Chapter 217: Making Full Use of Dahe Resources

Baifeng had always wanted to make good use of this Dahe; after all, the resources a Dahe possesses are vast, and it is right on their doorstep, yet currently, aside from fishing and serving as a waterway for Boats, its development is far too low.

The simplest thing would be to use the Dahe to develop agriculture, but because of the unstable water levels during the flood season, Baifeng did not dare to plant crops by the river; perhaps a single flood could come, and they wouldn't even be able to recover their Wax Seed.

However, many plants that naturally grow on riverbanks and mudflats are quite suitable for planting, such as Gujiao; the root system of Gujiao is very long, allowing it to grow firmly in the mud, and it is not afraid of waterlogging, with the main advantage being that the cost of the Wax Seed is very low.

Because they now have Rice, which is tastier and has a higher yield, the importance of Gujiao in the Baifeng Tribe is already behind buckwheat; the tribespeople basically do not eat it, and most of the time it is used as concentrated feed for chickens and cattle, or as a supplement to the food for Slaves.

Even if the tribespeople of the Baifeng Tribe do not eat it themselves, they still collect it with great importance; after all, it is still food, and since it is growing right there, if they don't collect it, are they to leave it for the wild birds? Currently, the Baifeng Tribe still values every edible thing in Nature.

The thing Baifeng is most enthusiastic about right now is lotus root; lotus root is suitable for planting in mudflats, and the deep lotus roots are completely unafraid of floods. Perhaps the leaves and flowers will be destroyed, but as long as the root remains, it can always grow again, and furthermore, Baifeng's goal is the lotus root, not the lotus seeds or flowers.

They collected a great many lotus seeds last year, and this thing is also a very good food; it is large in size and has a high starch content, counting as a relatively good food source.

At the same time, they kept a very large quantity of lotus seeds for sowing; Baifeng had been thinking about planting lotus roots on the mudflats for a long time, and now he could finally put it into practice.

They clipped a hole in the shell of the lotus seeds and then buried them in the mud; they could not just scatter them, otherwise, they would become food for various birds. Like when they were farming, every time they scattered seeds, there would always be some bold birds that came to the field to pick them up, perhaps even thinking that these monkeys were quite nice to feed them.

Because the loss of grain seeds was indeed high, and since the birds were not afraid of people, things like setting up scarecrows were completely unreliable; they could only arrange for people to guard the fields, and those children were the best choice. They guarded the food during harvest and also guarded it during sowing; they played with their slings with extreme proficiency, and hitting a bird was a piece of cake. Not only could they work for the tribe, but they could also catch some meat for themselves to satisfy their cravings—a mutually beneficial tribal operating model.

Baifeng also wanted to make a waterwheel, but not for pumping water; it was purely a tool driven by water power. Although the drop in the water flow here was not large, the volume of water was great, and it could fully drive a waterwheel.

However, the river section here was too wide, and there was no way to directly connect the two banks, so they could only find a way to install it by the river; thus, how to build a stable base was a very troublesome problem, because in the summer flood season, the water would rise and the current would accelerate, so if the waterwheel was not installed securely, it would definitely be washed away by the current.

However, before Baifeng had thought through the problem of how to build the base, his project to build a waterwheel was rejected by the Carpenter. The main reason was that Baifeng had just promised them he would reduce their burden, and yet before his words had even cooled, he wanted to break his promise. Even though Baifeng's word was law in the tribe, if the tribespeople really refused to work and went on strike, Baifeng would have no way to handle it. This was indeed an unreasonable request he had proposed, and he was at fault first; furthermore, he could not bear to punish these craftsmen, as they were the treasures of the tribe right now, and he could not do without them at all.

Baifeng had no choice but to appeal to their emotions and explain the logic to them, telling them about the benefits of the waterwheel and what kind of driving force it could have for the tribe in the future, but they remained unmoved.

However, Baifeng said that the waterwheel could be installed with a Knife to help them with wood cutting work, and it could also help the Stonemason drill stones and help the Blacksmith forge iron; they wouldn't need to exert any effort, only needing to handle the materials well.

Once these words were out, the Stonemason and the Blacksmith could no longer sit still; after all, what Baifeng said was very attractive to them, though the Carpenter still did not quite believe it, as he did not think a wooden frame could help them do work.

Helpless, Baifeng had no choice but to use a few wooden boards and a few wooden sticks on the spot to make a model of a waterwheel, and then he took them to the Dahe to demonstrate it for them to see.

The set-up waterwheel model began to rotate under the drive of the water flow. Baifeng pointed to one end and said that as long as different Knives were installed on this wooden stick, the cutting effect could be achieved; then he told the Carpenter that after adding a structure, it could form a hammer that could move up and down, which could help the Blacksmith forge iron.

The few craftsmen who had long-term practical experience instantly understood Baifeng's explanation, though they had some doubts about the power of the water flow; they were not sure if the Dahe could have enough power to help them do work.

Baifeng patiently explained to them: "You know our Boats, right? You have also seen those stones and wood that were washed away in the floods, haven't you?"

They all nodded, but still had doubts: "What does this have to do with whether water can drive a waterwheel? Tribal Chief, are you afraid that those things flowing down will affect the waterwheel?"

Baifeng held his forehead: "Think carefully, if the water has the power to carry such large Boats and giant stones downstream, why wouldn't it be able to drive a small waterwheel?"

"Oh, right!"

Now they all understood and felt that this Dahe indeed had great power.

Now, when Baifeng explained the principles of some things, these few people could already understand them, which could save Baifeng a lot of effort; however, most of the tribespeople could not understand if you explained it to them, so Baifeng always did not explain the principles to them—he just told them to do it and not to ask why.

The few craftsmen had already started discussing how to build the waterwheel. The Blacksmith took the lead and said he was willing to provide the Carpenter with more and better tools, as they were the main force in building the waterwheel; the Stonemason thought for a moment and felt he had no way to help, so he had to keep his mouth shut.

Now Baifeng had become the one least in a hurry, because whether it was the base, the installation position, the waterwheel structure, etc., all required time to do slowly; and it was still the time of the spring flood, with the snow water from the upper reaches melting and gathering, which was also a volume of water that could not be underestimated, not to mention the upcoming peach blossom flood and summer flood, all of which were creating resistance to their installation of the waterwheel.

So Baifeng told the Carpenter to take it slow and not to worry, as the installation would probably have to wait until the dry season in Winter.

Hearing this, the Blacksmith and the Stonemason looked disappointed, while the Carpenter looked somewhat disappointed on the surface, but was actually overjoyed in his heart.