The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 66

Chapter 66

After bleeding and plucking, the turkey was opened up and its internal organs were removed. The cleaned turkey was chopped into pieces and quickly carried by several beastmen to the fire, and was specially placed in front of Hua Shi’an.

After a whole day of hard work, Hua Shi’an was so tired he could barely lift his arms. But this was the first time that Hua Shi’an, who considered himself well-informed, had seen a turkey almost as big as an ostrich. He was extremely curious.

What did a turkey with claws bigger than a human hand, a neck as thick as a child’s arm, and enough internal organs to fill a winnowing basket taste like? Curiosity dispelled his fatigue. Hua Shi’an washed his hands and got busy by the fire pit.

The turkey was too big to fit in one pot. Fortunately, before the hunting team returned, dinner was almost ready. He only needed to cook half a chicken, add a dish, and let the tribe members have a taste.

He blanched the chicken once and prepared seasonings such as ginger slices, scallions, dried chili peppers, and dried Sichuan peppercorns.

He didn’t go to the warehouse to get the little remaining sheep oil. After the cleaned stone pot was heated up again, Hua Shi’an took a bamboo tube and poured it into the pot. Pieces of translucent, jelly-like, pale yellow solid slid into the pot, raising a cloud of white smoke and sizzling.

This was the chicken fat dug out from the chicken’s belly. It was a large piece, almost as big as a piece of pork lard. Hua Shi’an poured all the chicken fat into the pot and stir-fried it with a bamboo spatula. The glistening chicken fat quickly shrank and deflated, and clear hot oil swirled in the pot.

Half a chicken didn’t need so much oil. Hua Shi’an scooped out some of the chicken oil and put it in a clean bamboo tube. He then poured the prepared seasonings into the stone pot and stir-fried them with the remaining hot oil and oil residue.

The ginger, scallions, and chili peppers were stir-fried until fragrant. The blanched chicken was added to the pot. With a “sizzle,” the oil smoke drifted with the wind, and a tempting, numbing, spicy, and fresh fragrance mixed with a rich, meaty aroma filled the camp.

So fragrant. There was no fishy or gamey smell at all, just a pure, meaty fragrance.

Hua Shi’an greedily sniffed, his eyes shining.

After he was done, it was time to eat. More and more tribe members gathered around. The meaty aroma was tempting, and the sound of inhaling rose and fell. People stared at the stone pot without blinking, and discussions broke out:

“It smells so good. This time, the prey is not only special-looking, but the taste is also very special.”

“Right? It doesn’t have that strange taste of red sheep. It’s especially fragrant.”

“It just looks too strange. It scared me when I first saw it.”

“What’s so strange about it? Isn’t it similar to those birds in the sky? It’s just a little bigger, a big bird!”

“Don’t give it a random name. The Lord Priest said it’s called a turkey.”

“Who’s giving it a random name? I’m just making a comparison, a comparison!”

“Stop arguing, you guys. If you have this energy, you might as well watch and learn. The Lord Priest’s cooking is delicious. We have to learn it quickly. We can’t always let the Lord Priest work so hard.”

“I’m watching. The more I watch, the more I want to eat. The meat has changed color. Can we eat it now?”

…

The night-shrouded camp was in an uproar. Seeing that the chicken in the stone pot had changed color, the onlookers scattered, each taking their bamboo tubes and chopsticks, and then swarmed back.

They all thought the chicken was stir-fried and ready to be served. But just then, Hua Shi’an put down his bamboo spatula and poured the potatoes, which the sub-beastmen had helped peel and cut, into the pot.

He stir-fried the potatoes and chicken evenly, coating them with oil. Hua Shi’an poured in two bamboo tubes of clear water and then, under dozens of expectant gazes, covered the stone pot with a woven bamboo lid.

The extremely hungry beastman looked at him in disbelief. “Isn’t it cooked yet, Lord Priest?”

“How much longer?” another sub-beastman asked, pursing his lips.

They were all hungry, but there was nothing he could do. If he didn’t mix in some potatoes with the chicken, there probably wouldn’t be enough to go around.

Hua Shi’an pounded his slightly sore back, turned around, and smiled at the crowd. “It’s almost ready, just a moment. The wild vegetables and steamed fish are cooked, right? Go and get some first. By the time you’re done, it will be about ready.”

