The Cane Field was quite a distance from the Soap Pod Tree, and it took Qin Tian and his companion more than forty minutes of walking to get there.
The trees near the Cane Field were sparse, and, just like around the Soap Pod Tree, there was a patch of cleared land around them, almost as if they had been planted there on purpose. But looking at the wild, disorderly growth of the sugarcane, it was clear this was purely wild.
The Cane Field was vast, even bigger than the meadow. Qin Tian hadn’t expected it to be so large; he was momentarily stunned when he saw it.
“Sugarcane has leaves? I always thought it was just bare stalks.” Ye Lin couldn’t help but feel a bit curious at the sight of the Cane Field.
After all, the Black Sugarcane Ye Lin had eaten before never had any leaves. This was her first time seeing sugarcane leaves.
“These canes look so much thinner than Black Sugarcane,” Ye Lin remarked again. The canes before her were really skinny, just a bit wider than the cap of a mineral water bottle.
“All sugarcane has leaves. They’re just removed when it’s sold,” Qin Tian explained. As he spoke, his expression changed. He saw Ye Lin reaching out to touch the sugarcane leaves.
Qin Tian hurriedly called out to Ye Lin, “Don’t touch that!”
Startled, Ye Lin withdrew her hand. “Wh-what’s wrong?”
“These sugarcane leaves are as sharp as razor blades. Don’t cut yourself,” Qin Tian let out a breath of relief.
Ye Lin really was fearless. Qin Tian himself only dared to grab those sugarcane leaves while wearing work gloves, but she had almost gone for it bare-handed.
“Is it really that bad?” Ye Lin was skeptical. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out again.
Even if it was like a razor blade, as long as she was careful, it should be fine. That was what Ye Lin was thinking.
“I advise you not to be so curious.” Qin Tian didn’t stop her again. Like they say, sometimes you have to learn the hard way.
Very carefully, Ye Lin ran her finger along the edge of a sugarcane leaf. Instantly, she felt a tug, and when she looked closely, there was already a small cut on her finger, with fresh blood welling up.
“Ow, ow, ow.” Ye Lin quickly put her finger in her mouth. This was nothing like a razor blade—it was even sharper!
“You know, when we harvest sugarcane, we have to dress up thickly before we dare to go into the field,” Qin Tian said with a chuckle, recalling how it had been for him as a child entering a Cane Field.
When he was ten, his parents took him to work in the fields. The first time he went to the Cane Field, just like Ye Lin, he was fascinated by the sugarcane and reached out to touch it without a second thought. Of course, he ended up with a cut too.
Ye Lin’s cut wasn’t big, only half a centimeter, and it was just the skin, not the flesh, so there was no need to treat it. It would heal on its own in half a day or so.
Still, Ye Lin was a little frustrated. Curiosity really did kill the cat. If she had listened to Qin Tian, none of this would have happened.
“Don’t look so glum. Come, have a taste of this sugarcane,” said Qin Tian, pulling out the Stone Axe and cutting a stalk nearby.
Even though it was just a Stone Axe, with one swing, the cane was cut cleanly. Qin Tian quickly trimmed off the top and removed the leaves—clearly, he’d done this plenty as a kid.
When Qin Tian looked at the cane in his hand, he frowned. He was obviously not very satisfied.
The cane in his hand was a deep purplish-red, its skin very smooth, but Qin Tian knew good sugarcane had a layer of black ** on the skin. When you touched it, your hand would turn black. The one he held was smooth, which usually meant it had been left for a while.
He weighed it in his hand and found it was still heavy, so there should be plenty of juice left. It ought to be edible.
Without delay, Qin Tian chopped off a section and handed it to Ye Lin. “This type of sugarcane is really tough. You’ll need to use some force to eat it.”
“Mm-hmm.” Ye Lin nodded, already eager to try.
“Aw—” At that moment, Han Pi let out a cry, then sniffed at the cane in Qin Tian’s hand, clearly wanting a taste as well.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get yours too.” Qin Tian grinned and handed half of the remaining cane to Han Pi.
A single cane was over a meter long. The two humans and one beast each took half a meter of cane and started gnawing away—a rather unique scene.
“So tough!” Ye Lin exclaimed as she tore at the cane’s skin. The difference was obvious the moment she bit in.
Compared to Black Sugarcane, this variety had a much harder and thicker skin. It was thick enough that you could hear it tearing as you pulled it off.
Qin Tian had eaten a lot of this kind of cane before, so he quickly stripped away most of the skin, revealing the white core inside.
Even faster than Qin Tian, Han Pi shoved the cane into its mouth, skin and all, and started chomping down. After all, no matter how tough sugarcane skin was, could it really compare to bamboo?
But it seemed Han Pi didn’t like it. After chewing for a bit, it spat the cane out and tossed the rest aside. At this point, Ye Lin finally finished peeling hers.
