Xu Zifan stir-fried a dish with some chili peppers and slices of Lulu beast meat, and also stir-fried some leeks with Gugu chicken eggs for the Great Shaman and the Chieftain. He wasn't very good at cooking, but all he had here was coarse salt, and the oil was rendered from fatty meat. He just needed to stir-fry it until cooked, so it was naturally tastier than what they would put in some salt and roast or boil.
They used to roast the eggs of the Gugu chicken by burying them near the fire, without any seasoning, just the original flavor. They loved the stir-fried eggs with chives the first time they tried it, and they discovered that eating chives this way was completely different from eating them raw; it wasn't as pungent and actually quite delicious. The high shaman didn't like the stir-fried meat with chili peppers, but the chieftain ate all the meat slices and praised it with lingering satisfaction.
Xu Zifan looked at them and said, "Besides these, there are many other things that can be used as food. As long as they are prepared properly, they will taste delicious and can be stored in winter. You don't need to doubt me. You heard what the guardian deity of the Tiger Clan said that day. If I am not doing what is best for everyone, the Beast God will punish me. So I hope you can do your best to cooperate with me."
The Great Shaman, who trusted the Beast God the most, immediately agreed, "Rest assured, Wise One, we will do as you command."
The clan chief also expressed his opinion, and Xu Zifan nodded, "Then let's find more of this kind of food first. Also, build a few fences in the open space with trees and catch some Lulu Beasts and Gugu Chickens to raise. When you catch them, make sure to observe what they eat in the forest and bring back more of those things to feed them."
The chieftain hesitated, "Sage, those five Lulu beasts you had us capture were almost dead after only ten days... this..."
"Do as I say, you won't die. We'll need to build a shed on top of the fence later, we'll talk about that after the fence is finished. By the way, find a secluded open space to build it, it'll stink." After saying this, Xu Zifan mentally asked Shao Hua, [What time is it now?]
[Shaohua: 10:00 AM.]
Xu Zifan stood up. "Let's get to work quickly. I'm planning to go into the forest to see if there's anything else I can use. I'll get an orc to come with me and help me carry things."
The chieftain called out to the door, and the two orcs who had been guarding Xu Zifan's door came in. The chieftain pointed at them and said, "These are Mengya and Zhuifeng. They went out for a while, so you don't recognize them. They are the tribe's top warriors. From now on, they will protect you. Is that alright?"
Xu Zifan recognized the two men. Mengya had brought him here, and Zhuifeng had gone to fetch the chieftain earlier. Judging from their names, one must be fierce and the other fast. He guessed the chieftain had deliberately chosen two unfamiliar faces to avoid him being offended by the beastmen who had pursued him but then scorned him or remained indifferent. He observed their expressions. Zhuifeng seemed suspicious of his identity, while Mengya appeared completely unconcerned, focused solely on completing his mission. This was the kind of unambiguous person he needed. So he said, "I'm just going out to find something. Two people are too many, so I'll trouble Mengya to take me. Bring back several hides; I might need to find a lot of things."
"Alright, Mengya, you must protect the Wise One." The clan chief waved his hand and sent Zhuifeng away, then gave Mengya a few more instructions.
"Rest assured, Chieftain." Mengya bowed his head in response, placed his right fist on his left shoulder in a salute, and quickly went back to find a few hides.
Xu Zifan and the chieftain split up, while the high shaman relayed their tasks to the rest of the tribe. Mengya transformed into its beast form, and Xu Zifan rode on its back, galloping into the forest. Xu Zifan instructed Shaohua to scan the surroundings; he wouldn't collect the plants he had already studied, only stopping to collect unfamiliar ones by patting Mengya.
Mengya watched for a while, wanting to help, but he clumsily broke the plant. Xu Zifan quickly said, "I'll do it myself. The root system must be intact. Could you please keep an eye on the surroundings for any dangers? If there are any prey nearby, that would be even better."
"Okay, I understand." Fang took a few steps back and stopped bothering him. He leaned against a tree and cautiously observed his surroundings. Half an hour later, a long-eared beast actually appeared. Fang immediately transformed into a tiger, pounced on it, killed the long-eared beast, and brought it back.
Xu Zifan gathered a bunch of plants, wrapped them in leather, and handed them to Mengya to carry. Wiping his sweat, he said, "Let's go, let's go take a look ahead."
Mengya led him for a while longer, and Shaohua stopped to collect unfamiliar plants. They worked like this for three hours, Xu Zifan's hands aching from gathering, but they did find some red berries that tasted just like tomatoes. According to Mengya, orcs generally don't eat fruit; females prefer sweet or filling fruits. Red berries are mostly sour and make them less appealing, so they're not popular. Xu Zifan still collected quite a few, even digging up a few vines. Tomatoes have vitamins, and they're a basic vegetable, essential. Whether they like them or not is a matter for later.
They had been busy since they came out that morning, and Xu Zifan was very hungry. He sat on the grass and asked, "Mengya, what do you usually eat when you're out?"
Mengya glanced at the long-eared beast on the ground beside him, "We'll eat whatever we hunt."
Xu Zifan remembered that most orcs would eat them raw because they found it troublesome, and that cooking them over a fire would indeed be a waste of time, so he said, "You eat the long-eared beast, and I'll eat the red fruit. After we finish eating, we'll look for something else and go back before dark."
