Chapter 40

One of the pottery pieces made with crushed clay shards was shaped into a large bowl—so large and deep it was more like a basin. The other was a big-bellied water jug.

That morning, everyone gathered for work. The meat that some of the sub-beastmen had brought last night weighed over ten pounds. Since it wasn’t too hot yet, Zhuo Yan decided they should roast the meat for breakfast before starting the day’s work. The tribe had distributed a lot of meat the previous day, so everyone had brought some along. Zhuo Yan had received a hefty forty pounds, and after eating over half of it last night, he knew they’d need to finish it off by the morning, or it would spoil by the afternoon. So this breakfast was going to be a feast, almost like a barbecue party.

In their workspace, they had no shortage of makeshift stoves, firewood, and stone slabs. Now, they also had the newly fired pottery. The sub-beastmen who arrived early quickly got to work, lighting fires and washing the stone slabs by the river before placing them on the stoves. Some wielded stone knives, while others used bone knives—tools no sub-beastman left home without.

“Cut off the fat first. I heard from Xiao Xian that you’re supposed to cook the fat first, and once it releases the oil, you roast the lean meat,” someone suggested.

“That’s definitely something Zhuo Yan taught him,” another chimed in.

“Yup, Zhuo Yan-ge taught me!” Xiao Xian said proudly. He had also brought a small packet of salt with him today, but he kept it hidden. Later, when it was just him and Zhuo Yan eating, he planned to sneak it out and whisper, “I’ve got salt.”

Zhuo Yan couldn’t help but laugh at Xiao Xian’s sneaky behavior. “It’s your stuff, and you’re being so generous to share it. Why act all secretive about it?”

“Because no one else has any,” Xiao Xian scratched his head, “And it was you, Zhuo Yan-ge, who told me about the importance of sharing.”

“That’s true, but sharing is something you do when you have enough for yourself first,” Zhuo Yan explained earnestly. “If you’re barely scraping by, then it’s perfectly fine to take care of yourself and share only with your closest friends.”

“Ohhh, I see!” Xiao Xian exclaimed.

“I used to just eat my food without sharing with anyone, and nobody ever said anything. But this time, when I gave some away, people praised me, and it made me feel really happy!” Xiao Xian added, grinning.

Aman chimed in, “Don’t be shy about using your salt! No one’s going to criticize you. And if anyone does, I’ll tell them off for you.”

Stone nodded in agreement, and Qiao smiled, feeling the same way.

The tribe had a different mindset from modern society. Here, food was scarce and precious. In the past, even if someone was starving, they wouldn’t be judged for eating meat while others looked on hungrily. The concept of sharing only applied to your closest friends. Zhuo Yan’s modern sense of courtesy and politeness, like yesterday’s “Oh, it’s nothing,” was something the tribe had never seen before, which is why the sub-beastmen had been so surprised. That’s also why, after receiving their share of meat later, they had given some back to Zhuo Yan.

It was all about give and take—reciprocity.

Clearly, Xiao Xian had enjoyed the atmosphere from the previous night, where everyone got to eat meat together and share in the happiness. Although he initially felt shy about his salt today, after hearing Zhuo Yan’s words, he quickly let go of his reservations and was all smiles.

The fat sizzled as it melted, coating the lean meat, which then roasted to a golden brown. Zhuo Yan sent Yin back home to fetch some green onions. Once they had sprinkled some chopped onions and a pinch of salt over the meat, the first bite was heavenly.

Zhuo Yan bit into it and exclaimed, “I feel like crying—this is amazing!”

It had been so long since he’d tasted roasted meat with salt. He was in food heaven!

Aman burst out laughing at Zhuo Yan’s exaggerated reaction, and the others couldn’t help but smile, too.

Zhuo Yan mumbled through a mouthful of meat, “You guys take a bite. I dare you not to cry from how good it is. It’s so delicious, it’ll bring tears to your eyes.” He then offered a piece to Yin, saying, “Here, Yin, open up. Be careful, it’s hot.”

But Yin didn’t want to eat it. His brother hadn’t tasted salty food in so long—Yin wanted Zhuo Yan to enjoy it all himself. Zhuo Yan, however, wouldn’t let go. He looked at Yin with a grin, “Come on, just one bite. It’s delicious, I promise.”

