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Wu Jiong looked at Jian Mo, who was still wiping away sweat, and asked, "Why did you suddenly start chasing after him?"

Jian Mo: "Jiujiu wanted to rub against me, but I wouldn't let it. It thought I was playing with it, so it kept chasing after me and rubbing against me."

As she spoke, Jian Mo exclaimed, "The Three-Eyed Fish smells so fishy! It almost knocked me over."

Wu Jiong nodded in agreement. "This fish does taste a bit fishy; it's inedible."

Jian Mo: "What should we do with the fish?"

Wu Jiong: "We used to throw them away, but now we can consider feeding them to Jiujiu."

Jian Mo glanced at Jiujiu and said with some sympathy, "It probably won't eat it either. It just smelled it, and the stench made its nose wrinkle."

Wu Jiong: "Then let's throw it away."

Wu Jiong went to clean up the Three-Eyed Fish whose gallbladders had been removed.

Jian Mo followed. These Three-Eyed Fish were quite large, each weighing at least five or six pounds, and they felt heavy in her hand.

They threw four female fish back into the water, leaving nine more Three-Eyed Fish in the basket, which was now completely full.

Jian Mo a pang of heartache at the thought of throwing away so many fish.

Going out to hunt and gather is no easy task. The fish doesn't taste very good, but it would be such a waste to throw them away.

Jian Mo thought for a moment, "Let me see what dish I should make with it."

Wu Jiong cautioned, "It will still taste fishy even when cooked, and it will still taste fishy even when dried."

Jian Mo was surprised. "Is its flavor really that strong?"

Wu Jiong: "Hmm, it tastes very fishy."

Jian Mo began to understand why the ancients were able to discover the uses of fish gallbladders. Perhaps they couldn't stomach them but were unwilling to give up, so they forced themselves to swallow the gallbladders?

Wu Jiong stood up. "If I throw it in the river, other animals will eat it."

With that, Wu Jiong was about to leave.

Jian Mo watched him leave carrying the heavy fish, then suddenly said, "Wait, I think I've remembered a way to cook fish."

Wu Jiong: "What?"

Jian Mo: "I don't know if you have that tradition here, where you salt fish and shrimp, and after fermentation, you use the liquid as a seasoning."

Wu Jiong imagined the scene and frowned. "Isn't that blood?"

Jian Mo: "No, no, no, we call it fish sauce. After being fermented with salt, it's completely different from the blood of raw fish. I think we can give it a try."

Jian Mo looked at the fish in his hand. "Since these fish are useless anyway, I'll try making fish sauce. Otherwise, I don't have enough seasonings on hand, and it always feels like something's missing."

Nowadays, very few people can cook without oyster sauce and soy sauce. I haven't found any beans yet, so I can forget about beans for now. Using some fish sauce or something seems like a good alternative.

Jian Mo thought it was feasible more and more, "I'll go and bring down a big jar."

Wu Jiong: "Just stuff the fish into the jar to ferment?"

Jian Mo: "No, it needs to be pounded into fish paste and then fermented."

Wu Jiong glanced at it. "If we take it to the mortar and pestle to be ground into fish paste, people will have objections."

Jian Mo smiled and said, "Then let's take it to the riverbank, smash it into fish paste with stones, and throw it into the river along with the stones. Then everyone will have no objections."

For the time being, this was the only option, so the two went to the river, smashed the Three-Eyed Fish into mince, and brought it back.

It was completely dark when I got home.

Jian Mo poured the fish paste into a clean jar and added salt.

Wu Jiong: "How much salt do you need?"

Jian Mo sighed, "I really can't remember. It's probably twice as much salt as cured meat. After all, the fish paste won't be dried in the sun, so if you don't add enough salt, it will probably spoil quickly."

Wu Jiong picked up the large bowl and poured the contents into the jar.

After pouring in the salt, Jian Mo took a clean piece of firewood, mixed the fish and salt thoroughly, then added another layer of salt on top, and sealed the mixture in the jar to ferment.

"Alright." Jian Mo straightened up and casually stuffed the smelly firewood into the stove; she'd burn it later. "Now move the jar to the corner. I'll check on the fermentation in a couple of days."

Wu Jiong carried the jar over, sniffed his hands, and said, "I'll go take a shower first and then come back for dinner."

Jian Mo, who also reeked of fish, said, "I'll go with you."

Now that the weather is getting warmer, it shouldn't be a problem to take a bath in the river after warming up.

The two took soap and ran upstream from the village, where they took a good bath.

Jian Mo thought of how Wu Jiong had transformed into a giant wolf during the day, walking around in the river until his fur was completely wet, so she turned him back into a giant wolf, intending to give his beast form a good wash as well.

Wu Jiong said, "Bathing the beast form is tiring."

Jian Mo laughed and rolled up her sleeves, "That's because you don't know what I did before. I've got experience bathing cats and dogs."

After hearing about what had happened before, Wu Jiong reminded him, "I'm different from those little guys."

Jian Mo: "We can learn from past experiences, right? Hurry up and change, otherwise the mud will shrink into our pores."

Urged on by him, Wu Jiong had no choice but to transform into a giant wolf and lie down in the river.

Jian Mo rushed forward and hugged him. "So handsome!"

The giant wolf gently nuzzled him with its muzzle. "Is this position okay?"

Jian Mo: "Okay, I'll lather you up with soap."

The giant wolf was enormous, but it was very cooperative, making it much easier to wash than washing other large animals.

Jian Mo rubbed him clean and then had him lie on his side in the water, letting the flowing water wash away the foam.

The giant wolf didn't complain at all, except that its ears twitched slightly as it lay down.

Jian Mo kissed his ear, her smile widening.

After showering, the two went home hand in hand.

When Jiujiu was squatting in the yard waiting for dinner, saw them return, she let out a soft "ooh" in the darkness, her eyes glowing with a greenish light.

This guy looks a little aggrieved.

Jian Mo laughed and patted its bottom, "Didn't we feed you snacks before we went out? Still whining?"

Jiujiu: "Eek!"