Seafood

Lu Heng temporarily suppressed the pros and cons of cross-regional trading, the survival plight of survivors in various regions, and the various calculations regarding subsequent resource exchanges that were swirling in his mind.

There are many things to deal with right now, so there's no need to rush to sort them all out. Let's settle our immediate needs for food first, and we can consider the rest of the plans later.

My gaze fell upon the seafood I had just acquired through a trade in my Storage Slot. It was a large pile of various kinds of dried and fresh seafood, and the quantity looked quite substantial. Clams and razor clams were piled up in a small heap, several palm-sized crabs had intact shells, and a few plump scallops were embedded among them—products unique to the Island Region.

Having lived inland in the mountains for most of his life, he rarely came into contact with seafood. Looking at the unfamiliar ingredients, he felt a genuine craving.

Lu Heng reached out and took out all the seafood, arranged it simply on the clean stone platform, and casually divided it into two equal portions.

He gathered the intact, uniformly sized halves one by one, got up, and carefully placed them in the side Cellar. The constant low temperature in the Cellar was enough to keep them fresh for a long time, so they could be kept for later enjoyment instead of being eaten all at once and wasting food.

The remaining half, enough to fill a whole pot, was taken to the earthen stove in the stone cave and prepared for cooking that evening.

Cross-regional system transactions have special rules, and these kinds of fresh produce would have completely lost their vitality after being transported through space. However, this batch of seafood was very well preserved, with clean and transparent shells, no signs of odor or spoilage, and appeared to be fairly fresh.

He had never formally studied how to process seafood; his only impressions came from fragmented images in short videos he had watched before. He vaguely remembered that shellfish often contained fine sand inside, making them taste terrible when cooked directly, and they had to be soaked in salt water beforehand to expel the sand.

With no other rules to follow, Lu Heng operated based on his limited memory.

Wash and drain the cast iron pot, fill it with about half a pot of room temperature water, rub a little Coarse Salt between your fingertips and sprinkle it evenly into the water, then gently stir it a couple of times to let the salt dissolve slowly, making a simple light salt water solution. Then put the crabs, clams, razor clams, and scallops into the pot all at once, let them soak quietly, and wait for the sand to slowly separate out.

While waiting, there was nothing to do on the stove.

Lu Heng walked to an open area in the cave, sat down casually, and rolled up the sides of his trousers. The old bruises on the lower half of his legs had not completely faded. Although he could not do much in his daily activities, the lingering soreness from the cold still lingered.

He unscrewed the Tiger Bone Wine he had stored away; the liquid was clear and had a rich medicinal aroma. He poured a small amount into his palm and carefully applied it to the bruised areas on his legs, gently massaging it in with his fingertips along the skin's texture to ensure the wine adhered completely to his skin and penetrated the flesh.

The evening breeze slowly seeped in through the cracks in the stone cave, carrying a cool mountain scent that just washed away the warm, sticky feeling after applying the medicinal wine, leaving a refreshing and comfortable sensation spreading across my legs.

After sitting quietly for a while, estimating that the time was about right, Lu Heng got up and returned to the stove.

Looking closely at the Iron Pot, I saw that the bottom of the once clear brine was now covered with a layer of fine, light gray silt. Large and small particles were clearly visible at the bottom of the pot, which were the impurities expelled from the seafood.

It seems this old-fashioned method really works.

Lu Heng bent down and poured out the murky salt water, then filled the pot with clean water and rinsed it several times to remove all the mud and impurities from the shells and crevices of the seafood. He added a suitable amount of clean water to the pot, sprinkled in a pinch of salt, and used only a basic method to remove the fishy smell and add flavor. Then he placed the pot on the stove, lit the firewood, and began to cook.

He had no experience cooking seafood and learned entirely from fragmented impressions. He didn't have high expectations; he didn't care about tenderness or texture, as long as it was thoroughly cooked and edible. Even if it was overcooked, it wouldn't affect its edibility.

The firewood burned quietly, flames licking the bottom of the pot, the water gradually warmed, and wisps of steam slowly rose from the pot.