“Big Brother is so cute,” Yin thought, as he obediently opened his mouth for the bite.

However, after just one taste, Yin scurried off to eat raw meat on his own. Zhuo Yan understood Yin’s intentions—this was the precious salt that Xiao Xian had brought. Not wanting to push Yin to eat more, Zhuo Yan couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt, like he was a failing pet owner who couldn’t offer lavish meals for his little companion. Who could relate to that? Pet owners, for sure.

With a dramatic sigh, Zhuo Yan took another big bite of meat—so flavorful and delicious.

Seeing his brother enjoying the meal so much, Yin felt even more determined to go find the mammoth herd’s territory. He wanted to help.

At the “kiln yard,” the air was filled with the sound of sizzling food and cheerful chatter. Once the roasted meat was gone, everyone, energized and in high spirits, tidied up the area. By then, it was barely past seven, and they were ready to dive into the day’s work.

“I’ll boil some water,” Zhuo Yan said, making sure not to let the makeshift stove’s fire go out. He filled his large, grayish pottery bowl with water and placed it over the fire.

Aman had noticed the bowl’s unusual color and was about to ask about it, but Qiao beat her to it. “That’s the one Zhuo Yan made by mixing in the crushed pottery shards from the last batch, right?”

“Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that,” Aman remembered.

Everyone crowded around to inspect the bowl. Zhuo Yan explained, “So far, aside from the color, it seems pretty much the same as the others. But I haven’t tested this one for boiling water yet. The bowl we used last night held up fine.”

“I want to test this one today.”

They all kept an eye on the gray bowl for a while, but soon enough, everyone got distracted with their tasks. Even Zhuo Yan forgot about it until he realized the bowl’s water had almost boiled away, leaving just a small amount in the bottom. The bowl’s edges had turned slightly blackened. He quickly removed it from the fire, using a cloth to protect his hands.

“It seems more heat-resistant?” Zhuo Yan wondered aloud. He added a ladle of cold water to the bowl and placed it back on the fire. Hot to cold, back and forth—it didn’t crack.

“Qiao-jie,” Zhuo Yan called her over. “You saw the water boiling last night, right? I didn’t make a proper comparison, but this bowl didn’t crack even with the hot-cold cycle. That’s pretty unusual for pottery.”

Qiao agreed. “Last night’s bowl just boiled water, no cold water was added.”

“Right, I didn’t compare them directly,” Zhuo Yan said. “Let me grab another bowl from home. We’ll do a side-by-side test. We’re making charcoal anyway, so it’ll be a good experiment.”

When Zhuo Yan returned, he found that Ah Da had brought two beastmen with him. Ah Da was chatting with Qiao, but as soon as he saw Zhuo Yan, he motioned for the two beastmen to follow him over. “Zhuo Yan, the chief told us yesterday to help you out, so we’re here for your orders.”

Zhuo Yan recognized the two beastmen, though only in passing. One was Ah Hui, and the other was Yu, the leopard who happened to be Aman’s brother-in-law’s younger brother.

“Zhuo Yan, I heard the chief praised you,” Ah Hui said, initiating the conversation with a friendly grin.

Before Zhuo Yan could respond, Ah Hui continued, “The chief rarely compliments anyone, even on hunts. But I never expected him to praise a sub-beastman.”

Zhuo Yan: …Well, now I definitely don’t want to respond to that.

“Today we’re chopping wood to make charcoal,” Zhuo Yan said, steering the conversation back on track. “Aman, Stone, one of you should help guide them on the thickness and length of the wood.”

Yu’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Aman.

Aman didn’t seem interested in the task, so Stone spoke up first, “I’ll keep an eye on the charcoal kiln. Let Aman handle it—he knows Yu, and they can talk.”

Zhuo Yan nodded. “Alright, Aman, it’s up to you.”

With just a few words, everything was settled. However, before they left, Ah Hui asked Zhuo Yan, “Why didn’t you respond to what I said earlier?”

