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"Doctor Jian Mo!" The giant beast ran up to Jian Mo, and the orc on top climbed down, its eyes sparkling as it asked Jian Mo, "Didn't you say you were looking for scallions? Is this the scallion you wanted?"
As they spoke, the sub-beastmen pulled the baskets on their backs to the front to show Jian Mo: "This is it."
Jian Mo took a look and found that it was full of round root bulbs that looked like garlic.
He grabbed a handful, held it to his nose, and smelled it. Sure enough, he could smell the slightly pungent, sweet and spicy aroma of scallions.
He perked up. "It seems so, let me see."
The sub-orc from the Red Zheng Tribe: "Go ahead and look."
Jian Mo picked up one of the bulbs and gently peeled it open.
It has layers inside, somewhat like an onion, and the onion flavor is even more pronounced.
He held it under his nose and smelled it; apart from the smell of onions, there was basically no other odor.
"It looks like scallions," Jian Mo. "Is it poisonous? Let me try some."
A sub-orc from the Red Zheng Tribe: "It's not poisonous. We ate it before bringing it back, but it doesn't taste good; it burns our throats."
Jian Mo smiled and said, "If you find it too spicy, it'll be much better if you cook it into a dish."
"Never mind, it tastes a bit strange." The people of the Red Zheng Tribe weren't very interested in eating scallions, but urged Jian Mo, "Doctor Jian Mo, please try it."
Jian Mo peeled off the skin in front of them, then gently broke off a piece and put it in her mouth.
The raw scallions were indeed pungent and spicy, with a very strong flavor. Jian Mo couldn't swallow them and quickly went to the side to spit them out, then rinsed her mouth with water.
The people of the Red Zheng Tribe chased after him, asking nervously, "Isn't this what you wanted?"
Jian Mo: "No, no, no, this is exactly what I want, just not raw."
The people of the Red Zheng Tribe cheered, "That's wonderful!"
Jian Mo: "Thank you."
The people from the Red Zheng Tribe: "You're welcome. Doctor Jian Mo, this basket of scallions is for you. And the knife you mentioned—"
Jian Mo readily agreed, "Come home with me, and I'll give you the knife."
The people of the Red Zheng Tribe were even happier and followed him home.
On the way, Jian Mo asked, "Why did you only pick the onion bulbs and not the leaves?"
The people of the Red Zheng Tribe answered in unison:
"It originally had leaves, but the journey from the Sharp Teeth Tribe was too long, and the leaves had turned yellow, dried up, and some were even rotten, so we just used the stems."
"The Sharp Teeth Tribe is right next to ours. It takes them several days to get to our tribe from there, so coming over to your tribe is too far."
"It doesn't look good with the leaves on, so we'll just use the stems."
Jian Mo was surprised that these scallions came from such a faraway place, and sincerely said, "Thank you for your hard work."
The people of the Red Zheng Tribe said very frankly, "It's alright, as long as we can get a new knife, it's all worth it."
Jian Mo: "Yes, I can exchange them. I'll get you two new knives."
These words drew another round of cheers from the Red Zheng Tribe: "That's wonderful! Doctor Jian Mo, you really are a good person!"
Jian Mo took them back and wanted to make them tea.
They all refused, saying they needed to return to their tribe and set off as soon as possible.
Jian Mo went upstairs, took out two treasured knives from the box, and handed them over. How they divided them among themselves was their business.
Before they left, Jian Mo had a sudden thought and asked, "Could you help me find some more beans and chili peppers?"
The people of the Red Zheng Tribe were very interested. "What is this?"
Jian Mo took out a wooden board and drew a charcoal diagram for them. "A chili pepper is a plant with very spicy fruit. It can be round or long, and the color can be black, yellow, red, or green. Once you find it, you definitely won't mistake it. It's so spicy that it can make your skin red and swollen if it gets on your hands or mouth."
After carefully examining Jian Mo's drawing of the chili peppers, everyone nodded.
Jian Mo drew beans for them again. "Beans are probably a type of plant that grows in pods. They come in all sorts of shapes, some round, some flat. They taste mealy, and the skin is very smooth. Once you peel them open, they might look like this."
Jian Mo explained the characteristics of beans and peppers in detail, saying that if they really couldn't find them, they could look for plants with similar characteristics.
The people from the Red Zheng Tribe said they understood and would help him inquire after they returned, and would exchange the metal tools with him once they found them.
Jian Mo them to look as much as they wanted; he had plenty of metal utensils.
The people of the Red Zheng Tribe quickly left with two small metal knives in their pockets.
Jian Mo was at home, humming a tune as she took out a handful of scallions, planning to make scallion pancakes that evening and then bake some meat with the scallions.
They didn't have much noodles left, but since they finally found some scallions, they were determined to have a good meal.
Needless to say, there's always baked game meat. We make sure to have some every night. Today, I cut off a relatively fatty piece and baked it with onions. It's sure to taste great.
Wu Jiong returned quickly and asked as soon as he entered the kitchen, "Did the people from the Red Zheng Tribe send over some scallions?"
Jian Mo: "It's onion. They said they found it in the Sharp Teeth Tribe. That tribe is too far away from us, and when it arrived here, the onion leaves were yellow and withered, so they just kept the onions."
Wu Jiong nodded. "Is this the scallion you wanted?"
Jian Mo was even happier. "I think so. We'll find out tonight if it is. I'm planning to make scallion pancakes and braised meat with onions, and also steam a fish. What would you like to eat? I'll add two more dishes, just in case you don't like the taste of onions and there's nothing to eat later."
Wu Jiong: "It's okay, I'm not a picky eater."
Jian Mo: "Then just wait and see, the food tonight is sure to be delicious!"
Jian Mo isn't very good at making noodles, but she can probably make most kinds.
Since they were already in the orc tribe, no one was going to jump out and accuse him of making inauthentic noodles.
Humming a song, Jian Mo continued working.
He first pan-fried scallion pancakes, then baked the meat in an earthenware pot.
Both sides exuded a rich aroma. The originally pungent and spicy onions were transformed into an irresistible scallion fragrance after being fried in oil, and even had a hint of sweetness.