The next day, I started working on it. Because some parts were already available, it went much faster than I had expected.
I discovered that I had a piece of poplar wood left over from building the shed. I hadn't used it before and had just left it in a corner.
Now that so much time has passed, the wood is completely dry and its size is just right for making a pounding mallet for pressing sugarcane.
I used fire to round off the thicker end of the poplar tree, and then I couldn't help but boast about the gold inside.
This material is highly malleable and easy to process; it can be molded into any shape without any problems.
I used a full five or six pounds of gold to coat the bottom of the pounder, making it heavier and easier to juice.
Another advantage of gold is that you don't have to worry about it producing stone or wood chips, nor does it rust or cause hygiene problems. It's even healthier than stainless steel.
Back in the countryside, these things were usually used to hold stones. I doubt anyone else would use gold as a stone.
Since golden knives can't harvest sugarcane, I brought a stone knife made of basalt this time. It will be a bit slower, but it's better than nothing.
This time I didn't plan to use a basket. Sugarcane can only be bundled together like firewood, and then carried back using a wooden stick with sharpened ends.
Top came with me again this time. I used a stone knife to cut the sugarcane, while Top used its teeth to bite the roots of the sugarcane directly. I have to say that the teeth of wild animals are truly natural knives. Top was no slower than me in felling the sugarcane.
Actually, these sugarcane stalks haven't reached their optimal ripening season yet. Sugarcane is best harvested after October. The ripening period for sugarcane is long, generally lasting from October of one year to April of the following year.
But I can't worry about that now, because those grapes won't last until October. By October, the vines will probably be bare.
As for the wild beasts, I stopped worrying about it after my armor withstood the test during that mountaineering trip.
After all, they're not stupid. Going against a hedgehog like me would only waste their time and they'd get nothing in return.
While cutting down the sugarcane, I made an unexpected and interesting discovery. There were quite a few gray hares active in this sugarcane field.
This kind of wild rabbit is a great resource; its fur is thick and supple, and can be used to make socks or insoles. I already have some hemp thread, so maybe I can even sew myself a scarf.
As for its meat, it's also a good source of protein, unlike fish. Once you understand their habits, they can be caught 365 days a year.
When I was a child, I learned some hunting and trap-setting skills from my father back in my hometown, so I should have no problem dealing with them.
If we could capture some cubs alive and take them back to our village to raise them, I reckon we wouldn't have to worry about food anymore.
Rabbits can grow to maturity and reproduce in three months. I only need to catch one or two pairs of rabbits and keep them in captivity for a few months.
If I were the only one eating them, even if I ate rabbits every day, I still couldn't keep up with their reproduction rate.
However, I still have a lot of work to do today. Once I finish this task, I must make some traps and catch a few wild rabbits to enjoy.
We worked until sunset and finally managed to gather enough sugarcane for two bundles.
I stretched my aching back; if I hadn't been without the right tools to harvest, I wouldn't have been up so late.
Fortunately, I brought a torch with me before I left, so I didn't have to walk in the dark on my way back.
This bundle of sugarcane is quite heavy; it must weigh around 120 pounds.
Fortunately, the exercise over the past few months has helped me rebuild my body, but when I carried this load of sugarcane back to the shed, I was still so tired that I couldn't catch my breath.
It seems that the older generation is really hardworking. I remember my dad once cut a load of firewood in the mountains and walked more than 10 or 20 miles home. When he got home, he was only slightly out of breath.
After resting for a while, I finally took off my armor. Removing the armor made me feel much lighter.
Today's meal was again dried fish stewed with wild vegetables. I don't know if it's because I ate too much or what.
Top doesn't seem to be eating as much as before; it seems to be getting a little tired of the food it's been eating for months.
But I don't have time to make traps to improve our meals yet. I want to harvest those grapes as soon as possible; they're good stuff, and it would be a shame to let them rot on the vines.
September is the harvest season. In my hometown, after the rice harvest, we would prepare some good wine and food to celebrate. That was the time to see the fruits of a year's hard work.
We will put the watermelons, cantaloupes, chestnuts, oranges and other fruits we grow on the table.
The family sat around the table eating this year's newly harvested rice, rice paddy fish, and home-raised chickens and ducks.
Drinking fine wine made from grapes, the joyful feeling is something only children in the countryside can experience.
Although I can't reunite with my family this year, I still plan to spend it with my only friend.
If that large group of monkeys is willing, I might make an exception and let them share a feast with me.
Therefore, I need to make the wine first. On that auspicious day, I'll have Top find all sorts of wild fruits. I'll also set a few traps to bring back some game, which will also serve as a way of celebrating the festival here.
The next morning, I got up early to start preparing for the extraction of sugarcane juice.
I still used a stone knife, but this time I placed a wooden sleeper underneath it. I swung the knife at the nodes of the sugarcane, and these relatively tightly fibrous nodes were easily cut through.
Top wasn't idle either; I had him put the chopped sugarcane into a large basket first.
Having lived with me for a while, this clever monkey has basically become familiar with all my tools. It can also roughly understand what I want it to do.
Although sometimes it still wonders why I do these unnecessary things, such as why I smash the sugarcane instead of just eating it directly.
However, it seems to have gotten used to me doing these strange things, so it finds everything new and exciting and is happy to help me.
After I chopped all the sugarcane, I started juicing it.
That golden jar could hold more than 20 kilograms of sugarcane segments at a time. After pounding it with a pestle, the foamy, off-white sugarcane juice remained at the bottom of the jar.
However, the residue still contained a lot of juice. I scooped it out and put it in a large bamboo basket, weighed it down with a stone, and pressed the sugarcane juice into another golden jar.
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