Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Braised or Steamed?

Bai Qing was thrilled by Chang Xia’s praise.

“Chang Xia, I want to eat it for lunch!” Bai Qing said excitedly, making his little request.

Without hesitation, Chang Xia nodded. “Of course. Do you want it braised or steamed? This shrimp must weigh several pounds—enough for a whole meal.”

They didn’t have all the seasonings for braising, but Chang Xia was happy to go to the trouble for Bai Qing. After all, the meaning of life is in trying new things—if every day is just the same routine, how is that any different from being a salted fish?

“What’s braised? What’s steamed?”

"Bai Qing hadn’t even opened his mouth to reply before Yadong, who had just climbed ashore, beat him to it.

One after another, Kongshan and the others came ashore as well.

They all looked at Changxia with similar expressions, obviously having overheard the conversation between Bai Qing and Changxia, and just as curious about the difference between “red-braised” and “steamed.”

Changxia was known for her cooking.

This was a well-established fact in the Heluo tribe.

Now, hearing yet another new term, Yadong and the others couldn’t help but get excited.

Did this mean there was something new and delicious to eat?

“Red-braising requires seasoning and coloring—the dish comes out bright and glossy, with a reddish hue, a savory and slightly sweet flavor, and a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture with a rich, fragrant sauce. For steaming, you just add seasonings and side ingredients, put everything in the pot, cover it, and steam until done.”

The two methods are different, and so are the flavors.

There’s no “best”—only “even better.”

Changxia wasn’t picky. Whether it was red-braised or steamed, she loved them both.

After all, most dishes made with these methods were meat dishes.

And when it came to meat, Changxia never said no.

Grrrr—

As soon as Changxia finished speaking, Yadong and the others’ stomachs all started rumbling.

They stared at Changxia, eyes intense, as if they wanted to swallow her whole to quiet the hunger growling in their mouths.

“I want to try steamed,” Bai Qing said.

Red-braising sounded complicated, and right now Bai Qing just wanted to eat the prawns as soon as possible. Steaming was clearly the fastest way. Besides, Changxia had made steamed river prawns and crabs before, and they were always delicious.

Now, just hearing Changxia describe steaming—

Bai Qing couldn’t help but start to salivate.

Changxia nodded and replied, “I’ll make steamed prawns for you at lunch. Anyway, we don’t have any sauce for red-braising, so the flavor wouldn’t be as good.”

Making sauce required soybeans, and Changxia hadn’t found any.

Soy sauce was out of reach for now, so if they wanted red-braised pork, they’d have to wait.

From his choice, it was clear Bai Qing was a very practical person.

In this regard, he was ahead of most people.

“What about us, Changxia?” Yadong pouted, shaking the big fish in his hand. This fish was much bigger than the one Chen Rong had earlier, though Changxia didn’t recognize the species.

“If you want to eat, cook it yourself,” Changxia replied.

With that, she helped Su Ye walk toward the reeds.

She completely ignored the wails of Yadong and the others behind her. The more attention you gave these guys, the more outrageous they became—they were all drama kings, through and through.

“Chen Rong—”

“Chen Rong, you’ve got to help us out here!”

Yadong and the others quickly surrounded Chen Rong, complaining about Changxia.

Little did they know, Chen Rong’s smile was growing softer and softer. He reached out and put a hand on Yadong’s shoulder, gave a gentle squeeze, then, acting innocent, stuck out his left foot—and with a splash, Yadong fell into the water.

Before Kongshan and the others could react, Chen Rong used the same trick on them.

By the time they realized what had happened, they were all back in the lake.

Even the fish they’d caught slipped from their hands and fell into the water.

“Ow!”

Someone howled—only then did they realize that after falling into the lake, they’d been poked by the fish in a rather awkward spot.

“Yadong, you okay?” Chen Rong asked with a smile.

He tossed the fish in his arms into a nearby pool, then turned back, still looking as gentle and refined as ever.

But Yadong and the others were too shaken to question him—they just shook their heads in unison.

Only after Chen Rong led Bai Qing away did they dare to breathe again.

“What just happened?”

“I don’t know. One moment I was on shore, the next I was in the lake. What about you guys?”

“Chen Rong’s smile is terrifying—scarier than Elder Pukang’s iron fist of love.”

Kongshan climbed ashore, hugging himself and muttering under his breath. This time, he didn’t dare let Chen Rong hear, for fear of being mysteriously tossed into the lake again.

“…Was it Chen Rong?” Yadong shivered. The lake water wasn’t cold, but he felt a chill all over.

Damn—

Chen Rong was ruthless.

He’d thrown them all into the lake and acted like nothing happened.

But none of them dared say a word about it.

“Changxia, why did you bring the shaman along?”

Meanwhile, Changxia and Su Ye had walked into the reeds and soon ran into Muqin and the others. Each of them carried a basket on their back, filled with their own catches—wild chickens, ducks, bird eggs, and unknown wild vegetables.

Clearly, they’d all had a good haul.

“We’re just out for a stroll,” Su Ye said.

Muqin added, “What was going on at White Lake just now? We heard several splashes.”

“Yadong and the others were just horsing around!” Su Ye replied with a smile.

Changxia kept her head down, the smile at her lips a little hard to read. Those guys had probably been taught a lesson by Chen Rong. Don’t be fooled by his gentle appearance—when it came to action, he was ruthless, yet he always maintained that refined, scholarly demeanor, making it impossible for anyone to get angry at him.

If you had to sum him up in a word, it’d be “gentlemanly beast” (in a good way).

As they chatted, the group didn’t slow down at all.

They ventured deeper into the reeds, slowly moving upstream along White Lake.

Su Ye gradually fell behind—she wasn’t here to hunt, but to gather herbs. She strolled leisurely through the weeds, occasionally squatting down to dig up a medicinal plant, looking completely at ease.

Changxia, meanwhile, began her hunting trip with Muqin—

Unlike Muqin and Heyun, Changxia’s hunting style was the epitome of simple and direct. Muqin and the others watched in amazement, showering her with praise.

Changxia’s methods were simple and rough, but incredibly efficient.

Almost no prey she set her sights on ever escaped.

Unfortunately, Muqin and the others couldn’t learn her technique.

After all, it was Changxia’s bloodline talent—using her connection with plants to sense the whereabouts of prey, then striking with unerring accuracy.

This makes it impossible to study.

Changxia could only explain it away as talent.

Muqin and the others swept through the area like a carpet. They’d only covered a third of the reed beds by White Lake, but had already caught several hundred chickens and ducks, and filled several baskets with bird eggs. It was so much that they decided to head back to the tribe. Tonight’s dinner would be roast meat and various foods made from fruit flour—the chickens and ducks would just be side dishes.

Several hundred chickens and ducks would definitely make tonight’s hotpot feast even better.

Besides, with all the commotion just now, the rest of the birds had already been scared off. There probably wouldn’t be as much to harvest if they kept going.

After thinking it over, Muqin decided to end today’s White Lake sweep.

Changxia, carrying a half-full basket of bird eggs on her back, made her way smoothly to the mountain hollow Shenrong had mentioned. This hollow was connected to the back door of her own cellar. Standing inside, Changxia pressed her forehead and fell silent. The hollow was the size of several basketball courts—so this was what Shenrong called “not very big”?

She really had believed Shenrong’s nonsense.

There were seventeen or eighteen ginkgo trees growing in the hollow, their fruit still unpicked and hanging heavy and green.

But Changxia understood.

All she needed to do was pick these seemingly unripe ginkgo nuts and let them dry for a day or two—they’d soon be edible.

The ginkgo nuts in this hollow would be enough to supply her and Shenrong’s daily needs.