Leaving the mountainside, it was already dark when Chen Zhou returned to the cave dwelling.
The rain began to intensify.
Without thunder or lightning, the entire forest was immersed in the rustling sound of rain.
The unconstructed wall stacks at the cave's entrance still let water in. Chen Zhou placed a few wooden boards over the trench, but the rainwater seeped in everywhere, providing only minimal shielding.
Light the lamp, start the fire, boil the water.
While waiting for the water to boil, Chen Zhou separated the three logs he had carried back. Two were left to dry for later testing, and one was split directly.
To bend wood into wheels, one must choose long and evenly wide, properly repaired wooden strips.
But Chen Zhou knew his first attempt at bending wood was just an experiment with a very slim chance of success, so he casually repaired the wood into long strips to first observe the effect.
The boiled water in the large iron kettle was reserved for steaming.
