Chapter 117: Chapter 117: The Short-Haired Female

“Chang Xia, is there anything to eat in the kitchen?” Nan Feng asked, clutching her stomach.

As she spoke, she walked over to the cupboard, rummaging through it and the stone pot on the stove, hoping to find something to fill her rumbling belly.

“I had cold mung bean noodles for breakfast, but there aren’t any leftovers. However, there’s still some stewed meat from last night that I made for Granny Su Ye and Baiqing. Do you want some? The flavor’s a bit strong—maybe I can make some fruit flour pancakes to go with it?” Chang Xia said as she walked into the small dining room she’d set up in the next room. After breakfast, she’d put the leftover stewed meat in a wooden bowl and left it on the long table.

“Yes, I’ll have some first,” Nan Feng said eagerly.

Chang Xia handed her the wooden bowl. Thinking about it, she realized there really wasn’t much food left in the house. Most of what she’d made for Baiqing last night, Chen Rong had packed up for Su Ye to take back to Kana Sacred Mountain.

So, she took out the sugar jar from the cupboard.

It was filled with maple syrup. She scooped out a few spoonfuls, mixed it with cool boiled water, and handed it to Nan Feng.

“If you’re hungry, have some maple syrup water first. I’ll make you some fruit flour pancakes,” Chang Xia said.

Nuan Chun started the fire while Chang Xia began mixing the fruit flour.

In the courtyard, Chen Rong and Ya Dong started cleaning up, Kong Shan went back to the tribe to find maple leaves, and Shan Kun kept a close eye on his two little ones. The boys were mischievous—if you looked away for a second, they’d disappear.

“Chang Xia, are we having fish for lunch?”

“If you want—”

“I kind of want fish balls and shrimp.”

Nan Feng nibbled on the stewed meat, sipping the maple syrup water.

After a while, her hunger finally eased, and she couldn’t help but ask what was for lunch. They’d all been so busy lately—come to think of it, the tribe had never been this busy before.

Usually, the beastfolk spent their days hunting and gathering at sunrise, returning to the tribe at sunset to rest.

Day after day, year after year.

It seemed like a hardworking life, but it was actually quite leisurely.

Except for the hardships of the cold season, the Twilight Forest was bountiful the rest of the year, and the beastfolk lived quite well.

But this year, thanks to Chang Xia, everyone had been busy for a whole month.

“If you want fish and shrimp, you’ll have to go to the pond by White Lake to catch some. And bring back a chicken—I’ll make chicken soup,” Chang Xia replied. Most of yesterday’s chicken soup had gone to Su Ye.

She could tell everyone wanted more,

So she asked Nan Feng to bring back a chicken from the coop by White Lake.

“Okay, I’ll go after I finish my maple syrup water,” Nan Feng said quickly.

She wasn’t much of a cook, but she loved coming to Chang Xia’s house to eat. She might not be much help in the kitchen, but she was great at running errands.

She gulped down the maple syrup water, put the leftover stewed meat back on the long table in the dining room, and covered it with a bamboo sieve. Then she left the kitchen, called Ya Dong in the courtyard, and the two of them grabbed baskets and headed for White Lake.

Chen Rong brought the leftover wood scraps into the kitchen—there wasn’t much use for them anymore.

"Here is a natural, fluent English translation of your text:

“What did Nan Feng call Ya Dong out to do?” Chen Rong asked.

Chang Xia finished scooping out the fruit powder and started adding water to the wooden basin, getting ready to mix it into a paste.

“She wanted to eat fish and shrimp, so I told her to go catch some herself from the pond by White Lake. And while she’s at it, to catch a chicken too—we’ll make chicken soup for lunch. We’ve been having bone broth every day lately, and I’m getting a bit tired of it,” Chang Xia explained.

Nuan Chun said, “I’ve been drinking crucian carp soup recently, and I’m starting to feel sick of it.”

No matter how tasty something is, if you have it too often, you just can’t take it anymore.

“Why don’t you ask the tribe for a few pig’s feet and try making pig’s feet soup?” Chang Xia suggested.

It was her idea for Nuan Chun to drink crucian carp soup in the first place. No matter how good a soup is, it’s normal to get tired of it after a while.

“I want something spicy…” Nuan Chun pouted.

She was really sick of soup.

Unfortunately, there were no chili peppers in the tribe. She craved Chang Xia’s spicy stir-fries, especially the stir-fried river shrimp and spicy chicken. Just thinking about it made Nuan Chun’s mouth water.

“Chang Xia, do you have any chili peppers left?” Nuan Chun asked. “I really want something spicy.”

She never cared much for chili before. But ever since she’d tasted Chang Xia’s spicy dishes, she couldn’t forget the flavor. The more she thought about it, the more she started to drool.

“There’s still about half a pound left,” Chang Xia said. “Let’s make some stir-fried crispy pork with chili for lunch.”

As soon as Nuan Chun mentioned chili, Chang Xia started to salivate too.

Su Ye had gone to the Kanar Holy Mountain Witch Hall today. Who knew when the Tian Shi tribe would visit the Witch Hall? Now, Chang Xia could only hope the Lion Tribe would go soon—then the tribe could trade for more chili peppers.

“Really?” Nuan Chun was overjoyed.

If Chen Rong weren’t watching, she would have hugged and kissed Chang Xia on the spot.

“Really. The chili peppers are in the rattan basket under the cupboard. Take them out and wash them. Bai Qing brought these over, and if we don’t eat them soon, they’ll dry out or spoil,” Chang Xia said, nodding toward the cupboard to signal Nuan Chun to get the chilies.

Chang Xia had scooped out a lot of chili seeds from several red peppers and tried planting them a few times.

Unfortunately, none of the seeds had sprouted so far.

She guessed it might be because the rainy season had come and the seeds had gotten waterlogged and spoiled.

Still, she’d put some soil in a broken clay pot in the cave and sprinkled in a few chili seeds. She’d wait a few more days to see if any would sprout.

“Okay!” Nuan Chun replied cheerfully.

Chang Xia added, “See if there are any red chilies. If there are, scoop out the seeds—I can use them.”

If it doesn’t work once, try again.

Chang Xia was determined to grow her own chilies.

If all else failed, she’d shamelessly ask Granny Su Ye to help her trade for chili seedlings from the Tian Shi tribe.

One way or another, she was going to grow chili peppers.

After all, hotpot and Sichuan dishes just aren’t the same without chili!

“Alright!” Nuan Chun grabbed the rattan basket and left the kitchen.

If there was one inconvenience about living in the cave, it was water.

There was no running water, so they had to carry water from White Lake.

There was a big water jar by the corridor outside the kitchen, another by the wooden shed, and one more in the courtyard by the right-hand corridor. All three were stone jars.

Every morning, Chen Rong would fetch water from White Lake, filling all three jars, which took at least fifteen minutes.

If Chang Xia went, it took her at least half an hour.

During the first rains, Chang Xia wandered around White Lake, hoping to find a mountain spring to divert to the cave. That way, they wouldn’t have to carry water every day and could use it more freely.

Unfortunately, after several days of searching, she still hadn’t found one.

After about half an hour, Nan Feng and Ya Dong came back carrying a chicken and a catch of fish and shrimp.

The cave house became lively again. Not long after, Chang Xia heard a familiar voice calling out. She stepped out of the kitchen and saw a tall, striking woman with short hair walking toward her.

“Maple Leaf!” Chang Xia called out happily.