I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 120 House

There were many people in the tribe, so many groups of orcs were working together to pound the logs. They all imitated Bai Ling, shouting once to raise the logs, shouting twice to pull the logs to the highest point, and shouting three times to bring the logs down heavily.

Not so many people were needed for ramming, and the other orcs were also busy digging the foundation for the second house.

The Bai family was the first to build a house; the second house was built for the elders of the clan.

There were a few unmarried orcs in the tribe who lived together to take care of each other as they got older. Their house was next to Bai Ling's house. The tribesmen who went to dig the foundation would look up at Bai Ling every few minutes, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Because there were so many people, the foundation of the house was completed in less than an afternoon.

The clansmen worked for the Bai Ling family, and the Bai Ling family wanted to offer them meat as a treat, but Zhan refused.

Zhan said, “Ling, if you are willing to teach the clansmen how to build houses, that is the best reward you can give them. If they have to eat at your house to help you build houses, then the clansmen who want to learn how to build houses from you will naturally give you something in return.”

“You said you would give the house to your clansmen for free, so it’s only right that they help you.”

“Ling, building houses is an extremely important skill. If we were to trade with you, we would have to give away a lot of animal meat and hides. If we really think about it, we would actually be the ones who benefit.”

Chief Zhan's attitude was firm: if Bai Ling was willing to teach them how to build houses, they would have to exchange goods for it; if Bai Ling refused to take animal meat and hides, they would have to exchange their labor for it.

If Bai Ling were to treat them to a meal of beast meat, it wouldn't be an exchange of labor; instead, it would be them taking advantage of Bai Ling's family.

Bai Ling looked at her father and father-in-law. Cang and Feng also exchanged glances. Finally, Feng said, "Ling, you should listen to the clan leader. The clansmen are helping us out of kindness, so there's no need to invite them to dinner."

Bai Ling thought for a moment and then said, "How about this, add some maltose when boiling water tomorrow as a way of thanking the clansmen for their help."

*

With so many people helping, building a house is actually not difficult. Bai Ling had previously taught several clansmen how to build a kang (heated platform bed) and walls, and building a house by laying bricks is not much different from this.

Apart from the doors and windows, the rest of the brickwork could be done by the clansmen.

Even Bai Ling himself didn't spend much time building the walls; most of the time he was directing or demonstrating.

Because it was the first time building a house, the beastmen who were building the walls were even a little cautious. They worked very slowly. According to Bai Ling's plan, it should take at most two days to finish building all the walls of the house, and the roof beam should be put up on the third day. However, it took more than four days for all the walls of Bai Ling's house to be completed.

After the walls were built, the next step was to install the roof beams. In the beastman world, there were no tools, so Bai Ling had to rely on manpower to install the beams. Fortunately, the beastmen were all very strong and could also transform into beast forms. Several large white lions, when they transformed into their beast forms, stood taller than the house, making it easy to install the beams on the wall.

Thinner pieces of wood are then placed on the roof beams to form a triangular structure, with the center of the triangle reinforced with more wood.

The roof beams are purlins, the purlins are rafters, the rafters are densely packed wooden strips, and then the tiles can be laid on the wooden strips.

The tiles had to be laid in alternating directions. Bai Ling first led her family and Yue onto the roof, where they helped by passing the tiles, lime, and cement, while Bai Ling laid the tiles one by one.

Laying roof tiles isn't a technical job, and Feng and Cang started doing it right away after watching for a while. To make it more rainproof, Bai Ling laid two layers of tiles on her roof, sealing the gaps between the tiles with cement and lime.

Bai Ling's family laid tiles on the roof, and many clansmen stood on the ground watching longingly. Some clansmen even went into Bai Ling's house, looking left and right, wandering around inside, not even daring to blink.

This house is really nice. It has a lot of space, a high ceiling, and the walls look very solid. It's like something out of a dream.

Some people were standing by the window, which only had wooden strips and no glass yet. Once the light green and transparent glass was installed, the light inside the house would be very bright, unlike the old houses, which were rather dark even at noon.

For orcs, a house is just a place to eat and sleep. If they want to work, they have to do it in the yard outside because it's too dark inside the house.

Now things are different. With glass installed in the house, it's very bright, and they can do anything inside.

*

Bai Ling and his family laid a quarter of the tiles, then called out to the clansmen below, "Uncle Shui, bring a few clansmen up here, and I'll teach you how to lay the tiles."

Shui nodded, called over a few skillful tribesmen, and they climbed the ladder onto the roof.

Once they were on the roof, they were all very careful and didn't dare to move around. They all obediently followed behind Bai Ling, carefully learning how to lay the tiles.

These orcs were all skilled orcs in the tribe. Last year, they built the kang (a heated brick bed) for the tribe, and this year they were the main force in building the walls. They stood next to Bai Ling and watched for a while before imitating Bai Ling in laying the tiles.

*

Bai Ling's house was finally completed. Standing in front of her house with her family and Yue, Bai Ling felt extremely satisfied.

Although the house he built wasn't large, with only four rooms including the kitchen; although the house wasn't completely finished, only an outline, and the interior was still unfinished; although the house wasn't entirely made of brick, but rather bricks wrapped around mud bricks, Bai Ling still felt very satisfied.

This is his home. From now on, he can live in this house with his family instead of squeezing in with his clansmen. He will have his own space and can do whatever he wants.

A house is probably a dream etched in the heart of every Chinese person; only with a house can one be considered to have a home.

Compared to Bai Ling's expression, the family members were much more excited, especially Chen, who was almost ecstatic. He ran around the room and even tried to climb the ladder to the roof to shout a few times before Cang stopped him.

Cang and Feng were also excited. The two stood to one side, whispering to each other, but their expressions showed joy and relief.

Bai Ling and Yue huddled together, and even Yue's usually indifferent face showed excitement. Bai Ling whispered to him, "Yue, do you like this house?"

Yue said, "Of course I like it."

Bai Ling then said, "Then I'll build you an even bigger and better house later, okay?"