After finishing their work, Wen Ze invited everyone to Zhuo Mu’s cave. He was going to make food for them. 

Coincidentally, he had exchanged several baskets of peanuts during the autumn harvest festival. He planned to fry the peanuts, with one pot containing sugar and the other salt. Just thinking about it made him hungry. 

However, everyone declined, saying, “The work we’ve done isn’t much, so we won’t eat.” 

Wen Ze invited them several times, but they still refused. 

Chi Yu and several other tribe leaders looked at the sky and said, “It’s getting late, we’ll head back to the tribe. We’ll come again next time.” 

Luan Xun nodded and said, “If anything comes up, just send us a message.” 

Seeing that they were determined to leave, Wen Ze smiled and said, “Alright, I will. That reminds me, when you return to your territory, collect some metal blocks. We can use them for future exchanges.” 

Everyone knew metal blocks were valuable, but no one had learned how to smelt them before, so even if they collected them, it was hard to exchange them. As a result, they hadn’t actively gathered them. 

Bai Han looked at Wen Ze and asked seriously, “What kind of metal blocks?” 

“Any kind works,” Wen Ze replied. “As long as it’s metal, I’ll take it.” 

Wen Ze’s approach was simple and straightforward. It didn’t matter if the melting point was high or low. Once he got them, he would try smelting them. 

If it worked, great; if not, it wouldn’t be a big loss. 

The tribe leaders all agreed seriously. They secretly made up their minds to help Wen Ze find seeds and metal blocks. 

After bidding farewell to Wen Ze, the beastmen turned into their furry and large beast forms. A group of cat, dog, and bird types rushed past Wen Ze, making his head spin. 

They carried the half-beastmen of their respective tribes on their backs, howling to the sky, and headed toward their tribes. 

Sang Hui and the others didn’t stay long either. After saying their goodbyes to Wen Ze, they headed home as well. 

Wen Ze couldn’t wait to eat rice. He grabbed the wooden pestle and called Zhuo Mu and Yin He to quickly head towards the cave. 

Zhuo Mu carried a stone mill on his left shoulder and a large bag of yellow rice on his right. He moved with ease and walked at a brisk pace. 

Yin He carried the rice husks they had gathered. It was light, so he could carry several bags at once. 

Once at home, Wen Ze first took some clean water and scooped two ladles of rice to soak. 

While waiting, he didn’t waste time. He took out a newly sharpened kitchen knife and began efficiently preparing the ingredients. 

Having the right tools made a huge difference. The crisp sounds of the knife slicing through vegetables were like music to his ears. 

Yin He and Zhuo Mu set their things down and came over to help. 

Once the water boiled, Wen Ze put the soaked yellow rice into the pot, then covered it, took some firewood from the stove, and turned the heat down to let it steam slowly. 

Next, he prepared several dishes, including Zhuo Mu’s favorite stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat, Yin He’s favorite boiled meat slices, and his own favorite scrambled eggs with tomatoes. 

Since they had plenty of sugar at home, he added honey to both the boiled meat slices and the scrambled eggs with tomatoes to enhance the flavor. 

Once the dishes were ready, the yellow rice was also steamed. 

To improve the rice’s texture, he let it steam for an extra ten minutes before lifting the lid. 

Yin He and Zhuo Mu had come up behind him at some point, one on the left and the other on the right, looking into the pot. 

Along with a cloud of steam, Wen Ze could smell the strong fragrance of rice! 

That smell instantly spread from his nose to his heart, making him feel relaxed and happy! 

His black eyes sparkled as he swallowed and sighed, “It smells so good!” 

Yin He nodded eagerly. “It smells so good! Is this the smell of cooked grains? It’s making me so hungry!” 

“Yes! Fresh rice smells the best! The more you chew, the sweeter it gets!” 

No, he couldn’t say more; if he did, he’d really start drooling. 

Wen Ze quickly had them bring the dishes to the table and set the bowls and chopsticks. He used a wooden spatula to scoop the yellow rice from the pot into a large bowl, filling it quickly. 

