Chapter 40 Pickled Radishes and Vegetables: Someone Is Vomiting Blood Uncontrollably
Cangfeng and the others have arrived.
After exchanging greetings, everyone worked together to knock off the mud shell of the charcoal kiln and remove the charcoal inside.
Yu Yan worked hard for a while, checking the charcoal produced in each kiln.
After confirming that all the charcoal was black and there was no white charcoal, he sighed inwardly.
Although I was mentally prepared, I still couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Everyone gathered around him, looking him over from left to right, and asked in bewilderment, "Last time at least you managed to burn some white charcoal, but this time it's all black charcoal?"
"It's clearly the same way as before."
"So many hardwoods produce only black charcoal when burned. Does that mean the type of charcoal produced has nothing to do with the species of tree?"
"If it has nothing to do with trees, then what does it have to do with?"
"What is the size of the charcoal kiln?"
Seeing Yu Yan frowning and flipping through the notebook in his hand, Lan Xiu whispered a reminder: "Don't make a sound yet."
The people understood and immediately fell silent, not wanting to disturb Yu Yan.
Yu Yan took her notebook, left the crowd, and walked from the first pile of charcoal to the last, still completely baffled.
Not a single bit of charcoal was produced; this is a tricky problem.
He paced back and forth, stopping in front of the black charcoal produced by burning elm wood. He stroked his chin, thinking that the elm wood had produced white charcoal last time, but not this time. This didn't mean that the type of wood had no effect on carbonization. There was a high probability that there was some factor that he had overlooked.
What exactly is it...?
If you can't figure it out in a short time, you can only continue with the experiment.
He went to the side and scribbled in his notebook. After organizing his thoughts, he led everyone to burn another round of charcoal.
This time, he even used the large charcoal kiln he had previously used, wanting to see if the size of the kiln would affect the quality of the charcoal.
Time flies when you're focused on something; before you know it, it's evening.
Yu Yan was watching the charcoal kiln when Lan Xiu came over and gently reminded her, "Yu Yan, the yellow smoke isn't going to burn out yet. It's getting late, let's go back and have dinner first."
Yu Yan snapped out of her reverie, looked up at the red glow of the sunset, and belatedly felt a pang of hunger in her stomach.
"It's so late," he looked around but didn't see Feng Gui, and asked, "Did my father-in-law go back to cook?"
Lan Xiu hummed in agreement. Feng Gui had specifically told Yu Yan before leaving. It seemed he was engrossed in burning charcoal and hadn't heard a word.
In the time it took to say just a few words, Yu Yan's stomach grew increasingly hungry.
He resisted the urge to rub the radishes with his dirty hands, saying repeatedly, "I'm so hungry, let's go quickly, the pickled radishes I made should be ready to eat."
It's better not to mention it, because just thinking about the sweet and sour pickled radishes makes me even hungrier!
Lan Xiu took the initiative to transform into a large tiger and turned his head to gesture for Yu Yan to sit on it.
Yu Yan didn't stand on ceremony with him, easily climbing onto his back and lying down with a soft thud.
This time, the tiger ran incredibly fast, and the scenery on both sides rushed past.
Yu Yan thought of something and turned to ask, "By the way, have you milked the animals yet?"
Lan Xiu replied, "It was crowded, so I went back once."
"Mmm," Yu Yan said, finally settling down comfortably.
Upon arriving at their habitat, Lan Xiu first took Yu Yan to the water's edge, where the two carefully washed their faces, necks, and hands.
Yu Yan wore gloves while working today, but he was soaking in the charcoal pile the whole time, which caused charcoal ash to seep into his fingernails.
Looking at his face in the water, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"How could I make myself look like an African brother, hahaha," he muttered to himself.
Lan Xiu glanced at him quietly. Oh well, he was already used to Yu Yan always saying things he couldn't understand.
After washing up, they walked back to the ginkgo tree together.
Feng Gui saw them from afar, walked to the stone stove, lifted the lid of the earthenware pot, and carried the warm food inside into the thatched shed.
Yu Yan glanced at it and, seeing that there were no pickled radishes, carried the small jar to the cutting board and lifted the ceramic bowl on the jar's mouth.
A fresh, sweet and sour aroma immediately wafted out from the mouth of the jar.
Yu Yan took a deep sniff, scooped out the radish strips with a ceramic spoon, placed them in a bowl, and added sauce to the bowl.
Even after a day of pickling, the radishes remained snow-white, complementing the yellow of the tender ginger.
He held the bowl and sniffed it carefully: "Hmm... there's no spiciness at all."
