RPS – Chapter 50 Reed Wool

What did Li Feng see when he opened his eyes that surprised him so much?

What appeared before his eyes was a small, fluffy object that looked like a squirrel’s tail, which Nuo was holding and gently brushing against the tip of his nose.

“You’ve been gone so long just to fetch water, and you actually fell asleep? What if you’d fallen into the river?” Nuo waved the object in his hand and asked, seeing Li Feng staring at it in either delight or amazement.

“What’s that in your hand? Where did you get it?” Li Feng hadn’t heard Nuo’s question at all. His mind was entirely focused on the thing in her hand.

“This? You mean this?” Nuo was about to ask why Li Feng was answering off-topic, but when he saw the excitement in his eyes fixed on the thing he was holding, she raised it up, puzzled—was this little thing really that exciting?

“Yes, that one! Where did you get it?” Li Feng walked over and directly snatched it from Nuo’s hand. Why had he never seen this before? If he had, he wouldn’t still be so worried about winter clothing this late in the season.

“What’s the matter? When I came to look for you, a kid in the tribe gave it to me. They gathered a bunch of them,” Nuo said, baffled at Li Feng’s reaction.

“Come on, take me to them! This thing is useful—hugely useful! With it, we can make warmer shoes, and our feet won’t freeze in the winter!” Li Feng hurriedly pulled Nuo along while explaining, not forgetting to hand him the shoes he had left out to dry and the clay pot full of water—he was stronger, after all.

“Really? Just this little thing?” Nuo stumbled from being pulled but didn’t mind. His mind was still replaying what Li Feng had just said. What exactly was this thing that could be so useful?

“Yes, exactly! I can’t explain it all right now. I’ll tell you in detail later.” Li Feng gripped the object tightly—he couldn’t afford to lose it.

The two of them walked quickly—or rather, jogged—while Nuo, who was carrying the water and trying not to spill it, was nearly exhausted.

“Li Feng, do you really have to run this fast? They’re right up ahead,” Nuo stopped briefly to catch his breath and pointed toward a group of children playing and laughing in the distance.

“Right, then let’s hurry up!” Li Feng urged. They were already so close—why slow down now?

“Coming!” Nuo lifted the pot and followed.

“Lu, can you come over here a sec?” Li Feng called out to a boy who often played with Mo—a relatively sensible one among the group.

“Uncle Li Feng?” The boy named Lu quickly ran over when he heard Li Feng calling, still holding that item Li Feng had been dreaming about.

Li Feng smiled so warmly that it almost resembled a suspicious “kidnapper’s smile.” “Uncle Li Feng just wants to ask—where did you get that thing in your hand? Where did you gather it from?”

Lu looked at the now-squashed object in his hand that he’d been playing with. “Uncle Li Feng, you want to play with this too? We picked it down by the river!” Lu pointed downstream. “There’s lots of it there! But Mom won’t let us go over there—she says it’s too dangerous. But it’s so much fun and really pretty!”

Lu was clearly showing off—after all, the places parents forbade were often the most enticing. They’d snuck over there several times already and nothing bad had happened. Moms just overreacted, right?

“Uncle Li Feng, please don’t tell my mom, okay?” Lu had been proud while talking, but now looked nervous, fearing he’d get scolded again.

“Alright. But can you take Uncle Li Feng there now?” Li Feng was growing impatient and wanted to gather some right away.

Lu scratched his head, a bit hesitant. “Uncle Li Feng, can we go tomorrow? I have to help Mom tan animal hides today. She just came to call me.”

Li Feng, though eager, knew this wasn’t a one-day task. Since they had already confirmed there was a lot of it, he could wait till tomorrow. For now, he could make preparations. Thinking it through, he gently patted Lu’s head and smiled, “Okay, go help your mom. I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

“Then Uncle Li Feng, I’m leaving now, okay? Remember to come find me tomorrow, I’ll take you there.” Lu was afraid that Li Feng would forget. He was quite disappointed that he couldn’t take Li Feng there today—actually, he really wanted to go again himself.

“Alright, I won’t forget. Hurry home now.” Li Feng waved with a smile at Lu, who ran off, and then excitedly pulled the still-confused Nuo back home.

