Wild mushroom species were numerous, and Bai Shuo only recognized a handful, but as luck would have it, the ones growing here happened to be a kind he knew, which was exactly why he’d dared to pick them at all. Looking around, Bai Shuo hesitated between going home for proper tools and just making do with what was on hand, and in the end chose the latter, he wove a small basket from riverside grass on the spot and carried the mushrooms off in that.
Having picked mushrooms, Bai Shuo paid even closer attention to the ground on his way back than before, walking from the back hills to their cooking spot, he actually found two more patches, adding up to roughly two jin altogether, nowhere near enough for the whole family to eat their fill, but plenty for a taste.
Yesterday the hunting party had caught three cluck-birds, and there was still some meat left over from that. Bai Shuo took down a piece, cut it into small chunks, blanched it, then stir-fried it in oil before adding water to make a soup, and once it had simmered for about an hour, he added the washed mushrooms.
Really, Bai Shuo would rather have just stir-fried the mushrooms outright, but he’d picked so few this time that stir-fried, they’d be gone in just a few bites.
Once the cluck-bird-and-mushroom stew was ready, Bai Shuo tasted it first, and instantly felt like he could swallow his own tongue.
The mushrooms here tasted even more richly savory than any he remembered from his past life, their umami blended together with the cluck-bird’s fragrance, taking the flavor up yet another notch, without a trace of greasiness, just pure, layered savoriness. He’d only added a pinch of salt for seasoning during cooking, the rest of the flavor came entirely from the ingredients themselves.
Having soaked up all that broth, the mushrooms carried the taste of meat while staying even more tender than the meat itself, leaving you wanting bite after bite. Bai Shuo decided he’d go look elsewhere tomorrow to see if there were more, the spot where he’d picked mushrooms today needed protecting too, wherever mushrooms grew, mycelium remained in the soil, and there was a good chance more would sprout after the next rain. A food this delicious, eating it just once would be far too great a waste.
After a couple of sips, a voice sounded out behind him.
“Brother, what are you eating?”
Bai Shuo felt certain Bai Le possessed some kind of superpower, no matter where he was off playing, the moment food was ready nearby, he’d show up within minutes. Just like right now.
“Did you wash your hands?” Bai Shuo asked.
Hearing this, Bai Le obediently went to wash his hands, and by the time he came back, a bowl had already been placed in his hands. He drank without even looking, growing happier with every sip, and downed the whole bowl of soup in one go before setting it down and eyeing the stone pot.
He’d spotted meat!
Bai Shuo scooped him out a few pieces of meat and a few mushroom slices.
Like a whirlwind sweeping everything clean, the bowl emptied out again, and along with the empty bowl, Bai Le’s eyes lit up brighter than ever. “Brother, I want more!”
“You’ll have to wait for Papa and Mama to get back before you can have more.” Bai Shuo didn’t agree, Bai Le’s appetite was big, sure, but that didn’t mean he could overeat, and besides, the soup in the pot needed to be enough for the whole family, not to mention there was still other food left too.
“All right.” Bai Le looked crestfallen, but he knew that once his brother said something, it wasn’t going to change, so all he could do was count on his fingers, waiting for the gathering and hunting parties to get back.
Bai Shuo only drank half a small bowl himself and stopped there, no matter how delicious a food was, you still couldn’t overindulge in one sitting.
Before the gathering party got back, the chicks who’d been out gathering branches returned first. Seeing them, Bai Shuo ladled out a bowl for Bai Su right away, and told the other chicks to go get their own bowls too.
Hearing there was good food to be had, the chicks dashed off toward their own family caves at a sprint. Every household had one or two wooden bowls, mostly homemade, in all different sizes, Bai Shuo doled out portions with a ladle, giving each chick two scoops regardless of bowl size.
The chicks lined up in two rows, once one chick finished and stepped away, the next one in line moved forward. This wasn’t the first time they’d eaten at Bai Shuo’s place, so they knew his rules well by now, no arguing, no cutting in line, and if anyone did either, they’d be barred from the meal entirely.
Not minding the heat at all, the chicks took their bowls and started drinking right away, the moment that rich, savory broth touched their tongues, they couldn’t stop. Several sips later, the meaty soup was already gone, and the chicks were left wanting more. This was the first time any of them had ever thought a food tasted even better than meat.
“Bai Shuo, what is this?” the chicks asked, having noticed this was a food they’d never eaten before.
“Mushrooms,” Bai Shuo answered. “You’re not allowed to pick them.”
