On the left side of the cave was the bedroom.
To make Kaelen lie comfortably, the beastmen workers chiseled a bit deeper inside. They carefully chiseled the rock ceiling higher than a beastman's head, smoothed out all the sharp corners, making it look quite flat.
After putting in a bed made using the mortise and tenon joint method, Cassian also made a hanging rack and a wooden shelf for him, so he could hang animal skins and put personal items on top. The bedroom door was made of a wooden hanging rod, the two ends embedded into two small chiseled holes, and then an animal skin curtain was hung up.
The kitchen was made on the right side of the cave, far away from the bedroom and the living room, close to the cave wall. The stove base was built high, underneath were two arched spaces to burn firewood, and on top were two round openings with stone rims, sized perfectly to hold two deep-set stone pans. The kitchen counter was long, moderately wide, and built curving along the cave wall.
At the end near the cave entrance, a deep stone hollow was chiseled out, and right above it was a small opening. On the wooden door was a latch; lifting the wooden door and pulling the hanging rope at the door revealed a stone water vat right outside. One scoop with a ladle, and there was water. This was for getting water and washing food, so whether it was cold or raining, there was no need to go outside to get water.
To the left of the stone hollow, there was also a small hole leading water out through another path. When in use, block it with a wooden plug; when finished, pull the wooden plug out, and the water would flow out through that hole.
When choosing caves, people in the tribe usually prioritized caves with high arches, wide entrances, and tightly sealed walls. Kaelen, however, chose a cave with a few holes in the wall, then used wooden planks glued with pine resin to seal them tightly against rain and drafts.
Initially, everyone disagreed, afraid he would be blown into an ice statue by the wind, but Kaelen said he wanted the air in the cave to be really well-ventilated, so this matter was settled like that. Today, those holes completely demonstrated their usefulness.
In the middle of the cave, a short-legged wooden table was placed; sitting cross-legged on the floor, it was just the right height reaching the joint between the belly and the chest. This table was so wide that it could even be used as a bed. At the head of the table, there was also a small stone stove specifically used for boiling water or roasting meat. This small stove style was Kaelen learning from the wood-burning stove style that people in the West of his homeland in his previous life often used.
Hoshen, a middle-aged lion tribe beastman, looked at the result of their one day of labor and couldn't help but sigh:
"I didn't expect those holes in the cave wall to now become smoke vents, this kid even told us to chisel them wider to make windows. The whole cave looks so much brighter. I'm thinking, I wonder if the cave at my house can be chiseled like this?"
"Forget it, chiseling a little indent is fine, but if you chisel it all the way through, I'm sure your claws will all be worn down to the nub!" Cassian threw a mocking remark, then turned to ask Kaelen: "If you didn't have the ventilation windows, how did you plan to make the kitchen?"
Kaelen smiled, walked to where the table was placed right in the living room, and gestured:
[Make it here. The smoke will float out the cave entrance, and the light is just right too. The kitchen counter can also be made a bit longer, add a few high chairs, and make it a dining table as well.]
The beastmen stroked their chins, their heads nodding: "Indeed a good method. Let's go back and rest first, build my house tomorrow, alright?"
The whole group finished discussing and decided to start renovating Cassian's cave first, then successively move on to Hoshen's house and the remaining three houses.
Stuffing some more snacks for the beastmen to bring back to the Sub-Beasts at home, Kaelen saw them off. Then he happily skipped inside, exploring every nook and cranny of the house, especially the bathroom and toilet.
From now on, he wouldn't need to bathe outdoors or have to run far in the middle of the night to find a place to relieve himself anymore!
---
The next morning, Kaelen tested the dryness of the construction mortar. It still wasn't hard enough; it had to be dried for at least all of today before it could be used.
He decided to guide the water first.
Not far from his cave, an underground spring flowed out from the mountain; just chiseling it wider would allow him to collect water, but doing so would be exhausting. Therefore, Kaelen decided to make a water trough.
