While mentally planning to find time to boil some sea salt, his hands worked swiftly. He rinsed the venison several times until no trace of blood remained, then lifted it to sniff.

Perfect. No off-putting smell.

The kitten was damp and looked even thinner. It was now lying on a patch of dry fur, licking itself.

Hua sat on a rock, first glancing into the cave, then at the peculiar stove Zhang Shuguang had built. “Don’t you still need a pot?” she asked. She gestured toward the empty space beside it.

Zhang Shuguang nodded, cutting the venison into small cubes with a bone knife. He rinsed them in fresh water, then scooped them into the pot. “I’ll have Mang Jiu dig another pot when he returns. Two pots will be more convenient.”

He’d planned this while building the frame—a double stove setup. Perfect for stir-frying one dish while simmering another! As long as he found clay with high adhesion that could withstand the heat, he’d plaster a thick layer on the outside. He was confident it wouldn’t collapse.

Oh, and he needed to build a small shelter. Otherwise, wind and rain would extinguish the fire.

Originally, he’d planned to build the stove inside the cave. But considering the smoke from burning wood, he’d set it up outside instead. He’d make a smaller one for inside later—for bad weather or just boiling water for drinking.

The diced venison was blanched in hot water, releasing a lot of scum that floated to the surface. Zhang Shuguang scooped it out with a stone bowl and discarded it, then added more water to the pot. He turned to Hua, who was watching his every move intently, and said, “Before cooking meat, it’s best to wash it or soak it first. Soaking out the bloody water reduces the gamey smell. And you have to skim off any scum that floats up during cooking.”

“Oh~ No wonder my meat never tastes right.” Hua realized with a start.

Zhang Shuguang chuckled, snapping two twigs to stir the pot. “It’d be better with spices. Just meat alone tastes a bit bland.“ He tossed potato chunks into the pot. ”Potatoes can enhance the flavor, too. Use chopsticks—thin wooden sticks—to poke them while cooking. If they pierce easily, they’re done. You can also boil them longer, but be careful not to let them stick to the bottom of the pot; they burn easily.”

Hua nodded repeatedly, watching his movements without blinking.

Several other sub-beastmen from the same level gathered around. Though they hadn’t spoken to Zhang Shuguang, they’d watched him bustling about all morning.

Now, seeing him prepare food, they were all curious.

“Hua, what is he making?” a female sub-beastman whispered.

Hua smiled. “He says he’s stewing meat.”

Zhang Shuguang skimmed the scum from the broth several times before pinching in a bit of salt.

He wiped his hands on a piece of animal hide, then turned to the gathered sub-beastmen with a smile. “Hello, I’m Shuguang.”

“I’m Li, son of Lang Qing,” a young-looking sub-beastman smiled at Zhang Shuguang. “My father hunts with Mang Jiu.”

Zhang Shuguang perked up. “Do you know if they’ll be back today?”

Li froze, then shook his head. “They’re always gone for at least a day. Are you in a hurry?”

Zhang Shuguang shrugged. “I want to go fish by the sea and dig for potatoes. Want to join me digging potatoes later?”

He was actually a bit puzzled—why did these sub-beastmen seem so idle? Shouldn’t they be out every day searching for food?

A male sub-beastman who looked slightly older than him asked, “What are potatoes?”

Hua pointed to the yellow chunks in the pot. “These. The ground beans that the little one brought back before. Shuguang calls them potatoes. We roasted some yesterday—they were delicious. If it’s not too far from the tribe, I’ll go dig some up.”

“Really? The last time we tried that stuff, it was awful.” The sub-beastman who’d just spoken to Hua curled her lip, clearly skeptical.

Hua waved her off, unwilling to argue. “You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

Zhang Shuguang simmered a large pot of venison and potatoes until the potatoes were nearly falling apart. He tasted it, then pinched in a bit more salt.

The salt had a slight bitterness, so he dared not add too much, afraid it would spoil the flavor.

Several sub-beastmen caught the aroma, their mouths watering. They swallowed hard, unable to utter words like “I’ll have a bowl.” Though the snow season had passed, food remained scarce in every household. People usually ate their own meals; no one would go begging for food at others’ homes.

Zhang Shuguang didn’t mind. Seeing the thick venison and potato stew ready, he smiled and called out, “I only have two stone bowls here. If you want some, go home and bring your own bowls.”

The group exchanged glances. Hua took the lead, quickly heading toward her cave. The others snapped to attention and sprinted toward their own dwellings.

They’d all caught that aroma earlier—it smelled so good! Just the scent was mouthwatering; the actual taste would surely be even better.

Little kitten Nai Dou had been meowing and rubbing against Zhang Shuguang’s leg. Zhang Shuguang grabbed a stone bowl, scooped some meat and potatoes into it, then set it aside to cool. “Don’t rush, Nai Dou. It’s too hot—it needs to cool down before you can eat.”

“Shuguang, you don’t have a spoon here. Use one from my family.” Hua came over, one hand holding a stone bowl, the other carrying a stone spoon. “We have two. I’ll make another tonight.”

