The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 14

Chapter 14

It was late at night, but the tribe members waiting around the fire for dinner didn’t seem sleepy at all. Their eyes were wide as saucers, either staring at the stone pot on the fire or at the branches in the beastmen’s hands, more excited than if they had been injected with chicken blood.

It was indeed hard not to be excited. Hua Shi’an was so sleepy he was dazed, but the rich aroma of meat in the air forced him to stay awake, propping his eyelids open.

The stone pot was bubbling away. In the milky white broth, large chunks of meat tumbled along with faintly visible ginger, stone lychee, and dried mushrooms.

And on the branches in the beastmen’s hands, thick leg meat was roasted to a golden brown on both sides, sizzling and dripping with oil. The smoke drifted with the wind, and the entire clearing was filled with the mouth-watering smell of roasted meat.

His throat moved up and down uncontrollably. Hua Shi’an’s attitude also underwent a subtle change, from initial resistance, to thinking it might be okay, to wondering when it would be ready, he was so hungry.

He couldn’t be blamed for being fickle. The unprocessed green iguana looked ferocious and terrifying, truly unappetizing. Who would have thought that after being skinned and chopped into pieces, the large lizard would be indistinguishable from a harmless rabbit?

Of course, the main reason was—the aroma, it was really too fragrant.

Following Hua Shi’an’s suggestion, the lizard meat was blanched before being stewed, and the ginger, stone lychee, and previously dried mushrooms brought back by the sub-beastmen were added. The ginger removed the gamey taste, and the mushrooms enhanced the flavor. The taste of this pot of soup would definitely not be bad.

As time passed, the tribe members’ scorching gazes were about to burn a hole through the stone pot. Finally, with a loud shout, the long-roasted and tenderly stewed lizard meat was ready to be enjoyed.

The clearing instantly turned into a chaotic mess. The tribe members sitting around the fire, as if driven mad by hunger, swarmed forward, stretching out their arms and handing over their bamboo tubes, with no order whatsoever.

He was really hungry. Hua Shi’an was also preparing to take his bamboo tube and squeeze in. But before he could stand up, a rough, large hand suddenly snatched the bamboo tube from his hand.

He froze for a few seconds, still in the posture of holding the bamboo tube. By the time he came to his senses, the bamboo tube was back in his hand, and it was filled to the brim with steaming hot meat.

It happened so fast that he didn’t even see who the kind person was. Hua Shi’an belatedly stretched his neck and looked ahead, and at a glance, he saw the tall figure in the crowd.

Quite enthusiastic. Hua Shi’an smiled, his attention quickly drawn to the bamboo tube.

The cooked lizard meat looked even more like rabbit meat. It was all lean, with no fat to be seen. It was probably the ginger that did the trick. Hua Shi’an leaned in and sniffed. There was no strange smell, only a faint, weak fishiness.

Whatever. Forcing himself to ignore the fact that this was lizard meat, Hua Shi’an picked up a piece of meat with a bone attached and took a small, determined bite.

With that one bite, the door to a new world slowly opened. Hua Shi’an’s expression of facing death with equanimity turned to doubt, and then, through chewing, gradually transformed into joy.

The meat was plump and delicate, smooth and tender in the mouth. Despite being stewed for so long, it wasn’t dry at all. The fusion of mushroom and meat flavor was exceptionally delicious. But it didn’t taste like ordinary beast meat; there wasn’t much fat or sinew. It was more like—bullfrog.

It wasn’t just a little bit like it; the texture and taste were almost identical to bullfrog.

So the chicken flavor people on the internet were talking about was bullfrog?

The resistance in his heart completely dissipated. Hua Shi’an held the bamboo tube and feasted.

And before he finished the stewed meat, the tribe members distributed the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside roasted meat, and the stone pot was refilled with purslane to cook. A bite of meat, a bite of vegetables, a sip of soup—everyone ate with great satisfaction.

After finishing the roasted meat and scooping the stewed meat from the bamboo tube clean, Hua Shi’an was already a bit full.

He really couldn’t drink any more soup. He was thinking of leaving some, but when he inadvertently looked up and saw the tribe members who were still not satisfied and even wanted to rinse their bamboo tubes, he silently picked up his tube and drank in small sips.

“Lord Priest.”

A soft call came from behind. Hua Shi’an turned around to see the little sub-beastman Yan Zhile, who had found the stone lychee, walking toward him from another fire.

He was holding a bamboo tube, and on his wooden chopsticks was a cooked stone lychee. He still seemed puzzled, standing behind Hua Shi’an with a frown. “I still don’t understand, Lord Priest. The stone lychee I found is clearly delicious. Why, why do you think the ginger that Chang Yueyue found is better?”

The high-achieving child was not convinced after not getting first place.

Hua Shi’an found it inexplicably amusing and patiently explained to him, “Didn’t I say earlier? Ginger, like salt, is a very important seasoning. Just like the meat you just ate, it might be very gamey on its own, but ginger can remove the gamey taste, thus making the meat more fragrant.”

“But, but I didn’t taste any gamey or ginger flavor,” Yan Zhile pouted and muttered. “Stone lychee is delicious and can cure illnesses. I feel it’s more useful than ginger.”

Clearly afraid that Hua Shi’an would misunderstand, he quickly added, “I, I don’t mean to say you’re wrong, Lord Priest. It’s just, just that I don’t know where I lost.”

Speaking directly was always better than beating around the bush. Hua Shi’an wasn’t annoyed at all and continued to explain to him, “The wonderful use of ginger can only be shown through comparison. We can do this: next time we cook meat, we won’t put ginger in one of the pots. You’ll know when you taste it then.”

