As for the uses of glass, Wen Ze thought of glassware, glass tabletops, and most importantly—glass windows! 

You see, he had always planned to use wood to cover the windows. If there were glass windows, how beautiful, convenient, and durable would that be! 

He never expected that a whole kiln of ruined bricks could bring him such a huge surprise! 

He was so happy that words couldn’t express it! 

Seeing his expression, Zhuo Mu’s mood softened a little. 

When the others in the tribe heard that something valuable had been found, they immediately gathered around and began asking, “Glass? Is this deep green thing called glass?” 

“Wen Ze, can I see it too?” 

Wen Ze immediately handed them the glass shards he had collected. “Of course, feel free to take a look!” 

Everyone passed it around, and with shock, they said, “This… isn’t this a gemstone? By the Beast God, did we just burn gemstones?!” 

“What? Gemstones?! How could that be?” 

“You don’t believe it? Look at it yourself, the texture, the feel, and it even shines. If this isn’t a gemstone, what is it?” 

“It really does look like a gemstone, so beautiful! How did we make this?” 

Everyone turned their gaze toward Wen Ze. 

Wen Ze held back his excitement and smiled as he said, “Although glass looks like a gemstone, it’s really not one. If I’m not mistaken, it’s made from sand.” 

“Sand?” 

“Yes,” Wen Ze reminded them, “When we were making bricks, didn’t I ask everyone to help lay a layer of fine sand at the bottom of the molds? The glass just happened to be embedded on the surface of the bricks, so it should be made from sand.” 

In fact, the glass they had made this time was of poor quality, it wasn’t shaped right, looked all cloudy, but you could tell it was glass. 

However, they weren’t specifically making glass, so Wen Ze was already very satisfied that they managed to achieve this much. 

As for the knowledge that sand could be used to make glass, he had forgotten where he had read it, and the impression wasn’t very strong, or else he wouldn’t have just remembered it now. 

After hearing his explanation, Sang Hui looked at the pile of bricks on the ground and asked, “Since glass is made from sand, why does only some of the bricks have it, while others don’t?” 

Wen Ze turned around, gently shifting the brick with his hand as he pondered and said, “That’s right. Only the surface of this particular colored brick has a glass. Can anyone tell where the soil for this came from?” 

Bai Ling said, “Don’t you recognize it? This is the clay from the place where you hurt yourself yesterday.” 

Wen Ze froze. No wonder it looked so familiar! So it was from there! 

“That place is next to a limestone beach, right?” 

Everyone nodded. “Right.” 

“I see! It’s very likely that the clay here contains limestone powder, and when the limestone powder mixed with sand, it produced glass!” 

The other clay mixed with sand didn’t produce glass, so it showed that ordinary clay isn’t the raw material for making glass! 

Zhuo Mu listened and said, “That makes sense. Since glass is such a good thing, when we fire the clay again, we should try and see if we can make some glass.” 

Wen Ze nodded. “Exactly, we can test whether sand mixed with limestone can really produce glass!” 

Sang Hui also looked forward to it. “How about we don’t make pottery for now, gather firewood, and just fire a kiln of glass?” 

This suggestion received a positive response: 

“I think it’s a good idea! Sand and limestone are common materials! If we can make glass, we’ll be able to make as many jewelries as we want in the future!” 

“The glass is so beautiful. The jewelry made from it can be used not only by us but also exchanged with other tribes! I guarantee they will fight to get it!” 

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s fire it today!” 

But Wen Ze quickly tried to stop them. “No, if this batch fails, I’ll already feel bad enough. I don’t want to risk another failure just to make glass.” 

Seeing their faces, as if saying “It doesn’t matter even if we fail,” Wen Ze secretly sighed. “No matter how good glass is, it’s still not as practical as pottery. Anyway, I don’t agree with the tribe delaying pottery firing just to make glass.” 

Zhuo Mu stood beside him and said, “I agree with Wen Ze.” 

Wen Ze glanced at him with a smile and spoke seriously, “So, let’s focus on burning charcoal first. There’s no rush for glass.” 

There was a convincing strength in his presence that gradually calmed the restless crowd. 

Sang Hui said, “Alright, we’ll follow your lead.” 

The others nodded in agreement. 

