Chapter 76: This is the Real Taste Sensation
Although everyone had been fighting non-stop all morning, there were still things to do. The temperature was already very high. The open space in front was littered with the corpses of Pig-headed Men. If left unattended, it could lead to the growth of bacteria and the outbreak of plague.
Lin Ye and the Beast-eared Girls sat on the ground to rest for a while, noticing a hint of exhaustion on their faces. Though Lin Ye felt distressed, the Pig-headed Men’s corpses could not simply be left there. Thus, Lin Ye began to lead the Beast-eared Girls in clearing the corpses. These plump Pig-headed Men were so heavy that it took four to five Beast-eared Girls to move each body. After several hours of strenuous work, Lin Ye and the Beast-eared Girls finally dragged all the Pig-headed Men’s corpses far away from the tribe. Lin Ye estimated that by evening, beasts would be drawn by the blood smell to feast on them.
After finishing the cleanup, everyone returned to the tribe. They refilled and buried the traps and trenches in the open space. The Beast-eared Girls were utterly exhausted, but the joy of victory still radiated from their faces. Lin Ye wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the Beast-eared Girls resting on the ground with a heartbroken expression. “Five… Five… Three…”
Lin Ye thought for a moment, then retrieved the wooden bucket that contained the diluted stamina recovery potion from before. He then refilled it with water from the cave and poured in two more bottles of the stamina recovery potion. When the Beast-eared Girls saw Lin Ye return with the wooden bucket, their eyes lit up. They had tasted it once before and knew its wondrous effects. Without waiting for Lin Ye to speak, they each grabbed a wooden cup and began to drink.
After drinking the water mixed with the stamina recovery potion, the Beast-eared Girls lay on the ground, closing their eyes in comfort as a tingling sensation spread through their tired and sore bodies. Although the Beast-eared Girls were not… there were still a few cups of water left in the bucket. Lin Ye didn’t use a wooden cup; he directly lifted the bucket and drank it all. Then, Lin Ye stretched his neck, and the fatigue in his body quickly vanished. The Beast-eared Girls also stood up, once again full of energy. Seeing the happy smiles on their faces, Lin Ye couldn’t help but smile too.
At this moment, Sakura walked up to Lin Ye, her bright eyes wide with longing. “Ye, we defeated the Pig-headed Men! Can we eat Chili Roasted Meat now?” Everyone was still immersed in the joy of their victory. Only Sakura was thinking about food. However, when they heard Sakura’s words, everyone else snapped back to reality. Having fought for so long and cleaned up all the corpses, they must have been starving for a while. Sakura’s reminder made them realize just how hungry they were. Recalling how delicious the Chili Roasted Meat Sakura had described yesterday was, the other Beast-eared Girls looked at Lin Ye pleadingly.
Lin Ye couldn’t help but laugh at their expressions. He wondered if they were simply naive or truly carefree. They had just dealt with such gruesome corpses, and now they were hungry. Lin Ye smiled and nodded, then said, “Okay, let’s have Chili Roasted Meat. You all start the fire first, and I’ll go pick the chilies.” As soon as Lin Ye finished speaking, the Beast-eared Girls cheered, raising their hands high. They then ran to gather firewood and start the fire. Lin Ye turned and walked towards the vegetable garden. Fortunately, the direction from which the Pig-headed Men attacked was not towards the vegetable garden; otherwise, the potatoes and chilies they had painstakingly planted would have been ruined.
Upon arriving at the vegetable garden, Lin Ye saw that the chilies and Sichuan pepper trees were mostly mature. The potatoes had also sprouted tall, tender shoots. Lin Ye marveled at how convenient the seeds from the system were; otherwise, they would have had to wait a long time to eat these crops. Lin Ye picked all the ripe red chilies. Looking at the large pile of red chilies on the ground, there were a total of thirty-two people in the tribe, including Lin Ye. This pile of chilies wouldn’t even be enough for one-tenth of them. The rest could be dried and ground into chili powder, which they could sprinkle on their barbecue in the future. Lin Ye took off his clothes, wrapped all the chilies inside, and then picked a handful of Sichuan pepper. With the chilies and Sichuan pepper, Lin Ye returned to the open space.
The Beast-eared Girls were busy trying to start a fire by friction. Lin Ye, holding the chilies, found a stone and began to grind them into a paste. As Lin Ye was grinding the chilies, the Beast-eared Girls who had just managed to start the fire saw Lin Ye holding the chilies and doing something they didn’t understand. They all curiously gathered around him. The Beast-eared Girls watched as Lin Ye placed the chilies into a hollowed-out stone and then used another stone to crush the whole chilies. They watched his actions with confusion, completely unable to understand what he was doing. Lin Ye poured the crushed chilies into a wooden cup beside him.
