Chapter 36: Braised Meat (II)

"Father, is it delicious? Can Chi'er eat it?" Feng Chi circled around Qiyue's head, urging her impatiently.

Feng Yu couldn't help but laugh at Chi'er's eagerness. "Haha, Chi'er can eat it. Yue, Feng Chi is a fire-attribute beastman, so you don't need to be so cautious about his food. He will be fine; there is nothing he cannot digest."

Before Feng Yu had even finished speaking, little Chi'er let out a cheer and dove headfirst into the small jar filled with meat scraps.

"I thought infants could only eat milk-fruit," Qiyue muttered softly.

"Milk-fruit is generally prepared for newborn females. Young beastmen don't have teeth when they first transform, so they can only eat meat broth and milk-fruit. Our Phoenix clan are descendants of divine beasts; phoenixes are born without teeth and have powerful digestive capabilities. So, even if you feed Feng Chi small chunks of meat, it wouldn't be a problem, as long as you are careful he doesn't choke," Feng Yu explained. Since they were of different races, it was natural for Qiyue to be unaware of these things.

"Do the females in your tribe not breastfeed?" Qiyue had always found it strange. In her own memories, she had never seen females in the Luyu tribe breastfeed their young. Chi'er was in bird form with a sharp beak, which might make nursing difficult, but most beastmen in Luyu were lions, wolves, tigers, leopards, or bears—why didn't they breastfeed either? There were very few female infants, but she had never seen them nurse; they were only fed milk-fruit. She understood her own lack of milk, as two years had passed since she gave birth.

"Milk? Do you mean beast milk? Most beast milk has a fishy smell, and females don't like to drink it. The milk-fruit in the jungle is more than enough for them; some adult females even eat it as a snack. Young beastmen, however, have a particular fondness for the taste of meat, so they prefer meat broth," Feng Yu continued to explain.

"Can't females produce milk? Like female beasts who feed their young after giving birth?" If beastmen retained more of their animal nature, shouldn't they have a stronger instinct to nurse? Perhaps the ability to produce milk in females on this continent had either regressed or never existed at all.

"Are you talking about that yellow fluid that flows from a female's chest after giving birth? It doesn't seem to taste good, not as good as milk-fruit. Males are more willing to pick milk-fruit for their children; it feels like a greater accomplishment to put in the effort."

"Idiot! Mother's milk is the most nutritious. Don't let the lack of flavor fool you; it is packed with the richest nutrients. No wonder those females have no milk—if they don't feed their children, the milk supply surely dries up," Qiyue said resentfully. "It's just a pity for our Chi'er; he took two years to hatch, so even if he wanted to eat, I have nothing left."

Feng Yu was stunned by Qiyue's words; he had never heard such a theory. If this were true, what had they all been missing? His little companion had been full of surprises ever since he regained news of her.

Qiyue finished rendering a pot of oil and picked up the small jar of cracklings, only to see Chi'er asleep inside with a bulging belly, half the meat scraps already gone. Amused, she lifted him out. "Feng Yu, help me scoop out the meat scraps and pour the oil into the jar. I'm going to go wash him; look at how covered in grease he is."

"Go ahead, leave it to me," Feng Yu replied, watching them with a smile.

Seeing Feng Yu's smile, Qiyue felt a momentary daze and quickly turned away. This beastman seemed different from her memories. She remembered him being cold and distant three years ago; how had he become so easygoing now?

She washed Feng Chi clean with soap-locust pods. She had discovered these in the mulberry forest; there was only one tree, so she had let Chi'er collect all the pods from its branches.

After washing, Qiyue asked Feng Yu to make two wooden pot lids for stewing meat later, while she took over the task of blanching the meat chunks.

Once Feng Yu finished, Qiyue had him continue blanching meat in the small pot while she used the large pot to sauté the seasonings in oil. To save time, she skipped the step of lightly frying the blanched meat and went straight to stewing. It might not be as delicious as in her past life, but it would certainly be better than boiling it in plain water.

She poured the sautéed seasonings into a large clay pot, left a little in the cooking pot, added water, and tossed in two soy-fruit pods. Once the broth boiled, she added the meat and simmered it over medium heat for three hours. To her surprise, the soy-fruit made the meat tender much faster. In the modern world, it would take three hours, and since the meat in this world was tougher and chewier, she expected it to take even longer. Instead, it was quite tender in just one hour.

After about an hour, Qiyue checked the pot and found that these two batches were perfect for Chi'er and herself. Feng Yu would likely prefer a chewier texture, so she moved the meat into a clay pot, labeled it, and started the next batch.

She added water and seasonings, let Feng Yu taste the broth, added a bit more salt, and this time instructed him to keep an eye on the time, aiming for a shorter duration, and to taste it when it seemed ready.

Qiyue picked up the little red bird that had been drooling on her head. "What? Want to eat? Can your little belly even hold any more?" she asked, patting his round tummy.

"Mother, it smells so good. Can Chi'er have a taste?" Chi'er rubbed his head against her palm, acting spoiled.

"Alright, just one small piece, or you'll get a stomachache from eating too much." Qiyue took a piece from the pot and tore off a tiny strip for him.

"Qiyue, I want to try some too." Seeing the two of them enjoying it, Feng Yu—though not hungry—felt his own mouth watering, as he had never smelled anything so delicious.

Qiyue tore off a piece and fed it to him. "This batch was cooked for a long time; you might not like this texture, but just taste the flavor."

"So fragrant!" Eating it was a completely different experience from just smelling it. Feng Yu felt immensely satisfied; his companion could actually make such delicious food. "Qiyue, rest for a while, I'll cook the rest."

"Alright, I'll go gather some more firewood. Watch the heat and the water level so it doesn't boil dry." With that, Qiyue walked with Chi'er to the other side of the stream, gathered some dry branches, and had Chi'er store them away. Having Chi'er's spatial storage was truly convenient; she didn't even have to put effort into gathering wood.

*Sigh!* Why couldn't his little companion ever sit still? Which other female in the tribe was like her, constantly busy for the sake of survival and life? Most females had their males running around in circles for them, never lifting a finger if they could help it. A female's strength was a big factor, but so was being pampered. When would Qiyue rely on him more? It would stop his heart from aching so much.