Chapter 498: Strong Foundations
The moment Su Qinglan spoke, the others quickly gathered around the hardened mixture, their curiosity fully ignited.
Shi Feng crouched down first, gently pressing his fingers against the surface. His brows lifted in surprise. "It’s really solid now... it feels just like stone."
Han Jue leaned closer, tapping it lightly with his knuckles. A dull, heavy sound echoed back. His eyes brightened instantly. "No... it’s even better than ordinary stone. It’s binding them together."
Hu Yan picked up a small rock and tried to wedge it loose from the hardened paste. His movements were careful at first, but even when he applied more force, the stone refused to come out.
"It’s completely fused," he muttered, clearly impressed.
Suddenly, a loud voice boomed from the side.
"You all back off! Let me see how strong this thing really is!"
Rong Ye stepped forward with a confident grin, cracking his knuckles.
Without waiting for anyone to stop him, he swung his powerful fist and punched the hardened test patch with full force.
Crack!
The stone beneath shattered into dust and fragments, but the strange cement like material stayed completely intact. It held its shape stubbornly, a weird, lumpy block that refused to break apart even as the rock around it crumbled.
Su Qinglan: "..."
She stared at the mess for a second, then her face turned red with anger. She marched up to Rong Ye and pointed at the ruined test patch.
"Rong Ye! What do you want?! Do you want to flatten our future house before we even build it? If you keep punching and kicking like this, we might as well forever live in the open sky! No need for any house at all!"
Rong Ye froze, his fist still raised in mid air. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, looking a little guilty under Su Qinglan’s glare.
"I... I just wanted to test how strong it was, Lan Lan. It really is tough! Look, it didn’t even crack!"
Su Qinglan held her forehead, sighing deeply. She suddenly felt that this brute of a husband might be better left sleeping under the open sky.
The others, Hu Yan, Shi Feng, and Han Jue, tried hard to hold back their laughter, their shoulders shaking as they watched Rong Ye get scolded.
Su Qinglan took a deep breath to calm herself and waved her hand. "Alright, alright. At least we know it works... very well. Just... no more punching the test samples, okay?"
Rong Ye nodded quickly, looking like a big puppy who had been caught misbehaving. "Yes, Lan Lan. I’ll be careful next time."
Still grumbling softly under her breath about "barbarian husbands who only know how to smash things," Su Qinglan turned back to the pile of gathered materials.
The successful test had filled everyone with even more excitement.
Su Qinglan returned from the forest in the late afternoon. She walked at the front, her four husbands close behind her.
Each of them carried a huge bundle of the strange plants on their broad backs. The plant stems were thick and heavy, but the beastmen handled them easily.
Rong Ye and Hu Yan were carrying the biggest loads of the plants, their shoulders bulging with the pale, chalky looking stalks.
Beside them, Shi Feng and Han Jue each held two large sacks made from sturdy beast hides, filled to the brim with fine river sand.
The sacks were so heavy that even the strong males had to walk a little slower so they would not spill it out.
"We could not bring everything in one trip," Hu Yan explained as they dropped the bundles near the pile of carved stones.
"The plants grow thick near the river, but we will need to go back for more sand and clay before it gets fully dark."
Su Qinglan nodded, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead. "That is fine. We have enough to start the first batch of cement paste."
As soon as the materials touched the ground, Rong Ye, Shi Feng, and Han Jue turned to the waiting tribesmen.
"Come on, brothers! Let us go fetch the rest before night falls!" The three of them, along with a large group of eager fox beastmen, immediately headed back into the forest at a run, their tails swishing with excitement.
Only Hu Yan stayed behind with Su Qinglan and Rong Ye.
Su Qinglan turned around and froze in place. Her eyes widened in pure shock.
In front of her stood a neat, towering stack of carved stone bricks, hundreds of them, all perfectly rectangular, smooth sided, and almost a foot high, just as she had asked. The pile was so big it reached almost to her chest.
"How... how did you make so many in just a few hours?" she asked, stunned. "I was only gone for three or four hours! We left in the afternoon and now it is almost dark!"
The surrounding beastmen grinned proudly. One of them stepped forward, chest puffed out. "Sister Qinglan, when you said this new house would be warmer and stronger for the females and cubs, we all got excited! We dropped everything else we were doing and focused only on carving stones. Every male who could swing a claw joined in!"
Another young fox beastman chimed in happily, "Yeah! We wanted to see this stone house with our own eyes. If you designed it, it has to be amazing!"
Su Qinglan smiled brightly, her heart warming at their enthusiasm. "Thank you, everyone. This is... more than enough. With this many bricks, we can build a really big house, one with a kitchen, a separate bathhouse, and almost two full rooms. No more squeezing everyone together!"
The males cheered loudly, their voices echoing across the clearing.
Hu Yan clapped his hands together. "Then let us get started right now! What do we do with these plants, Lan Lan?"
Su Qinglan pointed at the big bundles. "First, peel the outer layer of the stems. Inside you will find a solid, chalky part that works exactly like stone lime. That is what makes the cement strong."
"Everyone, start a few fires over there and begin boiling the peeled stems in big pots of water. Once it softens, mix it with the fine sand, a little sticky clay, and some water until it becomes a thick, smooth paste."
The beastmen jumped into action without hesitation. Males peeled stems with their sharp claws, revealing the white, solid cores inside. Others stirred the boiling mixture, and soon the air filled with the fresh, earthy smell of the paste.
While they worked on the cement, Su Qinglan grabbed a long stick and ran to a flat, open spot nearby. "This looks perfect!" she called out.
With quick, confident strokes, she drew large straight lines on the ground, marking the full outline of the house. It was wide enough for two rooms, an open kitchen, and a bath area.
"Help me dig a small trench along these lines," she told the waiting males.
"Not too deep, just enough so the first layer of the wall sits partly in the earth. It will make the whole house much sturdier against wind and rain."
Dozens of strong hands went to work. Claws and paws flew.
In just a few minutes, the foundation trench was neatly dug all around the marked lines.