Cement (continued)

Jian Mo told Qing Kuo, then jogged over to Ying Duan and the others with her basket on her back. "I'll give it a try."

Having been here for so long, Jian Mo had already honed his skills; he could climb any tree except those hundreds of meters tall.

Ying Duan and the others were quite happy. "We just wanted to pick some wild vegetables, but unfortunately not many people like them."

Jian Mo said, "I also like wild vegetables. After eating frozen and cured meat for so long, I just want that touch of freshness."

The people in the next group overheard their conversation and smiled at them, saying, "We also like wild vegetables, wild fruits, and all sorts of things. It would be even better if we could find wild vegetables that aren't bitter."

Ying Duan smiled and said, "That's a bit difficult."

Jian Mo: "A little bit of bitterness is fine, just blanch it in water."

As they were talking, Ye Luo walked over and said, "Shall I pick some with you today?"

Ying Duan welcomed all comers with a smile and said, "It would be even better if there were one more young person."

After receiving Ye Luo, Ying Duan's team was full and began to head out of the tribe.

Their team consisted mostly of middle-aged and elderly sub-orcs, so they walked relatively slowly. Jian Mo found it easier to stay in the middle of the group than with other teams.

They didn't go up the mountain, but instead walked down the river. The damp wind in the valley carried the scent of spring, Jian Mo felt much lighter as she walked through it.

Soon they saw the first tree with edible buds.

The tree has just sprouted, the buds are tender yellow, tightly clustered together, and you can hear a crisp "pop" sound when you gently break them.

Jian Mo had never eaten this kind of wild vegetable before, so she couldn't help but curiously put it under her nose and smell it.

This wild vegetable has a very refreshing aroma, smelling like cucumber, but even more fragrant.

Jian Mo took it off her nose in surprise, looked at it again and again. "It smells wonderful."

Ye Luo: "It's a little bitter. Try it."

Jian Mo: "Can we eat it now?"

As she spoke, Jian Mo broke off a small piece and put it in her mouth. With a crisp bite, a bitter taste instantly spread between her teeth.

It's bitter, but not unpleasantly bitter.

Jian Mo looked at the small leaf ball. "It's alright, I can eat it."

Ying Duan, standing beside her, said with a smile, "Then eat more."

They have a specific method for picking tender leaves; they can't pick them all, at most two-thirds, and they have to pick them in a staggered manner so as not to affect the survival of the tree.

Jian Mo quickly reached out and snapped them open, hitting them precisely every time, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

After picking the tree buds, they went to dig for wild vegetables on the riverbank.

Jian Mo had seen this wild vegetable before; last autumn, he had picked it as a medicinal herb to reduce fever.

Ye Luo saw through Jian Mo's thoughts. "The wild vegetables that have just grown don't have much medicinal effect, so they can be eaten as vegetables."

Ying Duan chimed in from the side, "It's mainly because it's still tender. Once it's fully grown, it won't be tender anymore, and it'll taste bitter and get stuck in your teeth."

Jian Mo nodded. He had seen vegetables that could be used as both food and medicine before, but he was only slightly surprised.

Ying Duan: "After we've finished picking the wild vegetables here, let's continue down and try to fill our baskets."

Everyone echoed in agreement.

Jian Mo followed along for a day and found that everyone had excellent stamina and was very quick and agile. In the end, he was the only weakling in the group.

This left him somewhat helpless.

Even with training, his physical fitness is indeed somewhat worse than others.

Let's see if I train for another year this year, and maybe next year will be better?

When Jian Mo and her group returned to the tribe, most of the people had already come back.

They handed over some of the wild vegetables they had gathered and awaited the tribe's distribution.

Ye Luo, as the person in charge of assigning tasks, went directly to help with the assignments.

This year, Jian Mo is more familiar with the affairs of the tribe and no longer needs to collect his share of supplies in person. He just needs to tell Wu Jiong, and Wu Jiong will collect the supplies for both of them.

As for Jian Mo, he could save that time and focus on doing things around the house.

Spring has finally arrived, bringing fresh wild vegetables, so Jian Mo is determined to make a bowl of noodles.

He kneaded the dough first to prepare it, and then went to blanch the tree buds.

They brought back a lot of tree buds, which they definitely couldn't finish in one meal. After blanching them, they added salt, rubbed them, and put them in a jar to ferment, which would make them into sauerkraut.

Making it into pickled vegetables will further reduce the bitterness of the wild vegetables, making them taste even better.

In addition, consuming small amounts of pickled cabbage can also be beneficial to health.

Jian Mo hummed a song as she slowly prepared the sauerkraut.

Wu Jiong, tall and imposing, returned carrying groceries. "Today we got a large piece of lean meat and two large ribs. Which do you want?"

Jian Mo originally intended to make Zha Jiang Mian (noodles with soybean paste), but upon closer inspection, she was surprised to find that the pork ribs he brought back had a perfect balance of lean and fat, with tender meat that looked incredibly tempting. She changed her mind. "Let's have pork ribs. One rib will suffice."

Wu Jiong: "Then I'll hang the rest of the meat under the eaves."

Jian Mo nodded. "It's still cold now. Hang it under the eaves overnight, and the meat will still be fresh when we eat it tomorrow morning."

Wu Jiong, carrying the ribs, asked again, "How small should the ribs be chopped, or should we cook them whole?"

Jian Mo shook her head vigorously, raising her hand to indicate, "No, no, no, just chop it into pieces about the size of two fingers with an axe. It's too much; we can't finish it."

Wu Jiong then took the ribs and chopped them on the wooden stake in the yard.

Jian Mo continued preparing the side dishes at home.

It's rare for me to eat noodles, and although I feel a little bad about wasting the noodles, I can't put too few.

Jian Mo worked while pondering the process of cooking noodles.

First, knead the dough, roll it out, and let it rest for a while. Then prepare some cooled boiled water so that you can rinse the noodles after cooking.

Bird eggs are a must; it's about creating a sense of ritual.

Get two sausages too. Fry the lean and fatty sausages until they have a tiger-skin pattern, then cut them into thick slices. They're perfect with noodles.

Wild vegetables are a must today, along with pepper sauce and garlic powder, and a small handful of nuts to add texture, which can replace peanuts.