The Primitive Adventures of a Chipmunk 72

Chapter 72

“Too much, it’s too much!”

“Lord Priest, you’re so cruel!”

As dusk fell, the brilliant sunset clouds dyed the clear and azure sky red.

The afterglow shone through the branches and leaves onto the bustling camp. The shadows of the giant redwood trees were stretched long and thin. By the smoky fire pit, the crisp sound of cracking rose and fell, like dry firewood being crushed by the soles of feet, accompanied by waves of mournful cries.

Back baskets and winnowing baskets were placed one after another, forming a solid wall around the fire pit. The beastmen, who had been so full of life not long ago, were trapped within the wall, their vitality drained. They all hung their heads, sighing and complaining from time to of time.

He could see but not eat. After peeling for half a day, he hadn’t even had a single bite. He didn’t even know what crayfish tasted like. Yan Qiuyu was really about to cry from hunger.

Another plump shrimp meat came out of its shell. He held his breath and looked around. Seeing Hua Shi’an squatting in front of the stone pot and talking to Yan Zhile, he casually lifted his hand and secretly brought the shrimp meat to his mouth.

“Ahem!”

He was so close, just a little bit away from eating it, when a cough with a strong sense of pressure suddenly sounded.

It’s over, he’s been caught in the act. Yan Qiuyu, with a guilty conscience, quickly threw the shrimp meat into the winnowing basket. But to his surprise, Hua Shi’an didn’t even look at him, but walked straight past him and stopped in front of Mo Huaishan. “Huaishan, come with me to the warehouse to get some seasonings.”

“Mm, okay.” Mo Huaishan put down his work and stood up.

The two of them left one after the other. Yan Qiuyu saw his chance and was about to reach for the winnowing basket when Hua Shi’an, who had not gone far, suddenly turned back and caught him off guard.

“Keep peeling. This is the last bit. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can rest.”

Hua Shi’an glanced at Ju Ming, who had been making a lot of small movements, and then gave Yan Qiuyu a meaningful look, the corners of his mouth slightly lifting. “Don’t sneak a bite. The sub-beastmen of the gathering team are still washing crayfish by the river. They haven’t even smelled it yet. Just bear with it for a little longer. We’ll come back to stir-fry the shrimp after we get the seasonings. There will be enough for tonight.”

“Heh, I won’t sneak a bite.” Yan Qiuyu was not in the right, but he was not strong either.

Ju Ming swallowed his saliva. “Lord Priest, hurry up and come back. We’re waiting for you!”

Sitting in a pile of delicious food, even the captain of the hunting team could hardly control himself. Hong Yong and Hua Shi’an said they would help watch the beastmen, but their voices did not sound very firm.

Hua Shi’an smiled and left the camp with Mo Huaishan.

There were plenty of crayfish. Although Hua Shi’an had said not to sneak a bite, he was not actually watching them that closely. Yan Qiuyu was clumsy and had a guilty conscience, so he didn’t dare to make a move for a long time and didn’t even get a single bite. Little did he know that Ju Ming, who was sitting behind him, and their upright and selfless captain had secretly eaten almost their fill.

Also not having had a taste was the person beside Hua Shi’an. He was not stupid, just honest. If Hua Shi’an said he couldn’t eat, he wouldn’t eat, not even trying to sneak a bite.

So, so obedient.

He had to feed his own person. After walking a short distance along the tree-lined path and leaving the camp behind, Hua Shi’an’s right hand, which was hanging at his side, was raised to Mo Huaishan’s chest, and he slowly opened his palm.

The crumpled leaf was freed from its restraint. As his palm slowly opened, five or six reddish-white, firm, and plump shrimp meats came into view. Mo Huaishan was stunned for a moment, looking at Hua Shi’an in disbelief, his eyes seeming to say: How could you steal from your own supervision!

“What are you standing there for? Take it and eat it. My hand is getting sore from holding it up.” Hua Shi’an raised his hand a little higher and gestured to him with a smile.

“Oh, oh.” Mo Huaishan quickly took the shrimp meat.