First, a bit of surveying the terrain, then drawing a design, and finally starting the work. Making a water trough wasn't difficult, Kaelen decided to do it himself.
First, go find Pompom trees. That was a type of tree with a hollow trunk; tapping it made a "Boom boom" sound, so everyone called it the Pompom tree.
A mature Pompom tree was about two and a half meters tall, with a round trunk tapering towards the top. The base of the Pompom tree was the size of an adult beastman's thigh. Because the tree was hollow, even a Sub-Beast's claws could chop it down. Kaelen ran back and forth about two or three times, and finally gathered enough trees he needed.
He used vines and strong branches planted into the ground to tie into A-frames. Planting a frame every 1.6 meters, stretching from his cave to the underground spring. After finishing planting the frames, he also pounded the ground really tightly, ensuring the A-frames wouldn't be knocked down by heavy rain and strong winds.
Next was splitting all the Pompom trees, scraping clean the wood fibers inside the tree's core, and then placing them on the frames. At the joints, he overlapped the rear tree onto the front tree, using melted pine resin mixed with crushed charcoal and animal fat to stick them together.
He continued doing this until he was near the water source, stopping when he was about a handspan away. The adhesive needed a day to dry; only after the glue was dry could he let the water flow in.
Kaelen's stomach rumbled loudly; only then did he realize he was so engrossed in working that he forgot lunch time. Luckily he had buried a few white starchy tubers in the hot coals in the morning; now he just needed to take them out and eat.
While he was eating, Roley and Wilder came over to visit. Besides the two kids, there was also the Gray Wolf tribe Sub-Beast Moer and a Curved-Horn Goat tribe beast cub. The kids didn't disturb Kaelen's eating; they explored his cave on their own, gasping in amazement at everything they saw.
Kaelen found it funny but didn't say anything. After finishing eating, he stood up and mixed some water for the kids to drink. Moer really liked this sweet fruit water, drinking and smacking his lips:
"The fruit water is so delicious, it's a pity Lucian can't drink it..."
Saying that, the little boy's ears drooped, looking quite dejected. Wilder didn't like drinking sweet things, so he gave his portion of water to Moer, softly comforting him:
"Don't be sad. Later on we can just secretly invite him along. His Papa can't possibly watch over him forever."
Kaelen tilted his head, curiously asking what was wrong. Roley sighed and said:
"His Papa and Daddy forbade him from playing with us."
Roley didn't speak clearly, but Kaelen understood everything. They never forbade it before; it was merely because the other day Lucian went with him, and even let him rub his head.
Seeing the atmosphere seemed a bit gloomy, the Curved-Horn Goat Nero nimbly changed the subject:
"Kaelen, your barbecue seasoning is truly top-notch. My Papa learned it from Roley's Papa, then went back and roasted meat for me to eat. Even though my family rarely eats meat, we also finished a whole small wild boar!"
Small animals around the tribe were allowed to be hunted freely. However, this type of meat was only to fill the stomach; it completely lacked energy like the wild beasts in the demonic beast forest. Usually, only Sub-Beasts and cubs ate this type of meat.
Mentioning meat, Kaelen suddenly felt extremely craved. He had clearly just eaten several white starchy tubers until he was full; he didn't understand why he felt hungry at this moment. His eyes couldn't help but dart toward the rabbit in the cage, then regretfully moved away.
Test subject, cannot eat.
Wilder jumped right onto the table, bragging:
"Then let's go hunting. The other day I just hunted two rabbits during training!"
Roley and Nero were also eager to try, Moer also wanted to see beastmen hunting up close, so he showed his agreement. However, this idea was rejected by Kaelen. Cubs were not allowed to leave the tribe's protection zone, let alone go hunting.
Little beastmen were only allowed to hunt under the strict supervision of adult beastmen. The beastmen's birth rate was too low, and successfully raising them was even lower, so no adult in the tribe would allow a cub to leave the safe zone.
In the end, a group of beast cubs carried big and small pots, following Kaelen to the riverbank to eat fish...