Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Flour fermentation typically employs old leaven, *Jiuqu* (yeast starter), or baking powder. However, each of these requires a successful initial fermentation to be continuously used—a method known as "using a starter to cultivate leaven."

This type of fermentation differs from malt sugar production, which relies on the natural enzymes in wheat.

Inoculating with natural wild strains indeed carries a lower success rate due to their inherent instability. Yet, all fermentation processes must begin with natural fermentation. Without an initial triumph, subsequent attempts are futile.

Could it be a temperature issue? Or perhaps insufficient fermentation time? This natural fermentation method, involving only flour, was the simplest Xue Tuan had chosen from numerous sources. Its immediate failure was unexpected, leaving them no choice but to persevere.

Noticing the little one's prolonged silence, Yuan Luo asked, "Xue Tuan, shall we proceed to the next step?"

"This time, let's place it in the cave, cover it with animal hide, and set a small charcoal brazier nearby. We'll allow it to ferment for a longer period and observe the results." If this fails, they would let it ferment overnight. Xue Tuan had already instructed Yuan Luo on how to determine if the flour had fermented successfully.

"Also, let's divide it into two portions this time. Add some fruit juice to the other." Xue Tuan decided to establish more control groups to ascertain which method yielded faster fermentation.

Xue Tuan added, "Uncle Yuan Luo, if the stone mill grinds cornmeal tonight, please prepare another portion with cornmeal for me."

"Alright, I understand." Upon hearing Xue Tuan's intention to test fermentation in so many ways, Yuan Luo sensed something amiss. The Junior Priest had never seemed so preoccupied before.

However, Yuan Luo's concern was justified. Xue Tuan had indeed encountered his greatest "Waterloo" since arriving in the beast world—every single control group had failed!

After the first day's failure, they resumed fermentation on the second. When Yuan Luo lifted the animal hide, Xue Tuan frowned and asked him to stir the batter with a wooden spoon. They found it remained sticky and devoid of bubbles.

The third day yielded the same result. By the fourth day, even before Yuan Luo lifted the hide, Xue Tuan detected a foul odor.

The dough had bypassed the sour stage entirely, progressing straight to putrid—completely spoiled and inedible.

Even if they had steamed the unfermented dough from the third day, they would likely have produced hard, oddly flavored buns.

This couldn't be right. How could it skip souring and go directly to putrefaction? Where were the wild yeasts? Why had they vanished? Xue Tuan sank into doubt, squatting on the ground in prolonged silence.

While it's acknowledged that "different regions harbor different strains," leading to subtle flavor variations even with the same flour fermented in diverse locations, how could the beast world be utterly incapable of fermentation?

Or was there genuinely an issue with their tribe's location? Yet, Mountain Water Tribe was clearly a blessed land...

·

In recent days, a rumor had circulated among the beastmen: their Junior Priest had been despondent for a long time due to the flour issue. Consequently, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning "flour" to spare their Junior Priest further distress.

Meanwhile, a disheartened arctic fox lay bored on the table, scratching the wooden surface with his tiny claws, producing a sound that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Other cubs who had intended to chat were "scared" away by this unsettling noise.

Bing Qiu and Hui Hui had been dispatched by Xue Tuan to Rong Shan's dwelling. It was said that a waist loom had been completed, and everyone was eager to try it.

Only the steadfast Zhong Yan remained seated beside the arctic fox.

After much deliberation, Zhong Yan finally managed to utter, "Actually, flour isn't that important..."

"I've seen Uncle Antu and the others happily eating rice mixed with wheat..."

Zhong Yan reached out to pat the arctic fox's head. Come on, Tuan Tuan, don't be sad.

"Hmm?" The arctic fox turned his head sluggishly, his blue eyes blinking as he gazed at Zhong Yan.

Zhong Yan pondered for another moment and added, "I collected a basket of the walnut husks you wanted earlier."

"Also, didn't you mention last time wanting to see what Uncle A Li traded for?"

That's right. After his father mentioned it, Xue Tuan had been so consumed by the flour issue that he had completely forgotten.

"Let's go take a look then," Xue Tuan said.

Zhong Yan then picked up the arctic fox, who had sprawled out like a "long worm," and carried him toward the central cave.

The listless arctic fox lay in Zhong Yan's arms as Zhong Yan stroked him intermittently, hoping he would soon regain his spirits.

Zhong Yan led Xue Tuan toward a pile of miscellaneous items and pointed at several pottery jars. "Tuan Tuan, look, these are newly traded items. Many of them are things we can't even name."

The arctic fox lifted his head to look, then uncertainly raised his upper body. The jars contained millet, glutinous rice, buckwheat... truly items their tribe had never encountered before!

Especially the glutinous rice—with these, their tribe wouldn't need to cultivate their own, saving considerable effort.

Seeing the arctic fox perk up, Zhong Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief and accompanied him as he examined each of the newly acquired supplies.

"What are those?" Xue Tuan asked, noticing some stones piled on the other side of the storage area.

