LSLFBW: Chapter 32

Qi Bai wanted to build a small charcoal kiln to burn some charcoal and bamboo charcoal.

The wet firewood picked up now could be burned, but it would produce smoke after all. This was especially the case when making a fire in his cave, which wasn’t very large. The smoke couldn’t dissipate and accumulated in the cave. This would not only be dirty but might also be harmful to the body.

Moreover, the temperature of the firewood was unstable. This made it difficult to control the heat when grilling meat. Sometimes, the side that touched the flames was already burnt, while the other side of the meat wasn’t cooked yet.

Of course, the most important point was that the wet firewood collected in the current weather couldn’t be dried at all. It was wet firewood used to burn charcoal.

If he could make it successfully, not only would he solve the problem of making a fire, but he could also place a charcoal basin in the cave. This way, he could keep warm anytime and anywhere while working in the cave.

In fact, burning charcoal wasn’t difficult. The main thing was to let the materials burn incompletely under oxygen-deficient and high-temperature conditions. However, this was Qi Bai’s first attempt after all. He didn’t use the bamboo, which was more time-consuming to collect, and decided to start a kiln of charcoal first.

Qi Bai dug the soil on the small slope and made a relatively flat surface. Then he neatly stacked the wood he had just collected layer by layer, occasionally sandwiching some drier and more flammable dead leaves and grass in the middle of the firewood. Finally, he piled the firewood into a cone shape and found some hay to cover the entire firewood pile.

There weren’t many requirements for the soil when making charcoal. Qi Bai continued to dig down along the upper layer of the small slope. Once the snow water in the stone trough melted, he poured the water into the soil and quickly stirred it into clay with a wooden stick. Fortunately, the current temperature hadn’t reached the point where dripping water would freeze into ice, or it would take a lot of time just to mix it with the soil.

Since winter was still long, the kiln could be used repeatedly if this charcoal was burned successfully. Therefore, Qi Bai worked very carefully.

Qi Bai pounded the mixed soil evenly and stacked it up layer by layer to the most appropriate thickness. Even though it was just a simple earthen kiln, several hours had passed by the time Qi Bai finished the work.

At this time, the earthen kiln, which was half the height of a person, had only the top left unsealed. He dug several air inlets at the bottom of the kiln. Then Qi Bai took a fire from the fire on the side and lit the firewood on the top layer of the earthen kiln.

Since the wet firewood contained a lot of water, billowing white smoke floated upward from the top of the kiln not long after the wet firewood in the earthen kiln was ignited.

Fortunately, most of the area around his home was made of rocks. The mountain was now covered with snow, so there was no need to worry about the fire spreading to other places.

Qi Bai waited until he could see flames at the air inlets at the bottom of the earthen kiln before he covered the air inlets with mud.

He walked around the earthen kiln several times, patching up every gap that allowed smoke to leak out. This was until the entire earthen kiln became a closed lump of earth.

Qi Bai touched the hot outer wall of the earthen kiln, silently hoping that his charcoal could be burned successfully.

After the earthen kiln was sealed, it would be tomorrow at the earliest to open it. It was getting dark now, so it was the right time to start preparing the first dinner after moving.

The stones that were chiseled out when digging the cave were still piled up outside the cave. Qi Bai found a few thinner stone pieces and cleaned them in the snow.

Since these stone pieces were pried off directly with a stone awl, their cross-sections were very smooth. In addition, these stones were all black and had different shapes. This gave a sense of simplicity and grandeur.

It was just that some of the broken edges were too sharp. If they were polished to be more rounded, they would be more interesting when used as bowls and plates.

Qi Bai took a larger stone and placed it on the fire.

He took out his share of beef and vegetable roots, cut off the fat, and put it aside. Then he cut the lean meat and vegetable roots into thin slices.

The beef that was distributed yesterday had been frozen into a whole block after a day and a night of low temperatures. As he used a bone knife to cut the meat, he felt that the texture of the meat was soft and smooth. It could be easily cut into small slices of even thickness.

Qi Bai neatly arranged the meat and vegetable slices in a bamboo bowl and marinated them with salt, peppercorns, and minced garlic.

After the temperature of the thin stone slab had risen, he used bamboo chopsticks to pick up a small piece of butter and smeared it on the stone slab. The stone slab soon appeared shiny.

Qi Bai sniffed and found that the butter smelled good. He laid the marinated beef slices neatly on the stone slab.

The moisture in the beef mixed with the butter made a sizzling sound on the stone slab. The aroma of smoke and barbecue filled the air.

Qi Bai gulped and turned the meat over patiently. He watched the bright red color of the beef gradually darken. Finally, once the meat was cooked, he quickly picked it up with bamboo chopsticks and put it in his mouth. The beef was tender and smooth. He could taste the unique flavor of beef if he chewed it carefully.

After eating this piece of meat, Qi Bai felt even hungrier.

Before Qi Bai traveled to the beastmen world, he never thought that his cooking skills were so good. The meat cooked on a stone slab was so delicious. Of course, it might also be that the ingredients in the beastmen world were really fresh.

He flipped another piece of meat, thinking somewhat extravagantly that it would be perfect if he added a sterilized egg to it.

Thinking of this, Qi Bai suddenly discovered a problem. He had been in the beastmen world for such a long time but rarely saw flying birds. Even bird nests were rarely seen, let alone bird eggs.

