Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Two-Colored Sugar

“Ew—”

As Changxia poured two jars of maple syrup into the pot,

the sweet aroma in the courtyard instantly grew stronger.

The light, refreshing sweetness was replaced by a rich, thick fragrance, almost like honey. Just the smell made everyone’s mouths water and their hearts feel sweet.

“After adding maple syrup to the thatch root juice, the sweetness changed. The caramel flavor of the maple syrup was replaced by a richer sweetness, and even the color turned golden, like honey…”

Hearing this,

everyone gathered around,

staring in amazement at the golden liquid in the stone pot.

At first, the thatch root juice was pale, almost white.

After boiling,

it took on a creamy color.

With the maple syrup added, the two blended into a golden hue.

Even before tasting it, just looking at it made you feel sweet.

“Changxia—”

Changxia waved her hand, excited. “Don’t ask me, I don’t know why this happened either. But it must be a good thing! My arm’s sore—can someone take over and keep stirring? We need to boil off all the water in the thatch root juice so it’ll keep longer and taste even sweeter.”

“I’ll do it!” Pukang volunteered, immediately taking the round wooden stick from Changxia.

A spatula or wooden spoon wasn’t suitable for stirring—round wooden sticks worked better, especially for boiling sugar. Of course, if they had something like a mixer with blades, that would be even better.

“Changxia, are you not adding maple syrup to this pot?” Shen Rong asked.

The pale thatch root juice was slowly turning creamy, and the sweet aroma in the air was getting stronger, though still not as intense as Changxia’s batch.

Changxia rubbed her sore wrist and walked over to Shen Rong.

She leaned over and peeked into the stone pot.

“This pot won’t have maple syrup,” Changxia said. “Let’s see what pure thatch root sugar tastes like.”

Without maple syrup, the thatch root juice was taking much longer to boil down. The water was evaporating slowly, but judging by the smell, it should still taste good.

After all, thatch root tasted great even raw.

The Twilight Forest really was a blessed place.

Even ordinary thatch root could rival sugarcane.

If they ever found sugarcane or sugar beets, Changxia couldn’t imagine how delicious the sugar would be.

As night deepened, Nuan Chun finished frying the fruit powder pancakes and roasting the meat.

She called everyone over for dinner.

All in all, tonight’s meal was really quite simple.

Everyone got a bowl of bone broth, with roast meat and fruit powder pancakes on the side.

It was rare for no one to speak; everyone’s attention was drawn to the stone pot in the courtyard of the cave dwelling, where the scent of the thatch root syrup filled the air. At that moment, what they ate hardly mattered.

A bonfire was burning in the tribal square, though it hadn’t been fully lit yet.

All the thatch roots had been finely chopped and placed in large wooden basins.

Clearly, the rest of the tribe was waiting—waiting for the outcome on Changxia’s side.

Now, as the final result drew nearer and nearer, everyone was on edge, nerves stretched taut.

Uneasy, tense, complicated emotions.

Each person felt something different.

Even Elder Pukang, who usually had a hearty appetite, barely ate this time.

He just nibbled on some roasted meat and fruit cakes to fill his stomach, then returned to the courtyard to take over the wooden stirring stick, carefully mixing the syrup. The night breeze brushed past, carrying an increasingly rich, sweet aroma.

Changxia finished her bone broth and swallowed the last bite of roasted meat.

The fire at Elder Pukang’s stove had already been put out; only he remained, still stirring. The polished stone pot was coated with a golden thatch root syrup, its fragrance almost intoxicating.

“Changxia, is it ready?” Yami asked nervously.

She held an ironwood mold in her hands, eyes fixed on the thatch root syrup in the pot, not daring to look away. This syrup, made from thatch root juice blended with maple syrup, had a color and aroma far superior to the previous batches of maple syrup and maple sugar.

“It’s ready,” Changxia nodded.

As soon as she spoke, Elder Yami quickly handed over the ironwood mold.

At the same time, Muqin swiftly took the wooden stirring stick from Elder Pukang, then carefully ladled the thatch root syrup with a wooden spoon. The molds, crafted by the Heluo tribe from ironwood, each had rectangular grooves about the size of an adult orc’s palm.

Changxia estimated that each piece would weigh about half a jin (about 250g).

Previously, maple sugar was also made using these molds. Following Changxia’s advice, the tribe had also carved several round molds, each piece of maple sugar slightly larger than a finger. The tribe distributed these maple sugar pieces among the clanspeople, while the block-shaped ones were stored in the caves.

Muqin’s hands were steady, and she quickly filled the ironwood molds with the thatch root syrup from the stone pot.

One pot filled twenty-five molds.

Carefully calculated, one pot of thatch root syrup weighed about fifty jin (about 25kg).

This yield seemed a bit higher than that of red maple sap.

But wait—

Changxia suddenly remembered that this batch couldn’t be counted as a standard one.

Because she had added maple syrup to it.

If she wanted to calculate properly, she’d have to include Shenrong’s batch as well.

Lost in thought, Changxia watched as Muqin called everyone over to scrape the remaining thatch root syrup from the stone pot, eating as they went. The sweet, fragrant thatch root syrup was even softer and tastier than maple syrup.

Tasting it was like eating honey.

“I declare that thatch root syrup is my new favorite!”

“I think thatch root syrup is even more fragrant and sweeter than maple syrup or maple sugar!”

As everyone chatted excitedly, Shenrong’s side finished cooking as well. The once pale thatch root juice had turned milky white. Perhaps because of the faster stirring, this batch of syrup looked a bit grainy and soft.

“Changxia, come here—” Shenrong called out, having tasted a bit of the milky white syrup and been utterly amazed. It was very sweet, with a slightly grainy, tender texture.

This sweetness was different from any maple syrup or maple sugar Shenrong had tasted before. There was a subtle hint of cane sugar, a soft, sandy sweetness, and a faint, refreshing grassy note—a truly unique flavor.

“Shenrong, what’s wrong?” Changxia walked over, a little anxious. “Did this batch fail?”

“No, try it and see how it’s different from the one with maple syrup,” Shenrong said, using wooden chopsticks to pick up a bit of the milky white syrup and offering it to Changxia.

Changxia opened her mouth and tasted it.

She was instantly amazed by the soft, grainy texture.

Compared to the batch with maple syrup, this one was just as good.

“Wow!” Changxia exclaimed in delight.

Soon, everyone was drawn over by her cry of surprise. They all gazed in awe at the milky white thatch root syrup in the stone pot; just by its color, it was no less appealing than the golden syrup made with maple syrup.

“Everyone, have a taste—” Changxia called.

It looked like, when Suye and Baiqing returned to the Kanasheng Mountain Witch Hall tomorrow, they’d have two more things to bring back.

Whether it was the golden thatch root syrup or the milky white version, once cooled and solidified, the resulting thatch root sugar would be just as good as maple sugar.

Either one would be enough for the tribe to trade for many more goods.

“Changxia, you’ve done the tribe another great favor this time.”

“Tell us, what do you want?”

“Later, we’ll have Shenrong bring it over from the tribe.”

Beside her, Gen waved his hand, making a promise to Changxia on the spot.

Changxia smiled and shook her head. She really didn’t lack for anything right now. What she needed, the tribe needed too—like blue cloth, balls of thread, and so on. All these things would have to be traded with other tribes.