With the discussion concluded, everyone left satisfied.
A weight lifted from Hayoon's heart, making her feel relaxed all over. She turned around and smiled at Minho.
The tall, cold-faced man paused for a moment before the corners of his lips lifted slightly as well.
After playing outside all day and returning absolutely starving, Haeun arrived just in time to witness that scene.
"Sis! Brother Minho! Why are you both smiling? Are we having something delicious for dinner?!"
Hayoon withdrew her gaze and turned toward him.
"All you think about is food... We haven't even started cooking yet."
Haeun looked a little disappointed. "Ah..."
Hayoon said, "I'll make it now. Oh right, I need your help with something first."
Haeun immediately perked up again. "What is it? Just leave it to me!"
The pulp Hayoon had ground earlier was still stored inside her storage space.
After taking it out, she explained to Minho, "I saw that the two baskets of Kudzu roots were about to get moldy, so I processed them first. That's alright, right?"
"It's fine," Minho replied. "As long as it's food stored in the cave, you can decide what to do with it."
His wild-looking eyes swept toward the gray pulp as he asked curiously, "But what kind of processing method is this?"
Haeun also walked over. "Yeah. Before, whenever we couldn't finish all the roots, we usually just sliced and dried them. I've never seen anyone grind them into pulp before."
Hayoon explained briefly, "There's something inside Kudzu roots called starch. Once it's extracted and dried, it can be stored for a very long time."
Haeun made a grabbing motion with his hands. "Then do I just knead it with my hands?"
Hayoon laughed. "If only it were that simple."
She briefly explained the starch-washing process to the two of them.
Now that they had cloth bags, they could pour the pulp into the bags and rinse it continuously with water while kneading and stirring it until the filtered water finally ran clear.
It was a tedious task that required a great deal of patience.
Perfect for keeping Haeun occupied long enough for her to finish cooking.
Since Haeun had never done this kind of work before, he found it very interesting and immediately started working enthusiastically after agreeing.
With Minho watching over him, Hayoon was not worried about anything going wrong.
Just as she expected, by the time dinner was ready, Haeun's sense of novelty had already faded considerably, and his eyes looked completely numb while working.
After they finished eating, Hayoon joined them in washing the starch as well.
By the time the sky had fully darkened, the washing process was finally complete, and they could move on to the next step of settling the starch.
At some point, Minho's resting schedule had gradually become synchronized with theirs.
He asked Hayoon, "After pouring water into it, do we still need to stir it?"
Hayoon shook her head. "No. This step is for removing impurities and sediment from the water. We just let it sit and settle for two days, changing the water every so often."
After finishing all the household chores, the three of them finally returned to the cave to sleep.
The next morning, before Hayoon even woke up properly, she heard voices talking outside.
The volume was not loud, but her hearing had become especially sharp now.
Were these the people who came to learn weaving from her?
She immediately sprang up from the beast hide, threw on her clothes, ran her fingers through her hair a few times, and hurried outside.
"Sorry, did I wake up too late?" Hayoon apologized, only to realize the sky had barely even brightened yet.
It had rained lightly again during the night, and the open wilderness was covered in pale white mist.
Standing outside Minho's cave were seven or eight young sub-beastmen.
Every single one of them was attractive and full of youthful energy.
Standing together, they looked almost like models walking down a street, making the visual impact surprisingly intense.
The first to speak was Sulyeon, whose face had already turned red.
"Not late at all. We came too early instead. Once we thought about learning weaving, none of us could sleep anymore."
The other sub-beastmen laughed awkwardly as well.
"I thought I was the only one who stayed awake all night..."
"So everyone was the same."
Sulyeon asked, "Do you want to go back and sleep a little more? We can just wait here."
Hayoon smiled. "No need. Since you all came this early, you haven't eaten breakfast yet, right?"
"We already ate before coming."
"Then wait a moment. I'll wash my face first and finish breakfast quickly."
"No rush, no rush. Take your time."
With so many people waiting, Hayoon naturally could not move leisurely.
Fortunately, Minho had also gotten up after hearing the commotion and helped her prepare breakfast together.
As for Haeun, he had no such concerns at all and was still sleeping soundly inside the cave.
After breakfast, Minho went out hunting while Hayoon stayed beneath the grass shelter and explained the principles and operation of the backstrap loom to the visiting sub-beastmen.
Knowing that Hayoon's supply of thread had already run out, they had even brought thread themselves.
Watching Hayoon set up the backstrap loom and begin weaving cloth, everyone gasped in amazement.
"Oh Beast God... it can actually be done like this?"
"Just a few wooden sticks and you can weave cloth!"
"This takes so much less time than weaving grass, and the fabric comes out so smooth!"
"Clothes made from this cloth must look amazing!"
"Hayoon, you're really so smart!"
Hayoon quickly waved her hands in denial. "I just learned it from someone else, and only the basics. What I can weave is just plain cloth with no patterns."
A sub-beastman exclaimed, "You mean you can even weave patterns?"
Hayoon nodded. "Yes. For example, if you use different colors for the warp and weft threads, that alone already creates a pattern."