Chapter 126 - Egg Fried Rice

Ch126 – Egg Fried Rice

The people of the Grass Tribe found Zhou Ji’s proposal too tempting, to the point where they wondered if Zhou Ji was a bit of a fool, “Are you sure you want to trade meat for rice? We’ll need a lot of meat…”

“I’m sure.” Zhou Ji replied.

“This rice doesn’t taste very good…” The people of the Grass Tribe added.

“I very much enjoy the taste of rice.” Zhou Ji said.

On Earth, before the Han Dynasty, rice and wheat had been reserved for the lower class people to eat because people at the time hadn’t known to hull the grain, and eating these two crops along with their husks wasn’t tasty at all.

In this place, it was obviously the same situation.

However, Zhou Ji really wanted to eat rice… Also, hunting might be difficult for the Grass Tribe tribesmen, but to them, hunting was an easy matter.

“In that case, one bag of meat can be exchanged for two bags of rice.” The tribal chief of the Grass Tribe said.

“Wait a moment. I’ll have someone go get the meat right away.” Zhou Ji said, then continued, “Can you give me some rice first?”

The chief of the Grass Tribe was naturally willing to give Zhou Ji some rice. In their tribe, rice really wasn’t worth anything.

Their tribe grew much more millet than rice, but they usually ate rice because most of the millet that they grew went to the Giant Rhinoceros Tribe.

As for rice… The people of the Giant Rhinoceros Tribe wouldn’t want rice even if they gave it to them for nothing.

Zhou Ji soon obtained five kilograms of rice. After he had it on hand, Xiong Ye didn’t even wait for him to say anything before offering, “I’ll remove the husks?”

Zhou Ji easily handed the rice to Xiong Ye, then had Hai Feng go and bring back some meat––the river that separated the Beastman Continent from the wild forest ran from east to west, and they had constantly been traveling in a westerly direction. They were now located some distance away from the large river, but they weren’t too far away.

At least, based on Hai Feng’s speed, an hour was enough for him to run to the riverside.

Rice and barley were slightly different. At the start, Xiong Ye hadn’t gotten a grasp on the level of strength that was needed and crushed some of the rice into bits, but he soon started to knock off the rice husks with just the right force, allowing the grains of rice to remain relatively whole.

“Add some water to get rid of the remaining husks, then boil it to eat.” Zhou Ji directed.

The barley they had eaten previously had to be ground into powder and had to remain dry; that was why he had chosen to remove the hulll by blowing air at it However, rice just needed to be cooked in water, so they didn’t need to go to such lengths.

After hearing Zhou Ji’s words, Xiong Ye added water to the hulled rice, waiting for the shells to float to the top before pouring it out and obtaining hulled rice grains.

“This rice is tasty when cooked?” Xiong Ye asked curiously.

He had already discovered that things like barley tasted mediocre on its own, but was delicious when paired with other things.

It should be the same for this rice, right?

“Yes,” Zhou Ji replied. “This is one of the best foods that the Beast God has blessed us with.”

The rice grains here weren’t as big the rice grains from his era, but it was already enough to cook rice with.

Zhou Ji poured it all into a pottery pot and added water, then had someone begin to cook it as he went to make other dishes.

He stir-fried the vegetables they’d found during the journey, then stir-fried and roasted some meat… By the time everything was finished, the fragrance of cooked rice was already coming out of the pot.

Zhou Ji opened the pot to reveal a pot of slightly yellowed rice––it wasn’t possible for the rice grains to be completely clean after using such coarse methods to remove the husks. However, it was also good this way; the rice would retain more nutrients.

Zhou Ji served himself a large bowl of rice and ate a bit, feeling that it was incredibly fragrant.

Although he felt that the stir-fried vegetables and meat that he’d made before were pretty good, he’d always felt that they were a little boring just being eaten on their own. He now realized that it was originally due to the lack of rice.

At the end of the day, earth eggs and barley just weren’t comparable to the rice he used to eat.

The people of the Big Bear Tribe all ate a lot, but at the same time, they were also very curious about the rice that only Zhou Ji and Xiong Ye had.

Zhou Ji had previously said that millet congee was very tasty, but he had chosen not to eat the millet congee now that he had rice… How tasty must that rice be?

“Zhou Ji, this…” Xiong Qi walked over with his own bowl in hand.

Zhou Ji gave him a bowl of rice, and then gave him a bit of the stir-fried meat he’d made himself.

At first, Xiong Qi had thought that this rice would be similar to the rice made from barley, but after he’d really eaten it, he discovered that this rice was much softer.

In fact, it didn’t taste like much, but when it was chewed carefully, it released a bit of sweetness…

This rice wasn’t much when eaten on its own, but when it was paired with the very tasty meat that Zhou Ji had cooked… It was really too tasty!

Unfortunately, he only had one bowl of it!

Xiong Qi watched as Xiong Ye ate bowl after bowl and felt a little jealous.

