Getting up at night (continued)

If it rains heavily or thunders, Wu Jiong will lead the Flying-Winged Beast to a cave near the tribe for temporary shelter.

Wu Jiong: "I've fed it. It has a good appetite, and its fur is thick enough to keep it warm."

Jian Mo sigh of relief, "I'll go take a look."

When Jian Mo arrived, the Flying-Winged Beast was gnawing on a bone.

Perhaps because it has been carefully fed, the Flying-Winged Beast has recently gained some weight, becoming chubby and its fur is glossy and smooth.

Seeing Jian Mo approach, it chirped happily, "Jiujiu!"

Jian Mo patted its rear end. "Go ahead and gnaw on yours, I'll give you an extra treat tonight."

Winter has just arrived, and they have many things to do.

Jian Mo followed Wu Jiong to the riverbank to dig up some mud, mixed it with dry grass, and applied it to the cracks between the stones.

They need to wipe it once outside and then once inside.

After doing this twice, the house will be basically airtight.

While applying the mortar, Jian Mo noticed traces of old mud in the cracks of the stone, indicating that it had been applied previously.

Jian Mo tapped it gently with her hand.

Dried soil is actually quite firm and not easily knocked off, but it still can't withstand the passage of time.

Despite weathering, it still requires annual maintenance.

They worked for most of the day until night fell, when, lacking light, they could no longer continue. Only then did they return to the house to cook and prepare to rest.

Jian Mo she wanted to give the Flying-Winged Beast an extra meal, so she stewed a pot of meat for it, along with hay, stems, and other ingredients that the tribe had prepared in advance, and sent it over to it.

The Flying-Winged Beast were completely unconcerned about the changing weather and seemed to be enjoying their meal.

Today was another tiring day.

After checking on the young Pack-Pack Beast and confirming they were alright, and that the brazier on the shelf for keeping the Pack-Pack Beast warm was working properly, Jian Mo went upstairs to sleep.

He didn't even feel cold; he lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, he got up as usual.

It's snowing again outside. Looking out through the crack in the window, everything is dazzlingly white, bright even on a cloudy day.

It's cold and windy.

After getting up, he obediently put on his fur coat and fur boots, no longer finding them heavy and smelly.

The first thing Jian Mo did upon waking up was to go see the Pack-Pack Beast.

The male animal has been led back to the stable, and it lies down diagonally opposite the female animal.

The six cubs, perhaps having already nursed, are now sleeping peacefully on their mother's body.

The fire in the brazier was still burning, and the air in the animal shed was fine, not too stuffy; everything was alright.

He cleaned the entire animal pen, replaced the Pack-Pack Beast with clean, thick hay, and then, seeing that the fire in the brazier was about to go out, he decided to go and get some new firewood.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that something was wrong with the brazier.

The firewood in the brazier wasn't the one he put in yesterday.

He remembers very clearly that he put a large tree branch in the brazier yesterday.

The large tree branch in the brazier is gone today; Wu Jiong must have replaced it.

Jian Mo carried the brazier out using a wooden stick; he had to clear the ashes out of the brazier before adding new firewood.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough room in the brazier.

Jian Mo ran outside and called out to Wu Jiong under the eaves, "Did you add new firewood last night?"

Wu Jiong: "The fire was almost out in the middle of the night, so we replaced it twice."

Jian Mo was astonished. "Twice?!"

Wu Jiong nodded. "The firewood we have now doesn't burn very well. I'll go chop some longer-burning firewood later, and we'll only need to replace it once tonight."

Jian Mo didn't know much about firewood, but upon hearing this, she said, "Then I'll go with you."

Wu Jiong: "It's cold, you should stay home."

After breakfast, Wu Jiong indeed led several orcs to chop wood.

Jian Mo went to meet up with the other sub-beastmen in the open space. He wanted to take this opportunity to make clothes out of the cloth he had traded at the Hunting Gathering. The others also needed to spin thread and repair animal hides.

Gathering together, chatting and warming ourselves by the fire while working makes it less boring.

In the afternoon, Wu Jiong and the others carried back large, thick logs in their animal forms.

Jian Mo went out to take a look, and after careful observation, she found that it was indeed different from ordinary firewood.

He also noticed that the two stone axes Wu Jiong had taken out were completely broken.

Ban Ming noticed Jian Mo's gaze was fixed on the stone axes and said, "These stone axes have been used for a long time and are prone to breaking. If they hadn't broken, we could have chopped even more firewood today."

Jian Mo: "Thank you for your hard work."

Ban Ming rubbed his cheek. "It's nothing, it's just that this kind of hard firewood is really hard to chop. I was halfway through when I lost patience and started biting it with my teeth. My teeth are still sore and weak, I probably won't be able to eat any meat tonight."

Qing Kuo patted Ban Ming on the shoulder. "Stop acting like a spoiled child. Who told you to bite with your teeth like that? You've learned your lesson."

"No, Dad," Ban Ming said, hugging Qing Kuo shoulders. "How about stewed Flour Fruit cake for dinner? I can chew those."

Upon hearing this, Jian Mo looked at Wu Jiong.

Wu Jiong simply wrapped a fur skirt around his neck. "I didn't bite."

Jian Mo: "Oh. Oh oh!"

Wu Jiong: "I'm going to take a shower. I'll deal with this firewood when I get back."

Jian Mo saw him grab the soap and head outside, and called out in surprise, "It's snowing outside, are you still going to wash in the river?"

Wu Jiong: "We've always washed them like this, it's fine."

Jian Mo: "But no matter how much it doesn't matter, taking a cold shower is still cold this time of year."

Let alone a giant wolf like Wu Jiong, even an ordinary large dog, Jian Mo wouldn't have the heart to let it take a cold shower in this season.

Jian Mo him aside and said, "Let's boil some water to wash it; that way we can get it clean more thoroughly."

Just as Wu Jiong was about to speak, Jian Mo knew he wanted to refuse, so she quickly said, "I need to wash too. I haven't washed for two days, and I smell like a Pack-Pack Beast."

Upon hearing this, Wu Jiong didn't refuse again. "I'll go fetch water."

By the time the two finished bathing and sat down by the fire pit, it was already completely dark.