I thought these stone picks were pretty good, so I picked one out myself. Then I went to an open space not far from our house and said...

"Everyone is working with me. We'll try to dig this big pit before dark so we can use it to release wild boars."

At my command, all the stone pickaxes, including Su Su's, began digging into the soil.

Because of the continuous rain, the soil wasn't difficult to dig. However, as more soil was dug out, the large pit I planned to dig, which was 5 meters long and 3 meters wide, became increasingly muddy.

The wet mud below was very slippery, and we slipped and fell several times without noticing. Fortunately, apart from a slightly sore bottom, we were not seriously injured.

I asked everyone to find some dry grass or tree bark and braid it into ropes to tie around their feet a few times. This would prevent them from slipping and falling.

Dante and his companions naturally understood this principle, and then they bound some intricately broken branches with several layers of dry grass, making them look like a pair of straw sandals.

However, the branches they tied were all T-shaped, so the protruding branches at the bottom gripped the ground firmly like the spikes of a sprinter.

Seeing that this method was not bad, I followed Dante's example and found a T-shaped branch, and started tying it to the soles of my shoes.

After some modifications, our work efficiency has indeed improved significantly.

After removing the top layer of damp soil, the soil underneath became less muddy and much drier.

This drier environment will undoubtedly speed up our progress. Large amounts of soil have begun to be transported in ceramic basins and dumped near the large pit; this soil will have other uses later.

With more people, we can work faster. In just over half an hour, we've already dug nearly 50 centimeters down into this five-meter-long pit.

I encouraged everyone,

"Everyone, let's work harder and get the pit completely cleared as soon as possible. I'll treat everyone to a pork stew dinner tonight!"

When Dante and the others heard that I was going to cook myself again, their eyes all turned to me like the high beams of a car.

Although I don't know what this "pig-killing feast" I'm talking about is, who cares that much? As long as I'm the one making it, it's guaranteed to be delicious.

Hearing me say that made everyone work even harder. The men were like donkeys that had eaten several pounds of flour and had been unleashed, full of inexhaustible energy.

Everyone was panting heavily as they dug, eager to finish the job as soon as possible. Top, standing nearby, was also busy, acting as a supervisor as it lay on the edge of the pit.

We haven't heard from them at all from the beginning; they seem to be busier than we are, acting as the supervisor.

Looking at Top, whose face was covered in graffiti like a cat's, Su Su couldn't help but cover her mouth with her arm and let out a series of silvery giggles.

We looked at each other again and burst out laughing. We weren't much better than Top.

After everyone's efforts, the five-meter-deep pit was finally completed after more than two hours.

Everyone sat in the pit, panting heavily. Working non-stop like this was really tiring.

Looking at the crater that was deeper than his chest, Dante panted as he spoke to me.

"Sir... are these really useful?"

I was also panting heavily, so I could only nod affirmatively to Dante.

Seeing my confident expression, Dante felt relieved. After this frantic digging, the little food we had eaten at noon was gone in no time, and everyone's stomachs started growling again.

I told Dante to have everyone build a human-shaped frame in the pit using some waterproof materials to protect it from the rain.

I then told Su Su to wash her hands and come with me to prepare dinner for everyone.

Upon learning that I was there to prepare food, Dante urged everyone to hang in there a little longer, to set up the rain shelter, and that they would soon be able to enjoy a hearty meal.

Dante knew how to win people's hearts. Just by mentioning the abundant food, he made the already exhausted natives feel as if they had been injected with chicken blood again.

Some were hauling timber, others were laying down leaves; they were busy working like madmen, just like the unscrupulous bosses who promised construction workers thousands a day.

Although everyone was busy, they all knew that this was preparation for bringing the wild boars back to the tribe, so no one was carelessly setting up anything.

These houses were still built to the same rainproof standards as the ones they used to live in, and although they still leak a little, it's not a big problem.

As darkness fell, the rainproof shed was completed thanks to everyone's efforts.

Rain protection is essential in the rainforest; without this canopy, the pit would fill with water very quickly.

At this moment, in an open space, the campfire has already illuminated the dim night sky. Beside the campfire is a makeshift platform made of stone slabs, on which a pot of stewed pork has already been prepared in a ceramic basin.

The warmth under the orange glow of the firelight felt so comforting, as if time had turned back to the 1970s and 80s when a family would eat together by kerosene lamp.

At this moment, Su Su had already put the cut pig's blood into the bubbling pot.

"Pig's blood shouldn't be cooked for too long, or it won't taste good. Everyone has worked hard today, so come and eat together."

I invited everyone over to eat the freshly cooked pig's blood. At this time, the pig's blood is at its most tender, and eating it with a little bit of blood gives it the feel of eating "pig slaughtering feast".

It's a pity there's no alcohol now. If there were, I could have a couple of drinks with these guys, and that would be even more satisfying.

The pork stew was prepared exactly as I remembered it from Chinese New Year, with a large amount of pork neck meat as the base. City dwellers don't eat this kind of meat, saying it contains a lot of lymphatic toxins and waste.

But those are pigs that have been spoiled with feed and hormones in recent years to increase farmers' profits. Pigs that are truly free-range in rural areas and fed with grains and wild vegetables need to be raised for a year before they can be sold.

Pork neck meat has been eaten by pigs for thousands of years since slaughtering, and no one has ever died from it. It's just that this meat needs to be stir-fried over high heat, otherwise it's quite greasy.

There were also small intestines with a little white intestinal fat in the pot. My father said that when cooking pig stew, you have to leave some oil in the small intestines, otherwise they will taste bitter.

Cut the pig's blood into thin slices and place them on the side of a boiling pot. Cook until they are about 60% done, then remove them from the pot and eat.

In some southwestern regions of Guizhou, they also use coriander, houttuynia cordata, chili paste, soy sauce and other seasonings to make cold pig's blood salad, and drizzle a little white wine to remove the fishy smell.

Since we had limited resources, we could only make do with a hot pot meal.

By this time, Top had already used a stick to pull the cassava, which had turned slightly black from being roasted in the ashes, out of the fire. He even kindly patted the ashes off everyone before handing them out to each person.