Although the crossbow they tried to make was still a long way from the crossbow of later generations, it was more like a repeating bow than a crossbow, but this is also progress, isn't it?

Xu Yin gave them a thumbs up without hesitation: "You guys are the best!" ”

Although Dashan didn't understand what "stick" meant, seeing the way Dawu smiled, he thought he was praising them.

They scratched their heads one by one, revealing a shy smile, which formed a huge contrast with their burly bodies and strong chest muscles.

With bows and crossbows, the tribe's safety has increased considerably, and the hunting party has been able to go out hunting with new equipment.

Xu Yin's promise to teach everyone how to pinch pottery has finally been put on the agenda.

It's just that the current conditions are not enough, and there is no way to build a ceramic kiln, so you can only try a wood-pit kiln first.

Fortunately, the clay suitable for kneading pottery was found on the river beach not far from the tribe.

The river was like a sharp sword, splitting two mountains, accumulating the melting snow and groundwater from the top of the mang, and rushing down the terrain.

This section of the river that flows through the Xu tribe is not deep, but it is not shallow, and those who can't swim in the water will never be able to cross the river, and those who can swim will not dare to cross the river unless they have to, because there are fierce water beasts that eat people in the river.

On the other side of the river is stationed another tribe, the aforementioned cross-river tribe.

The great river of fierce water beasts is like a natural protective barrier for them. They lived along the river with the Xu tribe, but they did not disturb each other.

Xu Yin originally wanted to see if there were any fish to eat in the river, but she would get tired of eating meat, but when she got closer, she found that there were indeed fish in the river, but most of them were piranhas with sharp teeth.

No, just when she was pondering how to solve the problem of piranhas and catch edible fish, she accidentally found that the soft yellow-brown mud on the bank of the river is very suitable for low-temperature firing.

She can pinch and burn pottery, so what are you waiting for?

She led the women of the collecting team to dig up two baskets of clay, spread it out in the sun to dry, and then crushed it, sifted it, and kneaded it with water.

Knead it in long strips and coil it, and then fill in the gaps between the joints, and the prototype of the pottery comes out.

"Dawu, that's it? It's that simple? ”

"Dawu, is it ready to use in the sun?"

The women didn't expect it to be so easy to pinch pottery, and said that only the great witches of the Bright Tribe could do it, didn't they also learn it? It's not difficult at all!

Xu Yin smiled and shook her head: "This is just one of the steps, and the key steps are still to come." ”

The real test of people's skills is the firing of pottery.

She used dry branches, wood, and dried forage to build an open kiln in the open space in front of the tribe.

On the pyre, several pieces of wood that are resistant to burning are erected in a criss-cross row, and the kneaded raw pottery is arranged on the wooden frame in order of size.

Bring the fire to light the pyre, the flame wraps the pottery, and when there is still a third of the firewood left, use two long fire sticks, clamp the pottery and turn it over, so that they are upside down on the pyre.

Until the pottery changes color, the pottery is constantly covered with hay, and when the hay is burned out, a thick layer of grass ash is formed on the pottery, which helps to keep heat and carburize.

Wait for the ash pile to cool, take out the pottery, clean the black charcoal on the surface, and clean it before use.

The tribesmen who witnessed the process held their breath nervously from the time the fire burned to ashes.

Is this really possible?

Won't pottery be burned?

Pottery doesn't get burned into a pile of ashes, right?

As the black charcoal peeled off and the dirt was washed away, revealing a bright color different from that of raw pottery, the people raised their arms and cheered, and danced around Xu Yin in a tribal group dance that used to be only danced during sacrifices.

Xu Yin gained 500 wealth points.

She raised her eyebrows, and the reward for leading the tribesmen to burn pottery had not yet found a salt mine cave, could it be because of the low-temperature pottery? Too low-tech?

But the tribesmen will never forget this day—

Their great witch led them to make beautiful pottery, and with pottery, they no longer had to cook in heavy stone pots.

Not only is pottery much lighter than a stone pot, but it is also more versatile than a stone pot, not only for cooking, but also for storing water and food without mold and rot.

The wise people also came up with an idea: "Oh Wu, can we burn the lid of the pottery in the same way?" Just in case the rats steal our food. ”

Xu Yin smiled and said, "Of course you can, you can burn whatever you want." ”

The consequence of this sentence is-

Soon after, a pile of pottery of all kinds was added to the cave where the salt was hidden: large and small, tall and low, covered and uncovered, patterned and unpatterned......

The bare-assed, cat-hating dog-hating little cubs are no longer around the wooden fence all day long, teasing the pheasants inside, and they are all obsessed with pinching pottery.

Horizontal and vertical is not a dangerous game, it can be used if it is well pinched and burned, and it will be played with them when it is a parent.

Xu Yin watched the cubs sitting under the big tree and kneading the clay pottery, her little expression was quite focused, and she raised the corners of her lips, the allure of the clay to children is really eternal.

In this way, a batch of pottery is burned every few days, and when it is not used up, it is stored in the cave.

All the stone tools used to store salt were replaced with clay pots with lids.

Whether it's salt or pottery, it's tribal wealth that they need to take care of, and they will help them get what they want, and they will be the darlings of the fair.

Lie's father, who was guarding the cave, felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was heavier, and he hated to have to sleep and guard the cave 24 hours a day.

Since Xu Yin came, the people of the Xu tribe have been immersed in all kinds of busyness, tired and happy.

On the day of the full moon of the big eagle's cubs, Xu Yin proposed to celebrate.

At this time, there was no full moon yet, and even if the big eagle's daughter-in-law had stitches after giving birth, she only rested for five days.

At this time, the women were strong and could really hold up half the sky, if it weren't for the bleeding and stitches, they would not rest for five days, and many of them would go to the ground on the day of birth.

Xu Yin saw that she recovered quickly, and on the fifth day, she removed the thread for her, and then she drove the big eagle to the hunting team, and she herself joined the weaving team, while raising children while contributing to the tribe, she was still the main force in the recent pottery.

Xu Yin felt the need to give a party to such a highly conscious female comrade and reward her.

The winged tiger hunted a sheep, and the eagle gathered them together to a bison.

The barbecue is dry!

On the stone slab, there are various meat and vegetarian dishes such as mutton, beef, potato chips, garlic sprouts, etc.; Fragrant brisket potatoes stewed in a large clay pot; Buried by the campfire is a circle of black potatoes with skin on.

Adults are chatting while roasting vegetables.

The cubs were bouncing around and playing games.

When the last touch of clouds disappeared into the twilight, Xu Yin took the lead in picking up the freshly burned pottery cup, replacing the wine with Panax notoginseng flower tea, and announced with a smile:

"Today is the day of the full moon of the birth of our little tiger baby, we have a day off, and it is lively."

"In the future, all the children of our tribe, on the day of the full moon, we will take a day off to celebrate the birth of new life and wish them healthy growth."

"Long live the Great Witch!"

The people laughed heartily, followed Xu Yin to raise the pottery cup, and drank heartily.

(End of chapter)