Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 012
by Miiya · September 25, 2021
Chapter 12
Chen Qiβs face was full of black lines. Of course, he wasnβt planning to have children. In this world without women, who was he supposed to look for to bear a child? Look for Aze? Grinding his teeth in frustration, he explained, βI want to wear it myself.β Although the animal skins had been tanned, it was obvious that the tanning technology was not mature enough. There wasnβt a cloth lining, and every pore on the skin would be clamoring about the roughness of the fur garment.
Ali did not care who was wearing the cloth he weaved. His lips curled up slightly and he replied realistically, βYou will need to prepare your own yarns, and each piece of cloth must be exchanged for an adult antelopeβs worth of meat.β
The βyarnsβ were actually cocoons of silk spat out by caterpillar-dragons. They were generally prepared for the young for winter. However, dragons lived in the Loya Forest. Even if the caterpillar-dragons were harmless dragons, their silk was not so easy to obtain.
Chen Qi frowned slightly. He could not get these things now. It seems that the issue of clothing can only be put aside for the time being. But Aze overrode his thoughts and said, βIβll have meat and cocoons ready tomorrow. Please use these skins here to help Chen Qi make several sets of fur clothes. Iβll also go hunting tomorrow for remuneration.β
βEn.β Ali stood up and staggered with a limp over to a pottery dish, where he retrieved a tree vine and returned to take Chen Qiβs measurements by breaking the tree vines at certain lengths. He asked casually, βHave you found a house yet? There should be many empty houses over by Rock Mountain.β
βChen Qi plans to build a house next to my house.β Azeβs smile formed wrinkles between his eyes and eyebrows.
βOh?β This was beyond Aliβs expectation. He couldnβt help looking at Chen Qi a few more times. Chen Qi wore hide garments over his whole body. Ali turned and walked to the corner where some hides were piled up. He took out a piece of cloth, which was not too big, only about 1.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, and handed it to Chen Qi. βTake this back and use it first. Iβll help you with the rest when Aze finds the cocoons.β
Chen Qi didnβt know if it was his imagination, but he suddenly felt that the femaleβs current expression was even gentler than before.
βThank you.β Chen Qi took the cloth. Although the cloth looked slightly rough, it felt surprisingly soft, just like silk, and his heart was even more joyful. It seemed that the world was not as bad as heβd imagined.
CrossingΒ to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)Β is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
The three men chatted a little longer. It was mostly Ali asking Chen Qi if he really wanted to live in this tribe, for which he received a positive reply. He also told Aze to help Chen Qi build a strong house and to come to him if there was anything he needed. After a long talk, the two of them went back home. Everyone was very busy in the month before winter, and there was not much time to waste on greetings.
When the two left the tribe, Chen Qi sincerely said to Aze, βThank you.β In various ways, the beastman had really helped him out a lot and he owed him too much. However, Chen Qi, who carried this heavy debt to the other man, wasnβt burdened by it. He was still in a period of adapting to the new world. It would be better to repay Aze slowly when things were more stable in the future. He didnβt have the luxury to be melodramatic now.
βDonβt mention it. Do you still want to find foods that were buried under the ground? There is still some time before dark, and we can search for them all the way back.β It was obvious that Aze was in a good mood at the moment.
The tribe was still some distance away from Azeβs place, and Chen Qiβs interest in finding food was still high, so he happily accepted Azeβs proposal. The two were extremely happy to find some familiar plants along the way. As they walked, Chen Qi also found a small bamboo grove, where the bamboo grew very tall and thick. Unfortunately, bamboo shoots were not found at this time of year. What delighted Chen Qi most was the discovery of a potato plant growing near the small bamboo grove. They actually managed to dig out about five potatoes, each around the size of a fist.
Although they searched until the sun went down, the two menβs harvest along the way remained just these potatoes. Aze planned to send Chen Qi home and then head back out to hunt. This time of year, there was no shortage of prey on the Dora Plains. However, before theyβd reached home, the two encountered a fat rabbit that suddenly popped out in front of them. The rabbit had actually crashed into Chen Qiβs leg, so Aze wasnβt going to let it go this time. With a swift movement, he bent over, reached out, and caught it in his hand. Before Chen Qi could even react, Aze had already given the rabbit the twist of death.
Chen Qi glanced at the potatoes in his arms and then at the rabbit in Azeβs. βLetβs have a rabbit stew with potatoes tonight.β
CrossingΒ to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)Β is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
βOkay.β
Of course, Chen Qi didnβt end up cooking the rabbit stew with potatoes that night. Aze returned from his hunt with a warthog, so they ended up using a large piece of pork to make some meat and potato stew instead. Although the only seasonings they could use were salt, wild ginger, and a handful of perilla leaves, it was surprisingly delicious. Chen Qi also used a large piece of pork fat to fry up some lard and asked Aze to slice a warthog leg into strips which he used to make a large dish full of fried pork slices. After changing to a different kind of food that wasnβt just meat grilled with salt, Chen Qi ate very well. The two men practically finished off half of the wart-pork along with the five fist-sized potatoes.
The beastmenβs cooking methods were very simple, always either roasting or boiling. This was Azeβs first time eating this kind of food, and he almost couldnβt stop. βChen Qi, can we have more food like this again tomorrow?β Aze asked, wanting more.
