I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 194 The straw hat is finished

Bai Ling flattened the sorghum husks, cut them to the thickness of a thumb, and then began to thread them into the gaps of the straw hat.

This job is very simple. Just thread the sorghum husks in and out like silk threads, then thread them out and then thread them in again. Bai Ling threaded two layers of sorghum husks in one gap, making the straw hat more secure and waterproof.

After the straw hat was finished, the autumn rain outside continued to fall. Chen put the straw hat on his head and rushed out the door.

He walked around the yard several times. At first, he was very careful and didn't dare to walk too fast. He was afraid that his straw hat would fall off and that the rain would fall on his face if he walked too fast. After walking around twice, he realized that he was overthinking it. As long as he didn't walk too fast, his straw hat wouldn't fall off. As for whether the rain would get on his face, no matter how fast he walked, as long as he was still wearing the straw hat, the rain wouldn't fall on his face.

Watching Chen walking around in the yard wearing a straw hat, Yue suddenly thought of something and said to Bai Ling, "Ling, this thing called a straw hat can be worn on your head in the summer. That way, your face won't get uncomfortably sunburned when you're working in the fields or gathering things."

Bai Ling nodded: "Yes, that's right. Actually, it's best to use bamboo strips for the warp and weft of the bamboo hat. The bamboo in our tribe hasn't grown yet, so we'll have to wait until next year or later to make bamboo strips. The gaps between the warp and weft of the bamboo hat can also be filled with reeds."

He didn't dry the reeds, only the reed stalks he was preparing to weave. Luckily, he had some sorghum at home, so he used the sorghum husks to fill the gaps between the warp and weft.

Feng said, "We still have a lot of reeds at home. I'll weave a few more straw hats. With them, it will be much easier to do chores in the future."

Cang offered to help, saying that although his skills were lacking, he could still weave a bamboo hat.

Bai Ling then said, "Father, after the wheat harvest, I will weave a straw hat out of wheat straw. A straw hat is lighter than a bamboo hat, and it can block the sun when worn in the summer."

The wind asked, "Are straw hats and bamboo hats made the same way?"

Bai Ling shook his head: "Straw hats don't have warp and weft threads, you can just weave them directly from wheat straw, just like weaving a basket."

Yue understood: "Is that straw hat a small-sized basket?"

Bai Ling gestured with his hands: "A straw hat has a brim, just like the edge of a bamboo hat to keep out the rain, but the brim of a straw hat isn't as big."

After Bai Ling's explanation, everyone knew what a straw hat was: it's something woven from wheat straw, a size smaller than a bamboo hat.

Feng thought to himself, this doesn't seem too difficult to make, it's similar to weaving a basket. Once the wheat is harvested, he'll give it a try and see if he can make a straw hat.

*

The rain continued the next day, and since the family couldn't go out to work, Feng decided to celebrate Cang's birthday.

Cang's birthday is in the autumn. Feng originally planned to celebrate it for him after the harvest, but since there's time now, he might as well celebrate Cang's birthday now.

Before deciding to celebrate Cang's birthday, Feng spoke privately with his two sons to ask for their opinions.

Bai Ling and Chen had no objections. They had already prepared a gift for their father in advance, so even if they celebrated his birthday early, they would still have a gift for him.

Now that they had decided to celebrate the birthday, they had to start preparing. Chen and Feng followed Bai Ling's instructions and began preparing the food for the evening, while Bai Ling went to invite Yue to come over for dinner.

Although Yue is not yet a member of their family, she participates in everything that happens in the family. Today is her father's birthday, so Bai Ling naturally invited Yue over.

Yue was playing at Xiao's house. A group of young orcs were sitting together, and several of them were weaving things. Xiao was weaving a basket, and Yue was sitting next to him, helping him carry things from time to time.

Upon seeing Bai Ling arrive, the orcs sitting together gasped in surprise, for Bai Ling had taken off a bamboo hat from his head.

Outside, the autumn rain was falling continuously. Bai Ling walked here from home, but her hair was dry and her shoulders were only slightly wet.

When Bai Ling entered the house, she took off her straw hat and placed it under the eaves of the small house.

Some of the people who were familiar with Bai Ling went out, picked up Bai Ling's bamboo hat, looked at it from left to right, put the hat on their own heads, and walked around the courtyard.

"Ling, what is this?" The young orc took off his bamboo hat, and another young orc took the hat, put it on his head, and walked around outside.

The two straw hats were used as toys by the young orcs. They would wear them for a while and then take turns wearing them, walking in the rain and then taking turns walking in the rain, having a great time.

Bai Ling explained, "This is called a straw hat. It is woven from reed stalks and sorghum husks. Wearing it on your head can protect you from the rain."

Xiao Ye walked around the courtyard wearing a straw hat. After all the clansmen had put on their hats, Xiao Ye took the hat directly into the house.

The floor in Xiao's house was also made of lime, and water droplets on it dried quickly. Xiao held a straw hat in one hand and fiddled with the sorghum husks on it with the other, then said, "This looks like a bamboo basket. It's just that the gaps are a bit bigger when weaving it, and then you can stuff these sorghum husks in."

Yue said from the side, "This can not only block the rain, but also block the sun in summer. You can wear it when you go out to collect things or work in the fields."

The young orcs were very interested in the bamboo hat. One of them asked Bai Ling how to make it. Bai Ling touched his head and said, "My father made this. If you want to know how to make it, you have to ask my father."

Xiao put down the straw hat in her hand and said, "Then when we have some free time, let's ask Uncle Feng. I want to make a few straw hats too. It's not very comfortable to go out to collect things in the summer with the sun shining on your face. Having these will definitely make things much easier."

The other orcs also said they wanted to learn how to weave straw hats with Feng. Xiao handed the straw hat in her hand to Yue and nudged Yue's arm with her arm: "Yue, your Ling is here to see you. Are you going to go with him, or stay here and play with us?"

The other orcs joked, "Ling, Yue finally had some time to play with us today, why did you come here again, Ling?"

"Yes, yes, Ling, you and Yue haven't even become partners yet, how come you can't bear to be apart even for a moment?"

“Xiao, you’re wrong. They’re not Ling of Yue, but Yue of Ling. Look, Yue has only been sitting in your house for a short while, and Ling has already come back.”

When it was just Bai Ling and Yue, Yue would rarely be shy. But with so many clansmen around, and they were all joking about her and Ling, Yue's face immediately turned red.

Bai Ling wasn't shy at all. He said frankly, "I've come to see Yue about something."

The young orcs burst into laughter again, and Yue's face turned even redder. He said to the young orcs, "I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."