Chapter 221 Food Battle!

  Chapter 221 Food Wars!

  At noon.

  Linghu Wetland Park.

  Due to the heavy snow last night, the pine forest was covered with snow. The white snow was dazzling in the midday sun.

  Carrying a hemp rope on his left shoulder and a hunting bow on his right shoulder, the boy exhaled a breath of white mist and looked up at the south gate of the park. The

  twisted steel bars were hung with icicles. At the highest point was a wooden board as wide as a table with a string of numbers engraved on it.

  ”404.”

  After staring at the wooden sign for a while, Yu Hu whispered the number.

  This was the method that Old Charlie taught them, and it was also a habit he had developed recently.

  He said that as long as you see a word on the road, you can read it out loud and count the strokes silently in your mind.

  The more you recognize, the more familiar you will become.

  This method is quite effective. Recently, he has learned to write his own name, Xiaoyu, his parents, his brother and his sister-in-law’s name, and basic numbers and addition and subtraction.

  If it were a few months ago, this skill would have been considered as a cultured person in Beth Street.

  But now, it is just average.

  Recently, the enthusiasm for learning in the town is ridiculously high, especially the young men. Since everyone heard about the treatment of the new industrial zone from Li Niu and others, they have all become regular visitors to the literacy class and wish to live there.

  Of course, this may also be partly because it is warmer in the castle, and people don’t want to leave after going there once.

  The most dangerous road has passed.

  After a short rest at the entrance of the park, Yu Hu tightened the rope on his shoulders and continued to walk forward on the snow that was over his knees.

  It is not an easy task to wade through the snow with prey, but for experienced hunters, there is no problem.

  He made a raft with wooden boards, tied the mutant wild boar he killed to it, and dragged it with a rope.

  In this way, there is no need to worry about the prey getting stuck in the snow and freezing. It is much easier and safer than dragging the prey directly.

  As long as you are careful with your feet and don’t take unfamiliar roads, there is basically no problem.

  After passing through the woods for several hundred meters, the view in front of you suddenly opened up.

  Rows of wooden stakes piled with snow stood on the open ground outside the trench. In front of them was the outpost’s wall and the south gate, and behind them was the house built by the blue coats, and then Brother Chu’s home.

  Compared with a month ago, the changes here were simply too great.

  The tall chimney behind the wall and the clanging sound of ironwork disappeared along with the trees outside the wall.

  In their place were small houses of unique styles, straight streets paved with stone bricks, more and more people, and more and more abundant goods on the stalls.

  Yu Hu was not well educated and had only recently learned to recognize a few words. He could not think of any beautiful words to describe these houses, but he thought they were strangely beautiful.

  Some of the eaves were tilted upwards, with a mix of bricks and wood, square and majestic. Some were completely cylindrical, made of stone bricks, solemn and mysterious.

  Although the styles were different, these houses were very neat, and the height was very uniform, and none of them exceeded the roof of the house in the center of the settlement – the sanatorium.

  Yu Hu didn’t know what those houses were used for. He only recognized the warehouse and the small wooden house with a signboard wrapped in rattan and elegant decoration.

  He bought clothes there once and bought two meters of cloth for his family. It seems that his sister’s scarf was also made there.

  Occasionally, when he caught some prey with beautiful fur, Yu Hu would bring it here to ask. The shopkeeper who looked like a child would give a little more reward than the warehouse not far away.

  Anyway, according to Brother Chu, as long as the things were brought here for trading, he could help him, so Yu Hu didn’t care who he sold it to.

  But forget about the wild boar.

  Yu Hu thought that the small and cute shopkeeper should not need such rough leather, so he dragged the wild boar directly to the warehouse.

  The rope was left at the door. Just when he was about to ask the steward to help weigh the prey, he suddenly saw a familiar face from behind the wooden table.

  The man also saw him and was instantly happy.

  ”Yu Hu?”

  ”Zhao Shu?” Yu Hu looked at him in surprise, “Aren’t you working at the brick factory?”

  As he spoke, Yu Hu looked up and down at the fur coat that the fellow villager was wearing, and a trace of envy appeared on his face.

  This guy is living a good life.

  He even changed into new clothes!

  Seeing the surprised expression on the fellow villager’s face, Zhao Shu smiled and said proudly.

  ”The base has been undergoing a large-scale construction recently, and the warehouses and dormitories are being expanded. We are short of manpower. I saw that the treatment was good, so I took the initiative to request to be transferred from the brick factory!”

