Firewood was brought and a flame was lit in a room in the slave yard.
Han Cheng picked up the two smallest pieces from several pieces of gravel and threw them into the fire.
Under the gaze of everyone, within a short time, the two green stones began to change color and turned black.
After burning for a while, Han Cheng used a branch to pull out the two small pieces of blackened stones.
The stones burned by the flames became very fragile, and one of them cracked during the pulling process.
Han Cheng put the stick in his hand on the stone that was dug out, pressed it down, and broke it into pieces without much effort.
After waiting for a while for the broken stone to cool down, Han Cheng squatted down, picked up a small piece of blackened stone, and twisted it with his fingers until it turned into powder.
Looking at the fine soil-like powder in his hand, Han Cheng finally couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
This green stone is malachite. Where there is malachite, there must be an open-pit copper mine nearby.
Because malachite is gradually formed by long-term oxidation of open-pit copper mines and seeping outside.
Malachite has always been an important basis for people to search for copper mines.
This black fine powder is oxidized copper. If you use charcoal for high-temperature reduction, you can get copper.
However, he did not do this because there was too little malachite.
Han Cheng's actions touched the hearts of everyone around him. When he smiled, everyone watching around him also breathed a sigh of relief and became excited.
"A metal can be extracted from this stone. It is not as hard and sharp as iron, but it is just as useful."
Han Cheng announced the good news to the people around him.
Copper is soft and is not suitable for making sharp instruments, but it is still very good for making blunt instruments. After all, it is easier to shape and has toughness that stone does not have.
However, if tin ore and lead ore can be found and copper-tin or copper-tin alloy can be refined, the situation can be greatly improved.
Because copper-lead or copper-tin alloy is bronze.
Bronze is hard and can be used to cast sharp weapons and agricultural tools.
The famous swords in history such as Ganjiang and Moye are all bronze swords.
Of course, the counter-chopping is not as good as the finely crafted steel knives of later generations, but it also directly proves the feasibility of using bronze to make such instruments when steel cannot be greatly developed.
Tin ore is relatively easy to deal with, because generally tin ore is easily associated with copper ore.
Speaking of which, it makes sense that bronze appeared first and then steel in the history of civilization, because the melting points of the metal ores required for bronze are much lower than those of steel.
After Han Cheng announced the news, Wu and others beamed with joy.
The existence of things like iron knives and axes made them deeply aware of the usefulness of metal tools. How could they be unhappy now that they heard the Son of God announcing that another metal could be made from this beautiful green stone to make tools?
?
As for what Han Cheng said about being inferior to iron, they simply ignored it. For them, as long as it was metal, it was fine.
"Where did you get this stone?"
Han Cheng asked Long Legs standing not far away.
Long Legs still looked a little dazed at this moment. He never thought that metal could be extracted from the stone he used as a talisman.
He had seen metal before. The blackened ax carried by the lame carpenter in the tribe was made of metal.
Although he had seen the lame guy holding a black ax and cutting down trees several times, Long Legs was still surprised by the rapid speed.
Now that he knows that the amulet he has worn for a long time can extract a kind of metal, how can he not be stunned?
"In...the tribe..."
Long Legs slowly told the origin of malachite in broken Mandarin.
Han Cheng also slowly figured it out.
On a mountain near the Soaring Snake tribe, there was sparse vegetation and some beautiful blue puddles there. Long Legs picked up a beautiful piece of malachite of a suitable size there, polished it, tied it up with a rope and hung it on the mountain.
Wear it around your neck as an amulet.
While Long Legs was telling Han Cheng, he also heard another thing.
That is, someone in the Soaring Snake Tribe once drank those beautiful waters, and then suffered a terrible stomachache, and then died.
Since then, they have learned that the beautiful water in those pits cannot be drunk.
This is the characteristic of the primitive era. A lot of knowledge is acquired with the death of people.
Han Cheng asked the man with long legs why he drank the water in the stone pit, and the answer he received was that the water there was as blue as the sky. Some people thought that after drinking it, they could get blessings from the gods.
Han Cheng couldn't help but sniff his nose. It turns out that the ignorant are fearless.
When it stopped raining for nearly a day, it was already dark.
The rain has stopped, but since it is already evening and the sun has not risen, the air is still cool, and sleeping at night is the most comfortable.
Han Cheng didn't feel much sleepy at this time. On the one hand, he slept too much during the day, and on the other hand, he was thinking about the surprise news he got today.
It took no effort to find the place despite having worn iron shoes. This is a true reflection of getting the news about the copper mine this time.
I was looking for copper ore everywhere to no avail, but it was actually right under my nose. This was really surprising and unexpected.
Han Cheng didn't care too much about the size of the copper mine there, because according to the current situation of the Qingque tribe, even the smallest copper mine was enough.
It’s time to go to the Soaring Snake Tribe’s lair to see what’s going on with the copper mine, and wander around to see if you can find traces of the tin mine.
After thinking about copper mines and copper-related matters for a while, Han Cheng made such a decision in his heart.
After all, he is the only latecomer in the tribe who is familiar with these things, so he must go to this matter.
And he had to set off as soon as possible. On the one hand, he wanted to confirm these things as soon as possible, and on the other hand, Bai Xuemei would give birth soon.
He had to complete this matter before Bai Xuemei gave birth, and then return to the tribe from there.
Regardless of the customs of this era, when Bai Xuemei gave birth, Han Cheng had to return to the tribe to stay by Bai Xuemei's side.
Because this is the most vulnerable moment for a woman, and she is prone to danger. Although Bai Xuemei is still very agile, she doesn't have the slightest awareness of being pregnant.
Another important reason is that he wants to welcome the birth of his own child.
This was the first child of his flesh and blood, future generations and present combined, and he didn't want to miss this important moment.
