Jiujiu

Meanwhile, the hunters and gatherers returned one after another. Someone called for everyone to collect their share of meat at the clearing, so Jian Mo asked Jiang Xing to help collect his while he continued preparing the fish.

By the time he finished preparing all the fish, he had a large basin of fish meat and another large basin filled with fish heads, bones, and guts.

He carried the fish heads, bones, guts, and the rest over to feed the Flying-Winged Beast.

Sure enough, the Flying-Winged Beast wasn't picky at all. It gripped the fish meat in its claws and gnawed on it with relish, occasionally raising its head to chirp "jiujiu" at Jian Mo.

Seeing that, Jian Mo smiled and said, "How about I name you Jiujiu? You go jiujiujiu all day long."

The Flying-Winged Beast went, "Jiujiu!"

Jian Mo cut the fish meat into large chunks and set them on leaves to dry.

Before bed, he brought the fish back inside and added fruit wine, coarse salt, and powdered spices to marinate it.

Wu Jiong couldn't make sense of what he was doing, but he didn't object. Instead, he stayed by his side and helped out.

Before going out to gather the next day, Jian Mo took the fish that had marinated overnight back outside to dry. He also asked Jiang Xing and a few of the other children to keep an eye on it and make sure birds didn't carry it off.

The children all agreed.

At the same time, the children sniffed and found that the fish smelled completely different from the day before.

The marinated fish gave off a complex aroma and smelled much more tempting.

That left the children a little expectant. Perhaps fish wasn't so awful after all.

Jian Mo kept his word. As soon as he returned that evening, he put down his gathering basket and got ready to prepare the fish.

Wu Jiong didn't like the fishy smell, so Jian Mo deliberately moved the stone pot to the clearing outside and built a makeshift stove, planning to fry the fish there.

Everyone in the tribe had been busy all day and now had some free time. Seeing him get to work, many came over to watch.

"That's a lot of animal fat. Are you going to fry fish? Won't you get burned?"

"I've fried fish before too, but the fish fell apart as soon as it went into the oil. The whole pot of oil smelled fishy afterward and couldn't be used at all. It was such a waste."

"The fish Jian Mo fries will definitely be different. Come smell it. It smells so good!"

Jian Mo calmly lit the fire and heated the oil.

When small bubbles began to rise in the oil, he used a pair of long wooden chopsticks to place the fish chunks in the pot one by one.

The fish had dried outside all day. The moisture on the surface had dried completely, and the flesh had wilted.

When the fish went in, the pot remained very quiet, and the oil didn't splatter at all.

Everyone watched the fish slowly turn golden as its aroma wafted out, surprise showing in their eyes.

Jian Mo had placed a dry, large wooden basin nearby, and he put the fried fish in it.

As the fish came out of the pot, the children were practically drooling.

Jian Mo used his chopsticks to give them some fish. "You can start eating. Careful, it's hot."

The children tried to take the fish, then passed it from one hand to the other, blowing on it as they ate. "Hoo, hoo, hoo, it smells so good!!"

The adults grew curious too.

Smiling, Jian Mo handed out pieces of fish to everyone. There was so much left, after all, that he didn't have to worry about running out.

The adults could handle the heat better, so they stuffed the fish into their mouths as soon as they got it.

They soon discovered that the fish tasted far better than they'd imagined.

The fish had already been somewhat air-dried. Once fried, it was crisp and fragrant on the outside and had a dry, fragrant texture on the inside. It was delicious, with no fishy smell at all.

Amazement showed in everyone's eyes.

The children especially hadn't expected fish to be eaten this way, and they looked at Jian Mo with admiration.

After frying the fish, Jian Mo returned it to the oil for a second fry, making it drier, crisper, and more fragrant.

Everyone ate as they watched, praising it nonstop.

Once all the fish was fried, Jian Mo brought out the large leaves he'd prepared in advance. He wrapped a large portion for every child who had helped catch the fish and a smaller portion for each child who had helped watch it, letting them take the fish home to eat.

The children hadn't expected Jian Mo to wrap fish for them at all. Overjoyed, they shouted, "Thank you, Brother Jian Mo!" and raced home carrying their fish.

It was completely dark by then. Dinner that night was fried fish, meatball soup, and dried meat stir-fried with wild greens.

Jian Mo looked at Wu Jiong and smiled. "Well? The fish isn't bad, is it?"

Looking at Jian Mo's bright eyes, Wu Jiong said seriously, "It's much better than I imagined."

Jian Mo picked up his soup. "The fried fish will keep for a long time. We can eat it for a while."

Wu Jiong said, "Whatever you say. Should we catch some more fish tomorrow?"

Jian Mo said, "Not for now. If we eat too much of the same thing, we'll get tired of it. Let's catch more after a while."

Wu Jiong nodded. "Tell me when you want to catch fish. I'll go with you."

Chapter 9: Jiujiu

Catching and frying fish yesterday had been tiring, but Jian Mo still opened his eyes on time thanks to his body clock and prepared to get up.

But the second floor was dim. It seemed the sun hadn't risen yet.

So he'd woken up early. No wonder he was so tired today.

Thinking that, Jian Mo stopped getting up and burrowed back under the covers.

I'll get up when it's light.

Wu Jiong heard the movement downstairs, but when Jian Mo didn't come down, he looked up and called, "Jian Mo?"

Jian Mo answered sleepily, "Hmm? What is it?"

Wu Jiong had originally slept on the second floor, but after Jian moved in, he had started sleeping on the first floor. Only during the day did he tidy up his bedding and move it to the second floor for storage.

Wu Jiong said, "Are you cold? There are animal-hide robes in the chest. Put one on."

Jian Mo slowly caught on. "Has the weather changed?"

Wu Jiong said, "Yes, it's late autumn."

Jian Mo climbed out of bed and went to look through the window.

The change of seasons was quite noticeable.

The leaves on the distant mountains had turned yellow overnight, creating a multicolored scene.

He stood by the window for a short while and soon felt the chill.

He really did need an animal-hide robe to keep the cold out.

Seeing no movement from him, Wu Jiong came upstairs to help look for an animal-hide robe.

After searching around, he finally dug out a relatively light animal-hide robe for Jian Mo. "It's a little big. I'll alter it in a bit."