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Translator: Silavin
Yan Hua caught up to Su Bai carrying two pheasants and said in a clear voice, “Let me handle them. We’ll dry any leftovers into jerky.”
“No need, just leave me one pheasant. You can have the rest.” Su Bai handed over the rest.
“For me?” Yan Hua was stunned.
“Yes. In return, could you get me some seasonings?” Su Bai was really hungry.
“Seasonings? Sure, I’ll go get some for you.”
Yan Hua furrowed her brows. She looked down at the pheasants and rabbits in her hands before turning around and quickly running off.
“Hey!” Su Bai called out as he watched her run off. He opened his mouth and sighed, “You didn’t tell me where the kitchen is….”
Helpless, he could only bring the pheasant back to the Teepee.
The sun was already setting in the west, the Teepee was dim and he could only fumble in the dark to look for a knife.
“Better light a fire first.” After searching for a while, the sun completely disappeared and the Teepee was pitch black. He had no choice but to give up looking for a knife.
He lifted the door flap and saw bonfires everywhere in the Tribe, many figures busily moving about, with the air permeating with the aroma of roasted meat.
[Wouldn’t it be better to just borrow a fire and a knife from them instead of foolishly searching everywhere?] Su Bai facepalmed and shook his head with a wry smile, [Looks like I need to change my lifestyle and quickly adapt to living here.]
He was used to living independently on Earth and rarely sought help from others, so his mind hadn’t processed this new life.
Su Bai went over to a bonfire and saw a group of people busy at work, using stone knives to process the wild game. Some people even threw unplucked pheasants directly into the fire to roast.
This scene had a huge impact on him. It was wild, rough and direct, vividly displaying how primitive they were.
[Do they only roast the meat?] Su Bai scanned around and only saw roasting, no sign of anything boiled.
Just as he was about to take a closer look, the 1.6 metre tall bull-horned girl appeared, carrying a basin-sized stone pot.
“What’s this?” Su Bai was surprised by Yan Hua’s strength. He peered into the stone pot and saw the prepared whole pheasants and rabbits quietly lying inside.
“This stone pot belongs to the Shaman. He told me to bring it to you,” Yan Hua said with pursed lips.
“For me?” Su Bai asked in surprise.
“The Shaman said that this thing would be given to you sooner or later, so giving it ti you now is the same,” Yan Hua said with a gloomy expression.
“Alright then.” Su Bai didn’t refuse.
“You go back to your tent. I’ll cook it and bring it to you,” Yan Hua said in a clear voice as she carried the stone pot towards the bonfire.
“…” Su Bai paused for a moment but followed behind the bull-horned girl and sat by the bonfire watching her bustle about.
Yan Hua put the stone pot in the centre of the bonfire, then got up and ran off. After a short while, she returned carrying a wooden bucket and poured some water into the pot.
Nothing else happened. Yan Hua just obediently sat by the bonfire, blankly staring at the stone pot in the flames without any intention of doing anything else.
“Um, what about the seasonings?” Su Bai probed.
As a reclusive orphan author, he was skilled in all manner of household chores, which included cooking. He naturally knew how to stew chickens and rabbits.
“Here.” Yan Hua glanced around and carefully took out a finger-length wooden stick, or rather, wooden tube, from her leather skirt pocket. It was plugged with a wooden stopper.
“What’s this?” Su Bai asked curiously.
“Salt,” Yan Hua lowered her voice.
“Salt?” Su Bai had a sudden realisation. In this primitive society, salt was precious, unlike on Earth where one could buy a pack for two yuan at the supermarket.
“Take it.” Yan Hua reluctantly handed over the salt, her red eyes stealing a couple glances.
“This salt wouldn’t happen to be yours, would it?” Su Bai frowned and asked.
“The Tribe is already out of salt. Totem Warriors can’t be without salt. I can eat a bit less salt for now, it’s fine.” Yan Hua’s voice was a bit low.
As an author, Su Bai had to look up a lot of information and had researched the importance of salt. However, that was not for primitive societies. He initially thought everyone treated salt as seasoning.
He now felt bad accepting it, after all it was the bull-horned girl’s cherished stash.
“You keep it. We won’t use salt today.” Su Bai handed the salt back.
“You don’t want it?” Yan Hua was stunned. Salt was in high demand, even Totem Warriors treasured it.
“I don’t want it.” Su Bai shook his head and asked, “Where do you get your salt from?”
“The Hunting Team trades for it from other Tribes.” Yan Hua tightly clutched the wooden tube and said in a clear voice, “Every fifteen days, the Spotted Deer Tribe hosts a market. Every surrounding Tribe would go there to barter.”
“How long until the next market?” Su Bai’s eyes lit up, thinking he could go take a look. Maybe he could find some familiar things.
“Ten more days,” Yan Hua answered.
*Gurgle gurgle…* The water in the stone pot came to a boil and started bubbling.
“Wild game without seasonings is going to taste bad.” Su Bai muttered to himself, eyes locked on the pheasants and rabbits rolling in the pot. Still, with his stomach about to ‘rebel’, if he didn’t fill it with something soon, he was going to faint from hunger.
“It should be ready to eat.” Yan Hua pulled out a palm-sized stone knife from her waist and gripped it with her small hand, preparing to stab the pheasants and rabbits in the pot.
“Let it simmer a bit longer.” Su Bai quickly stopped her. [It just started boiling and she wants to eat already? You’re too impatient.]
“It’s not ready yet?” Yan Hua turned her head and asked in confusion.
“Is this your first time cooking meat?” Su Bai had an ominous feeling.
“Yeah, my mother always cooked it before.” Yan Hua said matter-of-factly.
“…” The corner of Su Bai’s mouth twitched. [It’s her first time cooking meat and she’s this confident? Isn’t meat supposed to be precious?]
“This is how my mother cooks it. I can’t be wrong.” Yan Hua pouted.
“Let it cook for a while longer. The insides of the meat aren’t done yet.” Su Bai despaired. [It’s so hard to eat a meal here! With no seasonings, I don’t know where to begin!]
Just like that, the two casually chatted. Over half an hour passed. During that time, Su Bai stopped the bull-horned girl seven times from trying to fish out the meat to eat.
“Okay, it’s ready to eat now.” Su Bai poked the pheasants and rabbits with the stone knife and found the meat could be easily pierced through.
“You eat first.” Yan Hua was being polite now.
“Alright.” Su Bai was starving. He cut off a chicken leg with the stone knife and skewered it on a prepared wooden stick. He handed the stone knife to the bull-horned girl before sitting down to eat the chicken leg.
*Hoo hoo…* He blew on it, then impatiently took a bite. A light gamey flavour hit his taste buds, accompanied by the aroma and sweetness of the chicken.
“How is it? Is it good?” Yan Hua squatted nervously beside him, red eyes staring at the chicken leg in Su Bai’s hand.
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