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Chapter 71 Cubs
When the shift was over, Zhang Tian asked Hutou to pay attention to the fire at the entrance of the cave and remember to add more firewood.

Hutou didn't know what Zhang Tian wanted to do, and didn't bother to ask, so he readily agreed.

When he woke up the next morning, Zhang Tian immediately went out of the cave to check.

After a night of baking, the adobes and adobes are quite dry and firm. Unfired adobes are definitely not good for building houses. They will turn into slag when it rains, but they are no problem for building a small pottery kiln.

He called Xiao Xiao, and shook Lin Yu awake from his sleep: "Get up and work!"

The three of them came to the outside of the cave. The simple pottery kiln has no technical content, and there is no need to add mortar, just dry laying.

From the bottom to the top, the ash chamber, the grate and the fire chamber are built in sequence, and finally the kiln chamber for firing is built. The volume of the kiln chamber is about one cubic meter, which is not large, but it is not small.

Zhang Tian puts the dried pottery blanks into the kiln chamber with the opening facing down to trap heat like a hot air balloon and improve the firing efficiency. A finger-wide gap is left between the pottery blanks to serve as an ascending channel for the flame .

Four pots, two pots, eight bowls, and a few adobes stuffed in, enough to fill a kiln so as not to waste firepower.

A large number of branches were picked up from the forest, split into firewood about one meter long, and piled up next to the pottery kiln, almost half the height of a person.

After the firewood is ignited, it is put into the ash chamber and the fire chamber at the bottom, and the burning flame and smoke go straight up along the gap between the bricks and the pottery adobe.

He covered the gap in the top with bricks to prevent the flames from escaping and losing heat.

"Is that enough?"

"That's enough. When the pottery is burned red hot and glowing, it won't seep water."

"How long will it take to burn?"

"Firing for half a day, cooling for half a day, and it's almost done when you come back at night."

After breakfast, Zhang Tian called out his younger brothers and sisters again: "I also have a task for you today."

"Dig a hole?"

The children are gearing up. Seeing how active they are, Dr. Lin must have cooked some delicacies to reward them last night.

Zhang Tian shook his head and said: "I won't dig a hole today. I want you to keep an eye on this kiln. Once the fire weakens, add firewood to the hole below and burn it until the sun rises to the top of your head. You don't need to burn any more. Take wooden boards to burn it." Cover the top."

The purpose of covering the top is to keep the heat in the kiln and reduce heat convection, so as not to cool too fast and cause the pottery body to crack.

"Work hard!" Zhang Tian encouraged, "There is something good to eat tonight! It's better than everything you have eaten before!"

The children were so excited that they made up their minds that they would stay near the pottery kiln all day and not go anywhere!
Zhang Tian laughed. He didn't give a bad promise. After the pottery was fired, and with the blessing of salt, he believed that Chef Lin could easily conquer the stomachs of these little kids.

……

"Ah Choo! Who is talking about me behind my back..."

Lin Yu rubbed his nose and muttered softly.

The brown dead leaves swirl and fall, and a gust of cold wind blows, the dead leaves take off again, complete the last dance of life, and then slowly fall to the ground, and then they are turned over by the women's digging sticks, looking for possible Insect larvae hiding under dead leaves.

The digging sticks used by women for collecting are very similar to the medicine hoes of later generations, except that the heads are not made of cast iron, but sharpened bones.

They use it to pry over logs, looking for salamanders and fat insects; use it to help catch molluscs in the stream, drive them to the bank, and pick them up with their hands; and use it to dig up various bulbs, tubers and roots...

With their skillful operation, the women turned this outdated tool into a multi-functional collector.

Learning and practicing with Lin Yu these days, they have been able to identify most of the common plants in the mountains and forests.

Along the way, they collected hardy plants that were still growing, dug up roots, dethorned thistles, harvested foliage, and picked berries and nuts as they went.

There are not many fruit trees in the mountain forest, and the growth of the fruit is not as expected. In the past, they would dismiss them, but now they no longer pick and choose. Collect it from many places.

The women also carry small weapons such as stone daggers and bone knives, and some women also carry bows and arrows. Although they don't do hunting, they are in the mountains all day long, and the necessary self-defense is indispensable.

Among the women, Qionghua is the best at bow and arrow. Her archery talent is slightly inferior to that of Hutou, and far better than that of her second uncle. Every day when she goes to the mountains to collect, she can easily kill a few birds and beasts and bring them back. If it weren't for sister Qionghua Being pregnant, Zhang Tian was happy to make a horn bow for her.

"Listen! What's the sound?"

Qionghua suddenly called to the women.

Everyone stopped their steps and movements, and listened with ears.

The wind rustled through the forest, and it seemed to be mixed with mournful moans, much like the groans of wounded animals.

"Look at it!"

Orchid made a decisive decision, hoping to catch the leak before the four-legged predator.

They carried bamboo baskets on their backs and followed the sound with their digging sticks. In case of encountering wild wolves, the digging sticks could also be used as dog-beating sticks.

Lin Yu's heart was pounding, and she couldn't help being a little nervous and scared. She reached into the folds of her coat and tightly grasped the folding knife Zhang Tian gave her for self-defense.

A huge light brown figure was half hidden in the blood-stained fallen leaves, limp and lifeless.

The snow-white fluffy fur on the abdomen was already blood-stained and sticky, and the smell of decay clung to it, and the thick hair on the back was dotted with dark or light spots, which was also dull at this time.

Lin Yu had a glimpse of maggots wriggling in its pointed ears, its grinning mouth was full of yellow teeth, and carrion insects crawled over its mouth upon hearing the wind.

But what really surprised her was the body shape of this lynx. The lynx of later generations can grow to a body length of 1.2 meters, which is very impressive, but this lynx is as strong as a pony, not to mention that it is still in size smaller females.

"Look what I found!"

The women's sights fell on Qionghua's arms, and they immediately cried out happily, and then leaned over.

Qionghua found three balls of bright yellow fur from the lynx's den. Their eyes were still closed, and they rubbed against Qionghua blindly. They smelled the milk, but they couldn't find the source of milk from the cold animal skin. They were sad. The low moans came from their mouths, and at this time there was still a little anxiety that there was no milk to eat.

Lin Yu's eyes were shining brightly, who can refuse a fluffy big cat cub?

The women stretched out their salty pig hands one after another to wipe the oil, making the three little guys quite irritable and screaming.

Qionghua gave Lin Yu a cub.

Lin Yu was so happy that he hugged the big cat cub tightly and pressed its soft fur to his cheek.

On the other hand, the cub had a displeased face, and pressed its paw that had not grown sharp claws against this strange, over-enthusiastic face, proudly turning its head aside.

It growled with hunger, but the big yellow girl who was holding it obviously had no milk to feed it, which made it very annoyed, and howled to recognize a woman with milk as its mother.

(End of this chapter)