Fish Maw Gel and Feathered Arrows

[You captured two pheasants, your family's Main Quest progress has increased, currently at 0.2 units]

As Li Wei handed the pheasants to Phila for her to handle, a line of information silently appeared.

So that's how it's calculated, a bit crude.

He grumbled inwardly but didn't pay it much mind. So far, he had learned the units of measurement for some items.

For example, Logs might be measured in cubic meters, with one cubic meter being one unit, and Firewood was likely the same.

Dried vegetables were measured by the basket, about three kilograms per unit.

Wet vegetables were five times that amount.

Iron ingots were measured by the kilogram, one kilogram per unit.

Charcoal was five kilograms per unit.

Unfortunately, he still didn't know what the standard supplies required to pass were, or how much one unit entailed.

When you're under someone else's roof, you have to play by their rules.

Li Wei's thoughts wandered as he rested in the camp for a while. He watched Phila skillfully pluck and prepare the pheasants, as well as the five fish in the fish basket, each weighing at least three to four pounds. It was truly an art form, flowing like water. Without a doubt, if Phila had the Butcher card, she would have already reached two stars.

This meant she was a dual-class player.

The two pheasants would be eaten quickly, but the fish were being made into dried fish and hung to cure because they were Phila's personal property.

"George, take these pheasant feathers and clean them. They can be used to make Feathered Arrows, but the feathers need to be trimmed, pasted, and glued. These Fish Maws can be boiled down into Fish Maw Gel. You're a good boy, you should learn to master these things. Mother is watching you."

Phila said with a look of great satisfaction, showing no hint of artificiality.

She was a master and a schemer.

But in the next second, a line of information appeared.

[Professional Chef*** is selling you five Fish Maws for making Fish Maw Gel and is willing to teach you a bit about the production process. You need to pay 50 points of any experience to purchase.]

Just as he suspected, Phila was definitely an expert in real-world wilderness survival, knowing even how to make Fish Maw Gel.

However, 50 points of any experience was too expensive, equivalent to the experience he gained from killing ten small mountain chickens.

Besides, wouldn't the Fish Maws from these five fish not be enough? He felt like he had encountered a capitalist, the kind you could hang from a lamppost.

For a moment, Li Wei's mood was complicated. He had a strong impulse to use a Plot Kill to get rid of this old b*tch.

But then again, if it were Penny, she would likely have also demanded an exorbitant price, as she definitely knew how to boil Fish Maw Gel. Those two Wolf Fang Arrows with feathers he had earlier were made by Penny at some point.

And Penny hadn't even considered teaching him. After all, making feathered arrows was a skill and a business. In the future, unless he specifically requested it in the Head of the Family's Main Quest, Penny wouldn't make feathered arrows for him for free.

So, what choice did he have? His knowledge base was insufficient; he had to take this loss.

After much deliberation, Li Wei finally accepted his fate and exchanged 50 points of Hunting Experience for the method of making Fish Maw Gel.

Phila, for her part, was honest and explained in detail how to boil it, how to control the temperature, such as the crucial point of never letting it boil, and that after boiling, it needed to be cooled in icy stream water for several hours, along with requirements for the surrounding environment.

She even specifically told him that only the flight feathers and tail feathers from the pheasant could be used.

"George, I heard that goose or eagle feathers are the best for making Feathered Arrows. Pheasant feathers are inferior and easily get damp, moldy, and infested with insects. If you succeed in making them, you must store them properly."

"Also, Oak is hard, but it's really not suitable for making arrow shafts. You can choose Ash Shafts or Bamboo Shafts."

Phila said a lot this time, seeming to pour out all her knowledge.

Li Wei truly benefited greatly, but at the same time, he felt puzzled by Phila's complex intentions.

After a long while, he suddenly realized that Phila was playing a balancing game.

If Penny became too strong, she would support him.

Once he showed signs of getting stronger, she would then side with Penny.

Was she that confident, not afraid of messing up?

Or was this preparation for her becoming the Head of the Family next month?

From then on, even though it was still early, Li Wei decided not to hunt anymore. He would follow Phila's instructions, first selecting suitable pheasant feathers, then boiling them to remove oil, making them soft, and finally cutting them into the desired shapes.

Next, he would boil the Fish Maw Gel. Whether it would succeed wasn't important; the key was to keep practicing, gain experience, and continuously improve.

Because Feathered Arrows were crucial strategic supplies.

As a hunter, and perhaps a future archer, he had to master these steps.

At noon, Penny did not return, indicating she had gone somewhere very far.

Her goal was to find more Iron Ore, or even discover an Iron Mine.

That wouldn't be easy, but if she could truly find an Iron Mine, it might be a game-changer.

At this thought, Li Wei realized Phila's actions today were both to win him over and to counter any potential unexpected events.

In the afternoon, Li Wei continued to boil the Fish Maw Gel. This task required careful temperature control, as the Fish Maw Gel could not boil and the temperature could not be too high. Therefore, he was completely occupied and couldn't do anything else, nearly messing it up several times.

As evening approached and the sun began to set, Phila returned, driving the old cow. Penny also returned, covered in fatigue. The first thing she saw was what Li Wei was doing, then she glanced back at Phila, appearing somewhat annoyed.

Because it was clearly a steady, long-term business, this old b*tch had sold it cheaply to counter her. However, this annoyance could only be kept hidden in her heart, after all, they were a loving family.

Li Wei, at this point, put away the boiled Fish Maw Gel and specifically took it to the stream to cool. This process was also quite long, and the quality of the final product was uncertain, but it should be sufficient for short-term use.

After a night of toiling, Li Wei was busy selecting and trimming arrow shafts, then using Fish Maw Gel to attach feathers. He was overwhelmed, but finally succeeded in crafting four Wolf Fang Arrows with feathers.

Even so, these couldn't be considered qualified Feathered Arrows. For a long time to come, he would have to test them bit by bit, checking what the most suitable center of gravity for the arrow shaft should be, whether the rotation was balanced, and the actual shooting accuracy, among other things.

Only then could he combine it with his Professional Hunter talent to achieve the best actual shooting effect.

In any case, he was full of anticipation for the future.

Over the next few days, Li Wei hunted while also learning to weave fish baskets to catch fish like Phila. He would occasionally set traps in the river to catch fish. The fish he caught could be used for the Family Main Quest, and the Fish Maw he obtained could be used to boil Fish Maw Gel.

Since Fish Maw Gel could not be stored long-term, it had to be cooked and used on the spot, and then made into qualified Feathered Arrows and stored in a cool, dry place.

Li Wei's archery skills also steadily increased. Especially as the Feathered Arrows he made became more standardized, with improving data in all aspects, he could now hit flying pheasants 100% of the time within twenty meters.

That's right, in the areas not far from the forest, pheasants were the most abundant, and they had become his most frequently hunted prey. On average, he could shoot three to five each day, and if he was lucky, he could shoot seven or eight in a single day.

As the Family Main Quest progressed, the feathers suitable for making Feathered Arrows also accumulated.

Optimistically, by the end of the month's tasks, he would have enough to make about fifty qualified Feathered Arrows.

As for Phila and Penny, they were even more aggressive, leaving early and returning late, working under the stars, striving to become the Head of the Family for the next month.

Who would emerge victorious was anyone's guess.

However, Li Wei, as a novice, had the perfect opportunity to observe and learn how to compete. The tricks these two bitches were playing had already benefited him greatly.