The shrimp meat was still steaming, clearly just peeled not long ago. Mo Huaishan held it in his hand and didn’t rush to eat it. He looked at Hua Shi’an with a complicated expression, his lips trembling. “Shi’an, this, isn’t this a bit bad? No one else has eaten. I, I…”

Hua Shi’an looked up and met the beastman’s gaze, his smile deepening. “Others are others, and you are you. How can you be the same as others in my eyes?”

The scorching gaze was undisguised. Mo Huaishan was as if burned and quickly averted his gaze, burying his head like an ostrich.

He was even shyer than a little girl. Hua Shi’an stared at him without blinking, and after a long while, he chuckled softly. “Quick, eat it. It will have a fishy smell when it gets cold. It’s nothing bad. They secretly ate a lot in the afternoon. You just didn’t see it.”

“Huh?”

Mo Huaishan looked up in surprise. “You said they couldn’t eat. How could they?”

Hua Shi’an: “It’s food, after all. It’s hard to resist. It’s okay to eat a little to have a taste. Only our Huaishan is the most obedient, really not eating a single one. That’s why I specially brought some for you. You should have what others have.”

The warmth that gushed from his chest was even warmer than the noon sun. Mo Huaishan picked up a piece of shrimp meat, took a deep breath, and then handed it to Hua Shi’an, his ear tips red to the point of bleeding. “Shi’an, you, you eat first.”

He even wants to share a few pieces of shrimp meat? Hua Shi’an was about to refuse, but when he turned his head and saw the beastman’s dodging gaze and the hand that was getting closer and closer to him, the words of refusal got stuck in his throat.

It wasn’t that he wanted to share. The beastman wanted to feed him, feed him.

It was a rare act of courage. Hua Shi’an had no reason to refuse. He looked at the beastman’s increasingly red ear tips and chuckled, his lips slightly parted. His lips brushed against the other’s warm and rough fingertips as he gently bit the shrimp meat.

His teeth crushed the shrimp meat. Hua Shi’an raised an eyebrow and exclaimed in an exaggerated manner, “Oh my, so strange. How come the shrimp meat gets more and more fragrant the more I chew it? How is it even more delicious than before? Oh, it’s because Huaishan fed it to me.”

“Shi’an, don’t, don’t tease me…” The beastman was thin-skinned and couldn’t take the teasing. Hearing this, his already flushed cheeks turned another shade redder, no different from a bright red shrimp shell.

Pure and innocent, he was an uncarved piece of jade, flawless.

Hua Shi’an looked up at his own beastman, feeling his heart beat faster and faster. So he waved his hand and quickened his pace. “I won’t tease you anymore. Hurry up and eat the shrimp meat. We’ll go and get the seasonings, and then we’ll go back and cook the crayfish!”

“Mm-hm!”

…

The last rays of the setting sun faded, and the night enveloped the forest. The evening wind carried wisps of cooking smoke, and a pungent but very pleasant numbing and spicy smell enveloped the bustling camp.

Dinner’s ready, dinner’s ready! In the flickering firelight of the camp, people sat on the ground without any formality, shoulder to shoulder, forming a circle in the open space. Winnowing baskets were spread with leaves and served as plates. The glistening, large, and plump crayfish were steaming in the middle, filling a full eight large plates.

There were two plates of original-flavored steamed crayfish, so full they were almost overflowing. The shrimp shells were not oily, and their red color was very pure, like a branding iron that had been heated in a fire, exuding a faint, fresh fragrance.

There were three plates of garlic crayfish. The heads of the Chinese onions were chopped into a paste, poured into hot oil and fried into garlic oil, and then stir-fried with the crayfish. The fresh fragrance of the Chinese onions and the fresh fragrance of the shrimp were a perfect match. The taste was simply amazing, intoxicating.

The last three plates were spicy crayfish. The conditions were really limited. There was no chili sauce or hot pot base. The chef had chosen to stir-fry them with chili powder and chili segments. The dried chili peppers were ground into a powder, poured into hot oil and fried into chili oil. Dried chili segments, dried Sichuan peppercorns, and chopped Chinese onion were added and stir-fried until fragrant. Finally, the crayfish were added and stir-fried.

The chili oil mixed with dried chili peppers lacked a bit of a rich, savory fragrance and was a little pungent to the nose. But it was numbing, spicy, fresh, and salty, with all the flavors it should have. The chili oil, fried in hot oil, penetrated the shrimp shells and evenly coated every shrimp. Those who loved spicy food would drool just smelling it.