The tribe had hunted mountain phoenixes, but mountain phoenixes couldn’t fly. They seemed to be very different from the flying birds of this world.

For a moment, the thought just flashed through Qi Bai’s mind. He didn’t know that he would get the answer. He only thought about it for a moment before quickly shifting his thoughts back to the meat in front of him.

The vegetable roots were a bit like cabbage and would easily fall apart after being grilled on the stone slab. Qi Bai split some thinner bamboo sticks, strung the pickled vegetable roots together, and grilled them on the stone slab.

There were refreshing vegetables and large slices of beef. Qi Bai was very satisfied with this barbecue meal.

In just this one meal, Qi Bai ate the entire day’s share of food for an underage sub-beastman. Fortunately, today’s breakfast was eaten in the collective cave. This meant Qi Bai could indulge himself this time.

Qi Bai touched his stomach. This wasn’t going to work. It didn’t make sense for him to go hungry while living alone. He had to find some other food.

After cooking the last few slices of beef and placing them on a stone plate, Qi Bai decided to give them to his neighbor to try.

In any case, he was able to enjoy the barbecue leisurely in the cave thanks to Lang Ze’s help.

Qi Bai buried a few sweet potatoes in the fire. Then he walked to the next room carrying the stone plate.

He called Lang Ze’s name softly outside the cave. He only walked into the cave after hearing Lang Ze’s response.

Qi Bai looked around carefully. After today’s excavation, Lang Ze’s cave wasn’t as big as Qi Bai’s but there was no problem in spending the night here.

Lang Ze was also preparing dinner, but what was roasting on the fire was a wild rabbit that obviously wasn’t distributed by the tribe. Lang Ze was processing the rabbit skin that had just been peeled off.

Qi Bai scratched his head. He had been building the kiln the entire afternoon. He was so focused on it that he didn’t even notice when Lang Ze went out and came back.

“There isn’t much snow on the mountain right now. I went out in the afternoon to see if I could find prey.” Lang Ze noticed his gaze. “You were stirring the soil at the time, so I didn’t disturb you.”

Hunting definitely wasn’t an easy task. The instincts and reaction abilities of animals were amazing. Qi Bai, who had never seriously learned hunting, felt that it would be difficult for him to find traces of prey, let alone on such a cold, snowy day. He said with some envy, “That’s great. It would be great if I could hunt too.”

Lang Ze thought for a moment before saying, “There are still some small prey in the mountains that are suitable for sub-beastmen to hunt. It shouldn’t be difficult to hunt hares and wild mice in your beast form. If you want to learn, I can teach you.”

Qi Bai had been doing gathering work since he came to the Black Mountain Tribe. He had never thought about this issue. Upon hearing this, he immediately asked, “Is it okay?”

Lang Ze nodded. “Of course. If you want to go, I will call you when I go out hunting tomorrow.”

Qi Bai kept nodding. It was obvious that he couldn’t wait to go out for a run. Lang Ze was right. His beast form was a snow leopard, which was the top predator in the animal world. Even though it was a bit smaller, cats never relied on their size alone. He hadn’t figured out this before. “Don’t worry. Even if I can’t catch the prey, I will try not to cause you any trouble!”

“Oh, by the way, this is the meat I marinated with peppercorns and ginger. I tried it for the first time today and thought it was delicious, so I brought it for you to try.” Qi Bai held up the small stone plate in his hand.

Lang Ze took it with some uncertainty. He didn’t expect Qi Bai to give him the food so calmly.

He looked at the rabbit roasting on the fire with some regret.

Yesterday, he saw that Qi Bai got less food than him, so he originally wanted to give this wild rabbit to Qi Bai.

However, in the tribe, only beastmen who were partners or about to become partners would share food.

He might have a close relationship with Qi Bai, but they had always eaten their own food. He hesitated for a long time but finally gave up.

Unexpectedly, Qi Bai didn’t care about this at all.

“Don’t you want to try it? It won’t taste good if it gets cold.”

Lang Ze looked up and saw Qi Bai squatting beside the fire, looking at him with his head tilted.

At this moment, Qi Bai was handing small bamboo chopsticks to Lang Ze.

Lang Ze took the chopsticks with extremely skillful movements as if it was supposed to be done this way.

Neither of them realized that Lang Ze, as a native of the beastmen world, had already learned to use chopsticks in accordance with Qi Bai’s habits without realizing it.

Lang Ze picked up a piece of beef. The moment the beef entered his mouth, he noticed its unique taste. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. The taste was different from the usual roasted and stewed meat. Lang Ze had never thought that beef could be so soft and tender. It seemed to slide down his throat into his stomach.

Lang Ze only ate one piece and handed the stone dish back to Qi Bai. “You eat it.”

Qi Bai was a bit confused. “Isn’t it delicious?”

Lang Ze shook his head. “It is delicious. The food you make is always delicious. However, if I eat it all, what will you eat?”

Qi Bai smiled. “I’ve already eaten. I brought these to thank you for helping me dig the cave.”

“…It was just an accident.”

“No matter the process, I got the benefit in the end. So don’t refuse. In addition, you still need to teach me how to hunt tomorrow. Just consider this as my tuition fee paid in advance.”

Lang Ze shook his head helplessly. Qi Bai was saying something he didn’t understand again. Nevertheless, he secretly made up his mind to hunt a big prey for Qi Bai tomorrow.