“I didn’t really know how to respond,” Zhuo Yan admitted. “The chief is a great hunter, and being strict with you all ensures your safety during hunts. But when it comes to pottery, the chief doesn’t know much—I do. That’s why he praised me.”

Ah Hui considered this and nodded. “You’re right. But still, it’s odd hearing a sub-beastman talk like my mom.”

“…” Zhuo Yan had no idea how to reply to that.

Luckily, Qiao-jie came to the rescue by patting Ah Da’s arm, prompting him to lead Ah Hui away, sparing Zhuo Yan from the awkward conversation. Qiao couldn’t suppress her laughter when she saw Zhuo Yan’s expression. “Ah Hui can be a bit blunt.”

“I’d say he’s got a bit of that ‘big beastman superiority,’” Zhuo Yan remarked.

Qiao blinked. “Big beastman? He’s not that big, is he?”

“Maybe I’m overthinking it. It’s just that sometimes he talks like he looks down on sub-beastmen—or maybe it’s just me he doesn’t take seriously,” Zhuo Yan reflected. The first time they met, Ah Hui had casually invited him to his cave to roast meat, treating him like he wasn’t worth much.

Looking back, Zhuo Yan realized it might not have been contempt for sub-beastmen in general, but a personal slight.

Qiao thought about it and agreed that Zhuo Yan might be right. She reassured him, “That won’t be the case anymore. The whole tribe knows how smart and capable you are now, especially after the chief praised you. No one will look down on you.”

“Eh, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t interact with him often anyway,” Zhuo Yan shrugged. “Besides, back when I wasn’t making pottery, my reputation wasn’t great either, but you still took me under your wing.”

“And that’s the real difference,” Qiao said kindly. “Back then… you were in a tough spot. I honestly didn’t expect you to survive that winter. You weren’t even an adult yet. I just wanted to help make your life a little easier for a while.”

Zhuo Yan: My amazing friend, Qiao-jie, you’re the best!

Qiao laughed, “Well, things are much better now. You’ve got Yin to keep you warm this winter.”

“Absolutely! Nothing beats cuddling up with something furry during the cold months,” Zhuo Yan grinned.

Even while chatting, the two of them didn’t pause their work.

That day, Zhuo Yan repeatedly tested the gray pottery bowl against the batch from the night before. He heated and cooled both bowls several times. In the end, the brown bowl cracked, but the gray one remained intact.

“This thing lasted so long,” Xiao Xian marveled.

“Let’s mix more crushed pottery into the next batch,” Zhuo Yan suggested.

“I want one too.”

Zhuo Yan agreed, “This batch from yesterday doesn’t need to be smashed; they’re usable. Just remember, when using them over a fire, don’t pour cold water right away after heating. Let the ceramic bowl cool a bit first.”

Thanks to Zhuo Yan’s meticulous testing and refining of materials, adjusting the temperature and duration, every household in the tribe now had gray-white ceramic pots and bowls before the snow season, strong enough to withstand the freezing cold.

By dusk, Ah Da, along with Yu and Ah Hui, had chopped a small mountain of firewood and started making charcoal. The next day, Zhuo Yan fired a batch of ceramic tiles for about seven or eight hours—since there wasn’t enough powder, this time he didn’t shape them into bowls but made flat tiles like roofing pieces to save space.

On the third day, all the able-bodied sub-beastmen in the tribe were out working, even two elderly figures, whom Aman had mentioned. Zhuo Yan, curious, went to see for himself and was shocked—‘elderly’ looked barely older than an uncle in his 40s!

“Is this what they call elders?!”

Zhuo Yan was taken aback, then a bit worried. The lifespan of people here was too short—not due to weak bodies, but poor living conditions. He, a half-beastman, was physically a hundred times stronger than he was in the modern world. His vision, strength, stamina, and resistance to cold were all superior, but the living standards were terrible. Back in the modern world, he’d get dizzy after crouching too long at work. The only saving grace was better medical care and the ease of life, allowing people to live longer.

Zhuo Yan realized he had a lot more work to do if he wanted to enjoy a comfortable old age here. These people had strong genes; they just needed better living conditions—like warmer clothes for winter, more reliable food supplies, and expanding farming and livestock.

