuan: …
Excuse me. Goodbye.
Because the top of the slope was not far from the foot of the mountain, Tian Xuan simply instructed the three sub-beastmen to stay there and wait for them. If something happened, they should shout loudly, and they would hear.
Lu Xuan knew his own limits and wouldn’t recklessly venture into unknown territory. He treasured this hard-won second life dearly.
There was still some leftover clay in the mixing pit. Lu Xuan grabbed a handful and shaped it into the animal forms of the three cubs. They weren’t particularly beautiful, nor did he have any paint.
But the three little ones treasured them dearly. If Lu Xuan hadn’t stopped them from touching, saying they needed to wait for them to dry, they would have hugged them and never let go.
Xiong Yuan’s eyes lit up: “Lu Xuan, you’re so amazing! Can you teach me how to shape little bear cubs?”
Lu Xuan grabbed another handful of clay: “Sure, of course. Xiong Yue, do you want to learn?”
Xiong Yue didn’t expect to be included and quickly nodded: “I want to learn.”
The skill of clay figurine shaping was something he had learned from an elderly man in a village after starting work. The old man had raised his entire family by making clay figurines. His sons and daughters had all settled in the city, and no one wanted to inherit his craft. It was rare to find a young person willing to learn, so he was eager to teach all his life’s experience in 24 hours.
When Xiong Qi and Tian Xuan came down carrying trees, they saw more than a dozen clay bears of various sizes and shapes lined up next to the mud bricks.
Xiong Yue pulled Xiong Qi and pointed to one of them, saying excitedly: “That one is you. I made it for you. The one next to it is Xiong Yan, I made that one too. Which one do you think is better?”
Xiong Qi couldn’t tell which was better. If he had to say, he thought the tallest one was the best.
“I think that one is good,” he said in his heart and also with his mouth, pointing to the tallest and strongest-looking clay bear among them.
Xiong Yue pouted: “That one was made by Lu Xuan, so of course it’s the best. Xiong Yuan and I learned from him for a long time. Lu Xuan even said I have a clever mind and talent. If you think mine are ugly, then don’t take them. They’re all bears anyway, I’ll give them all to Xiong Yan.”
Xiong Qi touched his big head and grinned naively: “Not ugly. Just right, one for each of us, me and Xiong Yan. After the house is built, I’ll put mine by the bed.”
Only then did Xiong Yue become happy.
Lu Xuan walked over to Tian Xuan, raised his chin, and directed Tian Xuan’s attention to the clay bear that Xiong Qi and Xiong Yue had been talking about.
“I made this one of you. Does it look like you?”
Tian Xuan glanced at him: “It looks like me.”
Lu Xuan’s mood soared: “I’ll give it to you after it dries.”
Xiong Xuan and Xiong Yan came back early today. They hadn’t caught any large wild animals, but they did bring back a full twenty rabbits.
Lu Xuan was shocked: Did they raid a rabbit warren?
Xiong Xuan said to Lu Xuan: “How many do you think we should raise?”
Xiong Yan carried the basket and placed it in front of Lu Xuan, saying: “There are also wild chickens and eggs. Should we keep them for hatching or eat them?”
Lu Xuan was astonished and uncertain, was he being asked to make the decision?
“If we’re not in a hurry to eat the rabbits, we can raise them all. The same goes for the chickens and eggs. But rabbits dig holes, so we need to make a wooden cage.”
Tian Xuan: “I’ll make the cage.”
The cages were made by Tian Xuan and Xiong Qi, one large and one small. The large one was for the rabbits, the small one for the chickens.
Xiong Xuan and Xiong Yan took the trees that Tian Xuan and Xiong Qi had brought down and, according to Lu Xuan’s requirements, used their claws to shape them into forms suitable for building a house.
Their bear claws carved quickly and steadily, much easier to use than tools like axes. Lu Xuan was amazed.
Who needed iron tools? Claws were the best tools.
During dinner, Tian Xuan asked about the salt cave.
Xiong Xuan said: “Xiong Yan and I observed them all morning. There are six of them, all feral-form beastmen. At noon, I found an opportunity to run into one of them by chance and said I wanted to trade for salt. He demanded one goat for one jin of salt.”
Lu Xuan clicked his tongue: “That’s way too steep.”
Xiong Yan continued: “I found another beastman. He demanded ten rabbits for one jin of salt.”
That was a huge difference.
Xiong Yue said angrily: “They occupy the salt cave. Food falls from the sky for them. They just ask for whatever they want.”
Tian Xuan said in a deep voice: “It seems they’re not easy to deal with. Let’s find an opportunity to trade for some salt first.”
Xiong Xuan’s tone was relatively relaxed: “Although they’re feral-form beastmen, they’re not robust. It’s clear they haven’t been eating well. Seizing the salt cave at the right time might not be impossible.”
Tian Xuan thought for a moment, then said: “The salt cave is too far from us. Even if we seized it, we couldn’t guard it. Eventually, it might be taken over by another group of beastmen. The loss would outweigh the gain. Our top priority now is to build the house and prepare for the cold period a few months from now.”
After dinner, to prevent unnecessary accidents from wasting a full day’s work, they discussed and decided that Xiong Yan would stay behind to guard the mud bricks.