Chapter 239 - 206: Hard to Decline Such Hospitality

Chapter 239: Chapter 206: Hard to Decline Such Hospitality

New era, new science, new beliefs.

Everyone easily accepted this whole idea of "paying tribute," silently resolving to send over any good things they found in the future.

Thinking of their exhausting work hours out in the woods, Zhou Qian added, "If no one’s home, just leave everything in the courtyard." He pointed at Huai Yu. "I’m digging a vegetable garden for her. It’s just a tiny distance away from the Rose Corridor."

That thrilling?!

Everyone was surprised, but not overly so. "I heard from the guys in the squad. When they built the house, it was also just a tiny distance from the Rose Corridor."

It was just a pity they had to leave right after finishing the construction; otherwise, the sight of those trembling branches would have sent chills right down their spines. Now that Zhou Qian was digging a vegetable garden nearby, even though it was for our girl with a Wood Ability, he must still be constantly on edge, right?

Taking in their reactions, Zhou Qian felt a wave of satisfaction, knowing he had successfully laid the groundwork for everyone. He thought, "Thank goodness they’re all just a bunch of meatheads and didn’t notice the large cluster of delicate, pinkish-white Roses sitting on the living room cabinet. Otherwise, there’d be no peace during dinner tonight."

Amidst the chatting and laughing, the rich, savory aroma of rendering lard drifted out from the kitchen. While munching on delicious boiled salted peanuts, the group couldn’t help but stare toward the kitchen.

Was the pork they bought today really that good?

Huai Yu called out from inside, "Brother Zhou Qian, come render the lard! I’ll need it for the carp later.

"I’ll make the braised pork belly with potatoes—can you guys eat something this greasy?"

Of course they could! Through their shirts, everyone patted their iron-clad stomachs, making loud THUMP THUMP sounds. "Is there anything we haven’t eaten!"

As Huai Yu began cooking, the guys gathering firewood exchanged glances and muttered among themselves, "True, we’ve eaten everything. But something this greasy... it’s been five or six years since we tasted anything like it, right?"

"Nonsense! It’s only been five years! The first year, we slaughtered quite a few mutated wild boars, and didn’t we eat all that meat?"

Everyone immediately turned green. "PAH, PAH, PAH! That doesn’t count!"

With meat that had a Mutant Value of 18, even the lard would make them gag, let alone the meat itself! If they hadn’t needed to go on missions and urgently required nutrition, they wouldn’t have been able to choke down a single bite! Even so, it knocked out eighty percent of the squad. After that, they refused to hunt wild boars even if it meant death. Not long after, the Defense Army’s specially supplied compressed rations and nutrient fluids were rushed out, saving their lives. Otherwise, every last one of them would have likely starved to death.

In short, recalling their past experiences left everyone with grim expressions. But the problem they were facing right now was—they hadn’t eaten such heavy lard in five years. If they suddenly ate it now, would it give them diarrhea? This was a severe test.

The group struggled with the thought for a long time as they smelled the aroma of meat in the air. Could it be that the Mutant Value was labeled wrong when they bought it? How could it smell so incredibly good?!

Then—"Eat! Even if it gives us the runs, we’re eating it!"

It had been six years! Indulging a craving wasn’t a crime, right? Even if they had to live in the bathroom afterward, they were going to stuff themselves with this meal first!

Breathing in the rich, heavy fragrance, everyone worked with even greater agility. After digging an ax out of the utility shed, they even went out of their way to run to a distant hillside and dragged back a pile of freshly chopped trees.

By the time night fell and the expensive lights in Zhou Qian’s courtyard were turned on, the woodpile on one side of the yard had already formed an entire wall.

Zhou Qian couldn’t help but laugh. "I was just thinking about how we were out of firewood and preparing to buy some coal."

The group scolded him, "Why buy coal! Cooking on a coal stove is so sluggish and weak. Besides, are you the type to patiently wait for coal to heat up?

"Right now, we lack everything but trees. Burn as much firewood as you want!"

Zhou Qian thought to himself that his house probably wouldn’t need all this firewood before winter arrived, and that it would be perfect to carry a basket of it to Huai Yu’s house every day when the time came.

Huai Yu poked her head out of the kitchen, nervously glancing at the lights overhead—electricity was expensive! So she quickly said, "Hurry up and come serve the dishes!"

The moment she said that, everyone quickly stood up. The massive crowd all tried to squeeze into the kitchen, startling Huai Yu so much she took two steps back.

"We don’t need that many people!"

There were only a few dishes in total—dry-braised carp, braised pork belly with potatoes, cucumber salad, stir-fried bok choy, meat-stuffed green peppers, stewed eggplant with cowpeas, and pork rib soup with mature cucumbers and yam... There were also steamed sweet potatoes, a large basin of rice, and the unfinished boiled salted peanuts and tomatoes.

Packed to the brim, every dish was served in large basins. The door-turned-table was squeezed incredibly tight, so the sweet potatoes and rice had to be placed on the ground nearby.

Zhou Qian didn’t even need to say much. He just hollered, "Come on! Eat to your heart’s content!"

Like pigs swarming a trough, the large crowd grabbed their chopsticks and charged into the fray! Without prior agreement, everyone’s first target was the braised pork belly.

When the braised pork was stewing, the aroma had nearly made them swallow their tongues. Now that they were eating it, it really was going to make them swallow their tongues! Leaving the chef’s skills aside for a moment, just the meat itself—it tasted like the Mutant Value was absolutely no higher than 13!

Good heavens... Was this really that large chunk of pork they had bought?

Listening to everyone’s muffled praises, Huai Yu’s eyes crinkled into smiles like Ruyues. She then modestly held up her pinky finger to gesture. "I have a tiny, exclusive trick to improve the taste."

Originally, she hadn’t planned to use it. But while cooking, she saw that no one had been idling; one moment they were gathering firewood, and the next they were tidying up the courtyard... It was really nice! Zhou Qian had such good friends.

So, she loosened her restraint, and this was the result!

However, the group didn’t find anything unusual about this. After all, back when they had the wild boar meat with a Mutant Value of 18, the chef had pulled out all the stops to heavily mask the flavor just so they could stomach it. Now, they assumed it was a similar culinary technique.

What else was there to say?

Seeing that the large basin of braised pork belly was almost empty, the group glanced at the basin of stir-fried bok choy and directly tipped it in. Coating the crisp bok choy with the thick sauce mixed with soft potatoes, and pairing it with a mouthful of rice—it was so good!

Through sheer unspoken teamwork, they cleared the basin of meat so cleanly it looked like it had been licked. Only then did the group’s second target shift to the dry-braised carp on the side.

Everyone had seen the carp being prepared—it was scored and then pan-fried in hot oil. They had originally assumed that since it probably also had a high Mutant Value, it would carry that distinct muddy, fishy taste common to aquatic products. Who would have known that eating it now, it was absolutely on par with the braised pork belly! It was even fresh and tender!

Well, there was nothing left to think about! The group’s chopsticks flashed like lightning as each person scooped a fish into their own bowl.

However, there were only a few fish left in the basin. There wasn’t enough to go around, yet no one was willing to yield. As everyone ate what was in their bowls while staring at the basin, it was as if they were facing the world’s most difficult math problem.

The next moment, Zhou Qian slowly dragged the basin over to himself.

"Ah! My brothers really are the best. Knowing that I haven’t recovered from my severe injuries and that I just narrowly escaped death, you guys bought both fish and meat to nourish my body...

"Your hospitality is simply too hard to turn down!" he drawled.