SFS Chapter 48 Building an Earthen Kiln
Chapter 48 Building an Earthen Kiln
After returning to the tribe, Lin Baiyan looked around to see where to build the earthen kiln. In the end, he chose the flat land near the forest on the west side.
The area there was a bit larger. On the left side of the cave, Lu Xiao was leading the male beastmen in and out, chiseling stones. On the right side of the flat ground, the old beastmen and sub-beastmen were curing meat.
The middle area is a rack for drying meat.
The area in front of the cave was quite crowded, so we chose a spot further away.
Charcoal making is not actually a difficult task; it can be successfully accomplished as long as the conditions are high temperature and low oxygen.
However, since this is the young man's first attempt, he should be careful.
Lin Baiyan cleared away the weeds and pebbles on the ground, then stuck an arm-length stick into the soil. He slowly began to add wood around the stick, building a cone shape, with the stick getting longer and thinner towards the outside.
Once the firewood is piled into a cone nearly as tall as a person, dry grass and dead leaves are laid around it.
Lang Cang had already mixed the mud, and Lin Baiyan had also found some yellow clay and mixed it with the fine soil to increase its stickiness.
Lin Baiyan used mud to build a mud wall around the firewood, with the mud layering around the firewood until it was sealed at the top, leaving a vent at the top.
At the very bottom, closest to the ground, dig out eight small air vents.
The two of them worked together, and when they ran out of soil, Lang Cang went to get more. Lin Baiyan thought that if they were going to do it, they should make something reusable so that they wouldn't have to go through all that trouble in the future.
After the mud walls were plastered, Lin Baiyan walked around the large earthen kiln that had been covered with mud and nodded in satisfaction.
This earthen kiln is really big, almost up to Lin Baiyan's neck. The young man estimated that if it were successful, it could produce more than 100 catties of charcoal at a time.
It was worth all the time they spent; the walls of the earthen kiln were of moderate thickness and looked very beautiful and durable.
Lin Baiyan took a tree branch and drew a small archway shape above one of the air vents at the bottom, which would be used to collect charcoal later.
After setting up all the air vents, Lin Baiyan took out a tinder and lit it. He placed the burning tinder at the top air vent, puffed out his cheeks, and slowly blew on the sparks, letting them fall onto the wood inside.
Soon, the fire quickly rose from the vent at the top, followed by billowing white smoke. Seeing that the fire was lit, the young man squatted down and began to observe the eight air vents below.
Wherever the fire spreads, block the vent with mud.
The young man walked around the earthen kiln, looking for any spots where smoke was coming out, and quickly sealed them tightly with clay, otherwise the charcoal wouldn't burn properly if air got in.
Lang Cang was sent out by Lin Baiyan to find cypress branches. The young man thought that after he finished setting up the earthen kiln, he would go and smoke some cured meat.
Lin Baiyan was left alone to work.
Finally, the earthen kiln became a large, airtight lump of earth.
Seeing that the bottom vents and the walls of the kiln had stopped smoking, the young man finally used mud to seal up the top vents as well.
As the temperature inside the kiln rises, the clay on the outer wall of the kiln gradually dries.
Qing Tian looked at the sky; the sun had risen to its highest point, it must be noon.
Lin Baiyan looked at the sun overhead and silently prayed that his charcoal would be successfully fired. Once the kiln was sealed, he didn't need to worry about it anymore. He could wait for it to cool naturally, and then he could open the kiln in about one or two days.
When Lin Baiyan first started burning charcoal, he wasn't sure about the timing, so he thought he should let it sit for a day and a half to see how it went before adjusting the time at the end.
At this moment, Lang Cang also returned. The big white wolf stood in front of Lin Baiyan, carrying a bundle of cypress branches in its mouth, its huge tail swaying involuntarily.
Lin Baiyan couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. He beckoned to Lang Cang, and the white wolf obediently dragged the branch over with the straw rope.
He stepped forward and brushed the grass off the white wolf's ears, then secretly rubbed the wolf's fluffy ears.
Lang Cang sensed something was wrong and trembled involuntarily. He stared at Lin Baiyan with his big, dark eyes, looking at him with suspicion.
Was it his imagination? Why did he feel like Lin Baiyan was secretly stroking his ear?
Lin Baiyan remained calm and composed, staring at Lang Cang without noticing anything amiss. Lang Cang shook his head, his ears twitched twice, and then he turned into human form from behind a rock.
He pointed to the large clod of earth next to him, "Is that all?"
Lin Baiyan nodded, "That's right, we just need to wait for it to cool down naturally, we don't need to worry about it."
Lang Cang glanced at it thoughtfully, then stopped paying attention to the earthen kiln.
The young man squatted down to look at the cypress branches that Lang Cang had dragged back. Lang Cang was really smart; he only needed to describe the appearance of the cypress branches briefly to him, and he was able to find them accurately.
It was truly thanks to the young man's golden touch in identifying plants that he was able to do so; otherwise, he probably wouldn't even know what a cypress branch was.
Lin Baiyan's previous friend was from the south, where every household smoked cured meat. His friend would always send him some, which is how he learned that cured meat smoked with cypress branches was more fragrant.
However, this was the first time I had ever done the experiment myself.
Lang Cang dragged the tree branch to the place where the cured meat was drying. Normally, the cured meat would be marinated for about a week before smoking, but they didn't have any tools for marinating meat, so they simply did it the simplest way possible.
In fact, the way orcs process meat now is similar to how they make cured meat. They rub it with salt and then dry it. However, smoked cured meat tastes better and has a unique flavor.
The area for drying animal meat consisted of rows of bamboo racks, neatly arranged.
The young man lit a fire under the cured meat rack, and the smoke from the cypress branches slowly rose and shot straight up towards the beef.
This is a physically demanding job; smoking meat usually takes five to seven days to complete.
The old orcs had already cleaned the hides. Despite their age, they were all incredibly efficient at their work.
Moreover, the knowledge and experience possessed by older orcs far surpasses that of younger orcs.
Therefore, Lin Baiyan cherishes every elderly orc in his tribe, as they are the tribe's treasure.
At this moment, the old orc Rhinoceros Yang watched as Lin Baiyan struggled to light a cigarette, constantly shifting his position to try and get the smoke closer, but in reality, only a limited amount could actually reach the beast's flesh.
"Bai Yan, if you use large leaves to cover the bamboo frame, the smoke won't be able to escape, right?"
Lin Baiyan: "...?"
Oh right, he's really stupid. Couldn't he just build a shed to cover it?