Chapter 76
It had rained lightly during the night, and the temperature had dropped quite a bit. In the morning, as he shuttled through the dew-covered bushes, Hua Shi’an was wrapped in a layer of water vapor not long after leaving. The wind blew, and it was chilly.
The muddy path was slippery and difficult to walk. They searched as they walked, and the gathering team’s progress was quite slow.
The journey was not boring. The lively Yan Zhile was still immersed in last night’s delicious food. He was full of energy early in the morning, chattering in Hua Shi’an’s ear, “Last night’s stone slab roasted meat was so delicious, Lord Priest. The meat was delicate, and the texture was tender. Wow, I can still taste it in my mouth now.”
Hua Shi’an was instantly on alert. “You didn’t brush your teeth?”
“I did, I did!” Yan Zhile quickly explained, “Am I that kind of unhygienic person? I was just exaggerating a little. It’s that thing you said, what’s it called, lingering fragrance?”
“Lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth,” Hua Shi’an supplied the word.
“That’s right!” Yan Zhile became more and more animated. He grabbed Hua Shi’an’s arm and shook it left and right, muttering coquettishly, “There’s still so much beef. Can we have stone slab roasted meat again tonight? Lord Priest, Lord Priest…”
“Tsk.”
Annoyed by this chanting-like chatter, the sub-beastman in front turned to look at Yan Zhile and said with some dissatisfaction, “You’re so noisy, Yan Zhile. You’ve been chattering since early in the morning. Can you be quiet for a while?”
Yan Zhile was not happy to hear this. He stuck out his neck and retorted, “I’m talking to the Lord Priest, not to you. If you think it’s noisy, you can cover your ears. No one is forcing you to listen.”
“You—” The sub-beastman was not as good with words as he was and was left speechless.
But after a moment of silence, the sub-beastman seemed to have thought of a way to fight back. He raised an eyebrow and said gloatingly, “You can forget about the stone slab roasted meat. We’re not having it tonight. The Lord Priest said we have to eat those beef offal first!”
There was a skill to retorting. The sub-beastman was very smart and had accurately hit Yan Zhile’s sore spot.
Now it was Yan Zhile who was unhappy. He puffed out his cheeks sullenly and continued to shake Hua Shi’an’s arm. “Lord Priest, is what he said true? Are we eating beef offal first tonight?”
The “children’s” argument had involved the adults. Hua Shi’an couldn’t avoid it. He touched his nose and grunted softly. “The beef can be smoked and eaten slowly. The internal organs don’t last long, so we have to eat them as soon as possible.”
He understood the reasoning, but it didn’t stop him from being disappointed. The little sub-beastman let go of Hua Shi’an’s hand and lowered his head in dejection.
Without the chatterbox, the journey became boring. Hua Shi’an tilted his head and glanced at Yan Zhile, then gently elbowed him. “Don’t be unhappy. How about you guys cook the beef offal tonight? I’ve cooked so many times. Your cooking skills should have improved a little, right? Let me have a ready-made meal too.”
Yan Zhile: “?”
He could tell that the Lord Priest was trying to coax him, but shouldn’t he be given a sweet treat to be coaxed? Why was he being assigned a task?
Yan Zhile buried his head even lower and muttered dejectedly, “I can’t do it, Lord Priest. You still have to do it. If it’s beef offal made by you, I think I can do it again.”
Hearing this, Hong Yinglan, who had been silent all along, also became interested and nodded vigorously in agreement. “Beef offal should be similar to sheep offal. The Lord Priest’s cooking is delicious. The stir-fried sheep offal and sheep offal soup from last time, I still remember the taste. It was so fragrant!”
“Stop, stop. That’s enough. Don’t flatter me.”
Hua Shi’an casually picked a leaf from a bush by the roadside and played with it in his hand. His clear eyes were dim, but his tone was light and breezy. “Don’t be so carefree all day, relying on the Lord Priest for everything. You should remember the things I’ve taught you, learn and practice more, and also teach the other tribe members. Otherwise, when the family is divided, you won’t even be able to cook a meal and will come crying to the Lord Priest again.”
“Divide the family? What do you mean, divide the family?”
Yan Zhile sensed a bad omen, and his expression instantly became serious.
Hong Yinglan’s brow furrowed slightly, and she stared at Hua Shi’an without blinking.
A collective life couldn’t last forever. After the tribe was stable, they would definitely have to live separately. But in the Clear Sky Forest, it had also been a collective life. The tribe members couldn’t accept the idea of dividing the family at once. It had to be done gradually, like boiling a frog in warm water, letting them slowly accept it.
The leaves were blown to the ground by the wind. Hua Shi’an smiled at the two of them and shrugged, pretending to be relaxed. “Dividing the family means living separately, not this kind of collective life. You can choose to live with your own relatives or your mate—”
“No, why do we have to live separately when things are going so well?” Yan Zhile’s reaction was particularly strong. He looked at him in disbelief, almost shouting.
His voice echoed in the jungle. The tribe members who were rummaging for plants in the bushes in front all turned their heads. Out of respect for Hua Shi’an, they just looked back and then continued to work, not daring to ask any more questions. But Chief Mu, who was not afraid of Hua Shi’an, came over, following the scent.
“What’s wrong, what’s wrong? What are you talking about so loudly?” Chief Mu walked back with his probing wooden stick, looked at Yan Zhile, and then turned to look at Hua Shi’an.
