Chapter 12: Paying "Medical Expenses" with Boiled Kudzu Bark
Feng Gui pointed upwards: "It's on the board behind the bird's nest. Are you going to get it now?"
Yu Yan nodded eagerly: "Mmm!"
Feng Gui smiled helplessly and said, "Okay, then you do it. I'll call you when dinner is ready."
Yu Yan's eyes brightened slightly: "Thank you, Father! You're so kind!"
Feng Gui's smile deepened, and he waved his hand, "I see you've also prepared other things, aren't you going to do them together?"
Yu Yan: "I just went to check, and the bark and stuff haven't been soaked yet. I'm going to use them to make something different from what I'm making with the three-leaf vine, and besides, I don't have the time right now."
Feng Gui nodded: "Okay. Do you want me to help you start a fire?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
After saying this, Yu Yan put down what she was holding, climbed up the tree, and carried down some alkali soil.
He can fly now! He spreads his wings and swoops down, thinking it's so cool! Like he's in some special effects movie, haha.
The alkaline soil wasn't dug long ago, and the bird's nest is sheltered from the wind, so it's still usable.
Compared to other sub-orcs in the tribe, Feng Gui was thinner, but he was very efficient at his work.
In no time, he had lit the stone stove and the fire pit, and he had also found the earthenware pot for Yu Yan.
Yu Yan first filled the earthenware pot with water, then threw in the tough bark of the three-leaf vine, and placed the pot on the fire to heat it.
Then, he filtered the alkaline soil he was going to use.
After filtering the water, he went to the earthenware pot, where the water had already boiled.
He took two long wooden sticks and stirred the kudzu husks inside, his gaze focused as if he were conducting academic research.
Once it feels thoroughly cooked, remove the kudzu root peel, pour in alkaline water, and gently rub it.
Under the influence of alkali, the kudzu bark softens, and its structure becomes visible.
After rubbing it, he put the kudzu root peel into the pot to cook.
As the sun began to set in the west, dusk settled over the woods.
Feng Gui had finished preparing dinner and called to Yu Yan, "How much longer will it take you there? Dinner is ready."
Yu Yan: "Right away!"
He stirred the earthenware pot with long chopsticks, checked the fire, and then went to wash his hands. He returned to the wooden stool where he and Feng Gui usually ate and sat down.
"Lanxiu hasn't returned yet?" He glanced towards Lanxiu's residence.
Feng Gui: "Yes. I've already set aside the food for him."
Yu Yan smiled and said, "Father, you know what I'm going to say."
Feng Gui also laughed: "Of course. Lan Xiu has been bringing us meat to eat these past few days. You also bring him a portion of the food you cook. I've remembered it all."
Yu Yan picked up her chopsticks and happily began to eat.
Just like Feng Gui said, Lan Xiu, that kid, whether he felt bad or what, kept bringing them meat every day.
In addition, the people in the tribe brought them a lot of food a few days ago, so their meals have been quite good lately.
Vegetables and meat spoil if left out for too long, so he and Feng Gui didn't go beachcombing to solve their food problem.
However, according to the people in the tribe, the seafood that used to taste very fishy now tastes delicious after being processed with ginger, which made Yu Yan extremely envious.
And then there's...
Yu Yan chewed on the dish that had only been stir-fried with salt and sighed inwardly.
It's so bland! My mouth feels so tasteless!
These past few days he's been going out to collect spices with everyone, trying hard to find other spices, like star anise and cinnamon.
Whether it's because he's not used to the climate of the peninsula tribes or because he's searched too narrowly, he hasn't found anything so far.
With Ge Pi on his mind, he quickly finished his dinner, asked Feng Gui to help wash the dishes, and returned to the earthenware pot to guard it.
The processed kudzu root bark has lightened in color, but it is still not soft enough.
At this level, it's definitely impossible to spin thread.
Fortunately, after cooking for a while, he could clearly feel the kudzu root peel softening.
Hope flickered in his heart. At this rate, it should be ready in a few more hours!
"Feng Gui! Yu Yan!" A familiar voice called out from not far away.
Yu Yan looked up and, in the dim light, saw Xue Fei holding Qiu Ze's hand, waving at them.
"Xuefei, what brings you here?" Yu Yan stood up to greet them.
Xue Fei came to him, her handsome face a little flustered, but her eyes were very sincere.
He pulled out a whole bunch of things at once: animal hides, dried meat, wild vegetables, stems and tubers... and even a few round, white sea pearls!
Yu Yan was stunned: "What are you doing?"
Xuefei said gratefully, "Yuyan, thank you for saving Qiuze's life today. I didn't have many supplies on me at the time, so I went home to get some and brought them to you. Please accept them."
Qiu Ze tilted his head back and said in a clear voice, "Thank you, Brother Yu Yan!"
Yu Yan understood. Xue Fei had come to pay the "medical expenses"!
With such a huge pile of stuff, including animal hides and pearls—the hard currency of the beast world—Xue Fei must have emptied her coffers, right?
He could understand Xuefei's feelings, but he couldn't let her go bankrupt.
Chong Xue gave a half-hearted smile, and Yu Yan asked first, "How is Qiu Ze's health? Is he still feeling unwell anywhere?"
Xuefei answered in detail: "At the beginning, she said her throat and nose were uncomfortable, but now they are fine."
Qiu Ze nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes! I haven't felt bad for a long time!"
