"Okay, okay, I'm heavy, I'm heavy enough!" Ji Mo Ling hurriedly stroked the hair of the woman who was clinging tightly to her neck, while also trying to support another woman who had completely draped herself over her.
After all, it was just a playful banter. Seeing Ji Mo Ling relent, Wang Xin immediately released her grip with satisfaction: "Hmph, that's more like it. By the way, where are you going next? I'm free. Can I come with you?"
"Sure! I'm going to find Kong. I need to handle some herbs, and you can help me out." As soon as Ji Mo Ling heard there was free labor, she nodded.
"No problem. I've helped Kong and Qian with herbs before. Leave it to me." Wang Xin patted her chest, wearing an expression that said, "I'm a seasoned worker."
Ji Mo Ling nodded, and the two of them happily made their way to the herbal room.
When they arrived, Kong and Qian were already busy. After exchanging greetings, Ji Mo Ling led Wang Xin to a large pile of fresh plants. This was what the gathering team had brought back. Since it was quite messy—with some intact, some damaged, and some non-herbs or even harmful plants mixed in—they needed to be carefully sorted. In the past, this work was done by Kong, but now it had been handed over to Ji Mo Ling.
Although Wang Xin sometimes came to help, she usually only flipped or collected the herbs drying in the sun. Apart from the most commonly used bleeding herb and warming ginger, she couldn't distinguish the others. Seeing that Ji Mo Ling brought her over for sorting work, she quickly spoke up: "Ling, for the sorting work, I'm afraid I can only help you pick up the twigs and garbage. To me, these herbs all look similar."
Looking at her friend with a furrowed brow and a pout, Ji Mo Ling couldn't help but pat the head of the girl with nice hair: "Haha, don't worry. I only need you to do those things, and then help me put away the sorted herbs at the end."
"Okay. Then that's no problem." Wang Xin nodded, sat down on a small stool, and began working.
Ji Mo Ling sat down as well, and the two of them buried their heads in their tasks, occasionally taking breaks to chat.
After more than two hours, they had sorted and organized a large pile of plants. Kong and Qian had already gone home. After they finished washing their hands in a bucket of water, Ji Mo Ling invited Wang Xin to her home for dinner. Wang Xin happily agreed and, upon leaving the herbal room, casually grabbed a passing seven or eight-year-old boy and had him deliver a message to her home. She then linked arms with her friend, smiling cheerfully, saying she could help with cooking.
Before they reached Ji Mo Ling's house, they saw a pile of things outside the door and three figures guarding it from a distance.
"Ah! Ling, it must be your admirers here again to deliver gifts. Hehe." Wang Xin, who was used to this kind of scene, was not surprised at all. She playfully approached her friend and teased, "Even though there are only three people waiting, judging by the pile of things, at least twenty have come before. Ling is indeed very popular!"
Having gradually gotten used to the customs here, Ji Mo Ling replied without changing her expression: "You're more charming than me, Xin. I heard from Lan that there were once over thirty beastmen outside your door." That was not long ago, on Wang Xin's eighteenth birthday, the day she came of age, when beastmen lined up to seek her hand in marriage.
"Oh! Ling, don't be jealous. Even before you come of age, you're already this popular. When your coming-of-age day arrives, the beastmen lining up at your door will surely circle your house twice. Hahaha~" Recalling her glorious past, Wang Xin was not shy at all and was quite proud, while also trying to comfort her downcast friend.
Ji Mo Ling felt a bit speechless; indeed, the world was different, and the views were so different as well. She didn't think it was a good thing for a crowd of suitors to encircle her house.
As they joked, the two girls continued walking. With better eyesight than Wang Xin, Ji Mo Ling had already recognized the visitors. There were not just three, but two small ones playing and chasing each other on the ground—Fa with Bai and Meng, along with Qing and Shi.
Before they reached the door, the others had already noticed them. The two small ones ran over excitedly, and the two girls quickened their pace, each picking up one to hug as they continued walking.
"Hello, everyone. Have you been waiting long?" As the host, Ji Mo Ling was the first to greet them.
The three beastmen all indicated they had just arrived a little while ago.
Although it was not Fa's first time bringing the little ones over, he still felt a bit embarrassed, and every time they came, they not only got free food but also left with some. So today, he brought a return gift—fifteen eggs prepared by him and Bai and Meng's father.
Qing and Shi each brought their homemade grilled meat, hoping Ji Mo Ling would try their cooking. They had come at this time so she could enjoy warm food, as they had just arrived a little while ago.
Ji Mo Ling opened the door, and they first moved the gifts inside.
In this world, aside from the food collected by hunting teams and gathering teams that was distributed collectively, personal items obtained individually were privately owned. Depending on the quantity of food, most families implemented a two-meal system (one at seven in the morning and one at nine in the evening), while a few (usually families with females) followed a three-meal system. In winter, when food was scarce, they often only ate once a day or even every few days.
Ji Mo Ling had enough food; her body also got hungry easily, and since there were thirty hours in a day here, she usually had four meals a day—around six o'clock, twelve o'clock, nineteen o'clock, and twenty-six o'clock.
Now it was just past nineteen o'clock, and since guests had arrived at meal time, Ji Mo Ling quickly invited them all in.
Fa initially declined, but when the two little ones heard there was food, they rushed in first. With Wang Xin also urging, he thought it wouldn't be good to leave Bai and Meng behind, so he nodded in agreement.
Qing and Shi hesitated for a moment but happily accepted while insisting on cooking. Ji Mo Ling couldn't persuade the two beastmen and was led to the kitchen, where she was pushed out.
Wang Xin and Fa had already taken the two little ones to a small round table in the hall, where the grilled meat they brought was emitting a delicious aroma, placed in the center of the table.
Seeing Ji Mo Ling come in, Fa offered to help and ran to the kitchen.
The two little ones stood on wooden stools, their front paws on the edge of the table, drooling over the grilled meat. When they saw their owner arrive, they eagerly called out to Ji Mo Ling, swaying their heads.
Wang Xin watched the amusing scene and urged Ji Mo Ling to hurry over: "Ling, come sit! We've all been waiting for you to share the food. Bai and Meng are getting anxious!"
"Hehe, I'm coming, I'm coming." Ji Mo Ling, facing the little cuties' affectionate calls, had no resistance. She sat down, picked up a bone knife, and cut a few small pieces for them, then called out to Wang Xin, "Xin, you can serve yourself."
"Okay." Wang Xin was not modest at all, cutting a piece of grilled meat for herself and starting to eat, "Mmm, it tastes great! Ling, you should try it too."
Ji Mo Ling nodded, poked a piece into her mouth, and found the surface a bit charred but tender inside, with a moderate salty flavor—it was indeed good. After finishing one piece, she tried another plate, which seemed to be glazed with honey before grilling, and it was also delicious.
In the kitchen, Qing and Shi were discussing what to cook, while Fa stood by waiting for them to decide.
"As the first beastmen invited by Ling, we must leave a good impression on her. The old beastmen say that to capture a woman's heart, one must first capture her stomach! This meal must be good, but we can't make it too extravagant." Qing, being the eldest and strong-willed, always treated Shi like a younger brother to care for and teach.
Shi's temperament matched his delicate and beautiful appearance, always nodding in agreement with Qing's correct words: "Yes, that's right. We already have the grilled meat we brought, so we should cook two or three more dishes."
Looking at the ingredients stocked in the kitchen, they finally decided to cook a pot of rice, steam some cured meat together, and make a pot of vegetable and egg soup. They just needed to estimate the appetite of the two girls, three beastmen, and two little beastmen.