Chapter 742: Water and Gourds

After the spring eye was enlarged, Che used stones to build a circle around it to protect it; in this way, even if there was silt, it would be difficult to block the spring eye for a while, and the spring water was now flowing out more as well.

Afterward, he arranged for the others to pave the bottom of the spring with stones; although it seemed a bit superfluous, this would make it much easier to clear the silt next time, and it would be easier for everyone to determine where the spring ground was located.

For the subsequent spring eyes, Che followed the same method, enlarging them as well; by the time the entire spring bottom was covered with stones, the whole spring became sparkling, and the water volume was even greater; now the water was still flowing out continuously, and even here, the spring water could easily submerge their calves.

The water flowed aimlessly; it would only flow toward lower ground and would not go into any special channels; this stretch of beach here was soaked by the water again, but fortunately, the area where they had cleared the silt served as a relatively spacious waterway, and more water flowed along this channel toward the valley not far away.

It was getting late now, and their work was almost finished, so Che said to the group: "Alright, the work is done. The next time we come over, it will probably be in Winter, or next Spring. Everyone, take your tools now, don't leave anything behind, and get ready to head back."

"Understood!" the group responded loudly; clearly, they were very satisfied with the project they had completed today; for some reason, although it was labor, they all liked playing with water, and after working for most of the day, they felt very happy.

However, at this moment, a Laborer raised his hand and asked: "Division Che! Can I drink a mouthful of the spring water here? I am so thirsty."

Che turned his head and took a look; the eyes of those Laborers were full of anticipation; they were all very disciplined now because they understood that Huaxia did not allow the drinking of raw water; in their team, there were already people who, because they did not listen to instructions and drank raw water, had been taken directly back by the team that delivered supplies last time, and would be sent back to the Xuanyuan Tribe; he would also no longer be employed by Huaxia, and he might never have the chance for such a good job again in his life.

So now, even if they were extremely thirsty, they could only endure it and dared not drink secretly; they were very grateful to this companion who dared to ask the question.

Unexpectedly, Che was not that serious and did not reprimand them; instead, he said very gently: "Drink. This kind of water is new water that has just flowed out; it is clean and can be drunk. In the wild, if there are no conditions to boil water, the only water that can be drunk is mountain spring water that has just flowed out from the spring eye; rainwater that has just fallen from Heaven is also acceptable; anything else is absolutely forbidden, unless you want the worms in your stomachs to increase."

Hearing that Che had allowed them, the Laborers cheered collectively, and then, in a somewhat orderly fashion, they squatted by the spring and cupped the water with their hands to drink; of course, before drinking, they would first wash their hands with the water to clean off the mud.

Che was also very satisfied with these Laborers now; they were obedient, orderly, and hygienic, and had begun to look like civilized people; it was just that he did not know whether, after they returned to the Xuanyuan Tribe, they would lead the Xuanyuan Tribe to become like them, or if they would be assimilated by the Xuanyuan Tribe once again.

After the first wave of people finished drinking, the others followed, and Che also asked with a smile: "How does the water taste?"

The Laborers also answered honestly: "It has a little salty taste, like salt was added; it's delicious!"

"As long as it's delicious, don't drink too much; we still have to climb the mountain later, just drink a little."

The Laborers each cupped two mouthfuls to moisten their throats and did not really drink their fill; the Huaxia Workers who were also feeling a bit thirsty now took out their own gourds one after another, opened the stoppers, and drank a few big gulps; they would not squat on the ground to drink water; no matter where they were, as long as they went out, they would definitely bring their own water gourds, which were filled with boiled water.

Ever since they had Wax Seed, gourds began to be planted on a large scale in Huaxia; tender gourds could be eaten as vegetables, and when dried, they could be made into tools; the yield was high, and they were not picky about the location; one plant was completely enough for a family; even if they didn't grow well that year, if others had more, they would give a few to each other.

Therefore, there was no shortage of gourds in Huaxia; the ladles for scooping water were all made of gourds, which were lighter than wood and easier to obtain; everyone had their own water gourd; those who liked to show off would even carve their own names on the gourds, and those who were more elaborate would use a red-hot Iron to brand them, making them even more unique.

However, Huaxia did not have that much beeswax; although there were already professional beekeepers, and that natural beehive could also provide a large amount of honeycomb every year, the production of beeswax was still very limited.

Even candles could not be made in large quantities; for lighting, Baifeng used Oil Lamps most of the time.

Therefore, most of the gourds belonging to these people were not wax-sealed and had to be replaced with new ones after a long time; Che was naturally different; his gourd had been filled with beeswax, and the entire gourd had turned a slightly reddish state due to frequent use, which was somewhat good-looking; among them, they would even compare whose gourd had a deeper color and a brighter skin, as if this were a reflection of the gourd's value.

Baifeng also felt that they had not yet discovered that those small, underdeveloped gourds could also be picked and played with; they could likewise be polished until they were bright and purple; he did not have the time or energy, and was too lazy to play with gourds, otherwise, he would definitely be able to make gourd collectibles popular.

Other nuts might also be discovered by them one by one, and then they would start playing with them; now, what Baifeng liked more was gold, but unfortunately, it was a bit heavy and too soft, not suitable for him to wear; only Sui and Chinv wore two large bracelets on their wrists.

If it weren't for the fact that Huaxia did not have enough gold and it would waste too much of the Blacksmiths' energy, there would probably be gold bracelets by now—the kind that were nested one inside the other, like a spring.

These would definitely appear one day in the future, and it would not even be too far off; Baifeng would not restrict it, but he was too lazy to push it; he would just let everything take its course.

As for these collectibles, it would depend on which bored, meddlesome person picked those useless small gourds to play with first.

Of course, Baifeng naturally would not know that many children in Huaxia were already playing with gourds; perhaps the children themselves were not conscious of wanting to make the gourds look good, but simply because they had no toys and were bored; small gourds, being things that were easy to get and good-looking, naturally became the children's toys.