The beast lair was built on a flat mountainside.
In the distance was a lake that connected with the white river that flowed through the Heluo Tribe.
Chang Xia had chosen this beast lair because of this lake. The lake meant that there was no lack of water, making it easy to plant and irrigate. At the same time, there were fish, prawns, and other aquatic animals in the lake. Even in winter, there was no need to worry about starving.
The beasts hunted for a living, and gathered produce as support.
However, the beasts did not have the corresponding cooking methods, which led to their handling of the ingredients being simple and crude.
Beasts rarely ate seafood like fish and prawns.
It was mainly because there was no way to get rid of the fishy smell. Furthermore, fish were prickly and could easily injure them.
After tidying up the beast lair, all the animal skin curtains were lifted to make it easier to ventilate the place. This beast lair had not been inhabited for a long time and needed time to be tidied up.
The Heluo tribe lived by the river and the temperature was just right.
The beast race did not understand profound construction techniques. The beast lairs were mainly made up of caves.
The so-called crypt-style beast lair was simply made by digging a pit about three meters deep in the ground and using stones, wood, and other materials to tamp down the walls and foundation. Then, they would build a circular or triangular roof with branches.
This kind of beast lair was more stable than the tents built on the ground and could keep the beasts warm in the cold.
At the same time, it was also ventilated.
A beast lair was more convenient than a cave.
"The hide on the top of the nest and the wood on the wall need to be replaced." Chen Rong brushed the sand from his hands and looked around the beast lair. The ground had been eroded by the rain and needed to be filled again. In addition, the drainage ditch outside needed to be dug out again.
Chang Xia circled the beast lair as a thought surfaced in her mind.
When she was in the tribe, she had thought of building a house. Unfortunately, her body was too weak at that time and she had been sick. Coupled with the fact that she was not an adult, her clansmen were worried about her leaving the tribe to live alone, so they could not act on their thoughts.
After the marriage, Chang Xia had time to build a beast lair that belonged solely to her—the house cave.
"We'll stay until we're settled. I want to build a new beast lair, something completely different from what the tribesmen live in."
Chang Xia pointed to the hillside west of the den as she spoke.
Her dark eyes flickered with a dazzling light that made Chen Rong feel as if he had been scalded.
"I believe you." Chen Rong nodded without thinking.
When the clansmen sent them over, they brought Chang Xia's things with them.
Four back baskets containing all of Chang Xia's belongings.
Chen Rong had brought someone with him.
Fortunately, the long winter had passed, and the Heluo tribe had entered a warm spring. Unlike Earth, the Twilight Forest was not distinct in all seasons. Spring and summer were one season, and autumn and winter were another. The warm and cold seasons were clear.
Although the warm and cold season was clear, it did not affect the rich species in the Twilight Forest.
Chang Xia's mood brightened at Chen Rong's words.
Due to his health, Chang Xia was often nagged by her clansmen, even if the nagging was due to concern. After hearing it for a long time, it inevitably made people uncomfortable.
Chen Rong's trust made Chang Xia even more satisfied of her choice to bring him back to the tribe.
"Let's tidy up the beast lair first. Later, I'll go back to the lake to get the fish basket. At noon, I'll make fish balls for you to eat." Chang Xia's footsteps were light as she prepared to move the wood and repair the beast lair. These pieces of wood were sent by her clansmen to repair the beast lair. After all, in her clansmen's eyes, Chang Xia was weak and sickly, and the other was terminally ill. If they didn't help a little, she might just die.
Some time passed.
A clean animal den finally appeared.
It was a change from its previous shabby state.
The tribesmen had sent enough wood. Chang Xia asked Chen Rong to help tidy the wood into wooden blocks and put them together to make a floor.
They busied themselves until it was noon.
There was about five kilograms of meat given by her clansmen in the basket. Half of the basket was filled with wild vegetables and fruits. The fruits were a little wilted and must have been stored from last year.
"I plan to go to the lake to collect fish in my fish basket. Are you going? If you are, bring the wild vegetables over to wash them. At noon, we'll have fish balls and vegetable soup."
"I'll go."
Carrying half a basket of wild vegetables, he walked down the hill towards the White River.
Two-thirds of the White River flowed through the territory of the Heluo tribe. The lake in front of Chang Xia's lair was connected to the White River, and there was no shortage of fish and prawns in the lake.
Chang Xia led Chen Rong to a patch of reeds by the lake, leaned down, and dragged the fish basket out of the lake.
It was heavy.
It looked like a good haul.
This fish basket was woven from green vines.
She had put in a lot of effort for a bite of food. At the same time, she had to hide from her clansmen in case they said that she was not doing her job.
However, Chang Xia planned to find an opportunity to stock up on some food and invite her clansmen to a meal after the beast lair was cleaned up. She would hand over the method of cooking the fish balls to her clansmen.
Fishing was much safer than going out hunting.
"This is…" Chen Rong stepped forward and took the fish basket from Chang Xia's hand. He sized it up. The fish basket was slender and flat. The green vines had not been baked and were very rough.
"Fish basket," Chang Xia said. "I'm too weak to go out and collect produce, let alone participate in the hunt. I usually like to try my luck when the tribe is free."
As she spoke, she gestured and told Chen Rong the principle of making the fish basket.
The structure of the basket was weak.
