Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 106
Chapter 106
Chen Qi took the pterosaur egg and curiously flipped it up and down. After pondering for a moment, he replied Ale, whose eyes were shining eagerly, “I’ll make you a new kind of food tonight.”
Ale nodded eagerly, as he already had that plan in mind when he offered the egg to Chen Qi.
As there were often guests visiting their home, Chen Qi had allocated an additional seven or eight small pottery cups as teacups. However, it was obvious that this quantity was not enough to hold the giant egg. Therefore, Chen Qi sent Ale to Ka Luo’s and Ali’s homes to borrow a few teacups.
After entering the house, Chen Qi found a large pottery dish and cracked the pterosaur egg into it. Although the pterosaur egg was very large and its shape was somewhat peculiar, it actually was not much different from a regular chicken egg when it was cracked open.
Chen Qi fetched some chopsticks and handed them to Ashu. “Could you help me beat the egg?” Chen Qi showed Ashu how to beat the egg as he spoke, then handed the pottery dish containing the egg mixture to the other party. Ashu nodded, took the chopsticks and started to beat the egg according to Chen Qi’s instructions.
Chen Qi washed the several teacups in the house and dried them with a cloth. At that moment, Ale, who had gone next door to borrow some tea cups, returned along with Ka Luo.
Ka Luo, who was holding Ayao in his arms, asked eagerly as soon as he entered the house, “Chen Qi, are you going to make bread?” During the winter, Chen Qi had used some of Ake’s eggs to make bread. However, the bread he’d baked back then was a bit burnt and hard. Also, it was meatless, so the beastmen were not very interested in it and most of it ended up in Chen Qi’s stomach.
Chen Qi shook his head. He knew that the beast people did not like to eat bread. Naturally, he would not continue to make it this time. “This time I’m making pudding.”
“Pudding?” What is that?
“You’ll find out once it’s done.” Chen Qi said with a grin, teasingly keeping them in suspense.
Chen Qi had Ashu divide the egg mixture into two portions, and gave one to Ale to continue beating, while he went to the storage room to fetch some sugar and milk fruits.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
This time, unlike before when he just did it on his own as he pondered on it without explanations to the others around him, Chen Qi described his thought process to everyone as he acted. Fortunately, the steps to make pudding were not complicated.
Chen Qi poured five or six milk fruits into the egg mixture and stirred it. Then, he added some water to the sugar and boiled it in a pottery dish. The sugar originally had a slight yellowish tint, but after boiling, it became a thick and dark caramel color. He poured the caramelized syrup into a teacup, which spread into a thick layer at the bottom of the cup, then took a piece of loosely-woven cloth to filter the beaten egg mixture twice and remove the bubbles from the egg mixture before pouring it into the teacup.
An egg, the size of a basketball, filled nearly twenty cups. Of course, each teacup was only about three-quarters full.
After covering the teacups with the egg mixture with cattail leaves, and then securing the leaves over them with root threads to prevent water vapor from leaking into the cup, the teacups were then placed into a pottery dish to be steamed over boiling water.
Eggs were very quick to cook, and after about only ten minutes of steaming, Chen Qi took out all the puddings.
Picking up one of the cups, Chen Qi removed the cattail leaf covering it and a sweet aroma immediately wafted into the air. The pudding in the cup was a beautiful creamy yellow color. Chen Qi took a spoon and handed it to Ale together with the uncovered cup. “Give it a try.” Perhaps because it was his first time making it, Chen Qi felt a little nervous.
Ale took it unceremoniously, scooped a large spoonful and put it into his mouth. The pudding was tender, smooth, sweet, and had the delicious fragrance of milk. “It’s delicious.” Ale looked at Chen Qi with admiration. He just knew that Chen Qi could turn this pterosaur egg into delicious food.
Chen Qi smiled and distributed the cups to everyone present, including Ayao and the little wolf cub. Chen Qi helped pour the little wolf cub’s share into its special wooden saucer. A thin layer of caramel had already formed at the bottom, and Chen Qi used a spoon to stir the caramel into the pudding before letting the little wolf cub eat it.
The pudding that had been mixed with caramel was even sweeter, and the little wolf cub licked its lips after taking a bite. Occasionally, it would half-close its eyes with an expression of enjoyment. After finishing its own portion, it ran back to Chen Qi with a pitiful look, blinking its big eyes on its small face, hoping that he would give it some more.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
After everyone was given a cup, Chen Qi kept Azhang’s and his two companion’s share and let Ale take away the rest. After all, it was Ale who had found the pterosaur egg, so he didn’t hesitate to take them. He picked up the remaining cups of pudding and went to find Ahxu, planning to let the other members of the tribe have a taste. It was estimated that from tomorrow onwards, the dragons in the forest may encounter a bunch of pudding-coveting egg thieves.
Axu and Ashu stayed in the tribe to learn for three days. Of course, they wouldn’t just eat and drink for free in Qi Ze City. On the third day, they followed Azhang and the others into the forest to hunt. They even managed to return with a lone female antelope-dragon.
After dinner that day, as usual, Chen Qi asked Axu to tell him about the Salt-Water Tribe, from the situation around the tribe to their hunting activities, and then to some trivial matters in the tribe. Finally, they talked about the seemingly endless saltwater lake called Salt Water Lake.
