Chapter 7. In Chapter 7, Cang Li completed what he had set out to do...
After completing his daily tree-cutting task, Cang Li successfully found wild ginger and scallions in a large patch using the collector. After marking the location, Cang Li led his cubs down the mountain and picked up a sharp stone to make it easier to kill the prey later.
The game was processed at the riverbank. The water in the backpack was used up, so they had to fill up some water to take back. The weather was hot, and if the river water wasn't cold, Cang Li would have to clean the cubs before taking them back.
The prey was difficult to handle because the stone shards were too dull; a knife was much more effective.
Cang Li spent a lot of effort to kill the prey, then skinned, gutted, and cleaned the internal organs, finally obtaining rabbit meat and pheasant meat with rough cuts. The pheasant was indeed fat, and Cang Li pulled out a large piece of animal fat.
Cang Li put the cleaned meat into her backpack, and didn't throw away the rabbit pelt either. Although it was summer now, according to her common sense, there would definitely be winter. What if the collector didn't spawn thick clothes? Wouldn't they freeze to death? So she had to keep the animal pelt.
Cang Li tied the fur with vines and then threw it into the river to wash it clean, intending to remove the remaining grease before proceeding with the next step.
The cubs were all washed and changed into clean clothes. The eldest cub conscientiously washed the clothes of the cubs and Cang Li, put them in a straw basket woven by Cang Li, and handed them to Cang Li.
Cang Li put the wet clothes back in his backpack, planning to get a clothesline to hang them up when they got back to the cave.
"Alright, let's go back. We'll have meat tonight!"
In a slightly better mood, Cang Li called the children to head back.
Back in the cave, Cang Li started a fire and cooked. First, he poured the chicken fat into the pot to render the oil, and finally got a small bowl of chicken fat. Cang Li didn't waste the cracklings and gave them to Da Zai to eat.
The five cubs smelled the aroma of oil for the first time. Before, they only had wild fruits, raw fish, and raw meat to eat. They didn't know how to make a fire, so they couldn't cook their food. This was the first time the cubs had smelled cooked meat. The four cubs couldn't help but swallow.
There was still some oil left in the pot. Cang Li put in the scallions and ginger. The smell was a bit strong. The ginger and scallions, which hadn't been properly processed, were too pungent. Fortunately, after stirring them with chopsticks, it got a little better. Cang Li put in a whole chicken, then added water to cover the chicken, and put the lid on... Oh, there was no lid. Cang Li took the lid from the earthenware pot that held the water. It just covered the chicken, but it was a bit small, and some soup was overflowing from the edges. But it didn't matter, since the pot was big enough.
Looking at the lid that didn't match the big pot, Cang Li thought that he might as well make a large round straw lid to use temporarily.
The kids stared at the pot, constantly swallowing their saliva.
Cang Li sat on a rock weaving a large round lid. As the pot started bubbling, she suddenly realized that she didn't have any salt... Food without salt has no flavor, but given the current situation, it was good enough to have something to eat. Cang Li sighed and sprinkled a handful of mushrooms into the pot.
Even the little cubs craned their necks to look into the pot.
Cang Li added more firewood. None of them had eaten much oily food before, so the meat needed to be stewed until it was very tender.
As dusk fell, the entire cave was filled with the aroma of meat, and the little ones' stomachs began to rumble. Cang Li rubbed her belly, feeling hungry too. After lifting the pot lid, she found the pheasant stewed until the meat was falling off the bone. Cang Li didn't serve it out; instead, she took out bowls and chopsticks, filled a bowl for each of the little ones, and gave each of them a steamed bun.
Cang Li took a bite and squinted her eyes in satisfaction. Although it was unsalted, the ingredients were fresh enough, making it incredibly delicious.
The little one, unable to feed itself, was frantic. The older cub kindly gave it a piece of meat, which the little one grabbed and gnawed on, quite content.
Cang Li put down her chopsticks after she had finished eating, placed the bones on a large leaf, let the eldest cub finish eating and clean up, and then went to feed the younger cub who hadn't eaten enough.
The little one ate half a steamed bun, half a bowl of chicken, and half a bowl of soup. His belly was bulging, but he still wanted to eat. Cang Li stopped him, saying that if he ate any more, his belly would burst. The remaining four children finished their food in one bite each.
The whole pot of chicken, including the broth and mushrooms, was devoured; the kids were surprisingly good eaters.
Cang Li put the iron pot to his mouth. There was an earthenware jar at the door, which was the empty jar after he finished drinking the first batch of drinking water. Cang Li used it to fill with river water for washing and cleaning.
The eldest son skillfully began scooping water with a soup bowl that served as a ladle, then used a brush made of dry grass to scrub the pot, washing it clean and rinsing it again. The second son then came over and, together with the eldest son, put the pot back on the fire pit. The embers inside were covered with ash, as the cave would get very hot if a fire were lit at the current temperature.
The little ones, full and satisfied, lay together happily, rubbing their bellies. Their eldest sister is amazing! She can cook delicious meat, wash them so clean, and even teach them to talk—she's better than a "mother goddess"!
People tend to get sleepy after a full meal, and since it was dark and there was nothing to do in this place, Cang Li quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep. Before falling asleep, he thought about the large wasteland in front of the door and whether he could clear a piece of it to plant something, otherwise it would be a pity to leave it barren.
As dawn broke, Cang Li, who went to bed early, opened her eyes. Although it was early, Cang Li had indeed woken up naturally after sleeping enough.
"This is what it feels like to have a good night's sleep..."
Cang Li muttered to herself that she used to sleep at most five hours a day and suffered from chronic sleep deprivation. Now that she had transmigrated, her sleep quality had indeed improved a lot.
