Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Chili Sauce

“Didn’t Changxia say we’d make half into chili powder and half into chili oil? Why are we grinding all the dried chilies?” Honeydew sneezed, her eyes red from the chili fumes.

Changxia was using a rattan sieve to sun-dry the chilies, with Maple Leaf helping her carry the sieves.

Shenrong and a few others were called over by Changxia to snip off chili stems. She planned to sun-dry the fresh chilies for a couple of days and then use different types to make different chili sauces.

Before, she hadn’t taught the Lion Tribe how to make chili sauce—mainly because she hadn’t thought of it. Now, as she was drying the fresh chilies, Changxia suddenly remembered that fresh chilies couldn’t be used for chili oil, but they could be made into chili sauce.

Bell peppers, also called sweet peppers or lantern peppers, are round, not very spicy, but have a sweet and slightly peppery flavor. In contrast, facing heaven peppers are extremely spicy, small, and usually red or purple.

Speaking of which, Changxia was really curious about the Heavenly Lion Tribe.

What kind of mountains could produce such a variety and quantity of chilies? Every chili Changxia could recognize, the Heavenly Lion Tribe had. Even the ones she couldn’t recognize, they had too. It was honestly unbelievable!

“Honeydew, you need chili powder to make chili oil!” South Wind said. “Are you planning to fry whole dried chilies in oil? Ew! Actually, now that you mention it, I kind of want to try.”

As she spoke, South Wind looked eager to give it a go.

Who said chili oil had to be made with chili powder?

Can’t you just fry whole dried chilies? Or does it taste bad?

Suddenly, South Wind felt a sense of mission. She glanced at the dried chilies in the stone grinder and called out to Changxia, “Changxia, the stove is ready—can we start making chili oil?”

Changxia paused, then poured the chilies Shenrong and the others had stemmed into the rattan sieve.

She spread them out to dry.

“Did you and Honeydew finish grinding the chilies?” Changxia asked.

She’d told them earlier that the dried chilies for chili oil didn’t need to be ground too fine. But it hadn’t been that long—were they already done?

“Nope—” South Wind replied bluntly.

Changxia was speechless as she looked at South Wind.

The chilies weren’t even ground yet, so where did South Wind get the nerve to ask about making chili oil?

Seeing Changxia’s silence, South Wind added, “I want to try making chili oil with whole dried chilies. Maybe it’ll taste even better than with chili powder.”

Can’t you make chili oil with whole dried chilies?

The answer is: you can.

But the dried chilies the Heavenly Lion Tribe sent this time weren’t suitable.

To make chili oil directly from dried chilies, you need the small kind. This batch was too big—if you don’t grind them, you won’t get any heat out.

“Enough nonsense, hurry up and grind the chilies.”

Sensing Changxia’s exasperation, Maple Leaf waved her fist at South Wind, the meaning clear: keep talking and I’ll beat you up.

Seeing this, South Wind slumped her shoulders and muttered, “Maple Leaf is always bullying me!”

Honeydew puffed out her chest in response.

Arguing back? Not a chance.

The two of them buried their heads and kept turning the stone grinder, crushing the dried chilies.

The spicy scent in the cave courtyard never faded.

“Changxia, it could rain at any time during the rainy season. If the chilies are left out to dry, they might rot,” Maple Leaf said worriedly.

Nearby, Warm Spring put her twin cubs down and helped arrange the rattan sieves.

“Maple Leaf’s right. These chilies might not have time to dry out,” Warm Spring echoed her concern. It wasn’t that she wanted to eat the chilies the Lion Tribe had brought for Changxia, but it would be a shame if thousands of pounds of chilies spoiled.

Changxia waved her hand and said calmly, “You’re overthinking it. I’m not planning to dry all these chilies completely. I just want to get some of the moisture out, then chop them up into chili sauce in the evening. After that, we’ll sun them a bit more and store them in clay jars to eat slowly.”

At first, Changxia had wanted to share the chilies with the tribe,

So everyone could taste dishes cooked with them.

