“Wait for me a moment, I’ll go bring the steamed beans over,” Wen Ze said as he put on a straw raincoat and a straw hat. 

Yin He stood up. “Brother, let me go. It’s still raining outside.” 

Wen Ze waved his hand. “No need, I’ll be back soon.” 

He rushed into the rain, ran to the stove, lifted the pot lid, and tucked the basin of steamed mung beans under his arm. He covered it with the raincoat and ran back to the straw shelter. 

The children came forward to help him take off the raincoat and carry the items. 

When Wen Ze took off his straw hat, he shook his black hair and thought to himself that once his house was built, he would be able to cook inside and would no longer have to worry about the wind and rain. 

He smiled and thanked the children, placed the bowl on the stone table, washed his hands, then sat down. Pinching a mung bean between his fingers, he found it was so soft that it crumbled with a light press. 

One of the kids exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, it’s so soft and smells so good!” 

“It smells amazing! Can we eat it like this?” 

Wen Ze chuckled. “Not yet.” 

He took a wooden spatula from the side, poked it into the bowl, and began mashing and mixing the steamed mung beans. 

Once there were almost no whole beans left, he took some fresh milk from this morning and poured it into the bowl. 

Then, he stirred the mung beans quickly in one direction with the spatula. 

Though the task seemed simple, but it actually required a lot of arm strength. After stirring for a while, Wen Ze’s wrist started to ache, making him miss the modern blender. 

The children, however, found it fascinating. Qin Shu even leaned over and asked, “Brother Wen Ze, can I try too?” 

Wen Ze glanced at him. “Sure, go ahead. The finer you mash the mung beans, the better.” 

Qin Shu was full of energy. “Got it!” 

He took the wooden spatula from Wen Ze, stood there with a serious expression, and stirred fast. 

Seeing this, the other children complained, “Qin Shu, you’re so sneaky! You jumped in first!” 

“Yeah! I want to stir the mung beans too!” 

“Brother Wen Ze, let me try!” 

Qin Shu grinned even more proudly. “Well, you all should’ve moved faster! This is so fun, hahaha!” 

“You’ve been at it for so long already, it’s my turn now!” 

“Then I’ll go next!” 

“Brother Wen Ze, I want to try too!” 

Wen Ze couldn’t help but laugh at their excited chatter. “Don’t fight, don’t fight, everyone gets a turn.” 

“The last story is over, but I still want to hear another one from Brother Wen Ze~” Jia Yi scooted closer, rubbing his fluffy head against Wen Ze’s pant leg as he whined. 

“I want to hear a story too!” the other children chimed in. 

Wen Ze smiled. “No more stories today. Let’s play a game instead.” 

“Oh? What game?” As soon as they heard about playing, the children immediately became excited. 

“A question and answer game.” 

Yin He tilted his head and asked uncertainly, “A question and answer… is that really a game?” 

He thought it sounded like a lesson. 

“Of course, it counts,” Wen Ze said. “This game has rewards. And it’s not just about getting the right answers—everyone who participates gets something.” 

“Wow! What’s the reward? Little red flowers?” 

“You just reminded me,” Wen Ze continued, “The cub who answers the most questions correctly will get two little red flowers. The second and third places will get one each. As for the participation reward, it’s this.” He pointed to the “mung bean cake” he had prepared. 

He grabbed a handful of grass leaves from the ground and showed them to everyone. 

“For every question you participate in, I’ll give you a grass leaf. When you collect enough, you can trade a leaf for a piece of mung bean cake. What do you think?” 

The cubs’ eyes lit up, and they eagerly shouted, “Great! I want to collect lots of grass leaves!” 

“I want little red flowers!” 

“Brother Wen Ze, when do we start?” One of the cubs urged. 

Wen Ze looked at Qin Shu. “You’ve been at it for a while now. Swap places with someone else.” 

Yin He immediately raised his hand. “I’ll do it!” 

Once he switched places with Qin Shu, Wen Ze pinched a handful of grass leaves and sat back down on the stone stool. 

Outside the straw shelter, the rain had not stopped, and lightning flashed while thunder rumbled. 

“Listen up, here’s the first question.” Wen Ze pointed to the dark sky outside. “Why do we see lightning before hearing thunder during a thunderstorm?” 

The first question left the children puzzled. 

