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Jian Mo melted the insect wax in an oil-free and water-free earthenware pot.

Fearing he wouldn't succeed on his first try, he deliberately only melted one-third of the material.

The melted insect wax contained some impurities. I originally wanted to filter it, but after a few attempts, I realized it was impossible to filter. I had to use chopsticks to pick out the impurities bit by bit.

It's good enough if it's passable.

Jian Mo made the lip balm in small batches multiple times and eventually discovered that the type of oil in the lip balm did not affect the success rate; only the proportion of wax did.

The most successful lip balm is made with about one-fifth wax and four-fifths oil.

The first batch of fifty-two boxes of lip balm were laid out in a row.

This light red cream looks very cute, and when you gently hold it under your nose, you can smell a delicate fragrance.

After getting Jian Mo's permission, Zhou Fu eagerly picked up a box, scooped out a small piece, and smeared it on his lips.

After applying it, he smacked his lips and exclaimed with delight, "It smells so good, and it's so moisturizing!"

Everyone scrutinized his slightly reddish, moist lips, and Qing Kuo remarked, "Red looks good too."

Zhou Fu: "Could we add some red clay or something else to make it redder?"

Jian Mo waved her hand. "It's not really necessary. If you want your lips to be redder, you can just apply red clay directly to your lips normally. I feel like applying red clay isn't very safe."

Jian Mo didn't know the composition of the red soil either; she had only seen them use it at the Ten Thousand Beasts Festival and guessed it was a kind of mineral soil.

Since it's mineral soil, it may be rich in metals, and if you accidentally eat it, it will most likely be harmful to your health.

This kind of mineral clay is fine to apply a little to the face during holidays, but it's not suitable as an ingredient in daily lip balm.

The lip balm is also for the cubs, but I added mineral clay, which I'm worried might be bad for their growth and development.

Jian Mo explained, and everyone nodded in understanding.

Everyone took a box of lip balm to try, and they were all very satisfied with its effects.

They turned their heads and saw that Jian Mo's brows were furrowed.

Qing Kuo asked, "What's wrong? Don't you like this lip balm? Or is the wax wrong?"

Jian Mo shook her head. "The oil feels a bit off. Don't you guys think this lip balm is too oily? It feels sticky and greasy on the lips."

Everyone shook their heads in unison; it was clear they didn't feel the same way he did.

Jian Mo still felt uneasy. He had used some really good lip balms before. They were very moisturizing, applied smoothly to the lips, and had a great feel and smell.

He reached up and wiped away all the lip balm, then held it to his nose and smelled it.

The newly made lip balm has a greasiness and smells heavy.

Most lip balms on Earth are made from plant oils, such as shea butter.

Qing Kuo patted his shoulder. "Don't be so demanding. I think this lip balm is already very good."

Jian Mo said, "It's alright, but if we take this lip balm to the Mengshui Tribe, they should be able to replicate it quickly."

Qing Kuo was annoyed. "Tsk."

Jian Mo smiled and said, "I was just thinking about the Clear Red Fruit from the mountain. Aren't the seeds of the Clear Red Fruit quite oily? It seems like we can use the oil from the Clear Red Fruit to make something."

Clear Red Fruit is a small shrub fruit containing a packet of seeds slightly larger than sesame seeds. The seeds are very oily; you can extract the oil by gently crushing them between your fingers.

However, this fruit doesn't have many seeds; there are only five or six seeds in one fruit. Although it's edible, people are too lazy to pick it.

Qing Kuo: "It's the season for the Clear Red Fruit to ripen now."

Jian Mo: "Yes, I'll collect some in a couple of days and see if I can use that oil to make lip balm."

Min Dang said from the side, "I'm free these next two days, so I don't need to go out to gather with the tribe. I'll gather for you."

Zhou Fu eagerly offered, "I can help too, and so can Xi Lu."

Xi Lu nodded beside her.

Ye Luo laughed and said, "Let's go together then. I know where the Clear Red Fruit grows in abundance and is of high quality. Qing Kuo, are you coming too?"

Qing Kuo said irritably, "Since you're all going, of course I have to go too."

So, they agreed to go up the mountain to pick the Clear Red Fruit.

Wu Jiong was going hunting with the tribe, so he couldn't accompany them and could only go with a few sub-beastmen.

Jian Mo and the others set off early in the morning, heading towards the mountain where the Clear Red Fruit grew, led by Ye Luo.

The shrub indeed had many, dense fruits, and they were already ripe. The fruits split open, scattering some of the seeds out, while the rest remained on the branches to be eaten by wild birds.

They couldn't collect the seeds that were ejected from the branches, so they could only pick the fruit on the branches, knocking or prying the seeds off one by one against the edge of the basket on their backs.

The seeds were so small that they collected them from morning till noon, and everyone's hands were cramping.

At noon, they sat in the shade of a tree, drinking water and sharing the food they had brought.

Qing Kuo said, "This won't work. How about we pick the fruit along with the fruit, dry it, grind it with a millstone, and then sift it?"

Jian Mo was also exhausted and felt a little guilty. "Thank you all for your hard work."

Ye Luo patted Jian Mo on the shoulder. "What are you saying? We'll all use it together after we get it back, how can you be the only one who has to work hard?"

Qing Kuo: "We also have two kids at home, so they'll need the lip balm."

Jian Mo said, "Ban Ming can't be considered a brat anymore."

Qing Kuo scoffed, "Isn't he the kind of brat you were talking about?"

Everyone laughed together.

After a short rest, they continued working.

Picking the fruit along with the fruit in the afternoon made the work much easier, and everyone quickly filled two baskets.

They carried one basket in front of them and another in back, slowly descending the mountain back to their tribe.

The young orcs from the tribe returned early and ran out to greet them.

Things became much easier after the fruit was brought back to the tribe.