I Became The Chief of A Primitive Village
Chapter 539: Solving the Bathing Problem

After Su Bai returned to the Yong’an Building, he began planning the next phase of development. There was still much work to be done to bring the Tribe closer to modern civilised living.

He reflected that development could not cease simply because the snow season had arrived; steady progress was essential.

"Shaman, what are you thinking about?" Yu Ying enquired curiously, having observed that the Shaman had walked directly to his seat upon returning to the Tribe.

"I am considering the Tribe’s bathing arrangements. It would be beneficial if we could improve this situation." Su Bai said.

Indeed, his thoughts concerned the shower system, as carrying buckets for bathing was too inconvenient. If proper shower facilities were available, the experience would be far better.

The sensation of standing directly beneath a showerhead, lifting one’s face to receive the cascading water, was incomparably superior to the bucket-splashing method they currently employed.

"Shaman, but our current bathing arrangements are quite good, are they not? What kind of improvement can we make?" Yu Ying asked with curiosity.

Yu Ying’s interest was piqued, as she had learnt that such moments typically preceded the Shaman’s creation of remarkable innovations.

"Do you not want to be able to use your hands for other things when bathing?" Su Bai asked with a slight upward curve of his lips.

"You mean we would no longer need to carry buckets and splash water on ourselves?" Yu Ying’s pink eyes widened.

"Exactly. With a shower system, we don’t need to splash water on ourselves." Su Bai nodded in confirmation.

"That would be amazing, Shaman. But what is a shower?" Yu Ying, predictably, encountered this new terminology

"A shower is a tool that liberates your hands when bathing. Though creating it is quite tough." Su Bai explained with pursed lips.

Constructing a bathing system within the Yong’an Building presented significant challenges, given the numerous factors requiring consideration.

"Shaman, how can we do it?" Yu Ying enquired with interest.

"We must establish a water storage facility first. This location will enable water to flow through pipes into our bathing areas." Su Bai explained.

This element was crucial, as without adequate water storage, no water would emerge from the shower system.

"Shaman, doesn’t our Tribe not already have a lot of water around us? Surely they can be used." Yu Ying suggested immediately.

"They are not really suited for this. The water would be cold, and you wouldn’t want to take cold baths during the depths of winter, right?" Su Bai countered.

Yu Ying shook her head without hesitation, declaring immediately, "No, I might freeze to death…"

The snow season was genuinely severe; sometimes even indoor drinking water froze solid, making outdoor conditions far worse.

"Moreover, most pools of water are currently frozen, making it impossible to get flowing water from them" Su Bai observed.

The Tribe’s recent water supply depended upon melting ice from the pools or snow water, as flowing water had become unavailable due to the snow season.

"Shaman, what solution do you have? Everything has turned to ice." Yu Ying frowned, wondering whether this shower concept might prove impractical.

"We can construct our own system and heat the water. This would provide us with hot baths." Su Bai stated.

His concept drew inspiration from Earth’s hot water heater systems. Heating water in a storage facility and delivering it through pipes. This approach would prove far more convenient than melting snow for bathing purposes.

"Really?" Yu Ying’s delight was evident as her pink fox tail swayed continuously.

"Of course. I will be busy drawing the plans up, you can just continue on with your tasks," Su Bai said gently, retrieving paper and writing implements to begin his sketches.

"Yes, Shaman." Yu Ying responded, careful not to disturb him as she retrieved Animal Hide to commence sewing, preparing to craft gloves according to the Shaman’s specifications.

Since outdoor expeditions required scarves for necks and snow boots for feet, these areas were adequately protected. The hands remained the primary concern for warmth.

Beyond glove construction, she would also create ear coverings to prevent frostbite. In severely cold conditions, ears could freeze up, which was a genuine risk for the Primitive Tribes during the snow season.

Su Bai began sketching what resembled a hot water heater storage system—essentially a large container designed for water storage. Subsequently, he drew numerous winding pipes, importantly positioning the Yong’an Building on the blueprint with these installations nearby.

His initial trial would focus on Yong’an Building, his personal residence, where the hot water system would be essential.

Though he had grown accustomed to bucket bathing, the process was still very troublesome. Under normal circumstances, this might be tolerable, but during the current snow season with the freezing temperatures, the complications multiplied.

Each bathing session required gathering substantial amounts of snow, melting it, then waiting for it to heat properly. Inadequate heating would result in rapid freezing once more.

Without proper heating, recently melted water would freeze before bathing commenced, wasting both firewood and the Tribe members’ efforts.

"Two separate pipes are necessary—one for cold water and one for hot water—otherwise, boiling water would scald them." Su Bai murmured to himself.

He added another storage container to his blueprint, along with numerous additional pipes.

His vision involved a switching system that would simultaneously release hot and cold water. When combined, these would create lukewarm water suitable for comfortable bathing.

A single hot water pipe would be inadequate, as opening the system would release scalding water, which was unsuitable for bathing.

[This should be good enough, though the water heating system requires further consideration.] Su Bai reflected with satisfaction as he reviewed his blueprint.

Heating water within the storage container presented challenges. Without continuous wood fires, the water would freeze, yet constant heating during non-bathing periods would waste considerable wood. This was a hardly optimal solution.

"A continuous heating device would be ideal. That way, we can reduce the amount of wood being burnt." He recognised this impossibility given their technological limitations. Modern conveniences were unavailable, necessitating alternative approaches.

"If only we have coal available, then this problem would be easily resolved. Using coal to…" Su Bai halted mid-sentence, his expression transforming to excitement.

"Shaman, is something wrong?" Yu Ying noticed the Shaman’s sudden change, fearing some difficulty had arisen.

"It’s nothing bad. I have just resolved a significant problem." Su Bai beamed with uncontainable satisfaction.