Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Fishfolk Braised Pork

“Stuffed buns—”

“These are made with white fruit flour too?”

Immediately, everyone’s attention shifted.

On the long table, there were eight small wicker baskets, each holding thirty stuffed buns. Changxia knew how bottomless the beastfolk’s appetites were, so she’d made plenty.

Right now, there were still about a hundred more baking in the kitchen oven.

“The buns are made from flour ground from white fruit,” Nan Feng explained. “First, you mix the flour with water and knead it into a dough, then let it ferment so it becomes soft and springy. Next, you wrap the prepared filling inside, flatten them, and bake them in the oven until cooked through.”

According to Changxia, these buns could also be pan-fried.

With a lot of people, baking was faster; with fewer, pan-frying worked well.

Besides buns, you could also make things like steamed buns and dumplings. Honestly, white fruit flour was incredibly versatile.

At first, Changxia thought it could only be used for making noodles.

She doubted it could be used for steamed buns or dumplings, since those are usually made from rice or wheat flour.

But white fruit flour was truly magical.

Other than not being able to make rice, it could do almost everything rice and wheat flour could—calling it “all-purpose” was no exaggeration.

“I helped too!” Milu chimed in.

Right now, Milu was completely captivated by Changxia’s cooking. She wasn’t swooning over Chenrong anymore—he was totally ignored.

At this moment, Changxia was the brightest star in Milu’s eyes. No one else, not even Felis or Qinglan, could compare.

“Hehehe—” Xifeng laughed loudly. “Next time, I’ll have the females of the Earth Tribe come learn from Changxia too.”

The food laid out on the long table was so fragrant that just the smell alone made one’s mouth water.

Just thinking about tasting it made Xifeng drool uncontrollably.

Sizzle!

In the kitchen, Changxia poured piping hot oil over the bowl of poached fish. The pickled fish stew was ready, and she asked Muqin to help dish it up.

“Make way, make way!” Muqin called out.

She brought the pickled fish to the table, and the rich, tangy aroma instantly blended with the other delicious smells, making it hard to tell which dish was the most tempting.

Meanwhile, Changxia carried the poached fish to the long table.

There were two bowls of each dish, and the bowls were huge—almost as big as washbasins.

Once all the food was served, no one felt like chatting anymore. All their attention was focused on the feast before them. They struggled to resist the urge to dig in, staring straight at Changxia, just waiting for her to give the word.

Changxia was momentarily stunned.

Faced with everyone’s eager gazes, she was caught off guard for a second.

“Don’t look at me—pick up your chopsticks and dig in! I don’t need to teach you how to eat, do I?”

Changxia pushed her hands forward, signaling everyone to help themselves and not be shy.

Suye was the first to pick up her wooden chopsticks, grabbing a meat-filled pastry. “Come on, everyone, eat!”

Whoosh—

Everyone quickly grabbed their chopsticks, imitating Suye and picking up a pastry, then reaching for the nearest dish.

Hiss—

Soon, the sound of people sucking in their breath filled the air. Clearly, the food was spicy! The Tian Shi tribe had brought plenty of chili peppers, and Changxia hadn’t held back with the spice.

“Spicy! Really spicy!”

“But it’s so satisfying!”

“Changxia, your spicy dishes are amazing!”

No need to guess—the last comment was definitely from Milu. Even if it wasn’t her, it had to be someone from the Lion Tribe. Other than the lions, no one else here had eaten much chili before. The Bear Tribe traded for chili mainly to keep warm during the cold season.

Usually, they ate it to dispel dampness.

Compared to sweets, the bears could only say they’d tried chili before.

“Awesome!”

“It’s a pity there’s no Shaobai from the Fish Tribe.”

“The Fish Tribe is so stingy. Every year, they only bring a tiny bit of Shaobai to the Normandy Market. There’s never enough for all the tribes to share!”

Mentioning Shaobai instantly made Anbian and the others grumble.

Shaobai was a kind of rice wine brewed by the Fish Tribe.

It was spicy and strong, but with a mellow finish—hugely popular among the beast tribes. But the Fish Tribe always brought so little to the Normandy Market that competition for it was fierce.

Sometimes, the Bird Tribe would join the scramble, making the fight for Shaobai even more intense.

“Chief, what’s Shaobai?” Changxia asked.

Gen looked a bit embarrassed and replied quietly, “It’s a kind of rice wine brewed by the Fish Tribe. It tastes amazing.”

There were some monkeys in the Twilight Forest who knew how to make fruit wine, but they were vengeful and lived in groups, making it nearly impossible to get their monkey wine. The beast tribes had tried to imitate them, but rarely succeeded.

Eventually, they gave up and just hoped to trade with the Fish Tribe for Shaobai.

“The Fish Tribe can brew wine?” Changxia was very curious.

Muqin explained, “Yes, they know how to make wine. The beast tribes tried to use wild fruit like the monkeys, but rarely succeeded. And when they did, it was drunk up right away.”

Wine was a luxury for the beast tribes.

Mainly because it was so rare, and they didn’t know how to make it themselves or have any way to trade for it.

Occasionally, traveling merchants from the Western Lands would bring some of their beer, but the beast tribes found it undrinkable—too bitter and unpleasant.

Other grain wines were even more expensive, pricier than Shaobai, so the poor beast tribes could only look on in envy.

“Monkeys and their wine…” Changxia’s eyes lit up, eager to try some.

“Monkeys are clever and vengeful. Finding monkey wine is even harder than gathering honey,” Xifeng said, smacking his lips in regret.

Who among the beast tribes in the Twilight Forest hadn’t tried to find monkey wine?

But those who actually succeeded were few and far between.

Anbian chimed in, “That’s right. Last time, I finally found a treehouse where monkeys had brewed wine, but before I could celebrate, I realized it was abandoned…”

Thinking about it, Anbian still felt annoyed.

Monkeys were smart and had some intelligence. They knew the beast tribes would steal their wine, so they always picked the most hidden spots for their brewing treehouses. It was rare for anyone to find one with wine inside.

Eating and drinking, everyone was completely satisfied.

Not a drop of soup or sauce was left in any bowl or dish on the long table.

Everyone had used the pastries to mop up every last bit.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought Changxia had served them empty bowls and dishes.

“Anbian, trade five thousand jin of chili peppers to my Bear Tribe,” Xifeng said.

Anbian gave Xifeng a sidelong look. “What will you trade for my chili peppers? The Lion Tribe doesn’t need animal skins or bones—I want seaweed.”

He already knew the Bear Tribe could make sugar from seaweed. Anbian wasn’t stupid.

Of course he wanted to trade chili for something worthwhile.

“No way, I need the seaweed to make sugar. But if the Lion Tribe is willing to wait, I can trade you some of the sugar once it’s made,” Xifeng replied. He wasn’t foolish enough to trade the raw seaweed directly. Trading the sugar made from it would be much more worthwhile.

Gen, meanwhile, chose to stay out of it.

Whether it was chili or seaweed, the Heluo Tribe could get it for free.

All thanks to Changxia.

Thinking of this, Gen looked at Changxia with deep affection. No wonder the shaman valued her so much—she really was special.

Thanks to: Dingdang Xiang’s Meow Meow, Sunny Day, Hibernating Bear, Spring Swallow’s Nest, Lovely Beauty Sakura, Kunkun, Little Golden Gourd, and all the other awesome folks for your monthly votes! Special thanks to 灬爱伱不久乄就壹辈子灬 for your generous reward. Orange is too tired today, so I’ll add the extra update for your reward tomorrow (*￣3)(ε￣*)