They looked at each other, not knowing the answer. 

“Yeah, why is that?” 

“Is it because the lightning comes first, and the thunder follows?” A young half-beastman asked uncertainly. 

Wen Ze immediately handed him a grass leaf and encouraged, “Don’t be afraid. Just say whatever comes to mind. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong.” 

He then explained that lightning and thunder happen at the same time, but the reason we see the lightning first is because light travels faster than sound. 

The cubs listened in amazement, their eyes shining with curiosity. 

“Second question: If we encounter a thunderstorm in the wild, where can we take shelter? First option: under a hill. Second option: under a tree.” 

Qin Shu quickly answered, “I choose under a tree! A hill is too low to protect us from the rain!” 

Jia Yi nodded his little panda head repeatedly. “I choose under a tree too! I’m really good at climbing. If I cover myself with leaves, the rain won’t get me!” 

Yin He hesitated, then said, “I think we should choose the hill.” 

Wen Ze looked at him. “Why?” 

“Isn’t there a big tree struck by lightning on the mountain behind our cave? We even dug a water ditch around it. What if we stand under the tree and get struck by lightning?” 

Qin Shu burst into laughter, “Hahaha, why would lightning strike you when everything is fine?” 

Yin He glared at him, his face turning bright red. 

Wen Ze said seriously, “Don’t laugh. Yin He got the answer right.” 

Qin Shu widened his eyes, “Huh? Why?” 

“Because trees can attract lightning during a thunderstorm. It’s dangerous to stand under a tree,” Wen Ze explained seriously to all the children. “During a thunderstorm, you must stay away from trees, understand?” 

The children nodded repeatedly, “Got it!” 

Wen Ze handed the grass leaf to Yin He. 

A little half-beastman who had been waiting in line for a while took over Yin He’s work. 

The mung beans in the bowl were already finely mashed. 

Next, Wen Ze asked some questions related to life, such as, “Why can’t we see the stones we grab from the river in the same spot we see with our eyes?” 

Then, he asked— 

“Snakes don’t have legs, so how can they move?” 

The children were absorbed in Wen Ze’s “little class.”  

They thought hard so they could earn the grass leaves and small red flowers. 

“Yeah, how do snakes walk?” 

“They move really fast!” 

“How strange.” 

“I know, I know! They use their bodies to move!” Jia Yi raised his bear paw and said. 

Wen Ze handed him a grass leaf, guiding him gently, “And how exactly do they do that?” 

“Umm…” Jia Yi tilted his head left and right, but couldn’t think of anything. He then looked behind Wen Ze. “Maybe Brother Zhuo Mu could tell us! He definitely knows!” 

Wen Ze froze for a moment, then quickly turned around and met Zhuo Mu’s smiling red eyes. 

“When did you get back? I didn’t even notice!” Wen Ze asked with a smile. 

He had gotten so familiar with Zhuo Mu’s presence that it did not bother his nose anymore. 

“I’ve been back for a while. I saw you were so focused on teaching, so I didn’t want to interrupt.” 

What Zhuo Mu didn’t say was that he had also learned a lot from listening. 

Wen Ze noticed the dirt on his clothes and asked, “Did you go out to work?” 

Zhuo Mu gave a soft “Mm” and said, “I’ve already finished the work. I’ll go see if there’s anything else to do at home.” 

Wen Ze reached out and pulled on his sleeve, “There’s nothing to do, and if there is, it can wait. It’s raining outside. You should sit here.” 

Zhuo Mu smiled slightly, “Alright.” 

He sat next to Wen Ze, and the children started asking him again how snakes move. 

Zhuo Mu answered, “Even though I don’t have legs when I turn into my beast form, I have scales. The scales can grip the ground and move my body forward.” 

The children suddenly understood, “So that’s how it works!” 

“No wonder you move so fast! You have so many scales on you!” 

Zhuo Mu was a warrior of the South Mountain Tribe, so the young ones all admired his strength. But now, the admiration in everyone’s eyes was overflowing. 

He felt a little awkward being stared at and subconsciously looked at Wen Ze. However, Wen Ze only smiled and went to check the mung beans, completely ignoring him. 

Zhuo Mu: “…” 

“The beans are about ready, great job everyone!” Wen Ze said. “It’s still raining outside, so let’s make a small fire pit in the straw shelter.” 

