Catching Fish

Meeting Jian Mo's somewhat nervous gaze, Qing Kuo smiled and agreed at once. "Sure, thanks for the effort."

Jian Mo nodded hastily. "It's the least I should do."

Having offered to treat everyone to dinner, Jian Mo hurried to make preparations.

With so many people to feed, he needed a few side dishes in addition to the main course of meat stewed with Wood-Stabilizing Root.

He couldn't leave out his specialty, fried meat patties. There would also be a wild vegetable salad and a soup...

As Jian Mo worked out the menu in his head, Wu Jiong came over to help.

Seeing him, Jian Mo hurriedly said, "You've had a long day. Get some rest. I can manage."

Wu Jiong said, "I'm not tired. How should I cut the meat?"

Jian Mo studied his face and saw that he seemed all right. "Into chunks. I'll show you how big they should be."

Wu Jiong handed Jian Mo the shell knife.

Jian Mo took the meat and cut it into chunks the size of mahjong tiles. "I need it cut like this."

Wu Jiong nodded to show he understood. "I'll call you over to check once I'm done."

While they cooked, the sub-beastmen finished their household chores and came over one after another, watching Jian Mo cook from the side.

Jian Mo quietly took a breath and straightened his back, demonstrating a series of techniques: marinating the meat, frying the spices until fragrant, searing the chunks of meat, and adding boiling water to stew them.

Watching each of his steps, everyone finally understood why his cooking tasted so good.

Once the meal was ready, everyone gathered around the fire to eat and showered Jian Mo with enthusiastic praise.

Surrounded by the crowd, Jian Mo grew embarrassed by all the compliments and could only lower his head and eat.

After dinner, everyone took out their yarn and set about knitting socks in one go.

Apart from Qing Kuo, who could knit a sock in one piece, everyone had to knit several pieces of fabric first and then join them together.

They left long strands of yarn at the backs of the socks. Once knitted, the socks were short over the tops of the feet and long at the heels. They pulled up the heel sections, wound the yarn twice around their ankles, and tied it.

Everyone looked at the new socks Jian Mo had put on and asked him, "How are they?"

Jian Mo stood up and walked around in place.

The beast fur was soft, and knitted into socks, it was even warmer and more comfortable.

Best of all, the socks had some thickness to them and provided excellent cushioning and support. They were very comfortable to wear.

He couldn't resist taking a few steps back and forth. "They're wonderful! Even more comfortable than my old socks."

Qing Kuo lifted his chin slightly. "Of course. We spent all day making those socks."

Jian Mo smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

Everyone laughed.

Jian Mo picked up the other sock, which hadn't been worn. "Does anyone want to try it?"

The sub-beastmen looked at one another, a little shy.

Qing Kuo reached out and took the sock. "I'll try."

Everyone watched as Qing Kuo put on the sock and took a couple of steps.

Ye Luo stared at him and asked, "How does it feel?"

Surprise showed on Qing Kuo's face. "I've never worn one before, so it feels a little strange, but it's quite warm and comfortable."

After a pause, Qing Kuo lowered his head and stared at the sock on his foot. "They'd definitely be warm and comfortable in winter. With socks on, beast-hide boots should stay clean for a long time too."

Jian Mo couldn't help marveling at his insight. "That's one of the things socks are for. They absorb sweat and keep your feet warm and dry. Wearing socks with boots really is much more comfortable."

Qing Kuo took the sock off. "They're really useful."

Jian Mo said, "Then you can knit a few more pairs."

Knitting socks wasn't very difficult, and after a day of knitting, everyone had more or less learned how.

At Jian Mo's suggestion, everyone said they would continue knitting the next day.

Sure enough, when Jian Mo went out gathering with them the next day, he found that everyone had brought spindles and beast fur.

The fur they had, however, came in all sorts of varieties and was completely different.

Looking at the large amount of beast fur, Jian Mo couldn't help asking, "Where did all this fur come from? Don't you usually leave beast fur alone?"

Beast hides largely took the place of cloth in the tribe. They were used whole, and no one shaved the fur off them on purpose.

Jian Mo had even seen the pool in the woods used specifically for tanning hides. A large amount of bark and tree sap had been placed at the bottom for soaking the hides.

Both the hides and the fur were there.

He didn't know where the beast fur everyone had brought came from, and it looked to be quite good quality.

At the question, everyone laughed, and several people looked a little embarrassed.

Qing Kuo held up the fur in his hand. "Beastmen shed every spring and autumn. This came from my cub."

Jian Mo looked at the pile of soft gray-and-white fur and remembered the kitten he had seen when he first came to this world. Realization dawned, and he nodded.

He looked again at the somewhat bashful sub-beastmen.

The beast fur those sub-beastmen were using must have been shed by their mates.

As expected of a beastman world, it was rather distinctive.

Chapter 8: Catching Fish

Ever since everyone learned to collect shed beast fur and reuse it, they had gotten into the habit of taking a spindle or knitting needles with them whenever they went out.

Whenever Jian Mo gathered with everyone in the clearing and saw that the vast majority, beastmen and sub-beastmen alike, were spinning and knitting, looking like a picture of peaceful contentment, he would fall strangely silent for a moment.

The people, however, quite liked this little pastime. They even taught themselves to knit and dye various small accessories, such as necklaces and headbands.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was Jian Mo's turn to rest again.

Jian Mo had grown used to his busy life, and with nothing to do all of a sudden, he wasn't quite sure how to spend his time.

After wandering around the tribe, he went to see the Flying-Winged Beast.

The Flying-Winged Beast was doing better than before. When he examined it, he found that all its wounds had healed, and its broken wing had mostly recovered as well.

At the very least, the fracture hadn't caused the Flying-Winged Beast too much trouble. Jian Mo watched it grip its food with the claw at the front of the broken wing and eat.

Noticing the food, Jian Mo realized that this Flying-Winged Beast might have an even bigger appetite than he had imagined.

Not only had it eaten all the food the tribe had prepared for it, but it was also nibbling on the grass around it.