For now, though…

That day, they had to crush yesterday’s tiles into powder, filter it, and mix it with yellow clay to make more ceramics—Zhuo Yan remembered the proportions from when he first fired them.

On the fourth day, they started shaping the ceramics.

Since the whole tribe was involved, every household needed something. Zhuo Yan decided to keep it simple: two large bowls and one water jug per household. Today, Zhuo Yan learned that the tribe had exactly sixty-five people.

A-Ley had died.

There were twenty households in total, including a large communal cave where the two elders lived. With three pieces of pottery per household, they needed sixty items in total. Before, a single kiln could only fire three batches, but now with more kilns, they could fire everything at once.

The newly shaped ceramics had to be air-dried in the shade.

By evening, one batch of ceramics was neatly arranged. Ah Da, concerned about his responsibility from the chief, suggested they keep watch, “…Tomorrow, we’re firing them, but I’m worried insects or rats might come.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Qiao said, not wanting to go home either.

Zhuo Yan chuckled at the sweet couple, suggesting they bring mats and furs since the nights were getting cool, and they’d need to cover their bellies when sleeping.

Beastman Ah Hui, who hadn’t left yet, rubbed his shoulder and said, “I’ve been chopping wood for days—my stone knife is almost cracked. You sub-beastmen have made a lot of pottery, but honestly, stone pots are pretty useful too.”

“Don’t mind him, Zhuo Yan. He’s just upset about his knife,” Qiao chimed in, glancing at Ah Hui. “Ah Hui, stop talking or Zhuo Yan’s going to start disliking you.”

Ah Hui quickly responded, “Why? I know Zhuo Yan doesn’t like me, but I haven’t even said anything!”

“…Maybe we just don’t click,” Zhuo Yan sighed. Over the past few days, Ah Hui always tried to chat with him after work, but every conversation started with awkwardness and ended in exasperation.

“What do you mean we don’t click? I say something, you reply, that’s talking!” Ah Hui insisted.

“…” Zhuo Yan was speechless.

Just then, a howl interrupted them. A-Yin ran over and rubbed his head against Zhuo Yan’s waist. Zhuo Yan petted A-Yin’s ears and said to Qiao, “We’ll head home. If you need anything tonight, just come get me.”

“Got it,” Qiao replied cheerfully.

Zhuo Yan slung his basket over his back while A-Yin carried a full bucket of water in his mouth, and the two of them—a man and a leopard—headed home.

Ah Hui, left standing there, watched them for a while before turning to Ah Da, “Zhuo Yan already likes a beast, so why does he ignore me?”

“Ah Hui, it’s probably best if you stop calling A-Yin just a ‘beast’ in front of Zhuo Yan,” Ah Da said seriously.

Qiao nodded in agreement. She’d noticed Ah Hui had been trying to befriend Zhuo Yan these past few days, though Zhuo Yan hadn’t realized it. Ah Hui’s recent comment made things more clear.

“Zhuo Yan and A-Yin are partners, Ah Hui.”

“They haven’t had a bonding ceremony yet, so it’s not the same. I get what you mean, but in our tribe, it’s the same for everyone. A strong sub-beastman will choose a powerful beastman to have strong cubs. That’s how it works,” Ah Hui explained. “I wasn’t thinking like this before because Zhuo Yan isn’t all that strong, but his cooking is amazing, and even the chief praised him. He’s probably really smart. So I think I’d be a better match for him than A-Yin. We could have strong cubs together.”

Qiao was speechless. No wonder Zhuo Yan said they didn’t get along.

“But Ah Hui,” Qiao finally said, “Zhuo Yan cares for A-Yin. I don’t think you’re in love with Zhuo Yan—you just like that he’s smart and good at cooking.”

“Huh?” Ah Hui scratched his head, confused. “What’s wrong with liking that he’s good at cooking and smart?”

Qiao, concerned that Ah Hui might bother Zhuo Yan further, added, “That’s different, Ah Hui. Zhuo Yan found A-Yin when he was badly injured, and they’ve been through so much together. Your kind of ‘liking’ isn’t the same.”

“Go back already, and don’t say anything weird in front of Zhuo Yan tomorrow,” Ah Da said directly.