The most pleasant surprise was that there was a layer of crispy rice at the bottom of the pot! 

Back in the modern times, when cooking rice in a rice cooker, the bottom of the pot is smooth and clean. He hadn’t eaten crispy rice crust in years! 

The distant memory of the fragrant, crispy taste instantly awakened his craving. 

He scraped off the crispy rice, layered it a few times to make it smaller, and placed it on top of the rice. 

As he walked toward the stone table with the clay bowl, he broke off a piece of crispy rice and popped it into his mouth. 

Mmm! The crunch was so satisfying, so crisp and delicious! 

After placing the rice down, he sat down and began serving rice to everyone. 

Soon, the three of them each held a bowl of rice, blew on it to cool the steam, and scooped it into their mouths with chopsticks. 

The steamed rice was not only smooth but also chewy. The moment it entered his mouth, Wen Ze immediately felt its stickiness! 

His eyes lit up, and he said with a hint of excitement, “This is great, it’s sticky rice! This kind of grain is perfect for brewing wine!” 

As he chewed, his teeth lightly stuck to the rice, which felt quite interesting. 

The rice grains were fresh and sweet, with a soft and sticky texture, making it incredibly delicious. 

Once the chewed rice was swallowed, a faint fragrance lingered in his mouth with just a breath. 

Finally tasting the rice, Wen Ze was so moved that he nearly teared up. 

Looking at Yin He and Zhuo Mu, it was clear they were also stunned by how good the rice tasted. 

Yin He widened his eyes and said to Wen Ze, “Brother, this is so delicious! Now I finally understand why you were looking for grains! This is truly a gift from the Beast God!” 

Wen Ze laughed proudly, “Haha, that’s right! No matter how good roots are, they can’t compare to rice and vegetables together!” 

He picked up a piece of meat, placed it in his bowl, then used his chopsticks to pick up both the rice and meat and put them into his mouth. 

“One bite of vegetables, one bite of rice, this is just so satisfying!” 

Yin He’s eyes shone as he followed his lead and started eating like crazy. 

He was sweating from the spice but couldn’t stop eating. 

“No wonder you said this boiled meat slices go so well with rice! I feel like I hardly ate anything, and my bowl of rice is already gone!” Yin He wiped his red lips and shouted. 

Wen Ze laughed, “Hahaha, there’s a whole big pot of rice! Let’s eat our fill today! And there’s the crispy rice crust, so fragrant and crispy! You two should try it!” 

Yin He responded loudly, “Okay!” 

When Zhuo Mu was eating rice, his red eyes also gleamed. He spoke warmly to Wen Ze, “It really is delicious. Even if no one else helps, I would still be willing to pound the rice slowly by myself.” 

Such high praise made Wen Ze smile broadly. 

“And I’m here too, we can both pound the rice together!” 

Zhuo Mu’s gaze paused, and the smile on his face grew wider. 

“Okay,” he said, “we’ll plant rice, pound rice, and eat rice together.” 

Wen Ze nodded with his bowl in hand, “Mm-hmm!” 

This meal left everyone very satisfied. All the bowls on the stone table were empty. 

If it weren’t for Yin He burping, nearly causing the food to spill out of his throat, he would have drunk all the soup too. 

Wen Ze also sat back and relaxed for a moment before getting up to take another pot of yellow rice and soaking it in clean water. 

Zhuo Mu added soap to the hot water and, while washing the bowls and chopsticks, asked, “Is this the brewing wine you mentioned?” 

Wen Ze replied, “Yes, it’s the first step in brewing wine. After soaking until tomorrow at this time, it should be ready for steaming” 

When he was in university, he had tried brewing wine before and knew some important steps. 

For example, after steaming this yellow rice, if it’s cooled to about thirty degrees, it can be mixed with the wine starter. 

He didn’t have any wine starter on hand, but he did have a pouch that had once contained milk and hadn’t been cleaned. 