A few Beast-eared Girls, unable to contain their curiosity, dipped a finger into the paste and put it in their mouths. Immediately, their faces turned red, their eyes widened, and they opened their mouths, sticking out their tongues. “Ah!!! So hot!” “Ahhhhh, water, hurry and get some water!” Lin Ye was also drawn by their cries. He saw a few greedy Beast-eared Girls dancing wildly from the heat after eating a little of the ground chilies. At that moment, one of them remembered Lin Ye saying that drinking water would stop the burning. The few Beast-eared Girls quickly got up and ran towards the cave. Looking at them, Lin Ye had a helpless smile on his face. The other Beast-eared Girls looked at the chili paste in the wooden cup with fear. “Ye, this chili is so spicy, can we really eat it?” “Yeah, Ye, they only ate a little and couldn’t stand the heat.”
At this point, Sakura stood proudly with her hands on her hips and said to the other Beast-eared Girls, “Hmph! After Ye grinds the chilies like this and you smear them on the meat when roasting, the meat will become incredibly delicious. You’ll know then!” Hearing the other Beast-eared Girls dare to doubt Lin Ye, Sakura immediately stepped forward to defend him. Lin Ye also said to them, “Don’t worry, it won’t be spicy when you put it on the roasted meat.” Lin Ye glanced at the chili paste in the wooden cup, feeling it was almost ready. He continued, “You all go back and start roasting the meat. I’ll come and apply the chilies for you later. Don’t worry, it’ll be delicious…” The Beast-eared Girls looked at Sakura, then at Lin Ye, nodded, and returned to the bonfire to roast the meat.
Lin Ye ground some more chilies, then ground the Sichuan pepper, and finally mixed it all into the chili paste. Lin Ye used two branches as chopsticks. After stirring the chili paste evenly, he held the wooden cup and walked towards the Beast-eared Girls. The Beast-eared Girls’ meat was almost roasted, the fat and oil having rendered out. Oil dripped from the meat on the fire. Seeing Lin Ye approach, they eagerly extended their roasted meat towards him. Lin Ye used the two branches to smear a thin layer of chili paste on each Beast-eared Girl’s roasted meat. He then told them that they could eat it after roasting for a little while longer. Lin Ye went from one bonfire to another, applying the chili paste to everyone’s roasted meat before returning to sit beside Sakura.
As soon as Lin Ye sat down, Susu handed him a piece of perfectly roasted meat. It turned out Susu saw that Lin Ye had been busy applying the chili paste to others and hadn’t had time to roast his own meat, so she had roasted one for him. Lin Ye took the roasted meat, smiled gratefully at Susu, and then applied a layer of chili paste to his own meat before placing it on the fire to roast. Sakura on the side was already devouring her meat, holding it with both hands, her mouth greasy. Her mouth kept taking in cool air from the spiciness, yet she continued to eat large bites of roasted meat without stopping.
The other Beast-eared Girls’ roasted meat was also ready. Seeing how deliciously Sakura was eating, they decided to try a bite. The moment the Chili Roasted Meat entered their mouths, an unprecedented flavor stimulated their taste buds. The spiciness of the chilies completely removed the earthy taste of the roasted meat and brought out a hint of the meat’s natural sweetness. The Beast-eared Girls had always believed that roasted meat was the most delicious thing in the world. But now, Lin Ye had shown them that roasted meat could be even more delicious. After the first bite, their eyes seemed to light up instantly. They were so shocked by the Chili Roasted Meat in their mouths that they were unable to speak. Their mouths began to chew rapidly, and they would occasionally close their eyes to savor the exquisite taste. As they ate the roasted meat, joyous expressions spread across their faces, and their ears and tails couldn’t help but wag happily. The Chili Roasted Meat was simply too delicious, on a completely different level from the roasted meat they had eaten before. Everyone focused intently on the roasted meat in their hands, and the open space fell silent, with only the sounds of the Beast-eared Girls chewing. Lin Ye looked at their eating habits with satisfaction, a smile on his lips, and then began to eat his own roasted meat.
After finishing the roasted meat, the Beast-eared Girls looked at Lin Ye with unsatisfied expressions. “The Chili Roasted Meat is so much tastier than the old roasted meat.” “Yeah, I almost bit off my tongue.” “I almost ate my fingers too; the Chili Roasted Meat is too delicious.” They discussed amongst themselves while watching Lin Ye slowly eat the roasted meat in his hand. Looking at the man who always brought them new things, the Beast-eared Girls started to blush.
