This Is My Primitive Tribe

Jiang Xuan walked around the shipyard. Given the current progress, it would be quite good if the first wood ship that can actually be launched is completed before next summer.

As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest. Once the first wood ship is successfully manufactured, the speed of subsequent production will become faster and faster, laying the foundation for building larger ships.

"Take it slow. You can't eat hot tofu if you're in a hurry."

"Wait... Tofu?"

Jiang Xuan suddenly thought, the Vine Tribe has beans, and they are large Black Pearl Beans. They should be able to make tofu, right?

At the very least, they could make soy milk!

It's far better than eating the beans directly, and there's no worry about bloating from eating too many.

"That's right! How did I forget about soy milk and tofu!"

Jiang Xuan encouraged a few people at the shipyard and then left for the Stone Workshop.

Not long ago, almost all workshops of the Vine Tribe were moved to the eastern shore, including the Stone Workshop.

The benefit of this is that it separates the workshops from the residential areas, ensuring a better living environment and avoiding pollution and noise from the workshops.

The Stone Workshop was easy to find because it always emitted the clinking sounds of grinding.

Jiang Xuan entered the Stone Workshop and found the Elder Stone Artifact Master.

"Leader, what kind of stone tool do you want to make?"

The Elder Stone Artifact Master looked at Jiang Xuan with great anticipation. The emergence of Bronze Artifacts caused many tribe members to no longer fully rely on Stone Tools, leading to less work for the Stone Workshop.

This made the Elder Stone Artifact Master very sad. Compared to Bronze Artifacts, he preferred all kinds of Stone Tools, and he rarely used the various bronze hammer and Bronze Chisel that Jiang Xuan brought.

He stubbornly used the old tools because he felt more comfortable with them.

But some young apprentices had started using bronze tools while making Stone Tools, and the Elder Stone Artifact Master did not oppose it.

In the transition between old and new tools, the Elder Stone Artifact Master was stubborn about his own preferences but tolerant towards others, not restricting the apprentices from using new tools.

This was one of the reasons why Jiang Xuan respected the Elder Stone Artifact Master so much.

"I want to make a stone mill that can grind various grains into powder."

"Stone mill?"

The Elder Stone Artifact Master frowned, full of confusion, because he had never heard of such a stone tool.

Jiang Xuan thought for a moment and said, "I'll mold a model with clay for you, okay?"

The Elder Stone Artifact Master nodded. Jiang Xuan had done this several times before, and it was very useful.

Jiang Xuan took a stick, went outside the Stone Workshop to dig some clay, added a little water to form a clay ball, and then molded it into the shape of the two halves of a stone mill. He used a small stick as the stone mill axis and even drew the pattern of the mill teeth on the two halves of the mill.

"Look, a stone mill is divided into an upper half and a lower half. This hole is called the mill eye, and the middle part is called the stone mill axis. The patterns on top are called mill teeth."

"The upper half of the stone mill attaches a wooden handle to turn along the axis, while the lower half remains fixed."

"When grains are put into the stone mill through the mill eye and the stone mill is pulled, these mill teeth grind the grains into powder little by little, which then flows out along the edges."

Jiang Xuan thought for a bit more and explained, "It's just like how our teeth grind food, bit by bit chewing things into smaller pieces. The stone mill works on a similar principle."

The Elder Stone Artifact Master looked at the clay model of the stone mill in Jiang Xuan's hands, and as he listened to the explanation, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

As an experienced Stone Artifact Master, he only needed a slight understanding to know whether this kind of tool could be made.

At the same time, he showed strong interest in this very practical new stone tool.

"Leader, leave this clay stone mill here. I will grind a real stone mill!"

Jiang Xuan laughed and said, "I trust in your stone grinding skills."

Jiang Xuan hesitated for a moment and then added, "I have another suggestion. I don't know if you can accept it."

"Please, go ahead, Leader."

Jiang Xuan said, "The stone mill axis is very important. If made of wood, it wears out easily and is prone to breaking. If made of stone, ordinary stone could easily break, and using top-grade stone for a single axis seems wasteful."

"Since we will need many such stone mills in the future, we can't all use top-grade stone for the axes."

"So, I think casting the stone mill axis in bronze would be a good choice. It would be both wear-resistant and less prone to breaking..."

After Jiang Xuan finished speaking, he looked sincerely at the Elder Stone Artifact Master, because he knew that the master did not like Bronze Artifacts very much. Integrating them into his traditionally crafted Stone Tools, Jiang Xuan did not know if he would accept it.

The Elder Stone Artifact Master's face stiffened, and after a moment of silence, he looked at the Bronze Artifacts that other apprentices in the Stone Workshop were using and eventually compromised.

"Since the leader believes bronze is suitable for casting the stone mill axis, then... Let's cast it in bronze."

Jiang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that the Elder Stone Artifact Master would be too stubborn and traditional, which would greatly reduce the durability of the stone mill produced.

Jiang Xuan was about to leave but he noticed a trace of desolation on the Elder Stone Artifact Master's face. So he stopped.

"How about we chat outside?"

The Elder Stone Artifact Master nodded and then followed Jiang Xuan outside.

Outside the Stone Workshop, Jiang Xuan and the Elder Stone Artifact Master sat on several large stones.