Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Painting on Wooden Boards

“Sour berries can be made into jam? Isn’t that too sour?” Nuan Chun bared her teeth and shivered, clearly recalling the taste of the sour berries. That tartness was unforgettable—just thinking about it was enough to make her wince.

In the past, when females in the tribe were pregnant, they especially craved sour berries.

But Nuan Chun just couldn’t handle them.

One bite, and her teeth would go soft from the sourness—she couldn’t eat anything else after that.

Nan Feng smacked her lips and said, “Grilled meat drizzled with sour berry juice actually tastes pretty good.”

“It’s true you can make jam from sour berries, but it’s a pity our tribe doesn’t have any sugar. If you simmer sour berries with some rock sugar, the resulting jam is both sweet and sour—absolutely delicious!” Changxia licked her lips, reminiscing about the taste of strawberry and tomato jam from her memories. After a pause, she added, “Sour berries are tart, but their juice adds a unique flavor to grilled meat. Plus, the berry flesh can be used to stew meat or make soup, enhancing the broth’s flavor and helping to get rid of any gamey taste.”

“Sour berries are really that good?” Nuan Chun asked skeptically, looking unconvinced.

Nan Feng gestured toward the grilled meat on the table and said, “Didn’t you notice when you ate the grilled meat? Chen Rong’s grilled meat is crispy on the outside and tender inside, with juices that burst in your mouth. The subtle sourness pairs perfectly with the smoky flavor—it’s unforgettable.”

Even using the same technique, she couldn’t make grilled meat as tasty as Chen Rong’s.

“Chen Rong’s grilled meat really is delicious,” Nuan Chun praised.

She just hadn’t realized that the grilled meat was drizzled with sour berry juice.

With her belly growing, she sometimes helped Changxia with chores. Grilling meat was usually Chen Rong’s job—unless he was busy, then Changxia and the others would step in.

Come to think of it, Nuan Chun had never connected grilled meat with sour berries before.

“Changxia, can you make sugar?” Nan Feng’s eyes lit up as she asked in a low voice.

Changxia had said before that sugar was like honey—very sweet. Eating it would make you feel happy all the way to your heart.

Nan Feng had never eaten sugar, but she had tasted honey.

Not much—just a little. Changxia had dipped her chopsticks in it and fed her a taste.

Changxia’s health had always been poor, so she drank a lot of bitter medicine. Every year, the shaman would set aside a small jar of honey sent by the beast tribe to the Sacred Mountain of Kana, so Changxia could have a sip or two with her medicine.

The rest of the honey was kept by the shaman for making medicine.

Similarly, any honey the tribe got from hunting was usually sent to the Sacred Mountain of Kana. Because of this, all the beast tribes envied the bear tribe.

The bears loved honey more than anything, and with their thick skin and tough bodies, they could easily find it. But the bears were reluctant to trade honey—except for what they sent to the Sacred Mountain, they never exchanged it with others.

“I can make sugar, but we need the right ingredients—like sugarcane, beets, or maple trees,” Changxia replied after thinking for a moment. “Even the roots of certain grasses can be used, though they’re not as sweet as sugarcane or beets.”

“Changxia, can you draw what sugarcane and those other plants look like? Just telling us the names doesn’t help—we don’t know what they are. If you draw them, I can show the tribe’s hunting party. The totem warriors go out hunting every day, so maybe they’ve seen sugarcane or beets somewhere,” Nan Feng suggested, remembering how Changxia had drawn the kiln cave on animal hide.

So, she directly suggested that Changxia draw pictures of sugarcane and beets.

Everyone in the tribe knew Changxia liked naming things.

Some people used to argue with her about it, but over time, they just got used to it.

“You’re right! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. Nan Feng, you’re so smart!” Changxia slapped her forehead, suddenly realizing.

She alone could only do so much.

But if the whole tribe got involved, it would be much more effective.

This way, she’d have a better reason to refuse trades with other tribes, and it would also encourage everyone to participate more actively.

“Wait a bit, I’ll draw them on animal hide in a moment,” Changxia said, then shook her head. “But charcoal sketches on hide fade easily. Wooden boards would be better.”

