Su Mo didn't have high demands when it came to food. As long as it could be stored for a long time without spoiling, it was fine.
The special ability of flour suited him perfectly.
At this stage, everyone's meals were extremely simple. At least the Large Rye Bread Su Mo ate contained enough salt to meet his daily needs.
The others weren't nearly so lucky! Some people could only dig up grass and strip bark for all three meals, while others were so famished that they even dared to eat dirt just to survive.
As for the Mutated Beast Meat available for trade, because of the harsh natural environment, these animals had almost no fat in their meat. Chewing it was like eating bark—dry as could be.
Only Oreo had no qualms about eating anything, and happily devoured it.
Su Mo was glad about that. Compared to the Trading Market's exchange rate of 500 grams of bread for 100 milliliters of water, he could get roughly 700 to 800 grams of Mutated Beast Meat for 100 milliliters of water.
Opening the trading panel, Su Mo's eyes flickered.
Today, he decided to treat himself properly, spending a little more water to exchange for something delicious and celebrate. It would count as celebrating his safe return from the ruins.
After an afternoon of accumulating supplies, along with what was left from the morning and the water he had drunk earlier to treat his injuries,
he now had a full 3.8 liters of Psionic Water.
Among all the survival players in the world, Su Mo ranked second in terms of reserves—no one dared claim first place.
After checking and confirming that nobody was selling any rare items, Su Mo went straight to searching by keyword.
"Chicken"
Sorry, no trade items related to chicken were found.
"Pork"
Sorry, no trade items related to pork were found.
"Beef"
The items in the trading channel were bizarre and varied. Some people had even opened good things from Earth out of their chests, but without exception, there wasn't a single meat product.
After searching around, Su Mo could only helplessly change direction. This time, his keyword became canned meat.
Sorry, no trade items related to canned meat were found.
"Not even this?"
"Cured Meat!"
Two item listings found.
After changing direction, Su Mo revealed a satisfied smile.
There was one 400-gram piece of Cured Meat and one 200-gram piece. At the listed price, one milliliter of water could be exchanged for three grams of Cured Meat—a steep price.
After opening a private chat and messaging the seller, the other party was overjoyed upon seeing that it was Su Mo and asked whether he would trade using Psionic Water.
When Su Mo gave an affirmative answer, the other party voluntarily lowered the price.
They lowered it to one milliliter of water for six grams of Cured Meat, leaving Su Mo dumbfounded.
Although word had spread over the past two days that Psionic Water was holy water for healing injuries, many people only knew that such a thing existed and didn't know whether it was true.
Seeing how straightforward the other party was, Su Mo simply treated it as a promotional transaction and still traded at the original price, earning a wave of gratitude from the seller.
After spending 200 milliliters of Psionic Water on the Cured Meat, a flash of light passed by, and the water level in the wooden barrel storing the Psionic Water dropped by an almost imperceptible amount.
Meanwhile, two differently sized pieces of Cured Meat appeared in Su Mo's inventory.
He took out the Cured Meat. Looking at its alternating layers of fat and lean meat, its translucent sheen, vivid color, and reddish-yellow hue, Su Mo couldn't help salivating.
Taking out six units of Iron Block for renovating the base, Su Mo switched to the crafting page.
Iron Stove: Iron Block 6/6, Wood 1/1, Soil 2/2 Craft: Iron Block -6, Wood -1, Soil -2!
With a flash of crafting light, a stove commonly seen in rural homes appeared in Su Mo's inventory.
He picked a spot near the corner. With a thought from Su Mo, the stove appeared in place.
This was another advantage of system crafting. The first time an item was placed, he only needed to focus his mind to select its position.
He took out the Earthen Pot he had scavenged from the ruins and rinsed it with 100 milliliters of Psionic Water. Oreo, who was lying at the doorway, began howling.
"I forgot about you, little guy."