"The larger ones are from recently expanding the cave. They probably haven't been moved out yet," Zhong Yan guessed. "The smaller ones were likely picked up by the red foxes..."

"Has the tribe's bamboo raft been to the quarry recently?"

Zhong Yan thought for a moment. "I haven't heard, but I think Grandpa mentioned that the team there is making a larger bamboo raft."

That meant the small raft must have proven successful. Once the workshop completed the larger raft, they could transport more stones in a single trip.

Xue Tuan looked curiously at one of the stones—a corner of it appeared black.

But then Zhong Yan's voice reached his ears again, and Xue Tuan turned to look.

Zhong Yan pointed to several darker jars and said, "Over here, there's also some new sauce gifted by Uncle A Li."

Hearing about the sauce, Xue Tuan nodded. Uncle A Li was quite persistent, still diligently "promoting" his tribe's sauce...

"Wait, sauce?" Something suddenly flashed in Xue Tuan's mind.

"That's right, sauce also requires fermentation!" And it likely uses *Jiuqu* (yeast starter)!

The Browneared Leopard Tribe might not know what *Jiuqu* is, but through generations of experience, they must have discovered that adding this substance helps produce sauce better, thus passing down the method.

Xue Tuan said, "I've got a new idea! Zhong Yan, scoop out some of the clear liquid from the top of the sauce jar. I need it!"

Noticing Little Dumpling's sudden excitement, Zhong Yan placed the arctic fox back into the hood of his new fur clothing. He found a pottery bowl and, as Xue Tuan instructed, selected a jar of lighter-colored sauce and ladled out some liquid.

Once collected, Zhong Yan held it up for the arctic fox to see. "Is this enough?"

"Plenty, plenty. Let's start with this." Sauce has a strong odor, so the quantity should be controlled as much as possible. The arctic fox clung to Zhong Yan's shoulder and began directing him.

"Do you know how Uncle Yuan Luo mixes the dough? Have you learned it?"

Zhong Yan replied, "Yes, I have." After watching for several days, it would be difficult not to learn. He went to prepare the flour, water, and basin.

"Good. This time, when you stir the batter, add the clear liquid we just collected."

Zhong Yan paused while adding water to the basin. Add the sauce they just collected? This...

"Alright." Zhong Yan no longer hesitated and resolutely executed this peculiar combination, mixing the clear liquid into the flour batter before stirring vigorously.

Xue Tuan watched as Zhong Yan finished kneading the slightly darker-colored dough, then whispered in his ear:

"Now we just wait for it to ferment. Hopefully, this time it'll be good news." The little arctic fox rubbed his paws—this was the most exciting moment he'd had in days. Finally, they were making progress.

This method of "using fermentation to induce fermentation" should take no more than a few hours to ferment. After that, more flour can be added for a second round of fermentation. Multiple fermentations will produce a starter with enhanced activity.

"By the way, let's go take another look at those stones over there." Like he would in human form, the little arctic fox habitually patted Zhong Yan's ear with his paw, signaling him to turn left.

Zhong Yan obediently headed left. He knew Little Dumpling had a fondness for "interesting stones," but unfortunately, his own luck wasn't great—he'd never found one that satisfied him.

If he wasn't satisfied with them, Little Dumpling surely wouldn't be either, so Zhong Yan had never given a stone as a gift to Xue Tuan.

But Zhong Yan remembered that the pile over there consisted of ordinary stones, nothing special.

"Bring that one out; it's a bit dark in here." The little arctic fox placed his front paws on Zhong Yan's shoulder and climbed out of the hood to get a clearer view.

The stone was about the size of a watermelon—something Xue Tuan would need to carry—but Zhong Yan lifted it easily with one hand.

Zhong Yan carried the stone outside and brushed the dirt off with his hand.

The bit of black that Xue Tuan had seen gradually expanded as Zhong Yan dusted it off.

"So it's not black—it's green..."

So it was malachite? Typically used for decoration, high-quality malachite could fetch tens of thousands per gram in his previous life. However, the piece they had wasn't very deep in color, and its patterns weren't very distinct, so it probably wasn't high quality.

"Let's see if there are any more." Malachite is found with other copper ores, but it was unclear whether this piece was dug up in the cave or picked up from somewhere else.

This time, Zhong Yan first went to the tool rack on the other side, grabbed a stone chisel and hammer, and then headed to the pile of stones. He chipped away at each one and only found another, smaller piece of malachite; the rest were just ordinary stones.

Based on volume and density, Xue Tuan estimated the larger malachite piece weighed about five kilograms.

And malachite has a copper content of only about 10–15%. Even without accounting for losses, smelting this amount would yield only about five hundred grams of copper. What could you even make with that...

Make a small copper mirror about ten centimeters across? Although he'd already seen his Beast Form in the "water mirror" last time, making a small copper mirror would surely delight the fluffies and also give the Beastmen an early introduction to smelting.

"Let's take these two stones to the furnace kiln." The little arctic fox slid off Zhong Yan's shoulder and back into the hood, letting Zhong Yan carry him over.

