The next morning, when the latest-planted millet sprouted, and the soybeans poked through the soil, with their two plump seed pods and a small yellow bud emerging in the middle, the first grinding mill of the Green Sparrow tribe had finally declared a success.

Another stone platform about one meter high was constructed not far from the stone flowerbed that Han Cheng had built.

A square stone slab about one meter on each side was placed on the stone platform, with a newly made stone mill from the Green Sparrow tribe sitting in the center.

The lower stone mill was on a securely fixed cement base from ash and small stones.

This was to prevent the mill from rotating along with the top grinding stone when grinding.

A ridge about ten centimeters high was built with cement and small stones around the stone mill within ten centimeters of it.

At the lowest edge of the ridge, a drainage hole was left.

This prevented the ground soy milk and other substances from spilling out.

A refined stone mill would not have such a feature. The bottom stone of their mills would be directly carved from the large stone slab, making it one piece with the slab.

The outer edges of the stone slab would be carved into channels or ridges to collect liquids like soy milk.

The Green Sparrow tribe's tools were limited, and Mu Tou's skills were still developing, so Han Cheng and the others opted to use cement to save time on this labor-intensive project.

After confirming that the cement was thoroughly dried, they thoroughly washed the mill and surrounding stone slab with several buckets of clean water and finally began grinding soybeans.

In the early summer morning, the sunlight filtered through the lush green bamboo in the flowerbed, casting delicate spots of light on the damp stone mill.

In the cool air, Han Cheng held a ceramic bowl in his left hand, scooping out a bowl of ingredients from a ceramic jar placed on the stone platform.

The bowl contained two-thirds water and one-third soybeans, soaked for over a day and fully hydrated.

He tilted the bowl slightly, bringing it close to the top of the grinding mill so the water flowed into the grinding stone’s hole, followed by the soaked soybeans.

Meanwhile, Han Cheng’s right hand gripped the wooden handle of the mill, and his arm rotated it in circles.

The grinding became easier as the soaked soybeans entered the gap between the two stones.

The stone mill turned, and the rough soybeans were pressed and ground into fine particles, which appeared around the edges of the mill and slowly slid down. 𐍂á𝐍ȏʙĘṩ

White soy milk mixed with bean pulp flowed into the cement channel built around the stone mill.

As more and more accumulated, it began to flow toward the opening at the lowest point, finally forming a white stream that dropped into a ceramic jar placed below, creating a few white foam bubbles.

The cool air was filled with the fresh scent of soy milk, a familiar smell, like the one from grinding tofu during childhood festivals.

The difference, however, was that now everything had changed, and it felt like two completely different worlds…

The novelty of grinding attracted those who had never done it before.

When Han Cheng had ground half the soaked soybeans, he noticed Shaman, who had been eyeing the mill for a while, couldn’t hold back any longer.

He tentatively spoke up, expressing his desire to try grinding.

Han Cheng smiled, realizing he had forgotten how attractive the mill could be.

He immediately handed the bowl to Shaman, stepped aside, and let Shaman take over the grinding.

This was not a difficult task. There was no strict requirement on how much water to pour into the grinding stone, so Han Cheng stood by and watched without giving any further guidance.

The first grinding mill of the Green Sparrow tribe was a small mill with a diameter of only thirty centimeters, so it wasn’t heavy. Shaman didn’t find it difficult to turn.

When Shaman first took over the task from Han Cheng, his body was slightly tense, and his movements seemed a bit stiff. After grinding three bowls of soybeans, he had already become quite proficient.

After all, this wasn’t a very difficult task.

Once the soybeans were ground, Han Cheng had them bring clean water and pour it into the grinding stone one bowl at a time.

He also turned the stone mill to wash away any remaining bean pulp and soy milk as he poured.

This served two purposes: first, to avoid wasting soy milk, and second, to make cleaning easier the next time the mill was used.

Han Cheng, Shaman, and the others carried the freshly ground soy milk to one side, where a two-meter-high rack had already been set up.

The middle of the rack had a horizontal beam with a rope tied to its center. Below the rope was a wooden rod about one and a half centimeters thick.

This rod passed through the middle of two flat, overlapping sticks.

A large lump of dough was placed at the bottom of the rod to prevent the two overlapping sticks from sliding off the horizontal beam.

Each of the overlapping sticks, about one meter long, had a hole drilled at each end, and corners of square hemp cloth were tied securely through these holes.

The corners of the hemp cloth formed a pouch, and a clean, large ceramic basin was placed under it.

Han Cheng poured a jar of soy milk into the pouch and signaled to his elder brother to do the same. He held both ends of the overlapping sticks and gently swung the pouch back and forth.

As they swayed the pouch, the soy milk, wrapped inside the hemp cloth, also swayed back and forth, with slightly yellowish white soy milk falling into the large ceramic basin below.

This step was necessary because the grinding process produced not only soy milk but also a lot of soy pulp.

This step, essentially filtration, separated the soy pulp from the soy milk.

The finely woven hemp cloth from the Green Sparrow tribe was perfect for this task.

After filtering several jars of soy milk, the sizeable ceramic basin under the pouch was nearly full.

The pouch only contained soy pulp at this point.

Han Cheng didn’t immediately remove the pulp; instead, he added half a jar of clean water and continued the process.

At this point, there were few soybeans, so he followed the principle of extracting as much soymilk as possible.

After filtering once more, Han Cheng finally removed the soy pulp. However, he didn’t discard it, as it was a highly nutritious animal feed.

In ancient tofu shops, the pulp was commonly used to feed pigs, donkeys, and other livestock.

Because they were fed so well, these animals grew much fatter than those in regular households.

In times of food shortages, the soy pulp could also be converted into food, so eating soy pulp wasn’t uncommon.

Han Cheng naturally couldn’t bear to throw it away.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay