I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 239 I've come to celebrate your birthday

The three of them stood by the window, watching the huffing beast pull the cart away into the distance. After a while, it circled back from the other side, and the beastman driving the cart had changed.

An elderly man standing with Zhan said, "I'd like to ride the bus too, are you coming?"

Before Zhan could speak, another old man said, "I want to go too."

The two old men walked into the courtyard and called out to the orcs leading the huffing beast. They quickly walked out of the courtyard, and the orcs on the cart squeezed in to make room for the two old men. The old men nimbly climbed onto the cart and squeezed in with their tribesmen.

The orc leading the huffing beast called out and pulled the beast forward.

The speed of the humming beast was not fast in the eyes of the orcs, and the thick snow on the ground further hindered its progress. The orcs leading it were not in a hurry, and the orcs sitting on the cart were even less in a hurry. They chatted and laughed loudly, and several orcs were talking about the wheelbarrow. They were all small orcs, and the wheelbarrow was very helpful to them.

This kind of cart requires a hunch beast to use. Apart from Bai Ling's family, no one else in the tribe keeps a hunch beast, so they don't need this kind of cart for the time being. The wheelbarrow is different; it can be pushed and moved, making it very suitable for small beastmen.

Some orcs are already calculating how much food and animal hides they have at home, to see if they can get enough to exchange for a wheelbarrow from the carpenters.

*

The carpentry team is extremely busy right now. Cabinets, chests, and spinning wheels are all very popular with the orcs. The team's schedule is already packed. Now, many orcs have come up to trade wheelbarrows. The team leader can only write down everyone's requests and notify them when the wheelbarrows are made.

Bai Ling had anticipated this situation. After thinking for a moment, he selected three orcs. These three orcs were the most skilled in the carpentry group. They only needed to focus on their own work and didn't need to worry about anything else.

The remaining orcs were divided into several groups, each led by an orc who had been working in the carpentry group for more than half a year. Each group was only responsible for one or two parts, and the others were not needed.

Finally, the three orcs assembled the parts made by each group.

This can be considered an early form of assembly line, which saves a lot of time and makes it much faster to produce a single product.

Bai Ling also spent every day helping out in the carpentry group. He wanted to make another loom. Next year, many orcs would definitely learn silk reeling and weaving from him. One loom was simply not enough; he needed at least two.

Besides the carpentry work, Bai Ling also had to find time to prepare a gift for Yue.

This is Yue's first birthday after the two officially started dating. Bai Ling wanted to prepare a gift for Yue, and after thinking it over, he decided to make her a jade comb.

This is a delicate task that cannot be completed in a day or two. Bai Ling has to work with the carpenters during the day and can only spare time in the morning and at noon to polish the jade comb.

Besides the jade comb, of course, a whole table of delicious food will be prepared. Yue prefers sweets, so Bai Ling plans to bake a jam bread and a red bean paste bread. He had wanted to bake a cake for Yue before, but there were no bird eggs in winter, and he couldn't make any cream, so he couldn't fulfill his promise to Yue.

The night before Yue's birthday, Bai Ling prepared the dough. He made two kinds of dough: one with sugar and the other with sugar and goat milk.

Bai Ling had previously tried making some goat milk bread, and her family accepted it well. Yue also thought it tasted pretty good, so this time she decided to make goat milk jam bread, thinking the taste wouldn't be too different.

After fermenting overnight, the dough turned into a honeycomb structure. The dough with added goat milk also had a faint milky smell. Bai Ling got up, washed her hands and face, and began to knead the dough.

To make bread taste better, a second fermentation is essential.

After setting the kneaded dough aside, Bai Ling went to cook. There was still some beast meat left over from yesterday's cooking. Bai Ling cut the remaining beast meat into slices and put them in a ceramic bowl. She sprinkled a layer of scallions and ginger on top, sprinkled two grains of salt, threw two pieces of sugar into the ceramic bowl, and put it in a steamer to steam with the cassava cakes.

Boil water in a pot. Once boiling, add the chopped dried vegetables and a handful of salt. After the water boils again, pour in the soybean flour paste and cook until it comes to a boil.

Bai Ling wanted to cook some porridge, but unfortunately, all she had at home were soybeans, mung beans, and wheat. Soybeans and mung beans weren't suitable for making porridge in winter, and wheat was too precious to waste.

The meal was ready, and everyone in the family got up. Bai Ling and Chen carried the food to the main room. Bai Ling first put the beast meat on the table: "I heated up yesterday's beast meat. We can eat it with cassava cakes."

As Feng served the rice, he asked, "Ling, when are we going to Yue's house later, after the bread is baked?"

For Feng's birthday, Cang's birthday, and Chen's birthday, Yue gave gifts. Now that it's Yue's birthday, Bai Ling's whole family went to Yue's house for dinner.

Bai Ling nodded: "Okay, I'll go over after I've baked the bread. I already told Yue that I'll cook lunch today."

Chen immediately chimed in, "Brother, what are we having for lunch today?"

Bai Ling smiled and said, "You'll find out when we get to the Yue family's house."

*

Bai Ling had baked bread at home several times before, so he was now quite adept at using the oven. This time, the bread he was baking was relatively large, so he kept the charcoal burning for a little longer.

Goat milk jam bread, red bean paste bread, jam bread, dried fruit bread—each bread is as big as a ceramic plate, sprinkled with various dried fruits and sesame seeds, and looks delicious.

Today we're going to visit Yue's family. The whole family has changed into new clothes, even Lin and Qu's cubs are wearing new clothes, and their furry faces have been carefully washed with soap.

Not only Bai Ling, but the entire Yue family also changed into new clothes. Yue's grandfather and great-uncle even cleaned the house again yesterday to welcome Bai Ling's family.

Today, Bai Ling is visiting Yue's house with her family, so she can't jump over the fence. She has to go in properly through the gate. Bai Ling is carrying a basket on her back. When she arrives at Yue's house, she doesn't go in directly. Instead, she shouts loudly from outside the fence, "Yue, Yue."

Yue had been waiting for Bai Ling at home for a while. Hearing the sound, he immediately walked out with a happy smile on his face: "Ling, you're here."

Upon seeing Yue emerge, Bai Ling pushed open the door and, like a child, walked quickly toward Yue with a beaming smile.

"Yue, I've come to celebrate your birthday," Bai Ling said as she walked up to Yue. "I baked some bread, some with red bean paste, some with jam, and some with dried fruit on top. Do you like it?"