The Infrastructure’s Guide Chapter 5

Meng Sheng didn't pay any attention to today's meeting with Kong Jia. He took the salt and dashed back to the cave as if he'd found the treasure.

He crushed the salt stone with an ax, separating the yellow and white salt bits and pieces with the stone. It was difficult to get rid of the sand and stone, leaving only salt.

The cave's conditions were deplorable, but he didn't seem to mind. He smeared and marinated the meat after grinding the salt stone. Anyway, it was the same when it came time to wash the meat before eating it.

There wasn't much salt in a piece of salt stone, so he smeared it in a tiny amount, which was equivalent to smearing half the meat in the cave. There was a handful of crystal-like salt that Qiu Juan gave he also crushed. He didn't want to marinate meat with this high-quality salt, but rather to cook with it.

He ate barbecues almost every meal. In the cave, there were no pots or pans to cook anything else. He was busy searching for food a while ago and he didn't have time to pick up the cooking utensils. Meng Sheng emerged from the cave after marinating the meat in search of a stone pot.

Outside his cave, there was a reasonably vast area. There were no large trees, and the sun shone directly, and the vegetation in the field was lush, with several plants growing taller than humans. He drew his machete and cleaned up the weeds.

When the greenery fell, it uncovered the stones below. He chose a sturdy and easy-to-polish future stone pot. The stone was wide and about fifty to a hundred kilograms heavy. He attempted to move it by grabbing the sides and lifting it. The outcome was uninspiring.

"Fuck it, it's so heavy!"

He pinned the obstructive machete behind him and spat on the palms. He recalled reading in “The Infrastructure’s Guide” that males use their breath to increase their strength and potential.

He checked his surroundings quickly, mainly because he knew that his breath shouldn’t be left on the female or sub-female unintentionally, but also because he hadn't used his breath's ability much.

So, in a rush, he squatted down and tried again, this time without reservation. With the flow of his breath, he was amazed to discover that he had picked up the stone!

Meng Sheng took two light steps and couldn't help but mutter to himself. "Is it really so powerful?"

There was a strong masculine atmosphere about him at the moment and a smell of vegetation that was actually quite refreshing, but he disliked it. He liked his men to have a manly smell, not the scent of flowers.

After he learned that primitive males would exude a breath, he had been holding his ‘breath’, keeping anyone from smelling it. Thankfully, others didn’t go around sniffing each other's buts like dogs.

When he smelled the heavy vegetation scent emanating from his body, he again held in his breath and the effect was almost instantaneous. His sudden powerful strength turned out to be like a switch being turned off, and it vanished all at once.

Meng Sheng's large rock in his arms fell with a “bang”, smashing a small hole in the ground.

He shook his poor burning nails, which had been hurt with the stone's edge as if they had been smashed by a closing door. He tried again, this time ignoring his heart's wishes.

Once the breath came out, as expected, he embraced the stone with ease. The more he uses his breath the lighter the stone seemed.

Then he simply tried to withdraw all the breath that could be squeezed from his body, while the heavy stone in his hand was slowly lifted above his head.

Back in the cave, he raised the stone up and down like a barbell. He couldn't help himself after tasting the sweetness of the breath. Finally, he grasped the guide's introductory sentence, which stated that a male’s breath represents a male’s value.

The scent of breath gave him great strength and also eased his nose’s prejudice against greenness smells.

In one afternoon, he used the tools he had to make a stone pot with his breath, as well as two stone bowls.

When the fiery sunset light reached the edge of his cave, the stone pot was filled with water, and the fire under the pot was blazing.

Meng Sheng crossed his hands.

Although stone does not conduct heat as well as iron, the conditions in the cave have improved significantly. When he returned, the cool water had already heated up, and he felt a speck of civilization's return. The hot water made taking a cold shower in the river unnecessary.

He'd made a set of pots and bowls and perfected breath control, so he killed two birds with one stone.

When the water boiled, he dropped a big beast’s leg bone inside to make a broth. It was a beast about the size of an adult wild boar. It was most likely still in its infancy, with little attack strength. Despite this, he took advantage of the beast's weakness. It had been hunted with an ax in the past, and the taste was average, with a harsh and rusty feeling.

