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Zhuo Mu stopped subconsciously, his red eyes narrowed, and saliva involuntarily formed in his mouth.
He carefully used his sharp sense of smell to check again; the smell of roots and meat… It was definitely the scent of food.
But he still couldn’t believe it. In his twenty years of life, he had never smelled such delicious food!
The source of the smell was even right in front of his cave!
After ruling out all other possibilities, the only one left was the meal made by Wen Ze.
What did he do to make the food smell so amazing?
With a lot of doubts in his mind, the giant white python suddenly increased its speed, and a large area of grass stalks was immediately crushed by him.
The noise was quite loud, and Wen Ze and Yin He, who were busy at the stove, both looked in his direction.
Zhuo Mu stood up and turned into a tall human figure. The fish skin skirt in his space was wrapped around his waist as he changed.
He also wore his woven straw sandals, and his sharp and handsome face maintained its usual calm and composed expression.
Only his slightly narrowed pupils and the slight quickening of his steps betrayed a hint of urgency.
The good-looking Wen Ze, wearing a tattered but clean animal hide skirt, looked over with his dark, bright eyes. His thin lips were slightly parted, as if he was about to say something.
But Yin He got ahead of him and called out excitedly, “Brother Zhuo Mu is back! Brother, can we eat now?”
Not only did he sound excited, but he also walked around the stove several times.
The edge of the stove was relatively wide, with several large wooden bowls placed on it, and clean, large tree leaves covering the wooden plates.
Zhuo Mu had already confirmed that the smell was coming from inside.
He glanced at the leaves and asked Wen Ze and Yin He, “Is there any work left to do?”
Wen Ze smiled. “I don’t think so. Yin He and I have finished everything.”
“Then shall we eat?”
“Mm.”
“Wait a moment, I’ll wash my hands.”
Yin He volunteered, “Brother Zhuo Mu, I’ll get the water for you!”
Wen Ze couldn’t help but laugh at his excited behavior. About half an hour ago, he had already finished preparing dinner.
But because Zhuo Mu had not come back yet, he and Yin He did not eat first. They only tried a bit of the leftovers.
After tasting it, Yin He’s eyes widened. Whether he was cleaning the stove, collecting firewood, or fetching water, he would frequently glance into the distance, while whispering, “Is Brother Zhuo Mu back? Why hasn’t Brother Zhuo Mu come back yet?”
Even from a distance, Wen Ze could hear him swallowing.
In the end, Yin He even wanted to transform into his beast form and run to find Zhuo Mu.
So as soon as Zhuo Mu returned, he was more excited than anyone else to have this meal.
After washing his hands, he and Yin He carried the large wooden bowl into the straw shelter.
Wen Ze then went ahead and brought the bowls and took a few pairs of chopsticks that he had polished.
After sitting down, Wen Ze said, “Let’s eat.”
Yin He cheered. Then he quickly removed the leaves covering the wooden bowls, revealing the food inside.
Zhuo Mu asked, “Is this… mountain rock beast and delicate whiskers?”
As he asked, he picked up a slice of meat with his chopsticks.
The beastmen usually roasted their meat in large cuts. But the meat on his chopsticks was sliced thinly, uneven but delicate.
With a slight shake of the chopsticks, the slightly curled meat shook, releasing the savory aroma of oil. The color was also rich and glossy, with an appealing brown shade.
In addition to the meat, strips of delicate whiskers were cooked until soft, releasing a mildly sweet and enticing aroma instead of their usual strong, unpleasant smell.
Seeing the sauce on the meat was about to drip, he quickly put it in his mouth.
After tasting it, he paused for a moment.
Wen Ze answered his earlier question, “Yes, I picked a tender piece of mountain rock beast meat and sliced it. After peeling the delicate whiskers, I cut them into strips and stir-fried them together.”
Yin He, faster than the other two, stuffed his mouth full, chewed a few times, and swallowed with a loud sound.
“I helped my brother peel the delicate whiskers, and he said what it was called… spicy! Yeah, really spicy! I accidentally rubbed my eye, and it hurt so much I couldn’t open it. My tears kept flowing, and I had to wash it out with water for a while!”
“I told you to be careful. I’ll see if I can make a pair of gloves next time.”
Zhuo Mu listened to them, but his mind was focused entirely on the food.
As he chewed the meat in his mouth, his eyes brightened slightly.
The meat of the Mountain Rock Beast has always had a strong fishy and gamey smell, though it’s not completely gone now, it has significantly decreased to the point where it’s barely noticeable.
What’s more, that little bit of smell that remains actually adds flavor to the food, and when mixed with the smell of the stir-fried delicate whiskers, it becomes incredibly delicious!
Zhuo Mu swallowed the food in his mouth and whispered, “So it can be done like this…”
Because he acted calm, Wen Ze didn’t know whether he was satisfied with the meal or not, so he asked, “How is it? Did I put the right amount of salt?”
Zhuo Mu had already picked up the second piece of meat with his chopsticks. He looked up at him with his silver-white eyelashes and said seriously, “It’s quite good.”
Wen Ze let out a slight sigh of relief and smiled, “That’s great. I made a lot, so please eat more.”
He had tasted too many delicacies in modern times, so this dish of stir-fried mountain rock beast meat with delicate whiskers didn’t exactly amaze him.
