I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 397 – Sturdy without using Cement
Han Cheng looked at the collapsed pile of bricks, sniffed, then moved the bricks aside and continued this seemingly never-ending task.
His craftsmanship had few shortcuts; it could only be improved through continuous trial and practice.
He was just an ordinary person from the future with no superpowers, so he had to try repeatedly, learn from his experiences, and then continue trying.
“Clatter…”
Just as Han Cheng was about to rejoice at the finally connected arch, the bricks pieced together collapsed once again.
“Brother Cheng, just use some mud to stick them together, and they won’t collapse…”
After watching for a while, Bai Xue stood by the side and couldn’t help but speak up.
She didn’t understand why Brother Cheng only used bricks instead of using well-mixed mud as adhesive or stronger cement to build.
How could it be possible to build without using mud? How could it not be possible?
People like Bai Xue, who had never been exposed to such things, didn’t understand its reasoning. He had seen skilled craftsmen build an arch piece by piece with bricks before, without any adhesive, and it was solid.
It seemed to involve some force, which, as a humanities student, he didn’t quite understand, but he also understood that this principle was similar to that of an eggshell.
An eggshell is thin and fragile, but most people can’t crush it with their hands.
The arch that Han Cheng wanted to make was similar to this.
There’s no room for laziness; a forcibly constructed arch using straw ash cement or mud wouldn’t achieve a perfect state structurally, and such an arch wouldn’t bear weight.
Han Cheng was preparing to make a brick kiln, the kind that required people to enter, place brick blanks, and remove bricks.
How could he not take this seriously?
Otherwise, if people were working in the kiln and the kiln collapsed…
Han Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, straightened up to rest momentarily, and smiled at Bai Xue, “We can’t use mud for now. I’ll finish building them first, then use mud… Didn’t I already build it for a while just now…”
Bai Xue blinked her eyes. It collapsed right after she let go, and that was considered built?
But she didn’t say anything more. Since Brother Cheng said so, there must be a reason for it, and he could build them without using mud.
After standing here for a while and watching, she left and went to pick up mulberry leaves with several other people from the tribe.
The silkworms had already started molting; after molting, they would eat a lot of mulberry leaves.
Han Cheng continued with his continuous building and collapsing.
During this period, there was more than one occasion when people came over, like Bai Xue, suggesting solutions to him, but he smiled and refused.
If the Zhaozhou Bridge, with its long span, could be successfully built and stand for thousands of years without collapsing, there was no reason he couldn’t build an arch with a span of only one meter…
Was an arch built without mud sturdier than one built with it?
The people of the Green Sparrow tribe, upon learning what the shaman wanted to do, were puzzled and eager to see what the shaman’s words would bring to them, opening their eyes.
The leader of the donkey tribe, addicted to trade, came with the goods traded by the tribe. Regarding the appearance of these things outside the Green Sparrow tribe, he expressed his incomprehension.
These people in the tribe don’t seem to hunt; they scratch around in the dirt all day, not doing any real work… The key is that despite this, the tribe is getting better and better, which is frustrating.
Especially that Divine Child, constantly stacking neat stones and constantly collapsing. When he saw it, it had collapsed four times already.
Is this the Divine Child revered like a god by this powerful tribe?
The leader of the donkey tribe left, complaining all the way.
His complaints weren’t without reason. Originally, it was enough to exchange fur for pottery, but now salt wasn’t free anymore, and the same amount of fur would get much less in exchange.
Should he start trading with other tribes again? Should he ask for more things in exchange for salt?
The leader of the donkey tribe pondered…
Not long after the leader of the donkey tribe left, Han Cheng finally managed to build the arch properly.
The arch, built entirely of dry bricks, didn’t collapse this time like before. Instead, it stood there quietly, with curvature, as if glued together with cement.
Seeing this scene, the people of the Green Sparrow tribe were very surprised at this completely illogical thing.
What surprised them even more was what happened next. After waiting for a while, the Divine Child put one foot on it.
This made everyone very worried. It was already very difficult for this thing, which seemed unable to bear any weight and could collapse at any time, to support itself. Why step on it with a foot?
However, the expected collapse did not occur. After the Divine Child put his foot on it, the thing, which seemed unable to support any weight and could collapse at any time, was surprisingly stable.
“Brother Cheng!”
After realizing Han Cheng’s intention to go up to the top of the arch, Bai Xue worriedly called out.
Although the arch was not high and falling from it wouldn’t cause injury, it was built with bricks, and it was very likely that the collapsed arch would trap his foot.
Han Cheng smiled at her and then climbed up.
To everyone’s surprise, the seemingly weak, dry brick arch with an empty middle withstood the Divine Child’s weight and showed no signs of collapse.
Seeing this miraculous scene, everyone couldn’t help but marvel.
After standing on it for a while and testing it, Han Cheng began to jump lightly on it, gradually increasing the force until he jumped down with all his strength. There was no sign of collapse, and Han Cheng couldn’t help but smile.
With perseverance, he finally built this thing!
Everyone wondered how this seemingly weak arch could withstand so much force. After consulting Han Cheng’s opinion, they also began to climb up one by one.
After experiencing the strength of this arch firsthand, everyone was even more surprised. Even after successfully slimming down, the second elder brother, still the heaviest in the tribe, went up and down several times. After experiencing the strength of this arch, everyone had a whole new understanding.
In everyone’s regretful expressions, Han Cheng personally dismantled the arch that had been so painstakingly built.
Then, after moving one of the walls, which was only 30 centimeters high, back half a meter, he continued to build the arch with bricks.
However, the arch’s span reached one and a half meters this time.
“Clatter…”
As expected by Han Cheng, the first attempt failed again.
However, with the experience of building the smaller arch, the larger span arch didn’t fail too often. By the second day, he had it set up properly.