After daybreak, people from the three villages divided the prey, bid each other farewell, and departed.
Lai Yi and others sat on the edge of the mule cart, the cart bed piled with two Magical Beasts and other prey, all covered with an oilcloth.
Over a dozen people chatted and laughed along the way as they drove the cart back to the small mountain village.
They parked the cart in the clan elder’s large courtyard, where Kali, the leader of this hunting trip, distributed the prey on the spot.
Lai Yi received one Longtooth Beast, over twenty pounds of Gulu Beast meat, and some fruits.
Magical Beasts were of higher value, so the village would send someone to sell them directly in town, and the money would be distributed afterward.
Tiemuqi refused everything allocated to him, hoisted the sixth-tier Magical Beast onto his shoulder, and left directly.
No one tried to stop him, as if this were only natural.
After the distribution, everyone dispersed and returned to their homes.
Lai Yi followed Brian and Lis, carrying a leather bag on his back.
Lis seemed to notice Lai Yi’s curiosity and explained to him.
“Tiemuqi hunted that sixth-tier Magical Beast alone. Moreover, he only joined the hunt because the clan elder had promised him a Magical Beast in advance.”
“Was he a knight before?”
“No, no, Lai Yi, you’ve been studying in the city for too long and don’t know the situation.”
Lis looked around and waited until they reached a secluded spot before speaking quietly.
“Tiemuqi is half-dwarf; it’s said his father was an outstanding dwarf warrior.”
“He is indeed very skilled with an axe, and his forging technique is excellent too,”
Brian interjected.
Clearly, he was also quite interested in Tiemuqi.
“He used to live in Yidun City, but for some reason, he moved to our village later,”
Lis continued.
“Old Guge has seen him in Yidun City.”
Old Guge was Lai Yi’s neighbor, and his children lived in Yidun City.
“It sounds like he’s truly remarkable.”
Lai Yi hadn’t expected Tiemuqi to have such a background, so it was no surprise that he knew how to handle wolf fangs.
The three chatted about other matters for a while until they reached Haggard’s house.
Lai Yi picked up Neil and headed home with him.
Haggard, concerned for Neil’s safety, had let him stay there temporarily.
“Brother, tell me about the hunting trip,”
Neil said, his eyes sparkling as he eagerly took the leather bag Lai Yi had carried up the mountain.
Lai Yi followed a free-range parenting style; as long as the child was well-fed and clothed, he didn’t interfere with other trivial matters.
“On the mountain…”
Once the brothers returned home, Lai Yi satisfied Neil’s curiosity, answering all his questions.
In the afternoon, the sky turned gloomy, and soon a drizzle began to fall.
After bathing, Lai Yi sat under the eaves and washed the clothes he had worn for hunting.
From a distance, he saw the clan elder’s son, Kali, the hunting leader, walking toward his house in the light rain.
Kali gave Lai Yi 20 silver coins and a small jar of sugar, declined Lai Yi’s invitation, and then hurried off to the next household that had participated in the hunt.
Lai Yi hadn’t expected a seventh-tier Magical Beast to sell for nearly three gold coins.
Magical Beasts were divided into eight tiers, with an eighth-tier Magical Beast’s combat power equivalent to that of an ordinary lion. The lower the tier number, the greater the combat power.
That Tiemuqi could independently hunt a sixth-tier Magical Beast indeed showed that his strength was not to be underestimated.
After finishing the laundry and putting away the silver coins, Lai Yi decided not to go out again as the rain grew heavier. Instead, he stayed indoors with Neil, experimenting with food.
When distributing the meat, Lai Yi didn’t take the offal. Kali gave him a pork hock and a piece of neck-end meat (from the back near the neck area).
What remained were four trotters, one Gulu Beast head, and a large piece of Gulu Beast hide.
Lis took half of the hide, while Lai Yi claimed the four unwanted trotters.
If it wouldn’t have been too obvious, Lai Yi would have really wanted to directly carry off the beast head.
Neil fetched water and watched as Lai Yi skewered the pork hock and four trotters one by one, placing them over the fire to roast.
“Brother?”
Neil couldn’t understand Lai Yi’s actions at all.
Was his brother going to eat them?
Neil’s pupils trembled in shock.
Things like trotters were usually given to the dogs in the village. Had their family fallen to such poverty?
Lai Yi found Neil’s changing expressions amusing but didn’t explain, continuing to handle the trotters.
“Neil, go boil ten bird eggs.”