After emerging from the cave, a gentle breeze blew by, carrying the scent of fresh grass. Cang Li stretched and looked towards the rising sun, where a patch of rosy dawn shone. At that moment, Cang Li suddenly felt that this kind of day wasn't so bad, but then shook his head. There was nothing here, so what was so good about it? Sigh…
Cang Li sighed. Why didn't the time-travel drama put her in the interstellar future? Or at least the cultivation world. Although she was willing to accept the adjustment, it didn't mean she would be placed in a primitive society with nothing.
After spacing out for a while, Cang Li patted her pants, stood up, picked up the hoe next to her, and started hoeing the ground. Anyway, the sun hadn't come out yet, the weather was cool, and the cubs hadn't woken up. She would first level the entrance to the hole, and then bring over some pebbles or stone slabs to pave it later, otherwise the entrance would be covered in mud if it rained.
Because people had been walking around the cave entrance for a long time, no grass grew there. There was a drop of about two or three steps between the cave entrance and the plain below. The entire cave entrance was about ten square meters in size. Cang Li used his hoe to smooth out the uneven cave entrance little by little, and also straightened out the steps to make it easier to walk.
After everything was done, the eldest son woke up, rubbed his eyes, came out, tilted his head, and called out, "Sister?"
Cang Li put down his hoe, walked back to the cave, drank a large cup of water, and then said, "Awake?"
The older child repeated, "Awake?"
Cang Li ignored Da Zai's mimicry, untangled his hair which was a bit messy from working, braided it into a fishtail braid, secured it with tough weeds, and then combed Da Zai's hair into a ponytail for easier work later.
The second, third, fourth, and fifth cubs woke up one after another. Cang Li taught the cubs to rinse their mouths and wash their faces, and then combed their hair one by one. The boys had their hair in ponytails, and the girls had their hair braided into two small braids. After finishing, Cang Li looked at the neat and tidy cubs with satisfaction. As expected of her, she was a master at taking care of children!
She had already forgotten the day she first transmigrated; she wished she could throw all those dirty little brats out.
After having steamed buns for breakfast, Cang Li used the remaining scallions and ginger to cook the rabbit meat in a pot. He added firewood to the stove and controlled the heat slightly so that after the firewood burned out, the remaining embers would slowly simmer the rabbit meat until it was tender, so that it would be ready to eat when they finished their work.
After covering the pot with a straw lid, Cang Li led her five children up the mountain. They had cut down a third of the tree, and Cang Li's tree-cutting skills were becoming more and more proficient. She estimated that she would be able to obtain a good piece of timber in another two or three days.
Cang Li was satisfied and continued chopping down the tree with his axe.
The eldest cub conscientiously placed the fifth cub under the tree, and then led the second, third, and fourth cubs to pick edible mushrooms and wild vegetables. After picking them, they would go to the traps to see if there were any prey. Over the past few days, the eldest cub has cleverly learned the work process and is a very qualified cub.
Cang Li put down her axe when she got tired of chopping trees, glanced at the little cub entertaining himself, and then continued to gather plants nearby. She needed more gathering points to unlock the third page of goods, which might refresh the list and give her salt. If not, she would have to look for salt. She didn't know if there were any salt mines or salt lakes on the mountain.
If there really isn't any, she'll have to leave the mountain while it's still hot and look for it. She hasn't had the strength to cut down trees for so long without salt.
After walking a distance, Cang Li used a hoe and sickle to clear away the weeds, picked up some edible wild vegetables, and even found wild chestnuts with sharp thorns. They were all good things, so he took them back to eat.
After parting a thicket of bushes, Cang Li saw something that looked a bit like a cabbage. Cang Li's eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly plucked one to identify it. Sure enough, it was an early wild bok choy. Cang Li took a bite; it was a little bitter, but tasted better than wild vegetables.
There was a large patch of bok choy here. Cang Li picked half of them and took them with him. The rest would be reserved by the elders for seeds to plant in the cave later.
Besides the cabbage, Cang Li also discovered a tree she didn't recognize, but whose branches were as resilient as willows. Cang Li was currently lacking various storage boxes, so she directly cut down a large bundle of branches. She knew how to weave boxes, but it was a pity that she didn't find any bamboo forest. Perhaps after exploring this side of the mountain, she could go to the other side to take a look. If that didn't work, she could make a raft and cross the river to see the other side of the mountain after cutting down the trees.
Thinking about it this way, Cang Li felt that there was always work to be done. Sure enough, even if cattle and horses transmigrated, they would still be cattle and horses.
Cang Li suddenly stopped laughing, and walked back with a sour face. She picked up her axe and chopped at the tree in a fit of anger. She chopped at it for about ten times before slowing down. She leaned against the tree trunk and panted, feeling a bit like giving up. Cang Li decided that after she improved her living conditions and taught these kids how to work, she would just give up!
Feeling slightly better, Cang Li looked down at the half-chopped tree, lost in thought. He then found some vines and tied them to the tree. He tried to pull on them, but couldn't budge them. So, Cang Li swung his axe and continued chopping. After chopping down two-thirds of the tree, he pulled on the vines again, and sure enough, the tree began to sway.
Cang Li placed the sleeping cub at a safe distance, then started shaking it while pulling on the vines. He observed the state of the tree as he shook it. Seeing that the cut in the tree was starting to fall, Cang Li became even more energetic and continued to pull until the tree made a cracking sound. Cang Li immediately let go and moved to the opposite side of the tree's fall, then kicked it. After kicking it about ten times, the tree that had been chopped down for two or three days finally fell.
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