He walked to the table, put down the bowl, and greeted people with a smile, "Come on, try my pickled radish."
Feng Gui: "It smells so good."
After Yu Yan sat down, Lan Xiu first put a piece in his bowl before putting one in his own mouth.
With a gentle bite of the upper and lower teeth, a crisp "crack" sound rang out as the radish broke in the mouth.
As you chew, the salty, sweet, and sour flavors intertwine and blend together, with the tastes of the white root and the root complementing each other, making this pickled radish incredibly refreshing and appetizing.
Swallowing the radish in my mouth only made me hungrier.
Lan Xiu's eyes brightened slightly as he looked at Yu Yan and said sincerely, "It's especially delicious."
Yu Yan chewed on the pickled radish in her mouth and nodded emphatically.
The flavors weren't particularly rich, but the combination was exceptionally harmonious, completely stimulating the appetite.
Especially with its all-natural ingredients, which are full of rich aroma, Yu Yan felt that even if she didn't eat any other dishes, she could still finish three radish tubers just by eating them with pickled radish.
He exclaimed, "Just for this taste, it's worth putting in so much honey and evergreen juice!"
Feng Gui also particularly liked this pickled vegetable. He would pick up the radish strips with his chopsticks, take small bites, and savor the flavor completely before swallowing.
"It's getting hotter and hotter. Wouldn't these pickled vegetables taste even better if they were a little cooler?"
Yu Yan looked over and said, "You reminded me, Father. We can put the jar in the stream to soak, and then retrieve it when we want to eat it. When the weather gets hot, it's easy to lose your appetite, and sweet and sour pickled vegetables are just the right way to whet your appetite."
Feng Gui agreed: "I'll go soak after dinner."
Unfortunately, there weren't many honey blocks at home, so we couldn't use them freely. Otherwise, Yu Yan would want to eat pickled radishes every day!
The success of this jar of pickled vegetables made Feng Gui and Lan Xiu very much looking forward to the other two jars.
After the meal, Feng Gui cleared away the dishes and washed them, while Yu Yan walked around the thatched shed to check on the condition of the sheep.
They opened the lids of the two large jars of pickled vegetables to let them breathe slightly, preventing the gas produced during fermentation from exploding the jars.
Once he was sure there was nothing else to do, he got on the back of the big tiger and headed to the charcoal kiln.
On the way, they ran into Cangfeng and Xinyu.
Cangfeng also transformed into beast form, with a huge peregrine falcon circling above their heads, its black wingspan capable of blotting out the sky.
Xin Yu sat on his shoulder blades and peered down.
"Yu Yan, did you go to the pottery kiln today?"
"No, how's the pottery kiln doing?"
"Nothing much, it's just that the charcoal made the kiln exceptionally hot this time, it's still burning hot to the touch."
Yu Yan clicked her tongue slightly: "It seems to be working quite well."
Xin Yu smiled and said, "Yes! Everyone is looking forward to opening the kiln."
Amidst laughter and conversation, the group arrived at the charcoal kiln.
After the yellow smoke dissipated, they sealed the charcoal kiln with mud.
The next day, the cooled charcoal kiln was opened. As before, it produced only black charcoal.
Yu Yan flipped through her notebook, completely baffled, and scratched her hair in frustration.
"We've tried so many factors, it can't really be just luck, right?" He was uncertain for a moment.
Another point is that everyone followed him because they trusted him, but after burning so much charcoal, they still couldn't find a breakthrough. Yu Yan felt bad about it.
He looked into the bright eyes and said with shame, "I've made everyone waste their efforts again."
Lan Xiu immediately frowned.
Yin Qing spoke up before anyone else: "Yu Yan, don't say that. We are willing to follow you, and we can accept whatever the outcome."
Xin Yu nodded: "Yes, Yu Yan, it's just cutting down trees for a few days and working for a few days. We still have to work when we're not burning charcoal."
Cangfeng said solemnly, "Don't be sad. Even if all that comes out is charcoal, we'll still be very happy."
Moye: "Yes, charcoal is much better for firing pottery than wood charcoal."
Senbai added, "It can also be used to smelt metals!!"
Xue Fei looked deeply into Yu Yan's eyes: "Yu Yan, we are not afraid of failure, nor do we feel that we have failed."
Lan Xiu's handsome face was filled with determination: "Do whatever you want, whether it's for a season, half a year, or a year. No matter what the outcome, we'll be with you."
Hearing everyone's heartfelt words of comfort and feeling their wholehearted trust, Yu Yan's nose suddenly tingled with emotion.
“Okay,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse with emotion, “thank you everyone, I won’t give up so easily.”
