I Became The Chief of A Primitive Village

Chapter 127: Papermaking Begins

“Shaman, may I come in?” Yan Hua called from outside the Teepee.

“Come in,” Su Bai said.

Yan Hua lifted the Teepee door flap and walked in, saying, “Shaman, Father asked me to tell you that the Wolf Tail Grass Stems have been dried.”

“So quickly?” Su Bai was taken aback. It had only been three or four days since they picked the Wolf Tail Grass Grain, he did not expect them to get dry so fast.

“The sun has been very strong these past few days, so it dried quickly. Father asked me to come and ask you what to do next.” Yan Hua reported.

Su Bai nodded with satisfaction, stood up and said, “Come with me to find Gu Mu and Shan Qiu. If the things I instructed them to make are ready, we can start making paper.”

“Great, great! We’re finally going to start making paper!” Yan Hua excitedly said.

“The prerequisite is having the tools required. We can only make paper once the tools are ready.” Su Bai calmly said.

Yan Hua kept standing on her tiptoes, eagerly saying. “Shaman, let’s quickly go find Uncle Shan Qiu and the others.”

“Alright, but we need to prepare some things first,” Su Bai saw the cow horned girl’s impatience, which was even more urgent than his own.

“Shaman, what do we need to prepare? I’ll have someone prepare it first.” Yan Hua asked repeatedly.

“Have someone soak the Wolf Tail Grass Stems in hot water for a while. We can start making paper once they’ve softened up.” Su Bai instructed.

The Wolf Tail Grass Stems needed to be softened to be easily ground. If they were dry and brittle, nothing could be ground out of them.

“Understood.” Yan Hua nodded firmly and turned to leave the Teepee.

Ten minutes later, Su Bai and Yan Hua arrived at the entrance of Shan Qiu’s Teepee.

“Uncle Shan Qiu, the Shaman is here.” Yan Hua called at the entrance.

Shan Qiu, supporting himself with both hands on the ground. He quickly came out of the Teepee and removed the animal hide mask from his face.

Except for the part covered by the mask, the rest of his body was covered in dust. He carelessly shook off the dust from his body.

“Shaman, I’ve just finished making the things you asked for. Since you’re here, please check them.” Shan Qiu said with a strong voice.

Su Bai’s personal visit made Shan Qiu feel honoured. Naturally, he knew why the Shaman had come.

When he received the Animal Hide Scroll with the stone mill design, he became energised and looked full of enthusiasm. He immediately became engrossed in researching the stone mill, certain that this was the most unique design he had seen in his career as a stonemason.

Of course, Gu Mu was the same. The two often gathered to discuss the making of the stone mill, hitting it off immediately.

“Where is it? Let me see,” Su Bai asked.

Shan Qiu stepped forward, coming to the area around the Teepee, pulling off the dry grass covering it, and said. “Shaman, please see if this is acceptable.”

After the dry grass slid off, a large round stone platform was revealed. The platform had a radius of one metre, and its surface was polished to a smooth finish.

There was a cylindrical stone pillar placed on the large round platform, also polished to a smooth finish. However, compared to the large round platform, it was much smaller, with a height of seventy centimetres and a radius of twenty-five centimetres.

In the centre of the large round platform, there was a fixed rod as thick as an adult’s wrist, and around the cylindrical stone pillar, there were wooden boards and sticks, mainly to fix the stone pillar to that rod.

Su Bai carefully examined the stone mill, inwardly praising, [Indeed, this is the work of the most skilled stonemason of the Tribe. With just a drawing, he could perfectly realise it into reality.]

He nodded with satisfaction and said. “Excellent, it’s exactly as I envisioned.”

“As long as the Shaman is satisfied,” Shan Qiu was very happy to see his work praised. He adjusted his emotions and continued to ask, “Shaman, I’ve looked at this stone mill, and the stone pillar on top can rotate. May I ask what you plan to use it for?”

The stonemason could see the purpose of this thing at a glance, but he did not know what it would be used for. After all, he spent every day in the Teepee polishing stone tools and did not know much about what was happening in the Tribe.

“For making paper. You’ll know when the paper is made,” Su Bai smiled, already planning in his mind to give him more meat.

“Then, I’ll look forward to it.” Shan Qiu laughed heartily.

“Ah’Hua, have people move the stone mill to the classroom,” Su Bai instructed.

Papermaking was also a matter of utmost secrecy. Its information had to be kept within the Tribe. They could not let too many people know about it. Moving it directly to the classroom to be done alongside linen production would make it easier to keep everything confidential.

“Okay.” Yan Hua nodded excitedly. The weaving from last time had already made her very curious.

“Also, ask your Father to come along,” Su Bai added.

“Understood,” Yan Hua responded.

A few minutes later, Su Bai and the others arrived at the classroom. The fox eared girl and the Chieftain were already waiting for them.

The fox eared girl had met the Chieftain on her way back after checking the chilli pepper field, and upon learning they were going to the classroom, she joined them.

“Shaman, can we start making paper now?” Yan Jiao asked curiously. He did not actually have much concept of papermaking. He only knew it was something beneficial for the Tribe, but as for what exactly it was, he did not quite understand.

Nevertheless, since it was something good for the Tribe, it was worth looking forward to. After all, the Shaman had never been wrong.

“Have the Wolf Tail Grass Stems been brought in? If so, we can start,” Su Bai calmly said.

“Yes, they’ve all been brought in. They’re all inside the classroom,” Yan Jiao quickly said.

Su Bai nodded and walked into the classroom. The stone mill had also been moved in and placed to one side.

“Put the dry Wolf Tail Grass on the stone platform, but not too much,” Su Bai instructed.

“Yes,” the Warrior Trainee Qing Mu immediately responded, placing some softened Wolf Tail Grass Stems on it.

Su Bai looked at the small amount of Wolf Tail Grass Stems in the centre of the round platform, rolled his eyes and said, “This is too little, add some more.”

“Right away.” Qing Mu added several more handfuls.

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