Yu Yan couldn't help but sigh, the people of the Beast World are really physically strong, no wonder they rarely get sick.
"That's good." He rubbed Qiu Ze's little head; his hair was soft.
Afterwards, he said to Xuefei, "What I did didn't require so many supplies. How about this, I'll leave these here, and you can take the rest back."
Yu Yan picked out a bunch of stems and also took two pieces of dried meat.
Xuefei asked in surprise, "Is that all?"
Yu Yan: "That's quite a lot."
In Xue Fei's eyes, Yu Yan saved Qiu Ze's life! He genuinely wanted to give everything to Yu Yan.
"Why don't you pick some more..." Xuefei said, feeling particularly apologetic.
Yu Yan's attitude was firm: "That's enough. I have a set fee standard for treating others, and I can't just accept supplies indiscriminately."
Seeing that Xuefei was about to persuade her again, Yu Yan quickly added, "I still have some things to do. You should talk to my father first, okay? Father!"
Feng Gui and Yu Yan exchanged a glance, then Feng Gui picked up the conversation and asked Xue Fei, "Have you two eaten yet?"
Xuefei: "I ate something simple. As for Yu Yan..."
Feng Gui: "I can't persuade him either, so whatever he says goes."
Xuefei was in a dilemma, unsure whether to stay or leave, and looked anxious.
Feng Gui invited the two of them: "I cooked a lot tonight and set aside some food. Come and have some."
Xuefei hurriedly waved her hand, but Fenggui had already pulled Qiuze forward.
"Feng Gui, no need..."
"You and Qiu Ze have both had a long day, don't bother, just eat here."
At Feng Gui's warm invitation, Xue Fei and Qiu Ze enjoyed a hot dinner and were deeply moved.
Yu Yan's busy figure by the pottery pot had already attracted their attention.
Qiu Ze asked curiously, "Brother Yu Yan, why does this thing you cooked taste like clover vine?"
Yu Yan: "It's the bark of the three-leaf vine. I want to use it to make something new."
Feng Gui: "How's it cooking?"
Yu Yan: "That's great! Today I'm going to peel off all the soaked bark of the three-leaf vine. Tomorrow I won't go with everyone to collect them during the day; I'll just stay home and focus on processing the bark."
"By the way, Father, do we have any larger earthenware pots at home? Small earthenware pots are too small to cook at once."
Feng Gui looked troubled: "There aren't any..."
Yu Yan: "It's okay, it's okay. We'll go to the tribe tomorrow and see if we can exchange for it."
Xuefei, who had been listening intently, asked, "Do we need to peel it? Let me help."
Akizawa immediately replied, "I can work too! I want to help!"
Yu Yan smiled and said, "That's great."
Xuefei and Qiuze had finished eating, so Yu Yan took them to the puddle and scooped up the soaked kudzu vines.
Without Lanxiu's help, they had to make several trips back and forth to move the load.
After moving everything, the group found seats and began peeling the vines.
Xue Fei and Feng Gui were skilled at peeling, and they had already peeled three sticks each, while Yu Yan had only peeled one, making her a little faster than Qiu Ze.
Xuefei, in particular, is working extremely hard now, probably because the supplies haven't been delivered yet. He sits down and doesn't get up, and hasn't even had a sip of water.
Seeing that the moon had risen high in the sky, Yu Yan advised him, "Xue Fei, it's getting late. Why don't you take Qiu Ze back first?"
Xuefei shook her head: "No need, we'll go back after we're done peeling. Qiuze, if you're sleepy, you can lean against my legs and take a nap."
Akizawa: "Okay, Father."
He walked to Xuefei's side, lay down on his side, curled up into a small ball, closed his eyes, and actually fell asleep!
Yu Yan: ...I really can't persuade her.
When Lanxiu returned, he saw the three of them working diligently with torches lit.
He didn't deliberately soften his footsteps, but he lowered his voice: "Will you handle it today?"
Yu Yan's eyes were a little blurry from peeling the masks. She looked up and said, "You're back? Yes, it's ready. Why are you so late today?"
Lan Xiu told the truth: "He fell asleep outside."
The beasts in the beast world are ferocious, and the wild is still very dangerous. Yu Yan really didn't know whether to say that Lan Xiu was carefree or strong.
"Have they all been moved back?" Lan Xiu looked around.
Yu Yan: "Mm."
Lan Xiu: "I'll peel them with you."
There wasn't much left to begin with, but after Lanxiu joined in, they finished the job in less than half an hour.
"Xuefei, my father and I can take care of things here. You should take Qiuze back quickly," Yu Yan whispered.
"Okay, I'll come back tomorrow." Xuefei carried the sleeping Qiuze on her back and walked into the woods.
Yu Yan then had Lan Xiu escort them for a while.
Yu Yan had done so much work today that she was so tired that her eyes were blurry. After tidying up under the tree, she quickly washed up, went back to the bird's nest, and fell asleep immediately.
The next day, thinking about the peeled kudzu root, Yu Yan got up yawning not long after dawn.
Feng Gui always goes to bed later and gets up earlier than him, and he has already started the fire.
Upon seeing Yu Yan, he said excitedly, "The pot of rattan bark you cooked last night should be ready. It's all soft and tender, strand by strand. I never imagined rattan bark could turn into this."
Yu Yan also hurriedly went to take a look.
Sure enough! The kudzu bark had turned into yellowish-brown kudzu fibers!
He touched it and felt that it was good enough to be used for spinning thread!
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