Fried Meat and Wild Vegetables

"Chang Xia, can rattan shoes be taught to the tribe?" Root asked.

The three of them walked into the lair and Root couldn't wait to ask about the rattan shoes. He was holding the woven pair he made for Mu Qin.

Chang Xia dipped the hide in water and washed her face.

"It can be done," Chang Xia said. "Vine shoes, in addition to being woven with a thin vine, can also be woven with thatch or reed or cattail. Compared to thin vine strips, straw shoes woven with thatch and reeds should be softer."

"Okay, I'll try again later." Root clapped, delighted.

"Chang Xia, what did you eat this morning? It smells so good." Nan Feng started a fire and refilled the pot on the stove. Suddenly, she smelled an alluring fragrance and immediately sniffed at Chang Xia.

Root turned toward Nan Feng.

Actually, he smelled it before Nan Feng.

It was very fragrant, and very different from the smell of roasted meat and stewed meat. It was like the charred smell of oil dripping onto flames. It was very appetizing.

"In the morning, Chen Rong made roasted meat," Chang-Sia said.

After a while, she seemed to remember something. She washed her face and hung the animal skin to dry. She pointed to the clay pot in the deep corner of the den and said, "You sent half a body of meat yesterday. I was worried that it would spoil if I didn't finish it. Last night, when you left, I asked Chen Rong to cut the meat into pieces and make fried meat. Go take a look and smell it. Is that the smell?"

Yesterday, Nan Feng had left the tribe with half a body of meat.

Root was in the know.

That prey was hunted by Nan Feng alone. Root guessed that Nan Feng would deliver the meat to Chang Xia. After all, his family did not lack meat.

Actually, if the Nan Feng hadn't sent meat over yesterday,the other tribesmen of the tribe would probably come too.

Chang Xia was raised by the tribe, and her clansmen could not bear for her to starve. Since Nan Feng took the initiative to bring the meat over, the other clansmen did not come.

"Yes, that's the smell." Nan Feng lifted the covered lid and inhaled the oily aroma of fried meat. "Chang Xia, how did you make this fried meat?"

"Cut the meat into pieces and pick out the fat to boil the oil first. Then put the meat in and fry it. Remember not to fry it too dry, stop when it is half-cooked. Finally, when the oil is cold, pour the oil and the fried meat into a clay pot and seal it. When you want to eat it, you can directly scoop it out and cut it up," Chang Xia said. She carried the bowl over and scooped out a few pieces of fried meat.

"At noon, I'll cook wild vegetables with fried meat for you."

"Fried meat lasts a long time, Chief. It's not suitable to make bacon at this time of year. Fried meat is a very good choice."

Bacon was suitable for making in the dead of winter.

At that time, the weather was cold. After the meat was marinated, it would dry naturally. Of course, if it was smoked meat, it would be different. However, smoked meat did not taste as fragrant as dried bacon, and the texture was not as good.

"Chang Xia, wait—"

Root listened, then quickly put out a hand to stop Chang Xia's tirade.

Nan Feng also heard the difference. Without a word, he quietly took the wooden bowl from Chang Xia and handed it to Root.

Root took the bowl and looked hard at the fried meat.

Little by little his stern face colored with joy and complexity. He was not blind. Naturally he understood the significance of fried meat.

"Chang Xia, you're doing great." Root slapped Chang Xia's shoulder several times. The appearance of deep-fried meat gave the tribe a way to preserve meat during the warm season. It was fair to say that deep-fried meat excited Root more than fishballs.

The beasts ate meat, and it was true that fish meat was also meat.

However, fish could not replace other meat.

The fried meat gave Root hope.

With fried meat and the cured meat that Chang Xia mentioned, the tribe would no longer have to worry about eating meat in the future. There was plenty of prey in the warm season. If the tribe could store enough fried meat, cured meat, and so on in the warm season, they would no longer have to scrimp and save in the cold season.

Root pressed Chang Xia to sit and rest.

Whatever he wanted to do, he would let Nan Feng do it. He asked Chang Xia to talk about fried meat and cured meat, and also about the house cave she was building.

When Chen Rong returned with the back basket, he saw Zhang Xia sitting and eating wild fruits.

In the beast lair, Root and Nan Feng were washing wild vegetables and cutting fried meat. The wild vegetables were cleaned up by Mu Qin and carried over by Root and his daughter.

