Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Successful Starch-Making

Afternoon.

The Heluo Tribe was gradually becoming lively.

In the morning, the hunters and gatherers had gone out, and now they were returning home one after another.

As people passed through the tribal square, they saw Changxia and Muqin moving wooden buckets, pouring fruit starch into them, and adding water.

It wasn’t long before some of the tribe members with free time gathered around.

In small groups, the previously quiet square became bustling.

“Muqin, what are you soaking the fruit starch for?” Heyun asked. She set down her basket, squatted by the water jar to wash her hands, and curiously watched what Changxia and Muqin were doing.

Muqin replied, “Changxia wants to try making dried starch.”

“Dried starch? Then why are you soaking the fruit starch?” Tianluo came over. She had returned early today and already eaten lunch. Seeing the lively square, she came to see what was going on.

“The wet starch we made before broke easily when dried and didn’t keep well. Changxia and I are trying a different method. If you’re interested, stick around and watch...” Muqin explained.

If they really succeeded in making dried starch, chances were they’d need Heyun and the others to help.

So, Muqin decisively kept everyone there.

Upon hearing this—

Tianluo stepped forward and took the bucket from Changxia, starting to soak the fruit starch.

Heyun hadn’t eaten lunch yet, so Muqin told her to go home and eat first, then come back.

Other nearby tribe members either helped out or watched, gathering around.

Changxia simply picked a shady spot to sit and quietly watched the tribe members chatting in the square. It was really lively!

Unfortunately,

It was the rainy season, and rain was frequent.

No one knew what the weather would be like tomorrow.

All afternoon, the square was never quiet. Since the fruit starch still needed to soak and dry, they couldn’t start making the starch yet. So, the tribe members began boiling thatch root syrup.

The sweet aroma lifted everyone’s spirits.

No one fought over it; they took turns making syrup, and no one tried to slack off.

“Changxia—” Muqin called out.

Changxia got up, still sucking on a piece of thatch root candy someone had given her earlier. “Muqin Amu, the damp fruit starch is almost ready. We can start kneading it into dough balls.”

At Changxia’s words, Muqin and Heyun got to work.

Not far away, the water in the stone pot was already boiling, and a bucket of cold water stood nearby. Except for the tribe members who were going to help, everyone else just watched curiously from a distance.

Muqin said that if they succeeded in making dried starch,

From now on, the tribe would be able to produce starch,

And then trade it with other tribes.

Dried starch, just like the Lion Tribe’s chili peppers or the Bear Tribe’s seaweed candy, would become something unique to the Black Panther Tribe of the Heluo.

Thinking about it, everyone was excited.

Even though the Heluo Tribe was already prosperous, who would complain about having more good things?

“Changxia, how big should the dough balls be?” Heyun asked.

Changxia thought for a moment and said, “About the size of two fists—not too big, or it’ll be hard to cook.” Actually, they could also be steamed, but steaming was much slower than boiling, so boiling was better.

Muqin and Heyun kneaded the dough balls, while Tianluo was in charge of pressing the starch.

The cooking was handled by an elderly woman in the tribe—Granny Wu—who was also in charge of firing the tribe’s kiln. Previously, when the tribe boiled red maple sap, she was the one who managed the fire.

Washing the starch was done by a male tribe member named Muto.

Changxia had originally planned to dry the washed starch herself, but Muto refused.

So, Changxia just stood by and watched, ready to point out any mistakes in the process. Since it was their first time making starch, everyone was a bit nervous.

Soon, the dough balls kneaded by Muqin and Heyun were put into the stone pot to cook.

Once they were half-cooked, they were taken out and pounded in the stone mortar. This part was handled by the onlookers; the half-cooked dough was pounded repeatedly to increase its stickiness, then kneaded into dough balls again, and handed to Tianluo for pressing.

The pressed vermicelli dropped straight into the boiling stone pot—

As the water boiled, the vermicelli began to change color.

Granny Wu was quick and nimble; before Muto could get up, she had already scooped out the cooked vermicelli and dumped it into a bucket of cold water.

Muto quickly got up and started washing the vermicelli in a sieve, repeating the process several times.

“Muto, are the vermicelli strands breaking?” Muqin came over to ask.

Muto replied, “Some are, but not many.”

Hearing this, everyone broke into smiles.

In the distance, the sun was setting, leaving only the last rays of light on the horizon.

The tribal square was bustling.

Tribe members returning home gathered in the square, all eyes eagerly fixed on the corner where the vermicelli was drying.

Some of the vermicelli was rolled into balls, some just laid out randomly.

All shapes and sizes, but nothing could dampen the tribe’s excitement.

“Changxia, did you make dried starch?” Nan Feng asked excitedly.

She and Nuan Chun squeezed in, faces alight as they looked at the sieves of vermicelli drying. There weren’t many sieves, but there were still dozens.

Luckily, Changxia hadn’t soaked too much fruit starch today, or there wouldn’t have been enough sieves for the whole tribe.

Changxia smiled and explained, “It looks like it worked, but we’ll have to wait until it’s completely dry to be sure.”

This saying.

Nanfeng and the others understood that the dry starch had probably succeeded.

“Changxia, should we soak some more fruit starch tonight?” Muqin walked over happily, glanced at Nanfeng, but didn’t say anything.

“Tonight? Shouldn’t we… wait until tomorrow morning to see how the vermicelli turns out before soaking more fruit starch?” Changxia preferred to play it safe, but Muqin waved her hand decisively.

“Changxia, your method is definitely going to work for making dry starch,” Muqin said confidently.

If it weren’t the rainy season, Muqin would have loved to grind up all the white fruit stored in the cave, soak it, and turn it all into dry starch for storage.

“Alright then!” Changxia nodded, leaving the decision to Muqin about how much fruit starch to soak. “It might rain tomorrow, so I can’t really estimate how much we’ll need. Muqin, you decide.”

Hearing this, Muqin turned to discuss it with Heyun.

Nearby, the tribe members were circling around the racks where the vermicelli was drying, unable to contain their excitement.

As night fell, Changxia told Muqin she was heading back, packed half a basket of vermicelli in a rattan basket, and prepared to return to her cave. After a busy day, she really didn’t feel like cooking dinner.

She planned to just take some vermicelli back from the tribe square, eat it with the leftover python bone soup from lunch, and call it a day. Shen Rong hadn’t come to the square—she wondered if he’d gone home yet.

“Nuan Chun, where’s Shankun?” Changxia asked.

Nuan Chun, holding her twin cubs, replied, “He’s with Shen Rong, digging out the tree roots for the water pipes—”

“Wow! They’ve already started?” Changxia exclaimed in surprise.

“Shen Rong said the sooner the water channel is finished, the sooner everyone living in the White Lake caves won’t have to haul water anymore. Shankun, Yadong, and the others are all excited, just hoping to bring the river water over as soon as possible,” Nuan Chun said.

Listening to Shen Rong’s plans, they were all just as excited.

“Where are they now?” Changxia asked again.

Nanfeng pursed her lips and said, “They’re all in your cave’s courtyard. Shen Rong saw you hadn’t come home so late and asked us to go to the tribe square to look for you…”

Hearing this, Changxia felt a little embarrassed, a faint blush appearing on her face.