We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 97 Preparations Before Copper Refining
As the boat docked and Xia Minghao entered the cave, he immediately spotted Big Orange chasing its wolf cubs around.

The last time I came back, I saw the orange tabby practicing backflips. It turns out it was learning how to escape from prison, and it actually managed to get out.

However, no one dared to approach. Even though the orange tabby was no match for the size of an adult saber-toothed tiger, it was still quite imposing, especially when it chased the wolf cubs, it was incredibly powerful.

"Ouch!"

The wolf cub was eventually tackled by the orange tabby and cried out in terror.

But instead of using its two immature, sharp teeth to pierce the wolf cub's neck, the big orange dog stretched out its tongue, whose barbs hadn't fully grown yet, and began to lick it.

It's as if it's saying, "Bro, you smell so good..."

Before she could get her fill of licking, fate's neck was once again grabbed by Xia Minghao's large hand, and she instantly became obedient.

Xia Minghao casually tossed the orange cat towards the fence, then returned the wolf cub to Wangcai's den, only to discover a somewhat unexpected situation.

How come all of these dozen or so houses have been built?
This speed completely exceeded Xia Minghao's expectations. Even if the efficiency was really that high, there shouldn't be enough bricks.

"How did you guys build this?"

Xia Minghao grabbed a person and asked him a question, but the person from the Li clan replied...

“We built it at night and during the day, and we’ve built it all.”

Cover it at night, and cover it during the day too?

Seeing the obvious fatigue on the man's face, Xia Minghao immediately understood.

Then I thought of the scene I had seen before, where everyone was building houses, urging each other on, because each mud house might be their own, so they were all supervising and urging each other on.

These primitive people had truly abundant energy and an unexpectedly high level of initiative.

They actually stayed up all night building a house!
But immediately, a sense of worry arose in Xia Minghao's heart.

He walked into the pile of newly built houses, looked at them carefully, and took out the suspension line.

Sure enough, while building the house late into the night, relying on the firelight for visibility, the problems with the walls of this earthen house, though not visible to the naked eye, became apparent once the suspension wires were installed.

It's a little crooked...

Fortunately, it was a small house. If it had been a proper mud house like those in the countryside, there would most likely have been problems.

After Xia Minghao's observation, his previous doubts were also resolved.

Where did the bricks that could build these dozen or so houses come from?

It turns out that the brick blanks that hadn't dried enough were fired a day early.

Fortunately, it was just bricks, not pottery; otherwise, if they hadn't dried properly before firing, they would have all been ruined.

It seems that although some bricks have a few cracks, they will not affect their use.

Xia Minghao frowned more and more deeply, stroking his chin as he pondered.

They focused so much on subjective initiative that they forgot about the blindness of these primitive people.

Once I left the Xia tribe, I didn't keep a close eye on things, and this is what happened.

Fortunately, it has come to light now; if it had been left undetected for a long time, who knows how much damage it would have caused.

It seems necessary to set up a system as soon as possible so that the Xia tribe can continue to operate normally even when I am not around.

It's so worrying...

One problem after another arises. It's best to wait until private ownership is fully implemented before making any plans, and select "management talents" from the Xia tribe.

When Xia Minghao turned around, he saw that everyone had gathered around the pile of malachite and tin that had just been unloaded from the ship and was piled up like a small hill.

Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen, and discussions arose everywhere.

Bathed in the glow of dusk, the already dazzling malachite and tin were now shrouded in a rosy light, making them exceptionally radiant.

"Everyone, grind this stone into powder. Lipa, you take some men and grind this into powder. Shifa, you take some men and grind that into powder."

Xia Minghao gave the order to everyone.

Grinding the minerals into powder reduces the difficulty of melting, increases the contact area between the minerals, and increases the reaction rate.

This is also the first step in extracting metals from minerals.

The metal is refined, fused into an alloy, poured into a mold, and removed after cooling.

This is the overall idea behind turning copper and tin ore into truly useful bronze artifacts.

Seeing everyone busy at work, Xia Minghao also started making molds out of clay.

First, they practiced by creating a sun-shaped mold. This was naturally to make a medal for Liba and the others later, and also to test the most suitable copper-tin ratio through the finished product.

"Chief, how much powder is enough?"

At this moment, Lipa came over and asked.

Hearing Lipa's words, Xia Minghao glanced at the pottery and was surprised to find that they had actually produced a pot of malachite powder and cassiterite powder.

There really is strength in numbers.

"Go and get the malachite, and have Hifa take some men to wash all these people clean."

Washing is a crucial step after rinsing the ingredients. First, the mixture is filtered through a mesh made of tree bark, and finally, it is filtered again with a fine mesh bag taken from my own bag.

This is the only way to maximize the purity of the metal that will be extracted.

Lipa and his men continued to painstakingly crush the malachite and tin with large stones, while Shifa led his men to the riverbank to carefully begin the filtering and washing process.

As darkness fell, Xia Minghao finished making the second mold.

hammer!