  In fact, he didn’t want to come here at first.

  Although the brick factory earns a few less silver coins, it is as warm as spring, and there are always people with stories written on their faces who are sent in to work.

  Those old guys are all talented, speak well, and love to brag.

  When they open their mouths, they think about the past, and when they close their mouths, they talk about a long story. When asked where they are from, they are either mercenaries from the Wandering Swamp or centurions from the Far West… In short, they are all places he has never heard of.

  Zhao Shu had never left Qingquan City in his life. The farthest he had been was the dungeon of the Blood Hand Clan. He vaguely remembered that the leader of the Blood Hand Clan seemed to be called the Centurion?

  At his peak, that man who was as strong as a bear had about a hundred men under his command. He was rampant and evil in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

  But what was the use?

  In the end, he was wiped out by those blue coats. Now he is probably working in the mine in Honghe Town. I don’t know if he is still alive.

  So… a centurion is only in charge of a thousand people?

  This is nonsense!

  Zhao Shu thought that all the people he had met in his life might not add up to a thousand! It was a headache for him to remember the names of dozens of people. If he really managed so many people, could he remember who was who?

  In short, the Niuma Brick Factory is a good place. Even if Zhao Shu doesn’t believe the nonsense those old guys say at all, he always likes to listen to their bragging.

  If he hadn’t planned to move his family from Bette Street to here in the early spring of next year, and take advantage of the expansion of the base to the north to buy a house, he really wanted to stay in that beautiful place with summer all year round for the rest of his life.

  It was simply heaven there.

  ”… Let’s not talk about me. How are you doing over there? Is the snowstorm having a big impact? Also, is my family okay?” After talking about his own situation, Zhao Shu immediately asked Yu Hu about his family.

  The snowstorm last night blew away another roof, and thinking of that family’s shack, he didn’t sleep well the whole night.

  ”We are doing well there. Your father asked me to bring you a message yesterday, saying that you should not worry about your family and take good care of yourself…” After relaying the greetings that Zhao Shu’s father asked him to bring, Yu Hu and the fellow villager continued to talk about the recent situation of Beth Street.

  Although this winter is colder than everyone expected, and the blizzard is so fierce that it makes people tremble, thanks to the help of those blue coats, they have moved into brick and wood houses of uniform style early, and the disaster situation is not as serious as last year.

  If it were the shacks before, it would be hard to say, and it is estimated that many people would die.

  During the most difficult days, old Charlie let those poor people whose houses were blown down by the blizzard live in the castle of the former mayor, and arranged for people to repair the damaged houses.

  Under the organization of the street office, everyone was united when facing difficulties.

  Facts have proved that without the rule of the old mayor, they will only live better.

  After listening to Yu Hu’s description, Zhao Shu’s face was full of emotion.

  ”This was unimaginable in previous years.”

  Yu Hu nodded in deep agreement.

  ”Yes.”

  When the old mayor’s family was still around, they had to do their best just to survive, so how could they be so comfortable like now.

  Not to mention opening the castle gate to let the victims in.

  Even if the victims gathered together to save themselves, he would send those lackeys who only dared to bully their own people to drive away the people who gathered together.

  ”Speaking of which, Yu Hu.”

  ”What’s the matter?”

  Zhao Shu hesitated for a while and said.

  ”Why don’t you come here too!”

  Before Yu Hu could speak, Zhao Shu continued to persuade him.

  ”Life here is much better than Beth Street, and there is a shortage of manpower everywhere. You are so good at hunting, you will definitely find a job here! It will definitely be better than me!”

  To be honest, seeing the changes here, Yu Hu was indeed a little tempted.

  Anyway, he didn’t get married, and moving out would make his family have one less mouth to feed.

  But after thinking about it, he finally shook his head.

  ”…Forget it.”

  Zhao Shu was stunned, obviously didn’t expect him to refuse, and asked hurriedly.

  ”Why?”

  Yu Hu said straightforwardly.

  ”You said it yourself, I only have that little hunting skill, and this damn weather is of no help at all. I may not be able to catch a prey in a few weeks. Instead of coming here to trouble you, it’s better to stay at home and learn more characters. Maybe it can be useful.”

  What kind of excuse is this?

  After hearing Yu Hu’s words, Zhao Shu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

  ”Well, the granary next door is almost full. Can they lack your food? And you don’t have to learn characters on Beth Street. The factories here have night schools just like the guards!”