Wen Ze smiled brightly. “Who knows? Maybe using charcoal will make the glass even better.” 

Everyone was excited by the possibility. 

After the discussion, they worked together to scrape the glass shards off the bricks, then packed the bricks into baskets and carried them to Zhuo Mu’s cave. 

Wen Ze kept only a few shards for comparison and gave the rest to everyone. 

To the beastmen and half-beastmen, glass is just as valuable as gemstones. They were thrilled, thanking Wen Ze again and again. Even while helping him with work, they were in high spirits. 

Wen Ze directed them to lay the bricks on the muddy ground in front of the cave. 

“When it doesn’t rain, it’s fine, but when it does, this place gets really muddy. Walking through it gets your feet covered in mud, and it’s easy to slip. Now that we’ve laid down bricks, stepping on them should make things much better,” Wen Ze explained. 

People looked at the ground covered with bricks and nodded in understanding, “I didn’t know bricks could be used like this. It’s really good.” 

Wen Ze replied, “Yes, if we use whole bricks, the ground will be flatter and more durable.” 

Sang Hui said, “After hearing you talk, I’m excited. How about I make a batch of brick molds too?” 

He looked toward Ji Sha and Bai Ling as he spoke. 

Both of them agreed. Bai Ling said, “That’s a good idea! In front of our cave, it gets really muddy when it rains, and walking is such a hassle.” 

Ji Sha added, “If we lay bricks down, we won’t need to keep fetching sand and stone to cover the ground.” 

Sang Hui’s eyes brightened, “Alright! Let’s make some brick molds when we get the chance!” 

Zhuo Mu thought for a moment and said to Wen Ze, “I’ll make some as well. I can use them to pave the inside of my cave—it should help keep the moisture out.” 

Wen Ze’s eyes lit up, “Right! It can definitely prevent dampness.” 

When the others heard that the bricks could be used inside the cave, they praised it as a great idea. In the end, everyone who had helped Wen Ze transport bricks decided to start making and drying brick molds so they could fire bricks for their own use. 

Wen Ze gladly told everyone that if they ran into any problems while making brick molds, they could come to him. Also, they were free to use the molds he had made. 

“That’s great, thank you, Wen Ze!” 

Wen Ze waved his hand, “No need to thank me! Let’s go, let’s check out the cloth drying at the altar square!” 

“Let’s go!” This time, the half-beastmen led by Bai Ling were the most enthusiastic. 

It was afternoon, and the sun was high in the sky. 

The group didn’t waste any time and quickly arrived at the altar square. 

The vibrant colored fabrics hanging on the wooden racks were fluttering in the wind and making a rustling sound. 

Wen Ze walked over and reached out to touch the fabric. It was already very stiff and firm. 

“It’s ready,” he turned around and said to everyone, “Let’s move these fabrics to the river and wash them a few times.” 

“Okay!!” 

People gathered the fabric and cheerfully made their way to the river. 

Each person found a spot by the river and began washing their fabric carefully. 

Bai Ling scrubbed at his orange-red dyed cloth, then called out in surprise, “Wen Ze, my fabric is fading so much! Did I dye it wrong?” 

Wen Ze looked up, “It should be fine. Just wash it a bit more.” 

“Okay.” 

After washing it several times, no more dye came off. The fabric ended up as a soft orange-red color, with an even coloration. 

Bai Ling lifted the fabric and held it up to the sunlight. 

The sunlight filtered through the fabric, casting a warm orange light on his handsome face. 

He squinted his eyes and happily said, “Although the color isn’t as deep as before, it still looks nice.” 

The others had similar results with their fabrics, and the colors had all lightened. 

“My fabric went from deep blue to light blue. It looks so clean, and I really like it.” 

“Look at mine, it’s light pink! So soft! I’m going to make clothes for my child!” 

“I’m so tired of wearing gray clothes. Finally, I can have some color!” 

They all talked about the colors they wanted and shared ideas on dyes. 

Besides petals and minerals, Wen Ze also mentioned berries. 

“Our tribe has those purple pearl fruits, right? Their purple skins can also be used for dyeing, the process is pretty much the same as with petals,” Wen Ze said. 

In fact, the purple pearl fruit was just wild purple grapes, about the size of a coin. Wen Ze had picked them twice, and they were very sour. 

