Live Strong in the Wilderness-Chapter 172: Good Quality

"Let me drink some water first. Maybe you’re right; the climate here might naturally be this unpredictable." Xu Yi had already finished the water he brought, so he was extremely thirsty now.

There was water on the table, so Xu Yi just picked it up and took a few big gulps.

"Ah, refreshing." Xu Yi wiped the water from the corners of his mouth and then took off his jacket.

"How’s the pulp coming along?" Xu Yi asked Lu Ke, noticing that Lu Ke had already set the grapes out to dry—after all, the whole morning had passed.

"A lot of the moisture has evaporated, and the pulp is getting thicker. If we boil it any further, it will dry out," Lu Ke replied, as she also wasn’t sure what the right consistency should be.

"I’ll go take a look," Xu Yi said, and went over to check.

The pulp was indeed very thick. Xu Yi stirred it with a stick and then immediately said, "This looks about right; we can start making paper now."

Then Xu Yi fetched some water and added it to the clay pot, removing some large firewood to reduce the fire’s intensity.

"Okay, so what do we do next?" Lu Ke was still very excited. Having paper would mean not having to suffer inconvenience anymore—something she’d been hoping for a long time.

"Bring over the reed mats; we’ll spread the pulp on top, make it even, and once it dries, that’s it." Xu Yi explained, the process wasn’t very complex, and his method was quite primitive.

The paper made this way was naturally quite different from modern paper.

Its flexibility and delicacy, of course, were relatively poor.

"Is it really that simple?" Lu Ke asked, somewhat incredulous.

"Simple is simple, but to spread it evenly and thinly is not easy. This is a delicate task," Xu Yi said as he moved the items off the table and laid a reed mat on it.

After that, Xu Yi took a clay bowl, filled it, and poured it onto the reed mat.

"I shaped this bamboo strip last night to spread the pulp evenly," Xu Yi said, handing a bamboo strip to Lu Ke while keeping one for himself.

Xu Yi used the bamboo strip to push the pulp, while Lu Ke watched from the side.

"That’s it, but it’s not easy to make it thin and even. Look, it’s uneven—thicker here, thinner there," Xu Yi said helplessly.

"Let me handle it; you go boil some water for lunch," Lu Ke said, getting started herself.

Xu Yi nodded; he felt that Lu Ke would do a better job at this delicate work than he would.

Xu Yi fetched some water to boil and then got some cold water to wash himself off.

The heat was oppressive, making him feel like he was in a furnace. Not washing off wasn’t an option—it was too uncomfortable.

After coming out, Xu Yi found that even after moving only a little, his back was already damp again.

"This damn weather, how can it be this hot?" Xu Yi complained, walking towards the earthen stove to scoop out the boiled water, then set more to boil. After all, he still needed to carry back the remaining flax in the afternoon. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Today’s weather is indeed quite abnormal," Lu Ke said, wiping the sweat from her forehead and cheeks, planning to take a cold shower later.

"Alright, Xu Yi, is this thin enough?" Lu Ke asked, glancing over at Xu Yi.

Xu Yi handed Lu Ke a cup of water and then looked at the pulp she had spread evenly.

"Amazing, you’re really skilled; this is much thinner than I expected," Xu Yi said, giving Lu Ke a thumbs up in admiration.

"Stop praising me so much, you’re making me embarrassed," Lu Ke said, then started drinking the water.

"Just let it dry a bit, and we’ll peel it off to check the result once it’s dry," Xu Yi placed it at the edge of the greenhouse, where it wouldn’t be in direct sunlight. Overexposure would make the paper too brittle.

"Let’s have lunch first; by the time we’re done, the paper should be dry," Xu Yi suggested, eagerly looking forward to seeing the paper results.

Lu Ke nodded; she already knew how to handle it. Now it was just a matter of seeing how well the paper turned out.

The two of them ate some jerky with hot water.

After finishing lunch, Xu Yi picked up the reed mat.

"It’s dry now; let’s see if we can peel it off," Xu Yi said as he folded a corner.

Xu Yi smoothly peeled off a sheet of light-yellow paper.

"It’s a success, we made paper!" Xu Yi exclaimed happily, looking at the large sheet of paper he held.

Lu Ke was also smiling; she couldn’t believe that she and Xu Yi had actually managed to make paper.

Xu Yi folded the paper and used a knife to cut it into eight smaller sheets.

"Here, try it out; it feels quite soft, perfect for use as toilet paper," Xu Yi said, handing a sheet to Lu Ke.

"Wow, we really made paper, and it looks pretty good!"

"That’s because the fibers from the flax stalks are fine, suitable for making high-quality paper."

"The most crucial part was when Lu Ke evenly spread it; without that, the paper would have been thick and hard."

"I really admire Xu Yi; although making paper isn’t hard, producing it so quickly is unique to them."

"They must have a lot of free time, making paper instead of going hunting in the middle of the day."

"Seriously, capturing a real nitpicker in action. The highest score any other team has is thirty-something points; does Xu Yi really need to push so hard?"

"People like that won’t last a day, yet they think they’ll easily survive 500 days."

"Other teams would be incredibly envious if they knew. After all, they’re still using leaves and branches."

"No matter how you look at it, if it were me, I definitely couldn’t do as well as Xu Yi."

"Improving your quality of life isn’t a bad thing; does one have to live like a savage?"

"Surviving in the wild is all about gradually improving your life. If things get worse, what’s the point?"

"Knowledge changes not just destiny, but life itself. I’m even more a fan of Xu Yi now."

Lu Ke continued spreading the pulp, while Xu Yi went to haul back all the flax.

By a little after three, Xu Yi had carried all the flax back.

There was so much flax that it seemed enough to weave a long, thick rope.

These flax stalks could then be used to make more paper.

"Xu Yi, take a break; it’s too hot today," Lu Ke handed Xu Yi a bamboo tube, which had been soaked in water, so it was nicely cool.

Xu Yi took a sip, feeling thoroughly refreshed.

But in the next second, his heart skipped a beat.

PS: This Chapter was posted incorrectly. It turned into Chapter 175 from this point, but I’ve fixed the content, and it should be fine for normal reading. The Chapter title hasn’t been changed, please take note—I’ll contact the editor to fix it on Monday.