Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Harvesting Whitefruit

“Changxia, aren’t you going to visit the shaman at Mount Kana?” Chen Rong asked.

Changxia thought for a moment, then shook her head and declined his suggestion. “The shaman will come to the tribe in a few days. Since we just moved, we should stock up on supplies. When the shaman visits, I’d like to invite her to our new home.”

Changxia regarded the shaman as family.

Now that she was living alone for the first time, she wanted to show her best side to the shaman. Clearly, now wasn’t the right time to visit Mount Kana.

“Alright, we’ll do as you say,” Chen Rong replied, understanding her meaning. Truth be told, he wasn’t eager to meet the shaman so soon, either.

Before long, the two of them left the salt lake.

In no time, they arrived at the foot of Elephant Peak Mountain.

As its name suggests, Elephant Peak Mountain is shaped like an elephant’s trunk, hence the name. Whitefruit trees grow at the base of the mountain.

Unlike the tall, broad-leaved forests, whitefruit trees are generally short, more like shrubs. The tallest ones barely reach a little over two meters, while the shortest are about a meter high.

This made it easy for even the youngest cubs to pick whitefruit.

“I knew coming to Elephant Peak Mountain was the right choice…” Changxia said happily, sliding off Chen Rong’s beast form. She deftly set her basket down. The whitefruit, each about the size of a fist, hung thick on the branches, green and vibrant—truly a beautiful sight.

They’re called “whitefruit” because, when dried, they turn white. The powder ground from them is also a fine white.

“So many?” Chen Rong exclaimed in surprise. “Hasn’t the tribe come to pick them?” Unless harvested, whitefruit won’t fall even in the coldest winter. Besides the beastfolk, only birds and a few herbivores eat them.

“In recent years, there haven’t been many new cubs in the tribe, and the whitefruit near the settlement is enough for us. You know, most adult beastfolk don’t care for whitefruit porridge…” Changxia shrugged as she explained.

Whitefruit porridge wasn’t particularly tasty.

And since the beastfolk had no sugar or similar seasonings, unless they needed to stock up for winter, most wouldn’t bother harvesting whitefruit.

Besides, as long as the fruit wasn’t picked, it wouldn’t fall, so there was no waste.

“Whitefruit porridge with honey is actually pretty good,” Chen Rong said.

Changxia pouted, looking at him hungrily. “Honey is hard to get. The tribe only manages to gather a little each year, and most of it is sent to Mount Kana. As for sugar, unless someone knows how to make it…”

“You mean cane sugar?” Chen Rong asked hesitantly.

Honey was produced by the bearfolk, but few were willing to trade it. As for other sugars, Changxia had never tasted them. She didn’t know what Chen Rong meant by cane sugar, though she understood what it was back on Earth.

Cane sugar could be brown or black.

Black sugar required a more complex process and was darker than brown sugar, with a caramelized aroma that brown sugar lacked.

“What’s cane sugar?” Changxia tilted her head, pretending not to understand.

“It’s a kind of sugar made from plants,” Chen Rong replied awkwardly. Cane sugar came from the Western Lands; the beastfolk of the Eastern Lands hadn’t mastered sugar-making yet. He’d tasted it, but had no idea how it was made or what plant it came from.

Changxia looked at him wordlessly.

It was clear he didn’t know much.

“So, cane sugar is made from a plant called ‘cane’?” she guessed, thinking it was probably a crude sugar made from sugarcane.

But was it brown sugar or black sugar?

Besides sugarcane, there were other plants that could be used to make sugar, like beets, maple trees, or even grass roots.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t found any of those plants yet.

“Yeah!” Chen Rong nodded. “I think it’s called sugarcane, but I’m not sure.”

“Where did you eat cane sugar?” Changxia asked curiously.

Chen Rong pinched the bridge of his nose. “In the Western Lands.”

Hearing that, Changxia gave up on the idea.

The Western Lands—

She hadn’t even left the Misty Forest in the Eastern Lands.

It was too far away.

Maybe someday, if she found sugarcane or beets in the Misty Forest, she could try making sugar herself. For now, harvesting whitefruit was more important—after all, it was a matter of future meals.

As they chatted, they worked quickly, soon filling the baskets they’d brought.

Changxia estimated the weight of the whitefruit in the baskets. Once dried, it should be three or four hundred jin (about 150–200 kg). Unlike regular fruit, whitefruit looked big but wasn’t heavy.

Given the beastfolk’s bottomless appetites, she thought a few hundred jin wasn’t nearly enough.

Besides, they hadn’t even picked one percent of the whitefruit in this grove at the foot of Elephant Peak Mountain.

“Is this enough?” Chen Rong asked.

Changxia looked at the whitefruit grove and shook her head. “Not enough. Can you weave a few more baskets? Once dried, these baskets will only yield a few hundred jin. If we grind the whitefruit into flour, the amount will shrink even more. Since we’re here, let’s pick some more to take back and dry at the den.”

Honestly, if she could, Changxia would have loved to harvest all the whitefruit from this grove and bring it home.

Once the fruit was picked, the trees would bloom and bear fruit again, repeating the cycle.

She hadn’t calculated the exact growing time for whitefruit, but she guessed they could harvest three or four times a year. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to gather whitefruit year-round in the Misty Forest, even in the coldest winter.

The fruit also grew very densely.

If whitefruit could be used as a staple food, it would be perfect.

If she weren’t so focused on building her own home, Changxia would have loved to spend her time studying whitefruit and experimenting with new recipes.

After all, there were so many plants and animals in the Misty Forest she’d never seen before.

“Alright. I’ll go cut some vines for weaving. Don’t wander off,” Chen Rong reminded her, not daring to go far. He stayed nearby and soon returned with a pile of vines.

A short while later, several baskets were woven.

Back baskets were hard to tie up, so Chen Rong decided to make regular baskets instead.

Chang Xia took the baskets and filled them with the ginkgo nuts they’d picked. It didn’t take long before the newly woven baskets were full again.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Chang Xia glanced up at the midday sun. It was almost noon.

And, right on cue, her stomach rumbled with hunger.

“Chen Rong, come help tidy up the baskets and back baskets. Time to head home!” Chang Xia called out, summoning Chen Rong, who was still picking ginkgo nuts, so they could pack up and go home.

“All the baskets are full?” Chen Rong asked as he carried the baskets over.

Chang Xia nodded. “They’re all full. Once we get back, we’ll dry them for a few days, then grind them into flour. When it’s ready, I’ll make something delicious for you.” In a few days, they might be able to eat noodles or cakes. The thought made Chang Xia very happy.

Seeing Chang Xia’s bright smile, Chen Rong couldn’t help but smile along with her.

It was getting late.

Not wanting to waste any more time, they decided to head back to the tribe.

Chen Rong crouched down and shifted into his beast form.

Using his wolf tail, he helped Chang Xia secure all the baskets and back baskets. Finally, he wrapped his tail around Chang Xia, and the two of them set off for the tribe.

Even though they hadn’t gathered wild vegetables or other foods on this trip, Chang Xia wasn’t worried at all. With the lake nearby, she never had to worry about going hungry.

With their baskets full, both of them were in high spirits.

On the way back, they started thinking about what to have for lunch—fish balls, maybe stewed meat, or perhaps fried meat with wild vegetables?

At that moment, neither Chang Xia nor Chen Rong knew that someone was waiting for them at their den.