Compared to other kinds of food, mushrooms came in far too many varieties, plenty of them highly toxic, some were safe cooked but poisonous raw, and either way, chicks touching them carelessly was genuinely dangerous. Even though no poisonous mushrooms had turned up near the tribe so far, Bai Shuo still preferred to guard against trouble before it happened.
“Why?” the chicks asked, not understanding, this was the first time Bai Shuo had ever forbidden them from picking a certain food, up until now, whatever they found, they’d just bring it back.
Bai Shuo explained patiently: “A lot of mushrooms are poisonous, just touching one, or eating it, can kill you. If anyone goes and touches the mushrooms out there on their own, I won’t share any food I make with them ever again.”
Hearing this, the chicks quickly shook their heads, insisting they’d never touch them, Bai Shuo made so much delicious food, if they really couldn’t eat any of it anymore, that would be far too great a loss. Mushrooms tasted good, sure, but only when Bai Shuo cooked them, they’d never had them before now.
Still, knowing they couldn’t pick this delicious food themselves was a real shame.
Seeing all the chicks agree, Bai Shuo relaxed and added one more thing. “If you find mushrooms out there from now on, come find me and I’ll go pick them. If they’re edible, I’ll cook them for you.”
Hearing this, the chicks broke into cheers, all their earlier disappointment vanishing in an instant. Bai Shuo’s cooking was far better than anything they could manage themselves.
Report it to Bai Shuo, and they’d get to eat it after all, pick it themselves, and they’d never get to taste Bai Shuo’s cooking again. The chicks weren’t foolish, comparing the two outcomes, the right choice was obvious.
Bai Shuo had already finished eating before the other chicks got back, so he didn’t eat any more now, and instead went to check on the branches the chicks had brought back, estimating there still wasn’t quite enough, firing pottery required keeping the fire going continuously for several hours, better to prepare too much than too little.
Bai Yun got back to the tribe and found her chick crouched in front of a pile of branches, looking utterly gloomy, apparently deep in thought. She couldn’t help but smile, walked over, and was about to rub his head when she noticed her hands weren’t very clean, and pulled back instead.
Sensing a shadow fall over him, Bai Shuo looked up. “Mama! You’re back!”
Bai Yun nodded and asked, “What were you just thinking about?”
“Not enough branches.” Bai Shuo drooped, though only for a moment, he perked right back up. It was just branches, after all, if there weren’t enough right now, he’d just wait a few more days, or fire this batch together with the naturally air-dried one.
“Branches? There’s plenty of them in the woods, how many do you need?” Bai Yun had been genuinely worried about something, but hearing her chick’s problem was simply not having enough firewood, she couldn’t help but laugh, half exasperated. Other things might be scarce, but branches, their tribe had more than they’d ever need.
“I need… about two of these piles’ worth.” Bai Shuo looked at the branches stacked in front of him and did the math, this pile represented three days’ worth of gathering, so he’d need roughly six more days at this rate.
“I’ll get some people to bring some back.” Hearing the amount, Bai Yun immediately stood up and called over a few people to go find branches on the mountain across the way.
The branches the Feather Clan currently used were all gathered by the chicks, whose range was limited to this one general area, other spots had far more branches lying around simply because the chicks couldn’t reach them, but since the gathering party only made it back once the light had already started fading, they usually didn’t bother detouring for firewood, unless supplies were running especially low.
This time, with Bai Shuo needing it, Bai Yun naturally rallied support for her own chick. The rest of the gathering party, hearing Bai Shuo wanted branches, didn’t hesitate to pitch in and help either.
An adult Feather Clan member’s strength was several, even a dozen, times that of a chick, and could haul back an enormous armful in one trip. Bai Shuo simply watched, wide-eyed, as the pile of firewood on the clearing kept growing and growing.
“Is this enough?” Bai Yun asked, after three round trips.
Bai Shuo nodded vigorously, then, remembering Bai Yun still hadn’t eaten anything, said quickly, “Mama, I made mushroom soup, try some.” Cluck-bird-and-mushroom soup was, without question, the most successful dish he’d made in days.
“What’s a mushroom?” Bai Yun asked, just as puzzled as the chicks had been, this was the first time she’d ever heard of this kind of food.
Bai Shuo had deliberately set aside two whole mushrooms before cooking, just to show Bai Yun. Hearing the question, he pulled them out right away. “This kind.”
Bai Yun looked at them and frowned. “This is edible?” She’d seen mushrooms before, just always after some animal had already trampled them or they’d naturally withered away on their own, it had simply never occurred to her they might be food at all.