After simmering for half an hour, he tossed in five kilograms of pork. He felt as though he could eat a lot more after using his breath today.

The outside temperature slowly fell as twilight faded and the sky steadily darkened, but inside the cave was still warmed by the fire. The scent of meat from the salt-cooked meat not only filled the cave but also floating outside.

At this moment, the sub-female who was fetching water from the nearby stream noticed a peculiar scent of meat and couldn't help but halt, staring towards the illuminated cave: "What kind of meat smells like this?"

Luo hesitated for a moment, but he still didn't dare to come closer and see.

Although the neighbor male seemed to get along well with them based on today's contact, he never again dared to judge a male easily based on the experience of getting along well with Kong Jia and yet being deceived in the end.

The scent of meat lingered in his nose. He secretly thought it would be nice if they had a good relationship with the male. He and Qiu Juan were both weak; if the male could assist them, their lives would be a little better. He stifled his hunger while taking a big bamboo bucket back to his cave.

There was salt as well as hot broth. Meng Sheng was full and content. The flavor of wild game was not particularly pleasant, but the broth was excellent, smooth, and non-greasy. He used a stone bowl to scoop himself three to four servings. In the end, there was still half a pot of soup and some meat left.

Meng Sheng leaned languidly against the cave’s wall after eating a few red berries to ease the greasiness and intended to eat the remainder for breakfast the next morning.

He didn't go back to sleep on the stone bed tonight because it felt colder than usual, so he fell asleep lying on the edge of the fireplace.

He was awakened the next day by the need to urinate, so he went outside to piss.

It was still dim outside.

He didn't change his clothes the previous night, so he was only sporting an animal skin skirt. To piss, he untied his skirt. Fortunately, it was too early to encounter any females or sub-females. He didn't want to inadvertently flash anyone.

He bent his head and gazed at his masculine, wheat-colored skin and well-proportioned abdominal muscles. He felt it was a sight to behold, no matter how petty it was.

After settling his nature's call, he pulled back some hay from yesterday's weeding. The wood in the fireplace had burnt out, leaving only a few embers. He ignited the fire sparks with hay and then added a few sticks of wood to heat up the broth.

Despite the fact that it was still early and the dew was clinging to the outside, he had no intention of sleeping any longer. He decided to go out to see if he could locate the salt stone and one the way, gather some more berries. He ate all the tomato-like berries yesterday.

When heated, the fat in the stone pot gradually melted. When the mouthwatering scent slowly escaped, the outside was already bright.

He scooped up a cup of broth and was about to drink it when he heard rustling outside the cave, the sound of stepping on weeds. He discovered that after yesterday's breath exercise, his senses had improved.

As soon as he arrived at the cave's entrance with the stone cup, he heard a shout from outside: "Meng Sheng, are you awake?"

"Aunt Luo?" He was baffled when he spotted the sub-female standing at the cave's entrance.

Luo approached him with a smile: "Yesterday, I went foraging for wild vegetables. Li'l Tiger still feels embarrassed for accepting your meat. As a thank you, I'd like to get you some wild veggies." The old sub-female handed him two wild vegetables. “I’m weak-boned and can’t go hunting. Even the tribes gathering groups don’t want me. I can only pick a few wild vegetables and fruits. I hope you don’t dislike this.”

"Aunt Luo, you and Qiu Juan are too polite.”

The wild vegetables brought by the old sub-female were handled, and the soil on them was washed off, as were all the yellowed leaves plucked off. They were fresh and tender leaves. It was obvious that they were gifted with care. He accepted them.

Luo was relieved and pleased to see that he didn’t dislike them. “We live near and are neighbors. We are just an orphan and a widow, Li'l Tiger and I, and I hope you will look after us. Li'l Tiger has a bad temper and sometimes gives me a headache."

"Don't worry. I'll do my utmost if I can do it." As he spoke, Meng Sheng recalled what was in his pot. "Aunt Luo, wait a bit."

He brought the wild greens inside, thinking he might as well throw them in the broth and cook them. He hadn't eaten crispy veggies in a few days. On the way, he’ll share his salted meat with Luo.