Zhuo Mu immediately stood up, “I’ll do it.” 

He quickly built the fire pit. 

Wen Ze took out a clean small pot and placed it on the fire pit. He poured some solidified yellow oil into the pot and let it melt. 

Then, he scooped a big spoonful of mung bean paste, tossed it into the pot, and kept stirring it. 

Zhuo Mu watched for a moment before voluntarily taking over the task. 

The little ones were also curious and wanted to “play” with it. 

Wen Ze smiled and said, “Don’t rush, there’s still plenty of mung bean paste to stir-fry. Everyone will get a share.” 

He was worried that, by the end, they might lose patience. 

While Zhuo Mu continued stirring, Wen Ze took some osmanthus honey syrup and poured a generous amount into the pot. 

Now, with the mung bean paste heated, it not only released the aroma of beans and milk but also a rich sweet fragrance! The scent made their mouths water. 

Jia Yi could no longer hear anything and stared intently at the pot. 

It was Qin Shu who gave him a little push and said, “Hey, quickly wipe your mouth.” 

Jia Yi froze for a moment, then hurriedly wiped his mouth with his bear paws, glancing awkwardly at Wen Ze. 

“It smells so good; I couldn’t help it.” 

Wen Ze laughed heartily. “Wait a little longer, it’ll be ready to eat soon.” 

“Mm-hmm!” Jia Yi nodded enthusiastically, looking at Zhuo Mu and gratefully saying, “I’m so glad Brother Zhuo Mu let us come here to play, otherwise, we wouldn’t get to eat such delicious mung bean cake!” 

Qin Shu mumbled, “You haven’t even tasted it yet.” 

Jia Yi stood up straight. “It’s definitely delicious! I just know it!” 

Wen Ze didn’t pay much attention to the children’s argument and focused his attention on Zhuo Mu. 

So, it was him who had brought the children here? Was it to… help him relieve his worries? 

It was also him who had reminded him about the mung beans. 

It seems that, these past few days, he has been worried about the issue of burning glass. He probably noticed it and kept it in mind. 

After realizing this, a warm feeling spread through Wen Ze’s heart. 

Their gazes met, and Wen Ze smiled lightly and nodded at him. Zhuo Mu returned the smile. 

The little ones chattered away, while the two adults said nothing, but it felt like they had said everything. 

Zhuo Mu poured the first batch of mung bean paste onto a clean wooden board. 

Wen Ze waited for it to cool a little, tasted a small bit to make sure the flavor was fine, and then used a wooden piece to shape it before cutting it into small square pieces. 

“There’s no mold, so the shape is a bit simple, but the taste is still good.” Wen Ze smiled and called out to the little ones, “Come, come, line up and come get your mung bean cakes.” 

The little ones didn’t think the mung bean cakes were ordinary at all. 

The fresh green color, paired with the golden osmanthus, was both beautiful and pleasing to the eye. 

They had smelled the rich fragrance for a while, and their mouths were watering! 

Especially with the added milk and honey syrup, they couldn’t even imagine how delicious it was! 

When Wen Ze finished speaking, everyone immediately lined up according to size. 

Wen Ze held a small piece of mung bean cake in his hand. When Jia Yi approached with his paws held out, an idea suddenly popped into his mind. 

“The last question of today’s game: What’s in the soil?” Wen Ze raised a finger and asked. 

Jia Yi answered quickly, eager for the cake: “Soil!” 

Wen Ze lightly tapped his head with his free hand. “As if I don’t know there’s soil!” 

However, he still handed the mung bean cake to Jia Yi and waved his hand, signaling him to eat. 

“Alright, you go next,” Wen Ze said, looking at the next half-beastman child. 

The little one turned their eyes and asked, “Hmm… sand?” 

Wen Ze hummed in approval and gave him a piece of mung bean cake. 

The third child looked outside the straw shelter and said, “It’s raining, so there’s water in the soil!” 

That wasn’t wrong. 

The fourth child answered “dirt,” and the fifth said “stones.” 

When it was the sixth child’s turn, he hesitated and said, “Grass roots?” 

Wen Ze suddenly raised his eyes, and his heart skipped a beat. 

“Grass roots…” he repeated the words. 

The child explained, “Isn’t grass supposed to grow in the soil? It should have roots, right?” 

