Chapter 21: The dyeing was so enviable it made her eyes green.

While collecting dyeing materials, he improved the soap.

That's not troublesome.

Yu Yan thought the first batch was too soft, so for the second batch she ground some seashell powder and added it to the animal oil.

“With this added, it’s definitely much harder.” Lan Xiu worked alongside Yu Yan.

Yu Yan: "Yes, and it has a slightly abrasive feel when you use it, which makes the fabric cleaner after washing."

Feng Gui was in front of a stone stove not far away, simmering cherry jam without stopping.

Cherries are delicate and will rot if not handled quickly.

Making jam was Yu Yan's suggestion. He happened to have traded for quite a few honey blocks, so he told Feng Gui not to be stingy and to put more than half of them in.

Feng Gui felt sorry for her and said, "So many honey chunks, are you going to use them to make jam? Actually, jam without honey chunks is quite delicious too."

Yu Yan: "It tastes good, but without sugar, it spoils too easily. Adding sugar is mainly to extend its shelf life."

Feng Gui had never heard of sugar being able to preserve food before, and nodded as if he understood.

Making jam requires constant attention, he said, stirring with a wooden spatula as he continued Yu Yan's earlier words:

"It's not just for washing fabrics; I can also get my hands very clean with soap if they get a little oil or straw pulp on them."

Yu Yan smiled and said, "Right? The soap works very well. Father, do you think there's anything that can be improved?"

Feng Gui thought for a moment, "If I had to say... I don't think the soap smells very good, it's a little fishy and smelly."

Hmm... since it's made from animal oil, it does have this problem.

Yu Yan pondered for a while, then went to gather a bundle of fresh grass leaves, extracted the juice, and added it to the animal oil.

This neutralization greatly masked the fishy smell and added a grassy fragrance, which pleased Yu Yan greatly.

He poured the stirred soap solution into the wooden mold.

The mold was made by Yu Yan, who provided the materials and asked Yin Qing to use her claws to carve out a long groove from a piece of wood.

After pouring in the viscous soap liquid, Yu Yan tapped it to squeeze out the air bubbles, and then used a seashell to smooth the surface of the mold.

Then, he and Lanxiu each carried one side of the mold, along with the soap liquid, to a cool, ventilated place to dry.

After finishing, he clapped his hands and said, "There's a bit too much soap liquid this time, let it dry slowly."

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, a few days flew by.

The clover vines are finally ready to soak.

Early in the morning, orcs flew around the forest, excitedly announcing, "The three-leaf vines are ready! We can start processing them!"

The entire tribe was in an uproar.

Not only young people, but also the elderly and children came out to watch the excitement.

Shuoxing had long since recovered and was full of energy. He gathered Qiu Ze and his group of "little brothers" and ran over to tell Yu Yan:

"Yu Yan! My father and my adoptive father said that everyone should go to the altar and work together!"

Qiu Ze: "Brother Yu Yan, you absolutely have to come!"

Yu Yan also enjoys group activities and the lively atmosphere, and replied with a smile, "Okay, we'll go after we've had breakfast!"

After saying that, she fed each of the children a spoonful of cherry jam.

The foodies were amazed and exclaimed, "Yu Yan, are these little red berries? They're so delicious!"

Yu Yan: "Yes."

"It's so sweet! I think it tastes even better than fresh red berries!"

"Thank you, Brother Yu Yan!" the children said in unison.

Later, Yu Yan recalled that it seemed that from that day on, the kids especially liked to come and play with him.

She would always ask in her adorable, childlike voice, "Brother Yu Yan, what's this delicious?"

"Brother Yu Yan, is this delicious?"

Right now, with their mouths full of the sweet and sour aroma, they happily ran off to tell others.

In order to catch up with the speed of the beastman cubs, the sub-beastman cubs all manifested their own beast-type characteristics.

Yu Yan was completely charmed by everyone's fluffy ears and tails, and only looked away after watching them run away into the distance.

The tribe needs to collectively peel vines, spin thread, and weave cloth, so he definitely has to keep an eye on things.

This will make it easier for him to resolve any problems he encounters promptly.

Moreover, Feng Gui has also soaked quite a few three-leaf vines, so he has to help out.

After tidying up the house and taking what they needed, he, Feng Gui, and Lan Xiu arrived at the altar square, where almost everyone in the tribe had come.

The beastmen transformed into their animal forms; some were transporting soaked vines, while others were carrying firewood.

Xin Yu and other young sub-orcs directed operations while maintaining order.

The older people sat on the sidelines, watching everyone work with smiles on their faces;

The little ones were playing and running around, laughing out loud when they bumped into people.

The weather was clear and pleasant, and the surrounding area was lush with trees and foliage.

