I am a Primitive Man

Chapter 382: The newly built bathhouse

The appearance of the sled no longer made transporting stones a constraint for building bathhouses, and after this problem was solved, the construction of the bathhouse progressed rapidly.

A balding shaman squatted in the carpentry room specifically for the lame, earnestly watching as the lame constructed the third sled. Then, using a thin and sharp stone knife, they meticulously depicted the sled's appearance on the ceramic plate, trying to neatly outline the sled's appearance and detailing the manufacturing process in Chinese characters below.

The shaman highly valued the sled, a tool capable of transporting many things simultaneously. For this reason, he recorded the details himself without involving Shi Tou.

Shang, who was loading stones onto the sled, no longer held the same disdain as before. The sled, which refreshed his worldview, made him contemplate many things.

If they had had this deer-drawn sled back then, the enemy who raided their tribe wouldn't have been able to retreat so easily, and they might have been pursued by him.

The tribe's children also followed the sled, abandoning their favorite activities, such as building snowmen and having snowball fights.

How could those activities compare to the joy of sitting on an empty sled, being pulled by deer to the stone quarry?

Several conditions are necessary to make the bathhouse warm: good sealing, a relatively small interior space, hot water, and, most importantly, the use of a fire duct.

This so-called fire duct is similar in principle to the heated beds in the tribe's rooms, but the construction location is different.

They are built in relatively high places, only thirty centimeters wide, and covered with stone slabs. Cement made of grass and wood ash acts as a binder, effectively preventing water from entering the fire duct.

When bathing, firewood is burned in the fire duct outside the bathhouse entrance. After a while, the inside of the bathhouse becomes comfortably warm.

The bathhouse is for the entire tribe's use, not Han Cheng's exclusive use. Therefore, it is relatively large, occupying an area similar to four rooms.

The bathhouse is roughly divided into three parts: 2 large rooms and a small room.

The small part is only half the size of a room, and the two large parts divide the remaining three and a half rooms equally.

Han Cheng planned the half-room part for his use, while the two large parts were shared baths for the Green Sparrow tribe.

Because the bathhouse is relatively large, it is impossible to heat it from one place. Therefore, when planning, Han Cheng designed five fire pits— one for his room and two for each public bath to solve the heating problem.

After two heavy snowfalls, the bathhouse, which the Green Sparrow tribe began building this winter, has been completed.

This is the advantage of having many people. If it were the population from when Han Cheng first arrived, even with deer and sleds, it would have been impossible to complete the construction quickly.

The entire bathhouse is built of stacked stones with a roof made of tiles.

There is no need to worry about the cement not drying in cold weather because Han Cheng had people light fires inside during construction.

Looking at the bathhouse, which took nearly a month to complete, Han Cheng rubbed his hands together.

He immediately ordered a large-scale heated water today, and the tribe's people will bathe in the newly built bathhouse.

Everyone has worked hard for so long, and it's time to enjoy a little.

The five fire pits were burning vigorously, and the orange flames mixed with smoke ran forward along the fire duct for a long distance. Eventually, only smoke drifted toward the sky, which was covered with a layer of leaden clouds.

The raised fire duct emitted heat, indirectly warming this enclosed space.

"Puff, puff..."

The heavy leather curtain at the entrance of the bathhouse fell, blocking the cold air outside.

Han Cheng, eager to enter the single room with Bai Xue, quickly took off his clothes and stuffed them into a stone compartment against the wall.

He then put on wooden and leather sandals and approached the large tub filled with steaming hot water on one side of the room.

He reached out and tested the hot water on his body.

Feeling the warm water against his somewhat cold body, Han Cheng shivered with pleasure.

Turning to see Bai Xue also undressed, he covered the compartment where clothes were placed with a piece of animal hide. He then led the little girl, wearing sandals, to the large tub filled with hot water.

Bai Xue had been living in the Green Sparrow tribe for almost a year now and had already developed the habit of bathing, especially under the influence of Han Cheng, who loved cleanliness.

At this moment, seeing the large tub emitting steam, Bai Xue couldn't resist the temptation to get in, but Han Cheng quickly pulled her back.

Today, he instructed them to heat the water very hot, so if Bai Xue entered like this, she would be scalded.

Han Cheng pulled her aside, picked up the pottery bowl in the large tub, and splashed water on themselves.

Then they shivered together.

After a while, they began tentatively entering the tub.

"Phew!"

Han Cheng leaned against the tub wall and let out a comfortable sigh.

Because he and Bai Xue entered, the water level rose, reaching just their necks. The warm water enveloping their entire bodies was extremely comfortable.

For Han Cheng, just this alone made building the bathhouse worthwhile.

As the wet and slippery Bai Xue, like a little mermaid, submerged into the water, her arms wrapped around Han Cheng's legs to prevent herself from floating up, Han Cheng closed his eyes even more comfortably.

After spending some time soaking in the tub and feeling all his bones relax, Han Cheng, half embracing Bai Xue, led her out of the tub and to the area near the door.

This place was only separated by a wall from the fire pit outside, and it was the hottest part of the entire fire duct. A small space of less than two square meters was built with thick stones.

Han Cheng brought a bowl of hot water and Bai Xue into this space and poured half onto a spot on the fire duct made of thicker stone slabs. With a hiss, large amounts of steam with very high temperatures immediately rose.

After pouring down another half bowl of water, the entire space was filled with white water vapor, and the temperature quickly rose, creating a fairyland-like atmosphere.

Bai Xue had never experienced anything like this before. She held onto Han Cheng's arm tightly, and her embrace slightly deformed her small chest muscles.

Han Cheng lowered the hooked leather curtain, and the narrow space immediately became dark.