The unfamiliar dish name caused Li Qiao to pause for a moment, but based on the name, she quickly associated it with the ingredients required.
They happened to have pheasant and mushrooms today, so making this dish should not be difficult.
After a brief moment of thought, she nodded and replied,
“No problem, we will make chicken stewed with mushrooms.”
Hearing the satisfactory answer, Li Mai immediately followed Li Qiao into the cave to gather ingredients, taking the pheasant and the stove outside to the makeshift earthen hearth.
Under Li Mai’s intense gaze, Li Qiao tried her best to speed up her movements and quickly lit the fire.
They had obtained plenty of ingredients recently, so they were not short on oil. Thinking of her eldest sister’s fondness for lard, she steeled herself and scooped a large spoonful into the pot.
Under the high heat, the lard quickly melted, releasing its fragrance.
At just this step, Li Mai could not help but inhale deeply, drawing in the aroma.
Li Qiao caught sight of this and could not help but smile slightly. She quickly added the chopped chicken pieces into the pot.
“Crackle, crackle.”
The intense sizzling sound erupted in the pot, instantly overpowering the other sounds of the mountain.
As she continued stir-frying, the surface of the chicken gradually changed color. Li Qiao instinctively wanted to pour in water to begin stewing.
Seeing that the steps differed from what she had seen before, Li Mai quickly stopped her and reminded,
“Next, add dark soy sauce, soy sauce, rock sugar, and salt, then continue stir-frying evenly.”
The step-by-step recitation stunned Li Qiao.
Her first thought was that her eldest sister was teaching her how to cook, but some of the seasonings mentioned were things she had never even heard of, and they did not have them.
Listening to the changing sounds in the pot, she hurriedly explained,
“Eldest Sister, what is light soy sauce? We do not have soy sauce at home anymore, and the only sugar left is a little malt sugar.”
Hearing that the ingredients were missing, Li Mai’s mood immediately soured.
The sudden shift in atmosphere made Li Qiao even more flustered. She had not expected that her eldest sister’s attempt to teach cooking would be hindered by the lack of seasonings.
“Then just add malt sugar and salt. When we have the chance later, we will buy everything we need.”
Thinking that because of their enemies, she could not even satisfy her appetite, Li Mai’s resentment toward them deepened. They were truly delaying her from living a good life.
Hearing this, Li Qiao quickly acted, adding the little remaining malt sugar into the pot.
As she continued stir-frying, the sugar gradually melted. Under the high heat, it darkened, coating the chicken with an enticing caramel color.
Li Qiao had not expected that sugar could be used in cooking, and it did not feel out of place at all.
She had originally thought it was meant to add sweetness, but now it seemed to only give the food a layer of color.
Beside her, Li Mai stared fixedly at the food in the pot. The moment she saw the color change, she immediately reminded,
“After it changes color, add boiling water to cover the chicken.”
Having gone through the first round of instruction, Li Qiao had already learned to adapt.
Since there was no boiling water at home, she added cold water instead, thinking it would not make much difference.
Just after adding the water, Li Mai’s voice sounded again.
“Add a seasoning packet made of star anise, cinnamon bark, Sichuan peppercorns, angelica root, as well as scallions and ginger.”
“Eldest Sister, we do not have many of the things you mentioned, I will just add what we have.”
After speaking, Li Qiao quickly added Sichuan peppercorns and ginger.
This time, it was not just unfamiliarity, she could not even understand how something like bark could be used in cooking.
Hearing this, Li Mai grew even more dissatisfied. They were lacking far too many things, and her dislike for their enemies deepened further.
But she still continued instructing,
“Add the mushrooms.”
“Alright!”
This time there was no issue. Li Qiao quickly washed the freshly picked mushrooms and added them into the pot.
Because there was not much pheasant meat, she had to add a large amount of mushrooms, otherwise she was worried it would not be enough to eat.
Seeing that the dish she had been craving was nearing completion, Li Mai changed positions. She brought the snake she had just obtained to Li Shu and said,
“You roast this snake, I will give you a portion.”
Li Shu, who was busy splitting bamboo, had not expected that his eldest sister had caught another snake.
But when he saw it clearly, he was so startled that he nearly dropped both the knife and the bamboo in his hands.
Because he recognized the snake, it was a bamboo pit viper.
“Eldest sister! Throw it away quickly!”
Li Mai felt puzzled by his reaction. She thought, was he not supposed to be unafraid of snakes?
Seeing that the snake was still in her hand, Li Shu hurriedly explained,
“This kind of snake is called a bamboo pit viper, it is highly venomous. A single bite could be fatal. Eldest Sister, you should throw it away quickly, poisonous things cannot be eaten.”
This was already the second time Li Mai had heard such words. She thought of the brightly colored mushrooms she had thrown away earlier.
She could not help but wonder, could it be that poisonous things all looked particularly beautiful?
Since the snake could not be eaten, Li Mai decisively discarded it. With a light flick, she threw it toward the river, where it fell into the water and drifted away with the current.
