Chapter 05: Delicious Stewed Meat
“What are you two whispering about?”
Nanfeng carried half a carcass of meat into the den, looked around, threw the meat into a vine basket in the corner of the den, and said, “This is tusk beast meat. I brought half a carcass for you two; it'll be enough for three or five days. Don't worry, I hunted it myself; the tribespeople won't say anything.”
Changxia knew that tusk beasts were wild boars.
The wild boars in the Dusk Forest weighed up to a thousand catties, absolute behemoths.
Half a carcass would be three hundred catties or more.
Nanfeng said that this half carcass of wild boar meat could last three or five days, which made Changxia speechless. She understood that Nanfeng was referring to the tribespeople's appetites. If she and Chen Rong ate it, it would last at least half a month.
Changxia ate little, and Chen Rong had a decent appetite.
But it was different from the tribespeople.
Changxia wouldn't make only one type of food; this would naturally reduce the amount of food consumed. Changxia didn't argue with Nanfeng and planned to show Nanfeng with her actions that meat and vegetables tasted equally delicious and could reduce food consumption. Silently, she put away the Miracle necklace and hid it inside her clothes.
Seeing this, Chen Rong's gloomy mood improved slightly.
“Wow! It smells so good, Changxia, are you stewing meat?” Nanfeng washed her hands, looked at Chen Rong, and then at Changxia. She suddenly noticed that the things in their hands seemed different from what she knew.
Changxia smiled and explained, “I'm stewing meat, clear stewing. Chen Rong is chopping fish; later, I'll make fish balls for you to eat. By the way, there are also river shrimp. Blanched river shrimp are tender and chewy, and they taste great.”
Nanfeng was completely bewildered.
She was familiar with stewing meat.
But what was clear stewing? And chopped fish, fish balls, and river shrimp, she couldn't understand at all. Despite her curiosity, Nanfeng didn't ask any further questions. She sat next to the stove to help start the fire. Her eyes swept around, naturally falling on the vine sandals on Changxia's feet.
“These are vine sandals. After dinner, I'll weave a pair for you,” Changxia followed Nanfeng's gaze to the vine sandals on her feet. She lifted her foot, making it easier for Nanfeng to see them more clearly. “I wove them from thin vines that I split and rubbed. They are more comfortable and lighter than animal hide sandals. It's also convenient for gathering and hunting.”
“Practical, better than birdmen's feather sandals,” Nanfeng said.
Like the other beastmen, Nanfeng valued practicality.
Vine sandals were strong and flexible, protecting the soles of the feet. Birdmen's feather sandals were beautiful but unsuitable for beastmen. Beastmen had once imitated feather sandals but found them impractical and abandoned them. Usually, they wrapped their feet in animal hides or thick leaves to protect them.
However, animal hides were too thick, not breathable, and easily chafed the feet. Leaves were too brittle, often torn by gravel and stones, and needed to be re-wrapped.
“Besides vine sandals, you can also weave straw sandals from thatch and reeds. However, straw sandals are best made in the cold season; at that time, the thatch and reeds are dry and more resilient and less likely to break. To weave straw sandals now, we need to cut the thatch and dry it in the den…”
Seeing Nanfeng's approval of the vine sandals, Changxia was overjoyed.
Immediately, she also mentioned straw sandals.
As they talked, the aroma from the pottery pot became stronger. At the same time, Chen Rong finished mixing the fish paste and waited to put it in the pot.
Changxia took the cooked meat and put it aside to cool.
The stove in the den wasn't enough, so they had to make do for now.
“Nanfeng, come here,” Changxia beckoned, calling Nanfeng over, “Nanfeng, I want you to teach the tribespeople how to make fish balls. I have to build a cave dwelling and don't have time. The fish balls are made from the green fish in the lake. Add scallions to remove the fishy smell, and they'll become very delicious.”
Hearing this, Nanfeng's expression changed.
She wasn't stupid; she understood the implication of Changxia's words.
The tribe was near the White Lake. If the fish could really become very delicious, it would be a great thing for the tribespeople.
