Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Fried Meat and Stir-Fried Wild Greens

“Chang Xia, can you also teach the tribe how to make vine shoes?” Gen asked.

The three of them walked into the animal den, and Gen couldn’t wait to ask about the vine shoes. He was holding a pair he’d woven himself for Mu Qin.

Chang Xia washed her face with a piece of animal hide dipped in water.

“Of course,” she replied. “Besides weaving with thin vines, you can also use thatch or reeds. Compared to vines, shoes made from thatch or reeds should be softer.”

“Great, I’ll try it later,” Gen clapped his hands, delighted.

“Chang Xia, what did you have for breakfast? It smells amazing,” Nan Feng said as she started a fire and added water to the clay pot on the stove. Suddenly catching a delicious scent, she sniffed the air and asked Chang Xia.

Gen turned to look at Nan Feng.

Actually, he’d smelled it even before Nan Feng did.

It was a wonderful aroma, completely different from roasted or stewed meat. It had that irresistible, smoky scent of fat dripping onto flames.

“This morning, Chen Rong made roasted meat,” Chang Xia said.

After a moment, as if remembering something, she finished washing her face, hung the animal hide to dry, and pointed to a clay jar in the corner of the den. “Yesterday, you brought over half a side of meat. I was worried we wouldn’t finish it before it spoiled. After you left, I had Chen Rong cut it up and fry it in oil. Go take a look—see if that’s the smell you noticed.”

Gen knew that Nan Feng had brought over half a side of meat the day before.

That prey had been hunted by Nan Feng alone, and Gen had guessed she’d bring it to Chang Xia, since her family didn’t lack meat.

Actually, if Nan Feng hadn’t brought the meat over yesterday, someone else from the tribe probably would have.

Chang Xia had grown up in the tribe, and no one wanted her to go hungry. Since Nan Feng took the initiative, the others hadn’t come.

“Yes, that’s it!” Nan Feng lifted the lid and inhaled the aroma of the fried meat, exclaiming excitedly, “Chang Xia, how did you make this fried meat?”

“Cut the meat into pieces, render the fat first, then fry the meat in the oil. Don’t over-fry it—half-cooked is just right. Once the oil cools, pour the meat and oil into a clay jar to store. When you want to eat it, just take some out and slice it up,” Chang Xia explained, scooping out a few pieces of fried meat into a bowl.

“For lunch, I’ll make stir-fried wild greens with fried meat for you.”

“Chief, fried meat can be stored for a long time. This isn’t the right season for making cured meat, so fried meat is a great alternative.”

Cured meat was best made in the coldest months, when the weather was cold enough to dry and preserve the meat after salting. Of course, smoked meat was a bit different, but it didn’t taste as good as naturally air-dried cured meat, and the texture wasn’t as nice either.

“Changxia, wait a moment—”

Gen, listening to Changxia’s long-winded explanation, quickly reached out to stop her.

Nanfeng had also picked up on the subtle shift in meaning. She stayed quiet, calmly took the wooden bowl from Changxia, and handed it to Gen.

Gen accepted the bowl and looked intently at the fried meat inside.

His serious face gradually lit up with joy and a hint of complexity. He wasn’t blind—he naturally understood the significance of fried meat.

“Changxia, you did a great job.” Gen gave Changxia a hearty pat on the shoulder. The appearance of fried meat meant the tribe now had a way to preserve meat during the warm season. In fact, Gen was even more excited about fried meat than about the fish balls.

The beastfolk lived on meat, and while fish was technically meat, it could never truly replace other kinds.

Fried meat gave Gen hope for a brighter future.

With fried meat, and the cured meat Changxia had mentioned, the tribe would never have to worry about having enough to eat. The warm season brought abundant game—if the tribe could store enough fried and cured meat, they wouldn’t have to scrimp and save during the cold season anymore.

Gen pressed Changxia down to sit and rest.

If anything needed doing, he had Nanfeng handle it. He asked Changxia to talk about fried and cured meat, and while they were at it, they chatted about building a kiln.