  ”That won’t work either,” Yu Hu said stubbornly, “Brother Chu has helped our family so much. How can I take advantage of him!”

  Seeing that this guy was as stubborn as a rock, Zhao Shu shook his head and sighed.

  ”You… forget it, I can’t persuade you.”

  Yu Hu touched the back of his head and said with a chuckle.

  ”You don’t have to persuade me. I know what’s going on. Besides, Brother Chu said that if I come next spring, he will find something for me to do. I’ll come back then!”

  Brother Chu is such a smart man, he must have arranged everything long ago.

  It won’t be wrong to do what he said!

  The two of them didn’t talk about moving. With the help of Zhao Shu, Yu Hu weighed the mutant wild boar and quickly sent it to the slaughterhouse. The man in the

  blue jacket holding the butcher knife stood in front of the chopping board, skillfully pulling out the tendons, peeling the skin and taking the meat, throwing the bones and offal into the bucket, the movements were dazzling and dazzling.

  The price of prey is much higher now than before. The purchase price of mutant wild boar skin has increased from 10 silver coins to 20 silver coins. If it is exchanged for coarse salt, it is a full 400 grams!

  In the past, although the price of salt was cheaper, it could only be exchanged for 300 grams of coarse salt at most.

  The price of meat is the same. The prices of things sold here have almost doubled, but the price of collecting prey has also risen with the tide, which does not affect him much.

  There are more things that can be exchanged for prey, which is a good thing.

  The raw hides are stored in the warehouse, and a tanner will come to pick them up soon. The raw meat is divided into two parts, the larger one is for Yu Hu, and the smaller one is the reward for slaughtering, which will be returned to the base warehouse as agreed.

  Zhao Shu took out the account book, made a mark on it, and then carefully counted out 20 silver coins from the drawer and arranged them on the table.

  ”Here are 20 silver coins, keep them.”

  Looking at the silver coins on the table, Yu Hu picked up one and looked at it, weighed it in his palm, and asked curiously.

  ”Why did this silver coin change its style?” It

  was much heavier than before and looked newer.

  Zhao Shu explained.

  ”The manager said that the old coins were not convenient, and this new silver coin will be used in the future.”

  Although he couldn’t say where it was inconvenient, this was the explanation given by the manager.

  ”What about the original silver coins?” Yu Hu remembered that there were still some at home. If these were unusable, he would have to ask his brother to exchange them all for salt.

  Expecting him to ask this, Zhao Shu waved his hand and responded skillfully.

  ”It’s okay. The manager said that no matter whether it’s new or old currency, the warehouse and the bank will accept it, but they won’t give change when they make changes.”

  Seeing that it didn’t affect his family, Yu Hu was relieved and put the silver coins on the table into his pocket.

  Looking at Yu Hu who was packing up his things, Zhao Shu asked.

  ”Are you going back directly later?”

  Yu Hu said.

  ”I’m not in a hurry. I still have to go see my little sister later. Do you have anything you want me to bring back for you? I can take it for you on the way.”

  Zhao Shu continued.

  ”No, we are now paid monthly… Otherwise, you can help me tell my family a message, let my parents take care of their health, wait for another two weeks, when it’s my turn to take a vacation, I will take the time to go home to see them.”

  Yu Hu nodded.

  ”Okay, I’ll pass the message on for you.”

  After receiving this promise, Zhao Shu showed a comfortable smile on his face.

  ”Thanks!”

  At this moment, several residents of the shelter came running over from a distance, pointing at the shelf and chattering something.

  The voices were so excited that it sounded like a quarrel.

  ”Pepper, I want pepper!”

  ”Me too!”

  ”Damn! Don’t cut in line, I came here first!”

  Ye Shi, who didn’t run faster than the Elf King Fugui, couldn’t help but sneer at him.

  ”What the hell do you need pepper for as a hunter?”

  Brother Fugui rolled his eyes and said confidently.

  ”What do you care! Hunters are not allowed to be cooks?”

  How could he, the Elf King, miss this opportunity to enter the Hall of Fame!

  Although he can’t cook at all, it doesn’t matter!

  Isn’t it enough to have hands to cook?

  If the seasoning is in place, why worry about the dish not being delicious?

  So the key is to grab the seasoning!

