My Demon Friends-Chapter 561 - 539: Preach by Words and Teach by Example

The roasted whole lamb here was pit-roasted.

Unlike the common roasted whole lamb in Yi Province, it wasn't cooked by rotating on a rack but more like baking naan—it was hung in a pit against the walls and then slowly roasted.

Hence, it was also called naan-pit roasted whole lamb.

The texture and flavor of lamb prepared this way were very different from those of Yi Province's usual roasted whole lamb. Because it wasn't continuously brushed with oil and seasoned heavily during cooking, its primary flavor came from the sauce smeared on the lamb before roasting and a light pre-roasting marinade, which left the meat red.

Of course, Zhou Li had eaten here before.

It tasted the same as before.

But this time, the owner threw in some naan and allowed customers to serve themselves side dishes—refreshing pickled vegetables that complemented the meat far better than eating the meat alone.

「Half an hour later.」

Zhou Li was already full. Resting his chin in his hand, he calmly watched Huai Xu across the table. After a long while, he asked, "How does it feel to pay for a meal here for the first time?"

Huai Xu spoke while eating, her voice muffled, "I dunno whatcher sayin'..."

"Playing dumb."

"I paid."

"Believe you?"

"Really."

"I'm getting sleepy."

"Who told you to eat the naan? If you hadn't eaten the naan, you wouldn't be getting so sleepy," Huai Xu said, then paused before adding, "I used to be like this when I was human."

"You haven't been human for a long time."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Hey, are you cursing me?"

"Not at all," Zhou Li said calmly, then slightly lifted his chin. "Hurry up and eat."

"AOW!"

The old monster grabbed lamb with her left hand and naan with her right, taking big bites, nibbling a few times then chomping down on the naan, seemingly never tiring. Fortunately, Zhou Li had already eaten. If he were still hungry, like the patrons who had arrived ten minutes earlier, witnessing her eating style would have been unbearable.

"I'll stop eating after finishing these two pounds!"

"..."

Zhou Li silently pulled out his wallet, counted how much cash he still had inside, and took it all out—around seven to eight hundred yuan. He had withdrawn it before leaving, just in case.

Now, it came in handy.

He lifted the large plate holding the naan and placed the money neatly smoothed out underneath, pressing it down.

Then he looked up at Huai Xu.

Huai Xu was also watching him, blinking her eyes.

Zhou Li rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by her.

At that moment, the old monster put down the meat in her hand and shook her hands; the grease on them instantly vanished. Then, she reached into her left pants pocket, fumbling around.

"Hmm..."

She put down the naan, switched to her right hand, and searched her right pocket.

This time she found something.

The old monster took out twenty yuan from her pocket. Mimicking Zhou Li, she carefully smoothed it out, especially the edges. Then she lifted the naan plate, placed the money underneath, and, lifting her eyelids, peeked at the expressionless Zhou Li before touching her chest and miming a sigh of relief—

Karmic debts settled. Debts repaid. Morality elevated. I no longer feel guilty.

She continued eating meat.

Two pounds of meat with naan was a normal portion for two people, but for the old monster, it was merely a moment's effort.

Zhou Li found the owner before she finished eating and asked, "Can I use WeChat or Alipay?"

"Of course, of course, both WeChat and Alipay are fine." The owner smiled upon seeing them. "You two are amazing! Other people, even five or six strong men together, can't eat as much as you do."

"We're big eaters."

"Oh! Impressive, big eaters!"

"..." Zhou Li always felt there was an inexplicable sense of humor when talking to the owner, which made him feel much better. "Owner, please pack another four pounds for us, split into two two-pound portions. We have friends waiting at the hotel. Also, I'd like to order one... no, two whole roasted lambs, vacuum-packed and shipped home. Can you ship to Caiyun and Yi Province?"

"Sure thing, sure thing! The party at that table just now also shipped to Caiyun. They were the ones right behind you and finished before you did." The owner laughed. "As long as it's not a medium to high-risk zone, shipping is possible. Once you pay, leave a WeChat contact. It will be shipped out in no more than three days. I won't cheat you!"

