In One Ear and Out the Other

De Jiang touched the cement mortar, picked up a small piece, held it up to his eyes, and said, "Actually, it's not completely dry yet. It will be more solid once it's fully dry."

Jian Mo: "Yes, after all, it's only been a day and a night, and the moisture hasn't completely evaporated yet."

De Jiang nodded. "I think we can burn the lime first; using lime to plaster the walls is much better than using clay."

Jian Mo: "The main concern is safety. Didn't you say that there's a lot of wind and rain in spring, making houses prone to collapse? If we use lime mortar, it will be much better, and it won't be so worrying to leave the children home alone."

Adult orcs and sub-orcs react quickly, so even if the house collapses, they are not likely to be seriously injured.

The children were different. Jian Mo looked at the kittens, wolves, and foxes in the crowd who couldn't yet transform, her eyes filled with worry.

He always felt the little ones were a bit slow to react, and it wouldn't be good if they got hurt.

Jian Mo's words resonated deeply with the parents.

Those who were initially hesitant immediately said that they could postpone making pottery and glass, but needed to quickly produce the lime and repair the house.

Jian Mo said, "Let's do it in the next couple of days. I'll see what kind of stones we need to collect to make lime."

Then, Jian Mo looked at Wu Jiong and asked, "What do you think?"

Wu Jiong nodded. "Okay."

Everyone cheered.

Chapter 41 Whispers

Jian Mo knew there were many stones on the riverbank, but she had never noticed them before.

To him, these grayish-white stones were just ordinary stones; he would only look for them when he needed to build a wall in his house.

Now that we're going to burn lime, we can't just fool around.

Everyone went to the riverbank, Qing Kuo, searching through the rocks, asked Jian Mo, "What kind of stone can be burned to make lime?"

Jian Mo: "I don't really remember either. I'll try to find the stones I used before. Once I find them, I'll make a list so I'll know which stones can be burned and which can't next time I burn them."

He tried hard to recall these past few days and actually remembered that stones like marble, limestone, and calcite could be burned into lime, but he didn't recognize these stones at all.

Recalling it is pointless; the only option is to honestly collect the stones and go back to conduct experiments.

Since we've already produced lime from burning stones, we can definitely produce lime from them by collecting stones now.

Zhou Fu watched Jian Mo diligently taking notes on a wooden board and said enviously, "Your previous tribes were so lucky; it was so convenient to be able to write things down."

Jian Mo: "Yes, once the weather gets warmer, I'll make some more paper. Then we can bind the records into a book, which will make it much easier to find things later."

He actually wanted to teach the people in the tribe to write, but unfortunately, after one attempt, no one was very interested.

Bringing in younger kids for instruction only makes things worse.

Jian Mo felt a little guilty every time she saw furry canine and feline pups sitting below her, staring at her intently, but the stares just went in one ear and out the other.

Trying to teach puppies and kittens to read is really asking too much of these little guys.

He tried several times, but had to give up.

Let's teach whoever is truly interested later.

There were many stones piled up on the riverbank, Jian Mo asked everyone to prioritize those stones that were softer and whiter in color.

After searching for a while, everyone quickly picked out the stone he had requested.

After being selected, they need to be sent to the kiln for burning.

Jian Mo remembered that burning lime didn't require very high temperatures, so she had someone burn it directly with wood.

Using charcoal requires an extra step, and hardwood should be used as much as possible. Firewood has no requirements on the quality of the wood, is relatively easy to find, and saves time and effort.

Everyone piled up firewood and stones in the kiln, ready to start firing.

Qing Kuo asked, "What kind of heat is needed to burn lime?"

Jian Mo wasn't quite sure either, so he simply said, "Make the fire as big as possible, and it should be burning by evening. If we find it's not hot enough when we open it tomorrow, we'll burn it for a longer time next time. If we find it's overcooked when we open it tomorrow, we'll burn it for a shorter time next time."

Hearing him say that, Qing Kuo knew he really couldn't do it, and laughed, "Alright, I'll see."

Jian Mo massaged his shoulders. "You've worked hard."

Qing Kuo and the others stood guard in front of the kiln, where the fire burned fiercely for a whole day, sending smoke billowing far into the distance.

The kiln was warm, so everyone brought animal hair or hides and worked in front of it, warming themselves by the fire.

The next day, everyone rushed over early in the morning to open the kiln and check how well the lime was burning.

Jian Mo stood in the crowd, feeling a little nervous.

After the kiln was opened, the stones inside cracked into pieces of white material, like pebbles, which felt quite hard to the touch.

Everyone turned to look at Jian Mo.

Jian Mo picked up a piece of lime and squeezed it; it could be crushed, but not easily broken.

It should have already been burned.

Jian Mo wasn't sure either. "Shall we just crush it up and add water?"

Seeing his condition, Qing Kuo had no choice but to instruct the beastmen to bring out the lime, crush it with large stones, and examine its texture.

Jian Mo felt that crushing things in this cold weather would be particularly troublesome, so she suggested, "Why don't we just take it to the mortar and pestle to crush it?"

Qing Kuo: "Is lime poisonous?"

When water is added, the quicklime boils and releases a bitter taste.

Based on experience, bitter-tasting things are generally poisonous. Food pounded in a stone mortar is commonly eaten, but I'm not so sure about Qing Kuo.

Jian Mo explained, "Lime is sometimes used in cooking. Just wash the mortar after use, and it's fine. Don't worry."

Qing Kuo nodded, "Then take it to the mortar and pestle to grind it."

So everyone used baskets to carry the heated stones to the mortar and pestle to crush them.

Jian Mo observed from the side and concluded that this batch of lime was probably overburnt.

After this batch of lime was crushed, the middle part was relatively fine and soft, and it was easy to crush into powder, while the outer ring was hard and difficult to crush, and there were still many particles after crushing.

The middle part is already cooked, but the edges are mostly overcooked.