I Became The Chief Of A Primitive Village

Chapter 317, Sacred Things

Translator: Silavin

After a series of operations, Su Bai created the frame of an umbrella. The frame looked very delicate, with consistent spacing between each rib. The only final step of laying the canopy remained, with the whole process taking about half an hour.

“It looks good, quite presentable already.” Su Bai smiled contentedly.

“Shaman, is this an umbrella? It doesn’t seem able to block the rain, though it looks beautiful.” The fox eared girl was amazed by the frame’s appearance and wanted one for herself. However, this umbrella clearly could not block off the rain, seemingly just for display.

“Haha… silly girl, it’s not completely finished yet. The canopy still needs to be attached.” Su Bai laughed.

The umbrella was not fully complete at this point. The final step was attaching the canopy. Once the canopy was fixed to the frame, the umbrella would truly be complete.

Yu Ying scratched her head embarrassedly, saying, “So that’s how it is. I thought it was already finished.”

“Shaman, please teach me how to attach the canopy.” Gu Mu could hardly wait. While watching the frame being made earlier, he had been mesmerized, involuntarily exclaiming in amazement several times. He found the umbrella’s construction fascinating, especially its ability to fold. He had thought the umbrella would only stay in its open position, but discovering it could collapse made it even more intriguing. His admiration for the Shaman grew stronger, viewing him as a divine being who had come to save the Flame Dragon Tribe.

“Attaching the canopy is both simple and complex, but we can’t be careless.” Su Bai cautioned.

“I understand,” Gu Mu nodded seriously, his eyes fixed intently on the Shaman’s movements, seemingly afraid to miss any detail.

Su Bai spent a long time selecting from many pieces of Smooth Skin Lizard Hide before choosing one of suitable size to cover the umbrella frame. He pressed the hide tightly against the frame, careful about size differences, then began rotating the frame to check if the hide perfectly fits all around. He also checked for any missing spots or excess material.

After ensuring the Smooth Skin Lizard Hide fit perfectly against the frame, he took out scissors provided by the System to trim the edges. He did not cut exactly along the edge. He left some excess hide to prevent problems, which would also make hemming easier.

*Snip snip…* The scissors cleanly cut away the excess Smooth Skin Lizard Hide, leaving a circular piece of hide.

“The next step is very important, so watch carefully.” Su Bai instructed.

“Yes,” Gu Mu nodded.

Su Bai began sewing the Smooth Skin Lizard Hide to the frame at specific points. On the opened frame, there were three points, with three more points at the ends of the ribs. He carefully sewed the hide securely at these points, finally hemming around the outer edge.

After about ten minutes, Su Bai had perfectly sewn the Smooth Skin Lizard Hide to the frame. He rotated the umbrella, opening and closing it many times to ensure everything worked properly before nodding with satisfaction.

“There. The umbrella is complete.” Su Bai smiled.

Oil paper umbrellas used glue to attach the canopy, but in this era, Su Bai had not discovered glue yet. Moreover, glue worked better for paper than hide, so sewing was the only option. As long as the Smooth Skin Lizard Hide was secured, sewing worked just as well. The stitch holes were so small that rain would not be able to leak through.

Primitive era umbrellas saved quite a bit of time, and Su Bai’s detailed explanation was mainly to ensure Gu Mu took it seriously. The actual construction was not difficult, as it eliminated steps like gluing paper, painting, and oiling. However, the challenge lay in building the frame and securing the hide properly.

Gu Mu’s hands trembled as he took the umbrella, examining it in amazement.

“Shaman, is this really an umbrella, right?” Gu Mu could hardly believe his eyes. He kept opening and closing the umbrella repeatedly, even bringing it to his nose to smell it, finding it all too miraculous.

“Yes, this is an umbrella, a tool for use during the rainy season. How many can you make before the rainy season arrives?” Su Bai asked.

This was the crucial point. If they could produce enough, important people in the Tribe could each have one.

Gu Mu furrowed his brow in thought before answering. “I can make ten a day.”

This was his estimate after considering putting reasonable time to this. He still had to make stone tools. However, since returning to the Ancestral Land, he had taken on many apprentices, some with carpenter backgrounds or quick learners. By distributing the work appropriately and focusing on the most crucial parts himself, he believes he could achieve this level of output.

“Ten per day?” Su Bai nodded. “That’s a good number. In that case, we’ll have about a hundred before the rainy season arrives.”

The quantity exceeded his expectations; he had thought four or five per day would be the limit.

“Shaman, don’t worry, this quantity isn’t a problem. We might produce less the first few days, but after two days I can definitely make this many, maybe even more.” Gu Mu said earnestly.

Su Bai raised his hand to calm him, saying. “No need to be nervous or rush things. Take it slowly. Quality is what matters here.”

He did not want poor quality products due to nervousness or rushing. Though, he trusted the old carpenter would not make such mistakes.

“Understood, I won’t disappoint you, Shaman.” Gu Mu solemnly said. To him, these umbrellas were sacred, and he felt fortunate to be chosen to make them.

“Great. If you have any questions, send someone to ask me.” Su Bai nodded.

“Yes!” Gu Mu was already eager to continue working on the umbrellas.