Chapter 592: Crafting Green Bricks in Antiquity

At the sound of the Goddess's arrival, Nan Qinghuan, together with Nan Tian and Youchao Xuan, came; when they saw her, a group of Bai People immediately surrounded her.

"Goddess, look at our Tulou—what's happened to it?"

When Nan Qinghuan and Ying saw the Tulou reduced to this state, Ying also found it unbelievable, "How could this be? There really was no wind."

Nan Qinghuan saw debris scattered everywhere—leaves and the wooden beams used to build the Tulou—covering the ground, clearly indicating that a very strong wind had struck here.

It was that wind that toppled the Tulou.

Could the weather have changed here? Nan Qinghuan stepped forward to examine the soil, found some of it soft, but that alone couldn't affect the Tulou's integrity!

While she crouched there checking, the others and Ying chattered incessantly, saying all sorts of things.

Ashu ran up from behind; when he saw the Tulou collapsed like this, he was puzzled, "Ying, how did it become like this?"

The Tulou they lived in were fine; why would the newly built Tulou turn out like this? Ying naturally didn't know what had happened, and said coolly, "Wait a moment for Qinghuan; she should know what occurred."

Everyone turned their gaze toward Nan Qinghuan; not far away, Axi and the Dashan couple also arrived, and upon seeing the Tulou like this, Axi was stunned.

"What's going on?" After hearing Nan Tian's words, Nan Qinghuan could roughly guess, "I know the reason."

When she spoke, everyone rushed forward, and Ying hurriedly asked, "Qinghuan, what exactly happened?"

Nan Qinghuan took a deep breath, lamenting, "What a pity—such an unlucky event happening to them!"

She scanned the crowd with a glance; everyone looked at her expectantly, and Nan Tian hurriedly asked, "Qinghuan, what's the matter?"

Could it really be, as the tribe says, a punishment from the Heavenly God? The Heavenly God doesn't want them to live in good houses? Nan Qinghuan quickly explained, "Actually, here's what happened: tonight a tornado arose here and happened to overturn the Tulou, but the tornado appeared and vanished quickly, so the city suffered little impact. It's not an issue with Youchao Xuan's house; indeed the tornado destroyed the Tulou."

"What, a tornado?"

The Ancient People might not know what a tornado is, so Nan Qinghuan promptly explained, "It's a sudden gust of wind, extremely powerful and highly destructive. Therefore, tonight's Tulou couldn't be saved. Fortunately the tornado left, not entering the city; otherwise many would have been injured."

Although most houses in the city are now well built, nothing can resist a tornado when it appears.

Upon hearing her words, Lan Tian was delighted, "So it wasn't the Heavenly God who did it, but the wind?"

How could it be so mysterious? Nan Qinghuan knew they were superstitious; since she arrived, there have been no Rituals here. Superstition has faded from the distant tribe's hearts, yet the Bai People still believe, believing in deities!

"Of course it wasn't done by the Heavenly God; the Heavenly God isn't that idle—it's the wind."

"Then Goddess, can we only rebuild it tomorrow?"

Youchao Xuan felt extremely unlucky; the Tulou they had painstakingly repaired was swept away by a gust of wind, and now they have to start over!

Nan Qinghuan looked at the Tulou here and said, "I just thought of something: in the future, we shouldn't use earth as building material; perhaps this would last longer."

This made everyone puzzled; Ying furrowed his brow and asked, "Qinghuan, what would we use instead of earth?"

Axi was also curious; for years they had lived in Tulou—if not earth, then what? "Qinghuan, stop being cryptic and tell us!"

Nan Qinghuan glanced at the crowd and smiled, "How about we fire this earth into Green Bricks, so in the future we'll have brick houses—what do you think?"

"Green Brick?"

The crowd was confused—what is this, is it like Green Tile? Nan Qinghuan decided to use the Bai People's house this time as an experiment. She could still build a Tulou, but this time not with earth, but with sturdier Green Bricks; this would resist strong winds and heavy rain, greatly improving safety.

Nan Qinghuan laid out the plan, "Exactly, Green Brick. Youchao Xuan, using the method I once used to fire Green Tile, we will fire Green Bricks. We need to set up a brick kiln here to fire the Green Bricks; once fired, we'll place them here to build the Tulou."

Upon hearing her, Youchao Xuan understood what to do, nodded, "Alright, Goddess, I get your meaning; tomorrow I'll have people prepare to fire the Green Bricks."

"Good, I'll leave this matter to you. Alright, everyone, go back and rest; I guarantee that a Tulou built with Green Bricks will be far sturdier and more durable."

Hearing her, the Bai People finally felt at ease and left. Nan Tian's father was very grateful to Nan Qinghuan, "Goddess, you are truly remarkable; we didn't know any of this. My son, you should teach him more."

As he said this, he pushed Lan Tian beside her; Nan Tian felt embarrassed, as if his father were treating him like a child. "Father, what are you doing?"

"I want you and the Goddess to learn more skills. Look, you don't understand what Green Brick is, do you?"

Nan Tian was speechless, gave the old man a blank stare, "So you don't know either?"

"You little brat…"

"Haha, old man, don't worry; Nan Tian will definitely know everything."

Ying stepped forward to cheer Nan Tian, "Lan Tian, tomorrow you and Youchao Xuan should come here to learn how to fire Green Bricks; you must oversee the construction of your own home yourself, then you'll be at ease."

"Alright, I'll come tomorrow. Youchao Xuan, thank you."

"No need for courtesy; it's getting late, so let's head back and discuss tomorrow."

"Let's go back, everyone go back."

Here, everyone had left; Yao and Ying exchanged glances, "I'll go back too, I'm sleepy."

"Everyone, go back."

After most people left, only the married couple remained. As Nan Tian was about to depart, he cast a lingering glance at Nan Qinghuan, but saw Ying perched on her shoulder; a strange look flashed across his eyes, and he soon left as well.

The solitary moon shone brightly, and the place fell silent.

A cool breeze brushed people's faces, feeling very pleasant.

Ying looked at Nan Qinghuan, who remained silent, and asked, "Qinghuan, what's wrong with you?"