With the construction of the God's Eye Altar completed, the remaining two masons returned to the wooden shed and resumed their old work, tinkering all day long to build various stone mortars, stone troughs, stone benches and other stone tools.
After more than half a year of practice and tempering, Xu Chen felt that the stonemason's craftsmanship should be pretty good, so he decided to start building the stone mill, an artifact that he had been looking forward to for a long time.
Stone mills are big, bulky and seem to have a simple structure, but they are actually quite troublesome to make.
Not to mention a group of primitive savages who just started to pick up copper hammers, even a skilled stonemason may not be able to successfully build one.
For this stone mill, a group of stonemasons have tried seven or eight times, but none of them have succeeded. The first millstone they built was like a steamed bun gnawed by a dog, full of pits and primitive wildness, and the upper and lower fans couldn't fit together at all.
Come together.
Although there were slight changes in the later ones, they just evolved from a dog chewing steamed buns to a dog chewing sesame seed cakes, and the two doors still couldn't close together.
After testing seven or eight sets in succession, Xu Chen simply put down the work of making stone mills, and instead let the masons concentrate on making stone mortars, stone troughs, stone benches and other silly and clumsy things to practice their skills.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a year has passed.
A group of masons worked hard every day, using hundreds of large and small stones, and the various rough stone tools they made could be seen everywhere inside and outside the compound.
There are dozens of stone mortars, large and small. The largest one is more than one meter high, has an inner diameter of three feet deep and two feet wide, and weighs a thousand kilograms. It is placed next to the well as a water tank.
These stone mortars are durable and can be used for hundreds of thousands of years as long as they are not intentionally damaged.
In addition, there are various large and small stone troughs, sheep pens, pig pens, stables, donkey pens, duck houses, chicken coops, everywhere in the second and third courtyards of the compound. These stone troughs are simpler and more clumsy than stone mortars.
The stone is barely beaten into a long strip, and even if the inside is hollowed out, the shallow one is less than half a foot, and the deep one is only about a foot. It is mainly used for drinking water for animals.
After practicing these two things, Xu Chen began to arrange for stonemasons to make stone benches and stone bricks.
As for this kind of utensils with a relatively standard shape and square shape, it requires more craftsmanship. After several months of practice, several stonemasons are now making decent ones. With the completion of the construction of the Temple of the Ancient Mother, he also feels that
This matter can be put on the work schedule again, and it is best to complete it before Mother's Day, so that on Mother's Day this year, he can launch another magical item to bring new atmosphere to this grand festival.
The purpose of building the stone mill was not to show off, but because Xu Chen had been looking forward to pasta for a long time.
In addition, stone grinding can finely process wheat beans, which plays an extremely important role in improving dietary structure and quality of life.
In the history of the development of human civilization, the emergence of mills can be said to be the thing that changed the human diet structure the most besides fire.
Throughout its long history, the West has always lived on wheat and bread.
In China, countless pasta and pastries were born, which even changed the agricultural planting structure in the northwest.
If it can be built before Mother's Day, this can be an opportunity to promote it, which will further stimulate them to expand agricultural planting area.
When Xu Chen went out for inspection this spring, he found that although all tribes were clearing up wasteland and planting land on a large scale this year, and the food harvest had been advancing by leaps and bounds in the past two years, the pace of expansion was likely to slow down next year.
There are many reasons.
First, as the farmland area is large, it is difficult to manage because it is too far away from the residence.
Second, there may not be enough manpower.
The biggest reason is that I am not used to the dietary structure.
In the past, starch-rich plant seeds and roots accounted for about half of the food, and meat accounted for the other half. Among them, pure seed food such as wheat and beans was completely supplementary food, not a staple food.
But now, as the scale of farmland planting gradually expands and the harvest becomes more and more, wheat and beans have gradually become the staple food, but the processing cannot keep up. The taste is not good, and the nutritional taste is far inferior to roots and meat. Even if you have a clay pot for cooking
Porridge, but it cannot quickly change the eating habits and tastes of these primitive people.
If the difficulties in processing wheat beans cannot be solved and the taste can be improved, after each tribe has wheat beans reserves that can last for three to five months, it is estimated that the original people will not continue to expand planting according to the same habits and urine as the African black brothers.
scale.
After all, there are so many types of animals and plants now. There are fewer people and more land. Animals and plants are prosperous. You can get food as long as you go out. You can't get food if you can run or fly. But snakes and turtles can be found wherever there is meat. In addition, these
In the past few years, everyone has learned how to make nets for fishing, and the food problem has been greatly alleviated.
Now that I can eat enough, I naturally don’t want to do such a troublesome thing as farming.
In order to change the difficult situation of wheat and bean processing, Xu Chen sent several stonemasons to the Gonghuo Tribe and the Ji Tribe during this tour, hoping to spread the stone mortars to all tribes as soon as possible.
However, the stone mortar is not actually suitable for processing wheat beans, but is suitable for processing grains with hard shells such as rice.
With the stone mill, oats can be ground into powder and wild beans can be ground into paste, and then various fine and soft foods such as pastries, pastries, tofu and dried beans can be made.
If the stone mortar and stone mill are combined, grain processing will become extremely convenient and delicious. Xu Chen believes that it will greatly stimulate the farming enthusiasm of these primitive tribes.
Only by completely stabilizing agriculture, planting and producing enough food, and developing animal husbandry as a supplement can all tribes completely get rid of the primitive way of life of gathering and hunting and truly enter the civilized era.
