Chapter 39: Hemp-Leaf, Chili-Leaf, and Soy Sauce Fruit

"Yes, there is." Duo-ji recalled that when he and his friends from the tribe used to play in this forest, one of them had played a prank and stuffed a certain type of leaf into his mouth. That leaf was exactly like the first thing he had eaten—it made his mouth and body feel hot, and left him craving water.

There was also a second type that made his mouth feel numb, which grew not far from the tree with the heat-inducing leaves.

Upon hearing that both flavors existed, Mu-tong was delighted: she had to go and see if these were, in fact, mutated versions of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns from this other world.

After Xiao-qiang verified them, these two types of trees indeed possessed the same properties and flavors as chilies and peppercorns. The only difference was that these trees did not bear chilies or peppercorns; instead, it was the leaves that were consumed.

Mu-tong did not stop until she had gathered a large quantity of leaves from both trees, filling two baskets to the brim and storing plenty more in her ring. On the way back, she spotted a large, intact, circular stone, which reminded her that she hadn't pressed the reed strips yet. She decided to press them once she returned, though she would need to make another trip to haul this heavy stone back; it would be perfect for the task.

Once they reached home, the two set down their baskets. They moved the Swiss chard into another empty basket, kept the fish mint together in one, placed the spicy leaves and numbing leaves into separate wicker crates, put the purple rice fruits in another basket, and kept the green beans in their original container.

*Sigh*, there were too few crates and baskets. It seemed she would need to cut more vines and weave more storage containers.

Mu-tong asked Duo-ji to fetch water from the river using a stone pot to change the water for the konjac soaking in the stone vat. She then sent him to retrieve the circular stone, while she went back out to the edge of the tribe's territory to harvest a large amount of vines.

Realizing they lacked pots, basins, and bowls for water and food, Mu-tong headed out again. She needed to find suitable stone materials and use her small knife to carve out some vessels.

She remembered noticing many large, smooth river stones near the river the night before. Picking out those with suitable shapes would be perfect for crafting bowls and basins.

Her small knife was a low-level magical artifact, so carving the river stones was as easy as cutting tofu.

Before long, she had selected several stones suitable for basins and others for bowls. She first carved out the rough shapes with her knife, then smoothed them down with coarse and fine sandpaper. After a series of cutting, carving, and polishing, the bowls and basins began to take shape.

Of course, the coarse and fine sandpaper she used had also been refined by her, so grinding the stone required very little effort.

She took out a whetstone, polished them a few more times, washed them clean with water, and rubbed them repeatedly with a piece of high-quality cowhide... Phew, finally finished!

Mu-tong looked at the finished products with tears in her eyes: if her cultivation were still intact, would making a few stone bowls and basins really be this much trouble?

Using the largest basin, she filled it with water and carried it in one hand, while cradling the stack of bowls and smaller basins in the other as she walked toward the tribe. Before she even reached the valley entrance, Duo-ji came running toward her from afar: "Sister-in-law, where did you go?"

Duo-ji had put a great deal of effort into moving the heavy circular stone into the courtyard, only to panic upon entering the house and finding Mu-tong gone. His brother had told him to look after her—what would he do if she disappeared?

Seeing the vines left on the ground, he guessed she might have gone to gather more, so he ran toward the valley entrance. Fortunately, he spotted her carrying the basins and bowls before he even left the valley.

Taking the stack from her hands, Duo-ji breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she hadn't left. If she had truly vanished, he wouldn't know how to answer to his brother. Looking at the exquisite bowls and basins in his hands, he exclaimed, "My sister-in-law is the most capable!"

"Let's go. Once A-yu returns, we can press the reed strips."

The two entered the courtyard, and Duo-ji placed the bowls and basins inside. Mu-tong had him light a fire and set up the stone pot. She finely chopped the spicy and numbing leaves, roasted them in the pot until dry, then used a wooden mortar to grind them into powder, storing each in a small stone bowl. This would make them easier to use in the future.

After finishing with the leaves, Mu-tong and Duo-ji cleaned the fish mint, seasoned it with salt, numbing leaf powder, spicy leaf powder, vinegar, and sugar. It would make a delicious cold salad for dinner.

She took a head of Swiss chard, trimmed a third of the leaves, removed the tough veins, and cut the rest into five-centimeter segments. After boiling them in the stone pot until soft and discolored, she set them aside. Later, she would just need to add a little oil and seasoning to stir-fry them.

Alternatively, they could be seasoned and served as a cold salad.

By the time these tasks were done, A-yu still hadn't returned. Instead of starting anything new, Mu-tong picked up some vines and began weaving a basket.

Duo-ji knew they had to wait for his brother to return before eating, otherwise the food would get cold, so he also picked up some vines and began to weave.

When A-yu finally returned, carrying a full basket, a stone spear, and a large wild boar-like animal over his shoulder, he was greeted by a heartwarming scene: his wife and younger brother were both busily weaving, in perfect harmony.

The medium-sized wicker crate in Duo-ji's hands was nearly finished, and Mu-tong had already completed three small baskets. Seeing A-yu back, they both stopped.

A-yu placed the wild boar in a corner of the courtyard and set down his basket and stone spear. From the basket, he pulled out a pile of long, thin strips, several large, prickly cucumbers, a few hard, coconut-like fruits—two white and two black—and a gourd-shaped object.

What were these?

Mu-tong looked curiously at the strange plants A-yu had brought; she had never seen them before. The large, prickly cucumbers looked just like the ones from Earth, only larger and covered in more thorns. Then again, she had heard that wild cucumbers were often very prickly and tough to protect themselves from being eaten by animals.

Carefully picking up one of the prickly cucumbers, she had Xiao-qiang test it, and sure enough, it was the other-world equivalent of a cucumber. Mu-tong carefully peeled off the prickly skin and took a bite: it was crisp, refreshing, and slightly sweet—absolutely delicious!

"Where we come from, we call this a cucumber. What do you call it?" Mu-tong asked.

"We call it a prickly vegetable fruit," A-yu replied. "It's one of the wild vegetables our tribe eats often, and it tastes pretty good."

Picking up the long, thin, green strips, Mu-tong secretly had Xiao-qiang analyze them as usual: high starch content, protein, fat, vitamins A and B... The conclusion: the composition and texture were similar to the fruit of the noodle tree on Earth.

"Is this the fruit of a noodle tree?" Mu-tong asked, wondering what the Red Water tribe called it.

"You call it noodles where you're from? We don't have a name for it here; we just know this long fruit is edible," Duo-ji said honestly. Sometimes they just called it "long fruit."

"Then let's just call it noodles," Mu-tong decided, renaming these items to familiar terms for the sake of convenience.