I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 306 Pottery Making

Time flies, and before we knew it, the New Year was here. Then the ice and snow began to melt, and the weather gradually warmed up.

As the weather warmed up, the orcs from the central tribe, along with several orcs from the high-tree tribe, set off to help Bai Ling find cotton and rice seeds.

The most important thing now is to collect as many cotton seeds as possible. According to the Sky Orcs, it takes them three months to travel from the High Tree Tribe to the tribe with cotton. The round trip will take half a year, and by the time they return, summer will be over. Even if they want to plant, it will be too late. They can only plant next year.

They will also help find rice seeds, which they will bring to Bai Ling later.

If he weren't so tied up, Bai Ling would have liked to go with them. Once they found cotton and rice, their basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation would be taken care of, and he could then focus on other things.

*

As the weather warmed up, not only the ice and snow but also the earth thawed, and the beastmen began their year's work.

It's not yet time to plant crops, but it's the perfect time to build irrigation systems. Whenever there's nothing to do at home, people take hoes and shovels, push carts, and carry baskets to dig ditches.

Bai Ling's entire family also pitched in. There were quite a few beastmen like them who all worked together. They chatted and laughed as they worked, and the length of the ditch increased at a visible rate.

When the weather gets warmer, fewer orcs are digging ditches. This year, the tribe needs to build houses for the sky orcs who came last year. They need to make adobe bricks, fire bricks, tiles, lime, cement, and glass, and also make roof beams, rafters, doors, windows, and furniture. Some orcs also have their own things to do, so fewer orcs are digging ditches.

Bai Ling's family also had things to do; he planned to make pottery.

The pottery at home is not enough. Bai Ling wants to fire a lot of pottery, big and small, especially all kinds of jars and pots. She must fire a lot of them, as well as bowls and plates.

The tribe has two brick kilns, one made of adobe and the other made of fired blue bricks. The adobe kiln is smaller. Except for the first year when bricks were in short supply, the tribe fired both kilns at the same time. In the second year, when all the orcs in the tribe lived in houses, the demand for bricks and tiles was not so high. So the tribe only used the brick kiln to fire bricks, and the adobe kiln was idle.

Bai Ling modified the adobe kiln, turning it into a kiln for firing pottery.

*

Most of the pottery used by the orcs in the tribe is homemade, so almost all the orcs in the tribe know how to make pottery.

Cang and Feng both know how to make pottery, and Yue's grandfather even worked in the pottery kiln of the Dahe tribe, so he was considered a skilled potter.

When preparing to make the pottery blank, Yue's grandfather was about to show off his skills, but Yue pulled him to Bai Ling's house and pointed to a strange-looking thing, saying, "Grandpa, this is a tool that Ling made. He said it would be more convenient to make pottery with this."

The grandfather and grandson carefully examined the tool. It was something similar to a table, with a wheel underneath and a disc on top. Several wooden strips were intertwined under the table, and it was unclear what they were for.

Bai Ling walked over carrying a piece of clay. He placed his thoughts on the disc on it, then sat down on the stool. He stepped on the pedal under the table with his right foot, and the disc on the table began to spin.

As the disc began to spin, it naturally carried the clay on it with it. Bai Ling placed his hands on the clay and began to shape the clay.

Bai Ling's technique wasn't very skilled; the clay in his hands was like a naughty child. But slowly, Bai Ling rediscovered the joy of playing with mud, and the clay transformed from a naughty child into an obedient one in his hands.

Bai Ling made the simplest little bowl. All you had to do was dig a small hole in the middle, and as the potter's wheel slowly turned, the hole gradually grew bigger, and before long it became a small bowl.

Bai Ling took the wire from the side and cut the small bowl off the clay.

He had practiced countless times, and now he was doing it quite well.

Grandpa Yue opened his eyes wide, seemingly in disbelief. He took the small bowl from Bai Ling's hand, looked at it over and over, and finally said two words: "It's fine."

When the beastmen make pottery, they first knead the clay repeatedly, then shape it into round strips, then coil the strips together, and finally smooth the surface of the pottery blank with clay. After drying, it can be fired.

Bai Ling's method, which involves throwing the potter's wheel, is more advanced and efficient than the orcs' pottery-making methods. The pottery made from this method is less prone to cracking and is also faster to produce.

Grandpa Yue immediately became interested. He walked over to Bai Ling, who stood up and said, "Grandpa, this is very simple. I'll teach you how to do it."

While Bai Ling was speaking, Yue's grandfather sat down in front of the potter's wheel. He first stepped on the pedal, and after the potter's wheel started spinning, he imitated Bai Ling by pinching a small hole in the center of the clay, and then held the clay and pulled it to both sides.

Because it was his first time making it, Grandpa Yue couldn't control his strength well. He used too much force, and the clay was torn apart in the middle.

Grandpa Yue's smile froze on his face. Bai Ling quickly said from the side, "Grandpa, you didn't quite get the strength right the first time you did it. Let me demonstrate for you again."

*

Because the pottery kiln was converted from a brick kiln, Bai Ling's first firing consisted of the simplest bowls, plates, and small pottery jars. In particular, she made thirty small pottery jars, each about half the size of a palm.

Both Feng and Cang felt it was a bit much, but they only said one thing and then didn't say anything more.

The finished pottery blanks are placed in the kiln, and the kiln door is closed before firing begins.

Previously, the tribe used wood to fire kilns. Later, Bai Ling invented charcoal, so the beastmen started using charcoal to fire kilns. The pottery fired with charcoal was indeed more beautiful, with a smoother surface and a better sound.

Pottery is indeed very practical and convenient, but porcelain is also beautiful and practical. Bai Ling wants to make porcelain.

The firing methods for porcelain and pottery are completely different. After returning home, Bai Ling took advantage of the still-bright daylight and went to her bedroom to start writing and drawing. When her family saw Bai Ling writing, they all consciously slowed their footsteps and tried not to make too much noise.

After dinner was ready, Feng gently knocked on the door and asked, "Ling, dinner is ready. Are you going to eat now?"

Bai Ling remained seated at the small table without getting up: "Father, you all eat first, don't worry about me."

Feng: "Alright, let's eat first. After we finish eating, your father and I need to go to the pottery kiln to relieve Yue's grandfather and Chen. We'll put the food in the pot for you, and you can eat whenever you're done."

Bai Ling hummed in agreement. Feng sighed helplessly. His son would forget to eat when he got busy, and he didn't know when he would eat.

Cang had already set out the bowls and chopsticks: "Let Ling do her own thing, let's eat first."