Chapter 73: Oil Extraction

Chapter 73: Oil Extraction

This batch was quickly devoured, prompting Wen Ran to prepare several more. Fearing the plain flavor might become tiresome, he seasoned some with salt during frying, enriching their taste and making them more palatable.

Once these two flavored seed batches cooled, Wen Ran instructed Mao Zhi to take a large plate of each to Mao Fei. Mao Zhi nodded and departed, dragging Hu Lai—who couldn't stop eating—by the scruff of her neck.

Hu Lai cast several longing glances at the seeds before slowly asking if she could bring some for her Alpha Male Cat Tooth to sample. Wen Ran generously filled a large wooden plate for her, and soon, the little fox's fluffy tail wagged back and forth, her foxy eyes narrowing into happy slits.

From the baobab fruits, they not only extracted seeds but also a substantial amount of pulp, enough to fill several wooden buckets. Wen Ran chopped the pulp, then boiled and stirred it with agave syrup until it thickened into a jam. This jam was then stored in jars, ready to be mixed with water for a refreshing drink.

He also made some dried fruit by slicing the pulp and sun-drying it for easy storage and portability. Given the desert's scorching sun during the dry season, the pulp transformed into fruit leather in less than an afternoon when left outside the cave.

Wen Ran offered some dried fruit to the three little ones, storing the rest in his spatial dimension to conserve space in the cave. By his estimation, it was already evening, and Big Black Wolf should be returning soon.

After discovering the baobab tree earlier that day and collecting ample water and fruit, Wen Ran had been sent back to the tribe by Big Black Wolf, who then rejoined the male orcs to continue gathering water.

Wen Ran had initially planned to extract oil from the remaining seeds, but considering Big Black Wolf's physically demanding day, he decided to prepare a delicious meal for him first. The oil extraction could wait.

For dinner, he prepared several meat dishes, with baobab fruit porridge as the staple. After washing and dicing the fruit, he added it to the porridge, infusing it with a unique fruity aroma and a tangy sweetness that enhanced its flavor.

Upon Big Black Wolf's return to the cave, having washed off the desert dust, he was greeted by an unfamiliar, intriguing aroma. Following the scent, he saw a spread on the animal-skin rug: braised Grunting Beast ribs, spicy Fish Beast chunks, stir-fried potatoes with chili peppers, lightly sautéed baobab leaves, sour and spicy radish, pickled sand chives, and a pot of rice porridge. The unique aroma emanated from that porridge.

Wen Ran smiled and said, "Welcome back! Try the white rice porridge I made with baobab pulp. The three little ones absolutely love it. And these seeds and jam—see if you like them."

Big Black Wolf cracked open a seed, his expression one of surprise as the shell broke. He chewed slowly, savoring the nutty flavor, then commented, "The taste is pretty good, but it's too much effort to eat."

Lang Zhi ate a few seeds before setting the rest aside and turning to the porridge and dishes. He preferred eating meat and vegetables in large, hearty bites.

Wen Ran couldn't help but chuckle. Big Black Wolf was always so practical.

After dinner, Wen Ran began the oil extraction process.

He washed the seeds thoroughly to remove any residual pulp, discarding any shriveled or damaged ones. High-quality seeds would yield superior oil.

After washing, he spread them on an animal skin near the cave's ventilation opening to dry. Once dried, the seeds needed to be crushed. Since the Sand Cat tribe had never extracted oil before, they lacked grinding tools. Round Cat suggested, "I once saw a large stone bowl at Shaman Hu Xiu's place. She often grinds strange things in it with a stone, turning them into fine powder. Wen Ran, if we use it to grind the seeds, it might achieve the effect you want."

Wen Ran, ever action-oriented, went to borrow the stone bowl from Shaman Hu Xiu. But when he saw the "bowl" and the stone used for grinding, he was stunned. It wasn't merely a bowl—it was a stone mortar! Shaped like a large bowl with a concave interior and a thick, sturdy base, the grinding stone was clearly a pestle.

Evidently, Shaman Hu Xiu used the mortar for grinding herbs. Wen Ran noticed Dragon Blood Tree resin powder inside. After pouring the powder into a wooden bowl, Shaman Hu Xiu generously handed the mortar to Wen Ran. Hu Lai, who had come to visit her, muttered under her breath, "Mother is so generous with Wen Ran."

She had asked her mother several times to borrow the stone bowl to grind Dragon Blood Tree resin for Cat Tooth's wounds, but her mother had always refused. Usually, her mother treasured the bowl like a prized possession. Yet she wouldn't lend it to her own child but readily gave it to Wen Ran.

Wen Ran thanked her and carried the mortar back to the cave.

The seeds were already dry. After cleaning the mortar, Wen Ran placed the seeds inside and began pounding them with the pestle, using an up-and-down motion to crush them.

The seeds gradually broke into smaller pieces, and after repeated pounding, their shells mostly fell off, while the kernels turned into powder. This was the desired result.

