I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 176 Archery

Having failed once again, Bai Ling silently packed up her things, prepared the ingredients again, lit the fire, and began to cook the adhesive.

It was getting late, and the sun had completely set. The tribespeople responsible for cooking had already begun preparing dinner, but those who had gone to work in the fields or gone out to gather resources had not yet returned.

Bai Ling was feeling down when he heard someone call out to him, "Ling, I've brought you some fish."

Bai Ling turned around and saw that it was Uncle Qing.

When Qing was young, he injured his leg while hunting. Later, he worked in the tribe's miscellaneous work team. He was carrying two big fish in his hand. When he saw Bai Ling turn around, he raised the fish in his hand and said with a smile, "Have you been cooking fish lately? We caught two big fish and brought them to you."

Qing had a simple, honest smile on his face. The two large fish in his hands were each half the length of an orc. Perhaps because they had just been caught, the two fish were still thrashing about.

Upon seeing the two large fish, Bai Ling's gloom seemed to vanish, and his eyes regained their sparkle: "Uncle Qing, I don't want the fish, I just want the swim bladder inside."

Qing put the fish in her hand on the ground: "Okay, I'll go get a basin and kill the fish right here, and take the contents out of its belly for you."

Bai Ling smiled and nodded: "Okay, thank you, Uncle Qing."

The previous frustration had completely disappeared, and Bai Ling continued stirring the adhesive in the ceramic bowl. He had a feeling that he would be able to finish making the adhesive by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

*

The process of making bows and arrows is not complicated, but it is quite time-consuming. Bai Ling first put the sawn wood into a steamer to steam.

This step is to soften the wood, making it easier to make bows and arrows.

After the steamed wood strips have cooled, they are cut into suitable strips according to the pre-designed dimensions.

Bai Ling made the simplest bow and arrow. He first used a piece of wood that had been cut into sections and bent it into a suitable arc. Both ends of the wood had notches cut out. Bai Ling then used the prepared adhesive to glue two pieces of wood of the same size, one end of which was protruding, together with the curved wood pieces to form a semi-ellipse.

Even if the bow is simply bent, in order to keep the curvature of the bow stable, Bai Ling puts it on the tools she made in advance, bends the bow into a semi-circle, and ties the bow tightly with a rope. This state must be maintained for at least three days.

Bai Ling made a total of four bows. Once they were all tied up, Bai Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, Bai Ling began making the bowstring. To make the bowstring more resilient and stronger, Bai Ling repeatedly pounded the animal sinew. After the sinew was broken up, it became thread-like. Bai Ling peeled off the threads one by one and then braided them together using a weaving method, making the animal sinew even stronger.

Making arrows is relatively simple. Bai Ling first used tools to whittle wood into small sticks and then attached the arrowheads. She steamed the collected feathers in a pot, then gently pounded them with a small wooden mallet to make them smoother. Next, she trimmed them with small scissors, then cut the feathers in half. Finally, she glued the two halves of the feathers to the sticks with adhesive, and a simple arrow was made.

In the past three days, Bai Ling made a total of sixty arrows. This was not because Bai Ling was lazy, but because his clansmen often came to him for help. Whenever this happened, he had to put down his work and work with his clansmen to solve the problem.

Three days later, Bai Ling removed the four bows that were attached to it.

In order to make the bow and arrow as quickly as possible, Bai Ling made the simplest bow and arrow and did not have the mind to pursue perfection. Otherwise, the production cycle of a bow would take at least a year, and he could not wait that long.

Fortunately, Bai Ling was lucky. He didn't have any requirements for the bow, and the bow he made was passable in terms of appearance alone.

Bai Ling first tied the bowstring, which was not difficult. He tied a complicated knot in the bowstring he had made in advance and then put it on the ear groove that had been left in advance on the bow.

Once a bow is almost finished, strips of animal hide are tied to the bow body, and animal horns are ground into pieces and used as decorations, then glued to the bow body. That completes the bow.

Bai Ling carried a bow on his back and held an arrow in his hand. He found a large tree in the tribe, stood about fifty paces away from the tree, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, aimed, and shot.

Whether it was a mistake in aiming or Bai Ling simply lacked the talent for archery, his first arrow grazed the tree and flew away.

Undeterred, Bai Ling aimed at the tree again and fired a second arrow.

The second arrow was much better than the first; it landed on the tree trunk and embedded itself in the bark.

The third arrow, like the second, also pierced the bark.

The four bows Bai Ling made were all very large, about 1.5 to 1.6 meters long. They were specially designed for orcs. Orcs are very strong, and their arm strength is even stronger. Naturally, the bows they can draw must be large. Bai Ling's strength is not comparable to that of large orcs, and even the small orcs in the tribe cannot compare to him. He cannot fully draw this bow, so he cannot unleash its power.

Bai Ling tested all three bows and confirmed that all four bows were usable. Then, Bai Ling carried the bows back to the tribe.

On the way, the tribespeople saw Bai Ling carrying four strange-looking pieces of wood and asked him what they were. This time, Bai Ling didn't answer their questions, but just smiled mysteriously and said they would know by evening.

Now the tribespeople were even more curious, but seeing Bai Ling's mysterious expression and refusal to say anything, they didn't press him further.

*

After finishing the bow and arrow, Bai Ling began teaching the orcs in the carpentry team how to make tables and chairs.

The table was a simple square table, and the chair was a simple bench. Neither the square table nor the bench was anything complicated. Bai Ling first drew up the blueprints, and then she sawed wood with the tribespeople.

No matter what he did, Bai Ling would record it in a special notebook. Especially when doing woodworking, Bai Ling would draw up blueprints in advance. Although the beastmen did not understand what blueprints were, they learned how to use a ruler from Bai Ling.

Before each woodworking task, the beastmen would mark the wood with rulers and charcoal pencils. After Bai Ling produced the paper, some of the more resourceful beastmen followed Bai Ling's example, wrapping charcoal in animal hides and drawing various parts of doors and windows on the paper.

Although their drawings were out of proportion and varied in size, it was still a huge improvement.

Bai Ling also wanted to teach them to draw with the correct proportions, but to really learn to draw, one had to first learn to read, know proportions, and know how to use various tools correctly. This was not something that could be done in a day or two, or even a month or two. Bai Ling was busy with things every day and simply couldn't find the time to teach the beastmen.

He could only teach the orcs in the simplest way: specify the size of each part and then assemble the finished parts. This not only saved time but also allowed the orcs to learn how to make tables and benches as quickly as possible.