The chef was at the table, and the meal officially began. There were no chopsticks or bowls. They just used their hands, grabbing the crayfish of different flavors according to their preference. They sucked on the shrimp and peeled the shells. For a moment, the crisp sound of “crack crack” echoed in the silent forest.

Unconsciously, the tribe members’ mouths had been spoiled by Hua Shi’an, and they gradually began to prefer food with seasonings. Compared to the original-flavored steamed crayfish, the garlic crayfish and spicy crayfish that Hua Shi’an had worked so hard to stir-fry were more popular.

Especially Yan Qiuyu, who had tasted the steamed crayfish in the afternoon. After one bite of the spicy crayfish, his eyes went straight. There were no other flavors of crayfish in his eyes. His oily hands pointed straight at the winnowing basket, and he exclaimed repeatedly, “Quick, you guys try this, try this. It’s super delicious and flavorful. The taste is simply amazing!”

Ju Ming’s mouth was full of oil, and he nodded quickly. “Hiss, hiss, it’s really so delicious, so exciting. The Lord Priest’s cooking is too good. My tongue is on fire. I’m getting hot from eating.”

“Is it really that delicious?” Chief Mu was tempted, but he couldn’t eat spicy food very well. He stared at the winnowing basket with the spicy crayfish and swallowed his saliva, asking tentatively, “It smells quite pungent. Is it very spicy?”

The shrimp meat was peeled. He threw four or five pieces into his mouth at once. Yan Zhile puffed out his cheeks and encouraged him, “It smells spicy but it’s not spicy when you eat it. You should try it, Chief. It’s so fragrant. You won’t forget it after one bite.”

Actions speak louder than words. Chief Mu couldn’t resist anymore and decisively reached out and grabbed a spicy crayfish. He had to suck on the juice before peeling the shell. He remembered the method that Hua Shi’an had taught him. He held the crayfish and took a big suck, and then—a heart-wrenching cough exploded in the camp.

“Cough cough, cough cough cough! Cough cough cough…”

It was both numbing and spicy, and he had even choked on it. Chief Mu coughed until he was dizzy, and tears were squeezed out of his eyes. It took him half a bamboo tube of clear water to slowly recover.

The culprit who had encouraged him was laughing so hard he was bent over. Chief Mu gritted his teeth and glared at him. “You little brat, you’ve grown some guts, even daring to fool the chief. Here, the shrimp is for you. It’s too spicy for me.”

Staring at the shrimp that Chief Mu was handing over, Yan Zhile’s brow furrowed, and his face was filled with disgust. “You’ve already sucked on it, Chief. It’s all your saliva. I’m not eating it!”

Oh right, he had sucked on it!

Only then did Chief Mu react, and he withdrew his hand with a long face.

He couldn’t give it to anyone else after he had sucked on it, and it was a pity to throw it away. Chief Mu hesitated for a long time and, as if he were a soldier about to go to battle, he peeled the shrimp shell with a look of facing death with equanimity and threw the shrimp meat into his mouth.

“Hiss, hiss… what the hell is this? My lips are burning, and my tongue, my tongue is numb. Water, quick, give me water!”

“Hahahaha! Chief, you should try this. The garlic one is not spicy.”

“Go, go, go away. Eat your own. Don’t call me.”

“Every flavor is so delicious! I’m so satisfied. It’s so good to have the Lord Priest!”

“I even thought the crayfish was ugly that day. I must have been blind.”

“So fragrant, so fragrant. Let’s go and catch some more crayfish later.”

“There are still so many shrimp meats drying in the winnowing basket. The Lord Priest said we’ll talk about it after we finish all of them.”

“Don’t throw the shrimp shells around. Put them in the back basket.”

“Are the shrimp shells useful?”

“The Lord Priest said they can be composted with the shrimp heads, or washed, ground into a powder, and mixed with wild vegetables as feed.”

…

In the dead of night, the camp was in an uproar, filled with laughter and joy.

Listening to them chat and watching them joke around was also very interesting. Hua Shi’an peeled the crayfish slowly, not interrupting, and occasionally took a few pieces of shrimp meat from the beastman sitting beside him. The smile on his face never left.

Happiness. He was very happy now.