Although they couldn’t be eaten much, using them as dye was still a good idea. 

“Wouldn’t that dye the fabric purple?” Bai Ling’s eyes lit up. “I really like purple!” 

Other half-beastmen agreed, “I like purple too! Let’s go pick some purple pearl fruits tomorrow!” 

“Yes, let’s do it!” 

Seeing their enthusiasm for dyeing, Wen Ze couldn’t help but smile. 

Over the next period, the tribe tried many different dyes, even exploring materials beyond just plants and minerals. 

For dyes that worked well, they took notes and made improvements. 

Since processing raw materials required a stone mill, Wen Ze even offered his cow to help turn the stone mill. 

The two cows were gentle and easy to guide. 

Seeing how useful the cows were, the tribe praised Wen Ze for raising them. 

Through repeated experimentation, they discovered that different materials, when mixed in different proportions, could create various colors. 

Some people were also more interested in tie-dye and block printing and had a lot of fun trying out different techniques. 

The effort and energy spent on dyeing colors and patterns should, of course, be displayed as much as possible. 

During that time, Wen Ze walked around the tribe and noticed that everyone was wearing new clothes and going out more frequently. 

If they received praise, they would be happy for the entire day. 

Wen Ze also benefited from this, receiving several pieces of cloth dyed with beautiful colors and printed with delicate patterns. 

Moreover, in order to dye the fabric, everyone has become more diligent and active in weaving. Their entire demeanor exudes a sense of purpose. 

The nearby tribes were also amazed by their dyed fabrics and often came to take a look. They exchanged supplies for fabric, which helped boost the growth of the South Mountain Tribe. 

But all of that was a story for later. These past few days, Wen Ze spent the mornings gathering with the tribe, and after a short rest in the afternoon, he would go to the kiln and teach everyone how to make charcoal. 

Zhuo Mu, Wu Ye, Bai Xia, Sang Hui, and others followed him closely, earnestly learning the techniques of charcoal burning. 

They were all smart and learned quickly. Gradually, Wen Ze only needed to supervise from the side while they handled most of the work themselves. 

It was boring to just stand around doing nothing, so after returning from gathering that day, he went straight into the cave. 

Hearing the sound of him rummaging around, Zhuo Mu asked from outside, “Wen Ze, what are you looking for? Need any help?” 

Wen Ze replied, “No need, I’m sorting through the animal fur I’ve accumulated recently. I’m planning to take it over to the pottery kiln.” 

“I remember you saying that animal fur is quite useful.” 

“Yeah, I plan to spin some yarn with it.” 

As he spoke, Wen Ze came out holding a large bundle of mixed-colored animal fur, some from the fluffy beasts and others from wild animals. He had already roughly selected it, leaving the shorter and softer furs. 

Yin He walked over and curiously asked, “Brother, are you going to use the yarn to weave fabric?” 

Wen Ze shook his head. “There’s not enough fur. I don’t want to use a weaving frame; I want to use knitting needles.” 

Yin He looked confused. “What’s knitting?” 

Wen Ze smiled and said, “I don’t even know if I can actually knit it, how can I explain it to you? You’ll understand once I’ve knitted it.” 

Yin He mumbled, “Okay.” 

Zhuo Mu put down what he was holding and walked over. “I’ll help you pick out the impurities from the fur.” 

Yin He exclaimed, “I’ll help too!” 

Wen Ze nodded. “Sounds good.” 

With the three of them working together, they sorted through the fur quite quickly. 

After roughly going through it, Wen Ze asked Yin He to fetch some hot water. Then, he scooped out some plant ash from the stove pit and poured it into the water. 

Then, he fully immersed the fur and carefully scrubbed it. 

Thanks to his beastman physique, the wounds on his palms and arms had almost fully healed. 

After scrubbing several times, the grease on the fur was completely removed, and the small impurities were almost gone, leaving the fur quite clean. 

Looking up at the sky, he said to Yin He, “Help me hang the fur up to dry, and put some stones on top to keep it from blowing away. Zhuo Mu and I are going to make charcoal.” 

Yin He nodded. “Got it. That reminds me, you’ve been burning charcoal for two or three days, and it’s still not finished?” 

Wen Ze replied, “The first batch is already done, but we need to prepare more. Let’s go.” 

