Feng Yan and Rong Shan didn’t think much of it, and were simply happily dividing the meat. What could be happier than not having to worry about food?
“Let’s help too!” Da Hu led his two brothers, eagerly assisting Feng Yan and Rong Shan. The three brothers were truly fortunate, wishing they could worship Feng Yan and Rong Shan like gods.
Dividing meat on the altar! When had the Tiger Weasel tribe ever experienced anything like this? Those outsiders who used to look down on them were now just waiting below the altar. Da Hu and his brothers couldn’t be happier.
“Brother Feng Yan, Brother Rong Shan, thank you so much this time, for not looking down on us brothers.” Da Hu’s emotions came and went quickly. He had just been too happy and now suddenly became sentimental, sniffled as he thanked the Snow Fox family.
Rong Shan looked at the honest-looking young beastmen and smiled, “Thank you for your help too.”
“No, no, no, we’re small and even more timid…we didn’t dare face the beasts with you, and we weren’t able to help you much.” Da Hu’s lips drooped, his voice growing softer.
“You can’t say that,” Feng Yan said, “Those stronger than you didn’t dare come so you’re much stronger than them.”
Da Hu: “…”
The group was stunned. Da Hu and the others had never been affirmed like this before, and their eyes suddenly reddened. From childhood, they had heard countless taunts. They thought they were used to it, but they discovered they also longed for recognition.
Er Hu turned away and secretly wiped his eyes, speeding up the cutting of meat: “You two hurry up, Brother Feng Yan and the others haven’t rested all day.”
“Okay!” San Hu shouted loudly. He wasn’t much better than Da Hu and had tears welling up in his eyes.
The beastmen waiting below for their meat watched the three tiger weasels with trepidation, afraid that their tears and snot would fall onto the meat—precious meat from a ferocious beast!
The young men were full of energy, and Feng Yan and Rong Shan smiled with satisfaction.
They discussed the meat and decided to give a third to the tribe. The main reason was that the giant horned beast was too large. After making a large amount of jerky, they estimated it would be enough to feed their family for more than ten days.
Besides, their children preferred fresh ingredients, so if they ran out of meat, they could simply hunt more.
Chong Yan returned to Elder Mu Shi’s side. Although he couldn’t do much, he wanted to help his grandfather elder as much as possible.
Xue Tuan reluctantly said goodbye to the little black lion. It was truly remarkable that he was so responsible at such a young age.
“Let’s play together again next time!” Xue Tuan hugged the little black lion’s fluffy head and rubbed against it. But before he could get enough, Bing Qiu quickly pulled him away.
“Let’s go home first.” Bing Qiu led Xue Tuan ahead to borrow a fire and returned home. He took it upon himself to start a fire and prepare the pot, waiting for the adults to return so they could have a delicious barbecue.
Qing Miao had also witnessed the Snow Fox family’s valiant deeds and admired them from the bottom of his heart. After watching the commotion at the altar square, he prepared to go home. Passing by Xue Tuan’s house, he helped the two of them start their fire.
Seeing that they were both a little younger than him, Qing Miao worried they might do something like his younger brother, burning down the house, so he decided to stay and help look after them.
When Feng Yan and Rong Shan returned, Qing Miao was about to say goodbye.
Unexpectedly, Rong Shan insisted, “Qing Miao, go and bring your brother over. I’ve already arranged with your parents to come to our house for dinner.”
Rong Shan and Feng Yan met Qing Miao’s father and mother at the altar. They hit it off immediately and agreed to have dinner together. However, they were currently helping the chief distribute meat in the central square, so they’d probably have to wait a while.
Rong Shan had a good impression of Qing Miao. From the moment he led them into the tribe, Qing Miao had been very enthusiastic and friendly towards Xue Tuan and the others.
Qing Miao was delighted to hear this. His face beamed with an undisguised smile: “Great! I’ll go get my little brother right away.”
Bing Qiu generally didn’t like the tribe, but he knew that this little sub-beastman named Qing Miao liked Xue Tuan and had shown kindness to their family, so he had no objection to his parent’s invitation.
Xue Tuan, needless to say, smiled and didn’t mind having a few more people to eat with. Besides, he could definitely play with the fluffy after the meal.
Watching the adults preparing the roasted meat, Xue Tuan decided to go and prepare his pepper.
As he had hoped, the peppercorns in this world didn’t need to be dried for long before they were edible.
Making pepper sauce was impossible, but pepper powder would be acceptable. Xue Tuan grabbed a handful of peppercorns from the small drying rack and put them into the stone mortar, intending to crush them little by little.
His recent exercise had finally paid off. Although crushing was still strenuous, it was much better than before.
Just as his hands were aching from crushing, Bing Qiu, who had been searching for his younger brother, came in. He saw his brother playing with something again, his hands straining but his persistence was quite endearing.
“What are you doing now?” Bing Qiu naturally took the pestle from his brother’s hands, then picked up the mortar, not paying attention to what was inside.
“Brother, grind it.”
Seeing his brother’s bright, expectant eyes, Bing Qiu readily agreed.
“Okay, okay, brother will grind it for you.” As Bing Qiu ground, the bits looked familiar. Weren’t these the things he and his brother had dried together before? His brother even called them peppercorns.
“Ah, all these peppercorns need to be ground?” Bing Qiu asked.
“You can sprinkle them on meat,” Xue Tuan said, making a sprinkling motion with his finger.