Zhang Shuguang thanked her and took the stone spoon, finding it surprisingly heavy. Using this for stir-frying would really build wrist strength.

“Is there any bamboo around here? If there is, you can make all sorts of things with it,” he said, scooping a spoonful of meat broth for Hua, then serving one to each of the others, returning with their bowls. “It grows in sections, really tall, this thick, with pointed leaves.”

He gestured and described, struggling for a while to convey what bamboo looked like.

Hua blew on her bowl, took a sip of the broth, and her eyes lit up.

The others were just like her, cradling their bowls, reluctant to take a second sip.

When Zhang Shuguang set the bowl meant for Nai Dou on the ground for him to eat, he turned to look at the others.

Feiyu spoke first, “I’ve seen that bamboo you described. There’s a huge patch of it.”

Yu nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’ve been there too. But there’s not much edible over there. Only went once.”

Li also nodded. “It’s not far from the back mountain. We went there the last time we went out to gather fruit. There’s a kind of small beast there. Tastes pretty good.”

“What kind of small beast?” Hua looked up at him.

Li finished the last bit of soup in his bowl, licked his lips with lingering satisfaction, and said, “They hop around when they run. We named them Long-Eared Beasts. Their ears are incredibly long. There are several types—white, yellow, gray—all fluffy and quite cute.”

Zhang Shuguang’s eyes widened. That’s exactly what a rabbit is!

“Long-eared beast” is actually quite fitting.

“What do you need bamboo for?” Li scraped the last bit of meat broth from the bowl with his finger. “This broth is delicious, and the potatoes are good too. I want to go dig potatoes with you!”

Zhang Shuguang smiled and nodded. “Then let’s go together. But I need to plant some seeds first. I have some vegetable seeds that need planting. I’ll head over after I’m done.”

“Is the place you mentioned far from the tribe?” Yu asked. “If it’s too far, maybe we shouldn’t go, lest we can’t make it back before dark.”

Zhang Shuguang silently calculated the distance and shook his head. “Seems pretty far. Last time, Mang Jiu carried me back.” He suddenly remembered the little ones in the tribe had also found potatoes. Judging by their usual play areas, it shouldn’t be too far. “The potato field I found is a bit distant. Didn’t the little ones find potatoes, too? We could dig there first.”

“Ask my two kids for directions. We’ll go together after you finish planting your vegetables.” Yu had two Beastman daughters, usually raised in the large cave. Often, a group of little ones would go out to play and run wild.

Zhang Shuguang nodded happily. He found the people here quite warm-hearted.

After lunch, everyone returned to rest. Zhang Shuguang placed the well-fed Nai Dou on the stone slab bed. He took some vines and his fishbone knife, sitting beside it. He sliced the vines lengthwise with the knife to make them thinner. Then he found a piece of short-haired gray leather, and he poked holes into it with the knife. He threaded the thinner vines through the holes. Back and forth until a simple backpack was complete.

He made two backpacks and a shoulder bag in total, all quite large.

He filled them with stones to test their strength. Though thinner, the vines remained remarkably sturdy.

“This looks pretty nice,” Hua remarked. She hadn’t taken a nap either, sitting outside the cave pounding something with a stone.

Zhang Shuguang handed her one of the backpacks. “Sister Hua, try it on.” He instinctively addressed the woman, who looked significantly older than him, as “sister.”

Hua took it with a smile, stood up to test it, and stroked it approvingly. “This is handy—much easier to carry.”

“It’s yours,” Zhang Shuguang said, setting down the leather bag he’d been wearing and removing the stones inside. “Take this when you go digging for potatoes later.”

“You should keep it. I have some leather; I can make my own.” Hua felt awkward accepting gifts without contributing. She turned and went into the cave. Soon, she emerged holding a piece of brown, short-haired leather. “This is giant ox beast leather. Teach me how to make it.”

Zhang Shuguang waved his hand. “There’s no time to make it now. I’ll teach you when I return tonight. You can use this for now and return it once you’ve made your own.”

Truthfully, Zhang Shuguang wasn’t entirely satisfied with this leather bag. He preferred the kind woven from bamboo strips, having once tried to learn from short videos. However, his attempts hadn’t turned out very well, and he wasn’t sure if he could replicate the process while watching the video again.

But he wanted to try! Trying was always worth it.

“Sister Hua, I’m heading down the mountain to find a patch of land for planting vegetables. Could you keep an eye on the Nai Dou for me?” Zhang Shuguang was preoccupied with his cabbage-growing mission. Standing at the cliff’s edge, he scanned the slopes and spotted several clear patches devoid of grass. Pointing, he asked Hua, “Can I use that land over there?”

Hua walked over to take a look and shook her head. “No, that plot is reserved for the priest’s use. If you want to farm, you’ll have to go to the back mountain.”

As they were talking, Yu came up from the valley and called out, “The potatoes are dug from the back mountain!”

Zhang Shuguang raised an eyebrow. What a coincidence!