The old sub-female was at a loss about what he was going to do. He was too embarrassed to accompany a male into the cave alone, so he had to wait at the cave's entrance. That being said, he detected the scent of meat again last night, which was far stronger close to the cave than it was yesterday. Luo had a hunch that Meng Sheng was having breakfast. He couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed that he had arrived at the wrong time.

Meng Sheng went to pick up the leftover pork from yesterday as well as the animal meat he didn't like. Since there was no bowl to carry the meat, he had to cover it with five large leaves.

He carried the warm food over to Luo.

“This is the meat I boiled the day before. It was seasoned with the salt given by Qiu Juan. It tastes good. Aunt Luo will bring it back to taste.”

Luo had only come to send some wild vegetables; he had not expected Meng Shenghui to be so generous with food.

Although that the meat taken out by the male seemed extraordinary, he had no face to accept it.

"No, I'm sorry, but I can't accept.”

"This was prepared with your salt and there isn’t much meat. Not enough for you and Qiu Juan to fill your stomachs. I’m simply sharing to have a taste because it’s delicious. There’s no other meaning.”

When he saw that the sub-female was still reluctant, he said it again. " Qiu Juan should be given some decent food now that he was injured. If he gets well faster, he’ll go out hunting sooner. If Aunt Luo cares about Qiu Juan and still feels ashamed, please give me some more vegetables the next time you collect them. I like these greens very much.”

Luo smiled helplessly. The male who was previously reluctant to speak now spoke so much that he couldn’t refuse. "You child are too good at coaxing.”

"I’m only saying aloud what is truth.”

Luo held the warm meat in his hands with a touch of a smile on his lips. "From now on, I'll bring you wild veggies."

"Great."

Luo suddenly thought of something. "You said that it was boiled. Did you have a pot in your cave?”

Meng Sheng pointed to his stone pot inside. “It was chiseled yesterday.”

Luo’s eyes widened. “There aren't many stone pots in our tribe. I only know that the two chiefs' caves, as well as some very powerful male caves, have them. It’s difficult to chisel stone.”

He'd eaten boiled meat before. When he went to the chief to collect the provisions for the winter. The chief shared some then. The boiled meat was given to the tribe's weak members. Most tribesmen were used to eating raw meat, so they didn’t like the taste too much, but Meng Sheng's meat was very fragrant for some reason.

Meng Sheng was a little taken aback: "Is that true? If Luo Auntie needs one, I can carve one for you when I have the time."

Luo was flabbergasted when he heard the male's understatement. He wanted a pot like the one in Chief's cave, but even for the tribe's powerful males, chiseling out a small one took more than ten days.

Meng Sheng's image of being a weak male was too ingrained for a long time.

Luo believed Meng Sheng's stone pot could have been shaped naturally. He happened to find it and bring it back to make a simple modification. He had no idea Meng Sheng possessed a strong breath as well as specialized equipment to assist.

He smiled and said nothing about it other than politely saying. “Alright, I beg you, if you have time. Qiu Juan had long desired a stone pot. When he was younger, every time he went to the chief's place, he cried for the chief's pot and stuck to it. It was all in good fun.”

Meng Sheng couldn't imagine what it was like for Qiu Juan to weep as a kid, and he should be really adorable.

He grinned and he took it seriously.

"Then I'll return first. Qiu Juan is waiting for me to return.”

"Aunt Luo, walk slowly." [TN: read the note below]

After Luo left, Meng Sheng returned to the stone pot. There was nothing but broth left. He didn't feel bothered. He tossed the foraged vegetables into the pot. The soup was already boiling. The veggies were blanched, crispy, and fresh, they tasted delicious. He ate all of the wild vegetables clean, just like eating a hot pot.

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[TN: Little thing I observed how different cultures send off guests. In Chinese novels, they usually say “Walk slowly” or something like that while English speakers say something related to safety or quickness. In my country, most people either use the foreigner in Latvian ~“safe journey” or the traditional saying in Latvian ~“Good luck on the road”. We have a lot of luck-related sayings because our biggest pagan goddess use to be a luck goddess, whose name “Laima” roughly translates to “Happiness” because luck and happiness are one and the same. If you are happy, you are lucky, if you are lucky, you are happy.

Therefore, I wonder, why walk slowly? So they don’t slip and fall on the way? So they enjoy the walk home? So they have no reason to hurry? ]