For the next two days, Yu Yan continued to lead everyone in burning charcoal, and even the pottery kiln was only visited once when it was opened.
As expected, the pottery this time was of better quality than before.
The glaze on the surface of the pottery is visibly more vibrant and clear, and even produces brilliant colors that have never appeared before.
Some of the pottery plates were so shiny after firing that they were like mirrors, which amazed everyone who saw them, and they kept touching them.
Some of the sub-beastmen even exaggeratedly said, "I love this pottery so much! I'm going to sleep with it tonight!"
"Charcoal, oh charcoal, you are a treasure I love even more than jade!"
"Thank you, Beast God! Thank you, Charcoal! Thank you, Yu Yan!!"
The success of the new pottery made Yu Yan happy for a moment, but she then threw herself back into the business of charcoal making.
He was completely marinated in charcoal, and his notebook was full of notes. He would flip through it whenever he had free time, muttering something to himself.
The more he couldn't produce white charcoal, the deeper his obsession became. He thought about it while eating, while sleeping, and even dreamed about white charcoal!
To allow him to focus on charcoal burning, Feng Gui and Lan Xiu took over all the household chores.
Yu Yan was deeply moved and felt even more determined not to betray their trust.
Although he remained relatively calm, the tense atmosphere still affected everyone.
When sealing the charcoal kiln that day, Senbai's chimney wasn't properly secured, and the wood collapsed after burning for only a short while.
Upon seeing this, his face turned pale almost instantly, and he looked guiltily at Yu Yan not far away.
"Yes, I'm sorry, I'll fix the chimney right away!"
Yu Yan looked at him, her heart skipped a beat, and she felt very uncomfortable.
They must be under a lot of pressure too...
"It's alright, Senbo. The chimney may have collapsed, but we'll fix it together. Don't worry," Yu Yan comforted her gently.
Senbo still kept his head down with guilt, his face flushed.
Yu Yan's throat tightened: "We're already in the process of trial and error, so it's okay if some problems arise. We need to trust each other, okay?"
Senbo breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
After the chimney was repaired, Yu Yan told the others to go back and rest, while she and Lan Xiu stayed behind to keep watch.
He walked several dozen meters away, found a large, lush tree, sat down against the trunk, and stared blankly at the smoking charcoal kiln with his dark eyes.
After a few days, he had gotten used to the smell of smoke coming from the chimney and the black soot on his hands and face.
There was a rustling sound beside me; Lan Xiu had sat down.
He handed himself a water pouch and asked softly, "Are you thirsty? Would you like some water?"
Yu Yan whispered thank you, took the water pouch, but had no appetite for drinking.
The branches rustled in the wind, and silence spread between the two.
After a long while, Yu Yan asked in a low voice, "Lan Xiu, do you think I might have done something wrong?"
Lan Xiu stared at him and asked, "What do you mean?"
Yu Yan scratched her face: "...We've fired so many kilns, but we still haven't produced any white charcoal. Don't you guys think that we actually have enough black charcoal? There's no need to go through so much trouble to fire white charcoal, which we may never be able to produce?"
Lan Xiu remained silent for a moment, then said firmly, "You want white charcoal."
Yu Yan looked at him in surprise.
Indeed, even after so many failures, he still wanted to burn the white charcoal.
He wanted better charcoal, he wanted to forge better metal tools, and he wanted to explore the truth to its limits.
What he was unsure of was whether his actions would harm others.
He couldn't say these things to anyone else. And Lan Xiu, with whom he spent every day, what kind of answer would he give him?
Lan Xiu stared at him intently and said, "If you want it, then burn it."
Thump! Yu Yan felt something invisible bump against her chest.
His blood and his mind were trembling.
"Yu Yan, my thoughts have never changed. I believe that you can achieve what you want to do. Giving up because of failure is not the kind of person I know."
"If others doubt you because of this, then they are not suitable to follow you."
"However, I don't think there would be such a person in our tribe."
"In short, you just need to keep moving forward."
He hadn't made any promises, but Yu Yan understood the determination on his face—he would always support her.
In this summer that had briefly been filled with uncertainty, Lan Xiu's words undoubtedly gave Yu Yan a shot in the arm.
His heart, which had been feeling a little down, was now beating heavily again, and he had the strength to keep going.
After staring at Lan Xiu for a few seconds, Yu Yan curled her thin lips and hummed in agreement.
A smile appeared in Lan Xiu's eyes as a result.
He said gently, "You've been putting too much pressure on yourself these past few days. Why don't you take a break and change your mood? Maybe some new ideas will come to you."
