He had never seen someone like Bok Taejin do it in real life.
Im Beomhyeon paid no heed to his surprise.
After finishing his meal and resting briefly, he pulled Bok Taejin along and continued into the valley.
On their way back, the two of them managed to find twelve pieces of bronze bamboo, similar to what Im Beomhyeon had discovered earlier.
Later, Im Beomhyeon found one that was slightly thicker.
He then cut it down, and bundled it together with the rest.
As they returned, Im Beomhyeon carried the bamboo while Bok Taejin held several large bamboo shoots.
Upon reaching the village, Im Beomhyeon tossed the bundle of bamboo into his courtyard.
He then snatched the bamboo shoots from Bok Taejin's arms and set them down before urging him to clean up and change into dry clothes.
After changing his own clothes, Im Beomhyeon took both the bamboo and bamboo shoots to the large kitchen near the ancestral hall.
A large pot of soup was simmering over a clay stove in the open space outside the kitchen, releasing a faint but delicious aroma.
One of the village's cooks was in charge of making the soup today.
Upon seeing Im Beomhyeon, he greeted him with a smile, "Beomhyeon, you and Taejin are back from the mountains already? And you even brought back bamboo shoots?"
Most members of the Hwayang Village cooking team were either people that was already old, injured, or had suffered serious illnesses, which making them not suitable for doing work that was need physical labor.
Instead, they stayed behind to prepare meals for the villagers—a different way of ensuring that those who were old or sick were still cared for.
"We got lucky today and found enough bronze bamboo early," Im Beomhyeon replied with a grin. He glanced toward the large kitchen and asked, "Taegeon, is Second Uncle inside?"
Hearing this, Bok Taejin immediately knew who the man was.
He discreetly glanced at Taegeon's legs and, as expected, he noticed that his right leg looked visibly different from the left one, even when he just standing.
The man's full name was Heo Taegeon.
He had once gone hunting in the mountains with other villagers, but they encountered an exceptionally ferocious beast.
Unable to defeat it, they had no choice but to flee.
Heo Taegeon took the rear position and repeatedly shooting arrows to hinder the beast's pursuit, which allowing the others to escape safely.
However, Heo Taegeon barely made it back alive.
It's because another beast had appeared, leading to a brutal fight between the two creatures, which gave him a chance to escape.
However, from that day on, Heo Taegeon's right leg was permanently injured.
He walked slightly limping and could no longer go into the mountains.
Many people in the cooking team were like Heo Taegeon—men who had once been capable warriors but were now left with lasting injuries.
Of course, they didn't spend all their time in the kitchen.
Despite having to cook for the entire village—where everyone, including the women, had hearty appetites—the cooks were skilled in making large batches of food.