007: Developing Gourmet Cuisine

With her contribution points having surged from single digits to four figures, Lin Yan stroked her chin, pondering how to put them to use. As she thought, she sensed movement beside her. It was her mother, who, worried about the fire and fearing it might go out, had risen to check on it. Positioned toward the cave entrance, Lin Yan could vaguely perceive the situation.

Suddenly, Lin Yan realized that her sensory perception seemed to have sharpened. Was this the "spiritual power" that Pangbao had mentioned? Upon asking Pangbao, she learned that her spiritual power had not even reached the introductory level yet. Lin Yan fell silent, her mind wandering. Although she was only eight months old, she spoke clearly and walked nimbly; she hardly resembled an infant at all. Her mother, far from finding this strange, praised her intelligence and took immense pride in it. As for her knowledge of so many novel things, whenever she told Hua Hong that she was "born with knowledge," her mother was overjoyed. Since her mother felt this way and did not see her as a freak, Lin Yan let go of her concerns, doing as she pleased without hesitation. Her sharp ears and keen eyes were nothing out of the ordinary to her. The only thing that frustrated Lin Yan was that she couldn't grasp what Pangbao meant by "spiritual power" at all.

Hua Hong returned through the darkness, finding her daughter still lying in the same spot, fast asleep. Lin Yan, however, could not sleep. She entered the Science and Technology Museum and began to read. The books in room 0101 were incredibly useful; the discovery of fire and the awakening of her culinary skills in this ancient era were both things she had learned from them. She wanted to change her current situation: she wanted to live in a house, wear comfortable clothes, and, even more, eat healthy and delicious food. All of this was a long and arduous journey.

Unconsciously, she thought of the boy named Yeya, whom she had seen grilling meat that afternoon. He was two years older than her, yet very thin and frail. Yeya was Yezi’s sixth child, as the previous five had not survived. Being a boy, and with Yezi at an advanced age, the chances of her having more children were extremely low. Mushi was also quite old, covered in injuries and illness, with nowhere else to go, so he had huddled together with Yezi to survive. Their family situation was similar to Hua Hong’s, struggling daily for a mouthful of food. The difference was that Hua Hong had hope for the future because she had Lin Yan, while Yezi had given up hope and was merely clinging to life. Yeya’s poor constitution meant that even if he grew up, he could not bring the hope of change to that family. Lost in thought, Lin Yan drifted off to sleep. When she woke the next day, sunlight shone on her face; it turned out her mother had carried her out early.

The scent of roasted meat wafted over, and Lin Yan sniffed the air, rolling over to sit up. "Mom, is the meat ready?"

Hua Hong smiled at her daughter and said proudly, "It is. It tastes just like the meat you roasted."

Yesterday, some of the meat she roasted had been bloody, while some had been burnt, but Hua Hong hadn't minded at all and had swallowed it all. This morning, she had sliced the remaining fresh meat and started roasting it. Through patient flipping and adjusting the heat, she had finally succeeded. Lin Yan walked over and saw that the appearance had improved significantly, and the aroma was indeed enticing.

"Hehe, Mom, you've used up all the stored fresh meat. Once it's gone, it's gone."

Hua Hong’s face stiffened, but then she said, "Let's eat first. Later, I'll go find prey and definitely bring back more meat."

"Hunting is dangerous, Mom. Be careful."

Lin Yan took a bite of the roasted meat; it was indeed quite good. Her little belly was full after just a few bites. "Mom, I want to go to the river to bathe. While you're there, you can catch some fish—roasted fish is delicious too."

She hadn't washed in days, and because she was constantly rolling around on the ground in the sweltering heat, dripping with sweat, she was wrapped only in a few large banana leaves and could no longer stand it. She wanted to go to the river alone to bathe, but her mother adamantly refused, saying the riverside was unsafe. The tribe lived underground because the surface was fraught with danger. Insects, ants, birds, and beasts were everywhere, making it impossible to guard against them all. While the underground had its own dangers, it was safer than the surface.

Hua Hong, wanting to taste roasted fish, agreed immediately. She tidied up the fire, brought the stone slab used for roasting back into the cave, and took Lin Yan to the Sun River.

After starting the fire yesterday, Lin Yan had realized that the lush vegetation in the area made it prone to fire hazards. She had immediately dug a pit, surrounded it with stones, and moved the fire inside, while also clearing away the surrounding weeds. She had even educated her mother and Yezi’s family on the disasters that fire could cause. They now properly managed the fire whenever it wasn't in use: they wouldn't add too much wood, and they would cover it with stones and sand, leaving only a small gap to reduce contact with the air. They kept only the embers, reigniting them when needed.

The riverside was covered by dense vegetation. Lin Yan had long ago asked her mother to dig a pit on the riverbank and channel water into it to serve as a bathing pool for her. The river water was deep, and since she was less than half a meter tall, bathing directly in the river was not realistic.

After a refreshing bath and wrapping herself in fresh, large leaves, Lin Yan felt entirely comfortable. With no shoes to wear, she could only wrap her little feet in some tougher leaves. The indigenous people here didn't wear shoes; they walked barefoot from childhood, whether in the hot season or the cold, and had long since developed tough, wear-resistant feet.

"Mom, I'm done. Did you catch any fish?"

Hua Hong said excitedly, "I caught a red fish! Come and see."

Lin Yan was excited to hear this; it must be a new species. Her mother had been coming to the river to catch fish when she had time, but the success rate was low, and she had only caught two large, plump grass carp. Upon getting a closer look, Lin Yan entered the Science and Technology Museum, and indeed, it was a new species: "Primitive Red Koi," which rewarded her with 5 contribution points.

Lin Yan learned from Pangbao that the animals here were generally several times larger than those recorded in the museum, and rarely did any have a genetic sequence similarity exceeding 95%. Therefore, as long as she saw one, she could basically earn contribution points. She was happy to see this; she could earn points without even trying. Of course, this was limited to living creatures; if they were dead, they were useless.

After spending an hour by the river and harvesting one large red koi, the mother and daughter returned home. Lin Yan asked her mother to give her a small piece of the koi, intending to make fish soup in her stone mortar. It was called fish soup, but it was essentially just boiled fish—given the limited conditions, that was the best she could do.

The mother and daughter spent their time roasting meat and boiling soup. Before long, the three members of Yezi’s family arrived. Yezi observed Lin Yan’s stone mortar for a long time; this was a new method, and she wanted to taste the result. If it was good, she would make a stone mortar too. In fact, she had already prepared her fire pit and roasting rack that morning, with the stone slab ready. She had come over to transfer some fire so that her own family could have a hearth and never have to eat raw meat again.

Lin Yan was more than happy to help; she found a piece of wood as thick as an arm, ignited it, and let Yezi carry it back to her home. Yezi had prepared plenty of dry branches and leaves, and soon, a new fire was burning. The family watched the roaring flames, smiles appearing on their faces after a long time.

Lin Yan invited the three of them to taste the fish soup. Although the taste might not be great, it was the best that could be achieved under the current circumstances. She even took the wild limes that Yezi had brought over yesterday, mashed them, and added some of the juice into the stone mortar, hoping it would improve the flavor.