However, it was far more delicious than just boiling the Mountain Rock Beast meat with the roots.
Scallions are similar to chives, and the mountain rock beast resembles a goat. Stir-frying the two together removes the smell and increases the freshness, which is a perfect combination.
He also picked up a slice of meat, paired it with the well-cooked, soft yet firm scallions, and placed it in his mouth.
The savory lamb, the sweet scallions, and the salty sea salt all exploded in his mouth, making him squint his eyes in satisfaction.
In the Beast World, whether animals or plants, everything is completely natural and unpolluted, with a strong and unique flavor.
So even if only salt is used for seasoning, the taste of this dish is still good, and Wen Ze is quite satisfied.
The stir-fried lamb with scallions goes especially well with rice. Unfortunately, Zhuo Mu doesn’t have it, but Wen Ze made a pan-fried dish. So he reached out with his chopsticks and picked up the pan-fried roots from the other bowl.
He turned to Yin He, who was concentrating solely on eating the meat, and said, “Eat some pan-fried roots too; don’t just stick to the meat.”
He’s still growing, and a balanced diet is needed to help him grow strong.
Yin He nodded, then took a bite of the pan-fried roots followed by the meat, his cheeks bulging up as he ate.
“Huff… Huff…” The crispy fried skin locked in the heat inside, and Yin He quickly stuck out his tongue and blew on it.
Wen Ze shook his head helplessly. “Eat slowly, don’t burn your tongue.”
“Got it, brother,” Yin He said in amazement, holding the pan-fried roots in his hand. “My Beast God, this is so fragrant! Is this really made from roots? How can it smell so good?”
Wen Ze: “When I was cooking, weren’t you watching me? I used the normal gray roots and stems.”
The dish was about the size of a palm, and since they were pan-fried, the outer skin was crispy.
Moreover, he used a stone pot, which was a little uneven, so the skin had patterns on it, making it really nice to bite into.
Seeing Zhuo Mu also pick up a piece, Wen Ze explained more:
“I peeled and cut the roots into pieces, then placed them on a freshly made steamer tray… that is, steamed them on a cloth, mashed them, removed the tough fibers, mixed in bird eggs, diced scallions, and salt, and then pan-fried them.”
“The scallions and bird eggs fried in beast oil are very fragrant, and the pan-fried roots became delicious as well.”
But Wen Ze felt that if a little more pepper could be added, the taste would definitely be richer.
Unfortunately, there are too few seasonings on hand at the moment.
Next time he goes out, he should pay attention to collecting more. If possible, he could ask the tribe members to help him find some.
After hearing his explanation, Zhuo Mu nodded as he looked at the small pan-fried dish in his bowl.
Yin He, on the other hand, was so busy eating that all he could say was “Blah blah blah blah…delicious.”
Unable to find a word anymore, Wen Ze also started eating quietly.
While eating, he secretly observed his “landlord” and found that he ate more stir-fried lamb with scallions than the pan-fried dish.
He was worried there might not be enough, so he prepared some extra.
He’s a half-beastman, so his appetite is much smaller than theirs. By the end, he had put down his chopsticks, while the other two were still eating.
No one said anything at the table as the food quickly disappeared, and in the end… it was all gone, eaten by the two of them.
Even though Wen Ze was mentally prepared, he still stared wide-eyed.
Not to mention Zhuo Mu, a strong adult beastman, but Yin He… he was a growing boy who would eat his father out of poverty.
At this moment, he was burping, stretching his neck, leaning back slightly, and his stomach was visibly bulging.
Wen Ze asked with some concern, “Yin He, you didn’t overeat, did you?”
“Hic.” Yin He burped and looked at him. “I’m fine, I’ll be better soon. You can leave these, I’ll wash them later.”
Wen Ze: “…If you really can’t do it, get up and move around.”
Yin He weakly waved his hand. “Brother, I’m really fine.”
Zhuo Mu stood up, and his tall body cast a long shadow against the setting sun.
“You two should sit down. I will clean up today.”
Wen Ze felt embarrassed and quickly said, “Let me do it, you’ve worked all day.”
“I’m not tired.”
Zhuo Mu spoke sincerely. He was just carrying some wood and repairing the cave. The amount of exercise he got in a whole day was not as much as half a day of hunting.
Wen Ze was a little scared of him to begin with, but seeing that he insisted, he had no choice but to sit obediently on the stone bench.
“Alright then, there’s hot water in the stone pot on the stove.”
Zhuo Mu neatly piled up the dishes, took them to the stove, washed them with hot water, then took them to the stream and rinsed them again.
When he came back after doing all this, Yin He had almost recovered.
When the two brothers stood up, he asked, “Is there anything else that needs to be done?”
Wen Ze: “Ah, I plan to go gather some flame hemp before it gets dark.”
Zhuo Mu nodded: “I’ll go with you.”
Yin He raised his hand. “Are we making hemp rope? I’ll go too!”
Why do these two seem so active after dinner?
Wen Ze smiled and waved his hand. “No need, you don’t know what I need. If you really want to help… can you collect some wood ash for me?”
The two agreed.
As for the use of hemp fibers, it wasn’t just for making hemp rope.
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