Wang Xiaoxiao may have told Xiao Qiang and Xu Wei about my desire to eat the snake.
Both girls wore expressions that were hard to describe.
Xiao Qiang walked over to me and whispered, "This thing is so disgusting, how can we eat it? I see we still have quite a few short-legged birds we brought, and some jicama we dug up back then. I'll take a few female colleagues to pick some wild vegetables later, and we'll make do with this for dinner. Otherwise, I really can't eat this snake."
I looked at Xiao Qiang and patted her head: "You guys should hurry up and pack your things. It's going to get dark soon. This is our first time here, and we don't know if there will be any more dangers around. So it's best to hide in the treehouse. Leave everything else to me. Those short-legged birds are so precious. It's really hard to kill and eat them. Take good care of them. We need to keep them to lay eggs."
When Xiao Qiang and Xu Wei saw that they couldn't persuade me anymore, they both frowned and then returned to our treehouse.
Wang Xiaoxiao also sighed and began placing things inside the treehouse.
We have far more scattered items than Bai Wei and his group.
Firstly, there are the very old supplies we found in the ghost ship before.
Secondly, there's the food we've stored up during this period.
So it will probably take several days to clean up.
There's no hay on the wooden plank bed in the house yet, but there's obviously no time tonight, so we'll just have to make do for now. Tomorrow we'll have to go to a place further away to collect hay. The wooden plank bed will keep out the cold and heat, and it won't attract insects.
Wang Ping and Chen Jian had also recovered their senses and gathered around me one by one.
Chen Jian still had a hint of fear on his face: "Brother Sihai, are we really going to eat this snake?"
I nodded: "Of course, otherwise it would be such a waste to just throw it away."
Wang Ping nodded and chimed in, "Yes, I've eaten snake meat before. It's nothing special. Just add more salt, more water, and some wild vegetables, and it'll be no different from chicken, duck, or fish."
The group of male colleagues were already starving, and after such a fierce fight, their stomachs were rumbling.
But when the female colleagues heard that we were going to eat snake, their faces darkened, and they turned around and went back to their own rooms to pack their things.
Wang Ping held a kitchen knife, and Chen Jian held a small knife, eager to approach the snake.
Bai Wei then spoke up to stop us.
"I think we should make sure this snake is really dead. What if you run up there and it's still alive, attacking us instead?"
One of Bai Wei's male colleagues, who had always been Bai Wei's lackey, nodded immediately upon hearing Bai Wei's words. He turned around, picked up a stone from the rock wall, and threw it at the snake's head.
The snake actually shuddered the moment its head hit the ground, which sent chills down our spines.
But the snake only twitched once and then remained still.
I estimate that even if it's not completely dead, it shouldn't have any strength left to attack us.
But he still dared not let his guard down, gripping the gun, and fired another shot at its vital spot.
That's it, the python is completely dead.
Chen Jian was the first to rush forward, grab a knife, and start aiming at the python's head.
This python was very large, with many scales on its body. I told Chen Jian to be careful and not to cut his finger and get an infection.
Fortunately, our group of male colleagues all abandoned their fear due to hunger.
In less than two hours, we had completely dissected the large snake.
However, this time, in addition to snake meat and gallbladders, we also obtained a lot of scales from the snake's neck.
These scales are extremely hard and incredibly sharp.
After a proper wash, it could be used as a small knife.
We cured all the snake meat with the sea salt we brought.
Then, after washing the remaining snake meat, I stewed it in a pot.
At first, some of our female colleagues didn't even come to us.
Even when Chen Jian asked Liu Jiaojiao to come and help add firewood, Liu Jiaojiao refused.
"You guys really can eat anything! This snake meat is so fishy and smelly, how can you possibly eat it?"
But after we went down the mountain to pick wild vegetables and cut up the jicama and put it into the snake meat, a fragrant aroma soon wafted from the clay pot.
At first, Wang Xiaoxiao and a group of female colleagues started a new business, planning to make some vegetable soup and...
But the aroma from our place was just too irresistible to them.
Xiao Qiang was the first to gravitate closer to me, her eyes filled with a mixture of disdain and longing.
"Is this thing really edible? Could it be poisonous? Is this snake venomous?"
Wang Ping added firewood to the fire and shook his head as he watched Xiao Qiang.
"Snakes this big usually aren't poisonous. Besides, even if they were, so what? We don't eat their fangs. And the meat is already cooked like this, so even if it was poisonous, it should have been neutralized by the high temperature."
Xiao Qiang fell silent, squatted down next to me, and licked her lips as she watched the pot bubbling away, releasing a fragrant aroma.
I knew she must be hungry too.
However, just to be on the safe side, we should simmer it for a little longer.
More than an hour later, the lid of the clay pot was finally lifted.
Suddenly, a very delicious aroma wafted out. Chen Jianli immediately took out chopsticks made of tree branches and reached into the pot, picked out a piece of meat, and stuffed it into his mouth without caring that it was hot.
After taking a couple of bites, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.
"This tastes great! Brother Sihai, you should try it!"
As she spoke, she also picked up a piece and gave it to me.
I took a bite, and it was indeed very good. It had the freshness of wild vegetables, and the snake meat was very chewy. Although it still had a bit of a fishy smell, it was acceptable because it was much better than I had imagined.
Xiao Qiang frowned as she looked at me, so I quickly grabbed two tree branches, bent them into neat chopsticks, picked out a piece of meat, and handed it to Xiao Qiang.
Xiao Qiang hesitated for a moment, but still accepted it. After taking a bite, her eyes showed joy. She then turned to call Xu Wei and Wang Xiaoxiao to come and try it together.
As a result, a group of female colleagues who were initially very reluctant gathered around us and started eating, each with their own bowls and chopsticks.
This huge pot of snake soup was actually devoured by our group of people in a frenzy.
After we finished eating, Xiao Qiang and I went back to the treehouse. Wang Xiaoxiao was still hiccuping and looked at me with a completely exasperated expression.
"My God, I never thought I'd actually eat snake meat in my life! This is something I never even dreamed of, it's so exciting!"
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