The concerns of the Stone Clan, led by Minh Vu, have been resolved for almost half, and the remaining issues revolve around safety during the winter and the health of the tribe members.
Nearly a week has passed since the Stone Clan could refine Salt.
By now, the weather has turned bitterly cold, leaving the entire forest with bare branches, devoid of any signs of life.
During these days, the harvest of stones seems to have come to a halt.
However, the entire population is not focused on harvesting Fish.
There are three reasons for this.
Firstly, the fish yield is decreasing due to overexploitation.
Secondly, the fish have become smarter, no longer rushing to compete for food.
Thirdly, the dropping temperature has made the fish passive, showing signs of hibernation.
In addition, the tribe is currently intensifying pottery production and salt refinement while collecting firewood for winter reserves. Even the children have no idle time and are busy gathering grass for Minh Vu's winter plan.
During this time, Minh Vu has no leisure either.
He is utilizing mouse hides to craft something useful.
The first thing that comes to his mind is shoes – an immensely practical item, especially during winter, as they help keep the feet warm, especially in areas prone to injury.
Secondly, he is fed up with the sight of walking barefoot on the rocky ground.
The most critical part of the shoes is the sole.
Mostly, the soles are made of wood and covered with a layer of leather. However, with the current technological level, crafting a suitable sole is as difficult as reaching the sky.
Nevertheless, it can be substituted with various materials, such as grass.
Using bundled grass as the shoe sole and adding leather inside to provide warmth and comfort, the shoe upper is also made from mouse hides, and then fastened with strings.
After experimenting the whole day, Minh Vu finally has a pair of shoes for himself.
They may not look appealing, and more than half of them appear extremely peculiar, but he is pleased with them.
In the following days, the trend of making shoes spreads across the tribe.
The first person to take the lead is Alcan, a girl with extremely skillful hands.
Following Minh Vu's guidance, she creates shoes that are more beautiful and durable than his, making Minh Vu feel somewhat embarrassed.
Every day, he watches Alcan and her companions parade around with their beautiful shoes in front of him.
His face turns as dark as a pot, secretly cursing them and vowing to cut their food rations in the evening.
Speaking of which, during meals, Alcan and Akam always get extra portions.
Why? Because she is the key figure in the tribe's pottery production system.
By today, the surplus pottery production has exceeded 100 items, including large and small pots, bowls, cups, and spoons. All are gathered in the kiln area since the cave no longer provides enough space for the tribe to store food.
Therefore, taking advantage of the last days of autumn, Minh Vu orders the entire tribe to venture into the forest to chop wood, gather bark, and collect mud and clay from the riverbank.
This is Minh Vu's strategic plan.
The cave has become too small for the Stone Tribe's population, and the food production is significant, almost occupying one-third of the cave.
The smell of dried fish fills the cave, making Minh Vu nauseous. This disgust is what prompts him to devise this plan.
In the primitive age, humans lived in caves, primarily because they sheltered from the wind, rain, and sun, and served as a natural barrier against wild animals.
However, as human population grows, the cave's capacity is no longer sufficient for habitation, leading to the construction of houses.
At this very moment, Minh Vu is the pioneer in this primitive era.
Twelve strong hunters, the healthiest, head straight to the forest with stone axes to cut trees.
Minh Vu's requirements for wood materials are not high; he only needs straight, tall tree trunks ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 meters, with thick stems resembling arms and legs. If they are too thick, it takes a whole day to cut down a single tree with stone axes.
This is the task for the strongest hunter team.
Next, the women and elderly, whose tasks are much lighter, gather stones and clay outside the riverbank.
The remaining group, the children, are responsible for gathering grass and straw, the more, the better.
No one knows what their leader is preparing for, but they are sure that whatever the leader creates has its own significance.
Like the previous times, no one expected to fish in the fall, yet their leader managed to catch a lot of fish.
Moreover, the leader can use the soil as a pot to cook, creating incredibly delicious food.
Additionally, the leader can mix soil with water to make salt, even tastier than the tribe's own salt.
But today, the leader has instructed them to gather a significant amount of materials.
Although they do not know what the leader plans to make, they firmly believe that whatever the young leader does holds great significance, just like the times before.
Nobody thought it was possible to catch fish in the fall, but their leader caught a lot.
Furthermore, the leader can use the soil as a pot to cook, creating incredibly delicious food. Additionally, the leader can mix soil with water to make salt, even tastier than the tribe's own salt.
But today, the leader has instructed them to gather a significant amount of materials.
Although they do not know what the leader plans to make, they firmly believe that whatever the young leader does holds great significance, just like the times before.
Nobody thought it was possible to catch fish in the fall, but their leader caught a lot.
After three days of gathering, the raw materials seem to be almost sufficient.
Minh Vu begins to command the construction.
The construction site is beneath the stone cave, which is relatively flat, and the ground is quite firm.
Building a house here minimizes the risk of subsidence.
According to Minh Vu's initial sketch, this house must be large enough for ten people to sleep. Therefore, this house appears quite spacious.
The first task in construction is to determine the position and size of the house, and then start the construction based on that. Minh Vu's house has dimensions of 10m by 5m, with a small pillar every 1m and a large pillar every 3m.
The house is designed with two roofs.
Two 2.5m tall wooden beams serve as the main axis of the house, with 1.5m pillars extending from them on both sides.
On the first day, the framework, also the most challenging part, has been completed.
Although the connections are not as solid as using dowels, they are still secured with binding ropes.
On the second day, the work requires more brainpower, building the walls and the winter heating system.
The materials for this task include a mixture of mud mixed with straw, and the core inside is made of stones collected in the preceding days.
The stones act as bricks, and the mud-straw mixture serves as a substitute for cement.
While not as reliable, at this time, this is the most durable material that the Stone tribe can produce.
For the heating system, a stove with a smoke pipe leading outside is built.
This spacious stove allows cooking and provides warmth, allowing convenient cooking during winter.
The roof is covered with straw and secured with small branches and ropes.
As for the interior, it is incredibly simple, consisting of two rows of ground beds placed in parallel, each covered with a thick layer of straw.
Because the Stone Clan lacks surplus animal hides, these can be traded with the Stone Tribe in the near future.
While the presentation might sound quick, the entire Stone Clan population has spent a total of 5 days to complete the house construction, not counting the time spent gathering raw materials.
If you consider everything, it has taken about 8 days in total.