Before long, the water boiled thoroughly, and the bubbling water kept splashing against the ingredients. The originally dark green crab shells and shellfish shells gradually turned a translucent orange-red under the high temperature of steaming, and a faint fishy smell rose up, filling the small stove area.

Seeing that the food was fully cooked, Lu Heng couldn't resist his craving and eagerly reached out to scoop up a crab.

The moment his fingertips touched the scalding hot shell, the burning heat instantly stung his fingertips, and he instinctively pulled his hand back. The steam from the pot made the temperature far higher than he had imagined, making it impossible to touch the pot directly.

We could only wait patiently for a while, letting the pot cool down naturally.

Once the heat dissipated slightly and the temperature was no longer scalding, Lu Heng immediately reached out and picked up a crab.

The crab shell was hard and uncomfortable to the touch. Without any special tools, he could only clumsily try to pry it apart with the strength of his fingertips. Layers of hard shell, gills, and other shells blocked his way. After struggling for a long time and gradually losing patience, he finally managed to peel out a tiny bit of crab meat.

Just a few bites, and it was gone in an instant, with almost no taste.

What's even more awkward is the taste.

Having long been accustomed to the firm and rich flavor of wild beasts and high-level exotic animals, he found this bland, slightly fishy taste extremely unpalatable. Lacking the richness of fat and the depth of meat, it tasted tasteless and he lost his appetite the more he ate.

I managed to chew a couple of bites, but I just couldn't get used to the original flavor.

Lu Heng simply turned around, took out the hot pot base he had stored, unpacked it, and threw the whole block into the pot.

The bright red broth gradually melts in the hot water, with red oil floating on the surface. The rich, spicy aroma instantly suppresses the faint fishy smell, spreading outwards with the steam.

He covered the pot and continued to simmer for a while, allowing the spiciness to fully penetrate the ingredients.

The soup pot bubbled and simmered for the second time, the spicy and savory flavors blending perfectly. Lu Heng picked up some crab meat and shellfish again to try, and this time it was no longer just a monotonous saltiness and fishy smell. The slight spiciness wrapped around the seafood flavor was rich and palatable, perfectly balancing the bland taste he wasn't used to.

Finally, it tasted palatable.

He slowly ate all the seafood in the pot, one by one, while enjoying the hot soup.

The large pot of ingredients looked plentiful, but it was mostly shells and water; the meat was thin and loose. After eating it all, my mouth was satisfied, but my stomach felt empty and hollow, nothing like the feeling of fullness that comes from eating meat.

But he didn't use any more ingredients.

It's not advisable to overeat at night, especially since there are fixed practice tasks to complete in the evening. There's no need to indulge in extra meals to satisfy one's appetite.

Lu Heng got up to clean the stove, poured out the leftover soup, rinsed the Iron Pot, dried the water stains on the stove, and cleaned up the scattered seashell fragments one by one, restoring the stone cave to its cleanliness.

After settling in the details of the meal, he completely cleared his mind of all distractions.

Back in the main space of the stone cave, the surroundings were quiet and windless, with only the faint, low cries of strange beasts echoing from the depths of the mountains, sounding exceptionally distant through the layers of rock walls.

Lu Heng straightened his posture, sat cross-legged, cleared his mind of all distractions, and began to practice breathing techniques.

With each long, even breath, the body's Qi and blood flowed slowly, gently circulating along the meridians, nourishing the remaining injuries in the legs, soothing the fatigue accumulated during the day, and allowing the body to steadily recover.

The monotonous breathing cycle was repeated again and again, without haste or impatience, steadily and surely, tempering one's own foundation.

After completing the breathing exercises, his blood and qi flowed smoothly and his mind was at peace. He got up and took the short knife that was placed against the wall.

Inside the empty stone cave, there were no fancy moves, only the most basic chopping, thrusting, horizontal slashing, and parrying.

With a flick of the wrist and a surge of power from the arm, the blade slices through the still air, creating a series of steady and crisp gusts of wind. Each movement is repeated hundreds of times to hone muscle memory, solidify the rhythm of the strike, and prevent the combat feel from becoming rusty or slack.

As night deepened, the valley fell into complete silence.

Inside the cave, only the soft sound of a blade cutting through the air remained, monotonous yet resolute, accompanying him peacefully through this night of self-reflection.