Chapter 06: Rendering Lard and Making Fried Meat
Changxia was poor.
But that didn't mean the He Luo tribe was poor.
In terms of wealth, the He Luo tribe was the best in the Dusk Forest. Of course, this wealth meant that the tribe wouldn't starve or freeze, and the tribespeople could eat their fill, nothing more.
“You just mentioned building a cave dwelling; what's that about?” Nanfeng asked. She had been too busy eating earlier and hadn't asked. Now that she was full and had some free time, she couldn't help but ask.
Changxia, eating her stewed meat and fish balls, began pouring river shrimp into the pottery pot to blanch. Seeing Changxia's patient movements, Nanfeng felt she could eat three more large bowls.
“I want to build my own den, different from the current ones. I call it a cave dwelling. I've chosen the hillside to the west; I'll build a cave dwelling against the hillside,” Changxia happily said, her movements not stopping. She stirred with a wooden spoon, and the river shrimp quickly turned golden yellow in the boiling water, a faint fresh aroma mixed with a slight fishy smell filling the air.
Nanfeng stared at the river shrimp in the pot, listening to Changxia's explanation.
“If you need help, just say so,” Nanfeng opened her mouth to speak but hesitated to say the words of refusal. After all, Changxia's expression made it difficult for her to refuse.
“Mm!” Changxia nodded; Nanfeng's support made her very happy.
At this moment,
The river shrimp in the pottery pot were cooked.
Changxia scooped out the river shrimp and took a washed fruit, squeezing some juice into a bowl. This yellow-skinned wild fruit was sour; the tribe called it sour fruit, and few people ate it. Changxia had hoarded a lot; she usually wouldn't eat it directly but used it as a condiment.
At noon, she had been too hungry.
She hadn't thought of it then; Nanfeng put half a carcass of meat into the backpack in the evening.
She had only noticed it when she tidied up.
“Changxia, what are you doing with the sour fruit?” Nanfeng frowned, looking disdainfully at the sour fruit in Changxia's hand. Except for Changxia, no one in the tribe collected this sour fruit.
Even when they were extremely hungry, no one would pick it; only some children would accidentally pick it.
“Making juice for seasoning. When you eat the river shrimp, dip them in it; it tastes better,” Changxia took a river shrimp, removed the head and shell, and dipped the white shrimp meat in a little sour fruit juice.
Immediately, a unique fresh flavor mixed with a little sourness exploded on her taste buds. The amazing taste surprised even Changxia.
“How is it?” Chen Rong softly asked.
Changxia gave a thumbs-up, praising, “Delicious.”
“Really?” Nanfeng finished the remaining soup in her bowl, imitating Changxia in peeling the shrimp, hesitantly not daring to dip them in the sour fruit juice. She turned sideways, her eyes looking towards Chen Rong.
Chen Rong didn't speak but dipped the shrimp meat in a little sour fruit juice.
“Wow!”
He exclaimed softly, looking surprised at the sour fruit juice in the bowl.
Sour fruit was an extremely sour fruit in the Dusk Forest; few beastmen would eat it.
Today, Changxia once again opened his eyes.
“These river shrimp taste even better than at noon!” Chen Rong lowered his head, staring intently at the sour fruit juice in the bowl. He didn't expect that the sour sour fruit juice, combined with river shrimp, would create such a wonderful taste.
Seeing this,
Nanfeng no longer hesitated.
She picked up a peeled shrimp with chopsticks and dipped it in the sour fruit juice.
“Wow! It doesn't seem sour at all?” Nanfeng's beautiful eyes widened, full of shock and confusion.
“Pick more sour fruit this year and store them,” Changxia said. Besides the sour fruit juice being used as a dipping sauce, the fruit itself, pickled and dried, was also delicious.
Sweet and sour, soft.
Eating it, it had the sourness of lemon and the faint sweet aroma of hawthorn/plum.
At the same time, it could also be used as candied peel to cook with.
Like the white fruit, it had a wide range of uses.
“Okay,” Nanfeng agreed, unusually not contradicting Changxia.
This meal, Nanfeng ate until she was full.
She sat and watched Chen Rong clean up the bowls and chopsticks. Changxia took the thin vines, measured Nanfeng's feet, and skillfully wove vine sandals for Nanfeng.
“Changxia, when are you planning to build the cave dwelling?” Nanfeng asked.