"Chang Xia—" Chen-Rong called.

Chang Xia stood up and went over with a clean cutting board.

The beast lair was not big, and there were too many people to move around easily. She planned to let Chen Rong chop fish outside.

Root carried the clean wild vegetables in a rattan basket and walked towards Chen Rong. He stuck his head out and looked at the fish and prawns in the basket.

"Chang Xia, can these be eaten?" Root asked curiously.

Reaching for a river shrimp, he swept his eyes over the river crabs beside him. There were plenty of them in the White River. The tribe wouldn't even catch these small creatures. They had a strong smell and pincers. Most of all, they had less meat.

"Chief, these river prawns and crabs are edible," Chang Xia said.

Nan Feng reached out and stared at the river shrimp in Root's hand. She swallowed and said, "Father, the river shrimp is delicious."

River crabs. She hadn't eaten them yet.

However, Chang Xia looked happy.

Nan Feng guessed that river crabs must be as delicious as river prawns.

"Patriarch, other than fish, shrimp, and crabs in the river, animals such as river clams, river snails, loaches, and so on are all edible," Chang Xia said excitedly.

She had seen many small water holes by the lake earlier.

In addition to loaches, there might be eels in the hole.

These unassuming little creatures all tasted good.

Indeed, it was time to speed up the collection of ginger, onion, and garlic. The more complete the ingredients were, the more Chang Xia would be able to show off. At the same time, it would also allow the tribesmen to have a good life earlier.

"Tell this to the tribe, Chang Xia. The tribe will help you build your house cave." Root wasn't the kind of man who took advantage of his children, and didn't wait for Chang Xia to elaborate. With a wave of his hand, he made a promise.

They had precious Chang Xia in the tribe.

Root had a feeling that even if the tribe didn't go out hunting, considering the geography of the tribe, White River was enough to feed all his people.

"Is that all right, Chief?" Chang Xia asked, staring stupidly at Root for a moment.

Nan Feng considered.

After a moment, she agreed with Root's suggestion.

Chang Xia handed these things to the tribe and asked them to help build the house cave. This was indeed a good deal.

Chen Rong said nothing and cut the fish quietly.

The house cave Chang Xia had described was completely different from the beast's lair, and Chen Rong could not guarantee that it would be built. Now, with the tribe joining in, he was indeed relieved.

At the same time, he felt a faint sense of anticipation.

"Actually, I have selfish motives." Root looked at Chang Xia with a slightly embarrassed expression.

Chang Xia thought about it.

Quickly, she guessed Root's "selfishness."

She'd just talked to Root about the house cave. A building that was different from a beast lair. It offered shelter from the beasts and some protection against beast attacks.

He could identify too many benefits from Chang Xia's description.

"Chief, you're referring to the house cave right?" Chang Xia smiled, gazing at Root.

"Father, you want to build a house cave?" Nan Feng was slightly surprised.

Chen Rong's senses were sharper than Nan Feng's. When Chang Xia had told him about the house cave, he knew what she was planning. She probably had a deeper agenda than teaching her people to make fish balls.

After all, there were too many benefits of the house cave and Chang Xia had a great fondness for the tribe.

She couldn't possibly hide it and keep it to herself.

"As Chang Xia said, it's obviously better than the beast's lair. The tribe is safe during the warm season, but there are still certain dangers in the beast's lair during the cold season," Root said seriously. The Heluo tribe was powerful, and few beasts dared to attack them.

However, nothing was certain.

Besides, there was a lot of rain during the rainy season, and it was easy for the beast lair to leak. In addition to worrying about the sneak attack of wild beasts during the cold season, they were also afraid that the beast lairs would be covered in snow and collapse…

"The tribesmen are used to living in beast lairs… they might not be willing to build a house cave," Nan Feng said cautiously. It was the same logic as birds being used to nesting and fish living in water.

Everything had its own set of rules.

Root smiled and said, "When did I say I wanted my people to build the house cave?"

"Then…" Nan Feng looked confused.

Chang Xia patted Nan Feng's arm and said calmly, "The Patriarch wants me to build the house cave first. When clansmen feel that living in the house cave is comfortable, they will naturally ask about it without the Patriarch saying anything."