Chapter 07: A Warm Morning
The next day, early morning.
Chen Rong opened his sleepy eyes and wearily sat up.
After washing up, he went towards the lake, intending to collect the fish traps first. Last night, the den had been filled with the aroma of fried meat; Chen Rong had even dreamed of fried meat. He had tossed and turned all night and hadn't slept well.
Changxia, on the other hand, had slept soundly.
She even snored softly. Several times, Chen Rong had wanted to get up and eat two more pieces of fried meat. Unfortunately, he had eaten too much last night and his stomach was full.
“Chen Rong?” Changxia heard the noise and called out.
Chen Rong paused, softly saying, “I'm going to the lake to collect the fish traps. It's still early; you can sleep a little longer.” Before leaving, he wrapped the leftover meat scraps in leaves and took them with him. These scraps were specially saved to attract fish in the traps.
Hearing Chen Rong say he was going to collect the fish traps, Changxia rolled around on the floor covered with vine mats. She rolled to the side of the wall and fell asleep again.
These vine mats were woven by Chen Rong and had been drying in the afternoon sun, half-dry.
The den floor had a layer of fitted planks. In spring, it wasn't cold to sleep on. However, Changxia felt it was damp, so she simply laid the half-dry vine mats on the floor and added an animal hide to make a floor bed.
Most beastmen slept directly on the ground without any particular requirements.
Changxia wasn't used to it. The damp and hard ground made her feel achy and uncomfortable every time she woke up.
Unfortunately, she didn't have many animal hides.
The roof still needed repairs. If it wasn't repaired and it rained during the rainy season, it would rain heavily outside and lightly inside. She was indeed still too poor; she didn't have enough things.
After a nap, when Changxia opened her eyes,
She smelled an enticing aroma. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked towards the entrance. She saw Chen Rong returning from collecting the fish traps from the lake and had already prepared breakfast; he was roasting meat.
The aroma Changxia smelled came from the roasted meat in Chen Rong's hands.
“Chen Rong, I didn't expect this!” Changxia curled her legs, not hurrying to get up, teasing Chen Rong.
This smelled much better than the roasted meat from the tribe!
Chen Rong smiled, squeezed some sour fruit juice and sprinkled it on the roasted meat, saying, “I wandered many places; roasting meat is the only skill I can show off.”
“Where have you been?” Changxia excitedly asked.
She was interested in this. Trapped in the He Luo tribe, Changxia longed for the outside world. The last time she went to the Normandy market to find a partner, time was too tight. Except for the few days she stayed on the Normandy plains, most of the time was spent traveling.
She didn't even have time to look at the weeds by the roadside.
Changxia, who had finally recovered her health, how could she not look forward to experiencing the outside world?
“Which places do you want to know about?” Chen Rong asked with a smile, his tone making Changxia gasp.
Changxia tilted her head and thought for a moment.
“Forget it, tell me about the Dusk Forest.”
Given the current situation, it was difficult for her to fully understand the Dusk Forest. She could worry about the wider world later.
“The Dusk Forest is located in the center of the East Continent. This forest is the habitat of beastmen. To the east is the Qinghai Plateau, which belongs to the birdmen. To the south is the East Sea, where the fishmen live.”
“The He Luo tribe is located in the east of the Dusk Forest, and has a harmonious relationship with the birdmen.”
“The He Luo tribe is home to the leopard tribe. To the north are the lion tribe and the wolf tribe; to the west live the snake tribe, fox tribe, and rabbit tribe; the south has the largest area and is also the most complex.”
Changxia was a marmot, but she lived in the He Luo tribe. Chen Rong didn't ask; he guessed it was an accident or some other reason.
Listening to Chen Rong describe the division of the beast tribes in the Dusk Forest, Changxia's eyes were full of excitement. Nanfeng had said before that the Dusk Forest was very large, but she hadn't had a direct understanding of it.
At this moment,
Changxia was truly shocked.
