Shell Knife

The man and the wolf worked together in perfect sync.

When the Hairy Root had been pounded, the giant wolf leaned over to look. Realizing he was about to change back into human form, Jian Mo hurriedly said, "Wait, I can do it!"

The giant wolf nodded and pinned the large wooden handle beneath a paw, moving the stone hammer aside. "There."

Jian Mo carried the large wooden bucket to the stone pit and half-knelt on the ground to scoop up the Hairy Root that had been pounded into pulp.

After scooping the Hairy Root from the bottom of the pit, Jian Mo pushed a fresh batch into it, then carried the bucket of Hairy Root pulp aside.

The giant wolf once again worked the stone hammer with his paw, pounding the second batch of Hairy Root.

The stone mortar worked very well, and the two of them finished pounding the Hairy Root in no time.

By the time they had carried it home, washed it with water, and strained the Hairy Root, it still wasn't dark. Jian Mo looked at the starch water strained into the large basin and, for the first time, felt that productivity in this world wasn't all that low.

The beastmen's huge beast forms were very useful after all.

Wu Jiong looked at the yellow starch water. "Is this what we're going to eat?"

Jian Mo waved a hand. "No, no, no, it's the starch that settles at the bottom. You'll see tomorrow morning."

Wu Jiong eyed the basin of water a little doubtfully.

Jian Mo smiled. "I'm going to feed this Hairy Root to Jiujiu."

Although the strained Hairy Root was mostly fiber, some starch still clung to it. It was a little better than grass, making it a good choice of feed for the Flying-Winged Beast.

Jian Mo also took some cooked meat and cut some fresh grass to bring to the Flying-Winged Beast.

Sure enough, the Flying-Winged Beast ate with great satisfaction, chirping all the while.

Wu Jiong couldn't stop thinking about the yellow starch water.

When Jian Mo got up the next day, he saw Wu Jiong bending over to look at it.

Hearing Jian Mo come downstairs, Wu Jiong turned to him. "It's settled now. The water's clear."

Jian Mo perked up. "Let me see."

He hurried over.

The water in the large wooden basin had indeed turned clear. He called Wu Jiong over, and together they lifted the basin and carefully poured off the water on top, leaving only the starch that had settled at the bottom.

Jian Mo reached in and pinched some between his fingers.

The starch felt fine and powdery, with barely any graininess.

Starch of this quality was already quite good.

A delighted expression appeared on Jian Mo's face.

Wu Jiong rubbed some between his fingers too. "I've never seen this stuff before. How do we eat it?"

"Make pancakes!" Jian Mo said.

As he spoke, Jian Mo scooped out a chunk of starch.

Their large stone slab was the perfect tool for making pancakes.

Jian Mo added some water and mixed the starch into a batter, then cracked an egg into it. Once the batter was ready, he heated the stone slab, brushed it with animal fat, and began cooking the pancakes.

Wu Jiong watched from the side, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The starch batter slowly set on the stone slab into a pancake familiar to Jian Mo.

He brushed a layer of beaten egg over it, and the yellow-brown pancake slowly turned golden, giving off an incredible aroma.

Looking at the cooked pancake, Jian Mo nearly burst into tears.

How many days had it been? He was finally seeing familiar food again.

Wu Jiong watched from the side as the unappealing starch batter slowly turned into a fragrant pancake, which Jian Mo lifted onto a plate. "Is it ready now?" he asked.

"It's ready. Here, try a small piece first," Jian Mo said happily. "Wait while I prepare some fillings, and we can eat them as wraps."

With that, Jian Mo cut off a small piece with the spatula and offered it to Wu Jiong. "Try it."

Wu Jiong picked it up with his fingers and tossed it into his mouth.

Jian Mo watched his expression.

After tasting it carefully, Wu Jiong said, "It's delicious."

"Right?" Jian Mo was even happier. "It's even better with meat inside."

Jian Mo not only grilled some strips of meat especially for the pancakes, but also carefully stir-fried a small plate of his pickled vegetables.

The two sat in front of the large stone slab, wrapping the meat strips and pickled vegetables in pancakes.

The pancakes were fragrant, the meat tender, and the pickled vegetables sour and salty. The three foods, each with completely different textures and flavors, came together in a distinctive taste.

Jian Mo took a bite, and the distinctive aroma of starch lingered on his tongue. He was so happy he could have cried.

After swallowing his bite, he held the wrap up in front of him. "It's so delicious. If only we could find scallions and chili peppers."

Wu Jiong quickly finished one pancake and started on a second. "What are those?"

With a mouthful of his wrap, Jian Mo said indistinctly, "They're a little hard to describe. You can think of them as two unusual seasonings. We used them a lot where I came from."

Wu Jiong asked, "Aren't they around the tribe?"

Jian Mo shook his head. "I haven't seen them yet. Maybe it's the wrong season."

"Then we'll look again in other seasons," Wu Jiong said. "If they aren't around the tribe, we can look for them in other tribes later and ask the beastman caravans."

After breakfast, Jian Mo made a point of taking a meat-filled wrap to feed the Flying-Winged Beast.

He left out the pickled vegetables. The Flying-Winged Beast might not like a side dish with such an unusual flavor.

The Flying-Winged Beast had already eaten breakfast. Seeing Jian Mo bring out the wrap, he twitched his nose and sniffed it carefully.

The aroma of starch and meat fully stimulated the Flying-Winged Beast's sense of smell. After just one sniff, drool streamed from both corners of his mouth like two little waterfalls.

It happened so fast that Jian Mo couldn't react at all.

Jian Mo patted him. "Smells good, doesn't it? You helped make this pancake."

With that, Jian Mo held the wrap in front of the Flying-Winged Beast's mouth.

The Flying-Winged Beast opened his huge mouth, caught the wrap in one bite, and chirped very loudly, "Chirp!!!"

Chapter 11: Shell Knife

The morning sun rose, slowly dispersing the mist among the trees.

Jian Mo sat in the sunlight, slowly spinning thread with a spindle in his hands, listening on and off to the people around him chatting.

They had gathered there to go foraging later.

Just as Jian Mo was growing drowsy, Zhou Fu began complaining angrily about the shell knives. "I broke three shell knives this morning. Every one I picked up broke. I almost didn't get breakfast."

"Why did they break so easily? Did you leave the shell knives by the firepit?"