Waving his hand at Yin He, Wen Ze climbed onto the back of the pure white giant python. 

When Wen Ze arrived at the clearing where charcoal was being made at Bao Fang Mountain, he saw that the firewood had already been stacked by the people from the tribe. Everyone was covering it with dry grass and applying mud. 

“Zhuo Mu, Wen Ze, you’re here!” Sang Hui greeted them as he walked over. He continued, “This morning, I led the tribe to make a batch of pottery pieces. They’ve already been placed in the kiln, and we’re planning to start the fire this afternoon using charcoal. We’ve even left a small section inside the kiln for you to burn glass.” 

Wen Ze’s eyes lit up. “Then I’ll take a few people and go collect sand and limestone right away!” 

Sang Hui waved his hand and smiled. “No need. We already prepared these two materials, knowing you’d need them.” 

Wen Ze sighed in admiration. “Uncle, you’re really thorough. The tribe wouldn’t be able to function without you.” 

“We don’t know exactly how to proceed, so we’ll have to rely on you for the next steps.” 

Wen Ze laughed and said, “Actually, I’m not sure about the exact mixture either… but I do know that making glass requires a lot of sand. Let’s start by mixing a large amount of sand with a smaller portion of crushed limestone powder.” 

Sang Hui nodded. “Alright.” 

The task of crushing the limestone was assigned to strong beastmen like Zhuo Mu. 

They didn’t even need to turn into their beast forms. Their large hands were stronger than iron clamps—just a squeeze, and the limestone crumbled into pieces. 

Afterward, Wen Ze checked the charcoal and then went into the kiln to mix the sand and limestone powder. 

Once mixed, he pressed down hard with a wooden board to expel the air and compact the sand into a solid mass. 

Then, it was time to fill it with charcoal and start the fire. 

Based on previous experience, the kiln needed to burn through the entire night. 

Zhuo Mu, Bai Xia, and the others were capable of handling the charcoal on their own, so Wen Ze didn’t need to stay up. He returned to the cave to rest. 

The next morning, just like the past few days, Wen Ze had breakfast and went out to gather supplies. 

In the afternoon, he returned and checked on the fur. It was completely dried. 

After taking care of the household chores, he carried the fur on his back and headed toward Bao Fang Mountain with Zhuo Mu. 

On the way, he saw some smooth, straight hardwood sticks and asked Zhuo Mu to stop so he could break off a few and tuck them into his arms. 

When they reached the charcoal-making clearing, Wen Ze scanned the area but didn’t see Sang Hui. However, Li Shui was there. 

“Wen Ze, Zhuo Mu,” Li Shui raised his hand and greeted them with a smile. “Bai Ling and the others collected a lot of purple pearl fruits. Sang Hui is helping them process the dye, so he’ll be a bit late today.” 

After Zhuo Mu shifted back to his human form, Wen Ze walked ahead with him. 

“The kiln’s not cool enough to open yet, so there’s no rush,” Wen Ze said. 

Li Shui responded with a soft “Mmm” and asked with concern, “Is your injury fully healed?” 

“It’s fine now. It’s not slowing me down at all.” 

Wen Ze raised his left hand and slid down the rough hemp sleeve, revealing his firm, honey-colored arm. The wound had not only healed, but the scar had also faded considerably. 

“That’s good. And what’s this… is that animal fur you’re carrying?” 

“Yes, it’s what we’ve been collecting during this time. It’s not just animal fur; I also brought a spinning wheel.” 

Wen Ze placed the parts of the spinning wheel on the ground and quickly assembled them. 

Then, he placed the large bundle of animal fur beside it and skillfully began to spin the thread. 

Under his deliberate control, the spun yarn was not as fine as hemp thread. 

Zhuo Mu had already gone off to work on something else, while Li Shui watched curiously for a moment and said, “Yarn isn’t as smooth as hemp thread. Look, it’s all fuzzy.” 

Wen Ze nodded. “That’s right. Yarn is like that, but it’s softer than hemp thread and also provides better warmth.” 

“That’s true. But you’re not planning to use the yarn to weave fabric, are you?” 

Wen Ze looked up. “Something like that. Why?” 

Li Shui hesitated for a moment before advising: “But animal fur is really prickly. It itches when it touches the skin. The clothes made from it wouldn’t be wearable, right?” 

