Chapter 376 - 162: May (10,000 Words Completed!) (Part 2)
As long as he could find time, one would always see him sitting in front of the white clay board, drawing line after line with his charcoal-stained black hands.
To better practice drawing, Saturday would get up early every day, start a fire to prepare meals, and then use the meal time on Sunday to line up his sketches on the white clay board.
This extraordinary dedication moved Chen Zhou deeply.
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Upon realizing Saturday’s passion for drawing, Chen Zhou decided to take a day off from forging and specifically wrote a beginner’s sketch manual for him.
The manual included not only basic lines and shading techniques but also discussed the importance of perspective and light and shadow.
It almost contained all of Chen Zhou’s knowledge of sketching, even teaching Saturday how to practice still life.
Chen Zhou believed that as long as Saturday could persist in his practice, progressing step by step, one day he would surpass him by far in sketching.
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The two natives were living, vibrant human beings, both at the most energetic stage of their lives.
Sometimes, seeing them reminded Chen Zhou of his younger self. He was about ten years older than these two natives and always took on an elder’s role when interacting with them.
The two natives were also willing to listen to him.
At first, perhaps it was out of fear due to the unpredictable power of the firearms and Chen Zhou’s imposing stature and differences that they were forced to obey orders.
But after more than a hundred days and increasing contact, the two had come to genuinely respect Chen Zhou.
They respected Chen Zhou’s strength, but they respected even more his wisdom and vision.
Spanning hundreds of years, Chen Zhou, carrying on the long history of the Huaxia Civilization, always offered unique insights on certain matters, pinpointing the root causes of conflicts within their tribe and the superficial nature of the Leader and Priest.
This almost "philosophical" thought often enlightened the two, further deepening their sense of admiration.
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Of course, the transformation of the natives was not achieved overnight.
Chen Zhou was pleased to see these changes without having resorted to sheer force.
If "domestication" were to be defined, he felt this was true domestication, or perhaps education.
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Time flew by, and soon it was mid-April.
The long two-month rainy season was coming to an end, and the charcoal reserves in the Forging Room were depleted.
Yet, their use was worthwhile.
Relying on increasingly skilled forging techniques, Chen Zhou steadily explored and forged many tools he needed.
These included more than twenty hammers of various sizes and shapes, the largest weighing over ten pounds, and the smallest over a pound, each serving a purpose for crafting different items.
Additionally, there were tools like iron clamps, shovels, punches, and chisels, which not only facilitated the forging process but also enhanced Chen Zhou’s safety during forging.
In early April, Chen Zhou attempted to forge a small iron anvil for himself.
The design of this anvil was simple, and after forging, he meticulously polished its surface with a grindstone.
While not as comfortable as a professional anvil, it sufficed for Chen Zhou’s current needs.
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During the long practice, with his contact with metals, Chen Zhou remarkably recalled some knowledge he had learned long ago.
For example, the main characteristics of hematite (red ore), magnetite (black ore), limonite, and siderite, plus the differences between wrought iron and pig iron.
As well as white cast iron, gray cast iron, and ductile iron—the characteristics and uses of several types of pig iron.
The differences between low carbon steel, medium carbon steel, and high carbon steel, and the performance of alloy steels like chrome steel, manganese steel, chroma-manganese steel, and chromium-nickel steel, made by adding alloy elements.
After not engaging with these materials for years, he thought this knowledge would be buried forever in the depths of memory but never expected them to see the light of day again.
He thought his ability to recall this valuable knowledge was partly due to having reviewed related materials dozens of times during school, leaving a deep impression in his memory.
On the other hand, it might be because the experiences summarized through practice corresponded with that knowledge, dragging familiar things back into view.
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In any case, recalling this knowledge was worth celebrating.
As he slowly reminisced, Chen Zhou feared he might forget again, so he carefully documented this knowledge on paper, serving as an extra layer of insurance, in case it might come in handy someday.
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Apart from past knowledge, the forging experience accumulated through practice was also immensely valuable.
Thousands of repeated forgings had resulted in a detailed process forming in Chen Zhou’s mind—
The first detail in forging was dealing with fuel, choosing high-quality charcoal that was black and shiny, then crushing it to ensure it could burn fully.
After ignition, heat the metal block, and during repeated forging, if higher metal strength was desired, gradually elongate the rough billet, then fold and forge to remove impurities within the metal.
When the rough billet is forged into a suitable shape, one can use a smaller hammer to slowly refine the shape.
If forging swords and knives, before quenching, relight the fire, reheating the sword or knife blank before quenching, as this step involves heat treatment.
For ordinary household tools, such as sickles, hammers, pick heads, spades, chisels, crowbars, pots, and bowls, there is not much sophistication involved; as long as the shape is not too skewed, they can be used functionally.
However, the art of forging weapons is a greater challenge.
A well-crafted weapon not only requires consideration of sturdiness and sharpness but also balance, center of gravity, weight, and edge strength; if forging a sword, handling the sword’s spine is also necessary.
Finally, selecting materials for the hilt and handguard is not a simple task.
While Chen Zhou now had the confidence to forge various shapes of hammers and pick heads, he dared not easily claim he could forge a decent kitchen knife.
The more he understood, the more he realized his own ignorance, especially within such a profound and extensive craft.
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Upon entering the dry season, Chen Zhou originally intended to start producing more advanced firearms.
He was even ready to melt lead plates and use the lost-wax method to manufacture Mini Bullets, but seeing the smokeless coal piled in the corner of the Forging Room stopped this impulsive idea in its tracks.
He believed his forging skills were not yet sufficient to support the manufacturing of all firearm components, and starting rashly would only waste these precious fuels.
"To be safe, it’s better to burn two more kilns of charcoal and continue to practice for a while!"
He thought.
Aside from forging, with the arrival of the dry season allowing for outside work, there were also many pressing tasks.
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For instance, the watchtower and beacon halfway up the mountain.
Now it was the dry season, with heavy seas greatly reduced, according to what Sunday described, this was the best time for the Great Tribe to send people to the island to scout the situation.
To prevent unexpected events, Chen Zhou had to temporarily put aside forging and first build the structures responsible for reconnaissance to ensure peace of mind.
There was also the matter of the supplies stored in the camp in the mountain’s foothills.
This rainy season, those shacks underwent another round of repairs.
Over two years of exposure to the elements had almost entirely destroyed the fragile wooden structures and canvas.
Luckily, the storage room was expanded by the three, providing enough internal space to accommodate those supplies.
Chen Zhou planned to choose a day without too much sunlight, leading Saturday and Sunday, to push two carts and move the last batch of supplies up the mountain, thus checking off one concern from his list.
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Finally, he had to make a trip to Fruit Tree Valley to gather more sugarcane seedlings and cocoa beans.
Due to being busy with forging, he couldn’t go out to collect cocoa beans as planned at the end of the last dry season, resulting in no chocolate replenishment at home.
It’s not just that the two natives had no rewards; it’s been so long since he tasted that rich and sweet flavor himself.
As for sugarcane seedlings, it was because the sugarcane fields planted by the mountain stream were expanding too slowly.
The sugar reserves in the cave were still sufficient.
But planning ahead, to prevent future sugar shortages, Chen Zhou was preparing to plan ahead.
Not only did he intend to plant several more acres of sugarcane, but he also aimed to make a machine for extracting sugarcane juice, to preemptively boil some cane sugar and try its flavor.