Chapter 8: High Efficiency Requires a Big Attempt
"...Save the seeds! Cucumbers are so delicious, I'm planning to clear a plot of land and grow them myself."
"Of course, older cucumbers are also delicious, they make a tangy soup..." Yu Yan said, making herself crave them. "Maybe we should save a few more!"
Feng Gui didn't quite understand this. The people of the beast world didn't have the habit of farming or raising livestock.
They always eat whatever they can find in the wild.
Clearing a plot of land for planting sounds exhausting.
However, he was used to indulging Yu Yan, so he didn't pour cold water on her.
"Okay, I'll take you there to see it in a few days."
"Uh-huh."
After washing the vegetables, the two went back home, and Yu Yan couldn't wait to make a cold cucumber salad that he loved.
Cut some ginger into thin strips, mix it with the smashed cucumber, sprinkle with salt, and toss.
Don't rush after mixing. Let it sit for a while to absorb some of the moisture and allow the cucumber to absorb the flavors; it will taste even better that way.
Ah, if only I could find some garlic, I could crush it and mix it in, that would be even better.
The seasonings we use at home are also quite limited. If we added some sugar, vinegar, or soy sauce, the flavor would be so much richer.
Next, Yu Yan steamed the stems and stir-fried the blanched wild vegetables.
During this time, Feng Gui used a stone axe and spent a lot of effort to chop up the spare ribs that Lan Xiu had given them.
The stone axe was very blunt, so the chopped ribs were large pieces with uneven cuts.
After chopping, Feng Gui's palms were both bright red.
Following Yu Yan's instructions, he marinated the ribs with ginger to remove the fishy smell.
Then, another fire pit was lit, and two large pieces of pork ribs were roasted first.
Under the scorching heat of the flames, the fatty ribs sizzled and released an irresistible aroma.
In modern times, Yu Yan could eat meat whenever she wanted; she had had her fill.
Now that I've transmigrated to the beast world, my family is dirt poor, and meat is a precious commodity.
He was so tempted by the smell of meat that he kept swallowing his saliva while cooking.
To distract himself, he deliberately chatted with Feng Gui.
“Father, do you know if there is a white, fluffy plant in our tribe? When it matures, it is round and spherical, with clumps of seeds inside. It can usually be seen in autumn.”
As he spoke, he gestured with Feng Gui.
He was describing cotton, but he had only seen pictures of it.
Feng Gui thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "I have seen white fluff before. Many trees release white fluff in the spring. But I don't seem to remember the kind you're talking about."
Hearing the expected answer, Yu Yan nodded.
Cotton has excellent heat retention properties, and if the territory really has it, there's no reason why people wouldn't make use of it.
Furthermore, normally cotton should be harvested in autumn and winter.
Now, no matter what, he has to weave his geese.
Feng Gui looked at Yu Yan and felt that he had become much more curious about things since he recovered from his illness.
Worried that he would be disappointed, Feng Gui said, "Some of the older sub-beastmen in the tribe might have seen it before. I'll ask them next time."
Yu Yan smiled and hummed in agreement.
As we were talking, the grilled ribs were ready.
Feng Gui sprinkled some salt on it and then handed a piece to Yu Yan.
"Here, have something to eat first."
"good!"
Yu Yan immediately took it, blew on it twice, and then tore off a piece of meat.
He exhaled, chewed, and his expression became increasingly distorted.
It smells really good, but it's too tough to chew!
His teeth are quite strong now, but after chewing for a long time, he only caused a little damage to the lean meat on the ribs.
Another issue is that it's only seasoned with salt, so the more you chew, the greasier the meat feels in your mouth.
By the time he swallowed the meat, his cheeks were a little sore from chewing.
Seeing his changing expression, Feng Gui turned his head and glanced in the direction where Lan Xiu was staying, then asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? Is it not tasty?"
Yu Yan also answered softly, "It's too hard."
Feng Gui seemed used to it: "That's how beast meat is. You'll get used to it."
Yu Yan: ...I guess I won't get used to it.
There are still so many left. If he roasts them all, all his teeth will fall out.
He stood by the stone stove, arms crossed, and looked around.
His eyes lit up when they fell on the cucumber.
Got it!
"Father, shall we roast half of the meat and stew the other half?"
"Braised meat...it will indeed become softer, but it takes a long time."
"It's alright, let's eat something else first! I still need to process my kudzu vines."
"Okay, then you do it. Just leave a small portion to bake."
"Uh-huh."
Yu Yan boiled water in an earthenware pot, then put the chopped pork ribs into it.
He also threw the ginger slices from the marinated ribs into the pot.
He then added some salt to taste.
Once the firewood in the stone stove had brought the water in the pot to a boil again, he removed two pieces of firewood and turned the fire to a simmer.
It's still early here, just keep an eye on the fire.
Yu Yan and Feng Gui brought the prepared stems, stir-fried wild vegetables, cold cucumber salad, and roasted ribs to the wooden stools where they ate.
Before eating, Yu Yan glanced at Lan Xiu.
His dinner was also ready; it appeared to be roast meat and roasted stems.
“Father, I’ve prepared quite a lot of wild vegetables and cucumbers. I’d like to send some to Lanxiu.”
“Sure, you can use this ceramic bowl.”
It's called a bowl, but it's actually more like a basin.
Yu Yan deftly used her chopsticks to scoop half a bowl into each bowl, then carried the bowls towards Lan Xiu.
He also ate pork ribs.
Feng Gui chopped at the ribs with his stone axe. Judging by the way he did it, he used brute force to break the ribs in two – a rather crude and uncouth style…
The roasted ribs were blackened, and I don't know if they tasted bitter.