Wen Ze had already noticed this issue. Even with the carefully selected fur, it was still quite coarse, and even someone like him, with tough skin and thick muscles, found it uncomfortable. 

Right now, he hadn’t found anything like cotton. If he had, he could mix some in to make the fabric softer and more skin-friendly. 

But he had already planned for this. “Then we just won’t wear it directly against the skin. Autumn is coming, and the weather is getting colder. Wearing only hemp clothes won’t be enough. I’m planning to weave a few woolen vests.” 

Li Shui looked puzzled: “Vests? What’s that?” 

Wen Ze gestured with his hands: “It’s a piece of clothing worn over the hemp clothes, covering the upper body. It has no sleeves and just protects the chest and back.” 

Li Shui imagined it for a moment, and his gentle eyes lit up. 

“That sounds really practical! Not only does it keep you warm, but it also won’t get in the way when working.” 

Wen Ze nodded repeatedly: “Exactly. It’s perfect for autumn!” 

Li Shui agreed. “Right! Can I see how you weave it?” 

Wen Ze hesitated. “Well… you can, but…” 

Li Shui tilted his head. “Hmm?” 

Wen Ze scratched his face awkwardly. “I haven’t quite figured out how to weave it yet.” 

After saying that, he couldn’t help but chuckled at himself. 

Li Shui’s eyes curved in amusement. “It’s okay, take your time. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” 

By this time, Wen Ze had spun a good amount of yarn. 

Wen Ze took a long wooden piece and wrapped the yarn around it, layer by layer, until he formed an oval-shaped spindle. 

Next, he and Li Shui spent some time making charcoal. After passing it on to others to tend the fire, the two of them returned to sit side by side under the tree. 

Wen Ze took out two straight little wooden sticks, holding one end of the yarn and measuring it against one of the sticks. 

When he was a child, he had seen the elders in the village knit sweaters. They seemed to use three or four needles? Anyway, they always ended up with a cylindrical shape. 

That technique was too difficult for him as a beginner. He hadn’t even figured out how to use two needles yet. 

Oh, and back when he first entered university, there was a sudden craze in his class for knitting scarves. It wasn’t just the girls, but also the boys. As soon as class was over, they’d start knitting. 

Though he never tried it himself, but after seeing it so often, he had picked up a vague impression. 

“I think you’re supposed to tie a knot on this needle first…” 

Recalling the steps carefully, he began looping the yarn around the makeshift knitting needle. 

Since he was only testing it out, he didn’t wrap too many loops. Once he felt it was enough, he picked up the other wooden stick and clumsily tried to knit the yarn onto it. 

“Next, it seems like I need to insert the needle into this knot… then how do I do it again, do I wrap it like this? And pull it back through like this?” he muttered to himself. 

As an agriculture student, he was great at farming. But when it came to technical crafts like pottery or glassmaking, he only had a rough understanding. 

As for handicrafts? He was even worse at those than pottery. The fabric he made was infamous in the tribe as a “what not to do” example. 

Now, he was awkwardly poking and wrapping for a long time, but still couldn’t get it right. 

And with Li Shui staring at him so seriously and curiously, he got even more nervous. Sweat started forming on the tip of his straight nose, and his handsome face slowly turned red. 

“Wait a moment,” he said apologetically. “Let me try again. 

Li Shui hummed in response, noticing his nervousness. He reassured him gently, “I’m not in a hurry. Take your time. You’re trying to knit the yarn onto the stick, right?” 

“Yeah, you knit it row by row. Once the knot at the start is on the needle, it moves to the other needle. After knitting more, it turns into fabric…” The more he spoke, the more embarrassed Wen Ze felt. “I’m being all over the place, right? It’s normal if you don’t understand.” 

However, Li Shui shook his head with a faint smile and said, “I understand.” 

Wen Ze slightly opened his mouth in surprise. “Huh?” 

Even he was confused by his own explanation. 

Li Shui stretched out his hand toward him. “I get what you’re saying. How about I try?” 

Still filled with doubt, Wen Ze handed him the needles and yarn. 

Li Shui took them, paused for two seconds, then, with his long fingers, assumed the knitting posture that Wen Ze remembered! 

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