Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Seeing Ye Cong's eyes light up, Xue Tuan described the portable ceramic stove to him.

"Excellent, this is wonderful! I'll discuss it further with my companions." Ye Cong excitedly finished the remaining fish and hurried off.

"Young people always have so many ideas," Rong Shan and Feng Yan both chuckled, but a willingness to act is always a good thing.

"Dad, didn't Zhong Yan bring you two kinds of tree bark back then?" Xue Tuan asked, cradling the heavy Hui Hui in his arms and gently rubbing its belly. Hui Hui, content, continuously nuzzled Xue Tuan's fingers with its small head.

"Yes, but the other kind, which Yun Lu called blue sandalwood bark, clearly wasn't as effective as palm bark for making raincoats, so we didn't bother with it," Rong Shan replied, having finished his meal and now sipping the last of his soup.

Of course, it wasn't useful—that bark is premium material for Xuan paper. It's perfectly normal for the beastmen not to recognize its potential yet, as they currently have no need for it. Let the blue sandalwood tree make its initial acquaintance; its time will come.

Feng Yan completed the final cleanup, washing and returning all the tribe's utensils to their places. With so many people present, the two adults insisted on escorting the little black lion back first.

The little black lion initially wanted to decline, but Xue Tuan took its paw and said, "Let me walk you back for once." Though, in the end, the whole family went along.

Seeing Little Dumpling's smiling face, the little black lion's resistance quickly melted away: "Okay."

So, everyone first accompanied the little black lion back to Elder Grandpa's cave, and then the family of four slowly made their way home under the moonlight.

Usually, Xue Tuan and Bing Qiu would already be asleep by the time Rong Shan and Feng Yan returned. This time, with the whole family together, Xue Tuan stubbornly insisted on waiting for everyone to sleep at the same time.

"Let's clean up tomorrow morning. If you don't hurry and shift into your beast form, the little one will be exhausted," Feng Yan said, pointing at Xue Tuan, who sat upright on the fur blanket with his arms crossed, his head nearly drooping to his chest, yet still stubbornly waiting.

Rong Shan shook his head with a helpless smile—Xue Tuan was truly incorrigible.

The night was still, with thick animal hides covering the cave entrances to ward off the cold wind. Occasionally, a strong gust would blow outside, causing the hides to sway and allowing a sliver of moonlight to stretch long shadows across the ground.

At the entrance of one cave, two small fox heads were carved on either side, each flanked by a larger fox head. Anyone who saw it would know that the arctic fox family resided within.

Inside, charcoal still glowed faintly, burning slowly. Not far away, thick fur blankets and dry grass mats were spread on the ground, soft and warm.

Several furry family members lay huddled together, their tails intertwined, their chests rising and falling gently with synchronized breaths.

A small human child was nestled among the furry creatures, his limbs casually draped over them, a look of utter contentment on his face.

Xue Tuan, who had slept soundly cradled by the furry creatures the night before, didn't linger the next day. After "touring" the tribal surroundings with the little black lion, he cheerfully headed to the cave to begin the day's "Beast God Stone Slab" interpretation.

Not seeing Tao Tu in the cave, Xue Tuan surmised that Tao Tu was currently engrossed in pottery making and decided to let him continue his studies there.

Xue Tuan's space was now arranged very comfortably, with thick fur blankets on the ground, a charcoal basin nearby, and the little black lion serving as his backrest. He no longer had to boil his own hot water; Uncle Yun Lu kept it warm for him, ensuring he had hot water whenever he desired.

Xue Tuan thought about asking Elder Grandpa to custom-make a small wooden table for him, which would make things even more convenient, allowing him to keep items like bowl lamps closer.

The bowl lamps had been very well-received since their introduction, though the only drawback was that with improved cave lighting, everyone was staying up later than before. However, staying up late isn't good, and Xue Tuan hoped none of the adults had developed this bad habit yet.

In recent days, many beastmen had learned to make pottery, and some were already planning to improve the stone bowl lamps, though it remained to be seen whether they could create new designs.

Holding a small stone slab, Xue Tuan began to ponder. The enthusiasm for pottery would likely last a few more days, but afterward, only those truly passionate about it would continue making it—and that would be enough. The others would need to return to their other tasks.

It was the cold season, and Xue Tuan thought it was time for everyone to learn how to make cured meat and sausages. It had been a long time since he'd had any, and just thinking about it made his mouth water.

Just then, Yun Lu entered, carrying a ceramic pot to pour some hot water for Xue Tuan.

