It was three thirty in the afternoon. The sun had already passed its zenith, but the weather remained hot.
Because the paper pulp was thin, the sheets within the frame set quickly. Though they were still damp, they could already be removed from the frame.
Ye Lin brought over the prepared wooden rack and carefully took out the paper sheets from the frame, laying them out to dry.
Qin Tian took the empty frame and went back to scooping up more pulp.
The two worked in tandem, and before long, the paper pulp gradually turned clear.
By then, the sky had already grown dim. Nearly thirty sheets of paper were laid out on the rack; these were the later batches—the earliest batches had already dried and been put away by Ye Lin in a pot.
Seeing there was nothing more to scoop up, Qin Tian wiped the sweat from his brow, set the frame aside, and asked Ye Lin, “Did you count them? How many sheets did we make in total?”
With the paper finished, Ye Lin couldn’t have been happier and smiled, “Including the ones on the rack, that’s seventy-eight sheets altogether.”
Seventy-eight sheets—barely enough for three or four exercise books. Qin Tian thought it was a bit too few and said, “Let’s continue tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Ye Lin nodded.
After a full day of work, Qin Tian was already hungry. He quickly tidied up their things and went off to prepare dinner.
Only after dinner did Qin Tian have the time to check the quality of the paper they had made that day.
“Ding—Host has made paper, awarded 1000 points!”
Sitting by the campfire, Qin Tian picked up a sheet and crumpled it in his hands, feeling very satisfied.
Without any bleach, the paper had a yellow tint and felt a bit rough. It was much thicker than the paper he usually used.
However, the paper’s toughness was unquestionable; no matter how much he ** , it wouldn’t break—at most, a little powder would come off.
“This is great. I can finally say goodbye to using tree branches,” Qin Tian suddenly said, bringing up a strange topic.
Hearing this, Ye Lin, who had just taken a sip of Mint Tea, immediately spat it out and said with a hint of annoyance, “Could you not talk about things like that while we’re eating?”
“Sorry,” Qin Tian laughed sheepishly, “It just slipped out.”
Ye Lin had lost her appetite after that, set down her cup, propped her face on her hands, and watched the paper in Qin Tian’s hand with admiration. “To think you could make paper like this on a deserted island—you’re really amazing.”
Hearing this, Qin Tian was about to respond, but Ye Lin cut him off, “Don’t bother saying something like ‘read more books’ or anything like that.”
Qin Tian spread his hands helplessly. “Then I really don’t know what to say.”
The truth was, he’d learned the papermaking process from a book—but that book was called the Wildcraft Compendium, which you couldn’t find on the market.
***
Three days later…
At noon, on the grassland outside the Primal Panda’s cave.
Holding a Fish Bamboo Shoot in his hand, Qin Tian looked toward the cave where the Primal Panda was staying. For the past three days, he and Ye Lin had been making paper. After all that time, he didn’t know how the Primal Panda was doing.
As usual, Qin Tian tossed the Fish Bamboo Shoot out and shouted, “Han Pi!”
It was as if the Primal Panda had been waiting for this very moment. Before Qin Tian’s voice had even faded, the Primal Panda crawled out of the cave. But as soon as it saw Qin Tian in the distance, it let out a deep warning growl.
However, once Qin Tian sat down, the Primal Panda stopped growling and instead turned its gaze to the Fish Bamboo Shoot nearby, swallowing it in one bite.
“It just swallowed it whole? Looks like it’s starving,” Qin Tian muttered. He threw out another Fish Bamboo Shoot, but this time, the Primal Panda didn’t eat it right away. Knowing that Qin Tian was the one who had tossed the food, it seemed wary of the Fish Bamboo Shoot.
Qin Tian wasn’t worried. He believed that, after being hungry for so long, the Primal Panda would eat eventually.
Sure enough, after more than ten minutes, the Primal Panda couldn’t resist its hunger any longer. After sniffing it to make sure there was nothing wrong, it opened its mouth and ate the Fish Bamboo Shoot.
Apparently, it still wasn’t satisfied. At this moment, the Primal Panda gazed longingly at Qin Tian, letting out a deep sound that, for the first time, felt like it was begging for food—something that had never happened before.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Seeing the Primal Panda’s expression, Qin Tian actually felt a little guilty. After all, the reason the Primal Panda had gone hungry was because of him.
But the Primal Panda’s reaction made Qin Tian pleasantly surprised. Judging from the situation, the Primal Panda was already familiar with him. As long as he didn’t do anything out of line, he didn’t have to worry about being attacked.
Overjoyed, Qin Tian threw out all the Fish Bamboo Shoots he’d brought. “They’re all yours!”
Having starved for so long, the Primal Panda ignored Qin Tian completely and buried its head in eating.
“No gratitude at all,” Qin Tian called out before leaving.
From that day on, whenever the Primal Panda saw Qin Tian, it no longer let out warning growls. Qin Tian was also able to gradually shorten the distance between himself and the Primal Panda.
In this way, another four days passed, and the distance between Qin Tian and the Primal Panda had shortened to eight meters. The Primal Panda’s Fish Bamboo Shoot rations had shifted to a three-to-seven ratio.
