ebookslot Chapter 27 Boasting
Chapter 27 Boasting
"Bang!"
Back in the cabin, Xi'er tossed the massive sword-spined crocodile carcass she'd dragged back onto the second-floor platform. She jumped onto the crocodile, placing her feet on its grotesque head, hands on her hips, chin held high, and triumphantly addressed the seven little golden gourds beneath the wooden frame: "Sisters, look how big and powerful the beast I killed was!"
"Big, big, amazing, big sister is the best!" the seven little golden gourds responded in unison.
"Of course, I'm the best. I'll bring back an even bigger one for you guys later." Xi'er patted her chest and added, "Tonight, my brother and I are having stewed crocodile meat with Nine-Ox Divine Power Potatoes. Let you smell the aroma!"
"We want to eat too! We want to eat too!"
Upon hearing this, the seven little golden gourds immediately protested, jumping up and down on the vine, their bodies bouncing and shaking in their eagerness.
"You can't eat it now; you have to wait until after you're born, otherwise it will pollute your innate spirituality," Xi'er said earnestly.
"Smell it! Smell it!" Hearing her say that, the seven little golden melons had no choice but to settle for second best.
"Then let you smell it," Xi'er said magnanimously, waving her hand.
"Alright, alright, stop bragging up there and hurry up and drag the sword-spined crocodile down! It's too long for the platform, we have to deal with it down here!" Cai Xuan rolled his eyes as he listened from below and shouted irritably.
"I wasn't bragging!" Xi'er said, leaning on the railing, dissatisfied.
"Alright, alright, you weren't bragging, you're the best." Cai Xuan quickly changed his tune, saying, "Hurry up and drag the sword-spined crocodile down, I need to skin it, the meat will spoil if it's put back down."
Xi'er glared at him, muttered a few words, but still obediently dragged the sword-backed crocodile down.
Cai Xuan began skinning the crocodile, but the skin of an adult sword-backed crocodile was too tough. When he cut into it, the knife bounced back, leaving only a shallow white mark on the skin. He tried a few more times, and the blade even curled at the edges, but the skin remained completely still.
"This skin is way too thick..." Cai Xuan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
No wonder the "Records of Herbal Medicines of the Great Wilderness" says: "The skin of the sword-backed crocodile is extremely tough and can be used to make armor and scabbards." Now that I've tried it myself, I understand what "extremely tough" really means.
It seemed that ordinary knives wouldn't work for skinning him, and he couldn't help but look at the sharp teeth in the crocodile's mouth.
Those sharp teeth, gleaming coldly like daggers, must have been more than enough to cut skin.
Cai Xuan took a knife, pried open the crocodile's mouth, and reached in to dig at the roots of its teeth, trying to extract a tooth. But the tooth seemed to be rooted in the crocodile's skull, and he couldn't budge it an inch.
After digging for a long time, I couldn't find a single one.
Xi'er, growing impatient, stepped forward, grabbed the largest and longest tooth in the sword-spined crocodile's mouth, and said, "Brother, move aside, watch me."
"You—" Cai Xuan glanced at her sideways, about to speak.
Before he could even speak, Xi'er punched him in the teeth!
"Snap!"
The tooth fell out cleanly and decisively, without any hesitation. Cai Xuan stared at the sharp tooth in his hand, stained with blood, then glanced at Xi'er's small, white fist, before silently closing his mouth.
Cai Xuan sharpened the teeth of the sword-backed crocodile on a stone, then wrapped rope around the base to make a crocodile tooth dagger. He then used the sharp teeth to slowly cut open a thin, light white line on the belly of the sword-backed crocodile, which was the softest part.
Wherever the teeth passed, the tough crocodile skin split open with a snap, like a hot knife cutting through butter.
Cai Xuan carefully traced the skin down the midline of the abdomen, slowly peeling the entire skin off the flesh. He dug a shallow pit next to the wooden hut, threw the crocodile skin in, and poured in wood ash and water to soak and tan it.
After tanning, it can be used to make armor, shoes, or to cover a rattan shield to increase its hardness and resist attacks.
Cai Xuan buried the remaining internal organs at the base of the giant pumpkin vine as fertilizer. The roots seemed to sense something, silently reaching out and swirling the organs into the dark soil.
As for the rest, the meat and bones were separated.
There was too much meat and bones to eat in a short time, so Cai Xuan set up a fire and smoked most of the meat and bones to dry and store them.
He deliberately reserved some fresh meat and bones for later use, and smoked them to preserve them. To taste the best, they have to be eaten fresh.
Cai Xuan put some bones and woody Nine Oxen Divine Power Potatoes into a large iron barrel to boil. Soon, the milky white soup bubbled up and the rich aroma instantly filled the entire wooden house.
Cai Xuan originally wanted to stew the meat of the sword-backed crocodile with the Nine Oxen Divine Power Potatoes, but the meat was too fresh, so he didn't use it and instead made a hot pot.
Once the broth made from bones and Nine Oxen Divine Potatoes was ready, he brought out the ceramic stove he had previously fired from the house, lit the charcoal fire, placed the iron pot on it, poured in the broth, and then added thinly sliced crocodile meat and Nine Oxen Divine Potatoes.
In the milky white soup, slices of red and white, with distinct textures and a perfect balance of fat and lean, crocodile meat and snow-white potato chips floated on the surface.
Before long, the aroma wafted out.
Cai Xuan tossed down a handful of freshly picked sweet potato leaves, then picked up a slice of sword crocodile meat, dipped it in a sauce made of Maggi soy sauce, Jiangzhe sweet vinegar, and satay sauce, and put it in his mouth. In an instant, endless deliciousness exploded in his mouth.
This freshness doesn't come from seasonings, but from the pure, unadulterated sweetness of the meat itself.
The meat of the sword-backed crocodile is firm and tender, with a chewy texture. The moment you bite into it, the delicious juice bursts out from the meat fibers, coated with the unique sweetness of the Nine Oxen Divine Potato Soup, and instantly wreaks havoc in your mouth.
Cai Xuan narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh.
When she opened her eyes again, she found that most of the meat in the pot had disappeared. Turning her head, she saw a pile of pointed meat slices in the large ceramic bowl in front of Xi'er. With her efforts, the meat slices quickly decreased.
Is this still available?
Immediately, Cai Xuan put aside his many thoughts and buried himself in eating. If he didn't eat now, all the meat would be gone.
Besides meat, the hot pot base made from Jiuniu Shenli potatoes is also delicious.
After being cooked in the soup, the potato chips become soft, chewy, and melt in your mouth. The sweetness isn't the sweetness of sugar, but a sweetness that comes from the rich earth and sunshine, which, when paired with the savory flavor of the alligator meat, is a match made in heaven, complementing each other perfectly.
Sweet potato leaves are also good; they absorb the flavor of the rich broth made from crocodile bones and sweet potatoes, and taste crisp and refreshing.
This is a flavor I've never had at home.
Cai Xuan ate until he was covered in sweat. Xi'er was even more exaggerated, shoveling bowl after bowl of the large earthenware bowl containing slices of pork spine, Nine Oxen Divine Power Potato Chips, and sweet potato leaves into her mouth, her cheeks bulging, her eyes shining, oil dripping from the corners of her mouth, and occasionally making satisfied "mmmmm" sounds.