I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 66 Pottery
Bears are animals that Luc doesn't want to come into contact with at this stage.

It is different from wild boars and wolves.

The wild boar Luc knew the location of the cave opposite, and that it was on the only way out of the forest, so he used traps to hunt.

The wolves were actively harassing, and Luc had to fight back passively.

As for the brown bear, firstly, he didn't know where his territory was, and secondly, he didn't have the right manpower. As long as the other party didn't invade his land for the time being, the two sides could keep to themselves.

"Master, clearing wasteland is really a hard job."

Ryan swallowed the last bite of bread and suddenly rubbed his hair, feeling a little irritated. Because of Luke's mandatory order, Ryan's hair was washed frequently and was much smoother than before.

"The land is five times more cultivated than last year, nearly an acre, but the Percheron has lost a lot of weight, sir. It would be nice if we had a cow."

Although Henry's warhorse had a back injury, Luc still valued this only means of transportation. Most of the time, it was Robert who went to plow the land, which made the progress of land reclamation not very fast. Fortunately, Luc had a method of fertilizing, and he did not need too much land to feed six mouths.

"We must think of a way to get some cattle to open up the land, but cattle are usually the most valuable property in the village, and no one will sell them."

Cattle have always been important property in the farming era, and the tiny village of Ward didn't even have any cattle. If anyone dared to take the risk, they could easily get rich by stealing cattle.

"Let's take it one step at a time. Anyway, the soil has been turned over recently. We can just wait and plant the seeds in two months."

Luc also had a headache. It seemed that the most basic needs of the forest were met, but upon closer inspection, there was still a lot missing.

Let’s not talk about anything else, just talk about pottery.

With the arrival of Robert's family and the emergence of supplies such as oil, the amount of pottery began to become insufficient. It was impossible for Luc to spend a week traveling to Cooper Castle to exchange one or two bowls every time, so he came up with the idea of ​​making his own pottery.

The next morning, Ryan took Mary to pick apples at Luc's instruction, and he planned to see if he could make pottery.

Luc has experience in making bricks. To some extent, pottery and brick making are similar, and there is no need to build a pottery kiln, a brick kiln can be used as a substitute.

Luke first looked for soil suitable for firing pottery. After searching for a while, he finally found some soil suitable for making pottery at the foot of the mountain. The surface of these clods of soil was reddish-brown and looked like soil that could withstand high temperatures.

He ordered Mary to come and take away half the wheelbarrow, and then Luc took a hammer and smashed them one by one into small pieces. Then he brought a bucket of water, poured it in, and waited for it to be diluted.

This is the second most commonly used technological means that Luc has discovered during this period, besides wood ash.

When the dilution is almost done, yes, the second step is filtering. Anyway, the pottery will be baked next, and Luc doesn't mind the dirt. He uses the linen clothes he wore before as a filter cloth to keep the impurities out, and the remaining mud and water continue to dry until it becomes solid soil again.

At this time, the basic materials for pottery were available.

The re-solidified soil always feels like a red mud cake and is soft in the hand.

While the adults were working, Luc called over Miller and Julie, who were relatively free, and asked them to bring a small bucket to join him in shaping the prototypes of pottery. Playing with mud was a real treat for them, and they didn't need Luc's instructions. Upon hearing Luc's instructions, they immediately followed his lead, methodically rolling the clay into a round shape, then pressing it into a bowl-shaped base, setting it aside while Luc pinched the rim upwards.

Luc didn't want to make large pottery. He knew he didn't have the ability. Large pottery not only required a larger kiln, but also required the mastery of skills such as throwing. He just wanted to make some commonly used bowls and pots.

Actually, it would be nice to let Ryan make a wooden bowl, but the process is too tiring, it would be better to just make pottery directly.

Luc dipped one of the adobe blocks in water and rolled it into a long strip, then stuck it to the bottom of the bowl. He then took a slightly curved branch and trimmed the surface bit by bit, and then polished the inside with a wooden scraper until it became extremely smooth.

One big and two small ones, after half a day, they made about ten pottery pieces. After a short period of air drying, they began to try to fire the pottery.

During the time in Nietao, Ryan picked a lot of apples. According to Luc's instructions, some of them were dried into apples to be eaten in the winter.

Because they were continuously cutting down trees, the location of the apple orchard had become clearer from the cabin. One of Luc's road construction plans included a road leading to the apple orchard.

It is called a road, but in fact it is just a dirt path left by pulling out the grass. The road is divided into three parts: one is the apple orchard, one leads to the charcoal kiln, and one is in the center of the wooden house, going straight to both sides of the farmland.

At Luc's special order, the newly reclaimed farmland by Robert and others was not turned into a whole, but was divided into two parts, one on each side of the dirt road. According to Luc's expectation, the north side was mainly planted with grains, large and small black oats, and the right side was planted with various vegetables, such as parsnips, lettuce, wild garlic, wild leeks, etc.

To this end, Luc made a few more scarecrows and tried his best to fence in the new farmland.

However, as the fields expand, the scope of the fence will also increase, and there will always be a day when it can no longer be enclosed. There are many animals in the mountains that steal food, and squirrels and voles often visit.

Several times when Robert went into the field, he saw holes dug by voles. He then poured water in to pull the voles out and kill them.

Luc gave Robert a special right: if he found any animals stealing food in the fields, he could kill them and all the food would belong to him. This made Robert very motivated.

By the time Ryan had picked most of the pieces, the pottery was basically finished, and the last step was to fire it.

Open the previous brick kiln, carefully place more than ten pieces of pottery inside, and follow the same process as when baking bricks. Cover the vault, and all that is left is to start the fire.

Why is it said that pottery firing and brick firing are very similar? Because their boiling points are similar. However, Luc did not use charcoal. He was afraid that the temperature of the charcoal would be too high and crack the pottery the first time.

Luc has no shortage of charcoal. There are plenty of trees around him. As long as he is willing to invest time and energy, he can have as much charcoal as he wants.

Naturally, Robert's family also enjoyed the convenience of charcoal. Miller expertly lit the wood, and after a night of firing, when Luc broke open the vault the next morning, he discovered that only five of the twelve pottery pieces had been successfully fired. The rest had either shattered or were simply deformed.
“Is the pottery production rate so low, or is it simply because the craftsmanship is not good enough?”

“I think it’s the latter.”

Forget it, five pieces are five pieces, it’s better than nothing!
"Miller, you've been following my steps in making pottery. Now I'm giving you a task. Make ten more pottery pieces. If you can, all the pottery work in the mountains will be yours."

Miller nodded obediently, but Robert, who heard their conversation, came over immediately, pulled Miller to his knees, and kept thanking Luke for his kindness.

Miller didn't understand, but Robert knew very well that Master Luke was giving Miller a skill to make a living!
And most importantly, this right was given to Miller, which is more important than the craft itself!
(End of this chapter)