Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

[Wori… Damn it, that’s mind-blowing, a shock that lasts a hundred years for my mom]

[My mom asked me why I’m kneeling while watching the live stream]

[Is this GOD?]

[So glucose is the firewood, and carbon is the charcoal, scratching my head?]

[Dude, didn’t you get it? Actually, I didn’t either, shy]

[Yes, the glucose is the firewood that we need to burn, and the charcoal is carbon]

A simple analysis left the audience in the live stream completely astounded, and the barrage of comments surged.

Even more were the generous tips being thrown like thousand of gold pieces.

Emperor?

After thanking everyone for their support and tips, Bi Fang continued his work. He piled up the clay, little by little shaping it into a sealed kiln.

“There are usually two methods for making charcoal: the pit charcoal method and the dry distillation method.”

“The former involves building a kiln out of clay, filling it with wood, and then setting it alight to carbonize the wood inside, with volatiles escaping and leaving behind the charcoal.”

“The dry distillation method involves placing the wood in a dry distillation kiln and heating it in an air-free environment to decompose it into charcoal. This is known as the dry distillation of wood.”

“According to the method of venting from the kiln, there are generally two kinds of charcoal produced: ‘black charcoal’ and ‘white charcoal’. However, we are using the pit charcoal method here, which produces black charcoal.”

The pile of clay looked like a well, into which Bi Fang dumped a great amount of wood, explaining:

“Don’t stack the wood too neatly, because we need it to react and burn. If it’s stacked too tightly, it’s quite possible that charcoal won’t form inside.”

Then he inserted wooden sticks around the ‘well’, like tent poles leaning in toward the center, forming a half-dome structure. With the support in place, clay could be smeared on top to create a sealed lid, leaving just a small opening at the very top.

Bi Fang lit a torch and used the pre-made small opening to ignite the wood. Once everything inside started burning and thick smoke billowed out, he quickly plastered the final bit of clay on the top, cutting off any contact with the outside world.

Under the high heat, the damp clay dried out and changed color quickly, sealing the pit firmly.

“Cutting off oxygen creates a high-temperature, oxygen-poor environment inside. Once the temperature subsides, we can harvest the charcoal. If you’re barbecuing in the wild, a metal can with wood inside can be used to produce charcoal too. But since we need a larger quantity, even with the pit method, we may have to do this a couple more times.”

While the wood was turning into charcoal, Bi Fang returned to the furnace he was building.

After drying and baking over noon, the furnace had completely taken shape. The square lid resting on the furnace even made a sound like cement colliding when tapped.

“Next, we are going to build a chimney. It will be built over the circular opening at the center here. The taller, the better, but make sure not to build too fast. Wait until the section of the chimney dries before building the next section, or it may all collapse.”

Bi Fang scooped the large-chunk cement to his side and pushed up clay around the mouth of the opening.

The whole process was very simple, and it was no different from playing with clay in a kindergarten craft class, like building castles on the beach.

“Chimneys, you might have seen them before, come in square or round shapes, and there’s a difference. Square ones are easier to build, while round ones are more efficient. The smoke is evenly distributed, and there’s less wind resistance, so large factory chimneys are generally round. However, at home, for convenience, they are usually square.”

For square constructions, all you need is a straightedge ruler, but round ones are far from simple. It requires many things, and a slight asymmetry could lead to an easy collapse.

“That’s why I choose to build a square chimney. The iron smelting we’re doing here is far from needing to be that efficient.”

Bi Fang stacked the clay squarely over the smoke outlet, steadily building upward at a not-too-fast pace, very symmetrical all around.

Every ten or so centimeters, Bi Fang would measure with a relatively straight branch. Only after confirming, he continued to stack.

Soon, a chimney half the height of a man rose before everyone, though of course, this height was still not enough.

“Now let’s go see if the charcoal is ready.”

Bi Fang wiped the clay from his hands and came to the side of the sealed pit, touching the wall to check its temperature.

Not hot.

“It’s warm; it should be about ready. Let’s open it up and see.”

The clay, dried and hardened by high temperatures, felt like cement, rough and hard, not easy to open.

Bi Fang picked up a stone hammer beside him and smashed it down hard on the hardened pit, breaking the even surface. Pieces of dry clay fell off, and faint whiffs of white smoke wafted from the cracks.

After breaking apart all the solid, cement-like clay pieces, the completely black charcoal was revealed for all to see.

Bi Fang didn’t fear the heat and directly reached in to turn over the charcoal, which felt warm to the touch. The wood at the bottom had all turned into black charcoal, and as he turned them over, the pieces of charcoal clinked against each other, making the sound of metal striking.

[What the heck, am I hearing this right? Feels like it’s black iron?]

[Did Master Fang already produce iron? Did he secretly cast a spell?]

[Epic! I’ve been saying Master Fang is an alien, but you wouldn’t believe me]

Bi Fang picked up two pieces of elongated charcoal, blowing off the white ash on them: “This is ‘black charcoal’, commonly known as ‘pit kiln charcoal’. The surface is either pure black or covered with white ash powder that can be blown away. The charcoal was formed when the fiery wood in the kiln was deprived of air and the flames were extinguished at the end of the carbonization.”

“Black charcoal is soft and breaks easily. When knocked, it makes a muffled sound, and its texture is loose.”