The child behind them eagerly chimed in, “If that’s the case, there should also be flower roots, tree roots, and rhizomes in the soil!” 

“Right, so many good roots!” 

Wen Ze’s eyes lit up. He jumped to his feet, arms wide, and gave the cub in front of him a big hug. 

“That’s right! You’re absolutely right! There are roots in the soil! How could I forget something so important!” 

The cubs looked confused and asked, “Brother Wen Ze, what are you talking about?” 

“Why are you so happy?” 

The one responsible for frying the mung beans was Yin He. Zhuo Mu realized something and quickly walked up to Wen Ze, his eyes lighting up as he asked, “Did you figure it out?” 

Wen Ze, holding the child in his arms, excitedly nodded and said, “I figured it out! Haha, it’s our old friend, Zhuo Mu! It’s plant ash!” 

Apart from limestone and sand, the last essential thing for making glass is alkali—sodium carbonate! 

Ah, no wonder they could make half-finished products by adding soil! 

The plant residues in the soil, when burned into plant ash, are basically sodium carbonate! 

Once he figured that out, everything else would be easy! 

They didn’t necessarily need to use plant ash; they could use lye, just like when they improved the soap formula! The effect should be the same! 

The more Wen Ze thought about it, the more excited he became, his eyes turning red. He grabbed the freshly made mung bean cakes and handed them to the children. 

“Babies, you’re amazing, so smart, so awesome!” 

The cubs were delighted by the praise and couldn’t stop laughing, feeling extremely proud. 

Taking another bite of the delicate, warm, sweet mung bean cake… Delicious! It was so good it made them feel bubbly! 

One could imagine how excited they would be when they returned home, telling their parents about the good news and exaggerating how Wen Ze had praised them. 

Although they didn’t understand why plant ash made Wen Ze so happy, who cared! 

They had food, fun, and rewards—what more could they ask for! 

When the children left, Wen Ze was still in a state of pure excitement. 

As he cleaned the straw shelter, he sincerely told Zhuo Mu, “Thank you so much today. Not only do I feel much better, but the problem that had been bothering me for days is also solved.” 

Zhuo Mu was equally happy for him. He shook his head and said, “It’s your own cleverness. I didn’t help much.” 

He had only asked the children to come over to distract Wen Ze so he wouldn’t put too much pressure on himself. 

Solving the problem was an unexpected bonus. 

Wen Ze insisted, “No, it’s all thanks to you. If you hadn’t reminded me about threshing and making mung bean cakes, I would still be worrying about making glass every day.” 

Zhuo Mu smiled lightly but didn’t argue with him. 

Coincidentally, the rain outside gradually stopped. 

Sunlight broke through the thick clouds, and the sky, washed by the rain, was a deep, clear blue. A brilliant rainbow hung on the horizon. 

Wen Ze took a deep breath of the fresh air, filling his lungs with the fragrance of grass and earth. 

“I can’t wait to test it now that the rain has stopped. How about we go into the tribe and gather everyone to make some pottery?” 

Zhuo Mu replied, “Okay, let’s go.” 

Wen Ze called over Sang Hui, Wu Ye, Li Shui, and the others. 

When they heard that the glass-making had made progress, everyone was extra excited. 

The charcoal had already been prepared, and making the pottery was easy. 

As for the fine sand and limestone, they were familiar with where to find them. 

Based on the previous results, Wen Ze increased the amount of fine sand and mixed in limestone powder. 

He then divided it into two portions: one with added plant ash and the other with fresh lye water. 

After making the necessary notes, he looked up and said to the onlookers, “Help me gather some soil, let’s make some clay molds and fill them with sand.” 

“Okay,” Sang Hui asked, “How big should they be?” 

“We’ll make two sizes,” Wen Ze measured. “One will be about as long as two arm lengths and half that wide, and the other about as long as two arm lengths and just as wide.” 

He was worried that larger pieces of glass might not form properly, so making two sizes was a safer option. 

As for the height, the glass should be thin, just long enough to fit a finger joint. 

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone quickly got to work, and the clay molds were made in no time. 

Wen Ze personally filled them with a layer of fine sand, tapping out the air inside and pressing it flat. Finally, he sealed the top with clay. 

From the outside, the fine sand was completely covered by the soil. 