Hua Shi’an: “No—”
“Chief!” Yan Zhile started his tattling mode, his little mouth chattering, “The Lord Priest said we’re going to divide the family, live separately. In the future, we won’t work together, won’t live together, won’t eat and sleep together, but will live our own lives!”
“What!?”
One moment he was strolling leisurely, and the next, Chief Mu’s steps came to a halt. He abruptly turned to look at Hua Shi’an, his round eyes filled with confusion, his lips trembling slightly. “Did you really say that?”
Well, he had only intended to give a heads-up, but now he really had to lay his cards on the table. Hua Shi’an helplessly rubbed his temples and sighed softly. “Yan Zhile, don’t add fuel to the fire. I did say we were dividing the family, but I didn’t say we wouldn’t live together or work together.”
“Don’t be anxious, Chief. Let’s go. We’ll talk as we walk.”
Hua Shi’an pushed Chief Mu’s shoulder. When Chief Mu started to move again, he started walking forward and explained unhurriedly, “The division of the family I was talking about mainly concerns eating. How should I put it? It’s just that we won’t be eating from the same big pot. We can go home after work and cook our own meals.”
“But we’ll still live together, our homes will be next to each other. And of course, we’ll still do farm work and go out together, producing and working together. And then we can distribute the harvested food equally, just like in winter.”
It was just eating separately. It didn’t seem so hard for Chief Mu to accept. He was visibly relieved, but he still didn’t understand, so he asked again, “But why do we have to eat separately? We’ve been eating and drinking together all these years. Isn’t it good to continue like this?”
Yan Zhile nodded like a chick pecking at rice. “That’s right, that’s right. We work together and eat and rest together every day. It’s so nice and lively.”
Hua Shi’an pursed his lips and chuckled. “There are pros and cons. Eating together is indeed very lively, but it’s not free. It can’t meet individual needs. Just like you, Yan Zhile. You say you want to eat stone slab roasted beef tonight, but the tribe is having beef offal tonight, so you can only have beef offal.”
“Eating separately will be much more convenient. If you want to eat roasted beef, you can eat roasted beef. If you want something light, you can stew beef. If you don’t want to eat meat, you can eat wild vegetables. You can live according to your own preferences. We’re now just trying to survive. We eat whatever there is, and we have no choice. But in the near future, we’ll have more choices. Everyone can live the life they want. That’s what’s called living.”
“I don’t want to eat roasted beef anymore. Can we not divide the family?” Yan Zhile was very resistant to the idea of dividing the family. His brow furrowed tightly, and he even gave up his beloved stone slab roasted beef.
Without paying him any attention, Chief Mu became more and more interested as he listened. He then continued, “What you said does make sense, Shi’an. Living the life you want is what’s called living. But there are so many people in the tribe. If everyone builds a fire pit, the camp will probably be too crowded!”
Hua Shi’an: “What are you talking about, Chief? How can everyone build a fire pit? Those with relatives can be with their relatives, and those with mates can be with their mates. The older, single elderly can also live together.”
“Of course, the tribe won’t abandon them. If they don’t want to live together or cook, they can also take their own ingredients to someone else’s house. They can wander around every day, ask what your family is eating, what his family is eating, and go to whichever house they want to eat at.”
Chief Mu raised an eyebrow, a sparkle in his eyes. “Oh my, that’s a great idea. I don’t have any relatives or a mate. In that case, I’ll be bringing my food to your house every day, Shi’an.”
Does that mean he agrees? Hua Shi’an chuckled. “You’re welcome, Chief.”
The life of choice was too beautiful. Chief Mu squinted his eyes and imagined the future, decisively standing on the same side as Hua Shi’an. “I think it’s feasible. I just don’t know what they think. I’ll tell them later. Anyway, we’re not dividing the family right now, are we?”
Hua Shi’an shook his head. “It’s too early now. We’ll divide after the tribe is stable and we have no worries about food and drink.”
Are we really going to divide the family? Yan Zhile was extremely reluctant and still wanted to struggle a little. He racked his brain for the disadvantages of dividing the family and said with little confidence, “I still think it’s not right to divide the family. Even if, even if two or three people share one fire pit, that’s still a lot. The camp will be smoky and messy then.”
He couldn’t think of anything else. It seemed there were really no disadvantages.
Hua Shi’an casually lifted his eyelids and glanced at the sub-beastman with many little thoughts. “Who said we have to cook in the camp? Can’t we cook in our own homes?”
“In the tree hollow?” Yan Zhile looked at Hua Shi’an with a complicated expression. “Lord Priest, have you gone stupid? The tree hollow is so narrow. It’s impossible to make a fire and cook.”
He wasn’t annoyed at being scolded. Hua Shi’an’s lips curved up in a happy smile. “A tree hollow is not a home. A tree hollow is just our temporary shelter. In the near future, we will have our own houses, with a kitchen for cooking, a bedroom for sleeping, a living room for guests…”
He didn’t understand. Yan Zhile blinked blankly. “What’s a hou—”
“Chief, I’ve found kudzu root. There’s a big patch here!”
“Lord Priest, there are a lot of mushrooms over here. You should come and see if they’re edible.”
Two voices came from the front almost at the same time, bringing reassuring good news.
Hua Shi’an tightened the back strap on his shoulder and quickened his pace, calling to the slow-moving Yan Zhile beside him, “We’ll talk later. Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s dig some more kudzu root and make something delicious.”