Bi Fang took out two pieces of black charcoal and gently struck them together, immediately producing a dull metallic knock. A firm cut would cause them to break, which to many who have never seen it in a big city, was indeed quite magical.

The product of wood burning could actually make sounds like metal!

Bi Fang collected all the charcoal from the pit into a wooden frame and added more firewood to it.

He repeated the same sealing process.

“In theory, the charcoal from one pit is enough, but to be on the safe side, I’m going to make another pit of it.”

After completing that, Bi Fang returned to the furnace to continue building the chimney higher.

By five o’clock in the afternoon, the charcoal was ready, and the chimney had also been completed.

Bi Fang looked at the chimney that towered over two meters, a good length taller than himself, and felt immensely satisfied.

The chimney was squarely and vertically structured, with the topmost segment even built upon clay steps.

“I am one meter eighty-five tall, and as you can see, the chimney is a good half taller than me, about two meters, which should be enough,” Bi Fang said, dusting off the ash on himself as he descended from the clay steps and started adding more firewood under the furnace.

It wasn’t long before white smoke began to rise from the tall chimney.

[Ahh that, ahh that, polluting the environment!]

[What’s this little bit of smoke, Nature will just break it down…]

[It’s not even as much as a single car would emit.]

[That’s true.]

[That chimney is too tall, feels like iron smelting is hopeful.]

[The progress is so fast.]

The audience teased for a bit, not really minding, as compared to the emissions produced by modern industry, the small amount Bi Fang was releasing would be broken down by a few trees.

Under the setting sun, Bi Fang, smeared in red mud and radiating a golden glow all over his body, wearing only a grass skirt and a beast tooth necklace around his neck, exuded a wild charm.

Bi Fang wiped the sweat off his forehead, feeling a bit weary.

The workload for the day hadn’t been small: not only had he built the blast furnace, but he had also piled up a small mountain of charcoal, and now his stomach was growling with hunger.

“Tomorrow we can start processing iron bacteria, and maybe we can begin iron smelting by the afternoon. When I went to pick clay earlier, I also chopped down a couple of nice branches, planning to make a bow and arrows tonight. Let’s see if we can hunt some wild chickens or rabbits tomorrow to improve our meals.”

Eating fish every day, many of which had bones, Bi Fang was tired of and annoyed with it, especially since he’d had a fish bone stuck in his throat at noon today, which was uncomfortable. Fortunately, there were no serious problems afterward, but he could still feel a sore throat and a foreign body sensation.

In the evening, Bi Fang cooked a pot of vegetable and fish soup for dinner.

The water monitors, which had basked in the sun on the dirt slope all day, became more lively and briskly went to the water hole. They dragged away a couple of fish, exemplifying quick and decisive action.

Bi Fang noticed, but was too lazy to care.

Tired, he let it be.

Oddly enough, as cold-blooded animals, water monitors shouldn’t need to eat so frequently. Maybe seeing him eating triggered their hunger? Or did they need more food during the breeding season?

Animals have a much simpler and cruder way of eating than humans: the water monitors ripped the fish apart and swallowed them whole. Once sated, they spotted a large tree, used their sharp claws to slowly climb up, and then lay motionless on a branch.

[By the way, is there any chance we can watch the baby water monitors being born before the livestream ends?]

[Not likely, right? Didn’t Old Fang say they lay eggs in June and July? It will take at least a month or two, right? By that time, Master Fang will have long gone.]

[I just looked it up, damn, these things can live up to a hundred and fifty years.]

[Wori? One hundred fifty? Are you kidding me?]

When he saw the audience discussing, Bi Fang thought for a moment and realized it wasn’t impossible.

“Laying eggs in June or July is the general pattern, but in reality, water monitors have the ability to lay eggs at any time, which is rather rare among animals. Especially in regions like the Banna Rainforest that lack distinct dry and wet seasons, water monitor egg-laying can occur at any time of the year.”

“If this particular water monitor is unusual in not laying eggs in June or July, then we might indeed have a chance to witness the birth of baby monitors,” he added.

Bi Fang’s words gave the audience a huge surprise.

[Holy crap, can we really see that?]

[That’s so awesome, isn’t it?]

[How does Old Fang know everything?]

Because I have seen records of water monitor reproduction.

Bi Fang internally retorted.

Every year, the Forestry Bureau almost always releases water monitors, and they have released over three hundred so far.

Although he hadn’t seen it personally, he did have some understanding of it.

As the audience imagined, Bi Fang, who was carving the wood to make the bow and arrows, threw cold water on their fantasies.

“Don’t get your hopes up too high. The Banna Rainforest’s climate has distinct dry and wet seasons, so the chances of it not laying eggs in June or July are originally low. Besides, the incubation period for the eggs is uncertain.”

“It could be anywhere from two and a half months to ten months or even longer, usually around six months. Even if there is a chance, it’s close to negligible.”

[Ahh that.]

[This creature is so ugly, how can anyone like it? Scratches head]

[Add one, I think it’s hideous. If this thing nests nearby, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.]

[I think it’s ugly-cute.]

[Your taste is too strong!]

Bi Fang chuckled, but his hands and the stone knife didn’t stop working; he continued to carve the bow material and arrow shafts.

The Stone Dagger was after all not very convenient – if only he had an iron knife.

Looking at the sawdust beneath his feet, Bi Fang started to anticipate the results of the upcoming days.

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