Chapter 26
The pine cones crackled and roasted for a whole afternoon. As the sun set, the sky above the camp was still shrouded in smoke, the firelight on the ground flickered, and the rich pine fragrance in the air mingled with the heat, lingering for a long time.
From afternoon to evening, the fire had been burning continuously, and the temperature in the camp was much higher than the surrounding area. The sweat on Hua Shi’an’s body had never dried. He felt that if he were roasted a little longer, he could also be served on the table, roasted and served on a platter.
Tired as he was, he was also filled with a sense of accomplishment.
On the stones around the fire, more than twenty finely woven winnowing baskets were arranged side by side. Plump, crispy pine nuts were spread out inside, each basket with a thick layer.
There were two types of pine nuts. The ones roasted over charcoal were darker, brownish-brown, and oily, with a richer fragrance. The raw pine nuts were lighter in color, light brown, with a slightly matte texture, and only a faint pine nut fragrance.
Like peanuts and chestnuts, pine nuts could also be eaten raw. A hint of sweetness, a touch of astringency, less oily, and although the taste was not as good as roasted pine nuts, they were equally delicious.
He was getting sidetracked.
The most important thing now was not how delicious the pine nuts were, but how to eat them conveniently.
Whether roasted or raw, unprocessed pine nuts were tightly sealed, as hard as stones, and could even chip a tooth if you weren’t careful. They were very inconvenient to eat.
To make them into the convenient, ready-to-eat split-open pine nuts of modern society, they still needed to be fried.
Hua Shi’an wanted to fry the pine nuts as well, but unfortunately, the two large stone pots were not in the tribe. Moreover, the fresh pine nuts had some moisture and needed to be dried in the sun for a few days.
Forget it, take it one day at a time. No need to rush.
The last rays of the setting sun faded, and the sky gradually darkened, like a thick, heavy curtain, tightly enveloping the entire forest.
The salt-boiling team, the hunting team, and the gathering team returned one after another, bringing back translucent salt crystals, fresh and crisp wild vegetables, and basket after basket of tedious pine cones.
Running back and forth between the forest and the tribe, the gathering team had already returned countless times today. He should have known the result long ago, but Hua Shi’an still held a sliver of hope. He sat by the fire and looked around, searching for that tall figure in the crowd.
Hong Yinglan, Hong Yong, Chief Mu… familiar faces entered the camp one after another, but Mo Huaishan was nowhere to be seen. Just as Hua Shi’an was about to grab someone and ask, on the pitch-black meadow not far away, a soaking wet beastman, holding a fish trap, sprinted back to the camp.
It’s one thing if there are no fish, but why did he bring the fish trap back? Hua Shi’an frowned.
Soaking wet and holding a fish trap as if it were a treasure, the charging beastman was particularly eye-catching. The beastmen who had returned before him, as if they had found some entertainment, didn’t forget to tease and joke while sorting the pine cones:
“Yo, you’re quite a clean freak, going for a bath in the river first.”
“Why did you bring that back? Didn’t you say it was useful in the river?”
“What good stuff is inside? You’re holding it so tight.”
“Hey, I’m talking to you, you big oaf!”
Normally, the good-natured Mo Huaishan would have stopped to explain to his tribe members, but he couldn’t be bothered now. His eyes met Hua Shi’an’s, who was sitting by the fire. His breath hitched, and he hurried forward with the fish trap.
“Shi’an, there’s, there’s… huff huff.”
Sprinting all the way, the beastman anxiously squatted in front of him, panting heavily.
Hua Shi’an picked up the bamboo tube with water on the ground and handed it over very naturally, chuckling softly. “What’s the rush? I’m not going to run away. Have some water first, catch your breath, and then speak slowly.”
He must have been really thirsty. Mo Huaishan took the bamboo tube and drank it all in one go.
He drank too quickly, and the overflowing water trickled down his chin, past his bobbing Adam’s apple. The beastman wiped his neck haphazardly, looked at the empty bamboo tube, and smiled shyly. “I, I finished it, Shi’an. I’ll get you some more later.”
Hua Shi’an grunted softly. Just as he was about to ask him why he had brought the fish trap back, the dripping fish trap in the beastman’s arms suddenly shook violently.