After another four days, the distance shrank to five meters, and the Fish Bamboo Shoots were now at a two-to-eight ratio.
However, after this point, Qin Tian found it hard to further alter the Primal Panda’s diet.
At the two-to-eight ratio, the taste was dominated by bamboo shoots, with only a small portion of fish. Qin Tian had tried giving the Primal Panda bamboo shoots with a one-to-nine ratio, but after sniffing them, the Primal Panda tossed them aside.
After thinking it over, Qin Tian decided to let the Primal Panda go hungry for a few more days.
***
During this period, Ye Lin began her menstrual cycle.
One day, Qin Tian didn’t go to the grassland or gather any other resources. Instead, he stayed at camp to take care of Ye Lin.
Qin Tian couldn’t understand how much pain a woman went through during her period, but from Ye Lin’s pale face, he could guess it was bad.
At the Clay Stove, Qin Tian boiled a pot of water, poured it into a Test Tube, stoppered it with a wooden plug, and brought it over to the wooden shelter to give to Ye Lin.
At that moment, Ye Lin was lying in the shelter, curled up like a shrimp.
“Thank you.” Ye Lin took the Test Tube, her voice weak as a mosquito’s.
Seeing Ye Lin like this, Qin Tian couldn’t help but soften his voice as well, smiling, “Are your periods always this painful? The girls in our class were never this bad.”
Ye Lin didn’t answer right away. Hugging the Test Tube to her belly, she felt much better as the warmth spread.
“It never hurt this much before.” Ye Lin shook her head.
“So what do you usually do to ease the pain?” Qin Tian asked, not giving Ye Lin a moment’s peace.
“Drink some brown sugar with egg or something.” Seeing Qin Tian about to ask another question, Ye Lin smiled and quickly interrupted, “Alright, you don’t need to distract me. Having this hot water bottle already helps a lot…”
Just then, Ye Lin’s expression changed, and she hurriedly said, “Qin Tian, go do your own thing, you don’t need to take care of me.”
“Just remember to throw the paper into the pot and put the lid on.” Guessing why Ye Lin wanted him to leave so quickly, Qin Tian gave her a reminder before leaving camp.
“I know!” Ye Lin’s cheeks flushed.
Watching Qin Tian’s figure disappear into the forest, Ye Lin quickly sat up and grabbed the stack of paper nearby.
Though the paper could absorb water, it was no substitute for a sanitary pad. Its absorbency was limited, so Ye Lin had to change it often.
***
Meanwhile, after leaving camp, Qin Tian walked along the riverbank downstream. Seeing Ye Lin in such pain earlier, he planned to find some Wild Ginger to make her a drink.
In his experience, such shrub-filled, damp areas should be home to Wild Ginger, but whether he’d find any depended on luck.
“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I went out looking for resources.” Observing the plants along the riverbanks, Qin Tian spoke to himself.
If he remembered right, ever since he’d started trying to tame the Primal Panda, he’d been running back and forth between the grassland and camp, never having time for anything else.
Lost in thought, Qin Tian had unknowingly walked quite far, even passing the place where he first found mint.
But it was all worth it. After nearly two hours, Qin Tian found Wild Ginger in the forest near the stream.
Wild Ginger had long, narrow leaves, four or five of which grew in whorls on upright stems, circling directly from the stem—like tiny open umbrellas, forming chains. Qin Tian recognized it from a distance.
At the same time, information about Wild Ginger surfaced in Qin Tian’s mind.
Wild Ginger: also known as Nan Huang Jing and Shan Jiang, a plant of the Baihe Family Huang Jing genus. A perennial herb, 40~80 cm tall, with knobby, swollen rhizomes. Usually grows among wild shrubs in the forest, with a long growth cycle—generally taking three years to harvest. It has fatigue-fighting and kidney-nourishing effects and is one of the most common medicinal herbs.
Coming to the Wild Ginger, Qin Tian took out his Bamboo Spade and knelt down to dig.
There weren’t many plants here—only five or six—but the tubers were large. Each plant yielded a palm-sized rhizome, and Qin Tian took them all back with him.
By the time Qin Tian returned, it was already afternoon. Ye Lin had fallen asleep at some point, still curled up in the same position.
Ye Lin slept straight through till evening, only waking when Qin Tian roused her.
“Ye Lin, wake up!” Qin Tian shook Ye Lin gently. She opened her eyes slowly and, seeing it was already dark, immediately sat up, looking dazed. “Is it time to eat?”
“Yeah, time to eat.” Qin Tian almost laughed.
What a character—first thing after waking up, she thought about food. Maybe she really was a foodie at heart.
“But before eating, drink this first.” Qin Tian brought her a bowl of water.
Still half-asleep, Ye Lin took a big gulp without thinking, but as soon as it entered her mouth, she noticed the spicy flavor.
“Ginger water?” Ye Lin recognized the taste instantly. “Where did you get ginger?”
“Just drink it,” Qin Tian said without further explanation.
“Thank you.” Ye Lin said softly. Even if Qin Tian didn’t say anything, she could guess how he got it.
At this moment, Ye Lin’s heart was in turmoil, as if something within her was about to break free.