Reserve

These 70-80 jin of bear meat was enough to keep the three women busy. Fortunately, Lorna and Jenny had gathered quite a bit of firewood during the day, otherwise they would have run into trouble without enough firewood to roast all this meat now.

There were not many places around the stove suitable for roasting meat. Usually roasting some small pieces of fish to eat was no problem, but clearly there was not enough space to roast meat on this large scale.

To have enough time, they would definitely need to build a new bonfire.

After Luo Jun cleaned all the fat off the bear skin, he soaked it in water, weighing it down with rocks so that it would not float up.

After washing his hands clean, he returned to the shelter to build a new bonfire.

Luo Jun knew many methods to roast all this meat efficiently while also conserving firewood, but those methods required time to dig pits and build roasting racks.

Now he just wanted to use the fastest method to roast these 70-80 jin of bear meat, no longer worrying about wasting firewood.

Luo Jun carried over more than a dozen fist-sized rocks from the creek, arranging them in a circle on a clear space of ground. He used a bamboo shovel to dig a shallow pit in the middle, then placed some fern fronds and dry branches in the center, also piling up some thick, dry logs.

The rocks propped up the logs so that when Luo Jun lit the dried ferns underneath with a firesteel, the branches caught flame and slowly ignited the massive dry logs. These thick logs could burn all night, though they were originally gathered to keep them warm. But now Luo Jun did not care about conserving them.

"Lorna, Li Shi, use the bamboo baskets to carry some more rocks over, flat ones about eight or nine should do. I need to place them here to roast the meat," said Luo Jun.

He was already quite tired himself, otherwise he would not have asked the women to go gather rocks downstream.

Li Shi and Lorna were very enthusiastic. They handed the meat skewers in their hands to Jenny. Those skewers were for their meal, while what Luo Jun was roasting now was all for storage.

Slabs of meat were neatly arranged on the woven bamboo mats Luo Jun had made earlier.

While the two women went to move rocks, Luo Jun did not idle either. He chopped down some large-barreled bamboos with his axe and brought them back.

Though he lacked a saw, by using the serrated back of his dagger Luo Jun could still cut the bamboos into sections. By the time the women returned, he had cut more than a dozen bamboo tubes.

All that remained was to make covers for the tubes.

"Uncle, should we place these rocks on top to roast?"

Seeing Luo Jun was still busy, Li Shi asked if she should start arranging the rocks to roast the meat. Luo Jun agreed, "Yes, place the flat rocks on top to roast. Those hot rocks can roast a lot of meat very efficiently."

Neither Lorna nor Li Shi had roasted meat like this before, and began enthusiastically arranging the rocks to prep for roasting.

Making the bamboo covers was not difficult for Luo Jun, as these bamboos were naturally quite thick. He only needed to leave the original bamboo nodes intact, and lightly saw a circle around the opening of the cover with his dagger before prying the bamboo skin open.

This made the cover opening slightly smaller, but still not small enough to fit onto the tube. He also had to whittle the inside of the bamboo tube opening slightly wider.

Now the cover could be placed onto the tube.

Of course, the seal on these bamboo tubes would not be air tight, but they were convenient to access. As long as the roasted meat dried out enough and the weather stayed cold, it would not easily spoil.

If possible, Luo Jun actually preferred wind drying the meat, but with so much meat laid out in the open, it might be entirely stolen by carnivores in the forest overnight.

Making these bamboo covers was not difficult for Luo Jun, but it required great care and could not be rushed.

Fortunately the women were helping roast meat, allowing Luo Jun ample time to make these bamboo tubes for storing the roasted meat.

The sky had gone completely dark, with only the flickering firelight illuminating the women's smiling faces.

Fortunately there was no rain today, though it had been gloomy all day with rumbling thunder. Rain was likely tonight or tomorrow.

After six exhausting hours, all the meat was finally roasted. They ate as they worked, enjoying a camping barbecue.

But wolf howls began echoing from the woods in the depth of night, concerning Luo Jun and the women.

Luo Jun carried all the bamboo tubes filled with bear meat into the latrine dugout, stacking up the hot rocks from the roast to wall off one corner.

He leaned a large boulder over the tubes, propped at an angle against the corner of the latrine instead of directly weighing down on them, using the boulder's protruding edge to cover the roasted meat.

After concealing the meat, Luo Jun used branches and vines to completely enclose their shelter.

Finally he shoveled some leftover embers from the roast into the stove.

He had not yet had time to process the fat set aside for soap making either, so for now he simply stored it too in bamboo tubes for preservation, planning to make soap for the women another time.

After finishing all this work mostly in crouching positions, lifting heavy bear meat and fat, Luo Jun was ready to collapse in exhaustion. His lower back and shoulder muscles in particular screamed in agony.

"Uncle, lie down and let me massage you!"

Li Shi knew how taxing Luo Jun's labor had been. He had carried that entire bear back alone today, which looked terribly strenuous. She wanted to help relieve his soreness.

"Alright."

Luo Jun did not decline. He truly felt spent, as if his very bones might fall apart.

Lorna scooted over as well. "Let me help massage you too. You really worked hard today."

"Mm," Luo Jun murmured agreement.

As Lorna massaged his arms and shoulders, Li Shi rubbed the muscles on his back.

For Lorna, a strong man's muscles no longer made her shy. But for an inexperienced young girl like Li Shi who had never even had a boyfriend, feeling Luo Jun's muscular back under her hands did quicken her pulse.

As she continued massaging, she desperately wanted to strip naked and drape herself over his brawny, sculpted back. She craved that skin to skin contact with this powerful man, feeling it must be wonderful.

She could only fantasize rather than act on such bold urges.

Utterly spent, Luo Jun soon dozed off under their caring hands.

Lorna moved back to her own sleeping spot. She did not dare act clingy with Luo Jun tonight after Li Shi had gone hunting and helped secure their future provisions while Lorna herself had contributed less today in comparison.

If she still shamelessly clung to him now, she risked breding resentment.

She recognized that despite being an innocent maid, Li Shi was clever and talented at winning Luo Jun's favor. It was wise to yield some advantage, which benefitted them both.

As usual, Li Shi snuggled against Luo Jun's sturdy arm as she slept. But unlike normal nights, her pretty face pressed very near to his, even close enough to hear his heavy breathing.

She unconsciously nuzzled even nearer, gently brushing his stubbled cheek.

Luo Jun's beard was not too bushy, as he occasionally trimmed it with his dagger.

But tonight, Li Shi could not fall asleep. Never before had she felt such fascination for a man's bristles and sleepy breaths.