Some gers came forward to inquire about the hairpin. Wang Jin generously took it off and showed it to everyone, declaring with a sense of ownership that it was made for him by his beastman, Yuan Heng.
The gers who had partners clamored to go back and let their beastmen make it for them...
Soon, a wave of cloth clothing trend swept through the tribe. Many families replaced their animal hides with more comfortable, close-fitting and good-looking cloth clothes. Their was no longer left messy and loose but was instead tied up in various buns or neatly tied back.
A hairpin trend also emerged in the tribe. Many gers took a liking to wearing hairpins, but none could achieve the effect of the one Wang Jin wore.
Some refused to believe it was impossible. After learning that Yuan Heng had gone to Beast Mountain to find the stone and carve it himself, some beastmen tried to imitate him, searching for stones to carve.
But within two days, one of the beastmen's ger returned with a bitter expression to complain to Wang Jin. After some questioning, Wang Jin learned that the tribe lacked carving tools, therefore the beastmen had tried to carve the hairpins using their sharp claws. But the hairpins didn’t turn out well, and their claws were injured.
Injured claws meant greater danger during hunts, so the beastmen didn’t dare to continue.
Wang Jin was shocked. He took off his hairpin and examined it closely. It had never occurred to him that Yuan Heng might have carved it with his claws.
If it was carved by his claws, with such intricate patterns… Wang Jin’s heart sank, and he didn’t dare to think further.
Wang Jin fetched some medicinal paste for the ger and told him to apply it to his beastman’s injuries. The ger thanked him happily but didn’t take the medicinal paste.
During this time, they had learned many things from Wang Jin, including how to make the medicinal paste. Now, they had their own supply at home and didn’t need to take Wang Jin’s. Wang Jin didn’t insist.
Wang Jin spent the entire day in a daze with the other gers. Finally, when Yuan Heng returned home, Wang Jin immediately checked his fingers.
Yuan Heng seemed to know what Wang Jin was about to do, so he curled his fingers and hid his hands behind his back.
"……" Wang Jin’s heart clenched. He looked up at the man in silence, his eyes filled with unspoken accusation.
The man couldn’t bear to see his little ger looking at him like that. Whenever he did, the man felt the urge to give him the whole world and do whatever he asked.
His fingers tingled, and he sighed, reluctantly extending his hands for the ger to see.
Some of his nails were indeed worn down, and some had even injured the flesh of his fingers.
Wang Jin’s fingers tightened, gripping the man’s hands. His heart ached with a sour, swelling pain.
"You didn’t have to…"
"It doesn’t hurt."
The man cut him off: "I don’t need my nails for hunting."
"..." Although he is very strong, what if he encounters a powerful beast? Doesn't he need to use claws?
What will he do then?
"You… you…" Wang Jin wanted to say that the man was being irrational… but the carefully carved hairpin was still on his head. What right did he have to criticize?
"I remember you had a dagger, didn’t you?" Wang Jin asked.
That dagger had been used to cut meat before. If he had a dagger, why would he carve it with his claws…
Yuan Heng shook his head and pulled the dagger from his pocket. "This belonged to my great-grandfather. I don’t know where he got it, but it’s been too long, and it’s not sharp anymore. It’s fine for cutting meat, but it can’t carve."
Wang Jin took the dagger and pulled it out to inspect it. Indeed, it was very dull, with many nicks on the blade…
Wang Jin silently sheathed the dagger and handed it back to Yuan Heng, gritting his teeth and pursing his lips. "Don’t do things like this next time!"
He had said "next time" many times before, from when the man knelt at Beast Mountain until his knees were bloodied just to find some pretty stones for him, to digging bamboo shoots, and now this hairpin…
He always ended up hurting the man, and Wang Jin felt sad.
Yuan Heng couldn’t bear to see his little ger upset. He quickly retracted his hands and comforted him, "There really won’t be a next time. It won’t happen again, I promise."
Although the man said "really," there would definitely be a next time…
If only they had a hoe, they could dig bamboo shoots. If only they had carving tools, they could carve as many hairpins as they wanted…
Wang Jin’s eyes lit up. That’s right, just make them!
Wang Jin grabbed Yuan Heng’s hand.
For the next few days, Yuan Heng searched for the "iron" Wang Jin mentioned, something similar to the material of his small knife.
But after several days of searching, he found nothing.
During this time, the gers had been pestering Wang Jin to teach them how to cook, make medicine, and more…
Wang Jin had taught them almost everything he knew. The gers were highly talented, and after learning something once, they could apply it creatively.
For example, when sewing clothes, Wang Jin gave them some men’s clothing patterns. At first, they followed the patterns strictly, but later, in their pursuit of beauty, they accidentally created something resembling women’s dresses. Cooking became even more diverse, and even the bamboo baskets, chairs, mats, and recliners Wang Jin later taught Yuan Heng to make were no challenge for them. Only pharmacology was something they didn’t dare to modify.
This left Wang Jin in a tough spot. Now, whenever the gers saw him, they didn’t gossip about who was doing what anymore. Instead, they were like sponges, eager to absorb every last bit of knowledge he had.
Every day, they pestered him to teach them this and that. When he still had things to teach, it was manageable, but now that he had taught them everything, what else could he teach?
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