  Zhao Shu lowered his head and glanced at VM, skillfully took the last two bags of pepper from the shelf, handed them to the person standing in the front, and said in a non-standard pronunciation.

  ”This is the last one, there is no more.”

  Hearing this, the people behind him instantly dispersed with disappointment.

  Only the man in the blue coat who bought something looked happy. After saying “thank you”, he generously took out VM to pay and walked away in a hurry.

  Watching the back of the figure going away, Yu Hu asked curiously.

  ”What did he buy just now? Salt?”

  ”It’s ‘pepper’, a kind of seasoning. It tastes weird. Anyway, I don’t like it very much.” At this point, Zhao Shu paused and added, “Unless it is sprinkled on barbecue.”

  Barbecue.

  Yu Hu swallowed unconsciously and thought of the barbecue stall at the north gate.

  The food sold there tastes absolutely amazing!

  When looking towards the north gate, Yu Hu suddenly noticed that it was a bit more lively there than before. Many people in blue coats were running around there, some taking things from the granary, some taking things to the granary, and some moving some wooden tables and sheds from the carpenter’s hut there.

  Usually there would be more people there in the evening, why was it so busy at noon today?

  ”What’s going on over there?” Yu Hu felt that he was curious more times today than in the past week combined.

  Zhao Shu said with a smile.

  ”You mean there? There’s a celebration in a week!”

  ”Celebration?!” Yu Hu looked at Zhao Shu in surprise, “Is anyone getting married?”

  Holding a celebration a week in advance, it must be someone of high status.

  Could it be…

  Brother Chu? !

  ”What marriage? That’s called… New Year’s Day!” Zhao Shu was not very familiar with the pronunciation of that word, and it took him a long time to remember, “The residents of the shelter are planning to celebrate the arrival of the new year. The last day and the first day of the year seem to be very important festivals for them. I don’t know the details, anyway, it’s something similar to a celebration.” Yu

  Hu knew about the celebration.

  For example, recently, when the old mayor’s youngest son was just one month old, he gave them a sheep’s horn potato and asked them to go to the castle to work for free for half a day.

  Except for the old mayor and his lackeys, no one was happy.

  However…

  celebrating the New Year, for him who heard about this new thing for the first time, he still couldn’t help but be curious.

  Seeing through the expression on Yu Hu’s face, Zhao Shu said with a chuckle.

  ”It’s not the busiest time yet. Wait until the last night of December. If you

  have time, you can come and have a look.” “I bet it will be very lively!”

  Yu Hu nodded vigorously and said with interest.

  ”Yes! I’ll remember that… But it’s not very convenient to go back at night, right?”

  ”Why go back? You can stay at my place then,” Zhao Shu patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, “My dormitory is big enough, there will definitely be enough space for everyone!”

  …

  The north gate of the outpost.

  It was very lively at the moment.

  The players showed off their skills, either busy setting up stalls or boiling something in a big pot. The whole north gate was filled with a strange smell that even the north wind blowing through the forest couldn’t blow it away.

  Qiu Ye, who was sitting next to her sister, blinked curiously.

  She had never seen such a lively scene before.

  ”Night badger! Flathead from the wasteland! Anyone want one? Just caught outside Changjiu Farm! Bring your price if you want one, hurry up.”

  ”Sweeping the buildings on 76th Street, are there any brothers willing to get on board? I heard there’s a hyena den there.”

  ”Three-man team waiting for a perception department, newcomers are fine too.”

  ”Laona, what did you throw into the pot just now?!”

  ”Boss Crow!! Help Tail check if this is poisonous!”

  ”Check it for me too!”

  ”Ugh!! Just put it on the table, don’t stuff it in my mouth!” The cries of crows echoed from the mushroom stall, attracting the guards to look over there, and then walked away when they saw nothing was wrong.

  Not far from the market entrance.

  Elf King Fugui shook the two bags of pepper in his hand at Ye Shi, and walked proudly in the direction of his teammates. Mole Brother and Irena were waiting for him.

  Pushing the guy’s back, Ye Shi walked to the side of his teammates with a curse.

  ”Fuck! I didn’t buy the seasoning! It’s outrageous that all the pepper is sold out!”

  When did these people become so rich!

  1 silver for 1g of pepper, and they bought two bags at once. It’s really too much!

  Lao Bai comforted him.

  ”It’s okay, it doesn’t matter if you don’t buy it, anyway, you may not use it in the end.”

  Kuangfeng also said.

