Chapter 187 (continued)
These seeds are collected and placed deep within the dragon's cave, carefully protected with guardian magic. When spring arrives next year, they are planted in the water, where they will embark on a new life journey and bring new changes to Xie Juanhan's family.
The best seeds are kept for propagation, while the less plump, oddly shaped, or less vigorous seeds can be used as food.
Xie Juanhan asked the furry creatures for their opinion, "Then we'll use these seeds as food."
The furry creatures didn't object anymore.
Haxi even generously let them cook porridge. "Chirp, chirp."
After giving their opinions, the furry creatures skipped and hopped off to play.
They've been busy selecting seeds these past few days; it's exhausting for them.
Xie Juanhan watched the furry creatures' retreating figures.
Especially when Nibote ran out, the little Demon Bird that were originally staying peacefully in the aviary immediately broke free, flapping their wings and running out with him, which was quite amusing to watch.
Xie Juanhan watched them run out to play, then used a wooden ladle to scoop out a basin of seeds.
Telingewei was to help start a fire and cook porridge.
Xie Juanhan had already started washing the seeds when, halfway through, he suddenly fell into deep thought while looking at the pool.
Telingewei looked up from the stove, a question mark appearing on his forehead.
Xie Juanhan turned to look at him and asked quietly, "Have you ever eaten popcorn?"
Telingewei: "What is that?"
The climate around the Magic Forest is cold, and there is no native rice; the intelligent creatures in the area don't grow rice at all.
Their rice seeds were bought from Teme Port.
Rice isn't grown locally, and there are no other plants like corn, so naturally there's no popcorn.
Xie Juanhan found it difficult to describe to Telingewei something that was outside Telingewei's knowledge.
He grabbed a handful of seeds, placed them on a small shovel in front of the stove, and then put the shovel into the fire pit.
Telingewei was just about to say that the seeds would be burned.
Suddenly, a crackling sound came from the stove.
Telingewei looked at the stove, then turned to Xie Juanhan's face. "This is popcorn—popped rice, blooming into flowers?"
Xie Juanhan couldn't help but chuckle, "The first person to name it probably had this idea."
Xie Juanhan took out the shovel.
Only a small portion of the grass seeds on top popped; most of them were charred and failed to burst open.
The burst grass seeds looked much larger than before, revealing slightly browned white rice-like kernels.
Xie Juanhan wasn't afraid of getting burned. He stretched out his fingers, picked up a few, gave half to Telingewei, and put the other half directly into his mouth.
He couldn't help but show a surprised expression when he fell.
Actually, unsweetened popcorn tastes a bit bland.
Rice popcorn is a little more fragrant than corn popcorn; when it's fresh out of the oven, you can taste the aroma of being roasted by the flames, but the fragrance is only so-so.
He popped the grass seeds simply to let Telingewei try this type of food; he didn't have high expectations for its taste.
Unexpectedly, when I put it in my mouth, the aroma of roasting, the aroma of grains, and the unique aroma of the seeds all combined together, with a wonderful Magic Power, resulting in a very wonderful, solid aroma of grains and sunshine.
It tastes good even without sugar or other seasonings.
Telingewei looked thoughtful. "This is popcorn? It tastes pretty good, and it's quite fun."
Xie Juanhan: "Right? It's a very unique snack."
The two dragons finished eating the popped rice that had popped out of the shovel.
"Let's set it on fire again," Telingewei said. "I'll control the flames."
Xie Juanhan: "Wait, get a bigger shovel, so the popcorn doesn't all pop into the fire."
Telingewei looked at it. "Should we add a cover?"
Xie Juanhan glanced around the kitchen. "How do we add it? It seems there aren't any suitable covers."
Telingewei followed him, scanning the area, and quickly took down the sieve hanging on the wall. "Use this."
As a fire-elemental dragon, Telingewei easily welded the sieve to the shovel.
So, they used a strange device to pop a large handful of popcorn.
The popcorn still smells delicious and is Magic Power appealing.
"Wait!" Just as Telingewei was about to eat, Xie Juanhan suddenly had an idea. "I'll go make two cups of tea."
The two dragons put aside their work in the kitchen, extinguished the flames, and took the popcorn to have some tea.
Plain tea goes well with plain popcorn.
They sat in the corridor, gazing at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, leisurely sipping their slightly hot tea and eating popcorn, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Until a hairy head squeezed through the fence, staring at them with a sinister gaze.
"Nibote?" Xie Juanhan was startled when he caught a Griffin's head popping out of the fence out of the corner of his eye.
This guy's head was especially big; when he squeezed through the gaps in the fence, it looked like he'd been cut off and hung on the fence.
