Soap

Wild vegetables spoiled fairly easily, but that was no longer a problem once they were air-dried.

While Jian Mo was busy, the beastmen of the tribe returned.

A beastman came in to get the knife for dividing the meat. Seeing Jian Mo at work, he called out, "We're distributing food, Jian Mo. Come on out."

Jian Mo stared. "Me?"

The beastman said warmly, "Of course! You're a member of our tribe too, so you get a share. Come and see what food you want."

Jian Mo hadn't expected the tribe to accept him so quickly.

After hesitating for a moment, he put out the fire, moved the meat off the stone slab, and followed the beastman outside.

He had to fit into the tribe as soon as possible. He couldn't turn down its kindness.

The people of the tribe waited in the little square outside, chatting as they waited for the food to be distributed.

When they saw Jian Mo come out, quite a few of them fell silent and looked up at him.

He forced himself to smile at them and joined the back of the line.

Everyone soon looked away and resumed chatting.

Jian Mo breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he have a chance to observe his surroundings.

He noticed that each household generally sent only one person to line up. There were beastmen, sub-beastmen, and youths who could already transform but hadn't yet reached adulthood.

Perhaps the shares were based on household size. Each person received a different amount of meat, and the kinds and cuts differed as well.

The line slowly shortened, and soon it was Jian Mo's turn.

"What meat do you want?" The sub-beastman distributing the food was named Ye Luo. He glanced at Jian Mo. "Or should I pick a piece for you?"

Jian Mo had already made up his mind. Looking at the meat laid out on leaves, he said a little nervously, "I'd like a small piece of liver, this kind of liver. Any cut of meat will do."

Without another word, Ye Luo used a shell knife to slice off a piece of liver for him, then cut him a fist-sized piece of meat and gave him a leg bone as well.

The sub-beastman beside him gave him some tubers and wild vegetables.

"Thank you," Jian Mo said softly.

Ye Luo looked at him. "You're welcome. Eat more and build up your strength."

Buoyed by their kindness, Jian Mo carried the heavy load of food back to Wu Jiong's home in a good mood.

If he could get that much meat every day, along with the food he gathered, it shouldn't be difficult to feed himself here.

While Jian Mo was busy, Wu Jiong returned carrying meat and vegetables.

Besides the meat, Wu Jiong had also brought back a length of small intestine.

Noticing Jian Mo's gaze, Wu Jiong handed him only the meat. "The intestines are a bit difficult to prepare. Let's just eat meat today. I'll take care of them myself tomorrow."

Jian Mo waved a hand. "No, I just didn't expect you to bring intestines back."

Wu Jiong said, "I traded someone for them."

Seeing him explain without being asked, Jian Mo smiled, revealing his slightly prominent little canine teeth. "I asked for liver too. It's fine, I know how to prepare them. Leave them to me."

Seeing Jian Mo's serious expression, Wu Jiong finally handed the small intestine over.

Jian Mo took the small intestine, filled a wooden basin with plant ash, and used the ash to wash it directly.

Wu Jiong had never seen this method before, so he followed Jian Mo and helped him out.

Jian Mo explained, "The ash absorbs the odors, and the alkali in it can wash away all the mucus."

Wu Jiong didn't quite understand, but nodded.

Jian Mo worked fairly briskly. He quickly washed the small intestine several times until it was completely clean, then used a shell knife to cut it into sections and put them on the stone slab to grill.

Grilling the small intestine was a little easier than grilling meat. It didn't stick, and the surface blistered easily.

Once the small intestine was nearly done, Jian Mo added Sour-Sour Fruit and stir-fried it with the intestine, liver, and the rest, then added salt.

With the Sour-Sour Fruit in the dish, he deliberately added nearly half an extra spoonful of salt.

Once all the ingredients had been stir-fried together, he tasted a little. The salty, sour flavor was delicious, masking the offal's odor while drawing out its savory taste.

It was quite tasty.

Jian Mo dished up the offal stir-fried with Sour-Sour Fruit, then took the meat patties from the edge of the stone slab and called Wu Jiong to dinner.

Today's patties also came in two versions: pure meat and meat mixed with tubers. Both kinds were grilled golden brown on both sides and gave off a rich aroma. One look was enough to tell they were delicious.

Wu Jiong looked at Jian Mo. "How much do you want? Help yourself first."

Puzzled, Jian Mo picked up two patties containing tubers and put them on his plate. "There."

Wu Jiong nodded and turned toward the door. "You can come in now."

Jian Mo was about to ask whom he was calling when a group of dark-skinned children came in from outside and called out in unison, "Chief!"

Wu Jiong answered, then drew the knife at his waist and cut the patties on the plate into equal pieces. "One piece each," he told the children.

The children gazed curiously at Jian Mo with their big, dark eyes. They reached out their little paws, each grabbed a piece of patty, and softly said, "Thank you, Chief," before quickly running off.

Jian Mo wanted to tell the children to wash their hands, but held himself back and said nothing.

After the children had run off, only a third of a patty remained on Wu Jiong's plate.

Jian Mo looked at it, then transferred the pure-meat patty from his own plate to Wu Jiong's.

"No need," Wu Jiong said.

Jian Mo picked up his plate, refusing to let him transfer the patty back. "I have enough. If it isn't enough, we can make another batch."

Wu Jiong's hand paused. "Then eat more of the other dish."

The two sat facing each other. Wu Jiong picked up a piece of small intestine and tasted it, then discovered to his surprise that it had no unpleasant odor at all. It was fragrant, tender, rich, and piping hot-utterly delicious, and unlike any preparation he had tried before.

He looked at Jian Mo with mixed feelings.

Jian Mo was savoring a piece of liver contentedly. When their eyes met, a question mark popped into his head.

Wu Jiong said, "It's wonderful that you could join our tribe."

Jian Mo swallowed his food, sat up straight, and said solemnly, "I'm also deeply honored to be able to join the tribe."

Chapter 4: Soap

While Jian Mo and Wu Jiong ate, the children who had received meat patties ran home as well.