Chapter 83: Playing with Mud with Beast-eared Girls, Why Does This Little Guy Have a Third Leg?
The beast-eared girls observed for several rounds with curiosity, then turned to look at Lin Ye with questioning eyes. “Ye, what is this?”
“Ye, what is this thing used for?”
“This thing looks like a wooden bucket, is it for holding water?” The beast-eared girls’ questions made Lin Ye dizzy.
Lin Ye raised his hand and pressed down, signaling the beast-eared girls to be patient. Then he spoke, “This is called a pottery kiln, and it’s used for firing pottery.” Upon hearing Lin Ye’s words, the beast-eared girls frowned and looked at him. “Firing pottery, is that what it means, Ye?” “Pottery kiln? Firing, is it for barbecue?” “Barbecue? What barbecue? Can this pottery kiln be used for barbecue?” Sakura’s ears perked up instantly at the mention of barbecue, and she looked around with wide eyes.
“It means that after you put mud into the kiln and fire it until it’s hard, it becomes pottery. You’ll know when I fire it,” Lin Ye said, covering his head helplessly as he explained to the beast-eared girls.
The beast-eared girls nodded as if they understood, and Lin Ye ignored them.
He picked up some clay, sprinkled a little water on it, and prepared to start making things.
However, the beast-eared girls had not left yet.
Seeing Lin Ye pick up a large piece of mud, they all frowned at him again.
Lin Ye thought to himself, if you frown like this all day, you’ll get worry lines when you get older.
Lin Ye shook his head helplessly.
Then he began to make things.
The pottery-making method Lin Ye was going to use was called “Coil Pot Construction.”
It involved rolling the clay into spiral coils.
Then, these coils were stacked layer by layer to form the desired shape.
Lin Ye planned to make a few shovels for digging wells.
He also needed to make some pottery pots for stewing meat, boiling potatoes, and other things.
Eating barbecue every day, Lin Ye felt he could barely digest his food anymore.
The beast-eared girls watched Lin Ye rub the clay on a stone, and their curious fists drew closer.
“Ye, what are you doing?” “Ye, are you playing with mud?”
“Ye, I can play with mud too, let me help you.”
Lin Ye’s breathing stopped for a few seconds upon hearing the beast-eared girls.
What the heck, playing with mud!
Lin Ye almost threw the clay in his hands on the spot.
But seeing the curious look on the beast-eared girls’ faces.
Lin Ye shook his head, then took another clay ball and divided it among the beast-eared girls.
“Take this clay and shape it into whatever you want. When we put it in the kiln later, the mud will maintain that shape.” The beast-eared girls’ eyes lit up instantly upon hearing Lin Ye’s words.
Then, some of the beast-eared girls began to create with the clay immediately.
Others were deep in thought, contemplating what they wanted to make.
Lin Ye watched as all the beast-eared girls quieted down.
He also breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to focus on making pottery.
Lin Ye took a coil of clay and brushed some fine ash on it.
Then he broke the coil into an arrowhead shape.
After placing the first coil, Lin Ye picked up a thin branch.
He made many scratches on one side of the clay coil.
Then he applied a little water to the scratched side.
Next, he repeatedly performed the previous actions.
He attached the coils one by one, then pinched them tightly.
Firing pottery with such a rudimentary method had a high failure rate.
The clay pieces made this way could very well break or shatter when fired in the kiln.
So, Lin Ye made a total of eight shovel-shaped clay pieces.
Then Lin Ye began to make pottery pots.
Lin Ye also planned to make a large pottery pot so he could cook a lot of food at once.
Lin Ye also used the coil pot construction method to make the pottery pots.
However, this time, the coils were to be formed into circles and stacked layer by layer.
The bottom of the pot was also formed by circling the coils.
When Lin Ye finished the pottery pot and looked up, it was almost noon. The beast-eared girls had already finished shaping whatever they wanted to make.
Each beast-eared girl held something they had shaped out of clay in their hands, showing each other.