But just now, she thought of chopped chili, and decided it would be better to make chili sauce before distributing it. That way, even if some people didn’t know how to cook, they could still enjoy the delicious chilies.

“Chili sauce—”

In the distance, Honeydew and Jie’s ears perked up.

Their eyes burned as they stared at Changxia. It seemed she hadn’t mentioned this earlier.

Sensing their eager gazes, Changxia said, “Chop up the fresh chilies, then add some minced garlic.”

"Of course, you can also add minced ginger and Sichuan peppercorns for an even richer flavor.

But Changxia’s household is running low on ginger, scallions, and garlic, so she could only mention adding minced garlic for now.

She’d have to check the cellar later—if there isn’t much garlic left either, she might just skip all the extras. Pure chopped chili tastes great on its own; there’s really no need to force anything else in.

Ahem—

It’s really not that Changxia is being stingy.

But honestly, she’s not miserly. She still told Milu and Jie about the minced ginger and Sichuan peppercorns. Seasonings like ginger, scallions, and garlic grow everywhere, so the Tian Lion Tribe probably has them. As for Sichuan peppercorns, that’s less certain.

If the Tian Lion Tribe doesn’t have it, the Earth Tribe definitely does.

Earlier, Milu mentioned something that might have been Sichuan peppercorn or black pepper—maybe it really was Sichuan peppercorn. Come to think of it, the mountains are full of plants that perfectly suit the needs of the beast tribes. For example, the Lion and Bear tribes live in damp environments, so of course there are plants that help dispel moisture.

The Heluo Tribe, with its distinct four seasons, doesn’t have such uniquely adapted plants. If they want to grow them, it’ll take some effort.

With the Tian Lion Tribe’s promise, Changxia no longer felt the need to cultivate chili seedlings herself.

She’d tried several times, but the chili seeds still hadn’t sprouted.

She figured maybe the seeds just weren’t suited to the local soil and water—she couldn’t think of any other reason.

“Changxia, you’re amazing!” Milu exclaimed.

If she hadn’t kept her wits about her—knowing Su Ye was just sitting in the corridor sunbathing—Milu almost blurted out that Changxia was even more impressive than the shaman.

Luckily, she managed to stop herself in time.

Changxia just smiled and said nothing.

At noon, the Heluo Tribe didn’t serve anaconda meat to the guests from the riverside and Xifeng’s group. Changxia guessed they’d probably treat the Lion and Bear tribes to anaconda meat at dinner instead. After all, Gen hadn’t hidden the fact that the Heluo Tribe had hunted an anaconda. At lunch, no one brought up the topic of wanderers entering the Misty Forest either...

That signaled to Changxia that there might be trouble ahead.

It seemed something big was about to happen in the Misty Forest.

She just didn’t know how the beast tribes would deal with the wanderers. As she thought about it, Changxia kept sneaking glances at Su Ye.

Baiqing hadn’t come to help in the courtyard, but was sitting quietly beside Su Ye, as if doing homework. Of course, it might also be because Milu and Jie were here, so Baiqing was putting on airs—she took her status as the shaman’s heir very seriously and was quite strong-willed.

Su Ye noticed Changxia’s furtive glances and couldn’t help but smile.

What’s this little one thinking about now?

But in her heart, she was seriously considering the news Yadong and the others had brought back from the Kana Holy Mountain’s shaman hall today: wanderers might have entered the Misty Forest and set their sights on the Moonwatching Mountains, home of the Snake Tribe.

Since the Normandy Grand Market ended,

the Snake Mountain Tribe hadn’t visited the Kana Holy Mountain’s shaman hall even once.

Could something have happened to the Snake Tribe?

With their strength, how could mere wanderers threaten the Snake Mountain Tribe? Still, after the Lion and Bear tribes’ matters were settled, they’d have to send someone to investigate the Moonwatching Mountains.

Speaking of the Snake Tribe, Su Ye had to admit—anaconda meat really was delicious.

It’s a pity they couldn’t eat it often.

Maybe it was because she’d gotten close to Changxia, but even Su Ye found herself craving it. She’d almost forgotten what an important place anacondas held in the Snake Tribe’s heart—what a sin.