“Edible, but some look just like this and are actually poisonous, so it’s best to pick them using a leaf as a barrier, keep them separate once picked, and bring them back for me to check first.”
The gathering party covered a lot of ground, going to a different spot every day, there was no way to have someone spot a mushroom, report back, and wait for a decision before picking it, so Bai Shuo had adjusted the approach accordingly.
Bai Yun agreed, took a sip of the soup Bai Shuo ladled out, and was instantly won over, she drank two whole bowls, and decided that from now on, whenever she was out walking, she’d keep her eyes on the ground, and bring back any mushrooms she came across.
Once the hunting party got back, Bai Xun drank even more than Bai Yun had. With mushroom soup on the table, even the rest of tonight’s food tasted better than usual.
After dinner, the whole family sat together, more than half the tribe was busy weaving cattail baskets and crates with willow branches. Backpack-baskets could hold a lot, but for everyday use when not heading out, baskets and crates were more common, you could just set an item inside and carry it, or hand it off, wonderfully convenient.
Just as Bai Yun was about to go grab some willow branches, Bai Shuo suddenly mentioned that his parents were needed for something.
Bai Xun hadn’t even heard what the favor was yet and had already agreed, a Feather Clan member who’d just finished eating tended to be quite agreeable.
Bai Yun, unlike her mate, asked first. “What does Shuo want to do?”
Bai Shuo pointed toward the back hills. “I want to build an earth kiln, the way I built it for the charcoal a couple days ago, but bigger, to fire the things I made the other day.”
Bai Xun, having already agreed first: “……” His chick’s requests had gotten a bit strange lately, firing mud now needed a whole dedicated structure built for it, but since he’d already said yes, there wasn’t much choice but to go along with it.
And so the two adults started mixing clay, following Bai Shuo’s instructions, they first dug out a pit, used bamboo strips and branches as support along one side, packed clay to shape the section of the kiln where the pieces would sit, built up a ring of clay all around, left an opening for loading the pottery, and left a vent at the top for smoke to escape.
While Bai Xun and Bai Yun built the kiln, Bai Shuo worked on something else, the firing spot and fuel were both ready now, there was still one more step left to handle.
Glazing.
Unglazed pottery could end up leaking or showing other flaws, this step couldn’t be skipped.
As for raw material, Bai Shuo simply used what was locally available, glaze made from local soil. Since he wasn’t sure which type would work best, he’d used all the different kinds on hand, and would know which combination had succeeded once he saw the finished results.
The glazed pieces were left to dry inside the cave, after one night of air-drying, they were carried to the back hills.
First, he lit a fire to dry out the bamboo strips and branches supporting the kiln structure, then, once he’d confirmed the kiln was sound, arranged the pottery pieces neatly inside, the larger ones toward the front, the smaller ones further back, and started the fire underneath. At first, he didn’t add too many branches, letting the temperature rise gradually so the moisture in the clay could slowly evaporate away, then sealed off one side’s opening.
With that done, all that remained was to keep feeding the fire. With no way to measure temperature, Bai Shuo simply tried to keep the flames as large as he reasonably could.
Bai Su stayed by his side the whole time, whenever Bai Shuo went off to eat, his brother took over adding fuel.
From morning until night, by the time the sun had set, most of the surrounding firewood had been used up, and only then did Bai Shuo stop feeding the fire, sealing shut both the smoke vent and the bottom opening, letting the pottery cool naturally.
The kiln retained heat well and wasn’t about to cool down to room temperature anytime soon, there was nothing to do but wait until the next day. Bai Shuo headed back to eat and rest.
The next morning, before the hunting and gathering parties had even set out, Bai Shuo was already woken up.
The adult Feather Clan didn’t much care what he’d been doing, even Bai Xun and Bai Yun, who’d helped build the kiln, simply assumed it was all for fun. But the chicks were different.
A few days back, Bai Shuo had told them their own creations would be fired along with everything else too, and just yesterday, he’d had them dry theirs out beforehand, now, a whole crowd of chicks was buzzing with anticipation over what their own hand-shaped creations would turn out like.
Truthfully, even without anyone waking him, Bai Shuo would have woken up soon anyway, he wanted to see the results for himself too.
He made his way down to the kiln, tested the outside temperature first, warm, but not hot enough to burn, took a deep breath, and slowly peeled away the dried clay sealing one side’s opening.
The moment had come to inspect the results of his very first firing.