Then she crouched by the iron pot, her eyes fixed on the chicken stewed with mushrooms.
Seeing this, Li Qiao felt a bit flustered and subconsciously increased the fire, hoping the chicken would cook faster.
“Glug, glug.”
The sound of the soup boiling grew louder, and the rich aroma spread continuously in all directions.
Li Mai sniffed deeply, trying to lock all the fragrance inside her body.
Seeing this, Li Qiao could not help but smile and suggested,
“How about we eat the mushrooms first? They cook quickly, the chicken will take a bit longer.”
As soon as she said this, Li Mai’s eyes lit up.
Without needing to say anything more, Li Qiao understood her eldest sister’s thoughts. She quickly brought bowls and chopsticks and called out to her second brother in the distance,
“Second brother, time to eat!”
“Coming!”
Li Shu immediately put down what he was doing. As he passed by the pond, he casually dipped his hands in to wash them, then hurried over.
Instinctively, he wanted to sit down, only to realize they did not even have stools.
A thought immediately arose in his mind, they really needed to make some simple furniture soon.
Li Mai and Li Qiao had no time to think about his concerns. The moment he arrived, they quickly reached out with their chopsticks toward the mushrooms in the pot.
Eating scalding hot mushrooms under the blazing sun was no easy task.
Even though Li Mai had prepared herself and tried to restrain her desire to eat, blowing on the mushrooms several times, the moment she put one into her mouth, the savory broth coating it burst across her lips and tongue.
The deliciousness caused her rationality to falter for a moment, and she instinctively bit down.
“Pshh!”
The hot broth trapped inside burst out instantly, scalding her mouth.
Li Mai inhaled sharply several times, easing the discomfort.
Sensing that the brief scald had dulled her taste slightly, she immediately took the opportunity to swallow the juicy mushroom.
Then she picked out several more mushrooms and placed them in her bowl to cool, making it easier to eat in large bites.
Before long, the mushrooms in the pot were nearly wiped out by the three of them.
Li Qiao quickly added another batch of fresh mushrooms into the pot to continue cooking.
In this way, the three of them ended up eating what was essentially a mushroom hot pot with chicken broth, as mushrooms continuously moved from the pot into their stomachs.
As time passed, the chicken in the pot also reached the point where it could be eaten.
Li Mai quickly took a piece. It was tender yet firm, with a rich texture and a distinctive aroma.
One piece was nowhere near enough. She immediately picked up another.
In the end, she even drank all the mushroom chicken soup in the pot. Infused with the flavors of both mushrooms and chicken, the soup was a concentrated essence of everything.
Li Mai’s eyes filled with shock as she drank, even the sweat pouring down her body could not stop her.
After finishing lunch, she licked her lips with lingering satisfaction and said,
“Tonight, make bamboo fungus chicken soup. I will go hunt a few more pheasants.”
“Bamboo fungus?”
“It is what you called the Snow Skirt Fairy, we will eat that tonight.”
“Alright!”
Li Qiao nodded seriously. She also wanted to eat bamboo fungus.
In the past, this kind of mushroom always had to be sold for money. Now that they could eat it themselves, just thinking about it made her happy.
Especially after making such a delicious chicken stewed with mushrooms under her eldest sister’s guidance, she became even more excited about the bamboo fungus chicken soup Li Mai had mentioned.
Hearing the satisfactory reply, Li Mai nodded.
Because she had sweated so much while eating, her whole body felt uncomfortable. She jumped straight into the river for a quick wash, changed her clothes, and headed back up the mountain.
Li Shu and Li Qiao, who stayed behind, did not remain idle either.
Li Shu first processed the bamboo he had cut, then took the tools Li Mai had made and shaped the wood as needed, preparing to make stools.
Li Qiao, on the other hand, looked helplessly at the clothes casually hung on the branches, still dripping with water.
She quickly took them down, deciding to wash them again for her eldest sister.
Clothes worn daily in the mountains needed to be washed with soapberry.
While washing, Li Qiao accidentally noticed tears in the fabric caused by branches. She frowned, feeling that it was necessary to use the “fabric” her eldest sister had brought back to make a few sets of clothes, otherwise there would not be enough for her to wear.
At this moment, Li Mai, who was heading toward the place where she had previously hunted pheasants, had no idea that the two at home were working hard to improve her living conditions.
Her steps were light, making almost no sound except when passing through grass.
When she suddenly detected movement nearby, she immediately drew her bowstring, closed her eyes, and released.
“Whoosh!”
The arrow shot through the grass, and the sound of it striking prey rang in her ears.
Worried that the prey might escape, Li Mai quickly used her knife to cut away the obstructing grass and plants.
At a glance, she spotted the pheasant she had shot.
Her mood instantly brightened, because this meant she would definitely have bamboo fungus chicken soup tonight.
Looking down, she also saw a nest of white pheasant eggs beside it, making her even happier.
Now they would have dough soup as well.