“Ginger is not only a seasoning. Like stone lychee, it can also be used to treat illnesses. When you have no appetite, drinking some ginger water can stimulate your appetite and strengthen your spleen. When the weather is hot, drinking some ginger tea can prevent heatstroke and cool you down. It has many, many other uses.”

Although he didn’t understand most of it, it was clear that ginger had more uses. Yan Zhile knew he had lost, and lost completely. His little head drooped, and he said dejectedly, “I understand, Lord Priest. I’ll be going then.”

“Wait,” Hua Shi’an called out to him, a gentle smile on his lips. “Don’t be discouraged. Winning and losing are both normal. You’ve already done a great job finding the stone lychee. Just try harder next time.”

He seemed to have been hit hard. Hearing this, Yan Zhile subconsciously shook his head. “Forget it, it’s not fun. I’ll just go back to picking chestnuts.”

Hua Shi’an raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? That’s a pity.”

Yan Zhile’s ears perked up. “What’s a pity?”

Hua Shi’an’s eyes drooped slightly, and he sighed with disappointment. “It’s quite interesting to see you guys looking for plants like this. I was actually thinking of participating. Didn’t you ask me to say whose plant was the most useful? Just saying it feels like something is missing, like… a reward.”

“You’ve probably heard that I’ve been making things recently. I can offer something as a reward to the first place winner who finds a useful plant.”

“Is it that! The back basket and winnowing basket?!” The listless Yan Zhile suddenly perked up. He decisively squatted in front of Hua Shi’an and asked eagerly.

He had seen the back basket and winnowing basket during dinner and really wanted a back basket. That way, he wouldn’t have to carry things with his hands when he went out, and he could carry more, which was very convenient.

Hua Shi’an shook his head. “We’ll start weaving the back baskets tomorrow. Everyone in the gathering team will have one in the future. The thing I’m offering, I’ll teach everyone how to make it in the future, but you’ll have to do it yourselves.”

“What is it?” Yan Zhile couldn’t wait any longer and rubbed his hands in excitement.

Hua Shi’an: “The person who gets first place can come to me for a skirt, a coir skirt that is stronger, more comfortable, and can be worn for a long time than a grass skirt.”

“Wow, Lord Priest, me, me, I want to play again,” Yan Zhile danced with excitement, almost jumping up on the spot.

Hua Shi’an: “Didn’t you just say it wasn’t interesting? Let’s just forget it then.”

“No! Who said that? It wasn’t me!”

As life gradually stabilized, the tribe members could easily become complacent. A small reward could motivate them and also lead to the discovery of more plants. Why wouldn’t Hua Shi’an do it?

Of course, giving out a reward every day was a bit much. Fearing he would be too busy, he set the event time to three days, with a selection and reward distribution once every three days.

The accidental capture of the green iguana had disrupted their plans. In order to have meat more often in the future, the next day, Hong Yong selected five strong beastmen from the gathering team to form a hunting team specifically for finding prey.

Hunting was often accompanied by danger. In the past, hunting teams consisted of twenty beastmen. Now, a hunting team of six was too weak and thin. Chief Mu was worried. He finally looked at Hua Shi’an’s salt-boiling team and assigned the only two beastmen to the hunting team as well.

With Mo Huaishan and Hong Jian joining the hunting team, and Hong Yinglan staying in the tribe to teach the injured and elderly to weave bamboo utensils, their salt-boiling team was essentially disbanded on the spot.

Of course, it was impossible to let Hua Shi’an gather firewood and boil salt alone. Two beastmen had almost recovered, so Chief Mu had them follow Hua Shi’an and do some light work.

His newly taught apprentices had just run off like that. Hua Shi’an was a bit reluctant, but thinking of the taste of the meat, he was relieved. It was just work; it was the same no matter who he did it with.

The two heavy stone pots had to be moved to the rocky beach, and the new beastmen couldn’t do heavy work. For this reason, the hunting team sent four beastmen over to help carry the stone pots before they set off.

For such a thankless job, Hua Shi’an had a guess who would be part of it.

Sure enough, after breakfast, he returned to the tree hollow to put away his bamboo tube. When he came out again, Mo Huaishan and another beastman were already carrying the large stone pot, grunting and heaving as they walked into the forest.

Hua Shi’an trotted to catch up. Looking at the beastman’s side profile bathed in sunlight, he thanked him for last night, “Huaishan, thank you for getting me meat last night.”

“L-Lord Priest.”

Turning to see Hua Shi’an, Mo Huaishan became inexplicably nervous, and his speech became even more stuttered. “Getting you meat is what I sh-should do. The L-Lord Priest should have eaten first anyway.”

Hua Shi’an frowned, looking at him with confusion. “Why are you so nervous? Did you dream that I ate someone last night?”

“No, no!” Mo Huaishan quickly shook his head.

He felt that something was off with the beastman, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Hua Shi’an glanced at him a couple of times and cleared his throat. “Don’t call me Lord Priest in the future. It’s weird. We’re friends. You can call me by my full name or Shi’an.”

Mo Huaishan was clearly taken aback. He looked down at the road beneath his feet and said with little confidence, “N-No, that’s not right. You are the Lord Priest. I can’t call you by your name directly.”

Are the rules that strict?

Hua Shi’an thought for a moment. Just yesterday, Hong Yinglan had clearly called him Shi’an.

There was no need to force it. Hua Shi’an didn’t say anything more, and the rest of the journey was spent in silence.

It wasn’t until the stone pots were moved to the rocky beach and placed on the fire pit that Hua Shi’an looked at the panting Mo Huaishan again. He had wanted to tell him to be careful while hunting, but the beastman didn’t stop for a moment. He put down the stone pot, turned around, and left.

He sensed that something was wrong. This person was intentionally distancing himself from him.