“Li Feng, what exactly is that thing?” Once they got home, Nuo quickly grabbed Li Feng to ask. After all that talk, he still hadn’t explained what it was—only that it could help prevent frostbite. But how was it used?

Li Feng put down what he was holding, went over to take the baby from Mo’s arms, and then happily explained with a smile, “This is called reed fluff—the flower of the reed. It’s fully mature now, which is why it looks all fluffy like this.”

“How do you use it?” Nuo remembered that Li Feng had said it was great for keeping warm.

“Don’t be in such a rush.” Li Feng picked up a piece of reed fluff—light yellow-brown and soft, looking a bit like fine animal fur. “This can be used to make Mao Weng shoes.” He had only remembered the idea of Mao Weng shoes after seeing the reed fluff.

When Li Feng was a kid, he wore Mao Weng shoes all the time. The sole was made of a wooden board, then covered with thickly woven thatch. During winter, they’d collect loads of reed fluff, remove the stems, and stuff the fluffy parts into the shoes—it was incredibly warm.

He only wore them, though—he didn’t know how to make them. In the orphanage, some of the older aunties would make them for the kids. Since they didn’t have much money for shoes, they had to save wherever they could. So each winter, the aunties would make a pair for those who had no shoes or whose shoes were already worn out. The shoes were rough, but truly warm.

Although Mao Weng shoes looked rustic, they were much better than modern thermal socks or so-called warm shoes. Some shoes even did away with the wooden soles to make them lighter for children to wear, using tightly woven reeds and hemp rope instead. The sides had laces woven in, similar to straw sandals, but much warmer because of the reed fluff inside.

The shoes had to be tightly stitched all around—front and back—so that they were thick and windproof. After stuffing them with reed fluff, which was light and soft, they were so warm that you didn’t even need to wear socks. These shoes weren’t easy to make, especially the kind with wooden soles. If he were to make them for Bu and the others, the wooden soles were essential; otherwise, the shoes would wear out too quickly when hunting.

You could also add wheat bran into the shoes—it’s warm by nature and adds insulation. Wearing them barefoot with the inside stuffed full of reed fluff or wheat bran, your whole foot would feel warm. The soft touch against your skin would even lift your mood. Especially when it snowed, walking with Mao Weng shoes in the snow made a crunching sound. As long as the snow didn’t get inside, your feet would stay warm. That feeling of being warm in the freezing snow was a joy. As kids, they loved running around in the snow, wearing those shoes and having snowball fights.

After hearing Li Feng’s vivid description, Nuo was just as excited. He couldn’t wait to go pick reed fluff and have Li Feng make a pair of shoes for him. And if they really were as good as Li Feng said, then they’d have no worries. Before, even though they wrapped their feet in animal hides, the hides were too thin. And since your feet were always touching the ground, the cold would seep right through into your bones. Before long, your feet would go numb. Especially when staking out prey—you’d squat for hours until your feet went numb or developed frostbite. Sometimes, it wasn’t just redness and swelling. They could crack, ooze pus, and turn bluish-purple. It hurt and itched terribly, but you couldn’t scratch. It was absolute torture.

That’s why winter was the most dreaded season for every tribe—not just because food was scarce, but also because it brought frostbite and death.

“When Bu and the others come back, let’s tell them. Or better yet, let’s just tell them to skip the hunt and come pick reed fluff with us tomorrow. What do you think?” Nuo sat beside him, gripping the reed fluff tightly. Now that he knew its value, he didn’t want to let go—much less throw it away.

“No need. We’ll go ourselves first. Let’s see if it’s easy to pick. If it is, we’ll handle it. If it’s not, we can ask them to help later,” Li Feng said as he teased the baby, who had been in good spirits lately. “But still, we should talk it over with them when they’re back. I don’t want any problems cropping up.”

“Alright. No matter what, we’re going to pick reed fluff tomorrow and start making Mao Weng shoes. You’ll have to teach me. I want to make several pairs to swap out and give Bu a pair too.” Nuo spoke animatedly, excited about his plans.

“All you ever think about is Bu.” Li Feng plopped the baby into Nuo’s arms and nudged Mo toward him too. “They’re your nephews too—you should make shoes for them as well.”