Smoke from cooking under the roof tiles
The woman, who looked like a demon, was like a female war goddess who had returned from the primordial era.
She carried a hastily sharpened, thick wooden stick on her shoulder, with two bloody, muscular wild boar hind legs skewered on it—each one thicker than her thigh! There were also several large, heavy pieces of ribs with tempting snowflake-like patterns!
The heavy prey seemed as light as a feather on her thin shoulders.
With each step she took, she left a clear footprint in the soft mud.
The children were stunned by the sight!
Countless small eyes widened instantly, their little noses twitching like wild animals, staring intently at the enormous, bright red, and tempting amount of meat they had never seen before! The sounds of swallowing saliva rose and fell.
Ling Zhan strode to the relatively flat open space in front of the thatched shed.
With a dull thud, he shoved the hardwood stick, along with the heavy prey, deep into the mud, the stick even trembling slightly.
Her cold gaze swept over the group of eager, practically green-eyed "little potatoes," finally settling on the dumbfounded Shen Yan. Her words were concise and to the point, each one like a military order:
"Fire, make it burn bright."
"Set the pot on a stable stand."
"Boil the water."
Shen Yan stared at the wild boar's hind leg, which was still slowly dripping dark red liquid, and then at Ling Zhan's calm and expressionless face, as if he had just carried back two bundles of firewood. A huge, almost absurd sense of shock made his mind completely shut down.
He thought that was the best she could manage to get—a pheasant or a rabbit…
Is that a wild boar?! And such a huge one at that?!
Look at the broken edges of those fangs… she did it barehanded…?! How did she do that?!
She doesn't seem to have any new wounds? And that blood... is it from a pig?
"What are you spacing out for?" Ling Zhan frowned slightly, his voice carrying a hint of impatience. "Do you even know how to handle meat?"
Shen Yan suddenly snapped back to reality! Looking at the children's eyes, she saw an almost overflowing, pure, and intense longing for food.
A surge of hot blood rushed to the top of my head!
He practically roared, his voice hoarse with excitement: "Yes! Tiger! Bean Sprout! Gather firewood! Thick and durable! Er Ya! Take the buckets! Lead the kids to the stream to fetch water! Quick! Get moving! Today! I'll let you eat your fill! Eat until you're stuffed!"
The lifeless ruins of the thatched hut were instantly set ablaze!
The children unleashed an unprecedented, almost fanatical, drive.
Those gathering firewood were like little whirlwinds, while those fetching water stumbled and staggered, yet still managed to scoop up an extra ladleful.
For the first time, excited screams and shouts drowned out the howling mountain wind.
Just then, Da Niu and Da Ya, who had gone out to dig for wild vegetables, returned with their tattered baskets and cheered as they helped with the work.
Shen Yan took a deep breath, drew out his old, fairly sharp wood-chopping knife, and walked to the huge wild boar leg.
He rolled up his sleeves, his eyes becoming incredibly focused, and began to clumsily but with unusual seriousness handle this "gift" that had fallen from the sky.
Skinning, deboning, dissecting muscles... Sweat quickly soaked his temples.
Ling Zhan stood to the side with his arms crossed, like a highly efficient supervisor, occasionally uttering a few cold commands: "Leather, keep the tanning. Tendons, extract them intact. Bones, smash them; the marrow is also energy."
Every sentence is perfectly precise, making the most of every resource with absolutely no waste.
When the largest, broken earthenware pot, which Shen Yan had painstakingly dug out of the ruins, still had a chipped edge, the murky stream water finally began to churn with turbid bubbles. When the first piece of wild boar meat, cut with tempting marbling of fat and lean meat, was tossed into the boiling water by Shen Yan's trembling hand—
"Sizzle!"
With a soft sound, the rich, pure, and overwhelming aroma of meat exploded out instantly!
This fragrance, like a tangible wave, forcefully dispelled the musty smell of the thatched hut, overwhelmed the damp chill of the mountain forest, powerfully penetrated everyone's nostrils, domineeringly occupied all the senses, and also crashed into everyone's heart!
The children swarmed around the fire.
The little body trembled slightly with excitement and anticipation, its eyes wide and fixed on the rolling chunks of meat in the pot—
The sounds of swallowing saliva blended together.
This was the first time in their impoverished lives that they had so vividly experienced the scent of "abundance"!
So rich, so...it makes me so happy I could cry!
The meat chunks tumbled in the boiling water, gradually losing their blood color and turning an enticing grayish-white.
As the oil melts, the soup gradually turns a thick, milky white.
It only has a little salt and no spices, so it has the most original and pure meat flavor.
But for children who have been struggling on the edge of hunger for years, this is an unparalleled delicacy, a taste they dare not even dream of.
Ling Zhan picked up a rough-edged, broken wooden spoon, scooped up a piece of stewed meat that was so tender it practically fell off the bone, and trembled slightly as she blew on the rising steam. She walked over to Er Ya, the little girl whose face she had pinched, who had fed the baby, and who had chewed on a biscuit.
Without saying anything more, he simply held the spoon to her lips.
Er Ya stared at the steaming, irresistibly tempting chunks of meat before her.
Then she looked at Ling Zhan's face, which was still expressionless but seemed to have lost some of its fierceness; his small face was full of hesitation and longing.
Ultimately, the instinctive craving for food overcame the lingering fear, and she opened her small mouth, taking a small, careful, and quick bite.
Hot! Fresh! Delicious!
The rich, piping hot meat juices burst in your mouth instantly!
Er Ya's eyes lit up instantly!