The dragon was extremely frightening.
Nibote stared at the popcorn on the table. "Meow."
"Where did we eat alone? We were just trying new food." Xie Juanhan naturally changed the subject. "Why are you the only Griffin? Where are the other fluffy creatures?"
This question made Nibote feel even more heartbroken.
It whimpered to indicate that Moli had gone to patrol the fields, Harper and the others, finding it no fun with a large flock of little Demon Bird, had abandoned it to play in the Magic Forest: "Meow!"
Xie Juanhan: "Then why don't you bring the little Demon Bird back and let them try some popcorn?"
Nibote nodded without hesitation. "Aww!"
And just like that, its neck got even deeper into the fence. "Meow--Ooh!"
Nibote screamed and kicked the fence with his claws.
Telingewei had no choice but to walk over expressionlessly and pull its head out to prevent a large Griffin from kicking down the fence.
It still needs repair.
Nibote didn't care about the little embarrassment at all.
It licked its lips, ran down the corridor, and gestured that it wanted some popcorn.
Xie Juanhan grabbed a handful and stuffed it into its mouth.
It chewed happily, indicating how delicious it was. "Aww!"
Telingewei put the little Demon Bird that kept running back into the aviary, cast a protective spell on the outside to prevent them from escaping again, and then went back to the corridor to drink tea and eat popcorn.
Before he could even take two sips, several more hairy heads popped up on the fence.
Harper and the others ran back, squeezing their heads through the gaps in the fence and staring at them with wistful eyes.
No wonder they're from the same family, all fluffy!
Xie Juanhan smiled and winked at Telingewei, signaling Telingewei to let the furry creatures in.
Telingewei didn't move, but put down his cup, turned his head and called to the furry creatures outside the fence, "Harper, are you bored? Aren't you coming in?"
Harper and the others immediately hopped in from outside the fence. "Chirp!"
Telingewei: "Who ate alone? We ate it hidden under the covers?"
Harper and the others grumbled and scurried over, eyeing the popcorn on the table.
The popcorn on the table was almost gone; each Companion Beast took a bite and it was all gone.
Moli, who was on an inspection tour, hadn't even tasted it yet.
Xie Juanhan stood up, stretched, and said to Telingewei, "Let's make it even more explosive."
Harper and the others didn't mind that it was a waste to eat the seeds like that, so they followed the two dragons and squatted down at the kitchen door.
Theoretically, you can make popcorn using an oven, but it's still best to pop it directly over a fire for the best flavor.
Xie Juanhan asked Telingewei to start a fire, and he put the seeds into a shovel with a strainer.
The secret to popcorn is to use less kernels, and to gently shake the shovel while placing it in the fire.
As Telingewei worked, the grains on the shovel quickly burst open with a "crackling" sound, and a rich aroma of grain wafted from the stove.
The two dragons first cooked a large bowlful for the furry creatures to enjoy.
While popping the second batch, Xie Juanhan asked, "Would you like to try some different flavors of popcorn?"
The furry creatures immediately cried out, "Awooo!"
Xie Juanhan chuckled, "There are many flavors to choose from. Let's start with the honey cheese flavor, which is honey cheese flavor. Luckily, we have honey and cheese at home."
The furry creatures cheered, "Aww!"
Telingewei was still sitting in front of the stove popping popcorn, Xie Juanhan specially prepared a sauce.
Star Berry nectar, shredded cheese, spice powder, salt powder --
Xie Juanhan put all the seasonings into a large bowl, heated them, and stirred them evenly. Then he poured the freshly popped popcorn into the bowl and stirred it again to coat the popcorn with the seasonings.
"You can eat now." Xie Juanhan left a portion for Moli and then divided the popcorn among himself.
The furry creatures had just eaten plain popcorn, but after tasting the honey cheese flavor, they were still so shocked that their pupils dilated.
The furry creatures have also eaten wild popcorn.
Nibote, in particular, came from the grasslands, where there were many grass seeds, and he had tasted those grass seeds that had been roasted over a fire.
The seeds of aquatic plants, after being roasted over a fire, taste much better than regular plant seeds.
However, popcorn coated with seasoning tastes much better than plain popcorn.
Those caramelized, fragrant, sweet, and mellow aromas penetrate almost every taste bud.
Furry creatures have an extremely keen sense of smell and taste.
They can distinguish every flavor within it.
Grains, salt, spices, cheese powder, Star Berry nectar... each flavor is delicious on its own, but together they create an indescribable aroma.
There is such delicious food in this world!
It's beyond the imagination of furry creatures!
So delicious, so unique, a perfect combination.