Chapter 88: Potato Stewed Beef, the Neighboring Kids Cried with Envy!!
It wasn’t until the afternoon that the sun’s intensity lessened. The Beast-eared Girls had already woken up.
A Lian felt fuller than before she slept and reached out to rub herself.
Susu woke up, sat on the ground in a daze for a moment, then wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. She then shyly glanced at Lin Ye. Thinking of the dream she just had, she couldn’t help but cover her face and bury her head in her knees. If anyone could see Susu’s expression now, they would notice the lingering smile on her lips.
Seeing that it was no longer hot outside, Lin Ye brought the Beast-eared Girls back to the edge of the large pit and began to dig again. This time, Lin Ye didn’t want to suffer so much. He had the Beast-eared Girls take turns standing above and fanning down. Lin Ye, holding a new shovel, began another round of digging. He continued until sunset, digging down about another meter. Then Lin Ye climbed out of the pit. He could no longer straighten his back. Lin Ye felt like his back was no longer his own. The space in the pit was very small, requiring him to dig while constantly bent over.
Lin Ye sat on the ground to rest for a while. Then he placed a bamboo tube in front of the Cat-eared Girl, and she once again used a stone to smash downwards. Lin Ye looked down from above. After a day’s effort, the well was only half dug. Based on the situation, it should be completed tomorrow. “Alright, start a fire, I’m hungry.” “Oh, right, Shi, go pick four or five red chilies and two bunches of Sichuan peppercorns. You don’t need to grind them, just bring them whole.” “Susu, you don’t need to barbecue meat for me today. Bring me two pieces of beef. I want to stew meat in the pottery pot.” After looking at the large pit, Lin Ye rubbed his stomach and said to the Beast-eared Girls.
Although the Beast-eared Girls didn’t expend as much energy as Lin Ye digging the well, they hadn’t been idle either. They had been dragging out and disposing of the soil Lin Ye dug up, bucket by bucket. As soon as Lin Ye finished speaking, their stomachs rumbled. The Beast-eared Girls licked their lips, touched their bellies, and a wave of hunger instantly washed over them. So, everyone went to the open space to start the fire, gather firewood, or go to the cave to get meat. After the Beast-eared Girls left, Lin Ye dragged the remaining half of the bamboo over the large pit. This was to prevent any Beast-eared Girl from falling in again at night. A three-meter deep pit could surely cause injury if one fell in. Then Lin Ye walked to the tent and took out the pottery pot and potatoes. Carrying the pottery pot to the open space, the Beast-eared Girls had already started the bonfire. Lin Ye sat down with the pottery pot and frowned looking at the potatoes. There were no knives here, and such large potatoes couldn’t be thrown directly into the pot with the meat to stew. He looked at the bear claw beside him and shook his head. The bear claw was used for everything by Lin Ye. Using the bear claw to cut potatoes now felt rather unhygienic. Lin Ye put down the pottery pot, stood up, and returned to the pit. He found a sharp piece of bamboo on the ground, brought it back to the pottery pot.
Lin Ye began to peel the potatoes with the bamboo slice. The Beast-eared Girls were all busy with their own tasks and didn’t look towards Lin Ye. Otherwise, they would have noticed that he was holding potatoes. After peeling the potatoes, he simply cut them into pieces that were easy to eat. He used six of the eight potatoes, which yielded a large pot of potato pieces. He put the remaining two potatoes in his pocket and didn’t prepare them. Once everything was done, Lin Ye took the pottery pot to the cave and poured clean water from the boiler into it. He then picked some berries from the side and put them into the pottery pot as well. When he returned to the bonfire, the Beast-eared Girls were already starting to barbecue meat. Lin Ye sat by the bonfire, and Shi handed him the chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. Susu also gave Lin Ye two pieces of beef. He placed the two pieces of beef into the pottery pot, then broke the chilies into segments and tossed them into the pot along with the Sichuan peppercorns. The Beast-eared Girls all curiously stretched their necks to look into Lin Ye’s pottery pot. Sakura was standing beside Lin Ye and saw the potatoes in his pot at a glance. She blinked her big eyes, moved closer, and said to Lin Ye. “Ye, are those potatoes? Are potatoes ready to eat?” Hearing Sakura’s words, the other Beast-eared Girls’ eyes widened, and