Sang Hui looked at Wen Ze and held back from speaking right away. 

Wen Ze thought of the tomatoes that Huo Lan had given him and answered without hiding anything, “It’s a powder extracted from the roots. It can be used to tenderize meat, thicken sauces, and so on.” 

He took the starch from Sang Hui, took some out, and poured it into a wooden bowl. 

At the same time, he briefly explained how the starch was made. 

When the others heard this, they shook their heads at the same time. “That’s way too complicated—washing, filtering, drying… Forget it.” 

“I think the meat is fine as it is. It doesn’t need to be extra tender.” 

As for thickening the sauce, they had no idea what it meant. 

The people from the South Mountain Tribe, including Sang Hui, all smiled but said nothing, which puzzled the people from the Rainbow Sun Tribe. 

Wen Ze didn’t explain much. He just started marinating the fish slices and included the shredded birds as well. 

He called over two people to help him shred the bird meat into strips, filling up three large bowls. 

Next, he grabbed a bigger clay bowl, added the finely chopped scallions, stir-fried the Sichuan pepper, crushed nuts, and salt, and poured hot oil over the mixture. 

“Sizzle—” 

The animal fat instantly brought out the aroma of the seasonings, making everyone’s eyes light up and mouths water. 

Finally, he picked a small bowl of sweet and sour fruit, mashed it into a paste, and chopped up two slightly ripe tomatoes. He added everything into the clay bowl and stirred it with chopsticks. 

The combined aroma of the scallions, pepper, and sweet and sour mixed together, creating rich layers that immediately stimulated the Beastmen’s sharp taste buds and sparked their appetite subconsciously. 

“Smells so good! I’m so hungry, when can we eat?” Huo Lan placed his hand on his stomach and stared at the prepared sauce without even blinking. 

“This dish will be ready soon,” Wen Ze said with a smile. 

He poured the sauce over the shredded bird meat, added some chopped vegetables for garnish, and mixed it all together. The result was a cold shredded meat dish with a vibrant color and rich, fresh aroma. 

Then, he quickly heated the oil in the pan and added the shallots to fry until they smelled good. 

Everyone from the Rainbow Sun Tribe gathered around, chattering excitedly, “Are you going to stir-fry the bird meat now?” 

“With so many seasonings, it must be really delicious!” 

“You’ve chopped so many tomatoes, are you going to stir-fry them all together?” 

Wen Ze shook his head. “These are two separate dishes.” 

He had specially set aside the riper tomatoes, peeled them, and diced them before adding them to the pan. He pressed and stirred them repeatedly to release their juices, then poured in half a pot of the hot water that had been prepared earlier. 

After simmering the red soup for a few minutes, he added salt to season it, then put the fish slices into the pan. 

Bubbling away, the tender fish slices quickly curled in the soup, bouncing gently. Even without tasting, they could imagine how smooth it would be. 

The sliced fish cooked very quickly. Everyone felt that in the blink of an eye, Wen Ze had taken the animal hide and placed it on both sides of the pot to lift it up. 

“Is it done already?” Chi Yu asked, his eyes widening slightly. 

“Yes.” 

Before Wen Ze could make a move, Zhuo Mu had already taken over his task, just like before. He calmly lifted the pot and set it aside. 

Huo Lan bent down and leaned in. The unique sweet and sour flavor of the tomato made him keep swallowing. 

Staring at the reddish soup in the pot, with the snow-white, tender fish slices and the steam rising, he curiously asked, “Why does this tomato soup feel a bit thick, unlike the soup we made before?” 

Wen Ze explained, “Didn’t we coat the fish slices with starch? That’s what thickened it.” 

“I see…” Huo Lan’s face showed that he really wanted to eat. 

Everyone was tired from the day’s work, and their stomachs were growling with hunger. 

Without hesitation, Wen Ze clapped his hands and called out, “Is the stewed meat and the steamed roots ready?” 

The half-beastman responsible for those dishes answered, “All done!” 

“Great, then just wait a moment. I’ll make a soup with the remaining fish heads and bones. You can start getting the utensils, and then we can start eating!” 

Cheers erupted around him, and before long, everyone gathered around and sat on the ground. 

Wen Ze noticed that for the first bite, everyone was either reaching for the cold shredded meat or the sour fish soup. 

He also picked up a slice of fish, and as he placed it in the bowl, the fish slice wobbled enticingly between his chopsticks. 

After putting it in his mouth, he focused on savoring it. 

The sweet and sour tomato soup, seasoned with just a bit of scallions and salt, didn’t overpower the flavors. It was rich, delicious, and very appetizing. 

The fish slices were cooked just right. With a gentle bite, they turned into small pieces that slid down the throat as if they were going down a slide. 

The sweet and sour flavor, along with the smell of scallions, perfectly balanced out the slight fishy taste of the long-eyed fish. After being sliced, the bones were tiny, almost undetectable, so there was no need to pick them out. 

After a long day of work, having a bite of this sweet and sour fish made him feel so happy that he squinted his eyes in contentment. 

Next, Wen Ze tried the cold shredded meat. The bird they caught today also tasted exceptional; the meat was neither dry nor tough. 

With the hot weather, eating the cold shredded bird meat with its sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors was refreshing, like the heat of summer melting away and lifting him up to float on a light cloud. 

Still, he thought the flavor was a bit too simple. If only there were soy sauce and chili. Adding a few spoons would make it even better. 

Once he got back, he was determined to have Sang Hui take him outside to look for some beans! 

He scooped some tomato soup into a bowl, blew on it, and drank it. 