The people of the Big Bear Tribe were all staring covetously at the rice, while the people of the Grass Tribe were all left speechless by Zhou Ji’s actions.

They had previously wondered if there was some sort of conspiracy when Zhou Ji had first offered to trade for rice with meat, but they now knew that there had been no hidden scheme.

“No wonder they’re from a big tribe, they even hull rice before they eat it!”

“Rice cooked like this should taste very good, but there’s a lot less of it, and it’s very wasteful…”

“Rice is still rice even if it’s made this way. How could it be as delicious as meat…”

……

The people of the Grass Tribe tribe had already determined that this leader from the Big Bear Tribe was definitely very arrogant. He had to do so many fancy things just for the sake of eating rice.

However, although they thought this way, the people of the Grass Tribe also wanted to give it a try when they saw how much Zhou Ji and Xiong Ye were enjoying their meal. They learned from Xiong Ye and removed the husks from the rice.

Those rice grains ended up smashed to pieces.

The people of the Grass Tribe were reluctant to let it go to waste and could only add some water to the mess and swallow down the crushed rice directly. At the same time, they never wanted to think about this matter again.

They were better off waiting for the Big Bear Tribe’s meat!

The smell from the roasted meat that the Big Bear Tribe was roasting was really too, too fragrant.

They wanted to eat meat!

The people of the Grass Tribe were thinking about this when they heard a large disturbance. It seemed as though there were some giant beasts heading towards their tribe…

The tribesmen who had previously been watching the people of the Big Bear Tribe eat instantly turned into rabbits, field mice, and many other kinds of small animals, then quickly drilled into some burrows that were around twenty to thirty centimeters wide. A few women who were holding children who were too small to have an animal form carried their children with them as they dove for the only human-sized burrow. Some children who were also under the age of ten also followed them into the burrow.

In an instant, the entire Grass Tribe had gone into hiding.

Zhou Ji: “……”

Xiong Ye couldn’t keep his eyes from sparkling. “Zhou Ji, these people’s animal forms really look very cute.”

Zhou Ji: “……”

The people of the Grass Tribe hid very quickly, and a woman who was carrying a child also called out for the people of the Big Bear Tribe to hide together with them. When he heard this, Zhou Ji replied, “It’s fine. It’s the people of our tribe who have gone out hunting and are coming back.”

Those people from the Grass Tribe who had already hidden in the burrows but had stuck their heads out to keep an eye on the outside situation were all confused––hadn’t all of them remained here? When had they gone out hunting?

Oh, not long ago, the person in front of them seemed to have told a person to go and bring some meat back, but it had only been a single person. How much meat could he get?

The people of the Grass Tribe hadn’t taken it seriously at the time, and now they thought that Zhou Ji was making things up.

After that, they watched as Hai Feng dragged back two twenty plus meter long crocodiles. He became very happy when he saw Zhou Ji and the others, and he picked up his pace, causing one of the crocodiles to end up caught on a tree… Hai Feng frowned and tugged, uprooting the tree as he did so.

Hai Feng, who detested crocodiles, brought the two crocodiles over to Zhou Ji and tossed them down. “I killed a total of four of them, but I couldn’t bring them all…”

“You should be able to take on the weight of four crocodiles, right?” Zhou Ji said. This was a Beast King whose animal form weighed over two thousand tons!

“But I only have two hands!” Hai Feng said.

“……” Zhou Ji said, “You could have tied them up.”

“I forgot.” Hai Feng clutched his head and gave an honest, simple smile, “And I don’t know how to tie knots.”

Zhou Ji suddenly realized that other than having Xiong Ye teach Hai Feng how to use his energy, he should also have Xiong Ye teach him how to tie knots or other things like that.

This Hai Feng didn’t know anything!

Zhou Ji disdained Hai Feng for not knowing anything, but the people of the Grass Tribe had long been sent into a confused daze.

The people of the Grass Tribe had placed a lot of importance on Zhou Ji and Xiong Ye. They had felt at a glance that those two people were very strong, but they had looked down on Hai Feng a little.

This was because when the others had been very calm when they saw their fields and houses, but Hai Feng, who appeared to be a particularly honest, middle-aged person, had showed an expression of awe. He’d looked like he hadn’t seen much of the world.

And it was because of this that they had previously wondered if the middle-aged man was a servant that the Big Bear Tribe had picked up along the way.

Yet as a result, the bearded middle-aged person who spoke with an accent and looked like he had never seen the world, actually caught and brought back two terrible carnivorous beasts!

The people of the Grass Tribe didn’t know what to say. They even wanted to start worshipping Hai Feng.

They also felt that it had been excessive for Zhou Ji to have a powerhouse like that go out to hunt––how could Zhou Ji order such a powerhouse like that around so casually?

Wait a minute… Zhou Ji could order such a powerhouse about, and this powerhouse even listened to him… Did that mean that Zhou Ji might be even stronger than he was?

