Chapter 96 Planting Plan: Little Bear Cub, Grapevines
After buying the notebooks and ink, Lai took Neil to several shops and gathered all the seasonings needed to make hot pot broth.
Finally, he went to the shop that Temujin had recommended to him and bought varnish and natural pigments of various colors. The owner explained that you could simply add the pigment directly to the varnish to find the color you needed, which was very convenient.
After buying everything, the morning was over. They then went to Mu's stall to pick up the Gulu beast meat, and inevitably chatted for a long time.
For some reason, the little bear cub was particularly fond of Lai, clinging to his leg the whole time while Lai and Mu were talking. He rubbed against him, and every now and then he would take a deep breath while holding him, as if there was something about him that particularly attracted him.
No, what kind of fetish does this little bear cub have that it likes to suck on itself so much?!
Although Lai was inwardly turmoil, he maintained a calm demeanor on the surface and chatted happily with Mu.
Even as he prepared to leave, the little bear clinged to his leg, as if it wanted to follow him home.
However, in the end, his father grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and ripped him off his leg.
"Sorry, Ray, I don't know what's wrong with this kid, he keeps grabbing your leg."
The real little bear cub, all fluffy and struggling, wriggled its four little paws, wanting Lai to give it a hug. This scene made Mu, the biological father, feel extremely heartbroken.
"He's not usually like this. He's not clingy at all. I don't know what's wrong with him today."
Mu explained awkwardly.
"It's nothing, it's probably because I gave him something nice to eat before, so he remembered me."
Lai took the initiative to help Mu out of the awkward situation, and the two easily resolved the small embarrassment in a friendly atmosphere.
Just as Lei turned to leave again, the little bear cub suddenly started mooing.
Shepherd: ...
white:……
Ray: ...
Neil: ?
No, is that what bears are called?
Ray had never heard a bear roar before, but he knew that this was definitely not the sound a bear cub should make.
With a dark expression, Mu handed the little bear cub to Bai.
He shouldn't have left Li to be raised at Ben's house for a while; now look what's happened, he's even started imitating cow mooing!
His heart was filled with bitter tears.
"Mu, I'm leaving now. I still have chores to do at home."
"Okay, remember to come pick up the beef early the day after tomorrow."
"good."
Lai led Neil away from Mu's stall, the little bear cub still mooing incessantly, as if calling to him.
However, Li was destined to receive no response from Lai.
"Brother, is that how a bear moos? It sounds like a cow."
"That's probably not how it's called."
It wasn't until they had walked quite a distance that Neil raised his question to Lai. He didn't know that the little bear cub was Mu's son; he only thought of him as a pet kept by the orc owner of the butcher shop.
"That's Mu's son, his name is Li, he's a very cute little beastman."
After Ray explained, Neil suddenly understood.
"So that's how it is! No wonder the little bear was so clean and smelled just like the boss."
Neil brought up the topic of taste again, which made Ray a little curious.
What does it taste like?
"Flavorful of fresh meat."
Forehead……
I bought a pork knuckle, so of course I'm going to stew it.
That afternoon, Lai showcased his culinary skills, braising pork knuckle again after several months. He had found significantly more seasonings during this time than before, resulting in a much more complex and flavorful pork knuckle.
The timing was perfect; the braised pork knuckle was cooked just in time for dinner. Neil, who had gone to Guge's house to invite Guge over for dinner, also entered with his entourage.
Gu Ge took his seat, the braised pork knuckle was taken out of the pot, and Lai Yi simply and crudely placed the meat on the table.
The freshly stewed pork knuckle exudes a rich meaty aroma. With a simple pull using two chopsticks, the bone and meat immediately separate.
The pork skin is prepared using the same old method: first singe, then scrape, then scrub, resulting in exceptionally clean skin. It's so tender it tears easily, and even a hundred-year-old Guge (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) would have no problem eating it.
"Lay, I'm so lucky to have your family as my neighbors. Hot pot and braised pork knuckle, I've never tasted anything like this before, no matter how many places I've been to."
Gug praised Lai's cooking skills repeatedly. Although Lai knew that Gug didn't suspect anything, he still explained a few things to avoid trouble.
"I made some money selling bean sprouts in the winter, so I bought some meat from the meat stall at the market. The meat had a very strong smell, so I had no choice but to think of ways to mask the smell. I never expected that I would actually come up with a solution. You should try it first."
Lai used serving chopsticks to pick up a large piece of meat with tendons attached, and also picked up the meat skin and bird eggs for Guge.
Simmered over low heat, the pork knuckle becomes tender and flavorful, suitable for people of all ages.
Gu Ge first picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, and then picked up a piece of meat skin.
"This is the first time in all these years that I've tasted such delicious stewed meat. The indescribable flavor of the Gulu Beast has been completely masked, but the aroma of the meat has been perfectly preserved. You can't find another restaurant with your skills in the whole small mountain village, no, in the whole Rosen Town."
Gugge lavishly praised Lai's cooking skills. Neil listened with delight and ate with pleasure.
Tata squatted in front of her little bowl and ate her dinner.
The braised pork knuckle had a lot of seasoning, oil, and salt, and Lai was afraid it would cause him to develop alopecia areata, so he cooked other meats for him separately.