The cubs in the cave saw Xue Tuan about to leave and ran over.

Zhong Yan: "Hmm."

Sha Hu turned to Zhong Yan: "What are you going to do?"

Zhong Yan didn't respond. Sha Hu pressed on: "Are you taking us?"

Zhong Yan: "No."

Sha Hu crossed his arms and decided to ignore Zhong Yan. They'd long known that when Zhong Yan wasn't with Xue Tuan, he was practically a block of wood, speaking in short bursts to others, but it still bugged him secretly.

Sha Hu turned back to the little arctic fox: "Xue Tuan?"

The little arctic fox poked Zhong Yan, who'd gone quiet, with his paw and looked down at Sha Hu and the others: "Don't follow us; we'll be back soon for lunch together."

"Alright..." Sha Hu's tone softened. "We'll be waiting."

After bidding farewell to the cubs, Zhong Yan ran toward the pottery kiln with the little arctic fox.

The little arctic fox lounged leisurely in the hood, wondering who was leading at the kiln today.

His father and Uncle Shi Hu rotated among multiple sites, going wherever problems were most pressing; nowadays, they were mainly with the "construction team." If both leaders were absent, Uncle An Tu or Uncle Yuan Tu might be in charge of the pottery and charcoal firing.

The Mountain Water Tribe's current model was that the chiefs, Priests, elders, and team leaders were the ones who knew the most, and they in turn taught the other Beastmen.

Shi Hu and Feng Yan delegated tasks to their subordinates—a tribe couldn't have only a few leaders understanding the technology. At the very least, the team leaders needed to keep learning new things from the "Beast God Stone Slab" alongside them.

Before Xue Tuan and Zhong Yan even reached the furnace, they heard An Tu calling out to them from afar.

"Xue Tuan—" An Tu waved his hand. When they drew near, he asked excitedly: "Is there something new to make?"

Today, Er Hu was also there. Seeing Xue Tuan arrive, he hurried over to greet him and took the opportunity to ruffle the little arctic fox's head.

Nowadays, whenever the Beastmen saw the Junior Priest approaching, they instinctively felt there was something new to learn. They all dearly wished the Junior Priest Lord would visit their own worksites more often.

The little arctic fox nodded. Uncle An Tu had guessed correctly—he and Zhong Yan were indeed here on a "mission."

Since the tribe started firing bricks with lime mortar, they had already "upgraded" the furnace once and tested more heat-resistant pottery.

Xue Tuan felt the Beastmen had found soil similar to "high-alumina clay," which could also be used for "refractory coatings." Meanwhile, the tribe had built several furnaces of varying sizes for simultaneous operation.

A small copper mirror wouldn't require much—just a small furnace would suffice.

Xue Tuan explained the goal, but they were likely still missing ceramic crucibles and circular molds.

Though An Tu was usually quite "playful," he was now a skilled worker. As soon as Xue Tuan spoke, he understood about seventy to eighty percent. From charcoal and pottery firing to what Xue Tuan just called "stone firing," many steps were similar. His ability to integrate knowledge was a key reason he'd become a team leader.

Er Hu: "Xue Tuan, is this 'mirror' really that amazing? Can it show me what I look like, like water does?"

Er Hu had been listening beside An Tu as Xue Tuan explained the steps. He understood about half of it, but only grew curious when Xue Tuan mentioned the mirror's function at the end.

An Tu turned to him: "Er Hu, you'll know once you make it."

Then An Tu threw an arm around Er Hu and said with a smile: "You'd better make sure we get what we're missing, alright?"

Er Hu knew this task would fall to him: "Got it..." No matter, he could always call San Hu over.

With the mission delivered, Xue Tuan and Zhong Yan were about to leave. After taking a few steps, Zhong Yan suddenly set the little arctic fox down on the ground, turned back, and quickly said a few words to An Tu.

Xue Tuan: ?

The little arctic fox stamped the ground beneath his paws. Hey, my paws are getting dirty!

Zhong Yan hurried back and scooped up the little arctic fox. The fox lay on his back, paws in the air, silently staring at Zhong Yan.

Zhong Yan knew Little Dumpling was particular about cleanliness. Without overthinking it, he obligingly brushed the dirt off the little arctic fox's paws.

The little arctic fox retracted his paws, satisfied now: My paws are clean, so your fur clothing is naturally clean too.

Zhong Yan: "Let's go eat first. We can check on the flour this afternoon."

"Alright, let's head back."

Xue Tuan kept his promise and had lunch with the fluffy cubs. After the meal, he even took a comfortable nap with them.

Though he missed having the little black lion as a backrest and felt a bit unaccustomed, being in his beast form meant he could still ruffle other fluffies, which felt refreshingly new.

When he woke in the afternoon, Zhong Yan brought the little arctic fox to the pottery basin covered with animal hide. Xue Tuan felt a little nervous, afraid the fermentation might have failed again.

Zhong Yan seemed to sense the little arctic fox's anxiety. He reached out and stroked him, saying: "It's alright." No matter how many times it took, he would always knead the dough again with Little Dumpling.