parentshiftbook Chapter 77 We Want to Eat Too
Chapter 77 We Want to Eat Too
Outside the wooden house, the sun shone brightly and a gentle breeze blew.
Cai Xuan lay on the rocking chair, swaying leisurely, a cup of tea in his hand, his eyes half-closed, looking completely relaxed. The rocking chair made a rhythmic creaking sound, which mingled with the distant birdsong, making one feel drowsy.
He was very busy today.
After making the raincoats, I heated the wine made from the residue left over from making starch from the Nine Oxen Divine Potatoes, filtered it again, and carefully poured it into a clean wine jar, which I then buried underground. I just waited for it to slowly lose its harshness and become more mellow.
As for wine made from wild fruits, there's no such requirement.
After filtering, he placed it in a corner on the first floor, intending to drink it when he had time. He had to admit, the wild fruit wine was indeed delicious, with a rich fruity aroma and a sweet taste; even he couldn't resist taking a few more sips.
Besides filtering the wine, he also went to collect herbs.
The beast treasure he obtained from the Azure Scale Serpent King would turn to stone if he didn't use it soon. Unfortunately, there was one medicine he couldn't find before, so today he specially dug out the "Records of Mysterious Wilderness Medicines" and followed the records to find it. Finally, he found the medicine deep in the stream.
Its roots and stems are thick and robust, and its leaves are fleshy, just as described in the book.
At this moment, a pot of beast treasure soup was ready and was warming on the stove. The rich aroma wafted from the kitchen, making people swallow hard. Cai Xuan rocked in his rocking chair, glancing down the mountain every now and then.
Why haven't those kids come back yet, they've been gone since this morning?
"Brother—we're back!"
From afar, Xi'er's signature loud voice could be heard coming from the mountain path, her voice full of energy, making the birds in the trees flutter and take flight. Cai Xuan stood up from his rocking chair and looked down the mountain.
Before long, several little ones came into view.
Each of them led their prey with brisk steps and radiant spirits.
Xi'er walked in front, pulling a gigantic tiger-dragon; Yun'er followed behind her, using vines to tie tree branches and dragging a primitive man dressed in animal skins; Shu'er, Xin'er, Xuan'er, and Ling'er each pulled a wild ox. The wild oxen had horns curved like crescent moons, their bodies covered in dark brown short hair, and were enormous, yet they pulled them along with ease.
The primitive man who was being dragged by Yun'er didn't know what was going on. He lay motionless on the makeshift drag frame made of tree branches.
Cai Xuan was stunned. It was one thing to bring back prey, but why did they bring back a person as well?
Xi'er dragged the tiger dragon back, threw it on the open ground in front of the first floor, and ran away; Shu'er, Xin'er, and Ling'er put down the wild ox, didn't even drink a sip of water, and then drew the short knife from their waists and began to skin the ox; Yun'er put the simple frame that was dragging the primitive man aside and also helped.
"Brother, look what this is?"
Xuan'er ran to the second-floor platform and eagerly took out the lamp to show Cai Xuan. Her bright eyes looked at him with anticipation.
Cai Xuan took the lamp and examined it closely. The lamp was simple and unadorned, neither pottery nor iron, about the length of two palms, and dark brown in color. It felt heavy in his hand and exuded a warm and gentle aura.
Cai Xuan examined it for a moment and said, "It should be a lamp. Let's light it tonight and see. It's perfect timing since your room doesn't have a lamp yet. We can put some oil in it, add a wick, and put it in your room for lighting."
"Um!"
Xuan'er happily put it away, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. She knew her brother would definitely recognize what it was.
At this moment, Cai Xuancai saw Shu'er and the others processing the game they had brought back with knives. Yun'er squatted next to the wild ox, deftly slicing its belly with a short knife; Shu'er and Xin'er also helped skin and butcher the animal; Ling'er and Xuan'er, who had run down, built a fire nearby and smoked the meat on it, just like Cai Xuancai had done.
The group had a clear division of labor, each fulfilling their duties and cooperating seamlessly, as if they had done this many times before, but in reality, today was just the beginning.
Cai Xuan watched for a while and noticed that although their techniques were still somewhat immature, they went from clumsy to skilled in the blink of an eye. Seeing their focused and busy little figures, he raised an eyebrow. It seemed he could finally relax; they really were his sweet little helpers!
He had initially intended to help skin them, but seeing how efficiently they were doing it, he realized he would only make things worse, so he abandoned the idea and instead walked towards the savage lying on the crate. The savage appeared to be a woman, tanned dark by the sun, and for some reason, she lay motionless on it.
Cai Xuan thought she was dead, so he reached out and checked her nose; she was still breathing.
