Chapter 123: When I looked back, I had already embraced the towering giant tree.
The Lame's eyes gleamed brightly as he circled the wooden ladder created by Han Cheng. While spinning, he occasionally touched the ladder and sometimes grabbed one end, lifting it and vigorously shaking it. The sturdy ladder remained unaffected, showing no signs of loosening.
The more he did this, the brighter Lame's eyes became as he discovered a new direction. In the past, the only methods he knew for connecting two things were using ropes or vines that could be used like ropes. However, now, the Divine Child has created a remarkably sturdy ladder without tying with ropes.
For the passionate craftsman like the Lame, this accomplishment was comparable to the night of adulthood, when he opened a new door to a whole new world.
"Divine Child!"
Growing more excited as he thought about it, the Lame released the ladder and respectfully saluted Han Cheng, calling out with excitement.
This act of respect was how the members of the Green Sparrow Tribe expressed their admiration for Han Cheng. Even the highly respected Shaman rarely received such treatment.
The Shaman, too, was observing the ladder. In his perspective, the ladder created by the Divine Child was indeed more exquisite than those tied with ropes. However, it didn't reach the level of excitement that would make him ecstatic.
The Lame wouldn't be so thrilled for nothing.
This was the cognitive bias brought about by different professions.
For example, the clay tablet that brought joy to the Shaman for inscribing words was just decent in the eyes of the Lame.
As an enthusiastic craftsman, Han Cheng mostly left the ladder-making process to himself. He only provided guidance when there were certain aspects the Lame didn't understand.
It's worth mentioning that Han Cheng had already created a ruler.
With the increasing production of various items, there needed to be certain standards to ensure the aesthetics and easy replacement of damaged parts. Additionally, Han Cheng wanted a relatively accurate measuring tool.
The ruler was simple to make. He found some straight wooden sticks and removed the outer bark, leaving the white inner part. He estimated a length of ten centimeters first. Then, using this ten-centimeter piece as a standard, he extended it step by step to create rulers of one meter, one and a half meters, or even two and a half meters.
After estimating the distance of ten centimeters, he evenly marked the ruler with zero to ten, with numbers labeled at each centimeter. After finishing the markings, he rubbed a bit of wood charcoal on them, instantly making the initially unclear marks clear.
Likewise, using this ten-centimeter wooden stick as a reference, he accurately marked other sticks of different lengths to the centimeter. He made another small vertical mark in the middle of each centimeter, indicating half a centimeter.
For the current Green Sparrow Tribe, accuracy to the centimeter was already sufficient. Although Han Cheng's estimated ten-centimeter distance might differ somewhat from the exact ten centimeters in the future, he wasn't worried. His standard would be accurate as long as he could maintain this standard and ensure that the rulers produced later were the same length as the initial ten-centimeter piece.
So, Han Cheng took great care to preserve the initially measured ten-centimeter wooden segment.
After discussing the importance of this tool with the Shaman and stressing its significance, the Shaman, not entirely grasping the Divine Child's words, placed it on the sacred stone tablet in front of the totem pole, where the feathered crown and bone staff were kept. This place was the holiest and safest in the entire Green Sparrow Tribe.
The Shaman didn't fully understand why the seemingly ordinary wooden stick suddenly became so important, but since the Divine Child regarded it with such gravity, it couldn't be wrong.
Manufacturing rulers was a meticulous task that couldn't afford any negligence. To craft these tools properly, Han Cheng dedicated several days, working continuously, before finally completing the task.
However, rulers made from wooden sticks had shortcomings, particularly in length. They were suitable for measuring shorter objects, but they became extremely inconvenient to use once the length increased.
Therefore, the tape measure came into existence.
The materials for the tape measure were simple twisted ropes.
Han Cheng cut two lengths of rope, one measuring ten meters and the other five meters, both measured using the previously standardized ruler.
Starting from the beginning, every ten centimeters, he tied a small knot with a single strand of rope grass. At the one-meter mark, he used a thin rope made by twisting two strands together and tied a large knot. This perfectly solved the issue of leaving markings on the rope.
These two tape measures were mainly used to measure large distances, such as the foundations of the courtyard wall and the gaps between house beams. They didn't require extreme precision, and markings every ten centimeters were sufficient.
The finished tape measures were wrapped around short wooden sticks. When in use, they could be pulled out; when not, they could be wrapped around the sticks again.
To familiarize the tribe members with the concept of rulers and teach them how to use these tools, Han Cheng put considerable effort into explaining, using numerous words to gradually make them accept and understand what rulers were and how to use them.
In understanding and using rulers, the fastest learner was not Stone, who had an innate talent for Chinese and characters, but Lame.
This might be related to his engagement in weaving fish traps, rafts, fences, and other items over the past year. Since these things required specific dimensions, his frequent exposure naturally made him comprehend and use rulers faster than the average person.
Next were Hei Wa, the tribe's top potter, and then Shi Tou.
Among the people in the tribe, Han Cheng admired Lame the most.
Due to the injury to his leg, he had experienced the sorrow of becoming a burden. Therefore, when Han Cheng appeared and brought him some hope, he clung to it desperately.
In this way, after more than a year had passed, looking back, it would be surprising to find that he had acquired so much, much of which far exceeded the abilities of an ordinary person.
Lame held a piece of charcoal in one hand and a one-meter ruler in the other, gesturing and muttering softly as he laid it flat on the ground against a wooden post. After a while, he would leave marks on the wooden post using the black charcoal.
He appeared somewhat like a woodworker from the future.
He was finding the points where he needed to create mortises.
To manufacture a wooden ladder, the mortises on the two side pillars used to insert the crossbars had to align; otherwise, when it was time to fit the crossbars, they would either not fit or be loosely attached.
He was immersed in his work, unaware of the approving look in Han Cheng's eyes as he stood on the side.
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