Free Web NovelChapter 392: Chapter 194: Making Pottery
After finishing with the butter, Li Younan indeed felt quite tired. During the day, he had run quite a distance to bring back a ewe, and had been busy ever since without a break.
He lay on the bed, and sleepiness quickly overtook him.
Underneath the sleeping bag was a type of plant that he found in the forest similar to thatch, which, once dried, had good resilience.
About twenty or thirty years ago, many rural dirt beds were covered with straw, with cotton batting laid over it to substitute for a mattress.
However, that being said, this "mattress" could be further improved in quality by weaving it into a complete pad and stacking it in layers for a more comfortable sleep.
The bed he was lying on also needed an upgrade. Currently, it’s made with several thick wooden stakes as the base and planks laid across as the bed. Once he has more free time, he plans to leverage his carpentry skills to make a proper bed.
In addition, the furniture at home needs further additions.
Presently, the only decent piece of furniture in the room is a small wooden table. Other than that, there are just two wooden barrels and the equipment he made to process the butter.
There are still some necessary items to make next, starting with dining ware since there isn’t enough of it yet.
But honestly, making small utensils is actually the hardest with woodworking due to tool limitations; small bowls and plates are particularly tricky to craft.
Containers can’t be made using a barrel-binding method and can only be carved.
His only wooden bowl looks terribly unattractive, made by hollowing out a piece of wood about as thick as a bowl’s rim, a process that was time-consuming and laborious. Lacking polishing equipment, he had to use a pebble to grind it for quite some time until it was barely usable.
Li Younan couldn’t help but think that he needs to prioritize his pottery-making plans.
Once he starts firing pottery, it will solve these equipment issues; additionally, he could make some cooking utensils, making food preparation more convenient.
In summary, to lead a more refined life, making pottery is a must.
The next most important piece of furniture is the bathtub.
Bathtubs are actually easy to make; such large wooden furniture is easier than small pieces, using the barrel-binding method, just requiring more wood than usual.
These things will be made one by one, but right now the limiting factor for doing it yourself is food.
Ultimately, the main reason for the lack of time to make these tools and furniture is the need to spend time each day gathering food, leaving little time for crafting.
Thinking along these lines, Li Younan grew ever more sleepy and soon fell asleep.
...
Li Younan was jolted awake.
The night was deep, the surroundings utterly silent. However, the uneasy bleats of the ewe at the back door woke him up instantly.
At first, he didn’t notice; he thought it was just the ewe feeling pain from its wounds.
But soon, he grew alert—there was a clear sense of fear in the cries, not mere pain. He rolled out of the sleeping bag, and almost simultaneously, he had the hunting knife held in his hand in a reverse grip.
He picked up the flashlight—standard equipment distributed by the production team, with batteries charged by a solar charger, he normally refrains from using it much, but at this moment, it was necessary for illumination.
He dashed out the back door toward the sheepfold, immediately shining the beam on the ewe, seeing it half-kneeling on the ground with no visible wounds, which made him let out a sigh of relief.
Yet in the next second, his keen hearing picked up noises from afar.
He abruptly turned around, the flashlight beam swiftly sweeping over—two ghostly green lights suddenly brightened and quickly faded in the pitch-black night.
Those were the eye reflections of some feline, startled by the beam and swiftly disappearing into the dense woods.
Li Younan gazed toward the direction the animal fled, slowly narrowing his eyes.
From the size and brightness of the reflections, it wasn’t a large feline predator.
There were no large fierce beasts near the lake; the most dangerous carnivore was just a black bear.
If his guess was right, that was likely a lynx, clearly targeting the ewe.
And the naturally alert ewe instinctively sensed the danger, hence its call for help.
Li Younan thought for a moment and then bent over to pick up the ewe, carrying it inside the house.
He added some wood to the almost extinguished fireplace, and the firelight danced back to life, warming the room.
The ewe settled beside the fire, seemingly finding comfort, no longer trembling, and lay down on the ground, not at all afraid of the fire.
Seeing this, Li Younan chuckled slightly, reaching out to touch its head: "Luckily you called out, or my butter plan would be ruined."
He examined the ewe’s fractured leg again, seeing no signs of infection or inflammation.
Since it wasn’t afraid of the fire, he decided to give it a name: "From now on, I’ll call you Little Fire Dragon."
After this incident, he was wide awake.
Glancing outside, it was just an hour or two before dawn, given that he’d slept seven or eight hours the previous night, he was still quite refreshed.
He decided to sit by the fireplace, watching the dancing flames and the calmly lying Little Fire Dragon at his feet, pondering how to ensure Little Fire Dragon’s safety.
Although he’d installed a fenced enclosure for the sheep the afternoon before, even with spikes, this level of fencing certainly wouldn’t keep out a lynx or similar feline predator.