"Yun'er, where did you bring this person back from?"
"Over there by the lake," Yun'er replied while cutting meat. "When we got there, we saw her lying by the water, so we brought her back."
It seems she doesn't know where this savage came from either. Oh well, let's leave him here for now and deal with him when he wakes up. Turning her head, she saw Xi'er running down from above, cutting open the tiger-dragon's belly with a knife, and reaching inside to take something out.
"What are you taking out?" Cai Xuan asked as he walked over.
"There's a treasure, it should be a beast treasure," Xi'er replied, continuing to search.
A moment later, he pulled out a beast treasure as red as jade. Cai Xuan took it and looked at it in the sunlight. It was crystal clear, with a jelly-like texture, and there was a faint flow of air inside.
This is really good stuff!
It's a pity that it can't be preserved for too long; it would be great if it could be preserved for a longer period of time.
Looks like I need to find something to eat, lest I turn into stone.
He put away the beast treasure and asked Shu'er, "Third Sister, where did you get the wild ox from?"
"The grassland where we dug up chalk last time has lots of antelope and wild buffalo over there," Shu'er said without turning her head.
Looking at the bright red meat cut from the wild ox and smelling the faint fragrance emanating from it, Cai Xuan was immediately tempted by the beef hot pot he had eaten before coming here. He reached out and grabbed a basket of wild ox meat, saying, "Take your time, I'll go slice it first and make you beef hot pot."
"Yay!" the little ones cheered in unison, and they worked even faster.
Back in the kitchen, Cai Xuan took the warm beast soup from the stove, poured it into a large pot, added some Nine Oxen Divine Power potato chips, seasoned it, placed it on the stove outside, lit the fire, and let it simmer slowly. He then turned back to the kitchen to cut meat.
Before long, the soup base made from the beast's treasure began to bubble and boil.
The thick, white broth steamed, releasing a rich and savory aroma that filled the entire wooden cabin.
The little ones smelled the aroma and their hands moved even faster. With swift strokes of their knives, the tiger-dragon and the wild ox were cleaned thoroughly. Just as they finished processing the tiger-dragon and the wild ox, Cai Xuan had also finished slicing the tender wild ox meat.
Thin slices of meat are placed in a bowl, their red and white colors contrasting beautifully with their distinct textures, making them incredibly appetizing just to look at.
The little ones buried the remaining tiger-dragon and wild ox entrails, along with all the useless debris, under the giant golden gourd vine as fertilizer, and then couldn't wait to wash their hands. One by one, they rushed into the kitchen, some grabbing bowls, others chopsticks, and sat around the hot pot, their eyes fixed on the bubbling broth, their mouths practically watering.
Cai Xuan came out carrying sliced meat and freshly picked purple sweet potato leaves, but hadn't placed them on the table yet.
The little ones couldn't wait to reach out with their chopsticks, pick up thin slices of beef, and dip them into the boiling broth.
The slices of meat rolled in the soup, turning from red to white, curling up and releasing the rich aroma of the broth. They quickly picked them out, blew on them, and popped them into their mouths.
"Wow, this is delicious!"
"It's sweet."
"It's super delicious."
The little ones praised it eagerly, their mouths stuffed full, but their chopsticks never stopped, and the bowl of meat was gone in the blink of an eye.
"Sister, sister, we want to eat too!" The seventh and eighth little golden pumpkins hanging on the wooden frame shook their bodies anxiously when they saw them.
"What you eat up there, we'll talk about after you're born," Xi'er said slowly, taking another bite of meat with her chopsticks and stuffing it into her mouth.
"Big sister, we want to be born too! We want to come out and eat hot pot too!" The seventh and eighth little golden gourds shouted in unison, their bodies shaking even more violently, and even the vines trembled along with them.
"What have you been born into? Have all your magical treasures and supernatural powers been brought to fruition?"
Xi'er put down her chopsticks, put her hands on her hips, looked up at them, and acted like a big sister.
"We're out, big sister! We've been out for a while!" the two little golden gourds said hurriedly, their tone full of self-satisfaction.
"That won't do!" Xi'er waved her hand dismissively. "Cultivate properly for a while before coming out. Make sure your foundation is solid. Look at Sixth Sister, she cultivated for so long before coming out! Look how powerful she is now!"
The seventh and eighth little golden gourds were rendered speechless by their eldest sister's words and obediently hung on the vine, no longer daring to cause trouble.
Xi'er gave a smug hum and buried her head in the hot pot to continue cooking the meat.
Several little ones gathered around the hot pot, each taking a bite with their chopsticks, eating with great enthusiasm and joy. The broth bubbled and steamed, the aroma of meat mingling with their laughter, lingering in the wooden cabin.