When Chenrong returned carrying a basket, he saw Changxia sitting and eating wild fruit.

Inside the beast den, Gen and Nanfeng were busy—one washing wild vegetables, the other slicing fried meat. The wild vegetables had been cleaned by Muqin and carried over by Gen and his daughter.

“Changxia—” Chenrong called out.

Changxia stood up, grabbed a clean cutting board, and walked over.

The beast den was small and crowded, so she planned to have Chenrong chop the fish outside.

Gen put the washed wild vegetables in a vine basket to drain and walked over to Chenrong. He peeked into the basket at the fish and shrimp.

“Changxia, can we eat these too?” Gen asked curiously.

He picked up a river prawn and glanced at the river crabs beside it. There were plenty of these little creatures in the White River, but even the beast cubs in the tribe never bothered to catch them—they had a strong taste, could pinch, and most importantly, had little meat.

“Chief, both river prawns and river crabs are edible,” Changxia replied.

Nanfeng reached out, staring at the prawn in Gen’s hand and swallowing hungrily. “Afu, river prawns are delicious.”

She hadn’t tried river crabs yet.

But seeing the happy look on Changxia’s face, Nanfeng guessed that river crabs must be just as tasty as prawns.

“Chief, besides fish, shrimp, and crabs, there are also river mussels, snails, loaches, and so on—these are all edible,” Changxia said excitedly.

She’d seen plenty of little water holes by the lake before. Besides loaches, there might even be eels in those holes.

These little creatures might seem insignificant, but they tasted great.

Clearly, they needed to speed up collecting ginger, scallions, and garlic—the more seasonings they had, the more Changxia could show off her skills. At the same time, it would help the tribe enjoy better days sooner.

“Changxia, tell the tribe about all this. As for your kiln, the tribe will help you build it,” Gen said, not the type to take advantage of his own children. Before Changxia could say more, he waved his hand and made the promise.

With Changxia, their lucky star, in the tribe, Gen had a feeling that even if they didn’t go out hunting, the tribe’s location by the White River alone could feed everyone.

“Chief, is that really okay?” Changxia stared at Gen, a little dazed.

Nanfeng thought for a moment, then agreed with Gen’s proposal.

Changxia sharing all this with the tribe and getting their help to build the kiln—yes, that was a good deal.

Chenrong stayed silent, quietly chopping fish.

The kiln Changxia described was completely different from the beast dens, and Chenrong wasn’t sure they could build it. Now that the whole tribe would help, he felt relieved—and a little excited.

“Actually, I have my own selfish reasons,” Gen said to Changxia, looking a bit embarrassed.

Changxia thought for a moment and quickly guessed what Gen meant.

She’d just talked to Gen about the kiln—a building different from the beast dens, offering shelter from wind and rain, and even some protection from beast attacks.

Just from her description, Gen could see so many advantages.

“Chief, you mean the kiln, right?” Changxia smiled at Gen.

“Afu, you want to build a kiln?” Nanfeng was surprised.

Chenrong was even more perceptive—when Changxia first mentioned the kiln, he’d already realized she had bigger plans than just teaching people to make fish balls.

After all, the kiln had so many benefits, and with Changxia’s love for the tribe, she’d never keep it to herself.

“If the kiln is really as good as Changxia says, it’s clearly better than the beast dens. The warm season is safe enough, but in the cold season, the dens can be dangerous,” Gen explained seriously. The Heluo tribe was strong, so wild beasts rarely attacked, but you could never be too careful.

Besides, during the rainy season, the beast dens leaked, and in the cold season, there was always the risk of them being crushed by snow and ice…

“The tribe is used to living in beast dens—they might not want to build kilns,” Nanfeng said cautiously. It was like how birdfolk built nests and fishfolk lived in water—every species had its own way of life.

Gen smiled. “When did I say I’d make the tribe build kilns?”

“Then…” Nanfeng looked confused.

Changxia patted Nanfeng’s arm and said calmly, “The chief wants me to build the first kiln. Once the tribe sees how comfortable it is, they’ll want one too—no need for the chief to say a word.”