At first, Tata was so attracted by the aroma that she refused to give up and tried various ways to get Lai to give her some pork knuckle to taste.
Lai had long noticed the little monster's vain nature. After telling the little monster that eating such oily and salty food would cause it to lose a lot of fur, Tata left Lai without looking back.
Sure enough, for the vain little monster, Mao Mao is the most important thing.
Gug was getting old, so Lai didn't dare let him eat too much, but fearing he wouldn't have enough to eat, she made him a vegetable salad.
As darkness fell, Lai lit the glass lamp. Gug looked at the suddenly lit living room with a hint of novelty, but didn't show much shock.
"I'd heard that the Barnetts had glass lamps brought back from Eaton, but I never expected you to have one too."
"It was given to me by Temujin."
"Oh, no wonder, no wonder."
Guge already knew about the relationship between Laiyi and Temuqi when they ate together last time, so it's not surprising that Temuqi gave Laiyi some novelties.
"What keeps this light burning?"
"Energy Stone".
"It was this."
Gu Ge murmured something, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, he mentioned a few unrelated things.
“I remember when I was young, there were many small fragments of energy stones near the village. The children in the village would often pick them up, smash them into powder, mix them with mud, and play with them, shaping them into various forms that would sparkle in the sunlight.”
Gugge's words caught Lai's attention, and he directly asked about his doubts.
Are there any energy stone mines nearby?
"Who knows, maybe."
Gug didn't answer Lai's question directly, and quickly changed the subject.
It got dark not long after dinner. Lai locked the door and, together with Neil, took Gug home.
The two houses were only a few dozen meters apart, a journey of just a few minutes. The three of them strolled leisurely along the village road, taking a walk to digest their food.
"Lay, what do you want to plant this year? Tell me and I'll give you some advice."
"That's wonderful!"
With Guge, a veteran farmer with decades of experience, guiding him, Lai felt indescribably happy.
To be honest, although he has a lot of theoretical knowledge and has seen how others farm, when it comes to actually farming himself, he's still a bit lacking. He can only manage to get by a little bit in the vegetable garden.
"Last year I planted a lot of rye, so this year I want to use only half of the land to grow rye and the other half to grow wheat that can be milled into white flour."
“It’s okay to plant it this way, but if you want a good harvest, it’s best to buy the highest quality seeds in town. They’re more expensive, but the yield will definitely be much better than the seeds we save ourselves.”
Lai nodded, indicating that he had remembered what Gug had said.
"I plan to expand the vegetable garden at home this year and plant more potatoes and sweet potatoes. If I can find taro, I also plan to plant some taro."
“These are all vegetables that can stave off hunger and can be stored for a long time. Your idea is excellent.”
Gug affirmed Lai's idea.
Having experienced several famines, Guge understood the importance of food all too well. He wholeheartedly agreed with Lai's idea.
"In other places, I plan to plant some vegetables, such as radishes and cabbages."
"Okay. What about fruit? What are you planning to plant today?"
"Just plant a few watermelons, that's enough for us."
"You can plant more of them and sell them in the summer. Aren't there any other fruits you'd like to plant?"
"It's gone."
After a moment's thought, Gug gave Lai some suggestions.
"If it's just for your own consumption, then come to my place in a while, and I'll pick out two grapevines for you to dig up and take home yourself. Once you get home, you don't need to take too much care of them; just find a sunny spot and water them occasionally."
Guge's grapevines were well cared for, and the grapes that grew were large and sweet. He suddenly said that he wanted to give Lai two excellent grapevines, which surprised Lai, but Lai did not dare to accept Guge's kindness rashly, so he quickly refused.
"No need, you can keep them for yourself. The fruits and vegetables I planted this year are enough for the two of us."
"Lai, don't rush to refuse. Don't worry, I have plenty of these grapes that I keep for my own family. The old man doesn't have much to offer, but he grows a lot of fruit."
You dug up the grapevines and planted them at home, so you can eat grapes every year. The grapes you can't eat right away can be dried into raisins to save for winter. Seeing you two younger generations doing well makes me very happy.”
Gugge seemed to know what Lai wanted to say and cut him off beforehand, leaving Lai momentarily speechless and unsure how to refuse.
“You young people are concerned about saving face and don’t want the things that belong to us old folks, but don’t you know that in my eyes you are all just children? These things can’t be taken with you when you’re born, and you can’t take them with you when you die. It’s better to give them all away now than to leave them to unworthy descendants. It’s better to avoid them getting something for nothing.”
Gug's words brought back Lai's memories of last year, when Gug's son came over with a child.
"I'm content to see you younger generation doing well. Listen to me, we'll dig you back in a while."
"Um."
Lai finally accepted his offer, and Gug looked very happy.
"That's wonderful, that's wonderful. If Annie had grandchildren, they would be this big by now..."
Gug began to mutter softly again.
Since his injury, he has begun to miss his youngest daughter, who has gone far away from home, more and more.
He hadn't received a single word from her for decades, and had searched for her countless times, but there was still no news. He didn't know if she was dead or alive, and he was deeply concerned about her.
Now that he's older, finding Anne has become an obsession with no end in sight.
"May the mother tree bless you, my children."
Lai declined Gug's invitation, so the three of them said goodbye at the door of Gug's house.
Sweet dreams.
Goodnight, Grandpa Guge!
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