With high expectations, Ye Lin took a bite, but what she hadn’t expected was that the core was just as tough. Though it looked thin, it took a lot of force to bite through. Only now did she understand why Qin Tian had said it was tough on the teeth.
“This wild cane tastes weird. It’s sweet, but it really dries out your throat, and it’s a bit sour too.” Ye Lin didn’t want to take a second bite.
“It’s out of season. Sugarcane turns strange when it’s past its time. If you get it in season, the juice is really sweet and refreshing—not like this at all.” That’s what Qin Tian said, but he was still eating happily.
For him, he’d had even drier, harsher cane before. Compared to those, this wasn’t so bad.
Without finishing the cane, Qin Tian tossed the leftovers aside, then picked up the Stone Axe and chopped down another stalk. He said to Ye Lin, “Ye Lin, help me bundle up these canes. Let’s take some back.”
“Take them back?” Ye Lin was puzzled. “Are they really that tasty?”
“Who said I was going to eat them?” Qin Tian explained, “I want to take them back and make Red Sugar.”
“Red Sugar?” Ye Lin immediately perked up. That was a very important thing for her.
***
Though the Cane Field was big, most of the canes were either thin and dry or turning red and moldy. It took Qin Tian a long time to find a dozen or so edible ones. By then, it was already afternoon.
After loading the canes into Han Pi’s basket, they hurried back to the Camp before it got dark.
Each had their duties: Ye Lin prepared dinner, and Qin Tian sorted the day’s harvest. By the time they finished eating, it was already eight o’clock in the evening.
Normally, Qin Tian would go to bed at this hour, but that was only when he had to take shifts. With Han Pi on night watch now, he didn’t have to sleep so early. Even going to bed at midnight, he could still get enough rest.
In fact, going to bed early would just waste time. There was still plenty of time before night’s deepest hours to do other things.
“Chinese Arborvitae Leaf, Artemisia, Mulberry Bark, Polygonum multiflorum, Lingzhi…” Qin Tian recalled the ingredients for making Shampoo from the Wilderness Craft Encyclopedia.
In the kitchen, Qin Tian and Ye Lin washed the Soap Pod Husks they’d collected today and soaked them in a clay jar.
“How long do we have to soak these?” Ye Lin shook the water off her hands.
“Two or three days. Just soak them until the Soap Pod Husks swell up,” Qin Tian replied.
“I remember you said that, to make Shampoo from Soap Pods, you need to add other herbs, right?” Ye Lin was quite invested in the shampoo project.
“Wait, Polygonum multiflorum?! Lingzhi?!” Qin Tian hadn’t finished speaking when Ye Lin interrupted, “You need those two things to make Shampoo?!”
Ye Lin was stunned. What kind of magical shampoo was this?
Seeing Ye Lin’s reaction, Qin Tian chuckled. “If I remember right, last year, Polygonum multiflorum and Lingzhi went for about twenty-two yuan per kilo.”
“Twenty-two yuan per kilo?” Ye Lin repeated, wondering if she’d misheard.
“But if you mean the hundred-year Lingzhi from those martial arts dramas, then that’s calculated by the ten-thousand,” Qin Tian joked. “But these are all farmed, of course. They can’t compare.”
“But it must be hard to find either of those on this deserted island,” Ye Lin blushed.
Her impression of Lingzhi was the kind from TV dramas that could bring the dead back to life. As she saw it, Lingzhi and Polygonum multiflorum were precious Chinese medicinal herbs.
If not for Qin Tian, she never would have guessed those things were so cheap.
Actually, Ye Lin had nothing to be embarrassed about. Many people were just like her, thinking of Polygonum multiflorum only as something magical from TV, and shared her opinions.
“Relax. The things I mentioned aren’t actually necessary,” Qin Tian said. “If you’re not picky, just Soap Pod Husks are enough to wash your hair.”
“It’s just that the Chinese Arborvitae Leaf and Artemisia are for oil control, hair loss prevention, and have antibacterial and anti-itching effects. If you boil them together with Soap Pods, the Shampoo comes out better.”
“Got it.” Ye Lin nodded. So those things were basically just additives.
Once they finished soaking the Soap Pod Husks, the two of them went back to the cave to rest. After sharing a bed the night before, things weren’t as awkward tonight, though Ye Lin still waited until Qin Tian was asleep before she lay down.
***
The moon set and the sun rose—a new day had begun.
Qin Tian’s plan for today was to make Red Sugar. The sugarcane they’d chopped was already out of season, and without roots, it would spoil even faster, so Qin Tian had to process it quickly.
There were only four steps to making sugar from cane: squeezing juice, filtering, boiling, and drying. Of course, this was the roughest method—industrial production had many more steps.
The hardest part was the first step. Of the four, juicing was the most difficult. Qin Tian and Ye Lin didn’t have a juicer, so they’d have to do it by hand.
For this part, Ye Lin wouldn’t be much help. Qin Tian asked her to take Han Pi and look around the area to see if she could find anything useful.