Chapter 162: Preparing to Set Sail

The Large Ship swayed a few times in the water before coming to a steady stop. Everyone was cheering loudly, but this time only Baifeng and a few others made no sound, each clenching their hands tight, for they knew that not sinking upon entering the water was only the first step; not leaking was the key.

This would still take a good while to verify; if it were as fast as the boat that went to Hua, then Baifeng and the others might as well not bother building a boat at all, and instead just chop down a bamboo pole and learn to cross the river on a single bamboo.

Those tribesmen who had already developed coordination, even with this Large Ship, quickly mastered the technique, keeping it basically steady in one place so it would no longer drift downstream.

They stood on the bank like that, waiting for a long time. When Baifeng asked them again, they said the hold was very dry and they had not found any leaks. Only then did Baifeng and the others dare to let out a long breath and then shout loudly in celebration.

Since the Large Ship had been successfully built, the other facilities on it could also be attempted, such as a boat canopy, which could provide shelter from rain inside and also store some living supplies to avoid them getting wet in the rain.

A bamboo-woven canopy would suffice; it would be light, and to a certain extent, waterproof and sun-proof, without causing other effects on the hull, such as being too heavy and causing imbalance. If one felt the waterproofing was insufficient, they could just cover it with a few more layers, and it would always be able to keep the rain out.

This was the simplest matter, and Baifeng did not need to worry at all. They still had a large stock of these bamboo weaves that were like sleeping mats, and they only needed a slight modification to be used. Soon, a canopy occupying half the area of the boat was installed on the hull.

The truly difficult part lay in the sail—how it should be installed and how it should be stowed normally; it was impossible to keep it standing up all the time.

Baifeng did not dare to easily tinker with the Large Ship, so the small boat that had been built at the beginning became the carrier for testing the sail.

Let's try it with the simplest single-sided sail: a triangular pole tied to a mast, then inserted into the hull. The difficulty lay in how to master the direction; the wind could not always blow in the direction you wanted to go, unless you were on the ocean, where the trade winds were relatively stable and would always blow in one direction.

After a few days of trying, Baifeng still gave up on the idea of using a sail on the Large Ship. With their current technology, they could not build such a ship; for a ship of this size, oars were sufficient.

However, Baifeng remembered those competitive sailboats, which were very small, just enough for one person to use. He felt it was not impossible to make such a sailboat; although it was small, its strength lay in its high speed, and it would be perfectly fine to use it for support or to urgently deliver something in the future.

But the most urgent task now was to build another Large Ship before the Full Moon Gathering, so they could take enough Soldiers to attend the gathering; going with just ten or twenty people was too dangerous.

The second Large Ship did not need to be built any larger; it could be the same size as this one, because their shipbuilding data was still there and their experience was sufficient. If they built a larger ship, they would need to re-establish the data, which might not only lead to other accidents, but there would also not be enough time.

Thus, the entire tribe began to continue chopping wood and building boats, busy and bustling.

During this period, the Sorghum and buckwheat of the Baifeng tribe had already matured, but there were enough people to harvest them, so it would not delay the progress of shipbuilding.

The Sorghum harvested this year could only be left idle; they hadn't drunk much of the Wine brewed from Sorghum last year, and there was still a lot of Sorghum left. It was impossible to use this Sorghum to brew Wine again this year; they couldn't finish drinking it, so it could only be stored.

However, the stored grain from last year suddenly had a destination after the Large Ship was built, which was to take it to the gathering to exchange for other things. Although they didn't eat Sorghum, it didn't mean other tribes didn't.

It was just that their boat couldn't carry too much Sorghum; it couldn't even transport half of last year's stored grain, and the boat also had to carry many Soldiers, their Weapon, and the Dry Rations for the journey.

A few days before the Full Moon Gathering was about to begin, the second Large Ship of the Baifeng tribe was also successfully launched. Now they were hurriedly starting to prepare things for attending the Full Moon Gathering.

This time they planned to dispatch forty people and two Large Ships, with twenty people on each Large Ship, including the first small boat, which would also go as a vanguard to scout the path.

If they went by land, forty-some people would indeed be a bit few, but it would be safer and faster on the water, and the number was completely sufficient. If they were ambushed again, they believed that other tribes without boats could not catch up to them, who had boats. Moreover, humans swimming in the water were more vulnerable when facing humans on a boat; no matter how powerful their martial strength was, they would already be at a disadvantage in the situation.

The goods the Baifeng tribe was taking out this time were mainly grain, in addition to the Sorghum they didn't like to eat, Millet, the Salted Fish they had stored before that no one wanted to eat now, and the upgraded Pottery Jar coated with Black Glaze.

The Baifeng tribe's manufacturing of Glass had finally reached a new level. Now, besides glass plates, they could also make things like glass cups and glass bowls, but they felt they were not that practical—useless except for looking good—and the cost was very low, so they were used in large quantities as goods for this exchange.

There were also many Small Knife and Dajian that the Baifeng tribe had eliminated, either because the materials were not good enough or they were damaged and could not be repaired. No one in the Baifeng tribe looked at them, and their only fate was to be melted down and remade, but if they were taken to the market, they would definitely be very popular.

This time, it was mainly the people from the Fishing Team who went, because their swimming ability was good enough. As for combat power, although it was not as good as those in the Bow and Blade Team, their strength was not bad either; even among people from other ordinary tribes, they were already top-tier, because no tribe could have as much food as the Baifeng tribe.

A few people from the Bow and Blade Team also went, all of whom had passable swimming skills—the kind that wouldn't drown for a while if they fell into this river—but they wouldn't be able to fight in the water.

They had harvested a lot of hemp this year, so they were luxurious enough to use Hemp Cloth to make sacks. However, this was also a last resort, because animal skins were more precious than Hemp Cloth, but the grain couldn't just be poured into the hold like that; they had to use something to contain it.

With enough Dry Rations for themselves and their Weapon ready, Baifeng, as the leader, set off on a crisp autumn morning.

Sui had matured and become much more sensible now; she would no longer pester Baifeng to go along, and the gathering was also a very terrifying memory for her. Even if she were asked to go, she might beg Baifeng to say she wouldn't go.