Eric, carrying a stack of freshly fired bricks and tiles, ran excitedly to find the Dwarves. Seeing this, Leo toddled along behind him.
As soon as he reached the outskirts of the Dwarves' tent area, the children who had been bribed with candy the day before gathered around him cheerfully.
Seeing them in much better spirits than yesterday, Eric felt more at ease.
"Did you come to play with us, Eric!" Robin rushed forward and took his hand.
Not to be outdone, Leo leaped into Eric's arms, perching himself smugly on top of the stack of bricks and tiles, sticking his tongue out triumphantly at the Dwarf children below.
With his face blocked by the little cub, Eric said helplessly: "I'm here to find your father. Is Luban around?"
"I'll take you!" Robin pulled him toward one of the tents.
The space inside the tent was very large, but it was only furnished with temporary straw mats. Several dozen Dwarves lived together in one tent; luckily, the air circulation was good, so there was no smell.
Eric recalled the well-equipped houses in the Du tribe, then looked at the somewhat primitive lifestyle of the Snow Wolves, and couldn't help but sigh.
Most of the Dwarf men had thick beards. If it weren't for Robin leading the way, with so many people, Eric wouldn't have been able to find Luban right away. Seeing him arrive, Luban was also a little surprised.
Eric placed the stack of bricks and tiles in his arms down in front of him and said with excitement:
"This is what I fired! It can be used to build houses, and it's even sturdier and more durable than houses built with yellow mud and stone!"
Luban picked up a brick to inspect it closely. The other Dwarves in the tent also gradually gathered around, each taking a piece, turning it over and over to study it.
"You fired this with fire!" a Dwarf exclaimed, holding up a brick: "This is truly a fine building material! Its internal structure isn't easily dampened, and its shape is very uniform. It's much more convenient to use than stone. It's simply perfect!"
It was the right decision to find the Dwarves! With a single glance, they recognized the advantages of the bricks.
Eric nodded repeatedly.
The most talented craftsmen on the continent immediately gathered together, launching into a fierce discussion, their faces flushed with excitement. The noise they made soon attracted Dwarves from other tents, packing the entire space.
"The earthen kiln I built is quite small, so I couldn't fire many. Luban, you guys can try using these first," Eric suggested.
"Then let's go find the chief first!" Luban immediately agreed.
Meanwhile, at Thomas's home, he and Chief Joseph were racking their brains over the housing issue. The Snow Wolves were fine in their animal-hide tents during winter, but the Dwarves couldn't withstand the cold.
Building with stone was labor-intensive, and wooden houses weren't warm enough. As the two were hesitating, not knowing what to do, there was a commotion outside. A group of Dwarves surrounding Eric was approaching.
They stopped outside. Eric peeked in, then entered, placing a brick and a tile on the table. Thomas turned them over and over, but he couldn't see anything special about them.
Beside him, however, Ba's eyes lit up. He tapped the brick with his hand, listened to the sound, and then praised it loudly:
"This is very suitable for building houses! The material is special, both insulating and heat-resistant. It seems to have good breathability too, so the house won't be damp after it's built. Its shape is also very uniform, not difficult to build with like stone. It's a truly wonderful building material!"
Upon hearing this, Thomas was also overjoyed. He had been stressing over the housing problem, and Eric had brought the solution right to him.
Ba suddenly stood up, staring intently at Eric: "How is this made? With such identical dimensions, it can't possibly be solid stone."
Eric explained the process of making the clay molds to the two of them. Outside the door, many Dwarven heads poked in, listening attentively.
"The earthen kiln I used to fire the bricks is quite small. If we want to build many houses, we'll have to build a bigger one," Eric said, gesturing with his hands.
"Build it!" Thomas waved his hand, speaking decisively. This wasn't difficult; it just required manpower.
But firing bricks also required mining a large amount of coal, and transportation would need large carts. These things had to be done step by step.
After some discussion, the two chiefs decided that, first, the Snow Wolves would lead the uninjured Dwarves back to their old settlement to retrieve their belongings. Only after bringing back their tools and the forge would they begin firing bricks.
But the enthusiastic Dwarves couldn't wait. They immediately pulled Eric away to start building the brick kiln first.
Seeing that most of them had injuries, Eric took on the heavy work himself. Fortunately, a few Snow Wolf tribe members came to help after a while.
If they were going to build a house, they had to build a very large kiln. He asked the tribesmen to help him find stones, while he went to the riverbank to mix yellow mud.
Eric only knew the general principles of a brick kiln. He and the Dwarves gathered around to discuss it.
After listening to Eric's description, the Dwarves made some improvements, using branches to draw the shape on the ground.
The chambers on both sides of the kiln would be used to place the brick molds, the central chamber would be for burning coal, and then the hot air would be channeled to both sides. Eric didn't quite understand the specifics of how the hot air would be transferred, but thankfully, the Dwarves easily solved this problem.
When Thomas found more than ten Snow Wolves to lead the Dwarves back to move their things, many of the Dwarves were reluctant to go, wanting only to stay and participate in building the brick kiln.
This new thing held an immense fascination for them.
In the end, Chief Joseph had to divide the remaining able-bodied Dwarves in half. He led one group back to transport their belongings, while the other half stayed behind to build the brick kiln.