Yu Yan nodded: "I'll give it a try."
It was quite a coincidence. Their conversation had barely ended when the sound of rapidly flapping wings came from the sky.
Someone shouted anxiously down below, "Yu Yan! Someone from the Deep Lake Tribe is vomiting blood and has come to your house seeking your help! You should go back quickly, I'll keep watch over things here!!"
Yu Yan stood up abruptly, her face serious. "What caused this?"
"They said they ate something bad!"
Yu Yan looked at Lan Xiu: "Let's go."
Lan Xiu transformed into his beast form, carrying Yu Yan, and sped all the way to the ginkgo tree.
Many people were standing inside and outside the thatched hut under the tree.
There are peninsula tribes and deep lake tribes.
The Deep Lake Tribe is mostly inhabited by snake-beastmen and snake-type sub-beastmen. The little leopard Shuanghong, who had his bones broken, was originally from the Deep Lake Tribe, and his adoptive father, Mengyun, was also from the Deep Lake Tribe.
The last time the people from the Deep Lake Tribe came to exchange things, they made a point of greeting Yu Yan. At the time, Yu Yan even said that they were all aloof and handsome men.
The chieftain of the Deep Lake tribe, Fan Su, is a gigantic black python in beast form, and has short black hair and vertical amber pupils in human form.
Seeing Yu Yan jump off the tiger's back, Fan Su immediately stepped forward and said anxiously, "Yu Yan, please save my brother Mao Li! He seems to have been poisoned."
Yu Yan gave him a reassuring look and said, "Don't worry, where is the patient? Let me see."
Fan Su led the way for him, and the others made way for him.
"Here!"
Yu Yan walked through the crowd and into the thatched hut. In the area he had set aside for consultations, a handsome young man with cold features and pale skin sat on a stone stool with a mournful face.
He was holding a "bowl" made of two leaves when he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood into the leaf bowl. After spitting it out, his eyes turned red from the pain.
Yu Yan waved her hand behind her back, signaling the others to wait outside, and walked up to Mao Li, staring at the blood in Ye Zi's bowl.
He originally thought that most snake-beastmen could release toxins and fight poison with poison, so what kind of poison was so potent that it could make them bleed uncontrollably?
Seeing that the blood Mao Li vomited was bright red, not like poisoning, Yu Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Mao Li looked younger than him. He looked into Mao Li's jewel-like green eyes and said gently, "Don't be nervous, I am Yu Yan, the doctor who will treat you."
Mao Li nodded excitedly and said vaguely, "I know..."
"Hmm. Can you open your mouth now? I need to check you to see where the bleeding is coming from."
Mentioning this, Mao Li visibly wilted and slowly opened his mouth.
His mouth and teeth were covered in blood, making it difficult to see clearly. Yu Yan washed her hands, prepared some salt water, and handed it to him, telling him to rinse his mouth first.
Mao Li had just rinsed his mouth when he winced in pain and hissed as he gasped for breath.
He looked pitifully at his brother Fan Su, but Fan Su said seriously, "Listen to Doctor Yu Yan's advice."
Mao Li had no choice but to endure the pain and rinse her mouth clean.
This time, Yu Yan gently cupped his cheeks and examined him carefully, holding them up to the sunlight, even looking at his throat.
It didn't take long to find the bleeding points, which were multiple bleeding points in the mouth and gums.
Even the areas that weren't bleeding were a frightening mix of red and white; any irritation would probably cause the skin to break.
Yu Yan lowered her hand, indicating that Mao Li could shut up.
"You bled while you were in the Deep Lake tribe?" he asked.
Fan Su answered on his behalf: "Yes, the bleeding won't stop, we'll come find you right away."
Even if the giant snakes are fast, it would still take them two hours to get here from the Deep Lake tribe.
The bleeding hadn't stopped after two hours; no wonder they were so panicked.
Mao Li felt blood in his mouth again. The smell of blood, combined with his tense mind, made him want to vomit.
He looked at Yu Yan in despair, his speech slightly slurred: "Dr. Yu Yan, is the poison I'm suffering from very badly? Am I about to die? But I'm not even an adult yet, I really don't want to die, please save me."
Everyone, including Fan Su, was on tenterhooks.
Fan Su's eyes reddened, and she pleaded heavily, "Doctor Yu Yan, I only have one younger brother. Please, you must think of a way."
As he spoke, he covered his chest with his right hand and bowed deeply to Yu Yan, a gesture of respect from the beast realm.
Yu Yan gently supported him from a distance, saying, "Don't worry, he's not poisoned, there's hope for him."
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