There were still some leftover wooden boards from when Chen Rong and the others made doors and windows. She could cut them down to palm-sized pieces to make them easier to carry.

Nuan Chun put the prepared rice rolls and the pot of animal bones into the stone pot to steam.

“Changxia, you don’t have to wait—go find the wooden boards and start drawing now. Nan Feng and I can handle the rice rolls and noodles. I’ve learned how to make them—after steaming a few more batches and slicing them up for cold dishes, we can send some to Chen Rong and the others to try. As for the freshly ground rice noodles you mentioned, they need to ferment, so that’ll take some time. We can do that slowly,” Nuan Chun said efficiently.

Nan Feng nodded quickly.

“Changxia, listen to Nuan Chun,” Nan Feng said. “The sooner you finish the drawings and show them to the tribe, the sooner the hunting party can find sugarcane and beets, and the sooner we’ll get to taste sugar.”

Ah—

Nan Feng sighed with anticipation.

Maybe, in just a few days, she’d get to eat sweet, delicious sugar.

Thinking about it, Nan Feng pushed Changxia away, not even caring about the rice rolls anymore, and ran to fetch the wooden boards for Changxia. Once she washed her hands, she could start drawing right away.

Changxia thought about it and agreed.

Freshly ground rice noodles needed to ferment for at least a night.

She’d already prepared the rice flour bags for filtering, and later she’d steam some fruit flour to knead together with the dough for fermentation. It wasn’t urgent—she just needed to finish before dinner.

But if she wanted to eat the rice noodles, she’d have to wait until tomorrow.

Taking the wooden board Nan Feng handed her, Changxia transformed her right hand into its beast form, using her sharp claws to shape the board. First, she cut the long board into palm-sized pieces, then smoothed the edges.

Besides sugarcane and beets, Changxia also planned to draw other edible plants.

The small wooden boards, barely the size of a palm, were a real test of her drawing skills.

Of course, what mattered even more was that the charcoal pencil was too soft, making it easy to smudge while drawing.

As Changxia worked on preparing the boards, she also pondered how to improve the charcoal pencil. Her gaze suddenly landed on a half-burned piece of firewood—charcoal. Charcoal that hadn’t burned all the way through was harder than the finished charcoal pencils, and holding it gave her better control, so it wouldn’t smudge as easily.

With this piece of charcoal, Changxia didn’t have to worry about making more charcoal pencils for now.

Besides, the rainy season was fast approaching, and the weather was getting warmer. She could think about making more charcoal when the cold season came. For now, she’d already managed to make a heated bed.

The small, thin wooden boards were neatly sanded.

Changxia picked up the charcoal and tried sketching on some scrap pieces.

The plants and animals of the Twilight Forest were a bit different from those on Earth, though mostly similar. But their sizes, shapes, and colors varied widely, and sometimes you had to taste them to tell them apart.

Given the forest’s abundance, Changxia didn’t expect her tribe to bring back identical plants—anything similar would be a success.

Fruit flour was the best example.

It tasted similar to rice, but didn’t need to be cultivated. The Twilight Forest was full of white fruit trees, and year-round, you could simply pick, dry, and grind the fruit to get flour.

In fact, white fruit was even more convenient than rice, and yielded more.

In the distance, Nuanchun and Nanfeng kept busy while watching Changxia.

Seeing her so focused on her drawing, both of them looked on with gentle, hopeful expressions—mixed with pride and happiness.

“Nanfeng, take these rice noodles and steamed rolls over to Shenrong and the others. I made a few extra bowls, and Kongshan should be arriving soon too,” Nuanchun said, pulling out a basket and a rattan tray—the food was a bit much to carry.

With her belly so big, it wasn’t easy for her to walk back and forth.

Changxia was busy, and neither of them wanted to disturb her.

So, Nanfeng had to go by herself.

Nanfeng nodded cheerfully, “No problem, leave it to me.”

She took the basket filled with rice noodles, steamed rolls, and toppings, grabbed the rattan tray, and set off briskly toward the neighboring hill.