Chapter 192: Building Tulou in the Ancient Times

ChaoJi was very excited; she handed the green tile in her hand to Youchao Xuan. It must be said, these tiles were far beyond her expectations—she had never known that, besides their tribe, anyone could make tiles, let alone make them so well!

Could it be that the Heaven's Daughter is really as divine as Youchao Xuan said? "Qinghuan, is this the green tile you mentioned?"

Ying, of course, had never seen them before; when he saw these palm‑sized tiles appear one by one, he was also delighted. Just a moment ago she was stepping in mud, and in an instant the mud turned into this hard material.

Nan Qinghuan, knowing that Ying had never seen it, hurriedly explained, "Exactly, this is green tile, used on rooftops. These tiles can shield wind and rain; even in heavy rain they're fine, as long as extreme weather doesn't occur, they won't leak."

Even though green tiles are primitive and can't compare to modern glazed tiles, using green tiles in the ancient times was a progress.

Ying, though he believed her words, still found it unbelievable, "Qinghuan, you say these little things can block wind and rain?"

To be honest, Ying had never seen it, nor had any tribe member; no one had ever seen what a house looks like, nor lived in one, so they knew nothing of the benefits of dwelling.

Most people still rely on caves, having lived in caves for generations.

Nan Qinghuan knew Ying hadn't seen them; after all, although he had seen houses in the Otherworld, he had never lived in one, didn't know the benefits of dwelling, and knew nothing of how houses are built.

"Of course we can, trust me, before long this place will become…"

"Ying"

A voice from not far away belonged to Ji Lei, who hurried over, "Ying, the foundation's in trouble."

"Something's wrong, what's happening?"

"The foundation was being dug, but we hit a huge pit that goes down without bottom; we can't dig further there. As a result, there's not enough space to build houses. We planned over a hundred houses, but now so much ground is unusable, we may only be able to build a few dozen."

Ji Lei didn't know what to call a house, so just used a placeholder.

Hearing his words, the tribe members were outraged, "Oh dear, how can this be? Some live in caves, some in houses; our tribe shares everything."

The tribe members grew anxious; although they'd never seen a house, most still wanted to try, to see if living in a house is comfortable, if it's as good as Nan Qinghuan described.

Ying, after all, is the Clan Leader of the tribe, unflustered by events.

"Let's go, check out that big pit."

As expected, when they reached the foundation, many tribe members dared not dig further. The crude farming tools they used were all procured by Nan Qinghuan through Ying's contacts. Fortunately, the secret of Iron Tools had been passed to Ying by Yao; his wife and he forged decent hoes, making digging much easier.

The party gathered before that black hole and dared not move further; everyone whispered, speculating about what lay below.

Suddenly, someone shouted.

"Ying is here."

A few old men hurried forward, "Ying, you see that below is a huge hole; there might be monsters down there. We dare not dig any more—fighting monsters for territory would bring punishment."

"Monsters?"

This was Nan Qinghuan's first time hearing of monsters in the ancient times. Dong Laotou promptly nodded, "Yes, Om, this is the place where monsters are said to dwell. We can't dig any more. Where shall we build the house?"

Building houses had already generated too many problems; they solved one difficulty after another. Now that the tile issue was finally resolved, a new problem arose.

The tribe had always been skeptical about building houses; now they threw themselves into it, yet the foundation was still insufficient. What to do? Ying also examined the underground situation carefully and confirmed that further digging would cause a collapse.

Although they were ancient people, they knew some common sense: beneath them was a black, hollow void, and the surrounding land would also be problematic; they couldn't start construction next to a monster's domain.

He fell silent for a moment, then looked at Youchao Xuan and Nan Qinghuan, "Now the foundation is insufficient to build that many houses; what do you think we should do?"

Ying knew nothing about house building; he simply followed whatever Nan Qinghuan and Youchao Xuan instructed. In this situation he understood clearly: even if the houses were completed, who should live there and who shouldn't? As Clan Leader, he naturally wanted everyone to live together, but… Youchao Xuan also realized the gravity of the matter, his eyes complicated, "The foundation is unusable; beneath is a huge pit, no amount of stone can fill it. Goddess, perhaps we should just build a few first, and after they're done look for another site? What do you think?"

Nan Qinghuan hadn't spoken yet, and the other tribe members were already unwilling to accept that.

"Another place? No way, our tribe can't be split up; we must stay together, even when we live."

"Indeed, if we split, what kind of tribe would we be? Later, when I go drinking with Dong Laotou, would we have to climb a hill? Oh, I'm getting old and can't climb, unlike those youngsters."

Nan Qinghuan took the tribe members' words to heart; she stared at the mine‑like area before her, her brows knit, "We need a small area yet house many people, house many people…"

House many people? Suddenly she thought on the spot, "I have a method; perhaps we can do it this way."

Seeing her say she had a method, Ying quickly asked, "Qinghuan, how?"

She promptly looked at Axi, "Axi, bring me some White Paste."

"White Paste, Qinghuan, what do you need it for?"

Wasn't the foundation insufficient? Why does she need White Paste? Nan Qinghuan teased, "Hurry and go; I'll tell you later."

The White Paste in question is actually lime, the oldest lime powder; ancient people already knew lime's benefits. They used lime for pest control and detoxification—it was indispensable to the tribe.

Moreover, they liked to dip betel nuts in lime before chewing.

The ancient betel nuts were large and round, and tasted rather bland; she never ate them, but the tribe loved them. Chewing betel nuts made people feel happy, even Ying liked them.

She told him to eat fewer; too many betel nuts become addictive. Ying listened, and it seemed he hadn't been chewing much lately.

Soon, Axi brought the lime, and Nan Qinghuan spread it on the ground. She quickly grabbed a stick and drew a prototype house on the lime—a house none of the tribe had ever seen, not even Youchao Xuan.

After she finished drawing, none of the tribe members recognized it; only Youchao Xuan and ChaoJi had a bit of insight, realizing she was depicting a dwelling.

But they had never seen a round house.

"Om, what is this round thing?"

Dashan grabbed his head, bewildered by the purpose of her drawing; could this be a house? Yet the houses he had seen never looked like this.

"Yes, Qinghuan, what is this?"

Nan Qinghuan quickly tossed aside a branch, stood up, lifted her head toward Youchao Xuan, "Can the two of you tell what this is?"

Youchao Xuan slightly frowned, recalling that they were masters of house construction, yet this thing seemed… unfamiliar.

ChaoJi, innocent, smiled and asked, "Heaven's Daughter, what is this? Our Youchao Clan has never seen it; could this be a house for the gods?"

"A god's dwelling? Oh dear, Om wants to build us a house for the gods? That would be uninhabitable; we'd be struck by five thunderbolts."

Dong Laotou was the first to refuse to live there, and Nan Qinghuan sighed, "You all haven't seen it? This isn't a god's house; this house has a name—Tulou. I just surveyed the terrain; although we wasted a lot, I realized we can dig a foundation in a circular layout. This meets the need for dwelling, lets the tribe live together, and saves materials—a win on many fronts."

Ying, hearing her words, was amazed, "Tulou? Qinghuan, this house is called Tulou?"

"Exactly, Youchao Xuan, do you think we can build the house like this?"