Chapter 224: Chapter 224: Xu Yi’s Craftsmanship

Do I really need armor for myself?

Do I need it?

It seems so, I’m not strong enough yet, I still need protection!

Lu Ke, do you want to be protected?

No, I just want to fight alongside Xu Yi, not be protected by him!

Thinking this, Lu Ke couldn’t help clenching her fist, then slowly loosening it.

Getting stronger, I have to keep getting stronger. For now, not letting Xu Yi worry is a way of helping him.

So, although reluctant, she still agreed.

“Okay, but I probably won’t use all the materials; I should be able to make you an arm guard or something.” Lu Ke thought that if there was an arm guard, perhaps Xu Yi would be even stronger.

“Hmm, we can set more traps and catch a few more Iron-Scaled Giant Forest Rats.” Xu Yi felt the Scale Armor of the Forest Rat was more suitable for making armor; its hide is very tough and yet lightweight.

Lu Ke nodded and continued picking strawberries.

“If we have the time, we could put up a fence or something around here to protect these strawberries,” Xu Yi said, because this was the only fruit they had found, and it was close to the camp, just half an hour away.

If we protect it well, we can often come over to pick some strawberries to replenish vitamins.

“Hmm, that way, we could make regular trips here and have fresh strawberries to eat every day,” Lu Ke said happily, as the strawberries here were quite plentiful.

The two picked strawberries for over an hour, gathering nearly fifty pounds, which made Lu Ke very happy.

With so many strawberries, Xu Yi and Lu Ke headed back.

Lu Ke carried the basket filled with strawberries on her back, while Xu Yi carried the Black Scale Lion.

The Black Scale Lion weighed about 200 pounds, but Xu Yi carried it effortlessly.

Back home, Xu Yi began processing the corpse of the Black Scale Lion.

He carefully skinned it and set the hide on a tripod to dry.

The hide was large, as the Black Scale Lion was two meters long, more than enough to make armor for Lu Ke.

Lu Ke was responsible for slicing strawberries to dry.

However, they now lacked tools or mats for drying.

But Xu Yi had a solution; possessing Basic Bamboo Art and having pachynodes bamboo, he could weave round sieves from bamboo strips to use for drying things.

This could be used not only to dry strawberry slices but other things as well.

So, after securing the lion’s hide, Xu Yi went to cut a piece of pachynodes bamboo.

If not for seeing seven or eight new bamboo shoots sprouting, Xu Yi wouldn’t want to use these pachynodes bamboos.

The Black Scale Lion could be left for Lu Ke to handle after she finished slicing the strawberries.

They didn’t need to head out again in the afternoon since they had already hunted a Black Scale Lion.

In an afternoon, Xu Yi, if fast enough, could weave a round sieve, and after Lu Ke was done with the lion, she could join in the weaving. With her craft skills, she could learn it with just one look. Maybe she’d weave even faster than Xu Yi.

Thin bamboo strips appeared in Xu Yi’s hands.

He moved like an experienced bamboo craftsman, steady and swift.

Lu Ke was somewhat surprised to see this.

After all, Xu Yi had worked with bamboo strips before, but compared to now, he was much more skilled.

However, she didn’t ask why.

After working with bamboo strips for a few hours, Xu Yi began weaving the round sieve.

Lu Ke specifically came over for a look because at first, she thought Xu Yi was making a bamboo bed, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Xu Yi, what are you weaving?” Lu Ke asked, always having an interest in handicrafts. Having done handicraft work for many years, she had never woven anything with bamboo strips.

“A round sieve to dry strawberry slices.” Xu Yi explained, then said, “You should be able to do it too, right?”

“Looks quite easy; it shouldn’t be difficult to weave. It’s similar to the palm leaf mats we’ve made before. But making these strips so thin would be hard for me.” With just one look, she understood the structure Xu Yi was weaving; it wasn’t difficult for her at all, just different materials.

“After you’re done with the jerky, you can start weaving too. Making two round sieves should suffice for drying items.” Xu Yi remarked.

“Alright, in about an hour, it’ll be done.” Lu Ke smiled slightly, then continued slicing meat.

With wolf meat and Black Scale Lion meat, Xu Yi and Lu Ke wouldn’t need to smoke any jerky for a few months.

When they encounter herbivores in the future, they can let them go and hunt them later.

For carnivores, points are at stake, so they must act.

After killing, the hide can be skinned, and about thirty pounds of meat can be taken back. The rest of the meat doesn’t need to be brought back to the camp.

For dinner, they had stew made from the meat of the Black Scale Lion.

The meat had a slightly sour taste, which was quite good, at least it wasn’t gamey.

After dinner, Xu Yi continued weaving the round sieve; he had completed two-thirds of it.

Lu Ke had started hers half an hour before dinner but had already finished a quarter of it.

Talent is something that can’t be surpassed.

“Lu Ke, this is how you finish it off; watch closely.” When Xu Yi reached the end, he gave Lu Ke some pointers.

Lu Ke watched intently and then understood how to do it.

After Xu Yi finished the round sieve, he placed a layer of strawberry slices on it. That way, tomorrow when the sun comes up, they can put it on the roof to dry.

In the jungle, there aren’t many places where sunlight can reach easily; their roof is devoid of tree cover, allowing for seven to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. Although not sunlit all day, the intense sun is powerful enough to dry things.

After completing the round sieve, Xu Yi started working on the bamboo bed.

Lu Ke finished weaving the sieve in two hours.

“Xu Yi, I’m done weaving, and there’s still a lot of bamboo strips left; should I weave a basket?” Lu Ke checked the time and saw it was almost 9 PM, still early before bedtime, so she could do more work.

“Sure, our baskets are almost falling apart; we could definitely use two new bamboo baskets. If there aren’t enough strips, just let me know, and I can make more anytime.” After all, Xu Yi had cut six pachynodes bamboos today, more than enough for the bed.

“Okay, leave it to me.” Lu Ke smiled slightly and got to work immediately.

The quality of these bamboo strips is much sturdier than the umbrella tree bark, much more suitable for weaving baskets.

Moreover, Lu Ke thought, she could also weave some bamboo shoes for Xu Yi.

His shoes had already worn out several pairs.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep