Chapter 75 Roast Chicken and Yams
It took me nearly an hour to dig out this section of yam.
The yam just dug out of the mud looks like a piece of tree root unless you look at the white cut end.
She walked to the water and washed the mud off the food. She didn't bring a basket, and it would be inconvenient to search with it. She decided to go back and put the things down before coming out to look for other food.
In fact, this piece of yam was enough to eat, but she just wanted to eat meat.
On the way back, she ran into Mu Xi who came out to look for her.
Mu Xi took the yam from her hand, looking a little surprised, "So big?"
Wild yams are rarely seen. As urban industrialization becomes more and more serious, there are no villages in the suburbs. The land has been expropriated for use as factories, and resettlement houses have been built in the city for farmers to live in.
No one goes up the mountain to find wild ones to sell, and the suburbs of the plains have long been occupied by factories, making them even harder to find.
Zhao Yeqing gave the yam to Mu Xi and said that he wanted to go out for a walk.
There is still more than an hour before dark, so there is still enough time.
Hearing her say this, Mu Xi knew that she wanted to eat meat.
He put the gun on her back and took the bow and arrow himself, "Let's go."
Mu Xi took Zhao Yeqing to find a big tree in the shade near the water source and climbed up.
"With you just walking around here cutting grass and looking for it, I'm afraid you'll never be able to eat meat in your lifetime."
Zhao Yeqing didn't refute. What could she do if she was afraid of snakes?
Facts have proved that waiting for the rabbit to come to you is useful, but what you waited for was not a rabbit, but a pheasant.
The pheasant has black and blue feathers, white star stripes on its long tail feathers, and red feathers around its eyes.
This is a black pheasant, a near-threatened species.
It's not like there's nothing to eat, so there's no need to hunt protected animals.
Mu Xi put down the bow in his hand and leaned against the tree trunk to wait for the next prey.
The law of the jungle, in addition to the survival of the fittest, also includes harmonious coexistence. A pheasant was drinking water and heard a noise behind it. It turned around and found it was a rabbit. It walked away calmly without panicking and gave up its spot.
Rabbits don't drink much water. Most of their water comes from plants. Now that the weather is hot, the plants near the water are more tender and juicy.
Seeing that the rabbit was standing still, Zhao Yeqing became eager to try and gestured to Mu Xi.
Mu Xi raised his eyebrows and handed her the bow and arrow.
Zhao Yeqing recalled the feeling of yesterday, drew the bow, took aim at the rabbit digging at the grass roots under his feet, and shot an arrow.
The arrow deviated to the right and passed by the rabbit's ear. The frightened rabbit turned around and jumped a few times before disappearing from sight.
The black pheasant in the distance didn't know what was happening. When it heard the sound of the rabbit jumping away, it looked up and around, but when it didn't see anything unusual, it lowered its head and continued to look for insects in the mud by the water.
Zhao Yeqing felt sorry and silently mouthed, "I'll try again."
Mu Xi nodded and leaned against the tree trunk and continued waiting.
Finally, when the sky gradually darkened, the prey appeared again.
It's small and looks like a pheasant.
Zhao Yeqing didn't recognize him, so he turned to look at Mu Xi. When he saw him nod, he pulled the bow in his hand.
This time she remembered the deviation from the last shot and moved the crosshairs an inch to the left, aiming at the largest side of the body.
The arrow flew out of his hand, broke through the air and pierced straight into the pheasant's abdomen.
The pheasant flapped its wings twice and then became silent.
Zhao Yeqing climbed down from the tree and walked over to take a look. It was a pheasant with gray fur, which looked very similar to the pheasant chicks that had been hatched at home before.
Mu Xi saw her confusion and answered, "Not exactly the same. This is also a type of bamboo partridge. It reproduces very quickly. Its number in the wild has increased within ten years. It eats vegetation and protected insects like crazy. It has been removed from the protection list in recent years."
Only then did Zhao Yeqing feel at ease to pick up the pheasant and walk back, not forgetting to take away the arrow that had missed the target.
This was her first successful hunt, and her excitement had not yet subsided. She looked at the pheasant left and right.
After returning to the shelter, Zhao Yeqing pulled the arrow out of the pheasant, washed it in the stream, and put it back next to his backpack.
Mu Xi started a fire in the open space. He piled up the dead branches and leaves that he had cleaned up earlier and lit a fire underneath. The dead branches caught fire in a short while. The weather was so hot that he didn't even need to blow with his mouth to start the fire.
There was also a portable pot in the backpack, a foldable camping pot. Mu Xi took the pot to get water and put it on the fire to boil.
Scald the pheasant's feathers with boiling water before plucking.
Zhao Yeqing was processing the yam that had just been dug up.
She was a little sensitive to the mucus on the yam, and her hands would itch if she tried to peel it with her bare hands, so she took out her gloves and put them on before starting to peel it.
There are chicken and yam. The deliciousness of the yam chicken soup seems to have appeared in your mouth. Unfortunately, there is not enough time. The pheasant needs to be stewed for a longer time and there is no onion or ginger to remove the fishy smell.
The best way to prepare it is to roast it. After roasting it directly over high temperature flame, the fishy smell in the meat will disappear and it will cook faster.
Making a grill like the one he made yesterday, Mu Xi pierced the processed chicken with a wooden stick, put it on the fire and started roasting it.
The pheasant's internal organs were fed to the two little leopards as snacks.
After peeling the yam, wash off most of the mucus on it, cut it into sections with a knife, and skewer them with a wooden stick.
Tonight we are living in the open air in the forest, which is not safer than a cave. The fire built by Mu Xi is very large and is outside the shelter. There is a stream in front of the shelter and the fire behind it. If any animals come from the forest, they will retreat and leave when they see the fire from afar.
It was completely dark, with only the firelight around the campsite lighting up the area.
Only one chicken can be placed on the simple grill, so Mu Xi built another one and put the yam skewers on it to grill. The rack he built was higher so that the yams would not get burnt when grilled.
Huhu and Xuebing were waiting by the fire for food. They had been eating dried meat soaked in milk yesterday and today, and they were already craving for it.
One chicken, two people and two leopards was definitely not enough to share. Zhao Yeqing took out the milk and dried meat from his bag and soaked them for the two first. The chicken could only satisfy their cravings.
We just got off the cliff today and haven’t had time to hunt yet. Once we start walking in the woods tomorrow, the two leopards will be able to feed themselves.
The skin of the pheasant roasted by flames began to tighten, and the moisture in the skin was dried out and turned from pink to slightly yellow.
Mu Xi turned the wooden stick until the whole chicken was roasted into a slightly yellow color. At this point, there was no need to turn it over frequently, just wait for the flames to slowly dry the skin.
The two men sat opposite each other in front of the fire, one looking at the chicken and the other looking at the yam, with the sound of the burning firewood crackling in their ears.
When Zhao Yeqing heard the third frog call, he smelled the aroma of chicken.
This is a pure meaty flavor without any complicated seasoning.
The fat in the chicken was slowly roasted out, and the chicken skin turned a shiny golden yellow. Drops of fat came out from under the skin and dripped into the fire. The flames rose high and then went out.
Zhao Yeqing could already imagine how tender and juicy the food was underneath the golden and crispy exterior.
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