Meanwhile, while the few of them were eating with Shi Quan, on the other side of the woods, in the settlement of that small tribe, the Young Chieftain was also eating with his people.
They had imitated the Han Tribe, finding several stones to prop up the iron pot, lighting firewood beneath it, adding water, and then chopping some of the stored dried meat and nuts with a butcher knife and tossing them in. Before long, a pot of nut-and-meat broth was ready.
Unfortunately, these fellows did not know to add salt. They had neither staple food nor vegetables, only boiled dried meat. Not only did the broth taste awful, there was hardly any meat in it.
Before, when they divided up the dried meat, everyone could at least get a piece. Now that they had a pot, they imitated the Han Tribe and chopped the meat up to boil in it. But the Han Tribe was making meat porridge, with rice added alongside the meat. Their own version was much simpler. If they insisted on giving it a name, it could perhaps be called meat soup, or minced meat.
In truth, it could only be called clear broth with barely anything in it. There was hardly any meat at all. All the scraps combined seemed to amount to less than the roasted meat they had received before. Many people immediately grew dissatisfied with the iron pot.
Just then, the few people the Chieftain had previously sent to monitor the Han Tribe's camp also returned after eating their fill. Their bellies were round as drums, their mouths glistening with grease, and they burped contentedly from time to time. They immediately drew the attention of everyone in the tribe.
Their Chieftain asked directly, "Did you eat something out there?"
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