I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 6 A Log House Can't Be Without a Fireplace
When exploring the wild, many seemingly useless things will eventually come in handy for unknown reasons.

When laying the foundation, Luc dug out a batch of rubble, which now finally came in handy.

Ever since he successfully made salt the day before yesterday, Luke's heart has been filled with a burning sense of happiness.

Strictly speaking, those salts could not be called salt at all compared to the fine salt that Luc had eaten before. Without excessive filtering, they could only barely be called coarse salt.

It not only tastes salty, but also bitter and gritty. However, it still increased Luc's appetite as he was eating grilled fish that day. After all, it finally tasted a bit salty!

Sometimes things are so wonderful. When one good thing happens, other good things will follow. Yesterday, the deerskin was successfully soaked and taken to a cool and ventilated place by Luc to wait for the tanning to be completed; the yellow mud on the roof was also dried, so he took a lot of thatch to lay it. Because the gaps between the wood had been carefully coated, not a single piece of thatch fell into the house.

To prevent the thatch from being blown off by the wind, Luc also made some wooden forks to hold them down.

In addition, Luc also did some odd jobs: such as repairing the details of the wooden house, successfully hunting a hare again, etc.

Today, Luc's goal will be to build the fireplace!
The gravel just mentioned is one of the materials
The benefits of a fireplace are obvious. Without a fireplace, Luc had to carefully build a fire with stones in the house every night to keep warm, for fear that a fire would burn down the entire wooden house if he was not careful. With a fireplace, this problem will be solved.
Moreover, the benefits of a fireplace are not limited to this. It also has strong heat preservation capabilities. After the flame goes out, the stone fireplace can still keep the entire wooden house warm. If you want to spend the winter safely, a fireplace is essential.

A fireplace doesn't require many tools and materials, just clay and gravel. It tests one's craftsmanship.

After getting the clay ready, Luc began to study how to build a fireplace.

After walking around the cabin, Luc had an idea:

Luc first used several head-sized stones to form a semicircle in the southeast corner of the wooden house, near the wooden door, then glued the stones with clay, and then used a wooden shovel and shield to get some fine soil and sprinkled it in, repeating this process until he had built three layers of stones.

Use a wooden spatula to carefully smooth the top layer of fine soil, and the stove is ready.

The second step is the fireplace.

The fireplace requires a lot of gravel, and the stones dug out from the foundation are basically all used here.
The stove was covered with stones and glued in place with yellow mud. Then, a circle of about five layers of stones was piled up close to the wall of the wooden house and glued in place. The stones looked like a circle of hollow cylinders, with only the fireplace door facing Luc left.

The next step is a test for Luc: how to build the arch?

In order to ensure the fireplace is sealed, except for the stove door, the exterior is tightly closed, leaving only the interior space. The key is how to build a vacuum interior of the fireplace.

Of course Luc has a way.

I first chopped a piece of wood into two short pieces, then found some flexible branches. I placed three sticks upright, with the long one in the middle, at the entrance to the stove. Then I selected some suitable stones and built an arc on top of the wood. After the yellow mud was applied to the wall, I took out the wood and an arch appeared!
"The rest is easy. I just need to bend the branches and put them in the fireplace, and then pile gravel and mud on top. But there aren't enough stones, so I have to get some more."

Luc wiped the sweat from his head. At this point, the only thing left to be completed was the chimney.

After drinking some water, Luc brought more stones and built all the fireplaces in the house. He made the fireplaces higher and narrower until the chimney was as wide and narrow as before. Then he went out and climbed onto the roof, opened the gap he had reserved before, and continued building.

When the sun was directly overhead, Luc finally built a chimney that rose above the roof to prevent leaks. He then laid two separate stones on the top layer, finally covering it with a flat stone slab. Returning to the ground floor and opening the wooden door, Luc stepped back a few steps to observe. Most of the fireplace came into view, squatting inside the house like a beast, full of power and majesty.

Because the fireplace would dry more slowly inside the house, but Luc had already begun to imagine the scene where he would use it to cook and keep warm!

"Let's take advantage of this opportunity and build the bed!"

After lunch, Luc took a rest and then followed the same procedure. Just like building a fireplace, he built a stone bed on the northernmost side of the cabin. It was two feet high, two and a half feet wide, and six and a half feet long. He covered the bed with soft thatch that had been patted clean and dried in the sun for an afternoon. After the deerskin was tanned, he would lay the deerskin on top. A comfortable bed would replace the hard ground that would never come back!

Thanks to Luc's work efficiency, it was not even dusk yet. Looking at his masterpiece with satisfaction, Luc suddenly had an idea. He took out the antlers, nailed wooden nails on the wall above the door, and hung a pair of ferocious antlers on both sides.

Suddenly, a wild and primitive sense of killing came over me!

Looking at everything in front of him, Luc was a little dazed. After six days, he finally built a residence that could barely be called a house!
The whole house faces south and is about one and a half meters tall, ten feet wide and fourteen feet long. It is made of wood and earth and has a thatched sloping roof.

On the wall to the left of the door, there was a window left open by Luc, and the curtains were made of rafts made of short logs of rattan.

As soon as you enter the door, there is a fireplace in the right corner. If you look closely, you can find a small pit in front of the fireplace, surrounded by small stones. That is where the mosquito repellent straw is burned; on the west side is a wooden hinge, the shield is placed under the hinge, the wooden shovel is placed in the corner, the mattock, axe, helmet, and leaves used to hold salt are placed on the hinge table, and there is a wooden block next to it, neatly arranged.

At the deepest part, there is a horizontal earthen bed. A cross sword and chain mail are placed between the head of the bed and the wooden house, filled with a strong martial spirit.

The sun shines down through the gaps in the leaves, bathing the wooden house.

The cool mountain breeze blew and turned a corner here.

Although the whole cabin is not fully equipped, it has taken shape and can temporarily withstand wind, rain and wild beasts!

Of course, construction is far from over.

Don't forget, this is just a temporary residence, the real house hasn't been built yet!
But that was a long time in the future, and he had other things to do right now.

After dinner, it was dusk. Luke took advantage of the last bit of warm sunshine, took off his linen clothes, revealing his strong muscles, and swam naked into the stream.

The stream reflected Luc's resolute face: brown hair, blue eyes, a high nose, deep eyes, and a thick beard hanging from his chin, making him look mature and steady.

Washing off the thick mud and tangled hair and beard, the warm stream water caressed his muscles, making Luc close his eyes involuntarily and feel the comfort for a moment.

After today, tomorrow will be another busy day.

(End of this chapter)