"Uncle Yun Lu, how much Tusked Boar meat does the tribe have stored now?" Xue Tuan asked.

Yun Lu thought for a moment and replied, "We had quite a lot stored before, but we haven't caught any Tusked Boar recently, so there are only a few baskets left."

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"What's wrong? Are you hungry and want to eat some?" Yun Lu asked with concern, a bit surprised that the little one had come without eating today.

Xue Tuan shook his head and then nodded—he wasn't hungry now but would like some later.

"Uncle Yun Lu, find a few skilled people, and let's make cured meat and sausages together," Xue Tuan said, his bright eyes full of anticipation.

"Cured meat and sausages..." This seemed to be a new kind of food. Yun Lu immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll call them."

Yun Lu quickly ran through potential candidates in his mind. Rong Shan and Tree Clothes would have been good choices, but they were currently the main forces behind sewing raincoats and fur clothing, so they couldn't be called away for now. That left...

"Yuan Luo, you few, come over here," Yun Lu called out to a few busy sub-beastmen, turning towards the fence. He then instructed the beastman guarding the cave entrance to have a few people bring out the tribe's stored Tusked Boar meat.

"Coming," several sub-beastmen responded simultaneously.

Yuan Luo was Juan Juan's father and the leader of their small group of sub-beastmen. Yuan Luo had a round face and dimples when he smiled, making him look particularly friendly.

As usual, Xue Tuan first explained the steps to the leaders. After they had a general understanding, everyone moved to the central cave to begin the hands-on process.

For cured meat, it's best to select parts of the Tusked Boar meat with a balance of fat and lean, such as the hind legs. For sausages, the front leg meat with a 30-70 fat-to-lean ratio is ideal.

"You few handle the cured meat, and you all take care of the sausages," Yun Lu instructed. The group automatically split into two teams. They first arranged the different cuts of meat and moved them to large wooden basins to begin marinating.

Marinating usually takes several hours, even a full day. So this time, they planned to go through the entire process to understand how it's done—after that, they'd know. Yun Lu's idea was to use a portion of the meat for a trial run, while the rest would be marinated for the required time.

For now, they used whatever seasonings they had—mainly salt, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns.

To reduce food waste, the watching children and some clumsy beastmen were not allowed to participate this time.

"Too bad we can only watch..." The children pouted, staring longingly from the sidelines. Whenever there was any activity in the tribe, they eagerly participated and were usually allowed by the adults. But this time, even though it involved their favorite food, they couldn't join.

However, Xue Tuan and the little black lion were the only exceptions. Since Xue Tuan knew the entire process, he was given a very small portion of meat to work on along with everyone else.

It has to be said, the amount given to Xue Tuan wasn't much different from playing house, but he didn't dare slack off. Xue Tuan had already thought it through—even if the marinating time wasn't sufficient, the trial meat could still be cooked as ordinary Tusked Boar meat for lunch.

So Xue Tuan wasn't too worried about messing up; at worst, he could ask the little black lion to help eat it.

Yuan Luo, being close to Tree Clothes, had picked up a few things. He skillfully grabbed a handful of coarse salt, evenly sprinkled it over the meat, and then worked the other seasonings into the meat, beginning to knead and marinate it.

Everyone worked very seriously, with little idle chatter. As High Priest had said, they needed to ensure every piece of meat was fully coated with the marinade.

When it came to food, beastmen always held a natural "reverence," treating it with care. Wasting hard-earned food was like punching them in the gut.

"Knead it a bit longer, let the salt and seasonings soak into the meat."

Yun Lu: "Those handling the cured meat, after marinating, place the meat uniformly on the wooden racks." Cured meat requires a longer marinating time, about two to three days, during which someone needs to keep an eye on it and turn it occasionally for better flavor penetration. After marinating, rinse it lightly and hang it to air-dry naturally.

Although sausages only need to marinate for about a day, the process involves more steps. Not only does the meat need to be minced during marinating, but the casings also require extra processing. So, after placing the cured meat, the beastmen joined the queue to clean the casings.

In modern times, after cleaning the casings, they could use a sausage stuffer to fill them with the marinated minced meat, but in the beast world, they had to do it by hand.

"Be careful not to overstuff the casings, and avoid breaking them. After every two fingers' length, tie off a section with thin string." Yun Lu was a bit flustered himself but still made sure to explain the steps clearly.

Xue Tuan only participated in the cured meat part; by the sausage stage, he could just observe.

