The blacksmithing spirit of the Dwarves was truly bone-deep.
In their quest to research new creations, they could go without food, drink, or rest. If every office worker had this kind of enthusiasm, their bosses would probably cry tears of joy.
So, as soon as he spoke, in addition to firing cement, the Dwarves had a new task: making soda ash to create glass.
The entire tribe even fought over the work; they nearly came to blows over who would be the one to test the new formula.
During the time they waited for the brick molds to dry, they first successfully tested the cement, and then, following Eric’s method, they produced soda ash.
When firing the glass, they added the soda ash and quartz sand together and were astonished to discover that the resulting glass was not only much clearer but also took a shorter time to fire!
Now, the Dwarves looked at Eric with an enthusiasm even greater than when they looked at ore.
"Father said you must be a divine messenger sent by the God of Smithing to help us," Robin said, looking at Eric with adoration.
Eric, who was struggling with a lump of pottery clay, felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
"Have you ever seen a divine messenger who spends all day in a pile of mud? Be less superstitious, will you? If you have time, hurry up and bring me some of the prepared clay."
The first batch of pottery molds he had made was almost dry. He had wanted to imitate some bloggers and make fancy ceramic pieces, but he failed no matter how he tried.
In the end, he had to accept his fate and switched to making simple tools like ceramic jars, bowls, and plates. For tasks that required skilled hands, he really shouldn’t torture himself any longer.
The first batch of brick molds was placed in the kiln. Eric also put all of his pottery molds in, after carefully dipping them in a simple ash glaze beforehand. The Dwarves sealed the kiln entrance and used a large amount of charcoal to light the fire.
Leaving two people in charge of tending the fire, the rest went about their own work. Eric went to find Chief Joseph to borrow a few Dwarves to help him dig a cellar. He had wanted a large cellar to store food for a long time.
He didn’t dig under his current house, but rather on the spot where he had decided to build his new one—a plot of land on the edge of the settlement, not far from the Dwarves.
What a master planner, Eric silently gave himself a thumbs-up.
Don’t mind that he was on the edge for now. Once his new house was built, the tribe members would surely be very envious. Everyone would be competing to build new houses, and wouldn’t they all just surround him then?
Because they were very fond of Eric, the Dwarves decided to dig him a four-level underground space.
When Max led the warriors past, he, along with Michael, Kevin, and Sam, would also lend a hand after they were done, speeding up the process considerably.
After the cellar was completed, Kevin looked at the wild fruits Eric was moving inside and couldn’t help but jeer:
"This little bit isn’t even enough for one of my meals, and you had to dig such a big cellar to store it. Hahaha..."
Eric shot him a glare: "What do you know? I’ll slowly accumulate more, so I can still eat them in the winter. Things don’t spoil easily in this cellar."
"Really? Then why not just dig it directly under your house?" Kevin asked curiously.
Just as Eric was about to answer, Max, who was beside him, said: "He wants to build a new house here."
Michael, Kevin, and Sam immediately stared wide-eyed at the two of them, their expressions as shocked as if they had just heard something earth-shattering.
Eric was startled by their reaction. Was it really that serious?
"I’m just building a new house. Why are you guys reacting so strongly?"
Michael took a deep breath and stammered: "Isn’t... isn’t it a bit early to be building a new house now...?"
Eric was even more confused: "Early? We won’t be able to build once winter comes. Isn’t it already autumn?"
Seeing they still maintained that astonished expression, Eric decisively ignored them and went to check on the first batch of bricks the Dwarves had fired.
After Eric left, Michael nudged Max with his elbow.
"Are you really planning to build a house so soon? He’s still just a cub!"
Max gave him a look identical to the one Eric had just given, then coldly walked away.
"Max is really... in too much of a hurry," Sam said, scratching his head in frustration.
Michael and Kevin also nodded in agreement.