Chapter 11: Fried Meat with Stir-fried Vegetables
“Changxia, can the method of making vine sandals also be taught to the tribe?” Gen asked.
The three entered the den, and Gen eagerly asked about the vine sandals. He was holding a pair of woven vine sandals; he had woven them for Muqin.
Changxia used an animal hide to wipe her face with water.
“Yes,” Changxia said, “Vine sandals, besides being woven from thin vines, can also be woven from thatch, reeds, or bulrushes. Compared to thin vines, thatch and reeds would make softer sandals.”
“Good, I'll try it later,” Gen clapped his hands, overjoyed.
“Changxia, what did you eat this morning? It smells so good,” Nanfeng started a fire and added water to the pottery pot on the stove. Suddenly smelling an enticing aroma, she sniffed and asked Changxia.
Hearing this, Gen turned to look at Nanfeng.
Actually, he had smelled the aroma earlier than Nanfeng.
It was very fragrant, completely different from the aroma of roasted meat and stewed meat. It was like the aroma of oil splashing onto flames, very tempting.
“This morning, Chen Rong made roasted meat,” Changxia said.
After a while, she seemed to remember something. After washing her face, she hung up the animal hide and pointed to the pottery jar in the corner of the den, saying, “You brought half a carcass of meat yesterday, and I was worried it would spoil if we couldn't finish it. Last night, after you left, I had Chen Rong cut the meat into pieces and made fried meat. Go look and smell; is that the smell?”
Nanfeng had taken half a carcass of meat and left the tribe yesterday.
Gen knew about it.
That prey was hunted by Nanfeng alone; Gen guessed that Nanfeng would bring the meat to Changxia because their family didn't lack meat.
Actually, if Nanfeng hadn't brought the meat over yesterday,
Other tribespeople would probably have come.
Changxia was raised by the tribe; the tribespeople didn't want her to go hungry. Since Nanfeng had taken the initiative to bring the meat, other tribespeople hadn't come.
“Yes, that's the smell,” Nanfeng lifted the lid, smelling the aroma of the fried meat, excitedly saying, “Changxia, how did you make this fried meat?”
“Cut the meat into pieces, select the fatty meat and render the lard first. Then fry the meat; remember not to fry it too dry; half-cooked is just right. Finally, wait for the oil to cool, then pour the oil and fried meat into a pottery jar, seal it, and when you want to eat it, you can take it out and cut it open to eat,” Changxia said, taking a bowl and scooping out some fried meat.
“At noon, I'll make fried meat with stir-fried vegetables for you.”
“Chief, fried meat can be stored for a long time. This season isn't suitable for making cured meat; fried meat is a very good choice.”
Cured meat is suitable for making in the cold winter months.
At that time, the weather is cold; after the meat is cured, it is naturally dried. Of course, smoked meat is different. However, smoked meat doesn't smell as fragrant as naturally dried cured meat, and the texture isn't as good.
“Changxia, wait a moment—”
Gen listened, quickly raising his hand to stop Changxia's long explanation.
Nanfeng also heard the implication. Without speaking, she quietly took the wooden bowl from Changxia's hand and handed it to Gen.
Gen took the bowl and looked carefully at the fried meat in the bowl.
His serious face gradually showed joy and complexity. He wasn't blind; he naturally understood the significance of fried meat.
“Changxia, you did a great job,” Gen patted Changxia's shoulder heavily. The appearance of fried meat gave the tribe a method of preserving meat in the warm season. It could be said that fried meat excited Gen even more than fish balls.
Beastmen ate meat; fish was also meat, it's true.
However, fish couldn't replace other meat.
Fried meat gave Gen hope.
With fried meat, and the cured meat Changxia mentioned, the tribe would no longer have to worry about eating meat. In the warm season, there was abundant prey; if the tribe could store enough fried meat and cured meat in the warm season, they wouldn't have to tighten their belts in the cold season.
Gen pressed Changxia down, letting her sit and rest.
If she needed to do anything, she could just have Nanfeng do it. He had Changxia talk about fried meat and cured meat and then chat about building a cave dwelling.
When Chen Rong returned with his backpack, he saw Changxia sitting and eating wild fruit.
