Because of Ian's orders, the caravan ate quite well that night. Besides fairly fresh oil flatbreads and meat soup, the caravan manager, pleased with the situation, even handed everyone a small piece of smoked cured meat.
This smoked cured meat was made from enormous cuts of venison. First, its surface was rubbed with a layer of relatively fine sea salt, then covered with cheap rock salt and left for half a month. After that, it was placed in a cool, dry cave to ferment for two months with a kind of wild fungus.
During fermentation, it needed to be infused with a kind of incense unique to the natives of old, allowing the fragrance to seep into every part of the meat along with the fermenting fungi, making it exceptionally fragrant, tender, and delicious.
As it was a traditional food used in native rituals, which only shamans and chieftains could eat, it was known as "Shaman Smoked Cured Meat," and also as "Nanshan Smoked Meat."
Chefs in Harrison Port had improved the process, turning it into a local specialty. This smoked cured meat had an extremely long shelf life. Whether boiled into soup or stuffed into travel rations, it was richly flavored, fragrant, fresh, and delicious—perfect for adventurers and caravans traveling long distances to stock up on.
Ian also liked the flavor of this smoked cured meat quite a bit. He had once used it to enrich stock. It always reminded him of the ham and cured meat from his hometown, but Earth had neither such miraculous fermenting fungi nor flowers with such savory flavor. It was truly a delicacy unique to the Terra Continent.
After that hearty meal, everyone had faces shining with grease. Combined with the reassurance and morale brought by the heads Ian had returned with, the