Within the Green Sparrow Tribe, many people gathered near the bamboo grove, their eyes wide as they stared at the copper ingot shaped like the bottom of a pottery jar.
The copper ingot, which had been exposed to rain on the way, no longer shone as brightly as when it was first cast.
Perhaps, with more time and exposure to moisture and oxygen, this yellow metal would slowly develop a patina of copper oxide, turning into a color that matches its name.
The people passed around the heavy copper, which regained its bright yellow sheen after returning to the stone table.
Given this trend, it would not be easy to get it covered in a layer of verdigris and develop the weight of history.
"Divine Child, I can use a hammer to shape it into a round ball, to put it in the slingshot and throw it farther," said the second disciple, who Han Cheng had intentionally trained in the way of blacksmithing. He held the well-worn wooden-handled hammer, now smooth and slick from frequent use, and asked for permission.
After using the slingshot for a long time, he realized that the rounder the stone, the easier it was to hit distant targets. Moreover, compared to regular stones, they could be thrown much farther.
He immediately suggested shaping the first piece of bronze into a metal ball for throwing because his fellow disciples, including Sha and Shang and others in the tribe, had already equipped themselves with iron weapons.
This made the second disciple quite envious.
Now, seeing the bright yellow bronze and testing its hardness with a hammer, the second disciple immediately thought of making metal balls from it.
After all, a shiny, golden ball would be much easier to spot once thrown.
As the Green Sparrow Tribe's resources grew, surplus production became the norm. With the growing division of labor and expanding social roles, people began developing different thoughts.
They began to understand the difference between what they owned and what belonged to the tribe.
This was the reason behind the second disciple's suggestion to shape the bronze ingot into metal balls.
Han Cheng, who closely observed the tribe, naturally understood this but didn't have many strong opinions about it.
From a long-term perspective, this was a major advancement, and once the tribe prospered, it would naturally head in this direction.
"Divine Child, we could make a hoe head. After making the hoe, we could use it to plow more land without worrying that it might break as the stone hoe-heads did."
"Divine Child, we could make a sickle. With a sharp sickle, I could harvest more grass for the tribe's deer and sheep..."
The tribe members suggested using the copper, hoping the wise Divine Child would consider them.
In the past, many would have been disappointed if their suggestions were not taken, but this time, it was different.
Han Cheng smiled calmly, looking at the eager faces around him. He appeared at ease and magnanimous.
"Don't worry, don't rush. This time, we've found metal ores and brought back a lot of minerals. We'll get a lot of metal and make many things, fulfilling everyone's wishes."
"Even if the stones we brought back aren't enough, we can go there again to transport more stones or even smelt copper right there..."
At this moment, Han Cheng looked like a skilled manipulator with plenty of resources.
Indeed, this time was different from before!
When Han Cheng spoke, many people couldn’t help but shift their gaze away from the yellowish bronze ingot and look toward the quarry over the thick walls.
There, a furnace stood, and next to it were piles of stones—metal ores brought back by Han Cheng and his group from afar...
A cheer rose from the courtyard, and after it subsided, some people couldn't wait to start the kiln and begin refining the copper and tin, eager to make various tools.
The people of the Green Sparrow Tribe, who had already experienced the utility of metal tools, were now more enthusiastic about them than most people of this era.
However, Han Cheng remained calm and did not immediately respond to their wishes. Instead, he arranged for people to refine the copper-tin alloy.
There were no established models for refining bronze, so forcing the process would only result in some pot-shaped copper ingots. This would be labor-intensive and time-consuming without yielding much else.
Instead, Han Cheng decided to have a few people experienced in refining copper use the methods for refining copper ores to process the tin ores and produce crude tin.
Once the arrangements were made, those few people went to the quarry, and after half a day, a new, unused boiler began emitting smoke.
Now, the Green Sparrow Tribe's quarry had three furnaces.
The two additional ones were built by Hei Wa, according to Han Cheng's instructions, while Han Cheng was away from the tribe.
One of the newly built furnaces was for melting copper ingots and refining bronze.
Once the time, manpower, and materials were sufficient, all three furnaces could be operated simultaneously. They could produce many bronze items in a day with some extra hands to help forge the bronze tools.
As for Hei Wa, the skilled craftsman, he was kept behind by Han Cheng to help him research and develop clay molds for casting.
Three of Hei Wa's regular assistants, who helped with pottery, and two young boys, who were particularly interested in pottery making, also stayed with them.
With the emergence and development of bronze tools, the related craft of making bronze molds became increasingly important. Over time, mold-making's complexity and technical demands far surpassed those of pottery.
Thus, Han Cheng intentionally selected people within the tribe with a talent for making molds, intending to train them and separate this craft from pottery making, creating a specialized system to support the future development of bronze tools.
Making a good mold was not easy for Hei Wa, who was used to playing with clay.
Most of the pottery he made was round—round bowls, round jars, large pots...
He had mastered these forms very well; if someone spun the stone wheel, he could easily create beautiful clay pieces.
But molds were different. They weren’t round. Instead, they required different shapes of voids to be made from well-mixed clay, depending on the object being cast.
Hei Wa had attempted to make a mold once before when he was casting a copper hammer.
It had been challenging, causing him to sweat, but he eventually managed to create a reasonably good mold, allowing them to produce a suitable copper hammer.