After pondering for a while, a light appeared in the sky, and the sound of unknown birdsong began to echo as dawn broke quickly.
A new day’s work was about to begin.
The first task of the day was to ensure the safety of the Little Fire Dragon.
Li Younan thought it over and decided to construct a sheltered pen for it. He planned to build it adjacent to his house to save on lumber.
He fashioned the black pine into sturdy wooden stakes about a meter tall, arranging them closely to form a thick-walled hut, with the top sealed by similar sturdy stakes, leaving only two removable stakes as an entry and exit.
To ensure the sheep pen was firm, Li Younan sharpened the bottom of these stakes and used the flat side of an axe to pound them deeply into the soil.
This way, even a black bear wouldn’t be able to harm the Little Fire Dragon inside.
During the day, when he was at the shelter, he would let the Little Fire Dragon out, and keep it in at night or when he was out hunting or gathering food, ensuring complete safety.
Although he had thought of keeping the Little Fire Dragon inside the shelter, he didn’t want it to become difficult to clean due to the creature’s need to relieve itself, so keeping it outside was the best option.
After completing this task, Li Youlan went back to the lake to fish, ensuring protein for the next couple of days.
By the time he finished, it was already afternoon, and today Li Younan planned to start making pottery.
In a primitive outdoor environment, firing pottery was not easy.
The first requirement was suitable clay, the foundation of all ceramics. Without it, nothing could proceed.
Not all soil qualifies as clay; one must find soil with sticky and plastic properties.
The simplest test is to mix a small amount of soil with water to form a mud ball, rolling it into a thin strip and bending it into a circle; if it doesn’t crack or only slightly cracks under these conditions, it is suitable for pottery.
Fortunately, Li Younan had discovered during the construction of earthen walls that the soil near the lake had the basic properties needed for making pottery.
But that wasn’t enough.
Because wild soil contains sand, plant roots, and other impurities, it needed further processing.
Li Younan dug a large pit, where the soil at the bottom was finer, and then used a previously made wooden trough to hold the required clay.
The supplies provided by the show had eight or nine pairs of socks of various sizes and uses. To filter the clay, Li Younan sacrificed a pair of socks.
He used a sock and some branches to make a filter screen, then mixed the soil with water to form a slurry, using the screen to remove coarse particles and impurities.
Next, he poured all the clay into the wooden trough and let the slurry settle and sediment.
Thanks to Li Younan’s pottery skills, these steps were done with great precision and care.
Some contestants attempting to survive in the wild had tried making pottery, but without these preparatory steps, their creations inevitably cracked.
About two or three hours later, Li Younan took the thick slurry from the bottom layer, slapped it onto the wooden workboard, and began kneading it to expel air, ensuring an even texture.
Li Younan sensed with his hands—many believe that avoiding cracks in pottery depends mainly on the firing process. While the firing is critical, any error in the preceding steps would likely lead to failure.
The shaping that followed was relatively simple; without tools, he molded the clay with his hands.
Li Younan’s hands, enhanced by many skills, were extremely steady and precise, capable of producing uniformly thick pottery, crucial for successful firing.
He made a batch of utensils, including small pots and bowls for individual use, and even created an earthen hotpot.
The hand-molding of pottery was immensely stress-relieving.
Li Younan moved all the finished pottery into the shelter, since it rained occasionally in the area.
The next step was to patiently wait for the clay to dry thoroughly.
Unlike rammed earth walls, pottery must be completely dried. Any moisture left in the clay would rapidly vaporize during firing, causing the pottery to crack.
To successfully fire the pottery, one must patiently let it dry for about a week.
During this waiting period, Li Younan could continue making pottery daily.
Before dark, Li Younan completed the last bit of construction on the shelter. Although the top earthen walls were yet to dry, his shelter was in its final form.
In the evening, just like the previous day, Li Younan milked the Little Fire Dragon. Notably, today’s milk yield was more than yesterday’s, exceeding two liters.
He spent the evening turning all the milk into butter. With extra time on his hands, he planned during a late-night wood-fueling session to boil the remaining skimmed milk in a pot.
When he awoke the next morning, the slow-cooked skimmed milk had congealed into curds after a few hours—the cooking had been precisely timed.
Delighted, Li Younan gathered all the curds to dry outside—curds are an excellent source of protein and a great snack.
Another two or three days passed, and the Little Fire Dragon’s health improved significantly, with a noticeable increase in milk production.
In the forest, Li Younan hunted two wild rabbits. While still lacking larger prey, it was an improvement in his diet.
The presence of butter made the nearly fat-free grilled rabbit meat quite delicious.
Today, Li Younan had no plans to leave as it was the scheduled day for weekly health checks.
