Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 141
Chapter 141
“Ye Huo?”
“En, because I was born at night, and there was a fire burning at home at the time, so my father gave me this name.” Ye Huo lightly explained.
“That’s a nice name.” Ale pointed at the food on the pottery dish in front of Ye Huo. “Try sprinkling a bit of chili powder on it and give it a try.”
Ye Huo paused for a moment before doing as told. He pulled out the cork from the bone bottle and carefully sprinkled a little chili powder onto the roasted meat. He hadn’t yet learned how to use chopsticks, so Ale handed over an unused bone fork. Bone forks were much sharper than wooden ones and could easily pierce through cooked meat.
Ale wasn’t exactly skilled at cooking, but he had a stubborn kind of passion when it came to food and eating. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to make a special bone bottle just to store chili powder—a tiny bottle that had taken him nearly half a month to make.
Ye Huo curiously examined the bone fork in his hand, then followed Ale’s example and sprinkled some chili powder on the roasted meat. After glancing up at Ale, he finally speared a piece and brought it to his mouth. The faint spiciness awakened his taste buds, and once he got used to the strange flavor, it somehow started to feel… intriguing.
Ale watched nervously as the other slowly chewed the food in his mouth. Ye Huo ate so slowly that Ale was nearly losing patience when he finally swallowed. Leaning forward slightly, Ale carefully studied his expression. “How is it? Does it taste good?”
Ye Huo picked up another piece of meat, this time chewing a little faster — just a few bites before swallowing it. Then he nodded to Ale and said, “En, it’s really good.”
Ale let out a sigh of relief, a bright smile quickly returning to his face. “Wait here, I’ll get you something even better to eat!” he said, and before Ye Huo could respond, Ale had already dashed off in a hurry.
“……”
Seeing the four or five pottery plates already piled high with food on the table, Ye Huo quietly picked up his fork and began to eat. Unconsciously, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Axu, who had originally been worried that Ye Huo might not fit in, happened to catch sight of this scene. He paused for a moment, then changed direction with the pottery plate of stewed potatoes and meat in his hands, heading instead toward the table by the window.
“Why are you hiding here all by yourself?” Axu set down his plate, looking a bit surprised at the man who was eating so seriously.
Beastmen had big appetites, and the clay plates were accordingly large. Seeing the two huge plates suddenly placed in front of him, Ahxu pushed his own food slightly to the side to make room. Looking up and seeing Axu, he smiled. “I’m older, so let’s leave these opportunities for the younger ones.”
Axu pulled out a chair and sat down, unable to help rolling his eyes. Among the remaining single females in Qi Ze City, aside from Ale, who had just come of age, the youngest was Ahxu. Of course, even though he was the youngest, he was still several years older than Axu; otherwise, he wouldn’t have lost interest in finding a partner.
In fact, it wasn’t just Ahxu, but the other single females in Qi Ze City weren’t particularly interested in this matchmaking event. Even though they were happy that the tribe had so many young males now, they didn’t believe that females of their age could really catch the attention of these young males. Decades of single life had long accustomed them to this reality. Still, everyone understood Azhang’s careful intentions. On top of that, Chen Qi had been closely overseeing their performance training every day. Even if they thought there was little chance of finding a partner this way, they still greeted the young males enthusiastically and proactively.
“You’re not old at all. Even my father goes around every day boasting that he’s still a young female who just came of age.”
Ahxu looked a little startled. Thinking of Achu’s face, he realized that Achu really did look quite young—standing next to Axu, they looked more like brothers than father and son. He smiled, popped a golden-brown fish ball into his mouth, and didn’t reply.
Tonight’s dinner could be considered a great success—despite the large amount of food, the beastmen finished nearly all of it. The people from the Salt-Water Tribe were fascinated by everything in Qi Ze City, and the females patiently explained each question that came up. The commotion lasted well into the night before everyone gradually dispersed.
Early the next morning, Aze was dragged by Azhang to the Chishui River to fish. This time, he only brought Aze and Ake along; the rest were females from the Salt-Water Tribe. All the single females of Qi Ze City were left behind in the tribe to guide the people of the Salt-Water Tribe and show them around Qi Ze City.
This morning, Chen Qi didn’t have Ajing continue teaching the early class. Instead, he sent Ashu up to give the lesson. Ashu had learned quite a bit of writing recently; although he couldn’t write all the characters from the Thousand Character Classic, he had memorized them without issue. Perhaps because Ashu was also from the Salt-Water Tribe, the new beastmen no longer felt the restraint they had shown when they first arrived yesterday. Seeing Ashu, flushed with embarrassment, sent up to the teacher’s platform, they began to make a ruckus, sometimes even teasing him with a few remarks. This lesson became the rowdiest in the history of Qi Ze City. Ajing, holding the little wolf cub in the corner, couldn’t help but cast Ashu a sympathetic glance.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
With no more performance training to oversee, Chen Qi’s days became leisurely again. The crops in the fields would likely take about another month to fully mature. Tasks like watering and weeding were now handled daily by assigned people, so all Chen Qi had to do was check on the growth of the crops each day.
He salted the newly harvested vegetables and stored them in the storeroom. This time, the people from the Salt-Water Tribe had also brought quite a bit of refined salt. Now, Qi Ze City’s salt reserves were more than enough for everyone to last until next winter, with plenty left over. As a result, Chen Qi no longer needed to be frugal when pickling things.
