CHAPTER 523: CHAPTER 514: THE GREAT CHIEF 32

The first time Yan Shuangshuang climbed onto the head of the Earth King Beast, she was so excited that she couldn’t bear to come down for an entire day. If the Earth King Beast wasn’t so recluse and didn’t like wandering around, Yan Shuangshuang might have gone wandering with it.

On the first day that the Earth King Beast took her out for the whole day and she returned, Yan Shuangshuang saw the crazed members of the Hunting Team. For the first time in two lifetimes, she got scolded by her Father Tieh and Ah Ma Grass, and even got a few spankings from Father Tieh.

Since then, Yan Shuangshuang no longer dared to leave with the Earth King Beast without saying a word. Being spanked by her father at her mental age was truly shameful.

As the members of the Hunting Team became more familiar with the Earth King Beast, the cold season was finally approaching. Speaking of the cold season, Yan Shuangshuang couldn’t help but think of the issue of burning firewood in the cave.

Although there’s no shortage of dry firewood during the cold season, as the world is full of giant trees, dragging one dead giant tree is enough for the tribe to burn for a long time.

The problem is that burning the firewood for too long in the cave causes too much smoke. Although the cave’s ceiling is extremely high, and a small amount of smoke gathering isn’t a problem, too much smoke from burning firewood would be enough to choke a person if you tried to warm up the large, spacious cave!

During the winter, the cave’s entrance is blocked, relying on vents for air circulation. If too much smoke gathers, it can’t be quickly expelled through the vents, so the tribe doesn’t dare to keep a fire burning for warmth for too long to avoid being asphyxiated by smoke.

If the entrance was opened to let out the smoke, the cold wind of this world’s cold season would easily negate any warmth from the little fire.

Not daring to burn a large fire for warmth is one of the reasons why people freeze to death during the cold season. It’s not that people don’t know how to make a fire for warmth, it’s that they don’t dare to.

Thinking of this problem, Yan Shuangshuang thought of the wondrous charcoal. She had stored charcoal before, taking some out when the tribe used fire for cooking, but it was not much.

Compared to dry firewood, burning charcoal produces much less smoke. With the spacious cave and the smoke rising, the vents can disperse the smoke, so even if charcoal burns long term in the cave, there’s no worry about being choked by smoke.

As for mass-producing charcoal, it’s simple. Dig a large pit, throw the wood in, let it burn for a while, then cover it with dirt. Once the fire is completely out, a batch of charcoal is ready.

In the past, Yan Shuangshuang’s health was so poor that even before the cold season, when the weather just started to change, she would feel muddled, unable to think of anything but survival.

Of course, there was also her own life’s fragile situation, leaving no mental energy to consider too many issues.

During the cold season every year, Yan Shuangshuang always felt gloomy, weighed down by illness and the pressure of living in such a life-threatening era, which kept her from ever considering the charcoal problem.

This year, Yan Shuangshuang is healthy and able to run, jump, and hunt, feeling very upbeat, which naturally led her to consider the fire heating issue in the winter.

As mentioned, this primitive world lacks no firewood. Yan Shuangshuang thought she could lead the Power Tribe in making a batch of charcoal in this brief time before the cold season arrives, thus solving the winter heating issue.

Thinking of this, Yan Shuangshuang immediately ordered the Hunting Team to carry wood, while she led those staying in the cave to dig pits and chop wood to make charcoal. Because Yan Shuangshuang dug large pits, a considerable amount of charcoal was produced at once.

Yan Shuangshuang even tested burning some in the cave. Previously she had only used charcoal outside, so she hadn’t noticed, but upon lighting charcoal in the cave and focusing on the smoke issue, she found that burning charcoal hardly emitted any smoke!

No need to say much; the smoke-free, winter-fire warming allure immediately sparked the enthusiasm of everyone in the Power Tribe!

Nowadays, the Hunting Team eagerly searches for wood, and those seeing the benefits of charcoal are digging several more pits for burning, working together with shocking speed in producing charcoal.

While making charcoal, they also found some gourmet treats, quite unusual ones, growing specifically in dead tree trunks, plump and white as fresh sea cucumbers—large wood grubs!

Two children in the tribe carried small bamboo baskets early on, following the adults cutting wood, tasked with collecting wood grubs found from splitting the wood and putting them in the baskets.

Upon seeing the big grubs, not only the two children but even Yan Shuangshuang felt an urge to drool. Come to think of it, in her past life on Earth, despite the high price of insect delicacies, she was never interested, except for fried scorpion.

But since arriving in this world, Yan Shuangshuang lost that aversion, for a straightforward reason—lack of food. Insects are easy to find and catch without danger, available everywhere; the women responsible for gathering often bring some back to roast and eat.

Under the threat of hunger, aside from a few basic principles she wouldn’t break, Yan Shuangshuang accepted eating insects without hesitation.

Even in modern society, the original reason people ate insects was because they had nothing else, ultimately forced to catch insects for survival. In truth, insects look unappetizing, and if it weren’t for hunger, humans might never consider them food.

Though in better times a few insects might cost as much as a pound of meat, there’s no denying that the initial reason people ate insects wasn’t for their taste or to broaden their menu, but simply to survive, nothing more.

Similar to modern society, members of the Power Tribe now don’t lack food, but reflexively collect wood grubs when they find them, as roasted grubs do taste wonderfully.

They can be roasted to a crispy outside with a tender inside, or roasted longer to become completely crispy throughout. Even though food is not scarce now, the thought of roasted wood grubs still makes Yan Shuangshuang drool with anticipation.

At mealtime, knowing their daughter’s taste, Cao and Tie grilled ten or so crispy wood grubs for Yan Shuangshuang, skillfully making them crispy without burnt edges.

Cao and Tie, to spoil their child, have honed this skill; among the Power Tribe, their wood grub grilling techniques are the best, showing their prowess again this time, allowing Yan Shuangshuang a satisfying feast.

The wood grubs of this world taste exceptionally good, without that distinct insect flavor, only full of unique, rich meaty aroma, truly delicious. Yan Shuangshuang couldn’t stop eating, and if not for her small appetite, she could have eaten several more.