“Really? Let’s go, let’s go.”

The Lord Priest never lied. After the dozens of people had gotten their wild vegetables and divided the steamed fish, the water in the stone pot had almost boiled dry. Finally, he sprinkled a little fine salt and scallions, and the fragrant potato and chicken stew was ready.

Half a chicken was not a lot, but not a little either. If it was distributed one by one, each person would only get two or three pieces of meat. Putting the chicken in the bamboo tube with the wild vegetables would mix the flavors, and it was too much trouble to wash a separate bamboo tube. So Hua Shi’an simply distributed it by the bamboo tube. Four sub-beastmen shared one bamboo tube, and three beastmen shared one.

After a long night of hard work, they could finally eat. Hua Shi’an held his bamboo tube and looked around. At the foot of a large tree at the edge of the camp, he saw Mo Huaishan waving to him, and Hong Yong sitting beside him.

How did these two end up sitting together?

Hua Shi’an raised an eyebrow and walked over with his bamboo tube.

The steaming bamboo tube and the steamed fish wrapped in leaves were placed between the two of them. Just as Hua Shi’an approached, Hong Yong quickly picked up the food and handed it to Hua Shi’an as if he were presenting a trophy. “Come, Shi’an. We’ve already gotten you the vegetable soup and steamed fish. Quick, sit down and eat.”

Hearing the words “Shi’an” from Hong Yong’s mouth, Mo Huaishan, who was sitting beside him, was clearly taken aback. His lips opened and closed, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

He was hungry. Hua Shi’an had long been captivated by the fragrance of the chicken and didn’t notice Mo Huaishan’s expression. He placed the bamboo tube in his hand on the ground, took the bamboo tube and steamed fish from Hong Yong’s hand, thanked him, and squatted down on the ground.

A mouthful of wild vegetables, a sip of soup, and his appetite was completely whetted. Hua Shi’an picked up a greasy piece of chicken from the bamboo tube. With one bite, his back no longer ached, his back no longer hurt, and he felt comfortable all over.

Although the turkey was large, the meat was not dry at all. It hadn’t been cooked for very long, and the chicken fell off the bone with one bite. It was very fresh and tender. It was salty, fresh, and slightly spicy, and very flavorful. The pungent fragrance of the ginger and scallions was fully integrated with the chicken, and it also had a faint, smoky smell. It was simply to die for.

The potatoes, which had soaked up the meat juices, were no less impressive. They were soft and mealy, melting in his mouth with a gentle bite. The only regret was that there was no rice. Otherwise, he would be drooling just thinking about mashing the potatoes and mixing them with the sauce and rice.

“Delicious, so delicious, Lord Priest. Your cooking is too good! The chicken is fresh and tender, and the potatoes are soft and rotten. It’s even more delicious than the offal last time and the roasted whole lamb the time before that. It’s the most delicious food I’ve ever eaten in my life!”

The potato and chicken stew was very much to his liking. After two pieces of chicken, the taciturn Hong Yong was as if possessed by Yan Zhile, chattering away, full of praise.

Mo Huaishan, who was busy eating, nodded. “Shi’an’s cooking is the best.”

As soon as he said this, the beastmen who were eating around him also started to chime in:

“Delicious, I love it. Lord Priest, cook more!”

“So delicious, really to die for!”

“Lord Priest…”

One after another, they praised him, making Hua Shi’an a little embarrassed. He quickly swallowed his food and waved his hands with a smile. “Don’t just praise me. Without the ingredients, no matter how good my cooking is, I can’t make a flower. We have the hunting team to thank for being able to eat chicken tonight.”

Hong Yong also waved his hands. “You can’t say that. Without you, Lord Priest, with our cooking skills, this good meat would have been wasted tonight.”

If they continued to talk, his face would turn red. Hua Shi’an took a sip of the vegetable soup and very naturally changed the subject. “I was so busy cooking that I forgot to ask. By the way, where did you guys catch the turkey? Wild chickens don’t migrate, and we didn’t find any traces of wild chickens in this area last year. You guys didn’t go deep into the forest again, did you?”

