After Su Bai and his group tested the explosive packages, they returned to the Yong’an Building to begin researching new gunpowder formulas.
The reason their first test achieved maximum success was due to the precise proportions and their attention to detail. After all, as the saying goes, ‘the devil is in the details’. Mastering the details was equivalent to pulling the devil called ‘unreliability’ out from within them, thus preventing mistakes.
"Shaman, please leave the next proportion adjustments to me. I will diligently research what is needed." Co Co said with a tone full of purpose.
Co Co now only wanted to quickly return to the laboratory to experiment, finding this far more meaningful than her previous tests.
"En, if there’s anything you don’t understand, just come and ask me." Su Bai nodded, noticing her eagerness.
"Yes," Co Co nodded emphatically before hurriedly diving into the laboratory to begin tinkering.
"Co Co is a genius to be able to help the Shaman with such matters…" Sha Lan sighed.
She suddenly felt that she was not fulfilling her role as Shaman Priestess properly, never imagining she could not help with such important matters. If only she were as clever as Co Co, then she could assist the Shaman much more, rather than just sitting idly as she was now.
Before the rainy season arrived, he had gotten the Straw Sandal Crafting Guide and had already instructed the Tribe to begin making them.
The goal was to ensure everyone in the Tribe could wear Straw Sandals, rather than what most people were doing, which was going barefoot.
In this Primitive Era, except for the Large Tribes, not everyone could have Straw Sandals to wear. Those who could wear Straw Sandals were naturally of better status, or had exchanged large quantities of meat for them, or were Warriors in the Tribe.
The Flame Dragon Tribe operated this way; only Warriors who ventured into the forest were allocated footwear.
Because they needed to hunt and patrol, they required footwear, whereas most people who stayed within the Tribe simply went barefooted.
But this had disadvantages. Those with weaker Physiques easily caught colds going barefoot, and those with poor digestion were more likely to suffer from diarrhoea and other ailments.
Moreover, Su Bai intended to transform the Tribe into something resembling a city. Tribespeople without shoes looked like savages—how could that resemble a city?
Furthermore, the production processes written in the Straw Sandal Crafting Guide were all simple and not time-consuming. Making enough for everyone in the Tribe was feasible.
"Everyone has collected their Straw Sandals using their identity cards. We can say everyone in the Tribe now has them," Sha Lan’s earlier gloom disappeared, as she always became particularly serious when reporting work matters.
"Are you certain everyone has them? Even the young children?" Su Bai asked.
He wanted to avoid creating stark class distinctions within the Tribe. His aim was equality for all, so everyone must have sandals.
"Everyone has them. Since I was primarily responsible for registering identity cards, I remember clearly," Sha Lan stated confidently.
Sha Lan did not delegate this task to others; she had handled it on her own. So, everyone was in her memory.
"That’s good. What is their feedback?" Su Bai curiously asked.
He wanted to know the Tribe members’ attitudes after receiving the Straw Sandals he had gifted them.
"They were all extremely grateful to the Shaman. Initially, none of them could believe it, some were even hesitant to accept the Straw Sandals." Sha Lan recalled the scene with amusement.
She remembered when she gave the Straw Sandals to the people, they were reluctant to accept them. It was not because they thought the Straw Sandals were of poor quality, but because they could not understand why they would receive such things for no reason.
Of course, initially they wanted to accept them immediately—they had never seen such footwear before, let alone worn any. However, their reasoning told them something was not right.
It was only after Sha Lan repeatedly explained that the Straw Sandals were gifts requiring nothing in exchange did they willingly accept.
After accepting, the people simply could not put them down, holding the Straw Sandals in their hands and playing with them for a long time. Some even rubbed the shoes against their faces, feeling it was unbelievable.
"Good, they will work even harder now." Su Bai smiled slightly.
He did not consider giving away Straw Sandals for free to be a loss; on the contrary, it was a way to win their hearts.
No one would willingly give Straw Sandals to others for free, not even the Tribe’s Chieftain. But he had done it, and was the first to do so. Moreover, the Straw Sandals were of excellent quality.
The Tribe members would surely be deeply grateful, and in the future would follow the Tribe more loyally and work more diligently.
"Shaman, this was truly a good approach. The Straw Sandals aren’t too difficult to make, so they do not take too much of our time." Sha Lan blinked her blue eyes.
She thought this approach was excellent because the snow season would soon arrive, and everyone would certainly be cold if barefoot. Distributing Straw Sandals now was the perfect opportunity to further win their hearts.
"By the way, what has been the response to the soap and detergent that Co Co made?" Su Bai asked.
Co Co had developed these items some time ago, and she began mass producing them.
Once a sufficient quantity had been produced, small pieces were distributed to the Tribe’s leaders, while others could not use them yet due to the limited supply.
"They all say these items are very useful. Now they compete to bathe every day." Sha Lan covered her mouth and laughed.
When those items were produced, those who could receive soap eagerly used it. After using it once, they fell deeply in love with it, finding their hair unprecedentedly clean and the scent pleasant.
Originally, they were not fond of bathing, but after having these items, they looked forward to bathing each day.
Each time, they felt refreshed after bathing, finding the fragrance far better than the previously foul body odour.
They also appreciated the detergent, having always felt that the Animal Hide they wore could not be cleaned properly, but discovering it washed particularly well with detergent.
Of course, the fragrance would linger, which was especially comforting and nice.
"I’m glad they find it useful. Let the Tribe continue producing more," Su Bai nodded with satisfaction.
He had previously instructed the construction of a workshop specifically for producing detergent and soap.
"I’ve already assigned people to oversee it. We’ll soon produce a lot more in the future." Sha Lan nodded emphatically.