“Changxia, is what you said true?” Nanfeng asked seriously.
“After the fish balls are cooked, you'll know after you've eaten them. Besides fish, there are shrimp, crabs, mussels, and snails in the lake; these are all edible,” Changxia licked her lips, savoring the deliciousness of the river shrimp. When she had the chance, she had to quickly collect ginger, garlic, Sichuan pepper, and other ingredients.
The Dusk Forest was rich in products, and the He Luo tribe was located by the Ba River.
They had never lacked food; Changxia's problem was her health, which prevented her from leaving the tribe. However, as her body gradually recovered and she could explore more, she would be able to collect more and more things.
At that time, she would no longer have to be frugal.
Suddenly, various delicacies appeared in Changxia's mind. People who had experienced the apocalypse knew better than anyone the preciousness of food.
At the same time, every person who had survived the apocalypse had a hoarding heart.
And once they didn't have much food, they would become anxious.
On the side, Chen Rong watched the white fish balls bobbing up and down in the vegetable soup, stood up and took his bowl and chopsticks. Most of this fish ball and vegetable soup would be left for Nanfeng. Chen Rong smelled the fresh aroma of the stewed meat in the stone pot, and his desire for fish ball and vegetable soup lessened.
Unlike other people's stewed meat, the stewed meat Changxia made smelled extremely fragrant.
There was absolutely no unpleasant fishy smell. The stewed meat with scallions added looked very tempting.
“Come, try it,” Changxia added a little shrimp powder to enhance the flavor, sprinkled on some scallions, and directly served Nanfeng a large bowl of fish ball and vegetable soup.
There weren't many pottery utensils at home, so the river shrimp could only be cooked after they finished the fish ball and vegetable soup.
“Changxia, eat,” Chen Rong handed her a bowl of stewed meat.
Changxia took the stewed meat and drank a large mouthful of the broth, “Fresh, delicious.”
After a day of hard work, nothing was more satisfying than drinking a bowl of hot broth. Looking at Changxia's smiling face, Chen Rong lowered his head and served himself a large bowl.
The three of them squatted around the stove and ate.
The night breeze was cool, but no one paid attention to it at the moment. All three of them focused on their bowls.
“Hot, hot…” Nanfeng exclaimed, but she couldn't bear to spit out the hot fish ball in her mouth. Regardless of the heat, she ate a fish ball, a mouthful of hot soup, and then a mouthful of vegetables; the taste was extremely comfortable and enjoyable.
In a short while, Nanfeng had eaten a large bowl of fish ball and vegetable soup.
She looked at Changxia and Chen Rong and poured the remaining contents of the stone pot into her bowl. When her eyes fell on Changxia, she asked, “Wow! This stewed meat is different from the ones we usually eat?”
“I didn't add any roots, vegetables, or anything like that. I just stewed it, added some salt and scallions to remove the smell. But I stewed it for a longer time and removed the scum,” Changxia explained, giving Nanfeng a large piece of stewed meat to eat.
She had stewed all the meat the chief had sent tonight.
Chen Rong ate half, and Changxia was full after eating the remaining third. Besides, there were still river shrimp that hadn't been cooked; if they weren't full, they could still eat the river shrimp.
Nanfeng took the stewed meat and took a big bite.
Immediately, she was attracted by the soft, fragrant, and delicious stewed meat. Without saying a word, she buried herself in eating. Now she understood why Changxia didn't like to eat before. Compared to the food Changxia made, the stewed meat and roast meat made by the tribe were really unpalatable.
“The fish balls are indeed delicious. Are you really going to teach the tribespeople?” Nanfeng asked seriously.
Changxia nodded, replying, “I used to rely on the tribe to raise me; now that I have the chance to repay the tribe, I naturally won't be stingy.”
“Okay, I'll take care of this,” Nanfeng took on this matter, but she was thinking about using the method of making fish balls to exchange some things for Changxia and Chen Rong from the tribe. Changxia lacked things like pottery and bone utensils.
(End of Chapter)
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