Recently, he had been worried about fermenting yogurt, but by chance, he discovered that the milk inside the water pouch had naturally fermented quite well and already had a faint alcohol smell. 

He took some of the yogurt out, leaving the rest inside the pouch to continue fermenting. It had now turned into yogurt wine. 

This yogurt wine could theoretically replace the wine starter. 

He decided to try it out and see how it went. 

Once everything was taken care of, it was already getting late. Wen Ze picked up his things and went to the river to take a bath. 

After autumn arrived, the temperature dropped significantly once the sun set. 

Even the river was much colder than in the summer. 

Wen Ze had to mentally prepare himself before jumping into the river. 

Squatting by the river and splashing water on his face, Wen Ze thought, “It’s okay now, but in winter, I really won’t have the courage to ‘winter swim.’ I need to find some time to make a bathtub. 

The next day, Wen Ze and Zhuo Mu stayed home to work on the “bird nest.” 

Though it was called a bird’s nest, it was actually a chicken coop enclosed by a fence near the land used for raising cows. 

Wen Ze was afraid the chicks would escape, so he chose thick wood, about the size of a thigh, and over four meters high. 

Zhuo Mu was responsible for digging half-meter-deep holes, while Wen Ze carefully placed the posts tightly in the holes and secured them with hemp ropes. 

As he tied, he said, “When we find more metal, we can make metal wires to tie it more securely.” 

Zhuo Mu nodded, “Alright.” 

Once the soil was packed down, Zhuo Mu took on the task of pressing it firmly. 

He was strong, and he pressed all four rows of posts down tightly. 

To make it easier to get in and out, they left a simple wooden door in one corner. 

After the fence was up, the two of them tried to push it. 

Wen Ze put a lot of effort into it but couldn’t budge it. 

“What do you think?” He turned to ask Zhuo Mu. 

Zhuo Mu said, “With the strength of the long-legged chicks, they shouldn’t be able to knock down the fence.” 

Wen Ze nodded, “Hmm, if they grow bigger and can’t be contained here, we’ll come up with another solution.” 

They walked into the spacious chicken coop, took a good look around, confirmed everything was fine, and then gathered their tools to head toward the cliff where the long-legged birds lived. 

On the road, Zhuo Mu transformed into his beast form, and Wen Ze comfortably lay on his back. 

The two of them first took a detour to the grassland where they had previously found the yellow fruits. Sure enough, some of the yellow fruits were almost ripe, so they quickly picked them and put them into the basket. 

The fully ripe yellow fruit wouldn’t wait for them. 

With autumn fully settling in, the grassland had turned yellow, and soon it would wither and turn into nutrients for the soil. In the coming spring, new sprouts would grow. 

Some of the forests they passed through had also been tinged with light red and yellow, creating a beautiful sight. 

When deep autumn arrived, the scenery would surely be colorful, like fire and gold, stunning beyond words. 

By the time they reached the cliff, it was already afternoon. The sun hung high, baking everything under its heat. 

To avoid scaring the long-legged bird flock into relocating, Zhuo Mu had already transformed into his human form early on. 

Since they had already checked the bird nests last time, they knew exactly where to find the chicks. 

After discussing, they decided to start from above the cliff and work their way down. 

Wen Ze brought a thick hemp rope and tied one end to a sturdy tree trunk on the left and right. 

His plan was to keep one rope for himself and give the other to Zhuo Mu. 

Unexpectedly, Zhuo Mu took both ropes and tied them around his waist. 

“Altogether, there are only seven bird nests and twenty-five chicks. I’ll go catch them, and you can pull the ropes from above.” 

Wen Ze felt bad letting him go alone, but Zhuo Mu looked at him and said seriously, “If anything goes wrong, I can transform into my beast form. Don’t worry.” 

Thinking that it would be safer for him to go alone, Wen Ze hesitated for a moment and said, “Alright. If the birds attack you, just fight back, don’t worry about whether they’ll move their nest. Your safety is the most important.” 

