Roasting Sparrows

Although the traps were simple, they were sometimes very effective, especially if no one had used them before. In just an hour, Ye Yun and the others had caught over a dozen birds, mostly sparrows—eleven of them, to be exact. Ye Yun didn't know the species of the other birds.

The spot Ye Yun chose was rather secluded, so no one came to disturb them. Seeing the birds tied together by a rope, Li Yun couldn't help but swallow. He was so hungry, and although these birds weren't quite enough, he couldn't wait any longer. Glancing at Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu, who were intently focused on the traps, Ye Yun had an idea. He smiled sweetly, "Brother Xiaofan, Little Yun'er is so hungry. Shall we roast sparrows? If we sprinkle some salt on the sparrows and roast them over a fire, they'll be fragrant and delicious."

Hearing Ye Yun's words, Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu, who were intently focused on the traps, were momentarily stunned. They didn't quite understand. Weren't these pretty sparrows meant to be kept for fun? Why did Little Yun'er want to roast and eat them? However, after Ye Yun said that, they also felt a bit hungry. Although these birds looked bright and cute, they hadn't eaten meat in a long time, so they were undoubtedly tempted.

More than ten minutes later, Lin Jingyu, holding a fire starter and a small bag of salt, sneaked back. Less than a minute after Lin Jingyu returned, Zhang Xiaofan also sneaked back, carrying a sheathed small knife to prepare the sparrows.

Although Ye Yun's chosen spot was secluded, it had one drawback: there was no water. Without water, they couldn't properly clean the prepared birds. So, the three of them discussed it and decided that Lin Jingyu and Ye Yun would go to a small stream not far away to prepare the birds, while Zhang Xiaofan would stay here to guard the traps.

The small stream wasn't far from where they were, only about a hundred meters away. The stream wasn't wide, and the deepest part barely reached an adult's knees, about up to Ye Yun's waist. The water was exceptionally clear, and the fish swimming in it were clearly visible, but unfortunately, they couldn't catch any.

Preparing the sparrows wasn't difficult. They just needed to pluck the feathers, remove the head, feet, and internal organs, and then clean them. Li Yun's job was to pluck all the feathers from the already dead sparrows.

At first, because they were unfamiliar with the task, they worked slowly. However, gradually, their movements became more skilled, and they worked faster. The dozen or so sparrows were soon turned into tender, pink meat.

Carrying the prepared sparrow meat, Ye Yun hummed a tune he didn't even know, following behind Lin Jingyu. Lin Jingyu, on his way back, picked up dry twigs from the ground. When they returned to the place where they caught the sparrows, Ye Yun was pleasantly surprised to find that while they were preparing the sparrows, Zhang Xiaofan had caught three more sparrows with the trap.

Now they had meat and firewood, and all they needed to do was start a fire to roast. Because Ye Yun was too young, Zhang Xiaofan and the others took care of everything before he could even move. One started the fire, while the other skewered the sparrow meat and sprinkled it with salt according to Ye Yun's instructions. By the time Zhang Xiaofan finished starting the fire, Lin Jingyu's sparrow skewers were also ready. There were sixteen birds in total: Ye Yun got six, and Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu each got five. Ye Yun's were in two skewers, three birds per skewer, while Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu also had two skewers each.

Logically, charcoal would be best for grilling, but Ye Yun was too hungry to wait for the firewood to turn into charcoal. As soon as the fire flared up, Ye Yun eagerly picked up one of the skewers and started roasting. Zhang Xiaofan and the others followed suit. However, they hadn't roasted meat like this before, so they didn't know how to control the distance between the meat skewers and the fire. Coupled with the impatience of children, they held the skewers a bit too close. The meat at the front quickly changed color and was turning black. Seeing this, Ye Yun quickly reminded them, but the two continued as they pleased.

Two to three minutes later, the aroma of roasted meat filled the air. However, Zhang Xiaofan and the other two couldn't feel proud because they found that although their meat was cooked, it was also burnt. Only a portion was edible; the meat at the front had completely turned into charcoal.

"I told you not to rush, and now your meat is burnt. So, sometimes it's beneficial to listen to others," Ye Yun said, proudly twirling his sizzling skewer a few times. Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu looked at Ye Yun's perfectly roasted skewer, free of any charring, with envy. After taking down and eating the first fully cooked sparrow, they carefully observed Ye Yun's actions and imitated him.

A few minutes later, the sparrows on the stick in Ye Yun's hand turned yellow, fully cooked. Ye Yun, who was extremely hungry, didn't care about the heat and blew on it before taking a bite. With a crunch, half of the roasted sparrow was gone. Although it was only sprinkled with salt, the taste was excellent. It was not only chewy but also had a special fragrance, causing Ye Yun to even chew and swallow the crispy bones.

Three sparrows weren't a lot, and Ye Yun finished them in no time. Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu were even faster. While Ye Yun was eating his second sparrow, they had already finished theirs. By the time Ye Yun finished his second, they were already roasting their next skewers.

After tasting the roasted sparrows, the two were exceptionally enthusiastic. While roasting the meat, they didn't forget to keep an eye on the distant traps. Of course, Ye Yun did too, but most of his attention was on the roasting meat. Unlike the other two, who looked up at the traps every few seconds, Ye Yun was more focused on the food. Consequently, the roasted meat of the other two was slightly worse than Ye Yun's, but at least it wasn't burnt.

Flipping his skewer again, Ye Yun casually glanced at the distant traps. Since they started roasting the meat, no sparrows had come to eat the rice in the traps. So, he was a bit absent-minded. However, this absent-minded glance made Ye Yun's heart leap. He saw an incredible sight: a pheasant, the size of a domestic chicken and with colorful plumage, was lowering its head and greedily eating the rice in their trap. Its large body was almost entirely within the bamboo basket, with only a small section of its long tail sticking out.

Although he didn't know why this pheasant had come, why would he refuse meat delivered to his doorstep? So, Ye Yun, with lightning speed, grabbed the nearby rope and pulled hard. The pheasant was covered by the falling bamboo basket. The moment the pheasant was covered, Ye Yun had already placed his skewer of sparrows on the ground. By the time Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu noticed the pheasant caught in the trap, Ye Yun was already running.

Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu also didn't expect they would be so lucky. Such a simple trap actually caught a large pheasant! However, despite their surprise, their actions were not slow. Following Ye Yun's example, they placed their skewers on the ground and dashed towards the trap like lightning. They quickly passed Ye Yun and reached the trap, pressing down on the bamboo basket before it could be knocked over.