Figuring Things Out

Everyone took their cakes home to present as gifts, while Jian Mo and Wu Jiong took them to feed Jiujiu.

It was raining and snowing today, but Jiujiu didn't stay in its shed. Instead, it stayed next to Jian Mo, constantly smelling the aroma of cake.

Seeing Jian Mo and Wu Jiong come out carrying the cake, it could no longer contain itself and started chirping Jiujiu, its wings fluttering as it looked extremely impatient.

Its wings kicked up a spray of snow water. Wu Jiong turned to the side, shielding Jian Mo in his arms, and glanced at Jiujiu.

Jiujiu felt guilty and avoided their gaze, not daring to look at them. "Eek."

Jian Mo laughed and held the cake up high, "Be careful, it won't taste good if it gets covered in snow water."

Seeing his expression, Jiujiu knew he wasn't angry, so it called out loudly again, "Jiujiu."

Jian Mo placed the cake in front of it. "Eat up, I saved this especially for you."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiujiu opened its mouth wide, let out a loud "woof," and swallowed the cake whole.

Before Jian Mo could react further to this rough way of eating, it suddenly widened its eyes, spat the cake out of its mouth onto the plate, and looked at the cake incredulously, as if shocked that something could taste so good.

Then, it carefully opened its mouth and nibbled on a piece of cake crust, its wings practically blurring with excitement. "Jiujiu!!!"

It's so delicious! I'm going to save it and eat it slowly!

Chapter 64 Exploration

After enjoying some delicious food these past two days, Jian Mo felt her energy levels had been fully replenished.

He woke up feeling refreshed and his steps were unusually light.

He asked Wu Jiong, who was boiling water, "What do you want to eat for breakfast? Meat patties or sausages? We also have marinated meat; you can take it out and grill it directly."

Wu Jiong: "I'm getting a little tired of barbecue, meat patties and sausages."

Jian Mo rolled up her sleeves. "Let's have some barbecue then. I'll go cut some Tendon Grass later. I haven't had any vegetables these past few days, I need to replenish my intake."

Wu Jiong: "I'll go cut it."

Jian Mo: "No rush, let's go after the snow stops."

As she spoke, Jian Mo looked out the window.

For some reason, it's been snowing for the past few days. It's freezing cold outside, and water freezes instantly. You can't even go outside; it's so cold you'll feel terribly cold just walking around in the yard.

Jian Mo him to go later, and Wu Jiong wasn't in a hurry either, continuing to wipe the windowsill with the cloth.

He cleaned it very well, Jian Mo noticed that the hearth area was dirtier and couldn't stand it, so he started cleaning it too.

While cleaning, Jian Mo said, "How about we build a new kitchen next door today? That way the house won't be so greasy and we won't have to keep cleaning it. We can also find some fabrics, vases, and other things to decorate the house."

Wu Jiong agreed, "I'll tell Qing Kuo and the others. We happen to have a lot of animal hides at home, so we can exchange them for some stones from the tribe."

Jian Mo: "Change a few more, I want to make a stove. I feel the hearth isn't very useful; I always have to put a stone slab on it or something, it's too much trouble."

Jian Mo lived in the countryside when he was a child and had seen a stove before, so he knew roughly what it was like. He should be able to replicate it now, it might just be a little harder to use, but it wouldn't be any harder than a hearth.

Besides, they can adjust it gradually over time. After all, they built all the buildings themselves, so if it's really not working well, they can just tear it down and adjust it.

Thinking of this, Jian Mo said, "We'll see if we can make a couple of metal pots. I've been observing them recently, and the metal knives we use are quite stable and don't rust much, so they shouldn't be a problem for making pots."

When they put the metal into the furnace to smelt, the temperature inside the furnace is at least over a thousand degrees Celsius. Cooking in a pot, on the other hand, is at most two or three hundred degrees Celsius, so it shouldn't release toxic substances.

Modern earthenware pots and the like crack too easily when heated; Jian Mo has wanted a big iron pot for a long time.

Wu Jiong agreed, "Tell me about it, and I'll do it."

Jian Mo: "It's not difficult. Just take a relatively large piece of metal, forge it into a sheet, and then hammer it into a dented pot. You can think of it as a small bowl with handles, except it's made of metal, and you can put it on a fire to cook."

He gestured as he spoke, and seeing that Wu Jiong still didn't quite understand, he said, "I'll draw it on a wooden board later, and you'll see what it's all about."

As she spoke, Jian Mo's hand touched something soft, probably food that had accidentally fallen while cooking yesterday.

He picked it up, intending to throw it into the wooden bucket next to him that held kitchen waste.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that what he was holding was actually a small piece of dough.

It must have fallen off accidentally while mixing the cake dough. It sat on the baking stone for a day, and a lot of the moisture in this small piece of dough evaporated, but surprisingly, it still felt just as soft to the touch.

Jian Mo took a look at it and found that the dough had fermented very smoothly. When she gently squeezed it, she could clearly feel the air being squeezed out.

His hand paused—fermentation, he had completely forgotten about fermentation!

There are many yeasts in the air. The dough contains sugar, which provides food for the yeasts. The yeasts must have multiplied and grown inside, which is why the dough fermented so perfectly.

Seeing that he suddenly stopped speaking, Wu Jiong asked, "What's wrong?"

Jian Mo placed the dough in her palm and showed it to Wu Jiong: "This dough has over-fermented."

Wu Jiong took it in his palm and examined it. "Fermentation?"

Jian Mo: "Fermentation—you can think of it as a process where air is incorporated into the dough. Isn't the dough we knead particularly dense? After fermentation, it's different. Well-fermented dough will have many small air bubbles inside, it's very soft and plump, and it will have a different texture, which can be used to make other foods."

Wu Jiong had a look on his face that suggested he understood but didn't.

Jian Mo: "You'll see when I make it."

Jian Mo held up a small piece of fermented dough. "I'll use this small piece as a starter, then ferment another piece. We'll make steamed buns tonight."