Ah Hui scratched his head in confusion, even though he agreed. He still couldn’t figure out why what Qiao said felt “different.” Zhuo Yan wasn’t strong—he was scrawny and fragile. But Ah Hui didn’t mind that. After all, he was a beastman, young and skilled in hunting. Surely having kids with him would be better than with that white-furred beast, right?

---

On the fifth day, it was time to fire the kilns.

Zhuo Yan woke up early. After eating some roasted meat—just like the past few days when the tribe distributed small portions in the evenings, about five or six pounds per person—it was enough to get through the day. The hunting team hadn’t gone far, mostly catching things like baboons, tusked pigs, horned sheep, and deer.

When they ventured further, they’d return with much larger game—herds of wild horses, rhinos, or even grey elephants. On those days, each person would get over ten pounds of meat, enough to last two days, easily.

That morning’s meat was still edible, though Zhuo Yan could tell by the smell that it was starting to turn.

“I guess we’ll have to eat everything at night from now on,” he thought. “Leaving it until morning isn’t going to work anymore.”

The temperature was rising again.

Zhuo Yan didn’t want to waste the meat, so he forced himself to eat it quickly. But just as he was about to take a bite, A-Yin grabbed a piece in his mouth. Zhuo Yan jumped in alarm. “That’s not fresh anymore, don’t eat it!” he warned. It was fine for him, but not for his little—well, not so little—companion, A-Yin, a large snow leopard.

Even though the meat wasn’t fresh, they both ate it after Zhuo Yan cooked it to the point of almost burning. At least at that temperature, it was practically charred. It didn’t taste like anything but burnt. “If you feel sick, you have to tell me,” Zhuo Yan said, checking on himself to see if the bad meat would upset his stomach.

Who would’ve thought, when he first arrived here, he hadn’t dared touch wild plants, fearing they were poisonous. Now he was willing to take a bite of almost anything that looked even remotely edible.

Even Aman had once munched on poisonous mushrooms.

In the end, Zhuo Yan’s strong constitution prevailed—the charred meat didn’t bother him at all. But he made a mental note to always finish the evening rations in the future.

As usual, A-Yin and Ah Tou headed off on patrol.

At the kiln site, everyone had gathered, waiting for Zhuo Yan’s instructions on how to place the pottery, light the fire, and seal the kiln.

The pieces were carefully arranged, following Zhuo Yan’s guidance. They began to add firewood. Then, as they learned how to seal the kiln, one young sub-beastman accidentally let a chunk of mud fall inside. His face turned pale with panic.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine! The mud didn’t hit any pottery. Even if it did, that would just make the piece unique,” Zhuo Yan quickly reassured the flustered young man.

The sub-beastman hesitated to continue, but with Zhuo Yan’s encouragement, he gave it another try. This time, everything went smoothly.

“Well done!” Zhuo Yan smiled. “You’ll get better with practice.”

“Thank you, Zhuo Yan,” the sub-beastman said, his earlier embarrassment gone. He now felt confident he could finish the task.

“Don’t mention it.”

Firing the kiln was an all-day process, from morning till night. It was physically exhausting work. Zhuo Yan had already assigned shifts—two sub-beastmen for each kiln in the morning, and two more in the afternoon, so everyone got a break.

Stone, Aman’s partner, took turns checking each kiln’s temperature and ensuring the right amount of charcoal was added.

That day, Ah Da, Yu, and Ah Hui weren’t there; they had gone hunting.

Aman let out a long sigh of relief. “Finally, they’re gone.”

“Are you that afraid of Yu?” Zhuo Yan asked, surprised. That didn’t seem like Aman at all.

“He’s not like he seems,” Aman confided. “If I ignore him, he goes and complains to my sister. Last night, my sister and her partner brought Yu to my cave because he was crying.”

“What?!” Zhuo Yan was stunned. Yu, crying? And tattling?

Qiao was equally shocked, while Little Salty couldn’t stop giggling. Even Stone raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Don’t spread this around, okay?” Aman added hastily.

This conversation sounded all too familiar. It was like hearing, “I’ll tell you a secret, but don’t tell anyone.” Zhuo Yan couldn’t help but chuckle, though he promised to keep it to himself.