While thinking this in her heart, Yu Yan remained calm on the surface.
Meeting his gaze, Lan Xiu put down the ribs, stood up, and asked, "Why are you here?"
"I prepared a lot of wild vegetables and cucumbers, I'll bring you some to try," Yu Yan said with a smile.
Lan Xiu glanced into his bowl and didn't refuse: "Thank you."
Yu Yan's smile brightened: "Do you have a bowl here? I'll pour the food for you."
They don't have many bowls at home, so they have to take them back to continue using them.
"Yes, please wait a moment."
Soon, the two completed the handover, and Yu Yan walked back happily.
After watching him leave, Lan Xiu sat down, picked up some wild vegetables with his chopsticks, and put them in his mouth.
Upon tasting it, he widened his eyes slightly.
This year, he traded wild vegetables with people in the tribe twice, and ate them after cooking them and sprinkling them with salt.
It was probably because he had overcooked it; anyway, it tasted like rotten vegetable leaves, which he didn't like, so he never exchanged it with anyone else after that.
But the wild vegetables that Yu Yan stir-fried were different!
Not only does it not have a bitter taste, but it's also crunchy and delicious, with a subtle sweetness. It's really tasty.
His eyes lit up slightly as he took another bite of the cucumber salad.
This one is crisper! More refreshing!
It's a little salty to eat on its own, but it's just right when paired with roasted stem pieces.
The normally dry and tough stems become especially delicious when paired with crisp, savory cucumbers.
He ate half of the cucumber salad in one go before remembering his roasted meat, taking a bite and chewing it.
The lingering aroma of cucumber in the mouth made the grilled meat even more delicious.
His brows relaxed unconsciously, and his whole being exuded a sense of relaxed enjoyment.
I always thought I didn't like eating green vegetables, but it turns out it's just because they're cooked terribly...
Lan Xiu ate with great focus, while Yu Yan and Feng Gui seemed to be doing well.
Even the most delicious stir-fried wild vegetables lose their freshness after a few meals.
As for beast meat, it was the first time Yu Yan had eaten it since she transmigrated, and she was quite happy.
Feng Gui urged him to eat more, but he said he wanted to save room for stewed ribs. So most of the roasted meat ended up in Feng Gui's stomach.
After finishing her meal, Yu Yan went to take a look at the pot.
The soup, turning slightly white, was bubbling away, with pork ribs floating in it, emitting a rich aroma of meat.
He poked it with his chopsticks; it wasn't stewed until tender.
"It needs to simmer for a while longer," he said, turning to Feng Gui.
Feng Gui: "Hmm. So what do we do now?"
Yu Yan: "Let's peel these three-leaf vines before it gets completely dark."
Feng Gui was taken aback: "How do we peel it?"
Don't the people here always use kudzu vines to weave things? Of course they know how to peel them.
"Peel it with your hands."
Feng Gui hesitated, then said, "...Let's wash that bowl later."
Without much thought, Yu Yan walked towards the kudzu vine with high spirits.
During the meal, his muscle soreness symptoms were relieved a lot, and he felt energetic again.
I sat down, grabbed a kudzu vine, and tried to peel it off with my fingernail... but I couldn't.
"Huh?" Yu Yan was stunned for a moment, and tried hard to peel off the kudzu husk.
However, the kudzu peel was very sticky and inseparable from the kudzu stem. He spent a lot of effort but only managed to peel off a few small pieces of peel.
Having no other choice, he turned to Feng Gui for help: "Father, what should we do?"
Feng Gui didn't laugh at him, but patiently explained, "We soak the three-leaf vine in water for a few days until the outer skin softens, then it's easy to peel."
No wonder Feng Gui looked at him like that just now; Yu Yan really hadn't expected that.
It's a good thing he dug up all the alkaline soil, wanting to make a big splash. It turns out that theory alone is not enough.
Scratching her face sheepishly, Yu Yan humbly asked, "Where should I soak?"
Feng Gui pointed and said, "There's a puddle below the stream where you get water. Just soak there."
Yu Yan stood up: "I'm going to go for a soak now!"
Lan Xiu had finished his meal and, hearing the commotion, turned over and asked, "Are you moving things?"
Yu Yan: "Yes! We need to move the three-leaf vine to soak in water."
Lan Xiu walked over: "Let me do it."
When he was more than ten meters away from them, Lan Xiu transformed into the big tiger that Yu Yan had seen that morning!
His black and white fur gleamed faintly in the dim light of the forest.
A pair of thick, round, fluffy ears twitched naturally.
The enormous paw pads left two adorable sets of footprints on the forest floor.
His icy blue eyes were like a gentle, calm lake.
His long beard stood out, and his fleshy nose was pink with black moles of varying sizes.
He took another step forward, lay down on the ground, his tiger mouth opening and closing, his voice deep and resonant: "Just put him on my back."
Yu Yan's heart began to pound.
This tiger is so big, and he wants to help him move things!
How could he possibly have the nerve to do that?
Yu Yan grinned and said excitedly, "Thank you, then I won't be polite!"
With Lanxiu's help, the efficiency is really high.
He moved all the kudzu vines in one trip.
As he was removing the vines, he shook his body, but some vines still clung to his fur.
Yu Yan stepped forward eagerly: "Let me help you!"
Afraid of hurting Lanxiu, he gently pulled the vine down.
Being so close, it's inevitable that we'll touch Lanxiu's fur.
It was much harder than he had imagined, and it felt prickly and a little itchy as it brushed against the back of his hand.
"Hehe, I've run into a big tiger!" Yu Yan hugged Ge Teng, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
After soaking all the kudzu vines in the water, he stood on the bank, looking at the shimmering water, and thought of something important again—papermaking!
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