She had brought half a carcass of meat, enough for Changxia and Chen Rong to eat for ten days. Even if they didn't go out to gather and hunt, they wouldn't go hungry.
Changxia shook her head slightly and explained, “I want to finish building the cave dwelling before the cold season arrives. Tomorrow, we'll go to the salt lake to get salt and pick some white fruit. In the afternoon, we'll start preparing the things needed to build the cave dwelling…”
As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Nanfeng.
Building a cave dwelling was different from building a den.
But some materials were essential. Things like wood, stones, and resin for bonding needed to be prepared in advance.
Some beastmen started preparing three or five years in advance to build their dens.
There was wood and stone near the tribe, but resin for bonding was scarce. It came from a special type of tree called the oil tree. Cutting the bark of the oil tree would cause sticky yellowish sap to flow out. After this sap dried, it would become a building material similar to cement; the beastmen called it resin.
This resin, when heated, would melt.
After melting, it would become a cement-like adhesive used to build dens.
“Changxia, to build a den, you need wood, stones, and resin; these haven't been prepared in advance. What are you planning to use to build the den?” Nanfeng covered her twitching lips, looking helplessly at Changxia; this child was probably being unrealistic?
“I'll prepare the wood and stones; the resin is more troublesome. Can we exchange some with the tribe?” Chen Rong interrupted Nanfeng's nagging. Preparing wood and stones wasn't difficult; the difficult part was the resin.
Changxia was a little embarrassed; she seemed to have really forgotten about these things.
Nanfeng raised her hand and tapped Changxia in the air, saying, “Use mine for the wood and stones first; whose den uses freshly cut wood and stones? I'll ask the tribe about the resin. The fish balls can be used to exchange. Originally, I was going to use the method of making fish balls to exchange for some pottery and bone utensils for you.”
No matter how dissatisfied she was, she had watched this child grow up.
It was rare for Changxia to have ambition, so Nanfeng couldn't bear to discourage her.
Nanfeng had been an adult for many years.
Chief Gen had urged her to get married many times, but Nanfeng hadn't found a male she liked, so she had been putting it off.
But the wood and stones for building a den.
Nanfeng had started preparing when she came of age; this time, she would give it to Changxia first.
“Nanfeng, those are the wood and stones you need for your den…” Changxia shook her head, wanting to refuse.
Nanfeng rolled her eyes and asked, “Do you still want to build a den? Besides, I haven't found a suitable male, so I'm not in a hurry to build a den.”
At most, she would just live at her father's house and get nagged.
“Changxia, let's use the wood and stones Nanfeng prepared first. I'll help her prepare new ones later,” Chen Rong said.
Nanfeng was satisfied with Chen Rong's straightforwardness and asked about Changxia's plans.
She got up to leave.
Changxia saw her off, bent down, and asked Chen Rong to cut the half carcass of meat Nanfeng had sent into pieces. The weather was getting warmer, and the meat couldn't be kept for long; it would spoil easily.
“Changxia, are you still hungry?” Chen Rong asked hesitantly as he cut the meat.
Changxia glared at him, washed the pottery pot and put it on the stove, planning to render the meat for lard.
The weather was warming up, so she couldn't make cured meat.
Smoking required time, and improper storage would also cause spoilage.
So she thought of fried meat.
Fried meat was simple to make and easy to store. In the tribe, with its simple materials, fried meat was the most suitable storage method for this season.
She cut the meat into palm-sized pieces and put them into the pottery pot to render the lard.
When the meat turned golden yellow, she waited for the oil to cool down, then poured the oil and meat into a pottery jar to chill. This not only prevented the meat from spoiling but also made it easier to store. At the same time, fried meat tasted very good.
Soft, crispy.
Even simply stir-fried with some vegetables, it was very delicious.
“There's too much meat; we can't finish it. I plan to fry it to make fried meat and store it in a pottery jar so it won't spoil,” Changxia explained, picking some fatty meat from the meat Chen Rong had cut and putting it into the pottery pot to render the lard. After rendering the lard, she put the other pieces of meat in, and soon a tempting meaty aroma quickly filled the entire den.
At this moment,
Chen Rong was extremely grateful that Nanfeng had left.
And also that their den was far from the tribe.
Otherwise, with this smell, no one in the tribe would be able to sleep tonight.
(End of Chapter)
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