Chen Qi sat by the fire rubbing his swollen stomach and laughed. βOf course, though maybe not the meat and potato stew. We used up all the potatoes tonight.β
βIβll look for more when Iβm out hunting tomorrow. I remember what the potato plants look like.β For the first time, Aze discovered that the roots of this buried plant could be stewed with meat. Not only did the meat become delicious, but the root itself was also so tasty.
Chen Qiβs eyes brightened. βDo you still remember what the sweet potatoes, perilla, and wild ginger look like?β
Aze nodded. βI remember them. I have a good memory.β
Chen Qi patted Aze on the shoulder and seriously stated, βYou must dig them out and bring them back when you see them.βΒ
Aze smiled. βOkay.β
Tonightβs moon was much dimmer than last nightβs. Tomorrow would probably already be the Moonless Day, and after three Moonless Days, it would be winter. Beastmen had the habit of going out at sunrise and going to rest at sunset. Chen Qi, who usually browsed web pages until midnight, did not have this habit. He looked at the remaining half of the wart-pork and the rabbit that they hadnβt had the time to roast even though it had already been cleaned and processed. He didnβt know whether the little salt heβd refined at noon would be enough to cure these things.
βAze, cut this much of the wart-pork into strips.β Chen Qi gestured over the nearby pork to indicate the approximate size he wanted..
Aze looked at Chen Qiβs slightly protruding stomach and suggested, βWe canβt eat any more of it. Letβs cook it tomorrow.βΒ
βI donβt want to eat it, I want to use salt to preserve it and save it to be eaten in the winter.β
βUsing salt to preserve? Isnβt it supposed to be cooked and then dried in the sun?β
βDry them in the sun? Will it be tasty like that?β Chen Qiβs mouth twitched. Is that the primitive version of jerky?
CrossingΒ to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP)Β is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Aze shook his head. βItβs not tasty, but it can last for a long time. The first Moonless Day has not yet arrived. If we need to store food, we can cook it and leave it in the sun to dry. After three Moonless Days, when the weather starts to turn cold, we can store it directly. However, most of the animals on the Dora Plains will have migrated by then, and there will not be many left to be hunted. If we want to store more food, we must go into the Loya Forest.β
βThatβs not a problem. Food that is preserved with salt can be stored for a long time, and it will definitely taste better than plain dried meat. Cut the meat according to my method first. We wonβt need bones.β
βOkay.β Aze didnβt believe Chen Qiβs claim that using salt would make the food last longer, but even if Chen Qi wasted the food, he could still go hunt and bring back more. It was not yet the best time to store food, so there was still time for Chen Qi to mess around.
Chen Qi first boiled half a pottery dish of water, then found another clean pottery dish and set it aside for later use. After the water boiled, he used a long wooden stick to hold the cut up meat strips and put them in the boiling water to scald them. When the meat began to change color, he took it out, carefully smeared salt evenly on the surface of each strip, and placed the strips into the clean pottery dish.
Just like that, he filled the dish with a layer of meat strips, then spread salt over them again, and repeated his pattern until all the meat strips had been processed and the plate was heaping full. Chen Qi put the meat-filled dish by the door, which was far away from the fire and well-ventilated, then shook out his slightly sore arms, feeling satisfied with the results of his efforts. βJust wait until tomorrow to find a cool place to let it dry out.β
Aze looked at the sky and asked, βThen weβll rest for today?β
βEn.β Chen Qi was also a little tired after the busy day. Before going to bed, he set a large pot of bone soup over the fire to simmer. The warthog had a lot of bones. Chen Qi only chose a few segments of those bones, and had Aze break them into smaller pieces. After removing the blood foam from the water heβd used to treat the meat strips, he added a few pieces of wild ginger slices and left it to stew so that he would have bone soup as soon as he got up the next morning. Bone soup was much tastier than just the simple meat broth.
On this night Chen Qi had the most comfortable sleep heβd had since arriving in this world. The rumbling sound in his mind, that hadnβt stirred up for a long time, resurfaced, but this time the melody of the sound became a mysterious and beautiful beat. Chen Qi felt that he was finally about to blend into this world, and he also realized once again that he might never return to his original world. He would live as a creature of this world until the day when his bones were buried.
Aze reached out his hand to smooth out Chen Qiβs brow that was tightly furrowed even in his deep sleep. He could sense the faint loneliness that came from the sleeping man. Although he did not know what Chen Qi was seeing in his dream, he knew that he would protect the man in front of him well from now on. As long as he stayed by his side, Aze would protect him to the end.
Aze removed some firewood to turn down the fire a little bit. The lidless pot revealed bones tumbling in the water and emitted a tantalizing fragrance. He spread out the nearby hide and laid it on the ground. He thought to himself that he should be able to have a dream full of food tonight. It would be even better if Chen Qi was also in the dream.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: 3 of 3 for the week.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: Avalie
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.
looks like there is a long way before their nest becomes civilised rooting for Aze and Chen Qi
Bit by bit π as long as they are together~
π³π€©ππππ
Chen Qi doesn’t have a plan to plant the potatoes? A single potato can produce 5 to 7 potatoes. Also with that they don’t need to spend s day to find edible plants π§
Bem, faz poucos dias que foi para esse mundo, acalme-se kkkkkk. AlΓ©m disso, vai comeΓ§ar o inverno…