“The Beast God’s thoughts, I don’t understand,” Wente shook his head.
Shu Yue kissed him comfortingly, “It’s okay, you’ll understand later. My special Wente is so smart. Can I sleep now?”
Wente: “…” Coaxing him again!
“No sleeping, I want to do it.”
…Well, looks like they wouldn’t be sleeping tonight either.
~~~
Their dual activities continued until dawn. Shu Yue washed her face while yawning, realizing she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep today as she had to grind flour.
After the strenuous activity, one beastman seemed to feel guilty and made breakfast with exceptional care.
Leite and Shuxin arrived earlier than usual. They were only slightly surprised to see them already awake and joined them for breakfast.
Leite and Shuxin stayed home to grind flour, while Shu Yue and Wente went out to arrange tasks for the tribespeople.
The largest open space was in the plaza, where forty to fifty stone mills were set up. Each mill was assigned three males: one to load the corn kernels, one to push the mill, and one to collect the flour.
Some females sat around a pile of fish skins, their task being to cut the skins into suitable sizes, punch small holes in them, and create simple sieves.
These sieves would be used to sift the corn flour. The sifted flour was stored in animal skin bags, while the coarser particles were set aside to be ground further.
With a limited number of stone mills, two to three hundred beastmen were sufficient to operate them. The remaining beastmen went to pick mushrooms. They kept enough for immediate consumption and dried the rest.
The tribe was bustling with activity today; everyone had a task, and working didn't hinder their conversations, creating a good atmosphere.
The cubs ran around, sometimes watching the beastmen pull the mills, other times playfully disrupting those drying mushrooms, their laughter filling the air.
The adult beastmen couldn’t do anything about them.
Having flour wasn't enough; Shu Yue's task was to teach everyone how to make food from corn flour.
As soon as the first bag of flour was ground that morning, she took it to use. She poured half a bag of flour into a large wooden basin, about twenty to thirty catties, mixed it with water, and placed it in the sun to dry.
Without yeast, they had to resort to an older method, which she had discussed with Shuxin the previous night.
In ancient times, there was no yeast. Leavened dough was made using a starter, which was prepared by mixing dough and leaving it in the sun for a day.
This dried starter, known as "lao mian" (old dough), could be diluted with water and mixed with new flour to leaven dough when making steamed buns. However, it took longer than using yeast.
With many hands, by noon, the animal skin bags of corn flour had piled up into a small mountain, and the starter was ready. The next step was to mix the dough.
Given the large number of tribespeople, five large wooden basins were prepared. Each basin received a bag of flour, with each bag containing about fifty catties of flour.
Shu Yue directed Wente in kneading the dough, and four other beastmen assisted.
With so much flour, she feared the females might not be able to handle the kneading. If it were up to the females alone, they wouldn't be able to eat until dark.
However, the females also had tasks, such as mincing meat and dicing fatty meat.
Hu Sha led over a dozen females in rendering oil, which would be used for pan-frying meat patties and could also be used for steamed buns, but without suitable steamers, they would have to wait for a later opportunity.
Once the dough was kneaded smooth, it was covered with a breathable animal skin and left in the sun to ferment.
Shu Yue moved continuously among the busy workers, occasionally answering countless questions.
“Shu Yue, is my chopping okay like this?” a young female asked, holding up her meat, which she had chopped into small cubes, and looking at Shu Yue expectantly for praise.
Shu Yue’s mouth twitched, “No, the meat needs to be minced finely.”
As she spoke, she demonstrated, her large bone knife ruthlessly chopping the meat on the cutting board. She didn’t need to look; she just chopped until it was done.
Soon, the meat turned into a paste, astonishing the female, “How can we eat it like this?”
Shu Yue put down the knife and straightened up, “You’ll know when the dough is ready.”
A bamboo tube of water was handed to her. Shu Yue gave the beastman an appreciative look, as she was thirsty. The water was delivered right to her lips.
After taking a few sips, her throat felt much better.
After waiting for more than two hours, with the midday sun beating down, the dough had risen so much it was almost overflowing the basin.
After mixing the dough, the next step was to teach the females how to knead it. Each person received a small kneading board. The yellow dough was kneaded until smooth, though not perfectly smooth, as her hands were inexperienced. They had to try their best even if they didn’t know how.
Shuxin was a kitchen disaster; her hands could perform surgery but were useless with dough.
The dough was rolled into thick, long shapes. Pieces were torn off by hand. Today, they would primarily make meat patties and oil cakes.
First, they made oil cakes. Using the rolling pins made that day, the dough was rolled out and folded several times. The dough became larger. Some oil was spread on top, and the edges of the dough were pinched and dabbed repeatedly to ensure oil coated every part.
Then, some salt was sprinkled on, and it was dabbed in as well.
Afterward, the dough was rolled up and cut into small sections with a knife. The ends were tucked into the middle, and the oily ends were enclosed inside, forming a ball. This ball was then flattened on the kneading board and rolled out with the rolling pin to create an oil cake.
Shu Yue became more adept with each cake she made. The other females who followed along were sweating profusely; they had never done such intricate work!
“Wente, pan-fry these cakes first to save time,” Shu Yue instructed.
“Okay,” Wente nodded and began adding firewood, dripping oil onto the stone slab.
The stone slab was long and wide. Shu Yue had Wente modify it, similar to a modern flat-top grill, so water wouldn’t spill out.
They could place over a dozen dough cakes at a time. After coating the yellow dough cakes with oil on both sides, some water was added, and they were covered with wooden lids to wait. Once the water evaporated, the dough cakes would be ready.
Wente covered the cakes and left them, coming to help her wrap meat patties. The meat patties were also simple: seasoned meat filling was wrapped in dough, ensuring no filling leaked out. They were then flattened into patties and pan-fried the same way as the oil cakes.
Shu Yue was sitting on a stone stool as she worked. After making just two large batches of dough, her back ached. “Wente, you wrap them, and I’ll pan-fry the cakes.”
Wente: “…” The filling in his hands leaked again!
Shu Yue gave him an encouraging look, “You can do it!”
Wente’s face stiffened. He looked at the busy, flustered grandmothers in front of him and called out, “Grandma Hu Sha, come help Yue Yue wrap them!”
Upon hearing this, Hu Sha quickly abandoned her two companions and joined Shu Yue’s team. It was too frustrating to work with clumsy partners!
Everyone was watching Shu Yue’s batch of oil cakes, hoping to be the first to taste them when they were done.
Baron stood guard, meticulously recording every step.
Shu Yue sat in front of the stone slab, scanning the circle of onlookers. Describing them as layered three times deep wouldn't be an exaggeration. Anyone seeing them might think they were watching a cake-making competition!
From time to time, they cheered on their favorite teams.
If not for her strong mental fortitude, it would be hard not to tremble under so many watchful eyes!
Shu Yue lifted the lid to check if the water had evaporated. If not, she continued to wait, while also observing how others were doing.