Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 140
Chapter 140
Because of the arrival of the Salt-Water Tribe, the entire Qi Ze City became unusually lively. Ali, along with a few of the older females, prepared dinner in the cooking classroom. Axu, meanwhile, arranged for the people from the Salt-Water Tribe to settle into the dormitories next to the school, and he also had to fetch water and chop firewood for the males. It was a truly busy scene.
Ka Luo, being the only male in Qi Ze City besides Chen Qi, naturally took on the responsibility of looking after the young males and also handed them a batch of cloth garments he had prepared early in the morning for changing. Although the people from the Salt-Water Tribe knew some basic sewing, their skills were still quite rough. The garments they made looked awkward, as if several pieces of cloth had just been draped over the body. Because of this, many still wore their beast-skin clothing. Even after the sun had set and the temperature had dropped considerably, Ka Luo still felt uncomfortably hot seeing them in those beast skins.
“Huh, Ale, why are you still at home?”
Ale’s house happened to be just across a wide street from the school dormitories. There were two lamp posts by the entrance. Chen Qi and Aze were lighting the oil lamps in the posts when they noticed Ale carrying out a stone mortar, sitting on the stone-step platform.
Hearing the sound, Ale looked up and saw Chen Qi and Aze. He picked up a cup-shaped pottery container beside him and poured out its contents—several shriveled, dried red chili peppers. He said, “I’ve dried some chili peppers from my own plants and plan to make them into chili powder.”
Ale was one of the few people in Qi Ze City who could eat spicy food. Half of the ground in his yard was planted with chili peppers. Chen Qi had previously instructed him to stagger the planting times, so every so often there would be a batch of chili peppers ready for harvest in his yard.
Ale didn’t like eating whole chili peppers, but he enjoyed a hint of spiciness in his food. At first, he would just cook the chili peppers with the food and then discard the chili peppers after cooking, eating only the food that had absorbed the flavor. After seeing this several times and asking why, Chen Qi taught him to grind the chili peppers into powder. That way, he could add just a little while cooking or eating to give the food a spicy taste, without wasting the chili peppers.
Using his sharp nails, Ale cut the chili peppers into sections and then slowly ground them in the mortar. Watching Ale’s serious expression, Chen Qi leaned over the wooden fence at the yard’s entrance and hesitantly said, “So many males have arrived in the tribe. Aren’t you going to help greet them?”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Hearing Chen Qi’s words, Ale paused in his movements and lowered his head awkwardly. “There are other people here. If I don’t make some more—my chili powder is all gone—I won’t have any to eat tonight.”
Chen Qi didn’t tease him further. Lighting all the oil lamps in the tribe was a time-consuming task. “Remember to go eat at the dining hall later,” he said.
Ale hurriedly nodded, indicating that he understood. His cooking skills had never been good. He had practiced several times with Ka Luo before, but even with the same ingredients and steps, the results always tasted completely different. If anyone could be said to enjoy this kind of communal meal the most, it was Ale in all of Qi Ze City. Thinking about dinner later, Ale even quickened the pace of grinding the chili powder. With guests coming today, the meal would surely be abundant.
Chen Qi and Aze walked a few steps, then, as if remembering something, turned back. Pointing at the two big red lanterns hanging at Ale’s house entrance, Chen Qi smiled and suggested, “A few days ago, you brought back a lot of white wax, didn’t you? Now these lanterns can be lit. The males’ eyesight isn’t as good as you females’; relying only on the oil lamps along the path isn’t enough for them to see clearly.”
After speaking, he didn’t wait for Ale to respond and left with Aze. After lighting all the lamps, he still had to help Ali prepare dinner.
Ale looked up at the two big red lanterns overhead. During this period, he had made quite a few candles and, following Chen Qi’s teachings, had added some crushed flower pollen to the melted wax. When the candles burned, they gave off a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Even without thinking too hard, Ale knew what Chen Qi was up to. He looked up at the nearby dormitories bustling with people, pressed his lips together, and went back inside to get a candle. He placed it in the big red lantern and lit it, and the dim candlelight illuminated a large area in front of the door.
The dining hall was built very large, easily accommodating two to three hundred people. Inside, wooden tables and chairs had already been arranged in advance. Before sunset, water had been sprinkled on the roof to cool the space, and all the wooden windows on the four sides were wide open, making it feel even cooler than the outdoors.
Chen Qi, Ali, and a few others tidied up the surrounding tables, leaving a central area where several tables were grouped together to hold the food, creating a buffet-style setup so that people could choose the dishes they liked. Two circles of tables were arranged around it, but each table had only two chairs. After all, from one perspective, this gathering was essentially a large-scale matchmaking event, and letting them interact a bit earlier wasn’t a bad idea.
Plates of food were arranged in the middle of the dining hall, easily numbering in the dozens, and each plate was different: fried fish fillets, roasted sweet potatoes, potato stew with meat, flatbreads… Ali had practically made everything he knew how to cook. He wasn’t worried about the ingredients at all. Not only were the people from the Salt-Water Tribe astonished, but Chen Qi was also completely amazed.