"Let's go see Uncle Yuan Luo." Xue Tuan brought the little black lion over to Juan Juan's father's side.

Juan Juan's father, true to Uncle Yun Lu's selection, was already quite proficient at making sausages, even though it was his first time.

“Uncle Yuan Luo, don’t forget to poke holes in the finished sausages,” Xue Tuan, who was observing nearby, reminded. Poking holes lets the extra air out.

“Ah, right.” Yuan Luo smiled, embarrassed; he had been so focused on stuffing the meat that he nearly forgot this step. “Thank you, Xue Tuan.”

Xue Tuan waved it off like it was nothing.

Yun Lu wiped the sweat off his brow. He had been working carefully, feeling weirdly nervous, and now he finally finished his portion. He wanted to check on the other beastmen to see if anyone needed help.

For this trial batch, they tried not to let anything go to waste, planning to serve it all for dinner later.

Seeing that Yuan Luo had also finished, Yun Lu walked over and said, “Yuan Luo, please gather all the finished sausages.”

“Okay, no problem, High Priest.” Yuan Luo agreed and immediately set to the task.

Seeing that everything was nearly done, Yun Lu spoke up, “Everyone, remember all the steps. We’ll officially make the sausages tonight once the meat is done marinating.”

“Okay—!” The beastmen responded loudly and energetically. Now that they felt more confident, everyone relaxed a bit and began quietly wondering what these sausages would taste like after drying.

The sausages should be hung in a well-ventilated area to dry, avoiding direct sunlight. When the surface becomes dry and elastic, the casing slightly shrinks, and the color deepens, it means the drying is complete.

Xue Tuan watched the beastmen happily making the cured meat and sausages, his eyes crinkling into a slight smile, a smile spreading across his face.

“I can’t believe I managed to make something this complicated!” one beastman exclaimed, holding up the sausage he just finished.

“Don’t forget to thank the Junior Priest Lord!” someone nearby immediately pointed out the key point.

“Haha, exactly, we must thank the chief’s little cub!”

Yun Lu and Yuan Luo also looked fondly at Xue Tuan. They all adored this cute little cub; they loved him like their own.

Xue Tuan had been enjoying the scene, but suddenly the crowd shifted the conversation, and all eyes were on him. His face instantly turned red.

“The Junior Priest Lord is shy, haha.”

“Xue Tuan, if you ever need anything, just tell us directly. Don’t be polite with us!”

“Right, just order us around, we’d be happy to help!” The beastmen chimed in one after the other, their voices so loud that folks from other caves poked their heads out to see what was happening.

“I... I have something to do, I’m leaving first.” Xue Tuan had never experienced such a situation before, so he quickly made a quick escape with the little black lion, heading back to the sub-beastman cave first.

When the two rushed into the cave, Rong Shan and Tree Clothes were puzzled, wondering what was going on.

“Good boy, are you okay?” Rong Shan asked from the other side of the fence.

“I’m fine, Dad.”

Hearing that Xue Tuan sounded normal, Rong Shan assumed the good boy was just in a hurry to go see the Beast God Stone Slab.

Xue Tuan was just a little embarrassed in that situation. However, being so loved by everyone made him really happy. After returning to the cave, he gradually calmed down.

“Tuan Tuan, have some water.” The little black lion really wanted to get Little Dumpling some water, but it was a challenging task for him.

Xue Tuan: “Okay.” After all that activity, he was indeed a bit thirsty.

Back in the warm cave, after drinking some warm water and snuggling up to the little black lion again, Xue Tuan slowly relaxed.

He recalled something from earlier: when he asked Uncle Yun Lu how much Tusked Boar meat was left in the tribe, the answer had got him a little worried.

Not long after, Yun Lu also returned. He first went to check on Xue Tuan and, seeing him quietly studying the stone slab, didn’t disturb him.

But Xue Tuan called out, “Uncle Yun Lu.”

“What is it?” Yun Lu turned around to respond.

“You mentioned earlier that we haven’t been able to catch Tusked Boars recently, right?” Xue Tuan asked.

Yun Lu wasn’t expecting Xue Tuan to bring this up and replied, “Well, it’s more like the hunting team has been catching fewer Tusked Boars lately.”

Usually, the tribe eats whatever the hunting team catches. Was there a problem with that? Yun Lu wasn’t quite sure what Xue Tuan meant.

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Author’s Note: This story assumes the characters don’t use the restroom... Writing too much about it might bring unwanted imagery, so please bear with me, dear readers.

Thanks for the nutrient solutions, thanks for reading~ [Heart]