Like two stars suddenly lit up!
She swallowed the meat whole, her face burning red from the heat, and she gasped for breath. But she gave Ling Zhan a timid yet incredibly radiant smile, a smile that could melt ice and snow, and mumbled, with immense satisfaction, "..."
"Mother...Mother! It's so delicious! It smells so good!"
That sweet, childlike cry of "Mother!" was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples in the children's hearts.
The other children also turned to look at Ling Zhan.
Her eyes were filled with longing and a hint of cautious anticipation, yet she couldn't help glancing at the bubbling broth in the pot.
Ling Zhan's hand holding the spoon paused almost imperceptibly!
She shoved the spoon into Er Ya's hand, then walked to the pot, picked up another broken earthenware bowl with fewer chips, and began dividing the meat with unusually efficient movements, though not gentle. She scooped a large, trembling, oily piece of meat into each of the eager children's bowls, then poured a generous spoonful of thick, steaming hot broth over it.
"eat."
It is still just one word, but it is more powerful than any fancy words.
The children couldn't hold back any longer!
Holding the scalding hot, broken bowl, they didn't care about burning their hands or mouths. They eagerly grabbed chunks of meat and began to devour them, slurping up mouthfuls of the delicious, piping hot broth. For a moment, the open space in front of the thatched hut was filled only with the sounds of extremely satisfied swallowing and slurping, and the occasional gasp of someone burning themselves.
Their dirty little faces radiated a pure, almost overflowing happiness, dispelling the winter chill.
Shen Yan squatted by the fire, holding a heavy bowl of meat soup in his hands, with several solid pieces of meat bubbling inside.
He watched as the children wolfed down their food, their little faces finally regaining color, and his eyes uncontrollably welled up with tears.
He lowered his head and took a big gulp of soup.
Piping hot! Delicious!
The rich flavor slid down his throat like a warm current, instantly soothing his cold, stiff limbs and bones, seemingly easing the fatigue and fear of the past few days. He looked up, his gaze involuntarily falling on the woman standing by the pot, arms crossed, quietly watching the children eat.
The flickering firelight illuminated her profile, revealing lines that still appeared somewhat hard and cold, with her tightly pursed lips lacking any curve.
But for the first time, Shen Yan felt that the woman in front of him, who was like a demon and could fight a giant pig with her bare hands... her cold profile, in the warm firelight and the satisfying chewing sounds of the children, seemed... not so repulsive anymore?
There was even... a strange sense of... security?
Ling Zhan's gaze slowly swept over the "little potatoes" who were burying their heads in their food and eating with the focus of little animals.
In my mind, Zero's notification tone sounded calmly.
[Target group: Human juveniles. Vital signs: trending towards stability, dehydration alleviated, heart rate decreased. Energy intake: sufficient, with ample replenishment of protein and fat. Mood fluctuations: significant positive peak. Group stability and dependence significantly improved. Recommendation: Increase carbohydrate intake and supplement with green plants.]
Ling Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze passing over the children and landing on the half of the thatched hut where the roof, still shaky and barely covered by thatch and vines, lay swaying precariously. The children's satisfied chewing sounds, the crackling of the fire, and the bubbling of the broth in the pot mingled together, and through the cracks in the roof, it seemed as if warm spots of light were filtering through.
"If you don't discipline them for a day, they'll climb onto the roof and tear off the tiles."
She suddenly murmured to herself, her voice not loud, but clearly reaching Shen Yan's ears.
Shen Yan spat out the large mouthful of scalding hot broth he had just drunk! Choking, he turned red in the face and looked at Ling Zhan in utter terror, his voice trembling: "Wife! You mustn't! This is just... just starting to look like a home! The children are still eating! The roof... the roof doesn't deserve this!"
Ling Zhan glanced at him but didn't say anything.
He simply walked straight to the main beam that supported half of the roof and looked the thickest.
She stretched out her finger, long and slender with distinct knuckles, and seemingly casually flicked it at a key stress-bearing mortise and tenon joint marked on the zero mark.
"Click." A barely perceptible yet exceptionally clear sound.
The roof, barely supported by thatch and branches, swayed, sending down wisps of dust, but ultimately... it didn't collapse.
"Keep it for now."
Ling Zhan withdrew his hand, as if he were merely dusting off a bit of dust.
She walked back to the pot, ladled herself a large bowl of thick, white broth, scooped up a large piece of fatty wild boar meat with skin on, and began to tear into it over the roaring campfire. Her movements were swift and decisive, carrying a primal, powerful, and wild beauty.
The thatched hut remained dilapidated, and the mountain winds still howled and wailed all around.
But the campfire burning beside the rubble, the pot of broth bubbling and releasing a comforting aroma, the children's satisfied sighs as they swallowed, and the warm, comforting atmosphere of everyday life in the air...
All of this constitutes the warmest and most reassuring scene in Kaoshan Village on this chilly morning.
Shen Yan looked at the roof that Ling Zhan had "temporarily" saved with a flick of his finger, then at the woman who was eating meat with gusto and whose murderous aura seemed to have been somewhat diluted by the aroma of cooking, and then at the children beside her who were wolfing down their food and whose faces were finally bright with joy. The tension that had been building for so long finally relaxed completely.
He let out a long, deep sigh of relief.
As if to expel all the pent-up frustration in his chest, he lowered his head and took a big bite of the fragrant wild boar meat in the bowl.
This meal... it was literally saved from the teeth of the Queen of Hell!
It smells delicious! It smells so good!
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