There are still many things to do after entering the longhouse. Although the wind and snow are isolated from the thick log walls, the temperature inside is still not comfortable.
The Moon Kingdom-style houses are completely different from those on the Rigal continent. Among the construction materials, wood accounts for the absolute majority instead of stone. The longhouse with a simple internal structure is quite large. From the re-locked wooden door at the entrance to the wall at the other end, it is about 17 or 8 meters in length, and the width is about half of the length. It looks very spacious without any furniture.
The place where the little unicorn stands and sleeps at night is at the entrance, which is just a flat dirt floor with no decorations. From here about 3 meters away, there are wooden boards that are raised about half a meter away - this is a multi-story building. The structure is made of thick logs crisscrossed horizontally and vertically as supports, and then smaller logs are laid on top as a frame, and finally it is covered with flat wooden boards.
In the center of the room is a large hanging pot that is characteristic of the Kingdom of the Moon. This pot is so large that Lulu's tribe did not take it with them when they evacuated. It is convenient for them now.
The large iron pot is suspended from the end of a huge wooden pillar hanging from the beam. This part is reinforced with iron products. The jagged iron bars are connected with movable rods. You can adjust the large pot up and down by pulling it with your hands. The distance from the fire source controls the heat.
A huge square hole was opened in the wooden floor under the cauldron, which was padded with bricks and surrounded by stones. This was what the local language called a "fire pit." Due to long-term use, the wood and stone nearby have been blackened, and a thick layer of wood ash has accumulated.
"Crack--" Several smaller pieces of firewood were thrown in, and then they chipped some smaller wood chips as ignition materials. It was not easy to light a fire in the cold weather. Fortunately, the torches were still not burned out when the group came in. With the burning whale oil torches, they quickly successfully lit up a small bonfire.
"Wow -" At this time, the manifestation of experience appeared again. The group of scholars and missionaries all threw down their backpacks in an unseemly manner, took off their warm gloves, shoes, and cloaks and threw them aside casually, and then gathered together. Warm yourself by the fire.
Henry, Mila, Galeva and Lulu, who were more accustomed to working, continued to work after taking off their outer warm clothes and changing their shoes.
The wood stored in the sun-drying side of the longhouse is basically large logs. After felling, the Aboriginal people use saws to cut them into suitable shapes, and then use large axes to split them into several pieces and store them. Due to their large size, they cannot be burned directly and must be further divided into smaller pieces using a smaller axe.
This job was naturally handed over to Henry and Galeva. There were no tools in the longhouse, and useful tools like axes were also taken away by them when they moved.
But the group of people who had been prepared for it also brought it with them. The Kramer in the hands of the sage finally did not need to work part-time as a woodcutter, which made Mira breathe a long sigh of relief.
The sound of "Ka! Ka!" kept ringing in the long house with only a small fire in the center. After the wood was split and became smaller, the Luoan girl carried a whole pile of wood to the fire pit and prepared. Add slowly to make the fire bigger.
The missionaries and scholars, who had started to warm up after being heated for a while, finally felt embarrassed now. They all got up from the ground and began to organize their equipment and take out the bedding and various tools. Mira, who returned to the door, picked up another small piece of wood, picked up the small ax and chopped it into the wood, then held the ax handle and the wood together with her hand, and then smashed it on the dirt. Just make it separate.
This method is a trick that only those who are familiar with splitting firewood can master. The wood is so small that it cannot stand on the ground by itself. You have to hold it with your hands. And when the weather is cold and the movements are slow, it is common to accidentally cut one's hand.
This approach is safer and equally efficient, and even saves more effort.
"Give that to me." Lulu stretched out her hand to her. Mira could already understand these simple dialogues. She handed the small piece of wood to the other party, while Lulu used the short knife in her arms to dig out the wood flowers, and then placed them under the wooden floor in a square structure built with mortar and bricks. , then stacked some more wood blocks, then ran to the fire pit and took a piece of burning wood and ran back.
After the flames burned and illuminated the appearance of the things below, Mira, who was watching Lulu doing something, immediately realized what this was - obviously the bottom of the wooden board that was isolated from the ground was not completely exposed, they had built it with bricks and stones. There are some flues, and when the flame burns at the entrance, the hot smoke will pass through from underneath and heat the floor.
These flues are sealed with mortar and masonry, and stones are also placed inside to retain heat for a longer period of time. The outlet of the flue is on the other side of the house, so there is no need to worry about being choked and unable to breathe in an overly closed room in winter.
The burning flames quickly warmed the floor of the longhouse. Under the work of the strong Henry and Galeva, one-third of the wood stored in the house turned into burning firewood. . This is enough for them to use for at least two days, and people do not need to light a fire to keep warm during the day. The whole thing can save a lot by omitting the heating floor below.
The snow was still falling outside the house. It was almost 9 o'clock in the evening when all this work was done, but the snow still showed no sign of stopping and instead continued to increase.
From this point of view, they may have to stay in the Lulu clan's camp for a short time.
Scholars and missionaries placed their cloaks and woolen quilts on both sides of the fire pit near the walls. The wooden floor that gradually warmed as the fire burned allowed their frozen feet to begin to recover. After asking Lulu, La called Lisa, rewrapped her cloak and took the container and ran outside to get water.
They didn't go too far. There were several large tanks covered with huge wooden covers on one side of the longhouse, which were used to store fresh water. Although the snow on the ground could be burned and used as drinking water in an emergency, it might contain small stones and the like. impurities and wastes too much fuel, so it is better to use it directly when there is water.
"Mira, it's frozen." Lisa, who was born in the middle of the empire, is not very good at coldness. Facing the frozen water on the surface, she asked our white-haired girl for help, and the Luoan girl came over and directly used her hands to The small iron pot used to ladle water was smashed.