they also looked over. Xing stood up and walked to Lin Ye’s side. Looking at the potato pieces in the pot, she asked, “Ye, have the potatoes we planted grown? Is this them?” Lin Ye nodded, found a stable spot for the pottery pot, and placed it into the bonfire. Then he said to the Beast-eared Girls. “Yes, the potatoes are ripe. I went to check at noon today and dug up a few. We dug the well too late today. Tomorrow, everyone will go together to dig up all the potatoes.” Xing remembered Lin Ye saying that once the potatoes were planted, they would no longer have to worry about food. Now, hearing Lin Ye say that the potatoes were ripe, Xing covered her chest with both hands and laughed from the bottom of her heart. The other Beast-eared Girls by the bonfire also laughed happily. Only Sakura, unconcerned about the potatoes in the ground, kept her neck extended, watching the potatoes in the pot. The Beast-eared Girls sitting around the other bonfires also heard Lin Ye’s words. They started to discuss amongst themselves. “Do you remember the potatoes we planted before?” “I do, why?” “Why, what about the potatoes?” “Ye just said that the potatoes we planted have grown and we can dig them all up tomorrow.” “Really? That’s great!” Hearing this, those Beast-eared Girls were all stunned, then burst into happy laughter. Lin Ye found a clean branch and stirred continuously in the pottery pot. Wisps of white smoke had already begun to rise from the pottery pot. The Beast-eared Girls were still using branches to roast meat. Lin Ye specifically asked them to roast their meat closer to the pottery pot so that the dripping fat could fall into the pot. Slowly, a fragrant aroma began to emanate from Lin Ye’s pot. The Beast-eared Girls, smelling this fragrance, involuntarily started to drool. However, the pottery pot heated slowly. The Beast-eared Girls’ barbecued meat was already cooked, but the water in the pottery pot had only just begun to boil. The Beast-eared Girls watched the pottery pot while eating the barbecue in their hands. Seeing them like this, Lin Ye decided to make a few more pottery pots after digging up the well. He also needed to make some pot lids, otherwise, the meat would cook too slowly. Once the water boiled, Lin Ye stopped stirring. He carefully trimmed a few wooden sticks, finally making several spoons. As the water in the pottery pot continued to boil, the aroma grew more intense. The Beast-eared Girls, smelling this aroma, found the barbecue in their hands even more delicious. The Beast-eared Girls’ barbecue was almost finished when the meat in the pottery pot was finally completely cooked. Lin Ye used two pieces of wood to lift the pottery pot out of the bonfire and placed it on the ground. White steam swirled above the pottery pot, and a rich aroma wafted through the air. Lin Ye fanned the steam away with his hands, revealing the potato stewed beef in the pottery pot. The Beast-eared Girls’ eyes were all fixed on the pottery pot, their throats bobbing as they swallowed their drool. Sakura couldn’t wait any longer. She crawled over with her hands and feet, looking pitifully at Lin Ye. She didn’t say anything, just stared at Lin Ye. The other Beast-eared Girls also looked at the pottery pot with mouths watering. Lin Ye shook his head and laughed. He had anticipated this situation long ago, which was why he stewed such a large pot of potato stewed beef. With eight large potatoes and two large pieces of beef, even he couldn’t finish it alone. Lin Ye smiled, patted Sakura’s head, and handed her one of the spoons he had just made. Then Lin Ye looked up at the Beast-eared Girls and said, “Come and taste it together.” As soon as Lin Ye finished speaking, the Beast-eared Girls eagerly scurried over. Lin Ye gave each of them a spoon. However, the Beast-eared Girls looked at the spoons in their hands with confusion. Looking at the potato stewed beef in the pot and then at the spoons in their hands, they didn’t know how to start. Lin Ye also picked up a spoon and, seeing the Beast-eared Girls wanting to eat but not knowing how, couldn’t help but laugh. Then Lin Ye remained silent, simply using his spoon to demonstrate to the Beast-eared Girls how to eat with a spoon. Lin Ye first scooped up a piece of potato with his spoon, brought it to his lips, and gently blew on it. Then he slowly put it into his mouth. He had only added chili, Sichuan peppercorns, and some berries for seasoning. So, the potatoes themselves didn’t have much flavor, just a little spiciness and the taste of berries. But Lin Ye had been eating barbecue for several days, so even potatoes with no flavor tasted incredibly delicious to him.