Lin Ye noticed that although it was hard to tell what the things the beast-eared girls had made were,
it was certain that most of them were various animals.
Some of them had even made small human figures.
At this moment, Sakura cupped her hands around the small figure she had made and came to Lin Ye to show him. “Ye, look, this is me made of mud.”
Lin Ye looked closely and realized that the small mud figure Sakura had made had a third leg.
Seeing this, Lin Ye’s lips twitched.
He looked up at Sakura’s small face.
Sakura didn’t know what this third leg was.
But she had seen Lin Ye have something similar on his body, so she made it.
Sakura beamed, holding the small mud figure of Lin Ye.
At this time, a few other beast-eared girls who had also made small figures gathered around.
Seeing that Sakura’s figure was different from theirs, they all asked doubtfully, “Sakura, why is yours different from ours?”
“How is it different? Mine is you, Ye,” Sakura said, tilting her head.
“Ours is also you, Ye. Why do you have an extra thing here that we haven’t seen?” the beast-eared girls asked, pointing to the third leg of the small figure with confusion.
Hearing their words, Sakura confidently told them,
“Then you’ve made it wrong. I’ve seen Ye have this, quickly add it.”
The other beast-eared girls, though they didn’t understand what was going on, quickly imitated Sakura and added some details to their mud figures with their fingers.
Lin Ye listened to their “tiger’s words” and looked at the details they were adding. He didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
Seeing that they had all added the details, Sakura turned to Lin Ye with a giggle.
Lin Ye looked at Sakura’s small face and couldn’t help but smear some clay on her cheek with his finger.
Because Lin Ye’s hands were covered in clay.
With this smear, Sakura’s face was immediately marked with a long muddy streak.
Sakura, unaware, was still looking at Lin Ye with a smile.
Seeing this, Lin Ye’s playful mood was piqued.
He drew a few whiskers on both sides of Sakura’s face with his fingers.
After drawing, Sakura seemed to feel something on her face.
She couldn’t help but squint and blink.
Lin Ye looked at his masterpiece and couldn’t help but laugh.
Sakura, holding the small mud figure of Lin Ye in her hands, couldn’t wipe it off.
Seeing Lin Ye suddenly laughing so happily, she thought it was because the mud figure of herself that she had made had made him happy.
Sakura also started laughing.
Lin Ye placed all the finished clay pieces aside, waiting for them to air dry before they could be fired in the kiln.
Lin Ye then beckoned for the beast-eared girls to bring their shaped clay pieces and put them there as well.
At this time, when they saw that Sakura had streaks of whiskers on her face, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Lin Ye watched the beast-eared girls laughing so happily.
He couldn’t resist extending his “magic hand” again.
He smeared several muddy marks on the face of Susu, who was closest to him.
After being suddenly attacked by Lin Ye.
Susu’s smile came to an abrupt halt.
She felt a strange sensation on her face and wanted to wipe it off with her hand, but her own hands were also covered in clay.
Susu held up her hands, a little bewildered. Finally, in a fit of playful anger, she reached out and smeared several marks on Lin Ye’s face.
Lin Ye was laughing happily when he saw Susu reach out. He quickly dodged by turning his body.
Susu pursued him relentlessly.
The other beast-eared girls watched this scene and laughed heartily.
Then they each got two muddy marks on their faces from the person next to them.
Soon, all the beast-eared girls were chasing each other in laughter.
The sun was already setting. The clay pieces, having been air-dried all afternoon, were ready to be fired in the kiln.
Lin Ye was finally besieged by all the beast-eared girls, his face completely covered in mud.
Lin Ye didn’t bother to wash his face and, with a heavily mud-stained face, returned to the pottery kiln with the beast-eared girls.
He checked that the clay pieces had dried.
“Everyone, go and help me collect some firewood. Get dry firewood, don’t bring fresh wood, it makes too much smoke.”
After Lin Ye finished speaking, the beast-eared girls looked at Lin Ye’s mud-stained face, grinned, nodded, and then ran off to collect firewood.