As soon as he returned, Oreo had voluntarily run to the doorway to stand guard. It was so well-behaved that it didn't look like Erha at all.
Now, following the aroma of the Cured Meat, Oreo's mouth watered. It wanted to come over, fawn on Su Mo, and beg for meat, but it was also afraid that if it left, monsters might invade and it wouldn't be able to protect Su Mo.
"Wait and eat together. Don't rush."
Su Mo looked at Oreo with an approving gaze. After receiving his affirmation, Oreo stopped howling, but the drool hanging from its mouth showed just how honest it was.
Huskies had originally been working dogs. It was only after being kept in cities that they gradually lost their wild nature, leaving home demolition as the only work they had left.
Now that it was guarding the door, it was no worse than a rural mutt.
After cleaning the Earthen Pot, he set it on the stove.
As a child who had grown up in the countryside with the older generation, Su Mo wasn't like modern city children, who only knew that turning a gas stove knob would ignite the flame.
Su Mo took out one unit of Wood and stuffed it underneath. Then he took out the lighter he had traded for earlier. Igniting the plant fibers easily started a fire.
He poured in nearly a liter of Psionic Water and dropped both pieces of Cured Meat inside.
With such crude conditions, he planned to make a nourishing Cured Meat soup that would be easy on the stomach and give him something hot to drink.
Unfortunately, the cabbages and tomatoes beside him had only just been planted. Otherwise, adding some fresh vegetables would have made it even more delicious.
He added salt for seasoning, then a little fermented black bean, Cooking Wine, and black pepper to enhance the flavor. Before long, the Cured Meat soup began giving off a fresh, sweet aroma.
Su Mo, sitting beside the Earthen Pot and keeping watch over it, was hooked by the smell as well.
For three whole days, Su Mo hadn't eaten anything seasoned.
In the past, he never would have imagined that a simple Cured Meat soup without even a vegetable in it could make him this ravenous.
Seeing that the soup was nearly ready, Su Mo opened the trading panel again and bought half a kilogram of Mutated Jackal Meat.
Using three units of Wood, he made two small bowls and a pair of chopsticks.
Su Mo placed one of the small bowls on the ground, then tossed the jackal meat inside. He ladled out some of the Cured Meat soup from the pot, pouring it into the bowl along with the 200-gram piece of Cured Meat.
"Oreo, time to eat."
"Today's feast is your reward for protecting your master in battle. Keep up the good work from now on, woof!"
During the battle with Black Dog, Oreo had stepped forward and interrupted Black Dog's second pounce, creating a perfect opportunity for Su Mo.
Naturally, he had to reward it.
Watching Oreo spin around because the food was both hot and fragrant, Su Mo laughed heartily and ladled all the remaining soup from the pot into his own bowl.
Psionic Water was naturally soft, fragrant, and pleasantly chewy. Once heated, its sweet aroma spread through the air without restraint. Fortunately, the rich, savory flavor hidden in the Cured Meat promptly stopped the sweetness from expanding endlessly.
The soup was slightly milky-white, with flecks of oil floating across its surface. It made one's mouth water and one's eyes ache with longing.
He speared a piece of Cured Meat with his chopsticks and took a gentle bite. Its juices burst forth. The flavor was rich and mellow, with fat that wasn't greasy and lean meat that didn't stick between his teeth.
Chinese cuisine had always been so healing to the soul.
How could this be the apocalypse, where life hung by a thread? Instead, it felt like a blissful happiness floating in heaven.
Ignoring the fact that the soup was still a little hot, Su Mo lifted the small bowl and took a hearty sip. Its fragrance lingered on his tongue, leaving an endless aftertaste.
After the feast, both man and dog collapsed in satisfaction.
Oreo's belly was stuffed round. Combined with its earnest yet comical head tilt, it was unbelievably adorable.
While waiting for the food to digest, Su Mo opened the private-message panel.
Sure enough, several private messages from Feng Mengyue had already arrived.
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