"Crack--" She quickly broke the frozen surface, and then the two of them returned to the longhouse under the dim moonlight carrying a full bottle of fresh water.
"Click -" The tenon inserted into the granite threshold, and the wooden door of the longhouse was closed again. The two of them felt the change in temperature as they went back and forth. Many people on the floor that had warmed up inside took off their thick warm gloves, coats, cloaks and scarves. Seeing Mira and Lisa coming back, Lulu reached out and turned the gear on the big iron pot "—— "Clang - Clang" he lowered the huge iron pot to the fire. This move suddenly made the room much darker, because the fire could not jump so high.
"Wha—" The iron pot lowered to the fire and began to heat up. After that, they added fresh water to it. On the other side, the sage and Galeva, who also arranged their backpacks and unloaded their weapons, held the The dry food came over.
"Where's the cheese?" Lisa asked over her shoulder. She didn't see it after opening the sack.
"Lulu can't get used to it." The sage replied concisely and concisely. Cheese made from fermented milk is very popular in the world of Rigar, but Lulu, who was born as a resident of Crescent Continent, tasted it once on the Oriental Moon and said, "It's like Smelly feet” and had gastrointestinal discomfort for several days.
"..." This answer obviously made Lisa a little dissatisfied. She frowned, and Mira on the side saw this in her eyes.
Scholars are almost always people who are not good at interacting with others, as we have mentioned before. This is due to personality and career, but many of the factors that cause their impression are also related to their family background.
In the continent of Rigal, where the circulation of books and knowledge is restricted, and books and even paper and pens are very expensive, even in a rich country like the Padrosi Empire, only families with average or above-average wealth can afford it.
With such restrictions of origin, it is natural that the intellectual class such as the scholar group would leave the impression of "young master and young lady", "unfriendly" and "pampered".
Although it is not as easy as opening one's mouth to reach out for food, the fact that they can muster up the courage to go on an ocean voyage with a ship has proved that these people have good minds. But in some details, it still gives people a sense of the self-centeredness that is common in Laman's upper class society.
They are not good at thinking about others. Even in team activities, like the previous scene, they lack even more contribution to the team. More often than not, it is due to a self-centered action mode, thinking that one is the center and only others can cater to oneself without the option of putting down one's own stature.
This mentality is very common among the upper class of the Padrosi Empire. Because they are very proud, it is common for them to have conflicts and estrangements with others. But Lisa's obvious dissatisfaction was noticed by her mentor. The slender middle-aged Laman man was obviously a higher-ranking being in the city. He spoke in time and reprimanded Lisa: "Be mature and do as the Romans do. ."
The tutor said this, which made the scholar feel unhappy but could not say anything else.
Lulu, who didn't understand what they were talking about, was working on the big pot attentively, waiting for the water to gradually heat up before adding the ingredients into it.
The entire team, with a very unique composition, of more than a dozen people, gathered around the fire pit and waited for the late dinner. In the process, Mira repeatedly looked at the scholars, and finally turned to her teacher—— Henry shrugged at her unsurprisingly.
A week's time.
A week has passed since Lulu informed Captain Francisco of the current political situation in the Moon Country.
During this period, the Oriental Moon sailed unimpeded to the north of Crescent Continent, but it was at this place that they decided to separate after consultation.
The original plan of the Sage and his party was to follow the Oriental Moon and land directly at the central harbor. However, due to the poaching by the missionaries, the missionaries on the ship, including the young missionary whom Mira had taken care of, whom she felt was a bit timid, A group of religious personnel have completely turned into street rats.
Other foreigners could still live a normal life if they behaved themselves, but the missionary who was the culprit obviously would not be let off. Captain Francisco gave them two choices. One was to stay in the cabin of the Oriental Moon and hide in the cargo hold while they were trading goods, waiting for the ship to return.
The other choice was given because the captain knew very well how firm or stubborn these transoceanic missionaries were in their beliefs.
That was to be led by Lulu who boarded the ship by chance, escorted by Henry and others, and landed in the north where the mainstream society was not strong and controlled by the barbarians, and then cautiously traveled overland to join the White Church members of the Moon Country.
Let's not mention the dangers on the road. Even if they join together, it is impossible to make any changes to the overall environment that is hostile to them.
But these stubborn guys just won’t give up.
To put it another way, it is precisely because of this that they choose to embark on this path.
As for why Lisa's group of scholars went on the road together, according to the explanation of the team leader - Lisa's mentor - the tall and thin man, it was because of the culture of the ethnic minorities like the Yi people in the north of Crescent Continent. They are very interested, so they must seize the opportunity to communicate and communicate after meeting Lulu.
But neither our Luoan girl nor Mr. Sage buy into this point.
As we have been saying, the history of various countries in the world is basically inseparable from religion.
The history of religion is the history of war, and the history of religion is political history. The relationship between the nobility and even the royal family and the church is difficult to explain clearly in a few words. Although they sometimes have some internal conflicts, when it comes to issues such as foreign lands, they obviously still think of all the Lamanites. It is more appropriate to form a whole.
And if you change this concept, it will become difficult for you to believe that the true meaning of the scholar group is just cultural exchange.
The struggle started by the church made foreigners and ethnic minorities the targets of persecution. Under such circumstances, when they arrived in this land, they happened to meet Lulu, a minority. They suddenly changed their original research plan on board the ship and decided to make contact with the barbarians.
It is obviously intended to bring ethnic minorities who are also excluded by mainstream society to their side.
"Wow!" The water in the cauldron finally boiled after boiling for a long time, and the flames below were swaying.
Just like the various human hearts in this small house.