Therefore, although the stone mill is small and seemingly inconspicuous, it is related to the survival and development of all tribes in the future, as well as Xu Chen's civilization upgrade plan.
He didn't want his kingdom to remain semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural in the future.
Because the development of civilization in later generations has proven that races that cannot enter agricultural civilization as soon as possible will develop slower and be eliminated faster.
In order to successfully build the stone mill as soon as possible, Xu Chen personally took two stonemasons to Yelang Valley to find seven or eight stones of suitable sizes and shapes. He also personally went into battle with a ruler, ink bucket, copper brazing hammer, and explained in detail how to do it.
Make a stone mill.
The two masons were both experienced hands now, and they quickly started working after understanding.
Xu Chen breathed a sigh of relief after following the two masons to observe for two days.
The more than half a year of practice has paid off, and it seems that this stone grinding has a high chance of success.
However, after the stone mill is successfully built, you still have to find a relatively spacious place to place it.
At present, the second courtyard of the compound is overcrowded, and it is almost impossible to find a spare room to place the stone mill.
The three courtyards are all filled with firewood, livestock and poultry. The sanitary environment is too poor, and they are not suitable for processing grain.
After thinking about it, Xu Chen had no choice but to have someone build a pergola out of wood in the courtyard near the entrance of the grain warehouse, and at the same time let the carpenter start building a grinding frame according to the size of the stone mill he designed.
Seeing Xu Chen busy making arrangements, the tribesmen were also very curious. However, the stone mill could not be explained clearly because it was too complicated, so Xu Chen simply did not bother to explain it. He just asked people to build the pergola and mill frame as soon as possible.
February is quickly approaching the end of the month, and the weather is already very warm.
The mountains and river valleys are already lush green and blooming with flowers.
In addition to strictly observing and guiding the two masons in processing the stone mill, Xu Chen also completed the construction of the mill frame and the pergola every day.
After receiving the method of cultivating vegetables and fruits taught by Xu Chen, the little witch has become completely immersed in it. She takes several young girls from the tribe and is busy in the vegetable gardens in front of and behind the house every day.
She was full of curiosity about this new knowledge and believed in Xu Chen's words.
Because with her observation and experimentation, Xu Chen taught her that pinching and topping the thorn melon vine did have a very magical effect.
After the tip of the main stem was pinched off, the thorn melon vine was just like Xu Chen said. The main vine no longer continued to grow wildly, but began to grow a large number of side branches as if it had been injected with chicken blood. These stems were slightly thinner.
But after climbing and spreading out on the melon frame, more flowers bloomed.
In the past, a dozen flowers could bloom on one main vine, sparsely mixed among the thorny stems and leaves, and there were both male and female flowers among them, so only half of them could actually pick melons.
But after topping, in just half a month, more than 20 flowers bloomed on the new cane, nearly half of which were female flowers. You can clearly see the enlarged melon stems behind the flower stalks. In the future,
As long as they are not troubled by bugs and birds, they can basically grow up.
The little witch would record her observations on the animal skin every day. She recorded clearly how many side branches the thorn melon vine had grown, how many flowers it had bloomed on that day, how many male and how many female flowers, and occasionally
I happily took Xu Chen to see the changes in the vegetable garden.
And a group of girls follow the little witch around every day to observe and observe. Naturally, they are all excited about this simple method that can increase production several times. They are chattering excitedly to spread this magical technology everywhere, which also makes Mother, Mama and others like it.
I was so excited that I led a group of women to learn how to manage a vegetable garden from the little witch when I had time.
Although Xu Chen had expected the changes in the vegetable garden, it was only after he actually saw the flowers blooming on the pergola that he finally understood that this simple technology he had inadvertently taught, which was once a household name in the countryside, would have great impact on current agricultural production.
What a huge impact it was.
Although he didn't know how humans invented the agricultural technology of pinching and topping, it certainly didn't happen overnight. It must have been slowly discovered after tens of thousands of years of accumulation. The most likely reason is similar to the evolution of species.
It must have appeared meaninglessly at first, but was eventually discovered by human observation, and then became a method to increase production.
If Xu Chen had not traveled through time, then human beings would still have to repeat this process of slow exploration and development in production and life.
But now, it can be discovered and confirmed in half a month, and in another half month, it will spread to all nearby tribes after Mother's Day.
There is no need to wait until next year. After returning this year, many tribes who have begun to learn from the Ba tribe to grow fruits and vegetables will begin to use this technology, because the summer when plants really grow wildly has not yet arrived, and March is the best time for flowering and fruiting.
Tribes can also catch up with the agricultural harvests brought about by a wave of new technologies.
Planting and managing vegetable gardens are originally women's strengths.
As the great witch recognized by all the alliance tribes, the little witch has personally verified and promoted the techniques, which will have more practical guiding significance. It will not only enhance her reputation, but also strengthen her status.
In the past, all the tribes respected her just because she was in the Ba tribe and was surrounded and supported by Xu Chen's powerful and magical aura. But now, through her own study and hard work, she has finally begun to truly have the strength and ability to lead the development of all tribes.
.
Therefore, Xu Chen saw the changes in the little witch and was very happy in his heart.
After a few years, the little witch finally began to transform from the immature, frightened and helpless ignorant girl who burst into tears when she defected, to a real witch, taking on her own responsibilities and no longer being Xu Chen's god.
The spokespersons and sealing tools already know what they should do.