The woven fish basket was scrapped after two uses. She told Chen Rong that she clearly hoped that she could make a few. This way, she would not have to worry about not being able to eat fish and prawns in the future.
"You are very good, Chang Xia!" Chen Rong exclaimed.
Fish baskets were simple to make. The young beasts the beast race could do it.
Winter in the Twilight Forest was extremely cold. Even the most powerful beasts found it difficult to hunt. However, fish could fill one's stomach.
The fish basket had undoubtedly given the beasts a new way out.
"Take the wild vegetables out to wash and pour the fish in. The harvest today is average. In the future, it's best to go early in the morning to collect fish in the fish basket."
Chang Xia pointed at the broken fish basket with a look of pity.
Four black carp weighing six or seven catties, a few catties of river prawns, and a river crab. Unfortunately, they came late. If they had come earlier, they should have gained more.
The Heluo Tribe rarely ate fish.
There were many fish and prawns in the White River and lakes. Fish weighing six or seven catties were small fish. Big fish usually weighed more than ten catties, and some fish weighed hundreds of catties.
Don't ask Chang Xia why she knew. She had secretly made a fishing rod earlier and wanted to do something big. Not to mention the harvest, she was almost dragged into the White River to feed the fish.
After that, she dismissed the idea of fishing.
At least she didn't dare think about fishing until she'd worked out.
Black carp were less prickly and had tender flesh.
It was quite similar to the salmon that Chang Xia knew.
It was perfect for making fish balls.
Even if there was no seasoning, the river prawns that were simply roasted were delicious. Even the prawn shell was not wasted. She kept it and planned to dry it and grind it into powder as seasoning.
They carried fish and prawns and washed wild vegetables and fruits.
The two of them returned to the beast lair.
A stone stove had been built near the door of the den. A slender clay pot hung above it.
The beasts usually roasted meat in the open, and a stove was built in this beast lair.
He could tell that she was a particular person.
Coincidentally, Chang Xia was not used to cooking in the open.
The beast lair was four or five meters tall. Coupled with the haphazard construction of the roof, it was enough to ventilate the smoke.
Chen Rong started a fire. The fish and prawns had already been cleaned up by the lake. Chang Xia held the bone knife and removed the skin and bones of the black carp, then cut the fish into small pieces. Without a blender, Chang Xia could only manually chop the fish into a paste. This was very physically exhausting, but in order to eat, Chang Xia did not feel tired.
"Chen Rong, get me a bird's egg from the second basket against the wall."
The beasts called eggs, duck eggs, bird eggs, and so on as simply bird eggs. Chang Xia couldn't tell the types of eggs, so she simply called them bird eggs.
Taking the egg, Chang Xia broke it and scooped out the yolk. Leaving the egg white, she poured it into the fish, added salt, a little powdered fruit, and began to stir. Fruit powder was a powder similar to starch made from a fruit called white fruit that was dried and grounded.
When the cubs of the tribe were born, the clansmen would boil the fruit powder and water into a paste to feed the cubs.
However, Chang Xia felt that fruit powder had other uses. She would think about it when she had time. Perhaps she could make rice noodles.
However, Chang Xia had not found ginger yet.
She found a lot of green onions. There were still a lot of green onions left in the basket on her back. She planned to pick a spot beside the beast lair and plant them. In the future, she would not lack green onions when cooking.
The green onions were chopped. Water was added and they were soaked.
Then, she poured the onion water into the chopped fish paste bit by bit. She added water on one side and kept stirring it at the same time, repeating this several times.
After it was done, she placed it in cold water to refrigerate for a moment.
Chen Rong quietly watched Chang Xia busy himself. The beasts were not obsessed with food, as long as it could fill their stomachs. Looking at Chang Xia's meticulous movements, he seemed to have found the reason for Chang Xia's weakness.
"Are you hungry? If you feel hungry, have some fruit first. I'll be done soon," Chang Xia said.
With that, she filled the clay pot with water and heated it on a low heat.
She began to squeeze the fish balls neatly. The snow-white fish meat looked appetizing.
As she spoke, fish balls the size of lychees floated in the clay pot. They were extremely beautiful.
At the same time, a different fresh smell spread out from the beast lair.
Seeing that the fish balls were almost cooked, Chang Xia put in some wild vegetables, added salt, and a pinch of shrimp skin powder to season them.
In the end, the egg yolk was not wasted. She poured it in.
Growl!
Chen Rong rubbed his stomach and took the fish ball and vegetable soup from Chang Xia in embarrassment.
"So fresh! So delicious!" Chen Rong said in surprise.
He had never thought that the fish meat would taste so delicious.
Chang Xia took small bites of the fishball. There was no ginger or cooking wine, so there was a faint smell of fish. However, the taste was much better than the half-cooked roasted meat and mixed stew.
Sure enough, marriage was the right thing to do.
Not only did he have a delicate and soft female partner, but he could also eat hot and delicious fish balls.
At the thought, Chen Rong hung his head.
His gaze landed on the necklace on his neck. On the spider silk rope chain was a strange pendant that looked like a snowflake.
It had been on him since he was a child.
Lord Yuan said it was Chen Rong's mother's relic called Miracle.
Chen Rong pondered as he put down his bowl and chopsticks.
He reached up and unhooked Miracle. "Chang Xia," he said gently, "I want to give you something—"