In the den, Gen and Nanfeng were washing vegetables and cutting fried meat. The vegetables were cleaned by Muqin and brought over by Gen and Nanfeng.
“Changxia—” Chen Rong called out.
Changxia stood up and went over with a clean cutting board.
The den wasn't big; with many people, it was crowded, so she planned to have Chen Rong chop the fish outside.
Gen put the washed vegetables in a vine basket to drain and walked towards Chen Rong. He looked into the backpack at the fish and shrimp.
“Changxia, these are edible too?” Gen curiously asked.
He picked up a river shrimp and glanced at the river crabs next to it. There were many of these little creatures in the Ba River. The tribe wouldn't even let children catch them because they tasted strong, pinched, and had little meat.
“Chief, these river shrimp and crabs are edible,” Changxia said.
Nanfeng reached out, staring at the river shrimp in Gen's hand, swallowing her saliva, and saying, “Father, river shrimp are delicious.”
She hadn't eaten river crab yet.
But looking at Changxia's happy expression,
Nanfeng guessed that river crabs were probably as delicious as river shrimp.
“Chief, besides fish, shrimp, and crabs in the river, there are mussels, snails, loaches, etc., all of which are edible,” Changxia excitedly said.
She had seen many small holes by the lake.
Besides loaches, there might be eels inside.
These seemingly inconspicuous creatures were all very delicious.
She really should speed up collecting ginger, scallions, and garlic. The more seasonings she had, the better Changxia could show off her skills, and the sooner the tribespeople could live a better life.
“Changxia, tell the tribe about this. The tribe will help build your cave dwelling,” Gen wasn't the kind of person who would take advantage of his own child. Before Changxia could explain, he waved his hand and made a promise.
With Changxia, this lucky child, in the tribe,
Gen felt that even if the tribe didn't go hunting,
With the tribe's location, the Ba River alone could feed all the tribespeople.
“Chief, is that okay?” Changxia stared blankly at Gen; for a moment, she didn't react.
Nanfeng was thinking.
After a moment, she agreed with Gen's suggestion.
Changxia giving these things to the tribe and having the tribespeople help build a cave dwelling was indeed a good trade.
Chen Rong didn't say anything; he quietly chopped fish.
The cave dwelling Changxia described was completely different from a den; Chen Rong couldn't guarantee that he could build it. Now that the tribe was joining in, he was relieved.
At the same time, he felt a little anticipation.
“Actually, I have selfish motives,” Gen looked at Changxia, his expression a little embarrassed.
Changxia thought for a moment.
Soon, she guessed Gen's “selfish motives.”
Cave dwelling; she had talked about cave dwellings with Gen earlier. A type of building different from dens that could protect beastmen from wind and rain and could also defend against beast attacks to a certain extent.
Just from Changxia's description, Gen heard many advantages.
“Chief, you mean the cave dwelling, right?” Changxia smiled, looking at Gen.
“Father, you want to build a cave dwelling?” Nanfeng was slightly stunned and surprised.
Chen Rong's sense of smell was sharper than Nanfeng's. When Changxia mentioned cave dwellings, he understood Changxia's plan. She probably had a deeper plan than just teaching the tribespeople how to make fish balls.
After all, cave dwellings had many advantages. Given Changxia's love for the tribe,
She wouldn't hide it.
“If cave dwellings are as Changxia said, they're clearly better than dens. In the warm season, the tribe is safe, but in the cold season, dens are still dangerous,” Gen seriously said. The He Luo tribe was strong; few beasts dared to attack the tribe.
But anything could happen.
Besides, it rained a lot during the rainy season, and dens were prone to leaks. In winter, besides worrying about beast attacks, they also worried about dens being crushed by snow…
“The tribespeople are used to dens; building cave dwellings…they may not be willing,” Nanfeng cautiously spoke, just like birdmen were used to building nests, and fishmen lived in water.
Everything in the world has its own rules of life.
Gen smiled and said, “When did I say that I wanted the tribespeople to build cave dwellings?”
“Then…” Nanfeng was completely confused.
Changxia patted Nanfeng's arm and calmly said, “The chief wants me to build a cave dwelling first. If the tribespeople find the cave dwelling comfortable, they'll naturally ask for them without the chief having to say anything.”
(End of Chapter)
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