Delivering a Baby Together

While taking a breath, Jian Mo casually picked up two shellfish, floated to the surface, and asked the people of the Stored Star Tribe, "Are these shellfish edible?"

A member of the Stored Star Tribe said, "It's possible, but the taste isn't very good; it needs to be stewed for a long time to get it soft."

Another person added, "Actually, it doesn't have much flavor, just a slight umami taste. We don't like eating this kind of shellfish."

Jian Mo asked in surprise, "Isn't anyone going to eat?"

The people of the Stored Star Tribe corrected them. "It's not that we like to eat it, but if there's nothing else to eat, we'll eat even this kind of unpalatable shellfish."

Jian Mo was surprised that abalone had fallen to such a state. Looking at the abalone in her hand, she said, "Then I'll take it back."

Xing Jiu walked over to him. "You can take it back, this kind of shellfish can also treat goiter. It's just that they're too big, so they're hard to dry. We also find it troublesome to cut them into small pieces before drying."

Jian Mo looked at the large abalone in her hand. "I don't mind the trouble."

Jian Mo didn't mind the trouble, and the others naturally had no objections. When they went down to harvest seaweed, if they saw abalone, they would help him scoop it up.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong didn't specifically go to collect abalone; by the time they finished harvesting the seaweed, they had filled two baskets with abalone.

Jian Mo beaming with joy, her eyes practically disappearing as she hugged the basket.

Xing Jiu didn't quite understand. "This stuff really doesn't taste good."

Jian Mo: "Maybe it's because making this kind of thing requires making it complicated to make it taste good."

Xing Jiu was even more confused. "Some foods taste great just by being simple to make, why bother with these complicated dishes?"

Jian Mo was a little unsure how to answer.

Wu Jiong chimed in, "Because we have hope for life, we don't mind cooking even if the food is a bit complicated."

Xing Jiu smiled and said, "Then you can take it with you. But let's make it clear first, you need to deal with it quickly after you get back. If you leave it for too long, it might go bad very soon."

Jian Mo promised, "I'll take care of it as soon as we get back."

Xing Jiu: "Didn't you want to copy the prescription?"

Wu Jiong: "I can handle this, leave it to me."

We collected a lot of things today. When we went back, Jiujiu and Ying'ao took the initiative to divide up several baskets, so it wasn't too difficult for everyone to carry them back.

Upon returning to the tribe, everyone received their share of seaweed and then went back to their own homes to process it.

Xing Jiu specifically told Jian Mo and Wu Jiong that all you need to do is find a clean place to spread out the seaweed, dry it in the sun, and then store it away; there's no need to make it complicated.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong agreed.

Xing Jiu said he would come over after he finished dinner to continue teaching Jian Mo how to copy medicine prescriptions.

Jian Mo quickly assured him that they would get it done as soon as possible and wouldn't delay copying the prescription that evening.

Wu Jiong volunteered to take over the task. "How do you prepare these abalone?"

Jian Mo: "First, peel it off, remove the internal organs, and wash it clean. Then you can marinate it with salt for a while. I'll do it after I finish copying the prescription."

Wu Jiong: "It seems you know how to handle this."

Jian Mo squatted down and smiled at Wu Jiong, "I'm not very good at it, but I have a general idea. Anyway, it's nothing rare, I'll give it a try."

Wu Jiong, while preparing the abalone, said, "That's already quite impressive."

Chapter 176 Joint Delivery

Jian Mo had already gotten used to copying prescriptions.

While he was copying, Xing Jiu would explain some pharmacology to him.

He can take notes while copying, which makes his learning efficiency quite high.

If he can't remember it right away, that's okay. He'll take notes, and if he doesn't remember something clearly, he can slowly write it down based on the notes later, and he'll remember it soon.

Similarly, when Jian Mo was studying, she would share some scientific knowledge with Xing Jiu.

Xing Yi originally wanted to learn along with the old man, but unfortunately, the old man was too old and found it very difficult to learn.

Moreover, due to his advanced age and declining physical functions, even if he learns the skills now, he won't be able to perform surgery on others.

Ultimately, Xing Yi helped Xing Jiu and Jian Mo learn from and improve together.

The Xingchu Tribe had oil lamps, and the two studied under them.

Jian Mo studied very diligently, and Xing Jiu followed suit.

After studying for half the night, both of them were quite sore and had backaches, but they finally finished learning today's material.

Xing Jiu put away the prescription and exclaimed, "You learn so quickly! We don't have many prescriptions left for you to learn."

Jian Mo smiled and said, "I've been out for so long, I'm starting to miss home."

Xing Jiu: "No wonder you studied so diligently."

They put away the paper and pen and went outside.

Wu Jiong has patiently removed all the abalone and gutted them; they are now being salted.

Jian Mo checked it over and happily brought over a large pot, intending to cook the abalone.

Xing Jiu had nothing else to do, so he decided to stay and watch.

Jian Mo cooks abalone differently from others. He uses an extremely large pot with a very small fire. After the water boils, he leaves only a little charcoal ember before putting the abalone in.

Xing Jiu asked doubtfully, "Will it even cook through like this?"

Jian Mo: "Yes, this is called slow cooking. The abalone meat will still be very tender after cooking. I'll cut off a couple for you to see when they're done. You can use this cooking method if you want tender meat."

Xing Jiu: "Now that you mention it, it does seem to make sense. But why boil it first and then dry it? Wouldn't it be the same if we just dried it directly?"

Jian Mo: "It's different. Directly sun-drying makes it more prone to spoilage, while boiling it first makes it less likely to spoil. Also, boiling makes it more tender, and the dried abalone will be more tender too. Abalone this big would be delicious if it were soft and tender inside."

Xing Jiu shook his head; he was getting a little impatient with being asked to make such delicate food.

Jian Mo was very interested in the food and didn't feel tired at all. She smiled at Xing Jiu and said, "We'll be cooking for a long time, probably until midnight. That's basically it. If you're tired, you can go back first and come back to check on things tomorrow morning."

Xing Jiu: "Alright, I'll come find you again tomorrow morning."

Jian Mo gets to see the sea, so she plans to go out to sea with them a few more times and catch more seafood.