readsfreenovel Chapter 255 Surprise and Envy
Chapter 255 Surprise and Envy
After returning home, Bai Ling first went to check on the silkworms she was raising.
The silkworm is already quite large and is about to undergo its fourth molt. In Bai Ling's memory, silkworms on Earth are about to spin their cocoons after molting four times.
Now the silkworms need to be fed several times a day. In the morning, Bai Ling will first sprinkle lime on the silkworm trays to disinfect them, and then feed them mulberry leaves or oak leaves. Before he returned, Feng had already fed them once more.
Bai Ling walked around the silkworm racks to make sure the silkworms were all normal before leaving the silkworm room.
The wind had already unloaded the grass from the handcart and laid it out to dry in the backyard. Bai Ling took some flour, put it in a basket, told her father, and then pushed the handcart back to Yue's house.
Grandpa Yue had already started preparing lunch. Bai Ling took out the flour from the basket and said, "Grandpa Yue, I brought some flour. Let's make noodles for lunch."
Grandpa Yue thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. They've never eaten flour before. Let them taste how delicious things made from flour really are."
Yue took out a ceramic basin, and Bai Ling poured the flour she had brought into it, added water, and started kneading the dough.
Yue pushed her great-uncle out of the kitchen: "Great-uncle, go talk to your uncles. Ling and I will be fine here."
Grandpa said, "Alright, you guys cook, Yue, you boil the smoked meat."
While kneading the dough, Bai Ling said, "Grandpa, you don't need to cook the smoked meat. I'll stir-fry it later. It'll taste even better with noodles."
Grandpa chuckled and said, "Alright, Ling, just do what you think is best. Don't worry about anything else."
*
Hui and her companion fish had recovered from their shock and were now sitting on stools, listening to Grandpa Yue tell stories about farming.
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to the fields after we finish eating. Last year was the first year the tribe started farming, and we got much more food than we could gather. We didn’t go hungry at all last year, and we had a comfortable winter with warm houses and enough food. The children and the elderly in the tribe all survived the winter safely.”
His eyes showed not only surprise and curiosity, but also envy and longing. He touched his hair and said, "Father, I believe what you said, but I just find it a little unbelievable that the tribe has changed so much in just two or three years."
He thought for a moment and asked, "Father, has our tribe, even the Great River tribe, changed this much?"
Yue's great-uncle had already come in. He said, "Our tribe hasn't changed that much, but it's pretty much the same. Except for not having houses, everything else is the same as the Gaoshu tribe."
"Last year, we also installed kang beds in the caves, which are much warmer than before. The tribe has also started farming, so the whole tribe has no shortage of food, and life is much better than before."
Hui was even more envious, and Yu was also very envious. The two looked at each other and Hui asked, "Father, how is a kang (heated brick bed) made? Teach me during this time so I can make one in the cave when we get back. That way, winter will be much easier."
The Huiheyu tribe is located southeast of the Gaoshu tribe. The winters there are warmer than in the Gaoshu tribe, but only slightly warmer; the winters are still very cold.
Their tribe was a small tribe, with only fifty or sixty orcs in it. During the winter, everyone lived in a cave. If they had a heated brick bed, the winter would be much more bearable.
Just now, my father and father took me on a tour of the house. They saw the kang (a heated brick bed) inside. My father and father said that in winter, a fire is lit under the kang, and the whole kang becomes warm. Sleeping on it in winter is like sleeping on a fire, warm and cozy, and you won't feel cold at all.
“Father, Father, there’s another kind of plant, we want to learn too,” the fish said. “If what you’re telling me is true, that we won’t lack food once we plant it, that would be wonderful.”
Food shortage is a problem that every tribe faces. Every orc will experience hunger when they grow up. If there were a way to feed orcs, it would be the best thing in the world.
Grandpa Yue said, "Okay, I'll take you to the fields this afternoon. It's probably too late to start planting now, but we can ask Ling when we eat to see if he has any ideas."
Hui and Yu heard from their fathers that all these changes in the tribe were brought about by Ling, and perhaps they could really get a solution from Ling.
*
Bai Ling brought out the noodles she had prepared, stared blankly at them in the earthenware bowl, and then asked, "Father, you said this food is made with multi-headed grass?"
Father wasn't lying to him, was he? He knew how awful the multi-headed grass was. The seeds of the multi-headed grass were too difficult to cook. If you cooked it with animal meat, the animal meat would be cooked by the time the seeds of the multi-headed grass were done.
How did such an unpalatable herb become a food that makes people drool just by smelling it?
Seemingly noticing his son's surprise and confusion, Yue's great-uncle laughed and said, "Why would I lie to you? This really is made from the seeds of the multi-headed grass. When the seeds of the multi-headed grass are ground into powder with a stone mill, they become flour. Flour is the best food I have ever eaten. It tastes great whether you make buns, dumplings, noodles, or bread."
"Oh, right, flour can also be used to make sauce," Grandpa Yue said, pointing to the fried sauce. "You guys should try this fried sauce; it's incredibly delicious with noodles."
Following her father's instructions, Huiheyu put a large spoonful of fried sauce and a few slices of stir-fried meat into the noodles. She then stirred the noodles a few times with two chopsticks and tried to pick them up with the chopsticks.
It was the first time for both of them to use chopsticks, and they weren't very skilled at it. At first, they couldn't pick up the noodles at all. Later, they simply imitated Grandpa Yue, putting the two chopsticks together, rolling them around in the bowl a few times, and then putting them in their mouths to chew.
The moment one bite of the noodles, the chewy and smooth texture, along with the savory and slightly sweet flavor of the sauce, filled their mouths, and the two of them instantly fell in love with the taste.
The noodles were so delicious that no one at the table spoke; everyone was eating them heartily, including Bai Ling.
*
After finishing their meal, Hui and Yu, without even taking a break, dragged Yue's grandfather and great-uncle to see the fields they had planted. Bai Ling took Yue home, and it was time to feed the silkworms mulberry and oak leaves again.
The creatures on the Beastman Continent are larger than those on Earth, and silkworms are no exception. Before they even start spinning silk, they are already about the length of Bai Ling's index finger. They also have a huge appetite. When they molt again, they will probably need twice as much food as they do now, which will require collecting even more mulberry and oak leaves.