Yu Wanwan had once asked the elephant tribe about their preservation methods, but they said they couldn't tell her, so Yu Wanwan had to give up in embarrassment.
Seeing the dejected Yu Wanwan, Bai Jing patted her fluffy head and comforted her, "It's okay, Wanwan. If you want to eat vegetables, I'll go ask other herbivorous tribes."
With the rain pouring down outside, how could Yu Wanwan bear to let Bai Jing go out and run around?
She clenched her fist and said angrily, "We'll figure out how to preserve it ourselves!"
She came up with a few ideas, the first being to dig a cellar.
Yu Wanwan asked Bai Jing to dig a space under the kitchen to serve as a cellar. Since the kitchen was close to the cave entrance and the temperature was relatively low, and the cellar was underground, it could preserve the vegetables to some extent without freezing them.
Yu Wanwan sorted the vegetables into categories and then watched how they fared. If they spoiled slowly, she would eat them gradually; if they spoiled quickly, even if she had to persuade Bai Jing, she would finish them as soon as possible to avoid any waste.
As for the remaining vegetables, Yu Wanwan washed some and hung them up to air dry, while she made the rest into pickles with salt crystals and set them aside.
She was quite worried about these two methods. The dried vegetables were a bit like paper, and she didn't know how long they could be preserved.
As for pickling vegetables, there were no airtight containers. Although stones had been placed on bamboo jars and stone jars and sealed with animal hides, Yu Wanwan felt that it might still not be successful, so she only made a small amount.
If only I could find clay, I might be able to sculpt a lid that fits the shape.
The weather was getting colder, but it hadn't snowed yet. Bai Jing's meat couldn't be put into the ice and snow, so it could only be piled up in the kitchen and cellar. Yu Wanwan thought about it and decided to start researching smoked meat and dried meat.
Similarly, Yu Wanwan also took a small portion of the meat for the experiment.
She rubbed salt on the smoked meat, then rubbed chili peppers on one batch, and left the other batch plain.
Unfortunately, chili peppers can only be used for seasoning and cannot remove the fishy smell. Fortunately, Bai Jing said it didn't matter. Yu Wanwan lit the stove and slowly smoked the meat until it was almost dry. Then she hung it up with rattan and hung it at the entrance of the cave to air dry.
As for dried meat, it's even simpler. Just boil it, dry it in the sun, and when you want to eat it, just throw it into a pot and boil it.
Bai Jing thought the dried meat tasted good when eaten dry and wanted to recommend it to Yu Wanwan, but Yu Wanwan waved her hands repeatedly to refuse when she saw that it was as hard as a wooden stick.
A few more days passed, and Yu Wanwan began to inspect the results.
The vegetables in the cellar were still fresh, and the dried vegetables were alright. As for the pickled vegetables, those sealed in bamboo jars had spoiled, but those in stone jars were intact, so it was a success.
However, the pickled vegetables have no other seasonings, only saltiness, so the taste is just so-so.
Compared to the vegetables, the meats were all a success; the smoked meat and jerky tasted quite good.
Yu Wanwan decided to start mass production, and the two of them were extremely busy for the next few days. Bai Jing had to hunt and help out, and he was so tired that he barely had time to close his eyes. Yu Wanwan felt sorry for him and kept urging Bai Jing to rest while working even harder.
But how could Bai Jing let Yu Wanwan do all the work by herself? He still insisted on helping her.
Seeing other people bustling about with a bunch of people at their homes, Yu Wanwan realized the importance of population.
They rushed around as fast as they could, and finally managed to put all the grain away by the time the second snow fell.
During this time, the shaman and Shunfeng also came to help a lot. Yu Wanwan told them how to cook the meat and also said that eating chili fruit could temporarily generate heat. The two were amazed and also impressed by the taste.
After obtaining Yu Wanwan's consent, the shaman told the tribe about these things. Throughout the winter, many beastmen began to pick chili peppers. Even though there were many chili peppers, the beastmen had already harvested a lot of them.
With Yu Wanwan's solution, everyone felt that the barbecue was even more delicious, but some people secretly harbored resentment towards Yu Wanwan.
For example, the clan chief's family.
Nana felt that Yu Wanwan hadn't told her about the chili peppers beforehand, which meant that when her partner went to pick them, all the good and large ones had been picked. Also, Yu Wanwan hadn't told her about the smoked meat beforehand, which meant that her partner didn't bring back enough firewood to smoke it, resulting in a lot of food being wasted.
Looking at the failed smoking of the meat, Nana clenched her fists, her eyes filled with resentment.
The chieftain misjudged the timing of the temperature drop this year, resulting in a food shortage in the tribe. However, he did not feel it was his fault. Instead, he believed that Yu Wanwan had delayed the group's hunt the first time, and Bai Jing had also failed to hunt properly because of her, which made it impossible for everyone to get through the winter.
As the food in the cave dwindled, the clan chief's dissatisfaction with Bai Jing and his companions grew.
He thought of the smoked meat hanging all over the cave entrance in Baijing, and a calculating glint flashed in his eyes.
We must find a way to get the food from Bai Jing's hands!
As the weather grew colder, one morning when Yu Wanwan woke up, everything outside the small hole above her head was covered in white snow.
When a snowflake drifted in, Yu Wanwan realized that it was snowing.
She jumped out of bed with a start, put on her shoes, and ran to the cave entrance.
Outside, everything was covered in a blanket of white snow, with thick snow covering the ground. Yu Wanwan stretched out her foot to test the depth, and it was up to her knees.
She only saw snow on her first day there. By the time she recovered from her fainting spell, the snow had almost melted. It took her so long to see the second snowfall.
As a southerner, Yu Wanwan was very excited and almost rushed into the snow. Fortunately, Bai Jing appeared in time, stopped her, took the animal skin, and wrapped her up layer by layer until she was like a silkworm cocoon.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
