I've been transported to the orc continent.

Making a good stone mill is not something that can be done overnight, and Bai Ling is not in a hurry. He will not stay in the iron smelting room with his head down all day, but will treat it with a casual attitude.

Besides making a stone mill, Bai Ling also decided to make some maltose. His family and Yue both love sweets, and there's a lot of wheat at home. Taking some out to make maltose won't hinder his work with the angels next year.

Bai Ling found a few shallow ceramic pots, laid a shallow layer of soil at the bottom, and then covered the soil with a thick layer of grass clippings. Bai Ling washed all the grass clippings with water and then chopped them up with scissors.

Soak the wheat in a ceramic basin for two days, then take it out and sprinkle it on straw. Sprinkle another layer of straw on the wheat, and then place it on the kang (a heated brick bed) close to the mountain wall.

It's the coldest time of year now, and the kang (heated brick bed) where Bai Ling and the others sleep has to be heated twice a day, each time with hard wood. This makes the section of the kang that's right next to the mountain wall so hot that it's impossible to sleep there at night. It's perfect for placing Bai Ling's ceramic pots.

Besides the several earthenware basins where Bai Ling had placed wheat, there were also several other earthenware basins containing beans, which were sprouting.

This was, of course, proposed by Bai Ling.

Most people in the tribe don't like to eat beans because they don't taste very good, and they don't taste very good even when boiled. But beans are food, and as long as they are food, they have to be gathered and eaten, even if they don't taste good.

Bai Ling approached Cai, who was in charge of cooking, and suggested a method for sprouting beans. After sprouting the beans, they were cooked with meat, and the taste was surprisingly good. Now, there are several ceramic pots on the kang (heated brick bed) with bean sprouts growing in them.

Bai Ling placed the earthenware basins in place, but after looking at them for a moment, he felt that they were not placed neatly enough. So he had to start over and arrange the earthenware basins neatly.

"Yes, that's better," Bai Ling clapped her hands in satisfaction, put on her hat, and went out.

It was so cold that Bai Ling was wearing a shirt and pants, and then wrapped two robes around her, but she still felt the cold wind blowing into her covered skin.

*

It started snowing again, a heavy, fluffy snowfall. The cold wind felt like knives on our faces. Yue was already standing at the cave entrance waiting. Bai Ling said, "Yue, let's go over there."

Yue nodded without saying anything. He was wearing a white fur hat, and his silver-white hair peeked out from under the hat, blowing in the wind.

The two descended the low hill and trudged towards the ironworks. The world was a vast expanse of white, with the north wind howling. They could see no tribesmen or any animals, as if the two of them were the only ones left in the entire world.

Neither of them spoke, not because they had nothing to say, but because the wind was blowing so hard and the snowflakes were falling so heavily that they couldn't even open their mouths to talk.

The two walked to the iron smelting room, and Bai Ling went to feed her four sheep first.

The iron smelting room was warm, so Bai Ling and his family built a shed outside the wall closest to the furnace to keep their four sheep. At night, Bai Ling would tie the sheep in the iron smelting room, and in the morning, the tribespeople would help lead the sheep out again.

When Bai Ling goes to the ironworks, he will also feed the sheep some grass.

The four sheep looked a little listless. They stood against the wall of the ironworks and bleated a few times when they saw Bai Ling coming over with hay.

Bai Ling fed the sheep the hay in her hands, gently stroked each of the four sheep, and then slowly walked out.

Yue didn't go into the iron smelting room, but waited for Bai Ling at the door. The two went into the iron smelting room together, and a wave of heat hit them.

The tribesmen arrived earlier than Bai Ling, and they had already started making noise. Bai Ling and Yue went to a corner and began doing the same old thing.

The millstone is almost finished. All that's left is to carve out the patterns on both sides and polish it. It's expected to be completed in another two days.

Bai Ling and Yue sat on two rocks, each holding a chisel, and began to hammer away.

The millstone was almost finished, and the two of them were full of energy. They even ate a quick lunch in the iron smelting room. Finally, before it got dark, they finished carving all the patterns on the millstone.

I'll polish it again tomorrow, and then I can put the millstone back on.

Bai Ling was a little excited. When she returned to the cave with Yue, she asked, "Yue, after the stone mill is finished, shall I make some snacks for you? We can grind some soybean flour and tapioca flour to make pastries."

As Bai Ling spoke, Yue listened intently. Even though Bai Ling was just saying it casually, Yue felt as if she had actually tasted those delicious foods, and her whole being felt sweet and happy.

*

The various parts of the stone mill were finally finished. Bai Ling and her family carried the stone mill to a cave in the low mountain. It was too cold outside, and the stone mill could not be used in that kind of weather. It could only be used in the slightly warmer cave.

Bai Ling lifted the two grinding stones together and placed them on the large millstone. Then he installed the grinding roller. The roller was a bit small, so Bai Ling stuffed in two thin iron strips. Then he used a stone hammer to hit it hard twice to drive the iron strips in. Finally, he put the crank on, and a brand new stone mill was made.

After finishing, Bai Ling clapped his hands, walked around the millstone twice, and Chen walked over, pushed the lever and turned it twice, then laughed and said, "Brother, this is really fun."

Bai Ling laughed and said, "Well, you think it's fun now, but you won't find it fun when you're grinding grain later."

Following Bai Ling's instructions, Feng boiled a large pot of water. Bai Ling then poured the hot water into the millstone through the round hole: "Chen, you push the millstone."

Chen immediately started pushing it, and as he pushed, the millstone creaked and turned. Because it was a new millstone, there might have been small stones that hadn't been cleaned properly, so the sound was a bit harsh.

As Bai Ling poured in the hot water, water quickly flowed out from the grinding stone below. The water was murky, carrying small stones and stone dust. The water then flowed onto the millstone, and then down the outlet, dripping onto the ground.

Chen pushed very fast, and Bai Ling kept adding hot water. The water that flowed out gradually became less turbid. Bai Ling didn't tell him to stop, so Chen kept pushing.

After using several basins of hot water, the water flowing from the stone mill finally became clear and free of small pebbles. Bai Ling called out, "Alright, Chen, you can stop now."

Chen was breathing heavily: "Brother, what delicious things can we make with this stone mill?"

Bai Ling smiled and said, "You'll find out in a couple of days."

Chen muttered, "It'll be several more days."

Ling looked at her father, uncle, and younger brother, then glanced at Yue standing to the side. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Father, Father, let's have a special meal today. We still have some fish balls and meatballs that we haven't eaten yet. Let's also cut some cured and smoked meat, and ask the tribe for some bean sprouts. Let's have hot pot."