Chapter 136: Earth breaking for Houses
Today, Han Cheng seemed very happy, and Shaman also appeared energetic. Not only them but the entire Green Sparrow Tribe was enveloped in an inexplicable excitement and anticipation.
At the beginning of spring, many of them had gradually learned from the words of the Divine Child or others that the Divine Child intended to build something better than the deer pen, called a "house," for the tribe's people to live in.
The house was more spacious than caves, cleaner, and brighter inside. Moreover, it was warmer than caves in winter.
The concept of cleanliness was vague to them before the Divine Child arrived. Sometimes, they would consciously or unconsciously do some cleaning, but it was not systematic.
After the Divine Child arrived, they were taught to brush their teeth, wash their faces, bathe, clean animal skins, and sweep caves. After doing all these things, they realized this was what cleanliness meant.
Clean and tidy things always look comforting, and primitive people were no exception.
If Han Cheng had talked about cleanliness when he first arrived last year, adding this advantage to the promotion of houses, the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe would have had little understanding. They might even wonder what cleanliness was and whether cleanliness could fill their stomachs.
But now, things were different. Even without Han Cheng's words, there was no one in the tribe who would deliberately make themselves dirty.
Of course, except when working.
Even if they got dirty while working, they would bathe in the evening. It was unlike before when they didn't know if they could bathe once a year.
After learning about the many benefits of houses, they naturally had great expectations for such a good place to live. However, the Divine Child said the walls needed to be raised before they could start building the houses. So, they could only look forward to it and occasionally fantasize about a house better than the deer pen.
After such a long period of anticipation, the walls were finally built, and the Divine Child was finally going to lead everyone in building houses. How could they not be excited?
Even the Senior Brothers and others actively requested to shorten the rest time, changing the three days after building the walls to just one day.
Under the gaze of the Green Sparrow Tribe, Han Cheng, who had only seen the construction of houses but had never been involved, calmly measured the foundation with the rope-made tape measure he had made earlier, with the assistance of the Lame.
Those in the Green Sparrow Tribe who didn't know the truth gathered around, looking at him with admiration as if he were a Divine Child who knew everything. Lame, who was helping out, was so excited that his face turned slightly red. Once, he almost stumbled and fell.
"Here."
Han Cheng pointed to a small mark on the ground using a wooden stick wrapped with a tape measure, then turned around and said.
The Eldest Senior Brother, following along, quickly brought over a stick that was more than a meter long, with a diameter of two centimeters, one end burnt black and sharpened in the fire.
He aimed the pointed end of the stick at the mark Han Cheng had just made and held it vertically with one hand while using the other to hold a stone and hammer it down.
After a few hits, this straight stick stood firmly in place.
Four sticks appeared on this open ground once this wooden stick was nailed down. Following Han Cheng's instructions, the Eldest Senior Brother connected these four sticks with a thin rope, forming a space that was ten meters long and five meters wide.
"Dig."
Han Cheng said again.
The people waiting on the side with bone shovels immediately took action. Divided into four groups, they started digging along these four lines.
While Han Cheng worked with Lame to measure the land, dividing the north-south rectangular space evenly into three sections, the foundation's position was completely determined after nailing four wooden stakes and pulling two lines.
This house was located on the west side of the cave entrance, about ten meters from the mountain wall.
When the house was completed, just like the cave's orientation, it faced north to south, which was conducive to capturing sunlight.
The people of the Green Sparrow Tribe were already skilled in using bone shovels, making digging a common task. By the afternoon, several 40 centimeters wide and 40 centimeters deep trenches had been excavated.
Since they were digging along the lines, there was no need to worry about irregularities in the trenches.
While the Senior Brothers excavated the foundation, those who couldn't do the digging were not idle. Under Han Cheng's arrangement, they were preparing for the next step.
Instead of cutting wooden sticks or grinding wooden stakes, they went outside to find stones.
After thinking it over, Han Cheng felt that the walls built when constructing the deer pen, with mud smeared outside the wooden planks, were not sturdy enough. So, he wanted to change.
"Snap, snap."
Han Cheng placed several stones in two woven baskets made of tree branches.
He lifted one basket toward this side, adjusting the distance between them.
Then, he took the long flat pole leaning against the large rock from one side, threaded it onto the handle made of curved wooden sticks, and placed it on his shoulders, with one woven basket on each end. The middle of the pole was on his shoulder.
In a half-squatting position, Han Cheng half-extended his arms, holding onto the pole. He pressed one hand against one woven basket to prevent it from sliding inside.
Then, he exerted force, standing up from the ground.
The baskets filled with stones were very heavy, bending the pole slightly, and as Han Cheng walked, they swayed up and down.
Han Cheng had mastered the technique of carrying things, walking in rhythm with the swaying of the pole.
This way, he could save some energy, and the things on the pole were less likely to fall.
Currently, they were carrying stones, so it wasn't very obvious. But if it were carrying water in clay pots without mastering the technique, by the time they walked from the river to the tribe, half of the water in the pot might be spilled.
Han Cheng did not carry the stones into the tribe. Instead, he came to the west side of the wall, put down the pole, and threw the stones one by one toward the wall with force.
This was not because Han Cheng wanted to show off his strength by practicing throwing stones or intentionally not carrying the stones to the side of the wall. Instead, it was because the protective trench on the outside of the wall had taken shape with the increasing height of the wall. Carrying stones down to the trench and climbing up again was too troublesome. It was easier to throw them directly.
When there was a pile on that side, they would use the previous method to load these stones onto the baskets, pull them up with a rope, and place them inside the wall.
Of course, this was only for stones that were not too large. If the stones were too big, they could only carry them around the wall from the back of the mountain, enter the courtyard from the south gate, and then walk north to place the stones where the houses were being built.
In this way, they had to walk at least twice the distance, so when looking for stones, they tried to find ones with appropriate sizes.
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