A faint, delicate aroma of beef wafted intermittently from the gaps in the loosely sealed pot lid.

Xu Que held Hou's right hand with his left hand, and used his own right hand to pick up firewood and add it to the fire pit under the stove.

It wasn't that Xu Que was being dramatic or deliberately showing off their relationship; it was just that if he didn't hold Hou's hand for even a minute, Hou would get angry, upset, and cry! Coaxing a crying girl is a real hassle, so he developed the habit of holding Hou's hand no matter what. Since he had rested his head on her arm when he was at his lowest point, he had to hold her hand for the rest of his life and make her happy! That was fair, that was what a real man did!

Soon, the tribe members, drawn by the aroma of meat, gathered around the iron pot. They imitated Xu Que and Hou, holding each other's hands as they waited for the beef to be cooked, occasionally kissing each other.

Seeing this, Xu Que was so shocked he almost spat blood into the meat pot: "You...you bunch of men holding hands? Holding hands is one thing, but kissing? Uh...I'm speechless!"

Standing beside the pot, Ha Gang, his mouth watering, sniffed and said, "Isn't holding hands and kissing just another way of saying 'scratching an itch' or 'picking lice'? Is something wrong with it?"

"Yes! What's wrong?" All the men holding hands around the iron pot asked Xu Que this crucial question.

"You guys are a couple! Men show good camaraderie by putting their arms around each other's shoulders or bumping fists..."

"Arm around the shoulder? Bump your fist? That's too much trouble, you have to stick out a hand! Kissing is as simple as putting your hands in your pockets, turning your head and pouting! How convenient! What if it's winter and the weather is cold, and I don't want to arm around the shoulder, bump fists, or scratch lice, but I still want to express our friendship?" A group of men holding hands chattered.

Xu Que was speechless when asked the question, and had no choice but to compromise, saying, "Then we can only kiss!"

As the temperature rose, a sizzling sound came from the pot. The large lid on the pot of meat was being pushed and bounced by the steam, as if it were about to fly away.

Ha Gang thought the cow in the pot was about to come back to life, so he quickly reached out his big hand and pressed it down firmly!

The other primitive people around them let go of each other's hands and assumed a posture as if they were about to grab the cow!

After all, this was the first time they had ever seen food cooked in a large iron pot, and the first time they had ever heard of steam!

Xu Que told Ha Gang to lift the pot lid and put it on the ground.

He took out a boning knife from the system's inventory, pierced pieces of meat from the pot, and distributed them to the tribe members beside him.

Hagang pointed to a third of the cow's rump, drool dripping onto his feet: "I want this piece! This piece..."

Xu Que tried to pierce the meat that Ha Gang pointed to with a boning knife three times, but he couldn't manage it.

In a moment of desperation, Ha Gang reached out with both hands and scooped the meat directly out of the boiling broth, then squatted down and started eating it.

Xu Que froze for three seconds, then looked at him with an incredulous expression: "No! Aren't you hot?"

Amidst his busy schedule, Ha Gang managed to squeeze out two words: "Not hot!"

Xu Que then looked at the other primitive people gathered around the stove waiting for the meat: "You can pick out whichever piece you like. I can't pick it out as fast as you guys while I'm holding it!"

Upon hearing Xu Que's words, the tribe members all pitched in to scoop food from the bottom of the pot!

Xu Que then ate a piece of beef hind leg for himself and Hou in an open space.

He increasingly realized that he had "spoiled" Hou.

He's such a grown-up now, but he won't even eat meat on his own initiative. Xu Que has to hold him in his arms and coax him to eat!

But then again, aren't girlfriends meant to be pampered?

To be honest, Xu Que likes being pampered by his girlfriend, and he likes pampering his girlfriend even more.

Thinking back to those days, he would get up before dawn, risking attacks from wild beasts and being dragged into the tall grass by other tribesmen to find wild fruits for him to eat! Xu Que would never forget those scenes! Shouldn't one act with conscience?

Now that fate had given him a chance to turn things around, Xu Que was overwhelmed with gratitude and felt he should cherish it even more: "Open your mouth! Just one bite! The last bite! It really is the last bite!"

She pouted, rolled her eyes, and refused to open her mouth, occasionally clenching her small fists and pounding Xu Que's chest: "Hmph! I won't eat! I just won't eat!"

Xu Que rolled his eyes at her with a look full of pampering: "If you don't eat, I'll let the wolves carry you away! Once upon a time, there was a little girl who didn't eat, and when she woke up, her face was covered in pimples and she was very ugly!"

"Hmph! Ah..." Hou reluctantly opened his mouth after hearing Xu Que say that not eating would make him ugly.

After the chief of the Julu tribe and the core members of the Julu tribe who were sent to learn how to make fire by drilling wood from the Black Stone tribe returned to their own tribe, they praised the beef cooked by Xu Que.

"Oh! It smells so good! So good! So good..." The female chieftain lay sprawled on her straw mat, smacking her lips as she murmured and savored the aroma!

"What smells good? What smells good?" Ji, a member of the Julu tribe's elder council, stood bowing not far from the chief's throne, looking as if he had something to report.

"The beef from the Blackstone Tribe is so delicious!"

"Oh! I see! Anyway, I didn't eat any! I don't know if it was delicious or not! I wanted to ask you, when can I go to the Black Stone Tribe for further studies?"

"What's the point of you, an elder council member, going for further studies? There are so many things to do in the tribe, who will manage them if you go? Besides, the Blackrock Tribe isn't the same as it used to be! You'll have to pay tuition to learn from them! And it won't be cheap! One cow per person, are you prepared?"

"Hehehe! I've prepared two cows!" Ji said in a fawning manner.

"Stop messing around! You're a member of the elders, do you want to learn how to make fire by rubbing sticks together? What are you learning? Just keep an eye on your men and stop thinking nonsense! As for your further studies, we'll arrange it for you later if we have time, otherwise forget it!" The leader patted his round belly with one hand and picked his nose with the other.

"Um... well, I have another question for you! Did you see the Roar when you went to the Blackrock Tribe?"

"I saw her! What's wrong? Do you know her?"

"I don't know her! I've only seen her once!" For some reason, Ji's heart would pound whenever Hou's name was mentioned.

"She looks great! She's become even more beautiful lately! She looks so much more energetic than before! Her smile is so much brighter! She's also gotten fuller! Her skin is so rosy and fair, with a healthy glow!"

Upon hearing the leader's words, Ji swallowed hard, his mouth watering, and felt as if a million ants were crawling all over him once again.

He wished he could run to someone's window in the middle of the night and sing "I Really Miss You".

After everyone finished eating the meat, Xu Que called Ha Gang to help him wash the pot by the river.

Ha Gang lifted the large iron pot up and held it above his head with both hands.

Arriving at a small river not far from the tribe, following Xu Que's instructions, they broke off a small tree, filled a pot with river water, grabbed the tree trunk, and used the tree top and branches as a rag, scrubbing along the edge of the pot like stirring coffee.

After scrubbing the pot back and forth more than a dozen times, they poured the water from washing the pot onto the riverbank. Then, they balanced the large iron pot on their heads, banging on the pot and humming the Qinqiang opera "Entering the Palace Twice" as they returned to their tribe.