After washing his hands, Chen Qi caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of several jars of wine stacked in the corner. Having learned from last time’s failure, he was careful with every step this time. Judging by the dates, the wine had fermented almost completely, so he picked up one jar to see how it had turned out.
As soon as he opened the seal, a strong, rich aroma of wine wafted up—it was a far cry from the failed batch before, which had smelled of damp earth and rot.
Chen Qi picked up a clean pottery cup nearby and poured a small amount. The liquid was a beautiful orange-purple, very light. He brought it to his nose and inhaled, detecting a faint, distinctive grape aroma.
Chen Qi took a small sip. The wine wasn’t very strong, carried a hint of sweetness, and had a refreshing taste. There was no doubt—this batch had been successfully brewed.
Just as he was about to take a second sip, a head poked in at the door. “Chen Qi, what are you drinking?”
Looking up toward the door, Chen Qi saw Ale stepping in with a cheerful smile, not forgetting to wave to the person following him. Chen Qi recognized him as one of the males from the Salt-Water Tribe, though the few streaks of white in his temples and crow’s feet at his eyes made Chen Qi a bit surprised. His gaze flicked between the two of them, but he didn’t say anything.
Ye Huo nodded to Chen Qi and briefly introduced himself. Ale had already stepped up to the wine jar and peeked inside. The opening wasn’t large, so he could only see the liquid swirling within. However, having seen Chen Qi dig up the buried wine before, and now seeing the jar used to store it, he guessed that the liquid inside was likely what was called wine.
Ale pulled out a chair for Ye Huo without waiting for him to ask. Early this morning, he had already received Azhang’s orders to guide the males from the Salt-Water Tribe around Qi Ze City. Being the only female who had just recently come of age, Ale had been given this task by Azhang personally.
Ever since he had failed last year to win over that male from the Lion-Wolf Tribe, Ale had grown somewhat disheartened about finding a mate. Thinking that guiding these disinterested males might be less worthwhile than spending time with someone who shared his tastes—someone who also loved spicy food and might have more to talk about—he had run early in the morning to grab Ye Huo. After finishing the morning class, they wandered through the vegetable fields full of plants. Now, just as he was planning to take Ye Huo back to the school for lunch and then show him how to make pottery and paper, they passed by Chen Qi’s house and smelled an unusual, pleasant aroma. Assuming Chen Qi was experimenting with some new food again, Ale didn’t hesitate and dragged Ye Huo inside.
Since this batch of wine had turned out fairly well, Chen Qi wore an unmistakable smile. After greeting Ye Huo, he took out two clean pottery cups and poured a small amount for each of them. “This is freshly brewed wine. Try it and see how it tastes.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Ye Huo took the cup, thanked Chen Qi, and brought it to his nose to smell before taking a small sip. Ale, however, was less particular—he grabbed his cup and gulped down a large mouthful. Instantly, his face scrunched up. Although the fruit wine wasn’t very strong, its flavor was not especially pleasant for someone who had never drunk alcohol before.
Chen Qi watched with amusement as Ale swallowed the large mouthful with a grimace of exaggerated suffering. He then chuckled and said, “You’re not used to the taste of alcohol yet—don’t drink it all at once.”
Ale stuck out his tongue and set down the empty cup. Turning back, he saw Ye Huo slightly squinting his eyes as if savoring the taste. Noticing their gazes, he nodded to Chen Qi and remarked, “Though it tasted a bit strange at first, once you swallow it, there’s a lingering fragrance in the mouth that makes you want to keep drinking.”
Chen Qi resealed the already opened wine jar and pushed it toward Ye Huo. “Since you like it, this whole jar is yours.”
“How can I accept this?” Ye Huo declined. The beastmen valued bartering and rarely accepted gifts from strangers—especially from a male. He couldn’t understand why Chen Qi would just give him the wine.
“It’s fine, just consider it a gift for our first meeting,” Chen Qi said with a smile, glancing at Ale, who had already started pouring tea to wash away the strange taste of the wine. “If you feel awkward accepting something for free, then let Ale give me two bottles of chili powder in return.”
Hearing this, Ale swallowed the tea in his mouth and replied, “Sure, I’ll make it for you tonight.” Chen Qi wasn’t fond of spicy food, so he didn’t keep any chili powder at home, and in all of Qi Ze City, Ale was probably the only one patient enough to grind chili into powder bit by bit.
Ye Huo still wanted to refuse—after all, he didn’t have much of a connection with Ale, and having Ale give a return gift would still feel like he was taking something for nothing. But before he could speak, Ale continued, “Since you like this wine, Ye Huo, how about I go pick some grapes tomorrow? Then Chen Qi can teach you how to brew it, so you can always have wine in the future.”
Chen Qi smiled and nodded. “Sure, brewing this wine is not difficult – it just takes a little time.”
Seeing that the two had already made up their minds, Ye Huo looked down at the wine jar in front of him and swallowed the refusal that had been on his lips. Oh well—if needed, he could just brew another jar later to return to Chen Qi.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Another side ship is sailing~
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.
Ah… I caught up ;; looking forward to the next update, thank you for the translation miiya!!!!