Although the oil was stored in the kernels, the pounding process yielded very little oil, making it difficult to extract fully. Several buckets of seeds produced less than a basin of oil. Wen Ran felt it was a waste. Moreover, the process was slow and laborious. Grinding the seeds one bowl at a time would take forever. They needed a faster method.

Since the mortar wasn't efficient, Wen Ran thought of a similar tool: a stone roller.

A stone roller typically consists of a circular stone and a wooden frame, often turned by a donkey. The seeds are spread on the roller and crushed into powder by the rolling stone, which is much more efficient.

Wen Ran explained to Lang Zhi that the stone roller has two parts: the millstone and a heavy roller. After a moment’s thought, Lang Zhi brought over several large, flat animal bones, hollowed out a hole in the center, and quickly fashioned a millstone and roller according to Wen Ran’s instructions.

"The millstone has a hole in the center where a thick wooden stick serves as the pivot. A wooden crossbar is attached to the pivot, with a mill handle fixed to the other end. The handle passes through the roller, leaving about a meter for pulling. This creates a simple stone roller," Wen Ran explained, clapping his hands. "Place the roller on the millstone, align the components, and give it a try."

Lang Zhi did as instructed.

Wen Ran spread the seeds on the roller. The large roller was too heavy for him to push, but just as he was wondering where to find a donkey, Lang Zhi flexed his muscles and began pulling the handle, grinding the seeds in circles effortlessly. Wen Ran instinctively gave a thumbs-up—incredibly strong.

The millstone was large, processing a third of the seeds in one go. After repeatedly grinding them back and forth, oil began to seep out. Wen Ran placed a large jar at the outlet, and after several hours, all the seeds were ground into fine powder, producing a thin layer of oil.

Wen Ran extracted oil using the ancient wedge press method, commonly employed by ancestors on ancient Earth. The process involved preparing the oil material by selecting intact seeds, washing them, grinding them into powder, steaming the powder, and shaping it into cakes. The cakes were then repeatedly struck and compressed to squeeze out the oil.

Wen Ran followed the steps carefully. He steamed the ground seed powder to soften it for easier oil extraction. While steaming, he wove several soft mats from baobab bark, wrapped the steamed powder in them, and pressed it into round cakes.

Next, he crafted a wooden mallet from sturdy wood—long and round, with one end heavier—and a narrow slot with wedges inside.

To press the oil cakes, he placed them in the wooden slot, raised the mallet high, and struck the wedges against the cakes with force. The intense pressure squeezed the oil out of the cakes. After repeated strikes, the cakes became finer and denser, and pale yellow oil slowly trickled out through a small hole at the bottom of the slot.

The final step was filtering the oil to remove any residual seed fragments, yielding pure baobab seed oil. The filtered oil was stored in jars.

Wen Ran wiped the sweat from his forehead. This physically demanding task was too much for him—after just a few strikes, his arms were too tired to lift. In the end, Big Black Wolf took over, wielding the large mallet with ease. By late night, all the oil had been extracted.

Wen Ran gazed at the large jar of baobab seed oil, his eyes sparkling with satisfaction. Finally, they wouldn’t have to rely on animal oil every day.

......

By the time the young zebra woke up, it was already the morning of the third day. Wen Ran went to see him and learned why he had collapsed in the desert.

It turned out that Ban Yun had just reached adulthood and had never left the tribe alone. Venturing into the desert during the dry season, with no greenery to guide him, he became disoriented. The zebra beastmen relied on plants for navigation, just as the Sand Cat beastmen relied on dune formations. Since the desert was dominated by northwest winds, dunes generally aligned southeast, providing a basic sense of direction. Lang Zhi, a wolf beastman, navigated by the sun—its east-to-west movement and the corresponding shadow shifts helped determine direction.

Both methods relied on external cues to navigate the desert without getting lost.

Unfortunately, Ban Yun had gotten lost fleeing toward All-Beasts City and accidentally stumbled into the barren desert where the Sand Cat beastmen lived, a place with scarce vegetation.

Luckily, he encountered Wen Ran and the Sand Cat and Sand Fox beastmen, who were searching for water for the first time since the dry season began, and they rescued him!

Wen Ran felt this was no coincidence. How could Ban Yun, aiming for All-Beasts City, end up in the remote territory of the Sand Cat beastmen by chance?

He had heard from Round Cat that All-Beasts City was a major settlement to the south, far from their tribe. For the young zebra beastman to be brought here so quickly, only the Beast God's Messenger, who traversed three thousand realms to rescue his people, could have orchestrated it. Wen Ran was certain the Beast God's Messenger had a hand in this.

Ban Yun explained that he had fled in a hurry and only vaguely heard a female named Mao Yue from their tribe mention that the Sand Cat tribe had a Beast God's Messenger named Wen Ran who knew where to find water. She pleaded for her life, offering to lead the Iridescent Snake Tribe to him.

As he finished speaking, the cave filled with a tense, killing intent.