Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Changxia, I Want Some Too

“Changxia—”

“They’re back!”

As they walked into the wasteland north of White Lake, Muqin’s delighted voice rang out. She rushed over and took the anaconda skin from Changxia, looking her up and down to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

“Aunt Muqin, I’m fine,” Changxia said with a smile. “Elder Pukang and Elder Senda hunted an anaconda. We’ll have to make a few more trips to bring all the meat back to the tribe.”

“Besides the anaconda, there are thousands of other snakes that need to be skinned and have their gallbladders removed.”

“Aunt Muqin, let’s talk more when we get back to the tribe.”

Maple Leaf and the others quickly spoke up, urging Muqin and the others to save the conversation for later. They needed to deliver the snake carcasses and anaconda meat to the tribe, then hurry back to the wilds where the elders were still waiting.

“Oh, right—let’s go, back to the tribe!”

Soon, the group set off in a mighty procession, torches in hand, heading for the tribe.

Elder Dalai stood by the wall near White Lake, watching from afar to make sure everyone returned safely, but didn’t come out to meet them. Similarly, Gen had hurried back from Green Mountain at dusk, only to be held back by Elder Yami to help guard the tribe.

He watched the torches approach from a distance, and couldn’t help but go out to meet them.

Without a word, Gen took the rattan basket from South Wind. Other tribe members came forward to take the baskets from the rest.

There were so many snake carcasses that, even after dealing with the blood, the smell was still strong up close.

If they didn’t use some special method, the stench would linger for days.

Soon, some elders came out of the tribe carrying clay jars. They reached into the jars and scattered handfuls of deodorizing powder around.

As the powder was sprinkled, the bloody smell in the night air gradually faded. The tribe was well prepared—unlike in the southern wilds, where they could only bury the remains or burn mugwort to mask the scent.

“Aunt Muqin, we need empty rattan baskets.”

“Aunt Muqin, could you bring us a few jars of deodorizing powder too?”

Clearly, Maple Leaf and South Wind were preparing to head back to the southern wilds. The forest and wildlands had been roughly cleaned up, but they needed to further remove the bloody smell to prevent distant beasts from being attracted to the tribe’s territory—a real danger.

Soon, empty baskets and more deodorizing powder were brought over.

Apart from Changxia, who stayed in the tribe square, everyone else picked up baskets and headed back to the southern wilds by White Lake, joined by other tribe members.

With more people, they’d need fewer trips.

“White meat, fragrant white meat!”

“Idiot! Can’t you recognize it?”

“That’s anaconda meat—the meat of the anaconda spirit worshipped by the Snake tribe.”

Immediately, the elders in the tribe square started chattering excitedly. Don’t underestimate them—back in their day, each of them was a force to be reckoned with.

Otherwise, how could they recognize anaconda meat at a glance?

But while they chatted, their hands moved fast.

Each person squatted by a basket, skinning snakes and removing gallbladders. It wasn’t convenient, but no one suggested doing it by the White River.

A little blood by the river was fine, but thousands of snake carcasses was another matter. Even though they knew there were no river beasts in the White River, no one wanted to take the risk.

No river beasts, but there were big fish.

All in all, the tribe was very cautious about anything too risky.

While the elders skillfully processed the snakes, Changxia sipped chicken soup that Muqin handed her and started experimenting with ways to preserve the anaconda meat. Such a huge anaconda—none of it could go to waste.

**"

Make the Most of Everything: Ensuring All the Anaconda Meat is Properly Used

"Deep-frying it for preservation would use up a huge amount of oil,"Muqin said regretfully.

Anaconda meat isn’t very fatty, so if they wanted to preserve it by deep-frying, they’d need a lot of oil—which was a bit of a problem.

So, after finishing her chicken soup, Changxia tried a second method: making jerky or dried meat from the anaconda.

The weather was getting hotter, so even smoking and drying weren’t entirely reliable for long-term storage. Still, if they couldn’t find a better way, they’d just have to take the risk.

Worst case, the tribe would just eat anaconda meat for every meal.

After being smoked and dried, the meat wouldn’t last long in the heat, but it would keep for a short while. That’s why Changxia wasn’t too worried.

When Chen Rong and the others returned to the tribe for the second time, Changxia had already succeeded in making both jerky and dried meat.

The jerky was a beautiful color, while the dried meat looked a bit ugly—but both tasted great.

“Come on, everyone, have a taste,” Changxia called.

All the tribe members in the square tried the jerky and dried meat. The older folks preferred the jerky, while the younger ones liked the chewy dried meat.

But everyone agreed that both were delicious.

They all paid close attention to the steps Changxia used to make the jerky and dried meat, already planning to try it themselves if they ever hunted a large animal.

Because they were pressed for time, both the jerky and dried meat were cooked over high heat.

Actually, if they weren’t in such a rush, slow-roasting would make the jerky and dried meat taste even better.

Chen Rong opened his mouth and took a piece of jerky that Changxia offered.

“It smells great—really unique flavor.”

Just then, Nan Feng squeezed Chen Rong aside, mouth open. “Changxia, I want some too! Feed me a couple of pieces—”

Hearing this, Maple Leaf, Kongshan, and the others all crowded over, clamoring for Changxia to feed them too.

For once, Chen Rong didn’t get annoyed. He just smiled and stepped aside so Changxia could feed the others. He held the piece of dried meat Changxia had given him, taking small bites, clearly enjoying himself.

“Changxia, are you going to turn all the anaconda meat into jerky and dried meat?” Nan Feng asked as she ate.

Actually, fresh anaconda meat tasted best.

Unfortunately, it was the warm season.

Changxia shook her head and explained, “Probably not.”

“No,” Gen said, setting down his basket. “We’ll keep some fresh for everyone to eat. The rest, we’ll figure out how to preserve—turn it into jerky or dried meat, or smoke or deep-fry it.”

“I’ll try using fruit flour to see if I can make anaconda sausages,” Changxia mused, tilting her head in thought.

She knew fresh anaconda meat tasted best, but the weather was just too hot. Fresh meat would spoil quickly.

If she could make sausages, they’d taste fresher than other preserved methods.

Hearing that Changxia had come up with another way to preserve the meat, Gen and the others were thrilled.

Seeing this, Changxia quickly explained, “Don’t get too excited. Even sausages probably won’t last that long—maybe ten days or half a month at most.”

“That’s still great!” Gen said with a sigh.

With the current weather, anaconda meat would only keep for three days at most. Any longer, even if stored in a cool cave, it would start to rot.

Thanks to the shaman and Changxia’s reminders, everyone in the tribe knew not to eat spoiled meat.

Eating it could make you sick.

So, the Heluo tribe never ate rotten meat.

Gen called the tribe members to head south to the wilds again, leaving the square to Changxia and the others to keep working on ways to preserve all the anaconda meat.