I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 35: Cutting Wood and Making Charcoal
It snowed for two days in a row.

Luke, who was eager to cut wood and make charcoal as soon as possible, waited for another two days until the snow had almost melted before he and Ryan left the cabin.

After all, Luc and Ryan's next job will require them to stay outdoors, and it will be much colder when the snow melts than when it snows.

"Ryan, have you ever cut down a tree?"

Luc handed the armed axe to Ryan. After half a winter of growth, the boy gradually grew into the appearance that Luc had expected:
His cheeks were no longer sunken, and his frame gradually became broad. Although he was not yet a burly man, he was no longer as weak as he looked at the beginning.

Taking the axe, Ryan patted his chest and said loudly:
"Master, have you forgotten that I am the son of a carpenter? Chopping down trees is easy for me. I promise to complete the task you assign!"

"That's good, but don't try to show off. It's cold in winter, don't catch a cold again."

"Don't worry, sir!"

Seeing that Luke had nothing to say, Ryan carried an axe and a saw and took little Charlie into the forest behind the mountain. Luke picked up the firewood that he and Ryan had just moved to the earthen kiln and moved it into the cave little by little.

Luc burned charcoal not for heating, but to make bricks.

Hundreds of pounds of charcoal are needed to make bricks, and hundreds of pounds of charcoal require thousands of pounds of wood.
Of course, I won't burn so much at once, but I need at least a batch of wood to verify whether the cave is usable. It is very likely that the wood will fail several times in the process of becoming charcoal, and the wasted wood must be replenished during this period, as they still have to survive the winter.

One hundred pounds of wood were carried into the cave little by little, and each piece was stacked horizontally. When the stack reached the highest point, Luc used force to fit the top layer of wood flush with the top, leaving as few gaps as possible.

In this way, the cave was filled from the inside out. In the passage between the stove and the cave, Luc specially selected some relatively damp wood and placed it here, and then sealed the cave.

This is one of the most important steps in logging and charcoal making.

Airtightness is the key to successful charcoal burning.

He carefully blocked the entrance of the cave with stones he had found, and then evenly spread yellow mud between every gap, especially the places where air leaks easily due to circles. Luke rubbed it back and forth, not missing any loopholes.

To be on the safe side, Luc applied two more layers of yellow mud on the outside after applying the paint. He went back to the cabin to have lunch and started to light the stove after returning.

He lit the remaining firewood at the stove and waited patiently for a while. Then he saw smoke coming out of the chimney in the northeast corner. The smoke first scattered everywhere, but as Luc kept adding firewood, it gradually gathered and slowly rose from low to high. Luc knew that the wood in the cave had begun to burn!

If you want to turn wood into charcoal, there is one very, very important step - controlling the temperature!

If the fire is not strong enough, the firewood will never be completely burned, let alone charcoal.

But once it is over-fired, the wood will melt and naturally no charcoal will be formed.

Luc placed damp wood at the entrance of the stove connecting to the cave to prevent the latter, so that the wood here would burn slower and the wood in the cave would last longer.

However, Luc couldn't have X-ray vision and couldn't observe the size of the flame in the cave. How could he know the exact burning time?

Luke naturally has a way to deal with this.

The slowly rising thick smoke continued to rise, rushing over the dry trees until it dissipated in mid-air. Seeing the smoke so high, Luc decisively stopped adding firewood and waited for about ten minutes. Seeing that the smoke was slowly getting smaller, he continued to add firewood. He repeated this process until he stopped waiting for the last time. The smoke was still as big as before, so Luc stopped.

Yes, it's the size of the smoke.
If the smoke disperses, it means that the fire in the cave is not burning. If it begins to gather, it means that it is gradually igniting. If the smoke continues to rise into the sky, it means that all the firewood in the cave is now engulfed in flames!

Luke reached out and touched the surface of the earthen kiln. The scorching temperature made him retract his hand instantly. The fire was good, and it was time to seal the stove!

He repeated the same method as before, sealing the stove mouth. However, a fist-sized gap remained. Luc was uneasy and decided to observe for a while. As the air flowing into the kiln from the stove mouth decreased, the flames naturally decreased in intensity, and the thick smoke from the chimney thinned out slightly. Luc squinted and observed carefully, but saw that it had not thinned out much. He had finally sealed the last gap firmly.

To prevent burns, I climbed up the hillside from the other side of the mountain to the chimney and sealed the chimney tightly. Next, I just had to wait for the charcoal to burn into shape!
It would take about half a day to burn a hundred pounds of wood. Luke stood up, dusted himself off, and prepared to go to the forest to check on Ryan's progress before it got dark.

As soon as we entered the forest, we heard a loud bang and the sound of tree trunks hitting the snow made a loud noise.

Little Charlie smelled Luc's scent early on, stood up from the ground and wagged his tail vigorously.

Ryan was concentrating on sawing wood. The buzzing sound covered up Luke's footsteps and he didn't notice Luke's arrival at all.

Ryan's technique was precise, and it was obvious that he was a frequent woodcutter. He was much better than Luc was at the time. In just one morning, he had already piled up a large pile of firewood on the side.

The wooden barrel that Ryan had not finished before he caught a cold was finished during the snowy days. Luke went to the river again, opened the hole, filled it with water and placed it at the door of the cabin.

Wooden barrels are different from other items. They must be used frequently. The longer they are used, the less likely they are to leak and the more durable they are. On the contrary, if they are often left aside, they will become less strong.

Ever since he caught a cold, for some reason, Luc always felt that Ryan was a little different from before.

Ryan worked very hard before, but now he seems to regard the cabin as his own home. Luc doesn't think this sense of identity is a bad thing.

And what made Luc most satisfied was that Ryan never forgot what Luc asked him at the beginning, which was to always remember the distinction between superiors and inferiors.

Luc is not a person with moral obsession. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since he is in the Middle Ages, he must follow the laws of the Middle Ages. He treats Ryan better than others just because he is more humane in his bones. It does not mean that he completely regards Ryan as a friend. In other words, they can get along as friends, but the two will never be on an equal status like friends.

Ryan, who had just finished sawing the wood, saw Luc and quickly put down his tools.
"master?"

"Why didn't you remind me when you came? I've already cut down five or six oak trees weighing a hundred pounds. I believe I can cut down three more before dark!"

"Well done."

Luc praised, and seeing Ryan's smiling face, he said, "But don't cut down the trees yet. Send the wood back to the woodshed, and then get some pork and parsnips. You can cook tonight."

Ryan was stunned for a moment, then nodded immediately: "No problem, sir!"

Before dark, Luc returned to the cave, shared some of the food with Ryan, and then slowly dismantled the cave.

The earthen wall is no longer hot. In fact, once the charcoal is refined, it can be stored in the cave for a long time. It is not a problem to open it and use it after a year or two.

But Luc was eager to verify whether it was successful. He took off his rabbit fur hat and tied it on the tip of his nose. He carefully dug the hole, and a thick stream of heat and charcoal rushed out.
"Cough, cough, cough!"

Luc coughed a few times, then quickly turned his head away, fanning away the thick air with his hands.

After a while, when there were no more obstacles in front of him, Luke looked inside with the last glimmer of the colorful clouds, and suddenly smiled brightly:

"one two three four"

"That's about forty pounds of charcoal, right?"

"With a 40 percent charcoal burning rate, it seems we can build a brick kiln soon!"

(End of this chapter)