Chapter 14: Roasted Bird Eggs
Two separate stories unfold simultaneously.
Gen and Muqin returned to the tribe to promote the various things Changxia had introduced. At the same time, they helped exchange resin and pottery for Changxia.
Chen Rong, led by Nanfeng, felled trees.
Changxia was alone in the den. She first went through the white fruit again and then took the baskets and backpacks Chen Rong had woven to the sun to dry. Chen Rong was meticulous; the edges of the baskets, backpacks, and small baskets were all polished very smoothly so they wouldn't be prickly.
After doing all this,
She didn't choose to plant the ginger and garlic, deciding to do it at sunset.
At that time, the temperature would be just right. However, Changxia didn't plan to plant all the ginger and garlic Nanfeng had picked; she estimated about one-fifth.
After all, she didn't know if they would grow or not.
Changxia took out a half-worn animal hide from the den.
Then, she picked up a piece of charcoal from the stove and sat at the entrance of the den to draw. The warm spring sunshine poured down, illuminating Changxia's porcelain-white face, casting a warm glow, complementing the faint smile on her lips, very warm.
Her slender white hand held the black charcoal, moving and sketching on the half-worn animal hide.
Quickly,
A simple sketch appeared on the animal hide.
Extremely simple lines perfectly depicted a cave dwelling landscape painting. The cave dwelling built of loess contrasted beautifully with the sparkling White Lake.
In front of the main entrance, there were rooms on both sides.
These could be used as warehouses or cellars in the future.
Five cave entrances were dug in the front, and three on each side, symmetrical. The front was a neat open space, without walls, connected to the vegetable patch. A fence or a stone wall could be built to protect against beast attacks.
The gatehouse would use the two cave entrances in front as the gatehouse.
Considering that the average beastman was over two meters tall, the cave dwelling should be five meters high, at least one to two meters wide, and three to five meters deep. However, the depth…Changxia hadn't decided yet. She wanted to build a warehouse/cellar to store as many supplies as possible.
This meant she had to expand the depth.
The reason for digging five entrances in the front and three on each side
Was mainly to accommodate the witch when she got old. And considering Bai Qing and future children, digging more cave entrances was necessary.
Changxia always planned carefully and prepared for the unexpected.
The cave entrances would have walls, doors, and windows. One entrance and three cave dwellings; skylights needed to be left on the roof to maximize the light in the cave dwelling. And there should be a heated kang against the mountain wall. The heated kang would connect to the mountain wall, eliminating the worry of the cold winter.
She drew and modified.
After nearly an hour, a courtyard-style cave dwelling vividly appeared on the half-worn animal hide.
“Changxia, is this a cave dwelling?” Nanfeng blinked, marveling at the half-worn animal hide in Changxia's hand; she didn't even dare to breathe too heavily. She and Chen Rong returned with the wood and saw Changxia sitting at the entrance of the den; out of curiosity, they walked over.
They were about to call out when their gazes fell on the half-worn animal hide in Changxia's hand.
The two were immediately stunned and didn't dare to call out.
“Yes, this is a cave dwelling,” Changxia nodded and said, “Beautiful, right? It'll be even more beautiful when it's built.”
“I believe you,” Nanfeng said seriously.
At this moment,
She couldn't wait to start digging the cave dwelling.
Chen Rong was quietly processing the wood. In his heart, he was as excited as Nanfeng.
He looked at Changxia with inquiry; he had a feeling that the beastmen would create a different style in the East Continent with the changes in the He Luo tribe.
His return to the East Continent was perhaps guided by the Beast God.
Exchanging glances with Nanfeng, a hint of excitement and complexity flashed in their eyes.
In the afternoon, Chen Rong and Nanfeng made seven or eight wooden barrels. The new wooden barrels were used by Changxia to soak in water and then dry, repeating this process to ensure the barrels wouldn't leak. After all, they were made in a hurry, and the wood was wet, not as good as dry wood.
The day's work was nearing its end.
Before the sun set, Changxia put the half-worn animal hide into the den.
She collected the white fruit drying on the ground into baskets. After two more days of drying, the white fruit would be completely dry and could be ground into powder. By then, the wooden barrels would probably be usable.
“Changxia, I'll move the wood and stones over tomorrow; where do you plan to pile them?” Nanfeng was soaking the last small wooden tub, finding Changxia who was collecting the white fruit. The rainy season was still some time away, so they didn't have to worry about the wood and stones getting wet.
Changxia thought for a moment and pointed to the White Lake at the foot of the hillside.
“Nanfeng, temporarily pile the wood and stones by the White Lake. After the foundation of the cave dwelling is dug, we'll move them up.”
Nanfeng nodded in agreement. Then, she left directly.
She even refused Changxia's invitation to stay for dinner.
In Nanfeng's words, her family was poor; eating once or twice was fine, but eating more, she was afraid Changxia would go hungry.
Although she craved the dishes Changxia cooked, Nanfeng remained rational.
“Changxia, are we just piling the white fruit outside the den?” Chen Rong asked. The new wooden barrels were placed nearby; after a couple of days of drying, they would be usable.
Changxia helplessly said, “The den is too small; it can't hold them all. Put them outside; find some vines and leaves to cover them. I'll plant the ginger and garlic; hopefully, they'll grow.”
Basket after basket of white fruit was neatly stacked by Chen Rong against the den, then covered with vines. At this time of year, the dew wasn't heavy, so they didn't have to worry about the white fruit getting wet.
After collecting the white fruit, Chen Rong went into the house to light a fire and boil water.
“Changxia, what are we eating tonight?” Chen Rong asked, taking a basket of salt crystals and preparing to crush them into fine salt.
Changxia wiped her sweat and squatted by the stone tank to wash her hands.
She hadn't planted much ginger and garlic and finished quickly.
Hearing Chen Rong's question about dinner, she tilted her head and thought for a moment, replying, “How about roasted meat? Roast a few bird eggs and have them with stewed meat and bird egg soup.”
Many reeds grew by the White Lake, and wild ducks and birds lived among the reeds. When Chen Rong collected the fish traps in the evening, he picked up many bird eggs. After eating fish balls for two meals, Changxia didn't want to eat them anymore.
When Gen and Muqin left, Chen Rong gave Gen a fish trap and told him how to weave it. With fish traps, they could catch fish and shrimp even without going into the water.
This meant that the tribe's children and elders who had lost their hunting ability could participate in daily fishing activities.
Changxia saw this and didn't say anything.
Chen Rong was more capable and intelligent than she had imagined.
Sometimes, Changxia even suspected he wasn't a beastman. However, besides being smart, Chen Rong was often quiet.
That quietness was more like the tiredness and peace after experiencing many hardships.
It was heartbreaking.
At times like these, Changxia would remain silent.
Everyone had secrets, like her, like Chen Rong.
“Okay.” Chen Rong's lips curved slightly into a faint smile. Every day, the happiest moment was discussing food.
Before, Chen Rong hadn't thought much about food.
Since meeting Changxia, every meal had become different.
“Go cut the meat; I'll get the bird eggs,” Changxia instructed Chen Rong to work; she took the bird eggs and smeared them with thin mud and buried them in the firebox.
Roasted bird eggs were a new skill she had learned in the apocalypse.
Eating raw eggs was risky because of parasites.
In the apocalypse, most food needed to be cooked, but cooking often came with various dangers. After all, cooked food would release a strong aroma. So people in the apocalypse came up with various techniques to handle cooked food.
Roasted bird eggs were one of them.
Although this technique might have just been a childhood memory before the apocalypse,
In the apocalypse, it had really saved many people.
(End of Chapter)
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