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People don't quite understand.

Jian Mo couldn't explain it either, only saying, "Our stone house always leaks air, doesn't it? We repaired it with clay, but the clay easily falls off. Using this lime, the effect is different."

Qing Kuo: "Really?"

Jian Mo: "Let me finish this and show everyone, then you'll all understand. I'll test it out first to see how much sand and water to mix with the lime, and how long it will take to dry."

There was still lime in the cave dwelling, but not much.

Jian Mo ran home to get a basket, but only managed to collect about half a basketful.

Everyone hurriedly unearthed the pottery and then went to watch Jian Mo make lime mortar.

Jian Mo was only a dabbler in this area; she only knew the basic principles.

He asked everyone to help him collect fine sand, then added lime and water, and stirred it into mortar with a wooden stick.

When lime is mixed with water, it releases a lot of heat through a bubbling sound, which makes everyone a little scared.

Only Qing Kuo and Ye Luo, two of the bolder sub-beastmen, dared to come and help.

Jian Mo gave each of them a large wooden plank and asked them to use the planks to scoop up the lime mortar and apply it to the cracks in the stone wall.

If the clay inside the stone wall is loose, remove the clay first and then apply lime mortar.

When the beastmen who had cut down the trees returned, Jian Mo had already finished plastering half a wall with Qing Kuo and Ye Luo.

Jian Mo then realized that he had been so excited that he hadn't told Wu Jiong beforehand.

Wu Jiong walked over, and after understanding the situation, said, "It's alright, keep applying it."

Jian Mo sigh of relief and nodded happily, "This is lime mortar. It's much better than clay for plastering walls, and the color is also nicer. I'll explain in detail after it dries and you see the effect."

Wu Jiong took the wooden board from him. "I'll wipe it."

Di Ya and another orc took the wooden planks from Qing Kuo and Ye Luo respectively and quickly began plastering the wall.

The experienced sub-beastmen stood by and gave instructions.

Lime mortar is much easier to apply than mud plaster. It doesn't peel off easily, and the finished product is clean and white, which looks very pleasing.

Because there wasn't much lime mortar, they only plastered one wall.

After applying the mortar, Jian Mo led people inside to experience its effects.

The lime mortar plaster was indeed more solid than the clay plaster; when they stood inside the house, they could hardly feel the wind seeping in through the cracks in the brick wall.

Qing Kuo placed his hand against the wall. "There really isn't any wind anymore."

Jian Mo: "Right? Lime is more adhesive than clay, so it doesn't crack as easily after it dries, which makes it less likely for air to get in."

Qing Kuo: "It's a pity we harvested so little lime this time; it would have been better if we had more."

"It's alright," Jian Mo said cheerfully. "We'll observe it for two days. If the lime mortar works really well, we'll fire another batch."

Qing Kuo asked, "Is this lime easy to burn?"

Jian Mo: "It's very easy to fire, much simpler than firing pottery. You'll see in a couple of days."

Everyone looked at the newly applied lime, their hearts filled with anticipation.

Building houses in the tribe is not easy. Stone is very sturdy, but unfortunately the clay is not very good. Not only do we have to repair it often, but when the wind and rain come, the soil softens and the house is prone to collapse.

Since the tribe was established, there have been at least a dozen incidents of houses collapsing and injuring people.

A recent example is A Hu and his friends. If they hadn't slept in their animal forms, their butts would have been smashed open in far more ways than just a few tears.

Jian Mo had also thought of this and comforted everyone, saying, "Houses built with lime mortar are much sturdier than those built with clay. If the lime mortar works well in a couple of days, we'll burn more lime and repair everyone's houses."

Everyone agreed.

Qing Kuo reached out and touched the stone wall. "Then we'll just have to wait and see."

Jian Mo was unfamiliar with construction and thought it would take several days for the lime to dry.

Unexpectedly, when he woke up the next day, Wu Jiong told him, "The lime mortar outside has dried."

"Really? They finished that quickly?" Jian Mo was taken aback and immediately said, "I'll go check it out."

Jian Mo went outside and touched the lime mortar in the cracks between the stones.

The limestone berries were already dry, hard and prickly, and couldn't be broken off by hand.

The result looked just like the mortar he had seen in the countryside when he was a child.

This is so useful!

"It seems like it really works." Jian Mo's eyes were filled with surprise as he said to Wu Jiong, "I'll go call Qing Kuo and the others to come and take a look. If everyone thinks it's okay, we'll burn another batch of lime."

Wu Jiong: "I think it's okay."

Jian Mo: "I think it's great too. This was such a surprise. If it weren't for the stone pillars in the kiln, I wouldn't have even remembered this."

Wu Jiong: "Not necessarily. You might remember it next spring when you're fixing up the house."

Jian Mo asked, "Wait a minute, why do we need to renovate the house again next spring?"

Wu Jiong: "Springtime brings a lot of rain, and the clay soil softens easily, so we need to be extra careful."

Jian Mo raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean the lime arrived just in time?"

Wu Jiong nodded. "You are our lucky star."

Jian Mo laughed, her expression incredibly vivid. "I'll go find them and take a look."

Actually, there's no need to search them one by one. Just shout in an open space, and everyone will come out when they hear the noise.

Jian Mo was a little embarrassed to shout, so he shouted on his behalf after the Zhou Fu, telling everyone to go to the clan chief's house to see the effect of the lime mortar.

Yesterday, most of the villagers saw lime mortar and were very curious about its effects.

Upon hearing that it had solidified so quickly, almost everyone rushed out to see.

Everyone gathered around the cement-plastered stone wall of Wu Jiong's house, looking at it again and again.

Jian Mo glanced at Wu Jiong, and seeing that he didn't object, said, "If you're interested, you can try to squeeze it yourself. The lime mortar is very strong and not so easy to break."

Hong Qiu, standing nearby, asked curiously, "What if you break it?"

Jian Mo said, "If you ruin it, just apply another layer of lime mortar. Lime is easy to burn anyway; you'll see in a couple of days."