  ”Well, it’s better for us to use some simple materials as much as possible. I feel that the probability of winning the game will be higher.”

  Kuangfeng expected that the seasoning would be sold out.

  After all, the reward of the event is not only the annual limited title, but also the entry into the Hall of Fame.

  It is reasonable that it will be as fierce as the competition. Everyone wants to be the first, after all, it is there.

  If no one rolls it, Kuangfeng will have to doubt whether he is playing on the national server.

  At this moment, there is a cracked claw crab lying next to them.

  The newbies passing by nearby all looked sideways involuntarily, and they couldn’t help but curse the hateful Europeans in their hearts.

  In this winter, the road is buried, and you can still find the nest of the cracked claw crab.

  Isn’t he the European Emperor?

  Zhang Hai came out of the north gate carrying a bag of flour. When he saw the big crab, his eyes popped out. He

  walked up to it and took a look. He couldn’t help asking.

  ”Where did you get such a big crab?”

  Ye Shi did not hide it, and lazily pretended to be cool.

  ”There is a cave on the north bank of Linghu Lake, and there is a hibernating split-claw crab in it. We saw it sleeping, so we found the right opportunity to hit it in the face.”

  Although it cost a little money, it was worth it.

  Zhang Hai cursed: “Mom! Why do you always find such good things?”

  Seeing his envious and jealous look, Ye Shi chuckled.

  ”Maybe it’s luck?”

  Zhang Hai: “#%@!”

  Fang Chang and Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes stood together, staring at the split-claw crab on the ground and discussing cooking methods.

  One is super good at eating, and the other is super good at cooking. The two of them standing together are also a strange combination.

  ”I carefully studied the event announcement. The requirements put forward are ‘simple and delicious’. We have to use some easy-to-obtain ingredients as much as possible, so that the probability of winning should be higher.”

  Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes shook his head.

  ”This requirement is too abstract.”

  Fang Chang said thoughtfully.

  ”Indeed, and how to preserve crab meat is a problem.”

  Even in winter, it is difficult to preserve the crab meat of the hunter’s claw crab until the third day, and on the fourth day, even if the meat does not deteriorate, the taste will be much worse due to dehydration.

  And now there are still 7 days until New Year’s Day!

  It was purely accidental that he found this hunter’s claw crab, and he was not confident that he could find another one.

  Tomato Scrambled Eggs touched his chin and suddenly spoke.

  ”I have some ideas about preserving crab meat.”

  Fang Chang looked at him.

  ”Oh?”

  Tomato Scrambled Eggs continued.

  ”I have observed the workers in the brick factory before. They would pick up some grass from the lake to deal with the uneaten fish meat, so that it can be kept fresh even on the second or third day. I don’t know if it works for crab meat, but I think I can give it a try.”

  Fang Chang had never heard of such a strange plant.

  ”What grass?”

  Tomato Scrambled Eggs said.

  ”Looking at the official website illustration, it is called buffalo grass, but it doesn’t write the specific effects.”

  Fang Chang immediately asked the most critical question.

  ”Can I find it in winter?”

  Tomato Scrambled Eggs shook his head and said.

  ”That’s not clear, but when I found out about it, I picked a lot of crabs out of curiosity, dried them and put them in the locker to study slowly, but they never came in handy.”

  Hearing this, Fang Chang was instantly excited and said excitedly.

  ”Good brother! Here comes the chance to put it to use!”

  Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes scratched the back of his head.

  ”But even if the problem of preserving crab meat is solved…what should we make of it? We can’t just grill it over charcoal, right?”

  Although it’s not impossible, it’s too unskilled, and it’s probably a bit difficult to win the prize.

  ”That’s easy,” Fang Chang showed a confident smile on his face, and continued, “I just noticed that the warehouse has temporarily lifted the sales restrictions on green wheat and lamb trotters.”

  Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes was slightly stunned and didn’t understand.

  ”What do you mean…”

  ”It’s obvious that the answer to ‘cheap and delicious’ is in these two things! Otherwise, why lift the sales restrictions at this point in time?”

  Fang Chang looked at Brother Scrambled Eggs with a sharp gaze and continued.

  ”Brother, have you heard of crab cakes?”

–

  (The next chapter has a lot of words and content, and I dare not set a flag anymore. Anyway, I will try to finish it by 11 o’clock. If it is not finished by 11 o’clock, it will probably be 12 o’clock. QAQ)

  (End of this chapter)