Chapter 5: Silkworms

Grandma Lony used to bring me up to the mountain to gather medicinal herbs every morning. She taught me how to identify plants and their uses, as well as the effects of the herbs on the body depending on how they were processed. She was quite strict, so I tried my best to pay attention to all the important details she explained.

When I was only 5 years old, I accidentally saw a few silkworms feeding on some herbs while gathering. It was autumn, and it was almost time for the silkworms to turn into cocoons. I hastily took all of the silkworms I saw without asking for the Elder Healer's permission and placed them in my basket, which was full of herbs I had picked prior.

When we got back home, the Elder Healer screamed as she threw my basket unconsciously when she saw what was in it. I suddenly remembered the silkworms and hurriedly caught the basket. I checked the worms inside and felt guilty upon seeing that they had devoured almost all the herbs inside my basket. I felt guilty as I looked at Grandma Lony's reaction.

"Why did you bring those pests?" Grandma Lony asked, raising her voice in irritation. "Look, they ate all the herbs in your basket, and now we need to gather more herbs after lunchtime under the scorching sun to ensure we won't run out of medicine for the tribe."

"I'm sorry, Grandma Lony," I said, my voice trembling. "I thought they were cute, so I brought them back to learn how to raise them as my pets—I really liked them—and no one was playing with me, so I thought it would be better to raise a pet instead."

"Okay, it's alright; sorry for shouting at you—just promise me to ask for my permission next time when you're going to bring home something from the mountain besides the herbs we were gathering—so that I can help you contain them properly," Elder Healer Lony sighed as she continued, "Also, promise me not to let them roam around the house because they might feed on the rare herbs I've been keeping in storage—I already explained how hard it was to obtain them, so you have to be very careful, do you understand?"

I nodded excessively in agreement as I wiped my tears with my hands.

"I'm glad you understand," Grandma Lony said.

The Elder Healer informed my father about the worms, so the two of them made a basket-like cage for me to contain the worms. I fed them with cabbage every day until they started to create their own cocoon.

I was frustrated when I saw that their cocoons were not in good shape, so I waited for them to become moths to let them lay eggs and multiply in number. Fortunately, I was able to safely breed the moths, and they produced hundreds of eggs before dying briefly. I struggled to hatch the eggs, then I remembered eggs were hatched in incubators, so I placed the container of the eggs near the fireplace and kept observing them for about a week. I tried my best to sustain the heat near the fireplace so that it wouldn't be too hot or too cold.

The eggs hatched after six days of incubation, and I fed them with buds so they could feed on them easily; they were too small to eat regular leaves. Although not all of them hatched successfully, I still managed to hatch most of the eggs.

The newly hatched silkworms grew bigger and bigger as the weeks passed, so I asked my father to prepare a few sets of small, equal-sized bamboo cups. He didn't ask me why because he thought I would use them as toys for making my own concocted medicine.

I only transferred the silkworms, similar to the number of cups my father made, and then I covered all of them with the winnowing basket to prevent them from crawling out and eating the Elder Healer's herbs. I separated the remaining silkworms that were also already cocooning for breeding purposes since I can only place a single silkworm in each cup.

"Will it be a success?" I wondered as I waited for a few days for the silkworms to finish making their cocoons.

The cabbages I fed the silkworms were wild ones I found during the autumn. I wanted to plant the remains of the cabbage, which were the hard white center part, and grow them myself so that I could harvest cabbages without worrying about where to look for them. So, I decided to grow the cabbage by planting them in an old cooking pot right before springtime arrived. I diligently watered the pot and placed it on the windowsill in my room.

Soon, springtime arrived, and new leaves started to grow from the cabbage remains that I planted. I turned six years old that day, but since beastmen don't celebrate birthdays, I decided to celebrate it by showcasing my talent for planting. I was so excited, so I looked for my father to show him the plant. I brought the pot with me and looked at the tribunal meeting place and saw them having a meeting.

Beastmen were still not knowledgeable in farming and breeding animals to produce staple foods, so starvation was the number one problem of all the tribes during the winter because of the cold and terrible weather conditions. Also, most animals in the wild hibernate to conserve their energy and survive the harsh season.

Due to this reason, most cubs and a few females die of starvation every winter. Even though the fatalities in our tribe during the winter were lower than the other tribes due to my father's thorough organization of prey hunting, storage, and distribution of food, there were still a few reported deaths during the winter. It's saddening to hear the talks of the elders, especially those of my poor father, who was diligently working hard to protect the tribe.

I suddenly clung to my father right after a meeting and asked, "Father, why don't we grow our own food?"

There are many edible herbs and crops in the mountains; it's just that they grow separately, so it's hard to harvest them, so I explained to him that if we plant them in one location during spring, we can grow and harvest them around the autumn season and just enough time before the winter arrives, then store the seeds to grow them when the springtime comes again.

"Look, my cabbage was already growing!" I boasted childishly.

I proudly showed him the pot that I was holding while smiling cheerfully. I also told him that I had found a way to store our vegetables for longer. "We can bury them underground in pots like this—the earth will keep them cool and fresh," I explained excitedly.

My father was surprised and started to contemplate my suggestion. He dismissed the tribespeople before lifting me in his arms and bringing me back to my room.

"We can also take care of some animals inside the tribe that we can breed, which feed on vegetables and are less aggressive, just like my worms," I suggested. "Their number can multiply, and we will only cook them when needed so their meat won't rot inside the storage room, just like every winter."

He attentively listened to my suggestion and placed me back on my bed. Then he took the pot from me, which was quite dirty, and wiped my hands using a clean cloth.

"What a smart hatchling we've got here!" he said with a smile. "I am so proud of you!" He patted my head affectionately.