I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 366 Rice

Even though the beastmen have a big appetite, they can't finish two wild boars in one or two meals, so they still have to make them into jerky and store them.

There was plenty of dried meat at home. Bai Ling and his tribesmen discussed it and decided that he would eat one head himself and trade the rest with other beastmen.

Recently, the beastmen have been busy with the autumn harvest and have no time to hunt, so there is no fresh meat to eat. A wild boar is easily traded away, and not even bones are left.

After discussing it, everyone decided to cook braised pork and rice for dinner. The reason was simple: everyone was busy helping with the autumn harvest in the central village, and if they ate too much at noon, they wouldn't be able to work well in the afternoon.

When Bai Ling returned from the fields in the evening, she had just washed her hands and face when Xiao Hechen came over, his little eyes sparkling: "Ling, what can we help you with? Starting a fire or cutting meat, I can do it."

Chen also said, "Brother, I can help you out from the side."

Bai Ling said, "Go pick some vegetables from the garden. We can't just eat braised pork. I'll stir-fry some greens and make an eggplant."

Xiao and Chen left happily, while Bai Ling and Yue went into the kitchen and began preparing a meal.

The beastmen had big appetites, each eating about half a bowl of rice. Bai Ling first soaked the rice in the earthenware basin, and then began to cut the meat.

For braised pork belly, pork belly is the best choice. Cut pork belly with three parts fat and two parts lean into one-centimeter-thick cubes, chop scallions, ginger, and garlic, prepare sugar and spices, and also prepare soy sauce and wine. Then light the fire.

After blanching the pork and taking it out, the remaining water in the pot was scooped out and poured away. Then, animal fat was poured in. The two of them were already working together very well. Without Bai Ling saying anything, Yue put out the fire. The residual heat at the bottom of the pot was enough to caramelize the sugar. If the heat was too high, the sugar would turn bitter, and if the sugar turned bitter, the whole pot of braised pork would be ruined.

As soon as the oil started to smoke, Bai Ling added the sugar and slowly stirred it until it bubbled. Then she added the meat chunks and stir-fried them vigorously.

After stir-frying quickly, add wine, scallions, ginger, garlic, and spices, stir-fry vigorously, and finally add boiling water to simmer.

Now it's time to cook the rice. Bai Ling put the soaked rice into the iron pot next to her and added water: "Yue, there's a little trick to adding water when cooking rice." Bai Ling held up her finger to show Yue, "The water should be about one finger joint above the rice."

*

By the time the meal was ready, it was completely dark.

As usual, two torches were lit in the courtyard. Braised pork, stir-fried greens, and cold eggplant salad were laid out on the stone table. The beastmen sat around the stone, each with a ceramic bowl filled with glistening rice in front of them.

The beastmen started eating almost simultaneously, each holding a ceramic bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. No one picked up any food; instead, they all ate rice first.

The moment the rice entered the mouth, its sweet, soft, fragrant, and sticky flavor instantly filled the mouth. This flavor even made the orc forget to chew and could only swallow it instinctively.

The taste of rice is completely different from that of flour. Rice is sweeter and has a softer, stickier texture. This delicious taste, just like flour, is a surefire way to kill orcs.

The beastmen barely even picked up any food; they just quickly swallowed their rice. By the time they came to their senses, their stomachs were already incredibly full.

The only exception was Ding, who, due to her pregnancy, used a great deal of willpower to prevent herself from eating too much.

"The rice is really, burp, so delicious," Xiao said, burping between burps.

The other orcs also agreed, saying that the rice was really delicious, especially with braised pork. It was simply too good to be true. No wonder Ling used to talk about rice all the time. After eating such delicious food, who could resist eating it again?

Because they were so full, the beastmen were unwilling to get up. They sat on the rocks for a while before slowly standing up, either strolling around the yard to digest their food or washing the dishes.

*

According to Bai Ling's original plan, he and his people were supposed to return this autumn.

But when it was time to go back, Bai Ling discussed it with her people and decided to wait until next year to leave.

Ding is due to give birth in two months. If they all go back, only Zhao and Ding will be left in the central tribe. Although the orcs in the central tribe will definitely take good care of them, Ding will probably feel lost without any familiar faces around.

They will wait until the top has cubs and then leave next spring.

After the autumn harvest, he led the beastmen to pan for gold again, and they didn't stop until winter was coming.

The gold content of the Fifth Tribe's gold dust was so high that the orcs panned for a lot of gold and piled it all up in the Fifth Tribe's warehouse. After winter came, the Sky Orcs brought the gold back, and Bai Ling led the orcs to refine the gold.

The gold obtained from panning had relatively few impurities, and many orcs were learning gold refining from Bai Ling. With several furnaces running simultaneously, all the gold was refined in a short time.

Bai Ling turned all the gold into gold beans, and then distributed them according to the pre-arranged method.

First, 30% is given to the Fifth Tribe, then 10% is kept for themselves, and the remaining gold is distributed to the young orcs.

Bai Ling sat at a table with a ceramic basin on it containing tiny golden beans, and held a notebook in his hands.

“An, you worked for a total of forty-five days, so you should get twenty gold beans.”

“Su, you worked for a total of fifty-two days, so you should get twenty-three gold beans.”

"Zu, you worked for a total of fifty-two days, so you should get twenty-three gold beans."

…………

When Bai Bailing calls out a name, the orc will step forward, count out the gold beans he is entitled to from the earthenware basin, and then excitedly show them off to his companions.

Those who have already received gold will show it off, while those who haven't will roll their eyes and stare at the pottery basin, waiting for their turn to be called.

If the golden beans want to be turned into gold ornaments, they still need to go through some more work, so Bai Ling started teaching the beastmen how to make gold ornaments again.

The beastmen are actually very clever. They are often good at applying what they have learned to other situations. Bai Ling just taught them the simplest way to make gold jewelry, and the beastmen have already created several different kinds.

*

In the last month of winter, Yue's father started making tofu to trade with other orcs in the tribe.

Tofu is a delicious food, but it's a bit troublesome to make. If you want to eat tofu, you have to soak the soybeans in advance, grind the soybeans, boil soy milk, and press tofu. All this work takes up half a day.

If you don't control the heat and the brine properly, you'll not only waste your time but also the beans.

Qian and Ying, for some unknown reason, started a tofu business. They would get up before dawn every day to work, and then trade the tofu with the beastmen.