Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming-Chapter 148 - 118: Fierce Painful Bee
The past few days had seen several light drizzles, and the leafy greens in the small vegetable garden by the house were flourishing. Every stalk had shot up to be calf-high.
An Jin picked half a basket of the greens, planning to make pickled vegetables.
Xi had caught a ton of fish for their home, more than they could possibly eat. After being gutted, they were all placed in cold storage in the warehouse. In the future, she could use the pickled vegetables to make fish with sour greens.
An Jin absolutely loved fish with sour greens.
’The tender, creamy-white fish... the sour and spicy broth... Pairing it with a mouthful of fragrant rice when you’re starving—it’s simply to die for!’
"COO COO~"
Her head suddenly felt heavy as a warm ball of feathers settled on top of it. The little owlet lowered its head, pecking at An Jin’s hair with its round beak.
"Why’d you sneak over here again? Be careful, or your father will give you a smack."
"COO COO~"
The little owlet flapped its short wings and flew clumsily onto her hand, tilting its fluffy, round head at An Jin.
The owlet stared with its big, bewildered eyes, looking utterly adorable.
Many of the Beast Fathers and Beast Mothers in the tribe couldn’t be bothered with the young cubs. Since the cubs couldn’t shapeshift yet and lacked the skills to hunt, they often came to An Jin’s place looking for a meal.
An Jin placed the roly-poly little owl on the stone table in the courtyard. She happened to have a tea egg left over from breakfast, so she went inside to get it, peeled it, and fed it to the little creature.
"GURGLE GURGLE~" The little owl shuffled closer to her on its talons, happily jabbing its beak at the egg.
It made a complete mess of the egg white and yolk.
"Slow down, don’t choke." An Jin reached out and stroked its soft, fluffy head, then glanced at the utter mess on the table.
’Maybe I should just feed these little bird cubs insects next time,’ she thought. ’Cleaning this up is too much of a hassle.’
Gu Yin, who was standing a short distance away, saw the heartwarming scene and stopped in his tracks. His gaze grew distant as he watched, completely captivated.
His heart, usually so cold and hard, softened considerably without him even realizing it.
’Jin’er seems to really like these little cubs.’
’She’s so gentle with the other Beastmen’s cubs. If we had a little one of our own someday, she’d like it too... wouldn’t she?’
A wave of joy washed over Gu Yin, but it was tinged with anxiety.
Snake Beast cubs weren’t as cute as these furry creatures. Many females were afraid of them, which was one of the main reasons Snake Beasts had trouble finding mates.
"COO COO~" Seemingly sensing danger nearby, the owlet hadn’t even finished its tea egg when it flapped its short wings and fluttered to the ground.
The little creature scurried away, wobbling from side to side like a chicken.
An Jin sensed it too. Just as she was about to turn her head, a cool, firm body pressed against her back in an embrace.
Strands of the man’s cool hair brushed against her cheek.
The next moment, a kiss was pressed to her lips.
"You’re back just in time. Help me with something, would you?"
An Jin chuckled, tilting her head up. She turned halfway, smoothly wrapping her arms around Gu Yin’s neck. Her clear black eyes shimmered with a captivating light. "There was no one home just now, and I couldn’t manage by myself."
Gu Yin’s heart skipped a beat. He grunted an affirmation, then bent down, scooped her into his arms, and started walking toward the house. "What do you need me to do?"
"Hey, put me down first."
An Jin stuck out her feet and gave his lean waist a light kick. Laughing, she pointed to the side. "The ingredients are on the table in the courtyard. All you have to do is help me pick through the greens."
Gu Yin carried her over to the stone table in the courtyard and set her down.
The two of them cleaned the stone table and then started picking through the half-basket of greens together.
They discarded any yellowed or bug-eaten leaves, throwing them to the chickens and sheep.
Only a small portion of fresh, tender green leaves remained.
An Jin washed the leaves by the river and let them air-dry. She then layered them neatly in a stone crock with an opening several dozen centimeters wide and sprinkled some coarse salt on top.
After sorting the vegetables, they could also be blanched briefly in boiling water—stems first, then leaves—to help them better absorb the flavors.
An Jin let some boiled water cool until it was lukewarm, then poured it into the stone crock to dissolve the salt, using just enough water to cover the vegetables.
"What is this?"
Gu Yin saw her sprinkle some small, greenish pellets into the stone crock. Worried they might be poisonous, he picked up a couple and put them in his mouth. A peculiar expression immediately crossed his face.
It was a bit numbing, a bit astringent.
It was an indescribable sensation, very strange. At least to Gu Yin, it didn’t seem edible.
"This is for flavoring. For now, let’s call it... hmm, flower pepper!" Ignoring Gu Yin’s stare, which clearly begged her to stop, An Jin hurriedly grabbed a few more handfuls of the "flower pepper" and tossed them in.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the exact same Sichuan peppercorn from her era, but its taste and appearance were similar enough that it could be considered the Beast World’s equivalent.
