Chapter 44

Jiulang and Hu Tou came over in the afternoon, and then went back and forth with Lin Bei. Although they had to move quickly, it was almost dark by now.

The two men attentively watched Lin Bei, and Hu Tou even rubbed his stomach. Lin Bei thought to himself, "Oh, I haven’t even served them food yet. These guys are really addicted to eating."

The beggar's chicken was indeed delicious, very fresh and tender. It was pure wild game, but Lin Bei, who now ate it every day, was starting to get tired of it. The hunters, however, hadn’t had enough. They would carefully wrap up any leftover wild chicken and take it away, which Lin Bei found hard to understand. He could only marvel at how thrifty people in ancient times were.

In fact, although these hunters relied on the mountains for their livelihood and saw a lot of wild game, they actually ate very little of it themselves. Relying on the mountains meant they had less land to farm, which meant less income. They had to use their game to trade for household necessities and save some money. Otherwise, if they got injured, it would be very difficult, as medical care was always expensive in any era, and unscrupulous doctors were never in short supply.

So, being able to eat wild game at Lin Bei’s place was considered quite good. The hunters who came to hunt were all young and strong, and they were at the age where they could eat a lot. Being able to have a hearty meal made them feel that Lin Bei’s place was like heaven.

Lin Bei prepared five wild chickens and a fat rabbit. He himself had to eat half of the food because his appetite was quite large now. He had to eat three or four wild chickens every day, but he could also go several days without eating.

After returning, Lin Bei threw the game to Jiulang and Hu Tou. He then saw Mr. Bian standing in front of the wild jujube tree. To Lin Bei’s dismay, Mr. Bian reached out and picked a jujube, leisurely putting it in his mouth.

"Damn, he didn’t even hesitate to eat it."

Lin Bei indeed hadn’t been willing to eat these jujubes. They were too small and had seeds inside, making them very troublesome to eat one by one. So, Lin Bei had planned to wait until the jujubes were fully red to make juice or wine. He guarded them every day to prevent birds from stealing them, but he couldn’t stop Mr. Bian from picking them. If he said anything, he would seem stingy.

Seeing Mr. Bian’s eyes squint with pleasure and his hand reaching out again, Lin Bei quickly touched him with his tail.

Mr. Bian turned around and said casually, "Sir, the fruit here has a unique flavor. I couldn’t help but try it. Please don’t be angry, sir."

Lin Bei pretended not to hear and wrote, "Let’s eat first. Jiulang and the others made beggar’s chicken."

"What is beggar’s chicken?" Mr. Bian asked curiously.

"Master, beggar’s chicken is a method taught to us by the sir. It’s incredibly delicious," Jiulang said as he diligently cleaned the wild chickens and rabbits. "Sir, how should we cook this wild rabbit?"

Lin Bei had brought the rabbit back because he had the seasonings. These mountain rabbits were so fat that they were perfect for roasting. With Mr. Bian around, he could also translate for him.

Mr. Bian read Lin Bei’s words word by word: "Remove the head, tail, and innards of the wild rabbit, clean it, cut the meat in a few places, and rub it with salt and soy sauce. Sir, what is soy sauce? Is it a sauce?"

It turned out there was no soy sauce? Lin Bei quickly checked the seasonings. There was salt, and a bottle with a sour smell, which was probably vinegar. There was also a jar, but what was the black, sticky substance inside?

Mr. Bian explained to Lin Bei, "Sir, this is meat sauce made from ox meat, this is Sichuan pepper, this is plum sauce made from green plums, and this is maltose. They must have put a lot of thought into it. Sichuan pepper, plum sauce, and maltose all come from the Central Plains, which we in Nanyue don’t have."

Lin Bei nodded and decided to use the meat sauce and maltose. Mr. Bian sighed after reading it, "Sir, the maltose alone is already more valuable than a wild rabbit."

So, maltose was that expensive? Lin Bei still insisted, thinking they should have a good meal. Mr. Bian didn’t try to dissuade him.

The fire grew stronger, and Jiulang and Hu Tou, following Lin Bei’s instructions, made a simple rack. They skewered the rabbit with a pine stick and placed it over the fire, turning it continuously. As the fat dripped, they slowly applied the seasonings layer by layer. Although it was their first time doing this, they were quite busy, but with Lin Bei’s supervision, it was unlikely to go wrong. Lin Bei wasn’t worried about waste; if it burned, they could just try again. He was quite optimistic.

"Sir, this roasting method is quite similar to that of the Tujue people beyond the frontier. Have you been to the frontier?" Mr. Bian was quite knowledgeable.

Lin Bei thought for a moment and nodded. He had indeed been there before.

The aroma of the roasted meat soon spread, and Jiulang and Hu Tou began to salivate. Mr. Bian was also surprised, not expecting this method to produce such a unique fragrance. Compared to this, the Han people’s method of boiling food seemed inferior.

"Don’t stop, keep turning it. It’s not done yet, but you can lower the fire a bit. Take it slow; it should be ready in about an hour."

Roasting whole game took a lot of time, especially to get it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Before the rabbit was done, the wild chickens were ready.

Lin Bei took out the rabbit and gave each of the three men one chicken, keeping two for himself.

Doudou and Qiqi were calling again, asking for food. Lin Bei didn’t want to go to the river to catch shrimp and crabs again, so he picked out a piece of meat, had Jiulang tear it into small strips, and wrapped it in leaves. He climbed to the top of the wooden house and fed the two little ones.

"Sir, he’s feeding the birds," Jiulang explained to Mr. Bian, who was puzzled. "Sir doesn’t know where he got these birds, but they are almost grown."

Mr. Bian was amazed. A demon feeding birds? This really challenged his understanding. It seemed that the demon before him was indeed as good-natured as Jiulang had said. Looking at the beggar’s chicken in front of him, the mud had already been knocked off by Jiulang, and the aroma was inviting, making his mouth water. Mr. Bian added in his mind, "And a good cook."

By this point, Mr. Bian was quite accepting of Lin Bei. In many people’s minds, those who enjoy good food are not bad, whether they are human or demon.

When the rabbit was finally done, Mr. Bian took a bite and almost swallowed his tongue. The Han people, who were used to boiled food, found this roasted dish to be the best in the world. Jiulang and Hu Tou were even more enthusiastic. Lin Bei was quite generous, dividing the rabbit into four parts and letting the three of them eat their fill.

Unfortunately, there was no wine. Otherwise, they could have talked about life, ideals, or philosophy, making life even more perfect.

PS: The collection and recommendations are growing too slowly. New books need your support, dear readers.

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