The originally spacious altar plaza was now completely packed with people dressed as animals and humans.

Upon seeing Yu Yan, everyone greeted her warmly: "You've arrived!"

Yu Yan: "Yes, I'm here."

Yin Qing: "You're not wearing pants this time, you're wearing a straw skirt?"

Xuefei: "He's probably afraid of getting his pants dirty. Qiuze! Don't run so fast, watch where you're going!"

"Huh?" Cangfeng looked at Lanxiu, "Why did you bring so many baskets of flowers?"

Lan Xiu unloaded what was on his back, transforming from a furry white tiger into human form.

"I helped Yu Yan move it."

"We've never seen Yu Yan use flower petals before," everyone said, looking puzzled.

Yu Yan smiled and said, "I have some other work to do this time. You guys go ahead with your work. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me."

Everyone was most concerned about spinning and weaving, and nodded gratefully repeatedly.

As soon as the three-leaf vine arrived, everyone rushed over, divided the vines, and began peeling the bark.

With more people, the work gets done quickly.

The tribe hadn't been this lively in a long time; everyone's cheerful laughter carried far and wide.

What about Yu Yan?

He led Lanxiu to build a simple stove out of stones, placed a large earthenware pot on the stone stove, added water, and started a fire.

At this point, no one really paid much attention.

But then, Yu Yan threw his pants into the pot to boil as well!

"Huh?" What's going on?

Yu Yan called Shuoxing over to watch the fire, while she took Lanxiu and began processing the flower petals he had collected over the past few days.

He had already sorted through half of them and even soaked two buckets of dye solution, which were ready to use.

For the remaining half, they removed the impurities and unnecessary parts, and then chopped the dye into small pieces with a bone knife.

After finishing all that, the pants were boiled, so Yu Yan changed to another ceramic basin and continued soaking them.

The earthenware pot was refilled with water, and the chopped dye was thrown in to boil, so that the pigments inside could be fully released.

Yu Yan had Lan Xiu start another fire pit and boil the dye liquid he had soaked earlier.

The others who were peeling the bark of the three-leaf vine gradually fell silent. Their hands didn't stop working, but their eyes were fixed on Yu Yan and Lan Xiu.

Lanxiu experimented for half a day, and by noon, he finally managed to produce two batches of dye with satisfactory colors.

After filtering, one pot is deep red and the other is deep blue; when exposed to sunlight, both exude a rich and captivating color.

By this point, everyone had guessed what Yu Yan was going to do, and their eyes were filled with fervor.

Yu Yan only had one pair of pants. He stood in front of the two pots, unable to make a decision for a long time, so he had to ask for everyone's opinion.

Which color should I dye my hair?

"Let me see." Yin Qing even stopped doing her own work and came over excitedly, wanting to give him some advice.

Seeing this, several more sub-orcs curiously came closer to take a look.

Yin Qing: "Blue gives people a calm and mysterious feeling, but red is passionate and eye-catching. I think red is better!"

“I prefer blue, it’s a color that’s very similar to the straw skirts we’re wearing.”

“What’s the point of all these similar colors? I’ll choose red! It’s even more vibrant than the finest animal hides. I’ve had my eye on it at first sight.”

"Choose blue!"

"Choose the red one!"

More and more people joined in, each with their own reasons, leaving Yu Yan completely bewildered.

"Stop!" he said, raising his hand.

Everyone fell silent and looked at him.

"I'll find two scraps of fabric and roughly dye them to test the color."

Soon, Yu Yan took two pieces of cloth from Feng Gui, put them into the dye, soaked them completely, waited a while, and then took them out.

Unlike his trousers, which hadn't been boiled or soaked, these two scraps of cloth weren't dyed very evenly, but they still shone with a deep luster in the sunlight.

He carefully compared them and felt that neither color was very attractive; they were dull and a bit earthy. He wondered if they would look better after drying.

If he really had to choose one, he'd pick the red one, since it's a bit brighter and would match the white hair on his head better.

Before he could even state his decision, a group of people behind him were green with envy, expressing their astonishment repeatedly:

"After the dyeing, it looks even prettier than before!"

"I've never worn clothes of this color before! I really want one."

“My wife loves this red color so much, it’s like wearing autumn red leaves.”

"Beast God! How could you produce such a rich and vibrant color!"

No one seemed to care much about which color Yu Yan would dye her hair anymore; they were all eager to try it out.

"Yu Yan, can we pick flowers and dye them like you?"

“Of course you can,” Yu Yan said with a smile.

"Great!" everyone cheered.

Yu Yan added, "Besides flowers, I also collected some colored stems and leaves. Some minerals can also be used for dyeing. Everyone can try it."

"good!!"