Right under their noses (continued)

As soon as the viscous liquid entered his mouth, a variety of flavors flashed through his mind, including sweet, rich, and slightly bitter. After swallowing, he felt that the taste was very smooth and had a refreshing sensation.

It's hard to describe the complex texture and flavor, but it really is delicious.

It really is different!

Jian Mo exclaimed in surprise, "It tastes really good!"

Wu Jiong nodded. "It's really good. Shall we let the male Pack-Pack Beast have a taste?"

Jian Mo thought for a moment and said, "I'm a little reluctant to part with it. How about we seal the wine away and see if anyone feels unwell today? If not, we can try it again tomorrow."

Wu Jiong: "Shall we try it ourselves?"

Jian Mo: "I think it should be fine. Even you didn't taste anything strange, so it probably really is gone."

Wu Jiong: "That works too."

They felt fine that day, and not the next day either.

Jian Mo Wu Jiong to taste it again; the wine in the jar tasted even stronger.

In general winemaking, once fermentation is nearly complete, the wine needs to be filtered out and allowed to ferment separately.

The sap contained only liquid and no other impurities, so they had no way to filter it and let it ferment and settle in the earthenware jar.

It fermented very well, and over time it has been given a more subtle flavor, making it taste richer and more intense.

Seeing that Jian Mo really liked the jar of wine, Wu Jiong asked, "Would you like some more sweet juice to make more wine?"

Jian Mo was somewhat tempted, but still declined. "Finding sweet juice is too difficult. Let's save it and wait until this jar of tree sap wine is finished."

They paid special attention to Silverleaf Tree during their recent field research trips.

Whether it was good luck or bad luck, they had never seen Eight-Mouthed Insect, nor had they been stung. However, correspondingly, they also never found the sweet tree sap again.

Jian Mo even tried cutting a notch in the Silverleaf Tree to let its sap flow out.

However, the sap that flows out has the characteristic bitterness of tree sap, with at most a slight fragrance, and is not at all like the taste of being bitten by Eight-Mouthed Insect.

It's possible that the Eight-Mouthed Insect releases some kind of chemical substance after biting the Silverleaf Tree, which is why the Silverleaf Tree produces sweet sap.

Jian Mo said to Wu Jiong, "Whenever we have time, let's get ready, find the Eight-Mouthed Insect's nest, catch it, and sting it on the Silverleaf Tree."

Wu Jiong pinched the back of his neck. "There's more than just one or two; it takes a whole swarm of Eight-Mouthed Insect biting the bark to get the sweet sap to come out. If a person gets bitten too many times, they're prone to getting a fever, and the consequences can be serious."

Jian Mo sighed, "I understand. Tick bites can be life-threatening where we live."

Catching Eight-Mouthed Insect and having them bite Silverleaf Tree is just a beautiful fantasy.

They haven't found any more sweet juice, but their recent harvest has been quite good.

As summer approaches, wild plants grow rapidly, bringing them a variety of wild vegetables and fruits.

Wild vegetables nowadays have a crisp and tender texture, and a milder bitterness, making them relatively more delicious.

After a while, when summer and autumn arrive, most wild vegetables will become bitter and coarse, making them difficult to swallow.

Everyone cherished this time and worked very hard to collect various wild vegetables, including Jian Mo and his group.

The wild vegetables they gather are Jian Mo sorted a second time: the tender ones are kept, the slightly older ones are given to Jiujiu, and the oldest ones are given to the Pack-Pack Beast.

They had already selected the vegetables from the branches, but in such a short time they couldn't be very thorough, and wild vegetables mature very quickly; often they were fresh and tender when they picked them, but by the time they brought them back they had become old and coarse.

In this situation, they can only pick through the food again and then blanch it in the pot.

Jian Mo only learned after coming to this world that wild vegetables need to be cooked before drying, otherwise they will become tough during the drying process, and after drying, the fibers will become very coarse, making them almost inedible.

Because they now have an extra step of drying wild vegetables every day, they have a lot to do when they get back.

Jian Mo usually quickly selects the wild vegetables the night before, blanchs them, and hangs them to dry on a large rattan rack. The next morning, she turns them over, further separates them, and picks out the ones that are not of good quality to feed to Jiujiu or Pack-Pack Beast.

That morning, Jian Mo was selecting wild vegetables that were drying in the yard.

The kitten Banjiu slowly walked in from outside. Today, instead of jumping directly over the low wall of the yard, he used his rear to push open the fence gate and slowly walked in.

Jian Mo looked up at the little guy. "You're here Banjiu?"

Banjiu walked to his feet and rubbed against his leg. "Meow, Jian Mo."

There are many things drying in the yard, and some wild birds or insects will fly down to eat them.

Jian Mo didn't care about the small amount of food spoiled, but she couldn't stand the food that had been scavenged by insects and wild birds, especially since these creatures ate and defecated in the process, making it particularly unappetizing.

He then asked the young children in the tribe who were not yet able to transform into human form to help him chase away the birds, offering them meatballs as payment.

The little ones seem to enjoy this job; every day, one of them arrives early in the morning to report for duty, and it's very effective at chasing away insects and birds.

For the little ones, it's just a change of sleeping place; they only need to wake up and check when they hear a noise. They'd be even happier if they could get meatballs in return.

After greeting Banjiu, Jian Mo was about to call him over and pat him when she noticed another figure behind Banjiu.

It turned out that Qing Kuo was following behind, and Jian Mo wondered why Banjiu being so well-behaved today, not jumping over the wall at all.

Jian Mo smiled and called out to Qing Kuo, "What brings you here today?"

Qing Kuo: "I was wondering if you'd like to come with us to harvest the pods."

Jian Mo stopped what she was doing. "Pods? What kind of pods? A kind of wild vegetable?"

Qing Kuo: "Yes, it's a pod that grows on a vine over Mount Ambus. The pods are large and fleshy. You boil them in salt water, then soak them, and then dry them in the sun. When food is scarce, you can stew them and they can last for a while."

Jian Mo was a little surprised; he had never heard of it or eaten it before. "Not many people eat it?"

Qing Kuo laughed, "There's plenty, but the chieftain is a single beastman, and he usually has enough food. He doesn't usually dry wild vegetables or dried fruits."