Once the wind blew through and the clay set, they slowly carried the molds into the pottery kiln and placed them carefully inside. 

Then, they followed the usual process of filling the kiln with charcoal and lighting the fire. 

That night, Wen Ze couldn’t stop thinking about the glassmaking. He lay on the stone bed in the cave, wrapped in animal hide, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. 

He didn’t know how long had passed, but eventually, he dozed off. In his dream, he was making glass! 

He saw himself and the others smashing the clay shells one after another, only to find the inside still filled with dark sand! 

A wave of intense disappointment hit him, causing him to open his eyes suddenly. His heart was pounding, and his gaze was fixed on the ceiling of the cave. It took a long time for him to calm down. 

He felt the ache in his back and waist, rubbed his throbbing brow, and sighed to himself: That was definitely not a good sleep. 

It was raining again today, but just a light drizzle—not enough to affect the gathering or hunting. 

In the morning, Wen Ze went out with the people of the tribe and brought back two large baskets of food. 

While sorting the ingredients, his mind was uneasy, and he kept glancing toward the kiln. 

Zhuo Mu asked him, “Should I take you there now?” 

Wen Ze was taken aback and replied awkwardly, “Even if we go now, we’ll just be waiting. Forget it.” 

“Then we wait. We’ll be the first to open the kiln.” Zhuo Mu’s eyes were full of determination. 

Wen Ze felt as though his heart had been suddenly squeezed by an invisible hand. 

Before he could speak, Bai Xia’s voice came from afar. “Zhuo Mu, Wen Ze! Come on, let’s open the kiln!” 

“Hmm?” Wen Ze turned his head and looked at the big white bear. “Can we open it now?” 

Bai Xia nodded. “I just came from the kiln. It’s ready to open! You forgot, it’s been raining all morning, so the kiln cools down quickly!” 

Wen Ze’s eyes brightened. “Right, the rain can lower the temperature!” 

Then what were they waiting for? He grabbed Zhuo Mu’s sleeve and started walking outside. “Coming, coming!” 

Zhuo Mu let him pull him along, a slight smile playing at the corner of his lips. 

The three of them rushed out and quickly arrived at the kiln. 

After sliding down from the giant snake’s back, Wen Ze didn’t even bother to adjust his raincoat and hurried straight toward the kiln. 

“We won’t wait for others any longer, let’s open the kiln!” 

As the kiln opened, the strong smell of clay thoroughly baked by the fire rushed at them. 

Wen Ze sniffed the air and knew this was the sign that the pottery had been fired. 

Sang Hui happily said, “I can smell it! This batch of pottery has been fired well!” 

Wu Ye said, “Hmm, for this kind of colored pottery, even though it requires a lot of materials, it’s very popular in the nearby tribes! The two previous batches we fired, all the pottery was exchanged!” 

Bai Xia grinned. “We’ll make a profit again this time!” 

Li Shui said, “I want to know how the glass turned out.” 

Wen Ze was also curious. 

He took the lead and moved several clay molds sealed with sand out of the kiln. 

To dry the bricks, the tribe had set up a large straw shelter nearby. 

At this moment, Wen Ze and the others stood around two stacks of clay molds in the middle of the straw shelter. 

The tribe members who came to watch were gathered outside the shelter, craning their necks to peek inside. 

After firing, some of the clay pieces had cracked and fallen off. 

Bai Ling raised the brim of his hat and exclaimed in surprise, “I see something reflecting light inside the clay mold!” 

“I see it too… it looks like it’s green!” 

“Did it fire properly?” 

No one in the shelter moved. 

Zhuo Mu looked at Wen Ze beside him and softly said, “Go ahead and open it.” 

The people around nodded in agreement, watching Wen Ze with gentle, encouraging eyes. 

Wen Ze felt a little emotional, and his nose slightly tingled. 

In that short step forward, many emotions rose in his heart. 

The disappointment of failed brick firing, the joy of discovering glass shards, the disappointment when the glass didn’t fire… 

The resolve, the days of contemplation, the great hopes placed on it—everything they had worked for… 

As the moment to witness the result approached, his fingertips trembled slightly, and the breath he exhaled carried the coolness of the rain. 

May the Beast God bless them, it must, it must succeed! 

Finally, he raised his hand and peeled open the first clay mold— 

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