Perhaps because the Salt-Water Tribe was far away from the forest, faced the water and was surrounded by various rocky mountains, the Salt-Water Tribe had not been attacked by hyena-drakes for decades.
Among these matters, Chen Qi was particularly interested in the Salt Water Lake and inquired in detail about it to Axu. He wondered if the saltwater lake called Salt Water Lake might actually be the sea.
Chen Qi once received information about this world when he first arrived, but it did not include any mention of the existence of the sea. Chen Qi once thought that there was no sea in this world.
Axu saw Chen Qi’s interest in the Salt Water Lake and patiently told him about matters around the lake. Although they could not swim, they relied on the lake for their livelihoods. The Salt Water Lake provided enough food for their tribe to survive so that they did not need to venture into the forest.
“Since you seem to be very interested in the Salt Water Lake, do you want to see it with your own eyes?” Axu suggested after finishing what he was talking about.
“Right, Chen Qi, would you like to visit our tribe? People in our tribe all live in caves, which is very different from your tribe. You must have never seen it before.” Ashu had been following Chen Qi to learn how to cook for the past few days and he’d long fallen in love with Chen Qi’s delicious food, practically becoming Chen Qi’s little fanboy. Hearing his brother extending an invitation to Chen Qi to visit their tribe, he eagerly joined in.
Sitting next to help Chen Qi organize life preservers, Aze paused in his actions and raised his head to look at Axu with an unfriendly expression. What did he mean by this? Was he trying to snatch Chen Qi from him?
Axu saw the look in Aze’s eyes and knew that the other man had misunderstood him. He hurriedly explained, “I mean, you can come to our tribe as guests, just like Ashu and I have come to your tribe to exchange things this time. Don’t you like the food in our tribe very much? These foods have been cured with salt stone, so they don’t taste so good. If you come to our tribe, you can directly hunt this kind of prey yourself. Fresh octopus is much more delicious than these dried octopus.”
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 that Axu was also inviting him, and was not meaning to snatch Chen Qi away, the ill will in Aze’s eyes dissipated in an instant. He looked at Chen Qi. If Chen Qi wanted to go, he could naturally accompany him and go together.
Chen Qi was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit tempted in his heart.
Azhang, who sat nearby, thought for a moment and interjected, “How about I ask some people from our tribe to bring over some things to exchange with you? The bag of salt stones you brought here actually isn’t enough to fulfill the entire tribe’s needs.” Now, much of the leftover food was preserved with salt, even the dried vegetables, so the daily demand for salt is quite high. He was worried that the large bag of salt that Axu brought over for exchange would not be enough to last until winter.
“Sure, the pottery wares and clothes you make, as well as the paper, are things that people in our tribe would definitely want to exchange for.” After a pause, Axu added with a slight hint of envy, “It would be great if we could exchange for the written words and characters from you too.”
Ashu also nodded in agreement. During their stay here, the two brothers only learned to write their own names. Although they only learned one character, the two brothers were already very happy. This character was unique to them, and whoever saw it would know it was their name.
Axu had also seen Ale leave messages in the daily guard journal for the next person taking over the shift. They didn’t need to speak; just by looking at the words, they could know what the other party was saying. This method was too novel for the beastmen who had not been exposed to writing before. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough time to learn all the written words and characters from the people of Qi Ze City.
Chen Qi looked at Azhang with surprise. He didn’t expect for him to take advantage of the pair of brothers’ visit to propose another exchange with the Salt-Water Tribe. If they could establish a deal with the Salt-Water Tribe, they wouldn’t have to worry about rationing salt in their daily lives anymore.
“Your tribe is quite far away. Won’t I be a burden if I go with you?” Chen Qi hesitated for a moment and asked. He knew that with his walking speed, they wouldn’t be able to get very far at all. If he had to be carried by Aze, the amount of goods they could bring to exchange would naturally have to be reduced a lot, and it would almost be like running in circles for nothing.
Azhang jokingly patted Aze, who was buried in his work. “Did you forget about your family’s Aze? If he carries you on his back, you won’t need to walk at all.”
Axu nodded, “If you are worried that you won’t be able to bring everything back, I can help you move them back.”
Take us to the Salt-Water Tribe, help us carry things back, and then head back again? Several black lines appeared on Chen Qi’s forehead.
Chen Qi turned his head and looked at Aze. As if he felt Chen Qi’s eyes on him, Aze raised his head and smiled at him, “If you want to go, then let’s go. I will accompany you.”
Upon hearing Aze’s words, Chen Qi felt a warm feeling in his heart. He thought for a moment then nodded to Axu, “Then, when you go back to the Salt-Water Tribe, we’ll go with you.” Perhaps along the way, he could discover some new things to eat.
Ashu cheered happily. He can continue to learn cooking with Chen Qi some more.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: New journey upcoming!
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomNight73
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.
Oohh, exciting adventures await our CQ and Azhe!
Oho!
I smell some exciting things happening (remember the Azure Dragon in the Salt Water Lake and those hyena drakes trying to attack it).
Hopefully nothing happens to the Salt Water Tribe!
And I can’t wait for the Giant Wolf-God to reunite officially with his little nephew Little Wolf!