Slumping into another chair, the zebra stared intently at the Renju board, saying nothing more.

Seeing him fall silent, Kulu didn't drink water either. He walked straight to another sugar-stirring native, placed the brown sugar beside him, turned around, and left the wooden cabin alone.

...

It's hard for the natives, who are insensitive to human relationships, to sense the hidden crisis behind this ordinary event.

But the zebra could feel it.

In Kulu's stuttering recounting, he seemed to see a gleaming butcher's knife poised to strike his neck.

The chill completely woke him up, making him realize——

He might become a manager, but for now, he wasn't one yet. Some things weren't his to orchestrate, and some secrets were not theirs alone.

On the island, only a few people lived, so nothing could be hidden from the teacher and Sunday.

Fortunately for him, he usually had a good rapport with others, had a good learning attitude, received praise from the Leader for his carpentry work, and regularly gifted Saturday and Sunday with presents.

Though these actions, motivated by self-interest, inadvertently created a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' for him.

If it weren't for this, he might not receive such gentle reminders, but instead be expecting Sunday's whip or even the gallows.

...

Understanding this, the zebra quietly let out a sigh of relief.

The potential consequences were serious, but it hadn't come to that. It seemed like as long as he could handle it well, it would be over.

Under the lamplight, he tidied up the game pieces and board, having lost interest in continuing the game long ago.

Draining the hot water he had poured for Kulu earlier, the zebra headed toward his bed, not forgetting to inform the other two before sleeping——

"Tomorrow I'll stir the sugar. You two pick someone to work in the field, come back early, and prepare some hot meals."

...

Saturday didn't know if there had been friction between Kulu and the zebra, but he was relieved to see that the day after they found Kulu, the hard work of stirring the syrup fell to the zebra.

The zebra continued to work diligently, greeting him and Sunday with enthusiasm as usual, occasionally asking about idiom pronunciations and origins, or offering exquisite wooden carvings.

He pretended nothing happened, maintaining a gentle tone, handing over the red sugar reward for the hard work to the zebra.

Upon hearing that stirring sugar could earn a red sugar reward, the other natives became active, eagerly taking on this unpopular task.

...

Kulu took a few days off, and his arm gradually recovered.

Because he had voluntarily given out red sugar, the two natives who received the sugar often talked to him, and the previously isolating zebra began to show him care.

Whether the zebra's care was genuine or not, it was a good thing for Kulu.

Without practicing, it's hard to speak clearly. Besides understanding pronunciation, courage in communicating is more important.

Frustration not expressed lingers inside, benefiting no one.

Communication with companions relieved Kulu's worries, and his face, filled with wrinkles, finally showed a smile.

Though only occasionally, at least he took the first step.

...

Chen Zhou was also concerned with the natives' issues, realizing long ago that manpower-based syrup stirring was inefficient and physically taxing for the natives.

So he had been working overtime, creating a machine specifically for stirring syrup.

Even when the natives worked into the night, he never slacked off.

Staying in the Forging Room all day, by March 10th, Chen Zhou finally completed assembling the 'pedal mixer.'

The machine, made of wood, metal, and pottery, still operated manually, but could be powered by hand-cranking or pedaling.

Moreover, the stirring paddle inside the mixer was much larger than a spoon, with three blades greatly increasing its contact area with the syrup.

Once the syrup was cooked to the right consistency, the natives could immediately ladle it into the mixer.

When their hands were still strong, they could hand-crank it, and once their arms were exhausted, they could pedal——

The endurance in legs lasted longer than in arms, allowing continued work while giving arms sufficient rest.

Usually requiring two natives alternating to complete, now one person could manage, leaving the other free for other tasks.

...

With over a month until the rainy season ended, Chen Zhou just wanted to quickly transform all the sugar cane piled in the courtyard into brown sugar.

After creating the pedal mixer, addressing manpower shortage, he added two more stoves specifically for syrup boiling.

Thus, sugar production efficiency increased by more than double.

As time passed, the pile of sugar cane in the courtyard gradually shrank, with the expectation that it will be fully processed by March 30th.

...

After finishing the mixer, Chen Zhou rested for two days.

Coincidentally, during his break, it was a light rainy day, perfect for going out, so he took Lai Fu and ran to the factory site.

The waterproof installations set up before the rainy season proved very effective when Chen Zhou pried open the enclosed layer of wood, clay, and branches to inspect the foundation trench, finding it only slightly damp but otherwise unchanged, neither flooded nor collapsed.

If anything had changed in the trench, it might be the increased number of insects——

These dark, damp, warm places were perfect breeding grounds for insects, especially a centipede-like creature, where under the light, the base of the trench was densely packed, making one's scalp tingle.

Quietly planning to thoroughly clear these impudent insects before the dry season construction, Chen Zhou resealed it with clay and left the factory site.

...

Returning to the kiln, with nothing to do, Chen Zhou impulsively visited Saturday and Sunday's little wooden hut.

Since the factory commenced, he hadn't been to the little house he personally built in nearly half a year.

Opening the door, Chen Zhou saw Saturday sitting at the desk, flipping through the textbooks he compiled.

This small house bore little resemblance to what he remembered.

To maximize room usage, cupboards and wooden shelves lined the walls from top to bottom, leaving only small patches exposed.

On the few exposed wooden walls hung Saturday's proud works.

There were so many paintings that after framing, they were threaded on a stick nailed to the wall, so removing each was necessary to see those behind.

Chen Zhou assumed that with busy work these months, Saturday wouldn't have time to continue painting but found he could still manage time to practice amidst busyness.

Being equally passionate about painting, Chen Zhou appreciated Saturday's attitude.

Slightly turning sideways, he gestured for Saturday to sit while walking inside.

Before reaching the wall paintings, he was captivated by the wooden carvings on a nearby shelf. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

It was a carved pineapple tree wood bull.

Small enough to be fully grasped in one hand, yet detailed nonetheless.

The bull bowed, grazing, its horn shapes, subtly visible muscles, prominent shoulders, swinging tail, and poised hooves were vividly portrayed.

Though not polished finely nor depicting fur, appearing somewhat rough, for an untrained native in carving, this was an exceptional talent.

"Tsk tsk~"

Admiring the small bull, examining the knife marks on the wood, Chen Zhou couldn't resist asking Saturday.

"Did you carve this?"

Saturday saw the 'Celestial God' approaching his artworks, feeling nervous yet expectant, especially eager for the 'Celestial God' to evaluate his 'Rainy Farming Scene.'

Unexpectedly, before seeing the painting, the 'Celestial God' was drawn by the wood carving zebra gifted to Sunday.