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Jian Mo was in the backyard feeding it when she heard Wu Jiong return. She patted its chubby bottom and said, "You can eat slowly. I'm going back now."

Amidst her busy schedule, Jiujiu looked up and exclaimed happily, "Jiujiu!"

Jian Mo returned to the front yard and greeted Wu Jiong, who had just returned, "I've already prepared dinner. Go wash your hands and eat."

Wu Jiong: "What did you make today? It has a particularly savory flavor."

Jian Mo looked at him. "Guess, see if you can guess?"

Wu Jiong: "Food in the water?"

Jian Mo was surprised. "You could have guessed that?"

Wu Jiong touched his nose. "The smell is different."

Jian Mo could only give a thumbs up.

The food had been cooked for a short while, and Jian Mo still kept it warm on the stone slab, letting it retain its residual heat.

To her surprise, when she brought the soup to the table, Jian Mo found that it had solidified.

He exclaimed "Huh?" and scooped some with a spoon, quickly discovering that it had indeed solidified into a gel-like substance.

Wu Jiong heard the commotion and came over to see what was wrong. "What's going on?"

Jian Mo: "The soup's cold, that's a bit strange."

Wu Jiong touched the soup bowl with the back of his hand. "It's not too cold, you can drink it. This kind of algae soup is like this, it turns into pieces after cooking."

Jian Mo ladled soup for the two of them. "Then it doesn't count as soup, does it?"

Wu Jiong: "It's all water anyway, it'll be digested quickly after drinking it."

The two sat on opposite sides of the table and began to eat dinner.

Jian Mo took a sip of the soup, her mouth full of gelatinous texture, somewhat like eating ice jelly, but thinner and less chewy than regular ice jelly, probably because there was relatively less seaweed in it.

The taste is okay, but the texture is a bit strange.

Jian Mo took two more bites, then put the bowl down. "This is so strange, it's the first time I've ever had salty ice jelly. I'll give it to Jiujiu later."

Wu Jiong: "Iced jelly?"

Jian Mo frowned. "It's this kind of gelatinous stuff. We make ice jelly where I'm from, but it's always sweet. The salty kind tastes weird."

Wu Jiong then took the soup bowl from his hand. "Give it to me."

Jian Mo: "It's fine if you can eat it. I only accept sweets."

Wu Jiong: "Then let's make something sweet tomorrow."

Jian Mo thought for a moment and then became interested, "That works too. We can use the milk of the Pack-Pack Beast to make it. Add some sugar and some chopped nuts. It'll be cool and chewy; it should taste really good."

Making ice jelly is very simple; just add water and brew it. It shouldn't be too difficult to make it directly with algae either.

Jian Mo thought that the young people in the tribe had helped to harvest this batch of algae, so she simply called them over when making the ice jelly.

Upon hearing about the new delicious food, everyone became more and more eager to come.

"Jian Mo, what are we going to do?"

"Let us help."

"Just wash the algae clean and pound it up? Is that slimy stuff even edible?"

"Hey, A Hu, why did you hit me? Fine, fine, I won't ask anymore, I'll take it and pound it now."

"Jian Mo, wait for us a moment, we'll be right back!"

Jian Mo didn't expect them to be so enthusiastic. Some were pounding seaweed, and others were peeling nuts, leaving him with nothing to do. So he started boiling sugar water.

He added the milk from the Pack-Pack Beast he had squeezed that day to the syrup. There wasn't much Pack-Pack Beast milk left, but the rich, fragrant milk still brought a unique flavor to the water.

Once the water boils, he adds honey cubes, making the whole pot of sweet soup even more tempting.

It must be said that boiling may cause some nutrient loss, but the sense of security that sterilization provides is truly substantial.

The little ones were disliked by the young people and didn't go out to pound seaweed or nuts. Instead, they stayed at home with Jian Mo, just one or two of them staring at the sweet soup with their big, round eyes, their mouths practically watering.

Jian Mo filtered the sugar water, carefully placed the pot on the table, and instructed them, "Stand back, and whatever you do, don't get near the table."

Sugar water is extremely dangerous, much more dangerous than regular boiled water.

The little ones obediently stood far away, even keeping an eye on each other.

Jian Mo looked at them and smiled, "Good boy, help me set out the bowls."

The little ones nodded and quickly came over to set out the bowls.

The young people first brought back the pounded algae, Jian Mo scooped water into it and used a cloth to scrub out the gelatinous substance inside the algae before putting it into a large pot to boil.

The boiled algae had a faint aroma, and the water in the pot was noticeably different from clear water, thick like soup.

After boiling, Jian Mo ladled the water into individual bowls and let it cool slowly.

The pounded nuts were also brought back, and Jian Mo slowly roasted them on the stone slab.

Roasting nuts doesn't require much skill; everyone should look at the big bowl on the table.

Young people couldn't help it:

"That's all? It doesn't look special."

"Is it like ice? Just frozen water?"

"Oh right, it's already solidified, Jian Mo, can we eat it now?"

Jian Mo turned around amidst her busy work. "Not yet, we have to wait a little longer. If you have time, could you use the knife on the table to cut the ice jelly in my bowl into small pieces?"

Ban Ming: "How do we row?"

Jian Mo: "Cut it however you like, just make it into small pieces, but not too small, about the size of Banjiu's claw."

The kitten Banjiu, raised its furry paw to show its brother. "Meow?"

Jian Mo smiled as she watched the kitten spread its paws, revealing its adorable paw pads. "Yes, that size is fine. The knife is already washed, so you can use it directly."

The young people immediately stepped forward. "Don't worry, we understand."

They quickly cut the bowls of ice jelly into small pieces and asked, "And then?"

Jian Mo: "Then pour in the sugar water, not too much, just a spoonful in each bowl."

When the shaved ice jelly first solidifies in the bowl, it looks pretty much the same in every bowl.

Now, we're adding more sugar syrup, one spoonful per bowl, to ensure a consistent serving size and prevent a scramble later.