“Yu acts like a big adult in front of everyone, but in private, he’s like a little cub! Even cubs don’t cry as much as he does. And then, to top it off, he sends my sister to scold me,” Aman grumbled in frustration. “If you tell anyone, he’ll cry again, and my sister will come after me.”

Zhuo Yan laughed. “You’re playing a game of nesting dolls at this point.”

“What’s a nesting doll?” Little Salty asked, intrigued. “Is it fun, Brother Zhuo Yan?”

“It’s a wooden toy,” Zhuo Yan explained, “where you open up a larger one, and inside there’s a smaller one, and then another smaller one inside that.”

Little Salty tried to picture it, but when he couldn’t quite manage, he asked eagerly, “Can we make one sometime?”

“Sure, when we have some free time,” Zhuo Yan promised. It’d be hard to carve something so detailed, but they could figure something out.

Shaking his head, Zhuo Yan added, “I really didn’t expect Yu to be like that. He seems so grown-up, but behind the scenes, he’s a crybaby tattletale.”

“He does seem all responsible these days,” Zhuo Yan mused. “If you don’t like him, why not just tell him straight and reject him?”

Aman sighed deeply. “What if he goes and tells my sister again?”

“If you keep avoiding it, he’ll keep complaining. That’s why your sister keeps bothering you. If you tell him directly, she won’t have a reason to scold you anymore.”

“Are you sure?”

Zhuo Yan eyed him for a moment. “Unless… you don’t actually dislike him as much as you think?”

“I do not!” Aman protested, then hesitated. “It’s just… there aren’t many other beastmen in the tribe. Yu and I grew up together, and he’s willing to hold a mate ceremony with me. Other beastmen would probably just live with me for a few seasons, have a kid, and then move on.”

It seemed the tribe had a shortage of beastmen who were willing to commit to long-term partnerships.

Not holding a mate ceremony and just living together seemed like “casual dating,” while a formal ceremony was the equivalent of getting married. Quite a difference.

“Why does it have to be a mate ceremony?” Zhuo Yan asked, genuinely curious.

In the world of primitive beastmen, there were no rigid rules or doctrines to follow. People followed their instincts—drawn to strength, living together when it suited them, and moving on when it didn’t, enjoying a life of freedom.

Aman was stumped by Zhuo Yan’s question. Why indeed?

“If you’ve never lived with another beastman, how do you know whether he snores in his sleep, grinds his teeth, likes to bathe, or if you can even share a meal together?” Zhuo Yan pondered aloud. Then, realizing he needed to be more careful with his words, he added, “Of course, if you live together for a while and find that you both like each other, then you can hold a mate ceremony.”

That last part finally made Aman realize what Zhuo Yan had been asking before.

“It’s because Qiao and Ah Da had their mate ceremony. I look at them and think they have it all figured out. I want something like that. But if I live with another beastman, and we have cubs, what happens if we break up later? If I go off to find someone new, what will happen to my cubs? Will they have to go live in the big communal cave? That would be so sad.”

It was a valid concern. This world followed some of the harsh rules of nature—if one male’s cubs threatened the survival of another’s, beastmen might ignore or even drive them away. In the wild, some male animals would even kill another’s offspring to protect their own lineage.

In the end, it all came down to scarce resources.

Zhuo Yan, ever practical, suggested, “Why not keep things… external?” He recalled that, unlike canines, most felines didn’t have to deal with the issue of getting “stuck” during mating.

“What do you mean?” Aman asked, intrigued.

Now, Qiao, Stone, and Little Salty were all staring curiously at Zhuo Yan.

Caught off guard by all the attention, Zhuo Yan hesitated, thinking Little Salty was still too young for this topic. But then again, Little Salty was sixteen now—probably old enough to hear these things. So Zhuo Yan mumbled vaguely, “Just… not inside the body.”

“Ohhhh, you’re saying when beastmen mate, they shouldn’t… release anything inside the sub-beastman’s body?” Stone caught on quickly and translated Zhuo Yan’s meaning directly.

Zhuo Yan: “…Thank you, Stone, my dear, overly helpful friend.”