Hearing that they could be sprinkled on meat, Bing Qiu remembered his younger brother pouring sweet and sour sauce on meat and suddenly felt excited.
But then again…
“How do you always come up with these weird ideas?” Bing Qiu was strong, Xue Tuan had been grinding for ages and he couldn’t even get them ground properly in a few strokes.
Xue Tuan had already figured out how to handle this. How could a little kid always have so many whimsical ideas? Well, of course…
“I dreamt about it. Someone told me in my dream,” Xue Tuan said, his eyes filled with innocent wonder, making it impossible to doubt his words.
And Bing Qiu believed him, even silently imagining more possibilities.
As the peppercorns turned into powder, a natural, spicy aroma wafted out.
Gray, who had been hopping and watching the fun from Xue Tuan’s shoulder, was suddenly choked by a pungent smell and sneezed.
“Chirp—” Gray flapped its wings and fled from Xue Tuan’s side in a disheveled manner.
“Hahaha.” Xue Tuan and Bing Qiu were amused by Gray’s antics, watching the little bird scatter with glee. “Looks like you can’t stand this smell. Go outside.”
Gray had no choice but to slink away outside.
Seeing that the preparation was almost complete, Xue Tuan tugged at Bing Qiu’s animal skin to indicate that it was enough and there was no need to continue. Bing Qiu held the bowl, and Xue Tuan used a small spoon to scrape the pepper powder into the seashell bowl, gently stirring to distribute the powder evenly.
Bing Qiu was getting impatient, this was a smell he had never encountered before.
The atmosphere outside was quite lively, and the meat was already being roasted. The campfire flickered gently in the breeze with sparks flying. It illuminated the smiling faces of the people gathered around, and added a touch of warmth to the cold sun.
Qing Miao’s father, An Tu, and mother, Shu Yi, had also arrived and were chatting happily with Feng Yan, Rong Shan and the others.
Bing Qiu carried a handful of crushed pepper, and eagerly ran to find his mother, wanting a piece of meat to try first. Rong Shan, unable to bear his nagging any longer, quickly gave him a piece to shut him up.
The salt had already been sprinkled on so now he just needed to sprinkle some more pepper.
The spiciness of the pepper permeated the meat, carrying a unique, stimulating sensation.
“Mm,” Bing Qiu smacked his lips, his eyes widening for a moment before he feigned nonchalance, “I can’t tell. Mother, could I have another piece of meat?”
With a snap, Rong Shan slapped Bing Qiu’s outstretched hand back: “They’ll all be ready to eat soon, don’t rush.”
Several skewers of tender beast meat were being grilled. The fat was rendered by the intense heat, and the meat pieces roasted to a golden brown, glistening with oil.
Bing Qiu waited impatiently, jumping up and down, thinking the meat was already done.
“Here you go,” Rong Shan saw how impatient he was and handed Bing Qiu a freshly grilled skewer.
A small spoonful of freshly ground pepper was sprinkled delicately on the meat by Bing Qiu. The moment it touched the golden-brown surface of the beast meat, it was instantly coated by the scalding oil. As the steam rose, the aroma of the charred meat and the spiciness of the pepper intertwined, becoming even more intense.
Without letting it cool, Bing Qiu bit into a large piece of meat.
The saltiness was the strongest flavor, but the addition of ground pepper added a unique spiciness.
Seeing Bing Qiu engrossed in his food, and speechless with delight, Rong Shan knew he was very satisfied.
Qing Miao’s family brought back beef head meat and vegetables from their hunting trip. An Tu helped light two more fire pits. The pot had been replaced with their own large stone pot, and the two families gathered around it in a lively atmosphere.
Xue Tuan came out of the house and was greeted by the sight of furry creatures—Qing Miao’s family were actually sun bears!
A small, blackish-gray bear cub was curled up in Qing Miao’s arms. Its fur was soft and fluffy, and its round body looked incredibly endearing with a unique ring of golden markings around its chest.
The sun bear cub’s small, grape-like black eyes widened as it saw Xue Tuan approaching. Its slightly chubby, short limbs casually outstretched, revealing its soft belly and paw pads.
It was practically a fluffy treat delivered right to your door!
Xue Tuan’s little hand slowly reached out, and the little sun bear slightly raised its head, letting the tiny hand gently land on its head.
Qing Miao watched the two cubs interact. His eyes crinkled with laughter as the scene was just too adorable.
“His name is Qing Guo, he’s two years old, and he doesn’t really like using human form yet,” Qing Miao introduced to Xue Tuan.
“Hello.”
Xue Tuan stroked the little sun bear’s back. His hand ran down its spine making the fur dense and soft, slightly puffed out. Anyone would want to stroke it again and again.
The sun bear cub’s little ears twitched slightly, and it unconsciously squinted its eyes.
“Can I hold him?” Xue Tuan’s eyes sparkled, and Qing Miao couldn’t possibly refuse.
Xue Tuan immediately reached out to hug him…
Eh?
“Mmm—” Xue Tuan held his breath as he stuck his bottom out and hugged the little sun bear with all his might.
One second passed, two seconds passed, and he still couldn’t lift it…
Seeing Xue Tuan’s face turn red, Qing Miao quietly used a little more force to lift the sun bear cub a bit.
“Phew, got it!”
Don’t let its small size fool you, the little sun bear was packed with goodness, round and surprisingly heavy.
Xue Tuan smiled at the Qing Miao brothers. He pretended nothing had happened, and secretly decided he’d have to eat a lot of meat skewers today.