“Boil so many? We won’t be able to finish them, brother.”
“We’ll finish them. Just listen to me.”
“Okay.”
Neil obediently went to boil the bird eggs, while Lai Yi trimmed off the unwanted parts of the pork hock and trotters with a knife, cleaned them, and set them aside.
Then he brought out the modified iron pot.
Modifying the iron pot had been quick—Tiemuqi had a village child notify Lai Yi to pick it up the very next day.
Lai Yi scrubbed it several times with hot water, cut a piece of fatty meat, and began seasoning the pot.
After seasoning it, he set the pot aside to cool. By then, the bird eggs were boiled.
He placed the pork hock and chopped trotters in cold water with scallions, ginger, and wine, and started boiling them. An hour later, he removed them and rinsed them with cold water.
Then he set up the iron pot, scooping a large spoonful of the oil rendered last time into it.
Once the oil was hot, he added several spoonfuls of sugar. When the syrup turned golden, he returned the meat to the pot.
This step was mainly to caramelize the sugar.
Neil watched somewhat painfully as Lai Yi scooped the sugar but didn’t stop him.
After all, a jar of sugar like this would be a respectable gift during festivals.
Once the sugar coating was nicely applied, giving the pork hock an attractive caramelized color, Lai Yi directly added a large basin of water.
When the water boiled, he tossed in various spices, covered the pot, and left it alone.
Perhaps because it was overcast, darkness fell quickly, and the rain grew heavier.
Lai Yi found a piece of waterproof wax cloth, and he and Neil braved the rain to add a waterproof layer to the doghouse. Their family’s red prairie birds were also properly sheltered.
The aroma from the pork hock in the pot grew increasingly rich, and both of them swallowed their saliva in anticipation. The bird eggs had long been peeled and tossed into the pot.
Lai Yi tested the pork hock with a fork to see if it was cooked—with little effort, the fork slid smoothly into the meat.
The pork hock was finally thoroughly cooked, and the trotters had become extremely tender.
Lai Yi placed the pork hock, trotters, and bird eggs together in a large basin and brought it to the dining table.
Neil waited obediently like a little puppy as Lai Yi used a clean dagger to carve the pork hock.
Lai Yi served Neil a large piece of leg meat soaked in broth.
“Eat up.”
“Mm!”
“Brother, is this really edible?”
Neil pointed at the trotters and asked.
“Try a piece and see.”
Lai Yi gave him a small piece with some tendon.
Neil first took a small bite, then a big one.
The soft, glutinous texture combined with the sweet, rich broth made the flavors explode in his mouth.
“Brother, how do you know how to make so many delicious things?”
“I learned it from books.”
Because he had some talent for magic, Lai Yi had attended a free magic school sponsored by the church in the city before Victor and his wife passed away, so Neil didn’t doubt his explanation.
But back then, he was still young, and combined with the original owner’s introverted personality, he didn’t know his older brother could use magic—only that he studied in the city.
“Eat more.”
“Mm.”
The two buried themselves in devouring the meat, eventually using their hands to gnaw on the hooves and tearing bread to dip in the braising sauce.
The meal was thoroughly satisfying.
“If only we could eat braised meat every day,” Neil sighed.
“That day will come.”
They fed the leftover bones to the big yellow dog and cleaned up the remnants.
Amid the rumble of muffled thunder and the patter of rain, they soon drifted into dreams.
Lai Yi rarely dreamed of the post-apocalyptic scenes anymore.
His less-than-affluent life kept him busy at all times.
Living off the mountains and waters was feasible, but this was not a safe world.
The eight major races frequently clashed, and even the small mountain village bordering the great Eldon Forest was fraught with undercurrents.
Without sufficient strength or a reliable faction to depend on, all Lai Yi could do was strive to enhance his abilities and accumulate more wealth.
He still had much to do, but fortunately, time was also on his side.
The continuous thunderstorms heralded the official arrival of the rainy season, with rain falling intermittently, now heavy, now light.
The clothes Lai Yi had washed a week ago still hadn’t dried, emitting a faint, damp odor. Disgusted, he washed them again.
Neil steadfastly attended school, while Lai Yi stayed home experimenting with various foods.
The red prairie birds at home were quite productive, laying three to four eggs daily.
Over time, though the brothers ate well, they still managed to save quite a few.
Worried they might spoil if stored too long, Lai Yi simply washed them clean, pickled them in jars, and turned them into salted bird eggs.
A few days later, Neil told him Tiemuqi had asked him to pick something up.
