Chapter 259: Delicious
Editor: Atlas Studios
Other than him, no one else had eaten the stuff he mentioned. Mu Yangling had eaten it in her previous life, but she had never even seen it in this life.
She wasn’t particularly interested in cumin. What she was interested in was chili. She had loved spicy food in her previous life. “Then, Old Master Chen, do you have these things on you now?”
Mu Yangling had once asked the merchants about chili, and many of them knew about it. Even the merchants from Chuangui liked to eat it, but because they knew that the people in the north didn’t like it, they didn’t bring any seeds with them. Some people did carry chili powder with them, but they only cared about eating it themselves. Most importantly, Mu Yangling wanted seeds, not stir-fried chili powder.
Old Master Chen smiled and turned around to take the cloth bag he carried with him. Smiling, he said, “I do have it on me.” He took out his things. Not only was there chili powder and cumin in a cloth bag, but there was also salt and even a small bottle of sauce.
Mu Yangling was speechless. “Old Master Chen, you really have everything one could need.”
“I’m used to it. I’ve traveled extensively. Sometimes, I’ll go out for months or even a year and a half. When I can’t find a shop or a village, I’ll have to sleep in the wild. Naturally, I have to carry this seasoning bag with me.”
Although Mu Yangling had also brought seasoning bags, there was only oil and salt.
She brought Old Master Chen’s things over and found a dented stone to wash it clean. Then, she poured some oil in, added salt, chili, and Old Master Chen’s sauce, and found a tree branch. She took out a dagger and divided one end into locks. Old Master Chen said in surprise, “Young lady, you have good knife skills.”
“I honed this skill by making brushes in the wild.” Mu Yangling waved her hand and shook off the broken splinters. She dipped the newly made brush in seasoning, and brushed it on the roe deer’s meat. As she brushed, she turned it. With her incredible strength, she could turn it with one hand, even though it usually required two people to do it together. This made Old Master Chen take a few glances at her.
Qi Xiuyuan and the others were already used to it. Even the two guards only took a glance before calmly turning their heads away.
The roe deer meat was roasted very quickly. Roasted with oil, the fragrance kept wafting out through the layer of meat that Mu Yangling had brushed with oil. Even Qi Xiuyuan, who was not very hungry, and Rong Xuan, who was more particular, stopped talking and sat around her.
Qi Haoran squatted beside Mu Yangling and helped her carry the stone as he watched eagerly.
Seeing that he couldn’t take his eyes off the food, Mu Yangling glanced at Qi Xiuyuan and stuffed a blade-full of meat into Qi Haoran’s mouth. It was already dusk, and the temperature was dropping rapidly. However, even so, Qi Haoran was still scalded. Then, he squatted down and puffed up his mouth to eat. The slightly spicy stimulation exploded on his taste buds.
He looked at Mu Yangling with sparkling eyes and exclaimed in a low voice, “Delicious!”
Fan Zijin glared at the two of them angrily. Qi Xiuyuan and Rong Xuan pretended not to see it. Old Master Chen looked at Qi Haoran and then at Mu Yangling. He shook his head and laughed. Then, he sat on the rock and closed his eyes to rest.
When Qi Haoran saw Fan Zijin glaring at him, he said to Mu Yangling, “Give some to Zijin.”
Zijin snorted coldly. Was he angry because of that? He was angry because….
Fan Zijin’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly did not know why he was angry. In any case, he was angry.
Mu Yangling glanced at him and pretended not to hear him. She smiled at Qi Xiuyuan and the others. “Old Master Chen, Big Brother Qi, it’s done. Everyone, gather around and eat.”
Everyone carried a dagger. Even Old Master Chen took out a knife from his waist, so they each used their own knives to cut and eat. They continued roasting meat while eating. Mu Yangling and Qi Haoran helped brush the seasonings and rotate the skewers. They were so busy that soon, sweat broke out on the tip of their noses.
Fan Zijin sat beside Qi Haoran and suddenly realized that he was excluded from the atmosphere between the two of them. This had never happened before.
When Qi Xiuyuan looked over, he saw that his expression did not look good. Following his gaze, he realized that Fan Zijin was looking at Haoran and Mu Yangling. The two of them cooperated well, and his younger brother would cut a piece of meat for Mu Yangling from time to time. As Mu Yangling stuffed it into her mouth, she twirled the stick in her hand and even added seasoning…
After a while, Mu Yangling would cut a few pieces of meat for Qi Haoran or wipe the sweat off his forehead.
Qi Xiuyuan retracted his gaze silently. A moment later, he shook his head and smiled. Why was he thinking so much? He himself hadn’t even gotten engaged yet, and his brother was still young. He decided to see what the situation was like in a few years.
Realizing that Qi Xiuyuan was not listening to him at all, Rong Xuan nudged him and asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing. What did you just say?”
Rong Xuan followed his gaze and looked at Qi Haoran, Mu Yangling, and the others. “Old Master Chen said that the area he walked in this afternoon was all filled with iron ore. However, we have to dig to know how much there is underneath. Moreover, the place he walked to isn’t far, and Luocong Mountain isn’t small. If we dig further, I’m afraid we won’t be able to finish it in a day tomorrow. Xiuyuan, we can’t stay away from the West Camp for too long.”
“We’ll go back tomorrow. We’ll just send two more people to help.”
“There’s no need.” Old Master Chen said, “With the help of these two young lads, it’s enough. General Qi, it won’t be a secret anymore if more people know about it.”
Qi Xiuyuan smiled. “As long as Old Master Chen isn’t afraid of hard work, there’s no problem on our side.”
Old Master Chen waved his hand and said, “I’m used to living like this. Furthermore, you even sent two people to help me, so it’s not hard.”
Qi Xiuyuan stood up and bowed. “Thank you, Old Master Chen.”
Old Master Chen waved his hand and turned to Mu Yangling with a smile. “Young lady, help me brush more chili on this side. This little bit of spiciness isn’t spicy enough.”
As Qi Xiuyuan and the others were used to eating lighter flavors, this level of spiciness was just right for them. At this moment, they were already sweating profusely from eating. When they heard that Old Master Chen wanted more spicy food, they couldn’t help but click their tongues.
Mu Yangling didn’t dare to eat food that was too spicy, too. After all, in these ten years, she hadn’t eaten chili, and most of the spicy food she ate was ginger.
Mu Yangling walked over to Old Master Chen and brushed a layer of red chili powder on his meat. She asked again, “Do you want to sprinkle some cumin?”
Old Master Chen looked at her in surprise. “Young lady, do you know how to eat these two things? I think you’re very proficient when it comes to matching the spices, but don’t the people in Xingzhou Prefecture not like to eat them? Some people have never even heard of them.”
Smiling, Mu Yangling said, “My mother knows. Moreover, I often interact with those merchants. I heard them mention it before, that’s how I know how these two spices should be used.”
Although Old Master Chen didn’t believe her, he didn’t probe further. Brother Qi Xiuyuan trusted her, so why should he worry about this for them?
Rong Xuan glanced at Qi Xiuyuan, who shook his head slightly. Rong Xuan didn’t say anything else. As for Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin, they were already used to Mu Yangling knowing things that others didn’t.
At night, everyone set up camp here. As Rong Xuan and Qi Xiuyuan stood at a high place and looked down at them setting up the tent, he said, “Miss Mu is clearly just a hunter’s daughter, but she always knows something that others don’t. I heard that she even helped Haoran train the scout team together.”