The He Luo tribe, just the tribe she knew, had a territory the size of a province. As the gathering place of the beastmen, the area of the Dusk Forest was self-evident.
The Dusk Forest was already so vast.
Then, how vast must this continent be?!
Just thinking about it made Changxia excited.
“You know the Dusk Forest so well; did you live here before?” Changxia curiously looked at Chen Rong, then got up to wash up. Chen Rong's roasted meat was ready.
On the stove, the stewed meat was also bubbling, emitting a tempting aroma.
Obviously,
Chen Rong's practical skills were very strong.
However, after seeing Changxia do it once, he had perfectly replicated it.
Once again,
Changxia was grateful that she had brought Chen Rong back to the tribe at the Normandy market.
“I was born in the Dusk Forest,” Chen Rong said.
Hearing this, Changxia raised her eyebrows.
Born in the Dusk Forest, but wandered many places.
Immediately, Changxia looked at Chen Rong with pity.
Seeing this, Chen Rong shook his head and smiled, “Don't think too much; I wasn't abandoned by the tribe or my people. There are some things I can't tell you now; can I tell you later when I have time?” He was now practically useless; any past glory had vanished.
If possible, he just wanted to live the rest of his life as Changxia's partner.
“Okay, tell me when you want to,” Changxia waved her hand, not pressing him.
Chewing on a willow branch, she washed her face with warm water. Sitting by the stove, she took the broth Chen Rong had served her, picked up the roasted meat, and enjoyed the amazing taste. From now on, Chen Rong could take care of roasting the meat.
It was ordinary roasted meat, but Chen Rong made Changxia taste the flavor of barbecue. He was definitely a genius!
“The roasted meat is especially delicious!” Changxia exclaimed in amazement.
Chen Rong was very happy and said, “If you like it, eat more. We're going to the salt lake to get salt today; what do you want to use to carry the salt?”
The salt lake was near Mount Kana, the witch's territory.
Except for getting salt, beastmen rarely appeared in the area of Mount Kana.
“Empty the backpacks; we need to bring back a lot of salt this time. We'll need salt for pickling meat and vegetables later. Besides salt, I also want to pick more white fruit,” Changxia calculated; their household used a lot of salt, and it was consumed quickly; she didn't want to go to the salt lake to get salt every few days.
Every time she went, she should bring back more.
“White fruit, what are you picking white fruit for?” Chen Rong asked in surprise.
White fruit, dried and ground into powder, then cooked into fruit powder paste. It could be used to feed children who didn't have breast milk; beastmen children would eat fruit powder paste until they were six years old.
They didn't have children; was it inappropriate to pick white fruit?
As he asked, Chen Rong carefully glanced at Changxia's stomach.
Changxia twitched the corner of her mouth, glared at Chen Rong, and explained, “What are you looking at? I'm picking white fruit to make noodles or rice noodles.”
She had secretly wanted to study this before.
Unfortunately, Nanfeng had been watching her too closely.
White fruit was a unique plant in the Dusk Forest, harvested throughout the year.
“What are noodles and rice noodles?” Chen Rong was slightly embarrassed and chuckled.
Changxia shook her head slightly and said, “Noodles and rice noodles are food. After we collect enough white fruit and dry it and grind it, I can find out if the fruit powder can be made into noodles or flour.”
Changxia tilted her head and licked her lips.
Savoring the taste of the fruit powder paste, it was more like rice porridge.
She thought the fruit powder was more likely to make rice noodles.
Rice noodles, Changxia couldn't help but want to slurp them up.
Guilin rice noodles, snail noodles, Changde rice noodles, fried rice noodles…
Okay, stop thinking.
Otherwise, she'd swallow her saliva dry.
“Prepare more backpacks; let's bring back as much salt and white fruit as possible. Then I'll make something delicious for you; it'll be better than the stewed meat and blanched river shrimp,” Changxia wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth and quickly finished the roasted meat in her hand.
At this moment, she couldn't wait to get started.
(End of Chapter)
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