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It’s still raining, and Yin He has turned into his beast form, walking towards them with one foot sinking deeper than the other.
When he reached the cave entrance, he didn’t hurry to get closer. Instead, he stood up straight and suddenly shook his fur.
The water droplets hanging on the soft black and white fur were quickly shaken off. In the blink of an eye, he turned into a fluffy giant panda.
With his round head, round body, and thick ears that twitched a few times, and the clear eyes blinking under the “dark circles.”
It was so cute.
“Brother, I’m back.” As he said that, Yin He turned into his human form and ran towards him.
Wen Ze nodded at him, and Zhuo Mu also stood up and looked at the half-beastmen coming towards them.
They could not transform into complete beast form, so they were all wearing straw raincoats and straw hats.
The one leading the half-beastmen was Bai Ling. He’s the son of Sang Hui, whom Wen Ze spoke with yesterday.
Bai Ling was tall, with fair skin and prominent features, making him quite eye-catching.
In addition to the animal bone necklace hanging around his neck, he also had his ears pierced and wore gemstone earrings.
“Zhuo Mu, we are here to find Wen Ze.” His voice was also as clear as jade.
Wen Ze became even more confused when he heard this. He looked at Yin He, and the boy was winking at him.
There wasn’t enough room in the straw shelter for so many people, so Zhuo Mu nodded. “Let’s move to the cave and talk.”
The half-beastmen took off their straw raincoats and straw hats, and with a wave of their hands, they put both items into their own space.
The cave was dug downwards and was very dark inside, so everyone gathered at the entrance of the cave.
Wen Ze took the initiative to ask, “What brings you here?”
Bai Ling stepped forward and answered, “We heard from Yin He today that you used the delicate whiskers to make the rock beast meat taste especially good, so we wanted to ask you how you did it.”
The others added, “We’ve cut it and stir-fried it, but the meat still has quite a strong smell.”
“And it doesn’t seem as tender as your brother said it would be.”
“The delicate whiskers taste delicious when fried. No wonder you collected so many of them.”
The half-beastmen were practical and didn’t suspect that Yin He was lying. They only guessed that there might have been a step they missed, which is why they came together to ask Wen Ze.
Bai Ling humbly asked, “There are many delicate whiskers growing on the mountain. If we learn how to cook them, maybe we could make our dishes taste better in the future. Could you teach us?”
Wen Ze agreed readily after hearing this. “I see. There’s nothing that can’t be taught. Let me think… Did you blanch the meat first?”
“Blanch the meat?” Everyone looked at each other, apparently having no idea what this meant.
Wen Ze glanced at the sky outside and said, “How about this? I’ll take out some meat and show it to you.”
“That’s great! Thank you,” they all replied.
Everyone hurriedly put on their straw raincoats and headed to the stove outside.
Wen Ze didn’t even need to ask for help. Someone would take the initiative to help collect firewood, make a fire, and fetch water, which was much more efficient.
Wen Ze cut the meat into pieces and carefully demonstrated to the half-beastmen how to blanch it.
“Once the water starts boiling, it helps remove the blood from the meat and reduces the strong smell. Remember to put the meat in cold water afterward.”
“If you have time, you can soak the meat in clean water before blanching, which can also remove some of the blood.”
“During blanching, add some delicate whiskers. Once foam rises to the surface, skim it off. Blanch for this long, and it should be enough.”
Actually, adding a bit of white vinegar and cooking wine would also help, but Wen Ze doesn’t have any right now.
Wen Ze took the meat out, poured off the water, and when he started heating the oil in the pan, he added, “Actually, it’s not just animal meat; some wild leafy vegetables can also be blanched to remove their bitterness.”
Everyone listened very carefully. Bai Ling then asked, “Does it also need to be soaked in cold water?”
Wen Ze said, “No, just use hot water. The blanching time shouldn’t be too long.
All of them nodded, signaling that they understood.
There was no space left for Yin He and Zhuo Mu by the stove, so they didn’t come over, but they didn’t go far either.
Yin He suddenly thought of something and said loudly, “No wonder the wild vegetables cooked with the gray roots this morning was green and not bitter at all! Brother, did you blanch them in water? I thought the wild vegetables had become delicious!”
Wen Ze smiled and replied, “Yes, I blanched it.”
This time, the half-beastmen looked at Wen Ze with even more surprise and admiration.
Every time they cooked wild vegetables at home, they always boiled them until they were yellow, but the bitterness didn’t go away much, and the taste was particularly bad.
Wen Ze had managed to make them taste good while keeping their color and texture using just this simple trick! Coming to Wen Ze’s place today was definitely a good idea!
Even if they didn’t learn how to stir-fry beast meat with delicate whiskers, just this blanching method was worth it!
Wen Ze used high heat to stir-fry the meat, and soon, a plate of fragrant “Stir-fried Lamb with Scallions” came out of the pot.
The smell spread everywhere. It was quite strong and filled everyone’s noses.
The eyes of the half-beastmen widened in surprised, and they couldn’t help but swallow involuntarily.
Even though they hadn’t tasted it yet, they were sure that this meal would be delicious!
“There aren’t enough chopsticks. Let’s break some branches to use,” Wen Ze said.
Yin He said enthusiastically, “I’ll go break some! Wait for me, I’ll be back soon!”