A few drops of water splashed on his face. Hua Shi’an, who had been lazily drooping his eyelids, suddenly perked up. He straightened his back, held his breath, and stared at the fish trap with wide eyes. “There’s something inside? Did you catch any fish?”
“Oh right, there’s really something in the river!”
The beastman finally remembered his business. He quickly turned the fish trap around, holding the opening towards Hua Shi’an, and said with unconcealed excitement, “Look, Shi’an, is this the fish you were talking about?”
After being soaked in the river for a day and a night, the fish trap was tangled with a lot of withered grass and sand. Hua Shi’an bent down and reached in to move some of it aside. A very strong fishy smell immediately wafted out.
The firelight illuminated the fish trap, and four flat-headed, flat-bodied, grayish-green fish, larger than a beastman’s palm, came into view. They seemed to have entered the fish trap not long ago and were not yet completely dead, occasionally flopping around with considerable strength.
Hua Shi’an recognized them at a glance. They were crucian carp, suitable for braising or stewing.
Pushing aside the withered grass, more than ten small, scaleless, yellowish-green fish came into view. Hua Shi’an was stunned for a moment, his throat moving slightly. These were—yellowhead catfish, with tender meat, few bones, and a delicious taste.
The harvest was not much. If these fish were stewed, everyone would only get a sip of the soup. But this was the first time! To have caught more than ten fish on the first try, was the day of eating fish every day still far away?
Hua Shi’an was overjoyed, even happier than when they had caught the green iguana. After all, as food, fish were much more normal.
The joy of the harvest did not make him completely lose his senses. Soon, Hua Shi’an noticed something was wrong. He looked at the yellowhead catfish, whose gills were gently moving, and the crucian carp, which occasionally flopped around, and then looked up at the beastman who had been staring at him.
“Huaishan, these are indeed the fish I was talking about, but these fish… you didn’t just go to the river to catch them to make me happy, did you?”
“Huh?” The beastman’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why do you say that?”
Hua Shi’an pointed to the fish in the trap. “They’re a bit too fresh, still alive and kicking. Didn’t you collect the fish traps in the morning? Logically, the fish should have been dead by now, having been out of the water for so long.”
The gathering team had returned several times during the day, but Mo Huaishan hadn’t returned once. Hua Shi’an had thought there was no harvest at all, but then this person returned late at night with fish, and fresh fish at that.
It was just very strange, and Mo Huaishan seemed like the kind of person who would do such a thing.
Hearing Hua Shi’an’s addition, the tense beastman gradually relaxed. He held the fish trap and chuckled twice, explaining seriously, “No, no, that’s not it. I’ve been busy with the pine cones all day. Where would I have the time to go to the river to catch fish? It’s like this, Shi’an. When I went to check in the morning, the fish trap was already tilted, with the large end facing down, and there was nothing inside.”
“At first, I thought it was tilted by the water, but when I went up to it, I found that the cra, crabs you smashed yesterday were also gone, and there were a lot of silvery-white things stuck around the fish trap, smelling strange.”
With that, Mo Huaishan picked a crucian carp scale from the edge of the fish trap and showed it to Hua Shi’an. “It’s this. I, I don’t know what it’s called.”
Hua Shi’an: “A scale, also called a fish scale.”
Mo Huaishan nodded and continued, “There were a lot of scales stuck to the mouth of the fish trap at that time, so I thought something might have gotten in and tilted the fish trap. Then I did the same as yesterday, I used stones to press the fish trap down again, and I found some more crabs and put them inside.”
“On my way back in the evening, I passed by the river. I didn’t come back with the tribe members. I went to check the fish traps, and there, there really was something, both fish traps had something!”
No wonder. Hearing the beastman’s explanation, Hua Shi’an roughly understood what had happened.
There were more fish in the river than he had imagined. The fish traps, which had been left for a day and a night, had not been washed away by the current but had been tilted by a fish that had mistakenly entered them. And the fish must have been quite large, otherwise it wouldn’t have had the strength to escape from the fish trap.
Good news, great news! Hua Shi’an was in a great mood. Unable to hide his excitement, he quickly propped himself up on the ground and stood up, saying to Mo Huaishan with a smile, “Let’s go, bring the machete, and let’s go to the river to kill the fish.”
“Your foot…”
“It’s no big deal. I’ll just move slowly.”