Placing several roasted sweet potatoes onto the clay plate in Aze’s hands, Chen Qi glanced at Ali, who was bustling around with an unceasing smile on his face, and couldn’t help muttering, “This scene really looks like a son finally bringing his bride home, and the mother-in-law has prepared a huge table of food to make a good impression.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Aze took some of the flatbreads and bread that Chen Qi liked. Hearing Chen Qi mutter quietly, he asked softly, “What did you say?”
“I said that after these males try the food Ali made, they might all end up staying.”
Aze looked at the table full of food and nodded. Ali was the best cook in Qi Ze City and probably the best across the entire Dora Plains. Very few beastmen could resist the temptation of such delicious food.
Although he was the leader of the Salt-Water Tribe, this time the purpose was to let the males and females interact properly. After giving them a few instructions, Axu let them move about on their own.
The people from the Salt-Water Tribe had never seen so many different kinds of food displayed together. Qi Ze City originally had very few males, so the females from the Salt-Water Tribe didn’t hesitate to take the dishes they liked, find a spot to sit, and begin eating heartily.
The males were more reserved. At Azhang’s suggestion, the single middle-aged females in Qi Ze City also gentlemanly accompanied the males and introduced them to the methods of making various foods and the required ingredients.
Ale grabbed a large plate full of grilled fish, a few roasted sweet potatoes, and half a plate of steamed mussels, found a quiet corner, and sat down. He took out a bone bottle from his pocket, licked his lips, and carefully sprinkled bright red chili powder on everything, even the peeled baked sweet potatoes. Just as he was about to enjoy his dinner, a slightly hoarse voice came from above him. “What did you put in there?”
Ale raised his head in confusion and saw a pair of gray-blue eyes staring intently at the bone bottle in his hand; It was the middle-aged male with a few strands of white hair on his temples.
The bone bottle was already corked, so the contents couldn’t be seen. The visitor sat down opposite Ale, pointed at the bone bottle in Ale’s hand, and asked, “Can you show it to me?”
Ale had seen this man at the city gate. He seemed to be the oldest among the people of the Salt-Water Tribe. Unlike other males, he did not appear as curious about Qi Ze City. Perhaps because of his cold personality and old age, he seemed a little distant from people. No one was around him. After choosing the food and planning to find a corner to slowly have dinner, he saw a little female sprinkling some bright red powder on the food.
Ale blankly handed the bone bottle to the male, who took it and nodded to show his thanks. After removing the cork, he saw that it was filled with bright red powder. Bringing it close to his nose, he noticed it had a slightly sharp, pungent smell.
Seeing the other frown, Ale smiled. “Do you want to give it a try?” he asked, pushing the roasted fish, already sprinkled with chili powder, toward him.
Looking at the roasted fish, golden-brown with a thin layer of red powder on top, the male hesitated for a moment, then pinched a piece with his fingers and put it in his mouth. A burst of spiciness instantly filled his mouth. His gray-blue eyes widened reflexively. Before he could even chew, he wanted to spit out the piece of meat coated with the strange flavor. But when he looked up and saw the little female’s expectant expression, he hesitated for a moment and then swallowed it.
Ale hurriedly handed the nearby cooled tea to him, a smile he couldn’t hide lighting up his eyes. “I didn’t expect you could handle spiciness too. I’m the only one here who can eat this chili powder.” Even Ashu had given up on him after seeing him sprinkle chili powder on almost every bite. Now, suddenly encountering someone with a taste similar to his own, Ale couldn’t help feeling a bit pleased.
“……”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
The male quietly replaced the cork and then handed the bone bottle back to Ale.
The spiciness in his mouth was greatly mellowed by the tea, and the thing that had seemed almost inedible just moments ago now had a lingering, pleasant aftertaste. Ale handed him a roasted sweet potato. “Try this,” he said.
Seeing the thin layer of bright red powder on top, the male said, “This flavor is too strong; I probably can’t handle it.”
Ale thought for a moment, put down the roasted sweet potato in his hand, and ran to the food table to get two more. This time, he sprinkled only a fingernail-sized amount of chili powder on them and handed them to him again. “This one should only be just a little spicy.”
The male hesitated for a moment but still took it. The taste wasn’t as strong as before and was within his range of tolerance.
Seeing the other finish the roasted sweet potato sprinkled with chili powder, Ale was overjoyed. He shoved the newly made bottle of chili powder directly into the male’s hands and said cheerfully, “Doesn’t food taste better with a little chili? Here, this is for you. I’m the only one in the entire tribe who has this right now. When you have time, I can teach you how to make it.”
Without waiting for the male to answer, he seemed to remember something and continued, “Oh, right, my name’s Ale. What’s your name?”
Rubbing the bone bottle, which felt a bit cold to the touch, he felt slightly uncomfortable with the suddenly enthusiastic little female, but still answered his question, “Ye Huo.”
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Was it just me? Or could you just SMELL the side pairs?
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomKnight73
Proofreader: Yume
Editor stepping into the realm of MTL translating, starting with CLWP. Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
I can smell the side pairing from all the way over here too www