Experiencing the same kind of heat in winter as in summer seemed unimaginable to the people of the Green Sparrow tribe before the 'sauna room' was invented.
Now that they had truly experienced this temperature, the people of the Green Sparrow tribe were amazed.
The heavy leather curtain, which seemed even heavier due to dampness, was lifted, and Han Cheng and Bai Xue emerged inside.
Although they hadn't done anything, both of them were sweating profusely.
The two returned to the tub, picked up a somewhat translucent substance, and applied it to each other's bodies before helping each other wash.
Bai Xue's favorite part was applying the semi-transparent substance, which Han Cheng called soap, and then rubbing it back and forth on the increasingly glossy skin.
Especially when transparent bubbles were produced, Bai Xue would laugh with joy.
Han Cheng felt quite helpless about the origin of the soap.
Previously, he found pure fat oil too greasy to use as snow cream for the hands and face, so he wanted to add something to it to change it. After adding ash and stirring with a wooden stick, he unintentionally created soap, which he had been eager to obtain but didn't know how to make.
This experience reminded Han Cheng of an anecdote he had read about a scholar in ancient times.
He couldn't remember the specifics, as it had been a long time, but he remembered that the person had a stubborn temperament.
He liked drinking and also liked brewing his alcohol, but every time he tried, the wine failed, tasting more like vinegar. If it were an ordinary person, they would have given up long ago after repeated failures, but he was different. Despite knowing the dangers, he persisted and was determined to make the wine.
The wine didn't turn out in the end, but vinegar became famous far and wide...
This experience was similar to Han Cheng's unintentional soap creation while trying to produce useful snow cream.
After washing their bodies and hair with soap, the water in the tub had become murky.
Han Cheng unplugged the plug at the bottom of the tub, drained the water, plugged it again, and used two jars of clean hot water nearby to rinse their bodies and hair. After drying themselves off, they put on their clothes and walked out of the bathhouse, feeling warm and comfortable.
Bai Xue's little face was flushed with heat, like a big red apple, which tempted Han Cheng to take a bite.
Without towels or a hairdryer, it was not easy to dry their long hair, especially with the cold weather outside, which would freeze it in no time.
Han Cheng grabbed Bai Xue's stiffened hair and rubbed it with his hands, and ice chips fell off.
When the weather warmed up, it was time to cut off this long hair!
Han Cheng, tired of his long hair, thought so.
He had kept his hair long before because there were no suitable tools, and using fire to burn off the hair was too cruel, so Han Cheng kept it. Now that there was an iron knife, dealing with the hair was no problem.
When the time came, all the men's hair would be cut short with a knife, and the boys' hair would be cut off and tied into a ponytail.
This would make working or doing other things more convenient for them.
It was a pity no one was collecting hair braids at this time, which made Han Cheng regretful. Otherwise, the hair cut off by the people of the Green Sparrow tribe could be sold for a good price.
As far as the eye could see, the tribe was filled with people with disheveled hair and flushed faces. Everyone was very satisfied with this novel way of bathing, especially the sauna room, which could emit large amounts of white vapor.
After the bathing, everyone felt warm, lazy, and very comfortable, something they couldn't experience before.
The children were most interested in soap that could produce bubbles, and they played with it joyfully.
After the bath, all the heaviness on their bodies washed away, and the people who experienced the bath's effects personally gave the Divine Child's efforts in building the bathhouse a double thumbs-up.
Time flew by quickly. It was fine when you didn't look back, but when you did, you'd be surprised to find that a whole year had passed already.
While adults felt time passing quickly, children felt it dragged on endlessly, feeling that the days were exceptionally long.
Amid the thunderous drumbeats, the footsteps of the New Year had quietly arrived.
While the children joyfully ran around, the adults in the tribe prepared various New Year's ingredients and items to drive away the Year Beast.
The couplets that had hung at every door for a year were taken down and replaced with new ones with more exquisite craftsmanship.
The New Year atmosphere became even more intense with these newly hung couplets as a backdrop.
New Year's Eve was a good day, with the sun hanging in the sky. Although it was still chilly around, people's moods improved.
Amidst the steaming heat, various delicious foods were served.
Bai Xue, experiencing all this for the first time, and the people from the Bone tribe who had just joined this year looked at the overwhelming array of food, their eyes widening in astonishment, and they felt dizzy.
They thought the food they had eaten before was unimaginable, but who could have expected such a delicious and sumptuous meal now?
After everything was set up and ready to eat, someone suddenly remembered the canned goods the Divine Child had prepared in autumn.
Since they had been sealed until now, they had never been eaten.
Thinking of the sweet and sour taste, everyone couldn't help but salivate.
The New Year's Eve dinner, only once a year, naturally brought out all the delicious dishes.
After Han Cheng nodded with a smile, someone immediately rushed over and brought back jars of canned goods sealed with mud.
They couldn't wait to open the mud seals, remove the leaves covering the openings, and pour them into bowls.
As the highest-ranking member of the tribe, Han Cheng was naturally the first to have canned goods poured for him.
The somewhat murky liquid flowed out from the mouth of the jar and into the bowl. Instead of the remembered sweet and sour taste, there was a smell that wasn't very pleasant.
Han Cheng frowned imperceptibly. His first thought was, damn it, it's spoiled. We got this for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Canned goods definitely wouldn't look . They should be the same as they were before.
Many people had already noticed something unusual, and their expressions were unnatural.
Han Cheng lifted the bowl in front of him and gently sniffed it. The smell wasn't good. He cautiously took a sip, and the taste was even worse—sour and astringent.
Just as he was about to spit out the fruit canned goods that had spoiled for some reason, Han Cheng's eyes suddenly lit up.
Because amidst the unpleasant sourness, he sensed a familiar and nostalgic taste.