Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Spicy Boiled Fish

At noon, the sun blazed overhead.

Elder Ximu sprinkled medicinal powder and cleaned up the poisonous blood Chen Rong had coughed up.

“Changxia, I’m really fine now,” Chen Rong kept assuring everyone, but none of the orcs believed him. So he had no choice but to keep lying down, watching the others bustle around.

He knew what this meant.

Word of his weakness would soon spread throughout the entire Heluo tribe—from the elders down to the youngest cubs.

Oh no!

Chen Rong couldn’t bear to imagine what life would be like in the tribe after this.

Outside the den, six stoves had been set up.

Smooth stone pots, freshly washed, sat atop the stoves. Marinated meat was tossed into the oiled pots, and soon the mouthwatering aroma of sizzling meat filled the air.

Muqin wielded a spatula, eyes fixed on the double-handled stone pot in front of her, and called to Gen, “Gen, when you have a moment, go to the rocky beach. Changxia says stone pots are best for frying and stewing meat. We’re short one at home—bring back a few stones and make some more.”

She wanted Gen to bring back extra stones for the same reason Changxia had asked Yadong for rosewood: to make a stone pot for the witch as a gift. Changxia was giving furniture, so she’d give a stone pot.

“I’ll head to the rocky beach this afternoon,” Gen replied.

After decades together, Gen knew exactly what Muqin was thinking and agreed without hesitation.

“Changxia, where should I put the rosewood?” Yadong called out. While Changxia and the others were busy frying meat, Yadong and Shankun had gone back to the tribe to fetch Yadong’s stash of rosewood. With them was Nuanchun, her belly already showing.

She carried a basket on her back, following behind Shankun and Yadong at a leisurely pace.

Nan Feng spotted Nuanchun from afar and hurried over to take her basket.

“Find a shady spot—don’t let it sit in the sun,” Changxia replied.

“Got it!” Yadong hefted the rosewood and dropped it in the shade behind the den. The ground shook with the impact.

Changxia didn’t know much about wood, but seeing the beautiful grain on the cross-section of the rosewood put her in a great mood.

“Nuanchun, come sit down.”

After admiring the wood, Changxia waved Nuanchun over to sit.

Nuanchun pointed to the basket Nan Feng had taken and smiled. “I brought you some yellow-skinned root tubers. I’ve cooked them with meat before—they turn out soft and delicious. I thought… you might like them.”

"Certainly! Here’s your Chinese text translated into fluent, natural English:

"Really."Changxia walked over happily and took out the yellow-skinned root from her basket. Looking closely, oh wow! The so-called yellow-skinned root was actually Chinese yam. Excited, Changxia exclaimed, "Nuanchun, this yellow-skinned root is yam! Where did you find it?"The females of the tribe went out every day to forage and gather food.

Wild greens like shepherd’s purse, cabbage, and leafy vegetables were all simply called wild vegetables. Things like turnips were referred to as root vegetables.

When cooking meat, they’d throw in wild greens and root vegetables together.

That taste—Changxia had tried it once, and it made her scalp tingle.

But her body used to be so weak that she couldn’t eat much, so she had to force herself to eat it. Otherwise, she could only drink thin rice porridge.

Changxia had voiced her opinions—

But as a sickly child who’d spent years bedridden, she had no say in the matter.

Once an adult root decided to form a pair, they could live independently.

Changxia thought it over for a moment and agreed right away.

Pairing up was scary, but compared to the daily food, Changxia felt maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

So, she cheerfully followed Gen and the tribe to the Normandy Grand Market.

"Yam—now that’s a much nicer name than yellow-skinned root,"Nuanchun said, rubbing her belly and leaning back a little. "I dug it up at the edge of the wasteland by the pine trees near the shrub forest."Changxia, is yam tasty?"Nan Feng asked cheerfully.

Changxia nodded and replied, "Yam stewed with meat, yam in hotpot, stir-fried yam—no matter how you cook it, yam tastes great. For some of the older folks in the tribe who aren’t in good health, eating yam is good for them. And for people like me and Chenrong, eating more yam is also beneficial."After this explanation—

Not only were the foodies like Nan Feng tempted, even Gen and Muqin wished they could rush to the shrub forest’s wasteland right away.

"Nuanchun, are there a lot of yams growing in that wasteland by the shrub forest?"Muqin asked eagerly.

