Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

The open space was filled with the incessant sound of knocking and hammering.

Bi Fang sat on a small stool, inserting a palm-sized wooden wedge into a groove, using a forearm-length stone hammer to knock and drive it in place.

With the wooden slats stacking up, piece by piece, and being secured, the shape of the sled had essentially taken form; by its appearance alone, one could tell this was going to be a highly functional dog sled.

Not far away in the forest, the Three Fools sat in a row, occasionally lying on the ground emitting sorrowful whimpers; they watched the sled taking shape yet dared not approach, sensing an immense terror that was about to befall their dog minds, which had been thoroughly overexcited in the past week.

Bi Fang was unaware that the three foolish dogs had been sitting out there since the early morning watching him, but that didn't interfere with his work. As he chewed on a tooth-cleaning stick, he struck powerfully with the stone hammer, continuing with the task at hand.

Though some roughness remained, the wooden wedges weren't exactly the right size, but they did secure the two long, curved pieces of wood firmly together. Unless the wedges were pulled out or the material itself broke, they would not come apart.

Only the size was a bit off; the width was just right, but the length was slightly short, leaving a bit of slack. Bi Fang inserted another piece of wood to compensate and then brushed on resin glue.

Resin glue is a type of waterproof glue with excellent effectiveness, mainly extracted from coniferous trees such as pines and spruces, which are precisely the types of trees found in cold regions. There were plenty in the forest.

"Resin seeps out of 'wounds' on the tree trunk or is stored in protrusions under the bark; in such cases, you can simply use a stick to remove the resin directly,"

Bi Fang had explained the process of harvesting resin yesterday, but to avoid leaving uninformed viewers in the dark, he repeated it again.

The live broadcast audience hailed from all across the country, and due to time differences, coupled with Bi Fang's disrupted biological clock, it was inevitable that some viewers would miss parts of the content.

Considering a twelve-hour boundary, only ten percent of the audience in the live stream overlapped, meaning the remaining ninety percent likely hadn't heard the earlier content and could only catch up through the chat messages.

Major events were still fine, as they could be revisited through replays, but not necessarily the smaller informational tidbits. This was perfect for Bi Fang, who could also use it to fill time and add some interest.

Just in time, the batch of resin glue he had collected and made the day before yesterday was almost used up, so he had made a new batch.

"We place the collected resin in a container, and then heat it over the fire."

A small fire pit was slowly heating up the resin glue.

"When the resin begins to melt, you'll smell a strong pine scent; that's normal—no need to worry. What you need to pay attention to is ensuring the heat is not too high to avoid boiling the resin, which would diminish the adhesive properties of the glue."

"Also, make sure you have a cover at hand because resin can easily catch fire. In case it ignites, you must cover the container with the lid right away to prevent the resin from burning. If... Huo!"

Just as Bi Fang was about to finish his sentence, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a piece of wood crackling and breaking apart, sending a spark flying into the container, followed by a burst of flame shooting out from the wooden bowl. Fortunately, he was quick to react, and he immediately covered it with a lid, otherwise he nearly singed his own eyebrows.

[Geez, it's on fire as soon as you say it!]

[That's too hot, a blazing fire!]

[Be careful, man.]

After covering it with the wooden lid to cut off the oxygen for a minute, Bi Fang removed it and continued speaking.

"What was I saying? Right, if you have a large quantity of resin and you need very pure resin glue, then you should filter the liquid glue quickly, or it might solidify."

"Once the resin cools down, it will return to its natural state. Thus, to make the glue harder and stronger, you need to add a 'hardening agent' to it."

"Typically, there are 3 readily available additives in nature, each with its own advantages. Crushed charcoal, being the easiest to procure, is a commonly used additive. In most cases, it's alright to add charcoal, although the resin tends to be more brittle once dry."

"Next is beeswax, which makes the resin glue more flexible. However, this type of resin glue isn't very sturdy, feels greasier to the touch, and tends to be softer once it sets."

"Finally, there's dung, and it must be from herbivores like rabbits and deer. Their dried dung is the best additive. This resin glue is the most durable and sturdy, but it isn't very hygienic, so don't use it to glue cups or other utensils."

Bi Fang chose to add charcoal. He stirred the resin continuously as he mixed in the pulverized charcoal, ensuring it was well-blended.

[Wow, even dung works?]

[That's a bit outrageous]

[I guess it's a mix of fibers, plus some other special components, right?]

"Determining the right amount of binder for making resin glue is tricky. Usually, you start with a 1:10 ratio, then test a little bit to see if it sets. If it hardens after setting, it means that's enough."

"If it's still soft and sticky, continue adding binder. After adding the binder, the resin glue must be used immediately while hot, because once it cools, it will set."

"It's best to divide the resin glue into portions, using only a part of it each time, as resin glue becomes less sturdy the more it's reheated."

"Dividing it into small portions is also simple. Just stick a little onto a stick and then cool it in water to peel off. Of course, in the Arctic, air cooling is usually sufficient."

Bi Fang rolled the sticky resin glue out and directly applied it to the joints of the sled. After smoothing it with tree bark, he immediately wrapped it with long cords made from soaked and rubbed tree bark, reinforcing it three times.

"I was actually thinking of using leather glue, which is the best for bonding organic materials, even though it has its drawbacks. It expands when wet, can't be subjected to heat, and can't bond materials like stone, but for wood, the effect is truly good. It's just that leather glue, well..."

Bi Fang scratched his head and spread his hands, "Just by the name, you know that this stuff needs to be made from rawhide, but I don't have any left, only a piece of tanned musk ox skin. And even if it were raw, I wouldn't give up my furry sleeping bag."

[No, actually Master Fang, you do have rawhide, and plenty of it]

"Huh?"

Bi Fang was taken aback. He had rawhide?

[Old Fang, look to your left, and you'll understand]

Bi Fang looked to his left with confusion, just in time to see the Three Fools sitting in a row.

...

[Holy shit, you've got quite the imagination!]

[Three Fools: What did we ever do to you?]

[I'm convinced by nothing but you]

"Ahem, after all, they still need to pull the sled, so let's be a little more forgiving."