Once the hammer is made in the early stages, it will be much easier to crush malachite and cassiterite, and later it can be directly used as a tool for forging iron. It can be said to be the most cost-effective bronze tool, so Xia Minghao chose to make this first.

Then came the excavation of the mine.

Burning ore is not like other kilns; ventilation must be ensured. The stronger the wind, the stronger the fire, and naturally, the higher the temperature.

Therefore, Xia Minghao created a kiln shaped like a communicating vessel, so that air blowing in from one side could flow freely out from the other side.

By the time the mine was excavated, it was already dark. Three jars of malachite powder and one jar of tin powder were brought to Xia Minghao.

I took one out and examined its quality; it was indeed meticulously made, and it met my needs to a great extent.

Seeing the exhausted expressions on the faces of the crowd, Xia Minghao pondered for a moment and then decided not to let them continue with other tasks.

After all, I haven't slept all night. If I continue with this high-intensity work, I might end up getting hurt.

"Have a meal!"

At the command, smiles appeared on everyone's faces; the happiest mealtime had arrived.

Today's food is no longer limited to wolf, bear, and tiger meat, but consists of some novelties.

Of course, the Da tribe sent taro, quite a lot of it, piled up like a small mountain.

The taro was also thrown into the pot and stewed with the meat, making the soup thicker.

The meat in the pot had become fresh, and it was something the Xia tribe had never seen before.

Xia Minghao immediately recognized one of them as a fox. According to the person on duty today who was in charge of trading with the strange tree region, this was the "offering to the sun god" by Aisha's tribe.

Their tribe also received a small amount of red salt as a "gift".

These are prices that Xia Minghao specifically instructed. Salt and other items can be given, but pottery should be given sparingly, or not at all if possible.

It's not just because pottery is a non-consumable item, and its value would depreciate if there were too many of them; it's also because the special pottery intended for shipment to the Strange Tree region hadn't been fired yet.

These specially made pottery pieces are different from those given to the Da tribe. They are decorated with various images of the "Sun God" designed by Xia Minghao, which will increase his dominance in the Strange Tree region.

Besides foxes, there is another animal that looks like a pig, with a similar body size but a short, round nose, much like the tapir that Xia Minghao saw in the animal documentary.

This was only the second day of trading with the Strange Tree region, and only four tribes had been traded with. The meat they had obtained was already enough to meet the protein needs of more than twenty people.

If the Xia tribe makes contact with all ten tribes in the future, it will only take a short time to produce "hard currency," which will be enough to meet the entire tribe's meat consumption needs.

No wonder the Divine Tree tribe has produced so many fat people; the meat resources productivity in the Strange Tree region is extremely high.

In addition, at Xia Minghao's request, the Strange Tree region also sent a lot of plants.

Aisha even divided them into two piles: a small pile that was edible and a large pile that was inedible.

Most of what's edible are common wild vegetables, with little agricultural value.

There weren't many surprises among the inedible items, except for the cattail!

He picked up a cattail that looked like a starch sausage, lit it in the fire, and a fresh scent of thatch mixed with reeds instantly wafted out.

"It smells so good..."

The scent spread from near to far, centered on Xia Minghao, and many who smelled it couldn't help but comment.

Cattails are not just fragrant; their scent can also repel mosquitoes. They don't burn very quickly, so they can be used as temporary torches. Now that we have houses, they are perfect for lighting the house.

Moreover, after the cattail is broken, the fluffy stuff inside can also keep you warm, making it the best substitute when there is no cotton available.

Besides, cattails are also edible, but it's not the head that's edible, but the root.

Cattail roots are a wonderful ingredient that Bear Grylls calls "natural pasta."

Since Aisha categorized it as inedible, its roots and stems are probably not even edible.

Who's going to the swamp tomorrow?

Xia Minghao asked the crowd who were engrossed in smelling the fragrance, and a man from the Li clan stepped forward.

"If you see Aisha tomorrow, tell her that the root of this thing is edible and delicious. But you don't need to send it over, just send the thing itself."

"Yes……"

Having understood the chief's words, the man revealed a hint of cowardice.

He had heard of Aisha from the men who had been to the swamp.

He said this woman named Aisha always shouted something about the sun god and would make strange gestures, which frightened him.

He hadn't intended to say a word to Aisha, but now, under the chief's orders, he had no choice but to do so.

"Chief, what's the use of grinding those beautiful stones into powder? Can they be used to make even more beautiful pottery?"

Just then, Shia's voice came through.

These words also aroused the curiosity of others, but Xia Minghao did not intend to answer.

"You'll find out tomorrow!"

……

Night had fallen, and Damon sat in the house, his brow furrowed with worry.

Today, we have received Dali's request and the wise man's approval...

Making Dali the regular mating partner of the Xia tribe chief is something Damon has to consider.

But this was a problem that Damon had never considered. If Xia Minghao hadn't appeared, this was something Damon might never have needed to think about until his death: intermarriage between tribes.

(End of this chapter)