Nuanchun thought for a moment and replied, "Quite a lot. Last cold season, I accidentally dug up some yellow-skinned roots, which turned out to be yams. This warm season, I went back and dug up some more."Great, great!"Muqin was thrilled.

Gen nodded at Nuanchun and said, "Tomorrow, I’ll tell the foraging team to go dig up yams in the shrub forest."Chief, the best time to harvest yams is usually the cold season,"Changxia said. Yams are generally dug up in November or December, but since the Twilight Forest was different from Earth, she wasn’t entirely sure.

"Changxia, you can harvest them now too. The yams in my basket were dug up just a couple of days ago, and they’re soft and delicious,"Nuanchun said.

Changxia picked up a yam and examined it.

Nuanchun was right—the yam hadn’t sprouted, and there were no bulbils on the stem. Changxia suddenly thought of the ginkgo nuts available year-round and lost interest in overthinking it.

"Let’s stew some yam with meat for lunch and give it a try,"Changxia decided cheerfully, adding another dish to the midday meal. Chenrong had been coughing up so much blood lately, he needed some nourishment. The tribe’s resources were limited, but she could at least manage yam stew with meat.

Everyone agreed enthusiastically.

When they heard there’d be something tasty for lunch, Muqin and Nan Feng took over the task of frying meat in oil, letting Changxia focus on preparing the meal.

Nuanchun, rubbing her belly, followed Changxia around, saying she wanted to learn from her. Whether to teach the tribe or cook at home, it was a useful skill.

Changxia didn’t stop Nuanchun from helping.

She sent Nan Feng to the lakeshore to fetch fish and shrimp, while she and Nuanchun sorted through the food brought by the tribe. She set aside some meat and used the rest for fried meat.

Wild greens and roots—

These were what Changxia was most eager to find.

Sure enough, she soon found some treasures.

Chili peppers—Changxia found a fist-sized lantern pepper. As soon as she picked it up, a spicy aroma hit her, and she grinned with delight.

Having eaten vegetarian food for so long, for Changxia, who grew up in southern Hunan, this was almost inhuman.

After finding chili peppers, she quickly found Sichuan peppercorns and cinnamon—great for adding flavor. Among the wild greens, she found cabbage and radish, which didn’t surprise her since she’d eaten them before. The only difference was that the cabbage and radishes in the Twilight Forest were twice as big as the ones she’d seen before.

"What’s that smell? It’s so pungent!"Nuanchun covered her mouth and nose, taking two steps back in surprise. "This is even stronger than ginger or garlic—Changxia, are you sure it’s edible?"She vaguely remembered seeing the shaman use it as medicine.

As for the taste, just thinking about it made Nuanchun shudder.

"Chili peppers—they’re spicy. The ones next to them are Sichuan peppercorns and cinnamon, all great for cooking,"Changxia said excitedly, praising the tribe—clearly, someone here liked to stock up just like she did.

She was just surprised to find fresh chili peppers at this time of year.

The Sichuan peppercorns and such were dried, probably gathered and stored by someone earlier.

The cabbage and radishes were wilted, obviously harvested and stored from last cold season. In comparison, fresh wild greens tasted better this time of year.

But Changxia didn’t mind at all.

The more food, the better.

Once the kiln was built, she definitely wanted to dig a few more cellars.

That way—

She could take even better care of Chenrong.

It’d be such a shame if such a handsome male died. When the shaman came by, she’d definitely ask for a checkup for Chenrong. Before she figured out her half-baked “powers,” Changxia didn’t dare act rashly.

A handsome male was like a beautiful vase.

Just having him around to look at was enough to lift her spirits!

In the distance, everyone listening to Changxia’s explanations broke into smiles. Although they were curious how she knew all this, no one actually asked.

"Changxia, are we having fish balls for lunch?"Nan Feng asked.

Changxia shook her head, waving the chili peppers and peppercorns in her hand. "No, we’re having spicy boiled fish for lunch!"She couldn’t help but swallow at the thought.

Spicy, fragrant boiled fish, soft and delicious yam stew, fried meat with wild greens. Maybe Muqin and Amu could help with some grilled meat, and the fish and shrimp could be simply boiled or steamed.

---"

Very quickly, Changxia had already decided on the lunch menu in her mind.