The people of the Grass Tribe were all dizzy. They couldn’t help but ask Hai Feng, “Your Lordship, might you be a medium level Beast Warrior?”

The people of the Big Bear Tribe: “……” Everyone said that the people from the wild forest didn’t know anything, but it was obvious that it was the people of the Beastman Continent who were ignorant!

Even if medium level Beast Warriors could kill this type of crocodile, they still wouldn’t be able to drag it back so far so easily!

“I’m a Beast King.” Hai Feng spoke honestly.

The tribal chief of the Grass Tribe passed out, and the people of the Grass Tribe who had just climbed out of their burrows turned back into their human forms to help him back up.

Zhou Ji quietly turned his head way, not wanting to see that group of people naked.

The Grass Tribe’s chief didn’t remain unconscious for long. He soon recovered, and then he didn’t hesitate at all before giving all their rice to Zhou Ji. “I didn’t expect that our tribe would actually end up hosting a Beast King. We are willing to give all our rice to the Beast King.”

“According to the trade terms we agreed on earlier, we can trade one bag of meat for two bags of rice so that you guys won’t be short on food.” Zhou Ji said, then looked towards Hai Feng. “Hai Feng, go and bring back the remaining crocodiles.”

“You can have someone else go get them. I haven’t eaten yet.” Hai Feng muttered.

“You’re fast.” Zhou Ji pointed to the dishes and rice he’d made that weren’t finished yet, “This is yours if you’re willing to go and get them.”

Hai Feng looked at the food in front of Zhou Ji and didn’t hesitate at all before agreeing, “I’ll go!”

Hai Feng was like a gust of wind as he finished off what was left of Xiong Ye and Zhou Ji’s food. He also finished the millet congee and roasted meat that the Big Bear Tribe had cooked, saying, “This millet and rice are all very delicious…”

The people of the Grass Tribe were all stuck dumb with awe at how much Hai Feng could eat. “This person can really eat!”

The animal forms of the people of the Grass Tribe were very small, so their appetite was also small. The amount of food that Hai Feng had eaten in one meal was enough to fill them up for several dozens of days!

So it turned out that Beast Kings could eat so much? No wonder they were always asked to provide food as tribute… Hold on, was this person really a Beast King? Were there really Beast Kings like this?

Hai Feng swallowed down the last bowl of millet congee, then said, “I’ll go and bring the crocodiles back.”

He was just about to leave when Xiong Ye suddenly spoke up. “I’ll go with you.” He wanted to find something for Zhou Ji to eat.

“Alright!” Hai Feng agreed right away.

The two of them soon left, only returning two hours later. They brought four crocodiles with them––Hai Feng had killed off another two after seeing that group of crocodiles…

Of course, not only had they brought back crocodiles, Xiong Ye had also brought back some eggs.

“Zhou Ji, I found some waterfowl eggs…” Xiong Ye took out the eggs and offered them to Zhou Ji.

Zhou Ji stared at those bird eggs for a moment, then said, “Let’s cook another pot of rice.”

Xiong Ye was a little shocked, “Did you not eat enough?” Zhou Ji had eaten a lot earlier… Was he not full?

“I’ve eaten enough.” Zhou Ji said, “I just want to make a pot of rice and use it to make egg fried rice tomorrow.”

Egg fried rice? Xiong Ye was rather confused. He knew that eggs could be fried, and now it turned out that rice could be fried too?

At this moment, Zhou Ji also felt that it was a little excessive to hold back until tomorrow before eating it… “I do seem to be a little hungry… We can have egg fried rice tonight.”

Eggs and rice were definitely a wonderful combination. He wanted to have some now!

Zhou Ji was just thinking about this when a stranger’s voice rang out, “What is egg fried rice?”

Zhou Ji glanced over and saw that the person asking the question was a fourteen or fifteen year old teenager. At this time, the youth’s head was tilted as he looked at him curiously.

Zhou Ji had spiritual powers and had noticed this youth long ago. He was an ordinary person, but his expression was very calm… He had thought that this person was from the Grass Tribe, so he hadn’t paid him much attention, but based on how the people of the Grass Tribe looked now, it was obvious that they didn’t know this youth.

However, that wasn’t a big deal. He was nothing but a child… Zhou Ji replied, “Egg fried rice is made by using oil to fry eggs and cooked rice together.”

“What is cooked rice?”

“Cooked rice is made with rice grains and water.”

“What are rice grains?”

“That’s rice.” Zhou Ji good-naturedly pointed to the rice grains as he answered. He felt that this person probably wouldn’t have any further questions.

As a result… The youth asked, “What is oil?”

Zhou Ji: “……”

Zhou Ji no longer bothered with the youth and went to cook his food.

He was waiting to eat egg fried rice.

However, even though he’d ignored the youth, the youth still followed up and asked, “Why didn’t you answer?”