"The red berries aren't enough to fill you up, but there are honey berries over there, they're sweet."
"It's okay, I don't like sweets." Xu Zifan couldn't resist the honey-like sweetness of the honey fruit, so he picked up a red fruit, wiped it, and started eating.
Seeing this, Mengya said nothing more, and used its claws to tear open the long-eared beast's skin and began to eat. Xu Zifan watched from the side, thinking how fortunate he was to have gone to the previous world first, where he had seen many monsters; otherwise, seeing a large tiger beside him devouring a rabbit would have been quite a shock.
It's really hard to adapt. Mengya eats very quickly, and like his name suggests, he's fierce in everything he does; his teeth are quite sharp too. After Xu Zifan finished two red fruits, he devoured a whole long-eared beast.
Xu Zifan clapped his hands and stood up. "Take the long-eared beast pelts back. All the pelts should be kept safe. They can be used to make blankets, clothes, hats, and other things in winter. If you don't need them yourself, you can trade them with others."
"Okay." Mengya wrapped the long-eared beast's hide in large leaves and stuffed it into his bundle, then led Xu Zifan to other places. While he was hunting, Xu Zifan secretly ate a fasting pill, and the feeling of hunger immediately disappeared.
They had a fruitful day. On their way back, Xu Zifan had gathered five large bundles of plants, herbs, and fruits, while Mengya had hunted two long-eared beasts and one lulu beast. Xu Zifan felt he should pay Mengya for being his bodyguard in the future, but he had nothing at the moment, and it was inconvenient to take out the things from his spatial storage. He didn't know what to give him, so he didn't mention it. As soon as they got home, Xu Zifan gave Mengya a day off, telling him to contact him if he needed anything.
He went inside and laid everything out in a row, having Shaohua scan and record the three-dimensional appearance of each plant, preparing to study them one by one. At this moment, the chieftain arrived and said politely, "Wise one, when you first came to the tribe, you had to build this small wooden hut temporarily because you had nowhere to stay. It's very inconvenient. Why don't you choose a place, and I'll have someone build you a big house?"
Xu Zifan usually stayed in his spatial dimension, so the large wooden house was of no use to him. Besides, he had other plans, so he smiled and politely declined, "Chieftain, you don't need to be so polite. I'm quite comfortable living here. Everyone, please hurry up and finish building the fence. Winter is approaching, and we need to find food that can be stored as soon as possible. By the way, it's not appropriate for the Great Shaman to learn cooking. I would appreciate it if the Chieftain could find a clever female to come and learn from me."
The chieftain was troubled by the fact that Xu Zifan didn't get along well with the females in the tribe. He didn't know who to choose, mainly because he didn't know anyone who had never offended Xu Zifan. So he simply asked, "Who do you think is suitable, wise man?"
Xu Zifan thought for a moment, "Let's go with that kind old man, I think his name is Soya."
Soya was already sixty years old and had no hostility towards young females. The chieftain smiled and said, "Very well, let Soya learn from the Wise Man. If the Wise Man needs anything, just let me know."
"Okay, I will."
The next day, Soya came to see Xu Zifan. The spiritual energy in this world was slowly fading, but it still existed. The average lifespan of beastmen was 150 years, and that of females was 100. Soya, although she already had grandchildren, was still quite healthy and had just entered old age. Xu Zifan taught her the basic steps of cooking, which was simply adding oil, meat, vegetables, and then salt. He also taught her how to make scrambled eggs with red berries, leaving the specific taste to her to figure out through trial and error regarding the heat and the amount of salt.
Soya learned very quickly, while Xu Zifan didn't know much. She mainly relied on verbal instruction, telling him how to combine several dishes she found and letting him try to make them. Xu Zifan and Mengya were responsible for tasting the dishes with him, so that they knew the taste preferences of the orcs, females, and Xu Zifan. Once a recipe was finalized, Soya would teach it to the other females, and Shaohua also made a record of it.
Xu Zifan would occasionally go to supervise the construction of the fence. Shao Hua was a life assistance system in the modern world, and she collected all the books that might be used in life in that world, including those on raising livestock and building pigsties and houses. Xu Zifan first read and studied the books, and then taught the beastmen how to build them. The completion rate was quite high. The Lulu Beasts and Gugu Chickens were kept in separate enclosures, and for the time being, there seemed to be no problem.
After that, the females of the tribe had an additional task: to gather food to feed the Lulu Beasts and the Cuckoo Chickens. The Lulu Beasts liked to eat a certain type of vine leaf, and the Cuckoo Chickens liked to eat insects, so the task of feeding them fell to the females. Xu Zifan then locked himself in his room and told no one not to disturb him, focusing on studying various plants in his spatial dimension. Food is the most important thing for people, and he had to solve this problem before winter; only when no one went hungry in winter would everyone truly be convinced.
A month later, Xu Zifan had found seventeen kinds of vegetables. He had the orcs clear a plot of land on the outskirts of the tribe to try planting them. Thanks to his past experience as a sent-down youth, he also knew how to farm, and he taught the females how to do it. The orcs were responsible for fetching water from the river to water the vegetables. He also found several herbs with familiar medicinal properties and made hemostatic medicine, anesthetic, and painkillers. The tribe was changing little by little. The doubts people had about him dissipated after seeing that he could actually produce some things. Everyone became happy because the day for inter-tribal trade was coming soon, and they should be able to get a lot of good things this time.