Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Crisp and Delicious

“Here, have a taste—”

As she spoke, Chang Xia handed the simple vine basket she was holding to Shen Rong. Inside was half a basket of washed thatch roots. The thatch roots from the Twilight Forest were thicker than any Chang Xia had seen before.

Each one was about as thick as a woman’s finger.

Chewing them was a bit like chewing on sorghum stalks, and honestly… even the taste was somewhat similar.

“Crisp and fresh, with a hint of sweetness.”

“How did we never realize thatch roots were edible before?”

Soon, everyone came forward, picked up a thatch root, and started chewing.

They were quite sweet—nothing like maple syrup or maple sugar, of course.

But they were sweeter than some wild berries, and had a crisp, refreshing texture.

“These thatch roots could be eaten like fruit,” Su Ye said. “And if you use them to boil water, I bet it would taste great.” The Twilight Forest didn’t have a tea-drinking tradition, and the beastfolk had never tried tea. As a shaman, Su Ye had boiled water with various plants before.

But very few plants could add sweetness to water.

Today, as Su Ye chewed on the thatch root, she couldn’t help but think thatch root tea would probably taste pretty good.

“Thatch roots can definitely be used to boil water, and you could even add wild berries,” Chang Xia said.

“Have the tribe save some thatch roots for me. I’ll take them back to the Wizard Hall on Mount Kana tomorrow,” Su Ye said. She had the same thought as Chang Xia—thatch root sugar would probably be bland, but if you boiled it for tea, it would be delicious. Of course, eating the roots raw was also quite nice.

There weren’t any wild berries to pick this season.

So the appearance of thatch roots was perfect timing.

“I’ll head to the tribe in a bit,” Yadong chimed in from the side.

As Chang Xia chewed on a thatch root, she suddenly said, “Granny Su Ye, what do you think would happen if we added some maple syrup when boiling the thatch roots?”

“…You could give it a try,” Su Ye didn’t reject Chang Xia’s suggestion, but encouraged her to experiment.

“Yadong, could you go back to the tribe now and bring me some more thatch roots? And let Elder Pukang know not to start boiling them just yet,” Chang Xia turned to Yadong, asking him to run the errand.

Yadong grabbed a few thatch roots and nodded, “Sure thing!”

Chang Xia wanted to experiment with a small batch of thatch roots first. If it worked, there’d be no need to stop Elder Pukang. If not, she’d tell him not to waste the roots on sugar, but to eat them raw or boil them for tea instead. Either way, the thatch roots wouldn’t go to waste.

Making sugar!

Really, it would be better to use sugarcane or beets.

Looks like she’d have to be more careful with her ideas in the future.

No more making a fuss and getting everyone involved—it’s hard to wrap things up that way!

A short while later—

Yadong came back carrying two baskets of thatch roots.

Elder Pukang and Gen came with him. Muqin was busy washing thatch roots and hadn’t come. Nan Feng was probably helping Muqin wash the roots too.

This time, Elder Pukang had gone all out—they’d dug up dozens of baskets of thatch roots.

It didn’t sound like much, but it was a hefty load.

“Hee hee—”

Before Elder Pukang even entered the cave house, his trademark laugh rang out for all to hear.

Hearing it, Chang Xia shivered.

Shen Rong and the others paused for a moment, then pretended nothing had happened and busied themselves with their work.

With Yadong and the others helping, Shen Rong had already finished building the corridor—only the eaves were left. At this rate, the construction would be done by tomorrow.

“Whoa!”

Elder Pukang’s loud exclamation came from outside the cave courtyard.

“Little Chang Xia, how come your cave house doesn’t look like mine?” Elder Pukang’s eyes went wide as he looked around in surprise at Chang Xia’s courtyard-style cave house.

It was Chinese in style—simple, elegant, and grand.

Just looking at it, you could tell it was extraordinary.

Gen swallowed hard, unable to hide the amazement in his eyes.

He’d already been impressed when he saw Chang Xia’s blueprints. Now that the real thing was in front of him, he was even more blown away.

Whether the other tribespeople wanted to build corridors and eaves was none of Gen’s business.

But—

As the chief of the Heluo Tribe,

He definitely wanted to build a corridor and eaves for his own home.

Not just for looks, but for the sense of grandeur.

That’s right—Gen was once again taken with the idea of building corridors and eaves.

He’d already finished making the kang bed at home, as well as wardrobes, tables, and chairs. Now, all that was left was the corridor and eaves for the cave house.

“I like watching the rain, so I had Shen Rong help me build the corridor and eaves. This way, no matter if it’s windy or rainy, I can stand by the window and watch. In the cold season, I can lie in the corridor and bask in the sun—so comfortable and relaxing.”

As soon as Chang Xia said this,

Even Yadong and Kongshan were tempted.

If they built something like this, wouldn’t it be easier to find a mate?

They hadn’t thought much of corridors and eaves before, but after hearing Chang Xia’s description…

Other females would definitely love it too!

So, what was there to hesitate about?

They had to do it.

“Not bad. Gen… make sure someone builds one for me too,” Pukang said.

Gen nodded, “No problem. But we’ve used up all the wood the tribe had stored. If you want to build corridors and eaves, you’ll have to wait until we cut and dry more timber.”

“That’s fine, I can wait,” Pukang waved it off casually. He stepped into the courtyard and asked, “Little Chang Xia, what’s the deal with these thatch roots?”

“Elder Pukang, when I took Nan Feng and Nuan Chun to dig up thatch roots, it was just to experiment with making sugar. I couldn’t guarantee it would work. Now that you’ve dug up so many, I’m worried about wasting them. So I thought I’d try a small batch first. Even if it fails, we can just eat the thatch roots raw or boil them for tea.”

As she spoke, Changxia picked up a blade of grass root and handed it to Elder Pukang. Then she gestured for him to give it a try.

Having been scolded by Ximu last time for sneaking food, Pukang didn’t dare to eat in secret this time. So he still didn’t know what the grass root tasted like.

Changxia handed him a piece, and Elder Pukang took it and popped it straight into his mouth. With just one bite, he was instantly amazed.

“Little Changxia, this grass root tastes way better than those dry wild fruits!”

With that, Elder Pukang reached into the vine basket Yadong had brought, grabbed a handful, and stuffed them right into his mouth, munching away.

Seeing this, Gen followed suit, picking up some grass roots and eating them.

“It’s not as sweet as red maple sap, but it’s crisp and has a hint of sweetness. Definitely tastier than the wild fruits we’ve stored,” Gen commented as he ate, agreeing with Changxia’s assessment.

“So—?”

“We can give it a try.”

With Elder Pukang and Gen’s approval, Changxia finally breathed a sigh of relief—she’d been worried her good intentions might backfire.

So, Changxia asked Yadong to bring the grass roots into the kitchen. Nuanchun, who was about to leave, decided to stay and handed her twin cubs over to Suye for babysitting. She and Changxia began slicing the grass roots.

Meanwhile, Gen and Yadong started building a stove in the courtyard.

Changxia thought it would be more convenient to boil the grass roots outside in the courtyard. With more people around, the kitchen would get crowded, so she decided to cook the grass root syrup outside and see if it would work.

“Changxia, do you need my help?” Chenrong came into the kitchen and asked quietly.

The corridor was almost finished, just the final touches left. However, since the eaves weren’t done yet, they couldn’t wrap up completely—they’d have to wait until the eaves were built.