Ancient Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 40 Delicious Food Awaits

Lin Xiu knew that people didn't eat small river shrimp much these days, since they were too small, difficult to catch, and not filling.

And it didn't taste good either.

If there are larger shrimp and crabs, people don't mind cooking them properly.

But Lin Xiu is different.

Now he has oil, salt, and a wok. The freshly stir-fried river shrimp he ate as a child, with the shrimp fried until they were bright red and crispy, was a unique delicacy.

He had previously read a novel called something like "The Doomsday Traveler," in which the male and female protagonists, after acquiring oil, salt, and a wok, caught a lot of river shrimp by the river, made dried shrimp, and ate it with rice, enjoying it quite a bit.

Lin Xiu felt the same way and wanted to eat shrimp too, but he couldn't find a familiar stream to catch them anymore.

Now that there's an opportunity to improve our meals, how could we not be tempted?

Yao Rongrong first put down the bundle, and then raised her slender hand, extending her thumb and forefinger, the pads of the two fingers almost touching.

"That's about the size."

She replied.

Lin Xiu then asked, "Is the quantity large?"

Yao Rongrong said, "The quantity is neither small nor large. If you patiently scoop it out, it's enough for one meal."

She paused slightly, then stared wide-eyed at Lin Xiu, asking in surprise, "Sir, you don't mean to eat those tiny river shrimp, do you?"

Lin Xiu said, "Why not? We have a wok; those river shrimp should taste pretty good when stir-fried."

The foodie Yao's eyes lit up immediately. Faced with such delicious food, she couldn't hesitate any longer: "Sir, why didn't you say so earlier!"

"Sir, could you please give me your pot? It's still early, I'll go catch some shrimp."

Lin Xiu asked, "Why don't we go together?"

Yao Rongrong shook her head and said, "We have so much stuff, what if it gets lost if no one is watching it? I can go by myself."

Alright, if Ms. Yao wants to continue being a traveling frog on her own, what can Lin Xiu do but cooperate?

When Ms. Yao returns, we'll cook her a delicious meal to reward her.

So Yao Rongrong took the iron pot out again, leaving Lin Xiu and Brother Donkey to wait on the mountain, one on each of them.

After she left, Lin Xiu glared at Brother Donkey and said, "You good-for-nothing, you've forgotten the old one now that you have a new one, haven't you?"

Going around fawning over people like that, you've forgotten who suggested eating you up in the first place. You'll be the one getting sold out and still helping them count the money.

"Pfft pfft pfft..."

Brother Donkey snorted at Lin Xiu to show his disdain and protest.

Lin Xiu sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it, good advice is useless against this damned donkey. Do whatever you want."

"Mmm~ Mmm~"

This time, Brother Donkey is really protesting.

Lin Xiu said, "If you shout again, be careful the living dead wake up and bite you!" Only then did Brother Donkey quiet down.

A long afternoon passed before Yao Rongrong returned excitedly.

This time, Brother Donkey didn't run to greet him. He just brayed, whether he was successfully provoked by Lin Xiu or was frightened by the words "Be careful the living dead wake up and bite you".

So Yao Rongrong was a little dissatisfied. When she put down the iron pot, she said, "Why isn't Brother Donkey greeting me? Sir, have you been teaching Brother Donkey haphazardly and corrupted him?"

Lin Xiu scoffed dismissively, "What's the point of me teaching a stupid donkey if I have nothing better to do?"

Brother Donkey tossed his head and glanced at Lin Xiu, then pointed his donkey rear end at Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu laughed. Ha, he was just scaring himself.

Yao Rongrong couldn't help but smile slightly, but instead of continuing to pay attention to Brother Donkey, she asked, "Sir, do you think this is enough? There are a fair number of shrimp in the river, but not too many either. Any more and we won't be able to catch any more."

Lin Xiu looked at the iron pot, which was filled with plenty of water and river shrimp—enough for two people to eat—and nodded, saying, "That's enough."

The timing was perfect. He lit a fire, drained the water from the pot, transferred the river shrimp to a bowl, wiped the pot dry, and then heated the oil.

Flames spread across the bottom of the pot, a mix of orange and blue, while the firewood crackled and popped, a sound that was incredibly pleasant to hear.

In this day and age, Lin Xiu has many things to be grateful for, the most fortunate of which is that he found three fire tumblers in the government office in Mengzhou City.

One of them broke, but the other two still worked.

In those days, fire was an extremely precious thing. In the past, when someone's fire went out, they had to borrow one from someone else to start a fire and cook.

When Lin Xiu returned to Mengzhou City alone, he guarded the few remaining fires in the city with utmost care, fearing they would go out. He only breathed a sigh of relief after finding a tinderbox.

These two tumbler boxes are now incredibly precious.

After lighting the fire, he carefully put away the tinderbox.

Once the river shrimp are drained and the oil is heated, they are poured into the pan, creating a sizzling sound.

After a short while of stir-frying, the river shrimp turned into tiny, bright red shrimp, all cooked through. Then, the seasonings were added, and after a brief stir-fry, it was ready to serve.

The aroma had already spread far and wide, and even Lin Xiu couldn't help but swallow hard when he smelled it.

The taste of childhood, and the deliciousness of today, truly makes one's mouth water.

Looking at Yao Rongrong again, this foodie enchantress had already come over with her bowl and was waiting on the side.

Seeing Lin Xiu finish cooking, she immediately handed him the bowl, smiling with her eyes narrowed, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, sir."

Lin Xiu said, "It's not hard work, it's not hard work at all. How can it compare to the hard work of catching shrimp?"

Half of the stir-fried river shrimp had already been put into Yao Rongrong's bowl. Lin Xiu was too lazy to change the bowl, so he just picked up his chopsticks and took the iron pot to eat.

Before, he would never have been able to do this. He could manage to stir-fry with one hand, but to pick it up and eat it right next to his mouth was a real test of his arm and wrist strength.

I am able to do this now thanks to Yao Rongrong's cultivation method and those Qi-boosting and spirit-nourishing pills.

Yao Rongrong took the bowl to the side, picked up a few shrimp with her chopsticks, put them in her mouth, and her eyes lit up. She then started shoveling food into the bowl and eating faster and faster.

She had no idea that river shrimp were edible before, but now that they were stir-fried, they were crispy, delicious, and made her very hungry.

She ate heartily, then turned to look at Lin Xiu, only to see him stirring the iron pot.

The iron pot was so big that Lin Xiu looked like he was enjoying his meal.

Yao Rongrong couldn't help but feel envious and said, "Sir, next time, why don't you let me get the pot to eat?"

Lin Xiu chewed the shrimp in his mouth thoroughly and swallowed it before saying, "My way of eating isn't very elegant. Aren't you afraid of embarrassing yourself?"

Yao Rongrong laughed and said, "With such delicious food in front of me, who cares about being embarrassed? Besides, I'm naturally beautiful, so I look good no matter how I eat. How could I be embarrassed?"

Lin Xiu: "..."

This woman is certainly confident.

Hearing her say that, Lin Xiu actually became somewhat looking forward to it, and said, "Okay, then next time you bring a pot to eat, I'll really have to take a good look."