"Okay, thanks. Let's settle the bill."

"Right on!"

Settling the bill was the proprietress's job.

The owner had two nephews in charge of packing, while his brother personally supervised the pit.

A whole family affair.

Zhou Li stood patiently beside the owner, waiting.

With tacit understanding, Huai Xu slowed her eating pace, savoring the last piece of meat to prevent an eager waiter from clearing the table and discovering the money hidden under the plate.

The owner engaged in hearty conversation with Zhou Li, mostly boasting about his culinary skills. His face beamed with pride as he spoke of countless people driving thousands of kilometers just to eat there, the daily shipments he had to send out, and the length of the queues before the pandemic. He also repeatedly highlighted incidents of immortals or demons stealing his food.

The last point seemed to be his proudest achievement.

Zhou Li was speechless.

Then he complimented Zhou Li's cat on being good-looking and well-behaved, mentioning that he also had a cat at home but didn't dare bring it to the restaurant because it would steal lamb.

This relaxed Zhou Li quite a bit. He had been somewhat apprehensive before coming here, having often read online that minority cultures had many taboos with serious consequences for violations, making them seem difficult to interact with. He hadn't known if bringing a cat to a restaurant would violate any local taboo. It's kind of amusing, looking back now, he mused. While it's right to respect local beliefs and customs when traveling, there's no need to be overly nervous about it.

Once everything was settled, Zhou Li gave the old demon an eye signal and headed for the car.

The old demon instantly understood his intention and rolled her eyes at him, speechless at his excessive caution. Nonetheless, she sat still, leisurely wiping her hands, cooperating with Zhou Li's plan. Only after Zhou Li started the engine did she get up and stride towards the car.

They got in the car and drove off.

The old demon leaned over, glancing in her side-view mirror at the shop behind them. She saw the waiter step out, looking after them with a bewildered expression, and a smile spread across her face.

She quickly suppressed her smile and turned to say—

"You're so childish."

"..."

Zhou Li didn't want to engage with her. While searching for a parking spot on the roadside, he asked, "What other specialties does Hamigua City have?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Specialties?" Huai Xu repeated.

"Uh-huh," Zhou Li nodded.

"Pulu Country is famous for its horses," Huai Xu blurted out.

"..." Zhou Li was at a loss for words. "I meant specialties that can be taken back home."

"I need to think about that," Huai Xu murmured, touching her chin. "There's plenty of fruit here, Hami Melons, but they're not as tasty this season as they are in autumn. If there are grapes, there will definitely be raisins. However, Master Che up ahead also produces grapes, and they also have apricots, peaches, and dates."

"It's not the season for them either."

"There's also naan, which is easy to carry," Huai Xu said. "But Qingjiang is full of naan."

"..."

Zhou Li decided to search it up on Baidu himself.

He parked the car, and three minutes later, after putting down his phone, Zhou Li said, "Let's buy some wild mushrooms when we get to Balikun. Qinghe loves mushrooms; let's see what the ones here are like."

The old demon pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What do I like to eat?"

"..."

"I'm asking you."

"You like everything."

"?"

"You like naan and Hami Melons."

"That's not liking, that's habit. I've grown so accustomed to them I can't do without, just like you'd feel uncomfortable if you didn't eat rice for a few days," Huai Xu said, then urged, "Hurry up, keep answering."

"If you have nothing else to do, take these two portions of roasted lamb to Brother Nan and Little Zheng."

"Don't change the subject."

"Like meat," Zhou Li thought for a moment, "and all sorts of tasty meat products, like pork jerky and beef jerky."

"Hmph..."

"Go deliver the meat before it gets cold."

"POOF!"

The old demon suddenly vanished.

...

This area was where Huai Xu had stayed the longest in the past. She was familiar with the surrounding mountains, rivers, and lakes that had yet to be altered by modern society. So, for the next few days, Zhou Li accompanied her as they meandered through the countryside around the city. They had no specific destination, stopping wherever they pleased, and he listened to her stories of the past.

「On the 25th.」

They arrived at the Barkol Grassland.

It was a place even closer to Heaven Mountain.