Lai Yi went to his house during a break in the rain.
“Everything’s here.”
A polished steamer pot, steamer tray, and lid were laid out on the ground, each engraved with two letters.
“These are your creations. They should bear your initials,” Tiemuqi said earnestly.
Lai Yi felt awkward.
This really wasn’t necessary!
“Actually, I have a question for you,” Tiemuqi said shyly.
“What is it?” Lai Yi asked.
“Could you sell me the usage rights to the blueprints?”
“Feel free to use them, it’s fine,” Lai Yi replied straightforwardly.
“No, no. My father once said that acquiring any blueprint should be done through proper means, and every creation must belong to its creator. I believe your steamer pot has great market potential, so I want to purchase its usage rights.”
It was rare for Tiemuqi to speak so much in one breath.
Lai Yi was taken aback.
Huh? This development was truly unexpected.
Was this the so-called benefit of being a transmigrator? But he really didn’t want it!
Lai Yi’s brain short-circuited.
“Is that okay?”
“Sure…”
Tiemuqi solemnly signed an agreement with Lai Yi.
He gave Lai Yi one gold coin and agreed to pay him two silver coins for every hundred steamer pots sold in the future, also waiving the remaining payment for the steamer and the curved blade.
What embarrassed Lai Yi the most was that every steamer pot crafted by Tiemuqi in the future would bear Lai Yi’s initials.
It was all quite unexpected and absurd.
In a magical world that had only recently entered the agricultural era, they were surprisingly strict about copyright.
Regarding this matter, Lai Yi expressed that it wasn’t his real name anyway.
The one who should feel ashamed is Lai Yi!
Hmm, Lai Yi!
One gold coin was enough for him to buy a cow, which would make trips to the city more convenient later.
Lai Yi carried the steamer back home.
That same day, he steamed a basket of patterned buns and two bowls of steamed egg custard.
Neil gazed at the golden-yellow egg custard, drooling with unsophisticated delight.
The rain continued to fall incessantly, turning the dirt roads muddy and making hunting impossible.
Lai Yi’s household had been without meat for a long time, though vegetables were not in short supply.
Watching the unending rain, his mood grew increasingly irritable, hoping only for clear skies soon.
Instead of clear weather, an unwelcome guest arrived at their home.
Lai Yi’s red prairie bird was missing!
This is what happened.
Yesterday morning, Neil went as usual to collect eggs from the nest. However, not only did he find no eggs, but one red prairie bird was also gone!
He quickly called Lai Yi, and the two searched around but found nothing.
Neil had always treasured these four red prairie birds like precious gems, feeding them without fail at every meal. Furious, he burst into tears.
Fearing the remaining three might also be stolen, he even considered keeping them in his room.
To comfort the distressed Neil, Lai Yi had no choice but to lay some wheat straw by the fireplace and enclose an area for them.
Only then did Neil wipe his tears and go to school.
As the rain gradually eased, Neil returned from school with a somber expression.
“Brother, Helen and Charlie’s red prairie birds are missing too, and the dried fish Helen’s family had sun-dried was also stolen.”
“Uncle Haggard’s family suffered the most damage to their red prairie birds. Luna cried so bitterly.”
Lai Yi suspected that small carnivorous animals from the forest had come out. The pattern of specifically targeting red prairie birds reminded him of weasels.
“Brother!”
Lamb stormed in angrily.
“I’m furious! All the red prairie birds my family raised are gone!”
“Tell me in detail.”
Lai Yi had him sit down and poured him a cup of hot water.
“This morning, my second sister-in-law found only three dead birds left in the nest when she went to feed them. The rest were gone, and the nest was covered in blood.”
“I must catch this bastard!”
Lamb grew angrier as he spoke, cursing vehemently.
“Brother, how about yours?”
“One is missing, the rest are here.”
Lai Yi gestured for him to look toward the fireplace.
“Brother, what do you think did it?”
“I don’t know.”
“It must be a wild beast.”
Neil propped his cheeks with his hands and sighed in agreement.
“I suspect it’s a wild beast too. Every household in the village keeps a few red prairie birds for eggs. What should we do?”
“Brother, come investigate with me tonight.”
Lamb finally stated his purpose, looking at him expectantly.
Neil also wore an expectant expression.
“Alright.”
Lai Yi agreed.
They would wait until night to take action.
Author’s Note:
The originally planned mini-theater has been moved to the next chapter. Shh, including it here would spoil the plot.