Zhuo Mu smiled faintly: “Mm, got it.” 

After securing the ropes, he made a gesture to Wen Ze and began climbing down the cliff. 

Wen Ze leaned over and nervously watched from above. 

Zhuo Mu was not only quick and agile, but he also had a good memory. He went straight toward the target and quickly reached the first bird nest. 

They were in luck. The adult birds had gone out to search for food, and inside the nest were four chicks. 

The chicks were covered in sparse down feathers, looking bald and quite ugly. But their cries were surprisingly loud and energetic. 

Amid their frightened cries, Zhuo Mu picked the two strongest ones and tossed them into his basket. 

Then, without looking back, he headed straight for the next nest. 

Watching how naturally he moved, Wen Ze was stunned. He couldn’t help but mutter, “So cool.” 

The next two nests also went smoothly. 

But when he got to the fourth nest, the adult bird had just returned. Seeing someone stealing its chicks, it let out an angry screech and dove toward Zhuo Mu, trying to peck him. 

The white mist on the mountainside blocked Wen Ze’s view, and he could only hear the bird’s fierce cries. He still hadn’t seen Zhuo Mu transform into his beast form, and his heart tightened with worry. 

Zhuo Mu wouldn’t get hurt by that long-legged bird, right? 

He tugged the rope on his end and felt that it was still securely tied to Zhuo Mu. 

Soon, the other end of the rope tugged back in response. 

Wen Ze understood that it meant Zhuo Mu was fine, and he let out a sigh of relief. 

The time spent waiting on the cliff was agonizing, and Wen Ze regretted not going down with Zhuo Mu. 

Just when he didn’t know how many times he’d looked down, Zhuo Mu finally appeared, climbing back up the cliff with a full basket. 

For the final step, Wen Ze reached out a hand and gave him a pull. 

Their hands tightly grasped each other, and after Zhuo Mu steadied himself, they reluctantly let go. 

“I caught nineteen chicks and one adult bird.” 

Zhuo Mu put the basket down and tossed the adult bird he had caught onto the ground with a thud. 

Wen Ze glanced over and saw that the bird’s neck had already been twisted. 

“That’s the one that attacked you?” 

Zhuo Mu nodded. “Yeah. There was only one chick in its nest. I brought it back too.” 

Wen Ze responded, “Mhm. Let’s make spicy shredded chicken tonight!” 

Just talking about it made his mouth water. 

Having chili peppers really made a difference. He could finally make so many dishes he had been craving. 

He bent down to check the chicks in the basket. 

These chicks had just hatched not long ago. The largest one was only a little longer than his hand, with big round eyes and chirping frantically. 

“Not bad. They’re all pretty lively. Alright, let’s head home!” Wen Ze said with a smile. 

After arriving home, the two of them put the chicks into the chicken coop. 

The chicks were no longer scared. They curiously ran around on the ground, pecking at things in the dirt from time to time. 

Yin He carried a few bundles of dry grass and tossed them into the corner of the coop, saying happily, “Now they can lay eggs here.” 

Wen Ze couldn’t help but laugh, “Hahaha, you greedy bear, it’s still too early for them to lay eggs.” 

Yin He chuckled awkwardly. 

Wen Ze poured some rice husk into the coop as feed. Just as expected, the chicks ran over, chirping excitedly as they ate. 

He watched them with a grin for a while, then said, “It rains a lot in autumn. We can add a few wooden planks over the corner of the fence to block the wind and rain for them.” 

Zhuo Mu nodded. “I’ll chop up some wood and set it up in a bit.” 

They split up the work. One went to fix up the coop, the other to handle the newly caught long-legged bird. 

Yin He volunteered to catch bugs for the chicks to eat. 

After draining the bird’s blood, Wen Ze heated up some water to scald the bird and pluck its feathers. 

Just as he started soaking the bird, people in the tribe heard they’d brought back long-legged chicks, and all came over to check it out. 

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