Hong Yong grunted in acknowledgment, put down his finished soup bamboo tube, and said unhurriedly, “After we finished clearing the traps today, we first took a look around the vicinity. I don’t know if it’s because the weather is warming up, but we didn’t find any traces of wild beasts after looking for a long time.”

“We’ve finished the mutton. Although we’ve had fish to eat recently, it’s still a bit lacking. Everyone was craving a bite of beast meat, so I took the hunting team a little deeper into the forest.”

“This kid was very good today. He knew to come and find us after he was done with his work,” Hong Yong patted Mo Huaishan’s shoulder, a rare smile on his face. “He was also the one who found the turkey in the bushes. The turkey tastes good, but it’s very troublesome to catch. It runs fast, and its sharp beak hurts when it pecks.”

The turkey was actually found by Mo Huaishan?

Hua Shi’an turned to look at the beastman, gave him a secret wink, and then turned his gaze back to the captain, Hong Yong. “Turkeys are highly alert and have a certain degree of aggressiveness. You can catch them like you caught the red sheep last time, by changing back to your beast form and ambushing them. Speaking of red sheep… I remember turkeys are also social animals. Did you guys only find one today?”

“Turkeys are social? But I, I really only found one.”

Fearing that it was his own negligence that had scared away the wild chickens, Mo Huaishan instantly became nervous.

Seeing his nervous look, Hong Yong chuckled. “No one is blaming you. We’ll just go and look for them again tomorrow.”

Hua Shi’an: “That’s right. You have the greatest credit for us being able to eat chicken tonight, Huaishan.”

Mo Huaishan was so embarrassed by the praise that he pursed his lips and grinned.

After comforting the anxious beastman, Hua Shi’an’s smile faded, and he looked at the captain, Hong Yong, again, instructing him solemnly, “Since we’re living in the forest, it’s only a matter of time before we explore deeper. But you must be careful.”

“This forest is too big. There are very likely to be large, fierce beasts. If you encounter a particularly large one, quickly change back to your beast form and flee to the treetops. Don’t confront it head-on. And, explore slowly and don’t be in a hurry. Don’t go too far at once, and make marks to prevent getting lost.”

Hong Yong grunted in acknowledgment and nodded heavily. “Don’t worry, Shi’an. We’ve been making marks along the way. We’ll also avoid those large, fierce beasts that we obviously can’t catch. We won’t be foolish enough to fight them head-on.”

Dinner was over, and the serious business was also over. Hua Shi’an yawned, stood up with a satisfied expression, and was about to go to the river to clean up his bamboo tube when Mo Huaishan, who was sitting opposite him, shot up and hurried to his front.

“I’ll do it, Shi’an.”

As if Hong Yong didn’t exist, Mo Huaishan very naturally took the bamboo tube from Hua Shi’an’s hand, his deep eyes sparkling. “You said it. If you cook, you don’t have to wash the dishes. I’ll take it and wash it.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble you.” Hua Shi’an smiled at him.

“No trouble.” Mo Huaishan ran off with a few bamboo tubes.

It was just helping to wash a bowl, but an unprecedented sense of crisis suddenly enveloped Hong Yong. When did it start? It seemed that Hua Shi’an would only show a gentle smile to the big oaf and look at him with a kind of expression that Hong Yong couldn’t describe.

Could it be… Hong Yong’s breath hitched. He quickly walked to Hua Shi’an’s front. “Shi’an, can you not just look at the big oaf? Look at—”

“Oh right, Hong Yong.”

It was just that coincidental. Hua Shi’an interrupted Hong Yong’s words, and he didn’t pause to let Hong speak again, but went on to give instructions, “Tomorrow morning, you take the hunting team downstream to help me dig some clay. As for the specific location and what kind of clay to dig, Yan Qiuyu will tell you then.”

“Hey, wait, why don’t you take the gathering team with you too? There are a lot of reeds growing in the wetland over there. Now is the season to eat reed shoots. Let them go and pick some. We’ll dry some reed shoots.”

After giving all his instructions in one go, Hua Shi’an covered his mouth and let out a long yawn. He then waved to the beastman and turned to walk into the deep darkness. “I’m sleepy. I’m going back to sleep first. You should also rest early.”