Only then did he realize that no one had been speaking. When he looked up— 

Pfft, everyone was too busy eating their food! 

No one was paying attention to the stewed or roasted meat anymore. Instead, everyone focused on the shredded meat and fish slices, quickly picking up their chopsticks. 

In just a short time, half of both dishes were gone! 

Wen Ze glanced around, realizing he’d only had one bite. 

Without bothering to finish his soup, he grabbed his chopsticks and stuffed some shredded meat into his mouth. 

Before he could even swallow, he picked up three pieces of fish and placed them in his bowl. 

At the same time, a pair of chopsticks reached over and placed another two pieces of fish in his bowl. 

Wen Ze turned his head to look and saw that it was Zhuo Mu who had placed them there. In his deep, narrow eyes, there was a hint of a smile. 

He smiled back and, without being polite, he quickly finished the fish in his bowl. 

It wasn’t until the shredded meat and fish slices were all gone that everyone seemed to remember their voices and started talking. 

“Um… can someone lend me a spoon? I’d like to have some soup too?” A half-beastman, holding his bowl, blushed slightly. 

Wen Ze handed over his spoon. “Here, you can use this. I only used it for the soup and didn’t put it in my mouth.” 

“Thanks!” The half-beastman quickly took it and filled his own bowl. 

Everyone had a big appetite, so their bowls were large. Once he served himself, the soup in the pot visibly dropped. 

The others complained, “Hey, save some for us!” 

The half-beastman, holding his bowl, squinted his eyes and grinned. Wen Ze couldn’t help but think he resembled an adorable little cub. 

“This soup is really good. Adding starch truly makes a difference. I was originally planning to make a coat with the cloth I weave, but now I’m thinking of using it to filter starch instead!” 

The others laughed and teased him, “What did you say earlier? Starch is too much trouble, no need to add it when cooking! And now you’re willing to give up clothes for food? Hahaha!” 

“I didn’t know it would taste this good! But I still need the clothes; I’ll just make them a little later!” 

Another burst of laughter erupted around them. 

For the people from the South Mountain Tribe, this kind of “change of heart” was nothing new. 

Besides, since they had already tasted deep-fried mushrooms, mochi, and other dishes, when they tried the new tomato fish slices, they weren’t too eager about it. At least on the surface, they seemed pretty calm. 

On the other hand, the people from the Rainbow Sun Tribe looked as if they had “never seen the world,” which made them feel a strong sense of pride and superiority. 

Everyone kept glancing at Wen Ze, the handsome young man who was casually eating the stem vegetables. 

He smiled gently as he listened, with an unassuming and composed attitude, which made people feel quite favorable toward him. 

No wonder Chi Yu always tried to get close to him, probably hoping to pull him into the Rainbow Sun Tribe. 

Heh, they really think too highly of themselves. 

Anyway, they had already told Zhuo Mu to keep an eye on Wen Ze and make sure Chi Yu wouldn’t succeed! 

Before long, the conversation shifted to the cold shredded pork dish. 

“I love this dish, it’s so appetizing. I ate more stem vegetables than I usually do.” 

“Same here! I can’t even eat any more meat now.” 

“Look at you all, you seem like you haven’t eaten in three days. Luckily, the food prepared today is enough. Hahaha.” 

“Stop picking on us, you’re the one with soup all over your mouth.” 

“I think the most unique flavor is that numbing, crispy taste! Could it be from the thorny fruit? Can this thing actually be used as a seasoning?” 

Sang Hui casually responded, “Yes, whether it’s used raw or cooked, it has a lot of flavors.” 

“Good, good! Next time we’ll go pick some thorny fruit too! Can you tell us more dishes made with thorny fruit?” 

Sang Hui replied, “You can put it in fried mushrooms.” 

“Huh? Fried mushrooms? How do you fry them?” 

As everyone finished the remaining food, they chatted casually. 

Sang Hui simply explained how to fry the mushrooms and also mentioned the mushroom soup pot. 

The people from the Rainbow Sun Tribe, listening closely, suddenly felt like the vegetable in their hands didn’t taste as good anymore. 

They asked enviously, “You have such good food in your tribe?” 

Sang Hui smiled slightly, not denying it, “It’s all thanks to Wen Ze teaching us.” 

Suddenly, Huo Lan shouted, “Ahhh!” 

Everyone turned to look at him and asked, “What’s wrong?” 

Huo Lan, gripping his chopsticks, said irritably, “I just suddenly feel like you all are a bit unpleasant.” 

He looked at Chi Yu and asked, “Leader, can you do something about this?” 

Chi Yu laughed heartily and helplessly shrugged his shoulders. 

The others knew Huo Lan didn’t mean any harm, and since the people from the South Mountain Tribe often showed off a little, they all burst into laughter. 

Huo Lan kept a serious face and shot a look at Chi Yu. “Wen Ze is so impressive, don’t you think we should try to win him over?” 

Chi Yu replied, “You think I don’t want to? But the people from the South Mountain Tribe treat me like I’m a thief!” 

Huo Lan grumbled, “That’s frustrating.” 

Chi Yu gave him a reassuring glance. “It’s okay. We’ll have more time to work together. You all should keep trying too.” 

Huo Lan nodded seriously. 

After finishing the delicious meal and cleaning up the bowls and plates, everyone rested for a while before heading toward the kiln. 

This was Wen Ze’s first time seeing someone use a kiln to fire pottery, and he couldn’t be more excited. 

Not to mention, Chi Yu also promised that they could take home the pottery they shaped and fired themselves! 

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