Soon, everyone was given a pair of chopsticks.
After Wen Ze said that it was okay to eat, everyone picked up the rock beast meat with their chopsticks.
The meat was freshly cooked and very hot, so they simply blew on it a little before quickly putting it into their mouths.
After just a bite, their eyes widened in shock!
“Mmm, this is so delicious!”
“Wow, it’s so tender! The gamey taste is almost gone!”
“It smells so good! I never knew mountain rock beast meat could taste this amazing!”
“Try the delicate whiskers, it’s sweet and delicious!”
Wen Ze didn’t make much, so each person only got a few bites.
After expressing their amazement, everyone fell silent and focused intently on savoring the meal.
Soon, the delicate whiskers and mountain rock beast meat were finished. Some of the half-beastmen looked at the sauce in the plates, but to save face, they didn’t actually “lick the plates.”
“May the Beast God bless us… There are such delicious dishes in the world.”
“I can’t even describe how delicious it is. Thank you, Beast God.”
“I will go to the mountain to dig some delicate whiskers and bring them home to cook this dish for my family, so they can have a taste too!”
“We should really thank Wen Ze. He discovered this way to cook delicate whiskers and taught us.”
“Wen Ze, thank you so much!”
Wen Ze was already embarrassed enough to be showing how it was done in front of so many people. Now, being surrounded and thanked by everyone, his face immediately turned red.
He looked at the sincere, humble eyes of the half-beastmen and waved his hand, “It’s just a small trick. I’m happy if it can help everyone.”
Though he said this, the simple-hearted half-beastmen continued to thank him repeatedly.
Bai Ling asked curiously, “Wen Ze, how did you find out that delicate whiskers could be cooked this way?”
… Well, of course, it’s because he’s from another world but he really can’t say that.
“I learned the blanching and stir-frying methods from others. There were so many delicate whiskers on the mountain, so I just thought I’d give it a try, and luckily it worked.”
Everyone nodded and said happily, “Thanks to you, we now have another easily available food!”
Wen Ze, inspired by their enthusiasm, added, “Delicate whiskers can be used in many dishes to add flavor. If you mix fresh delicate whiskers with a little salt, you can even eat them as a cold dish. My cooking skills are average, but when you get home, you should try it out, and if you come up with better methods, don’t forget to teach me too.”
“Okay, no problem!”
“Your cooking skills are anything but average! I’ve never tasted such delicious food!”
The half-beastmen were busy looking for the delicate whiskers and didn’t stay long. But before leaving, they all glanced at the spindle and hemp skins in the straw shelter and asked, “Wen Ze, are you going to spin this into thread?”
Wen Ze replied, “Yes.”
“I’ll help you!”
Spinning thread by hand was slow, and Wen Ze was a little tempted.
But he still refused embarrassedly, “It’s too much trouble. We can spin it slowly ourselves.”
“What’s troublesome about it? It’s raining anyway, and we don’t have anything else to do.”
“Yes, just give us the hemp skin! We just need to spin it into threads as fine as yours, right?”
Wen Ze: “Yes…”
“Okay, I’ll take this batch of hemp skin and bring it back to you once it’s spun.”
“Then I’ll take this batch.”
“I’ll ask my father for help. I’ll take two portions.”
“I’ll also take two!”
The half-beastmen quickly divided up the hemp skin Wen Ze had prepared, leaving him no chance to speak up.
Wen Ze was stunned, “Eh…?”
They took it all away. Does that mean he doesn’t have any work left to do?
The half-beastmen didn’t give him a chance to refuse. They smiled as they put on their straw raincoats and hats, waved at him, and ran into the rain.
Wen Ze stood there for a while and couldn’t help but laugh. The people in the beast world were too honest.
Well then, so he went to cook.
Aside from the stir-fried lamb with scallions, Wen Ze also made a cold dish with wild vegetables and roots, and steamed some vegetables.
After eating, he saw that it was still early and said to Yin He and Zhuo Mu, “I’m going out to chop some wood. I might be back later.”
Zhuo Mu’s long, deep red eyes turned toward him: “I’ll go with you. I’m more familiar with this area.”
Wen Ze thought for a moment and didn’t refuse: “Then thank you.”
Yin He: “I’ll go with you too!”
Wen Ze: “You stay and watch the house. There might be more half-beastmen coming today.”
Yin He’s face dropped, “Okay.”
Wen Ze smiled and couldn’t resist rubbing the thick panda ears on his head.
Taking advantage of the light rain, he and Zhuo Mu didn’t waste any time and went out to look for wood.
Wen Ze picked through the woods, and in the end, came back with a bundle of sturdy wood and a few wooden boards that he had split with a stone axe.
After returning, he sat in the straw shelter and took out tools like pieces of animal hides, hemp rope, and bone needles.
Yin He squatted beside him curiously and asked, “Brother, what are you going to do? Do you need my help?”
Wen Ze, “I need to think about it first. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Yin He: “Okay!”
What’s he’s trying to do is a make a simple weaving frame, which is an ancient tool for weaving cloth.
Although he had never woven cloth before, out of interest, he had studied the principles of weaving during his school days when visiting museums.
The frame was not only easy to use, but also saved time and effort compared to manual weaving.
Most importantly, it has a simple structure and does not require many tools to make, which is suitable for his current situation.
After figuring it out, he began to work.
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