Chapter 51 – Tomatoes
Thanks to the calming music, Xia Lu Nong slept well that night. When he woke up the next morning, he felt refreshed and had regained his ability to shift back into human form.
He got dressed, yawning as he headed out to make breakfast. His brother and the others had already gotten up and fetched water, preparing to head out.
The moment Xia Lu Nong saw his brother, he raised his hand and quickly said, “Bro, I know I was wrong. I swear I won’t get drunk again.”
His brother looked at him for a while, then pointed a warning finger at him, signaling him to be careful.
Xia Lu Nong chuckled and pushed his brother’s shoulder. “What are we having for breakfast today? How about some noodles? Handmade noodles with lamb bone broth as the base, blanch a handful of greens while boiling the noodles, then add ten slices of roasted lamb on top, drizzling it with homemade soy sauce and chili…”
He described the meal vividly right next to his brother’s ear, successfully making him hungry.
In the end, his brother sighed and patted his shoulder. “Go ahead and make it.”
“Sure thing! I’ll have Kong Zhi help out. He’s strong, so the dough will be more elastic, haha.”
Xia Lu Nong and the others were all beastmen, and they ate a lot. Even though their pantry was stocked well, it was quickly running low.
Xia Lu Nong scooped some flour from the cupboard, checking the white rice, eggs, and other supplies nearby as he did.
They still had plenty of rice, but only a few eggs remained. Other staples like oil, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic were running out as well, so they would need to trade for more soon.
As he kneaded the dough, Xia Lu Nong mentioned this to Kong Zhi.
Kong Zhi replied, “I’ll need rice seeds and fish fry for the field too, so we’ll have to trade for those supplies.”
“Ugh, looks like there are gaps everywhere,” Xia Lu Nong sighed. “Based on our current income, it’d make sense to lower our living standards by two notches.”
Their meals were so lavish that they were well-known across the whole base. Even the most successful trader, Old Liu, didn’t eat as well as they did.
Xia Lu Nong reflected seriously and realized that cutting back on food wasn’t the best choice.
Everyone was doing heavy labor—like his brother and Xi Nian, who worked all day at the hydroelectric power station. Even without using their beast forms, they still expended a lot of energy.
Kong Zhi had it slightly easier, but farming rice paddies would still be grueling work. If they cut back on food, they’d be burning through their own energy reserves.
Xia Lu Nong didn’t want to see his skinny brother struggling again.
Besides, while saving on food was possible, life was already hard enough in this era. If they took away the joy of eating, life would become even more monotonous.
He sighed silently, closed the cupboard, and went on with making the lamb broth. The lamb bones from last night still had some meat clinging to them.
Xia Lu Nong chopped the bones into two pieces with a cleaver, washed them a bit, and then tossed them into the pot. First, he cooked them on high heat, then switched to a simmer once it was going. Soon, the fragrant aroma of the broth filled the air.
Once Kong Zhi finished rolling out the noodles, Xia Lu Nong ladled out the broth and boiled water in another pot. When the water boiled, he added the noodles, followed by some leeks.
After everything was cooked, he dished it all up, pouring the broth over the noodles. The bowls were filled with light brown broth, pale yellow noodles, and bright green leeks.
Thinking for a moment, Xia Lu Nong took four eggs, boiled them, and placed half an egg in each bowl. He then topped the noodles with lamb slices and added a spoonful of soy sauce and chili on top.
The results of their morning’s labor were soon laid out on the table.
Kong Zhi and Xia Lu Nong carried the noodle bowls outside and brought out some vinegar as well.
Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian had gone to the hydroelectric station early and hadn’t returned by the time the noodles were ready.
Xia Lu Nong was about to go call them when he stepped outside and saw his brother and Xi Nian walking down the path in the distance.
A few minutes later, they all met up.
Xia Lu Nong grinned, “I was just about to come and get you.”
Yan Xi Nian smiled, “No need, we’ve been smelling it all morning. Once the fragrance stopped, we knew the food was ready.”
Xia Lu Nong raised an eyebrow.
Yan Xi Nian chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “It’s true. Everyone at the power station was just guessing what you made this morning. I bet there’s lamb, right?”
“Of course, there was still some left from last night.”
“And let me guess—leeks?”
“Yep.”
“Let me think… lamb, leeks, and… chili, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
The more Yan Xi Nian guessed, the hungrier he got. Finally, he strode into the living room. “Enough guessing—let’s eat!”
Before he finished his sentence, he spotted the large bowls of noodles on the table. “Whoa, this is a feast!”
Xia Lu Nong explained, “When we have lamb, we have to make the most of it. We can’t waste it.”
“Absolutely,” Yan Xi Nian praised. “It smells amazing.”
Xia Lu Nong smiled, “You’re working hard at the power station, so eat well and make sure you’re fully energized.”
Yan Xi Nian gave him a thumbs-up.
They sat down to eat, and the noodles were especially chewy and smooth today. After downing half a bowl each, their hunger finally started to ease.
Xia Lu Nong asked, “Brother Xi Nian, when do you think the hydroelectric project will be done? We need to head out and gather supplies. We’re running low on oil and flour.”
Yan Xi Nian thought for a moment, “It’ll take at least another four or five days. Let’s plan to head out in five days and see if we can find anything useful.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded. He wasn’t concerned about much, but he always had great luck, so a supply run was sure to turn up something good.
Xia Huo Qu added, “We’ve already searched the nearby areas. Beyond the mountains, it’s mostly sea now, so there’s not much left to explore. This time, we should go farther northeast and check out Yacheng Town. Maybe we can trade for some good stuff there.”
Their base wasn’t very big. Yan Xi Nian didn’t bother recruiting new members, and the atmosphere of the entire base was rather peaceful. There was no clear distinction between those who could shift into their beast form and those who couldn’t. Both received similar treatment for farming and gathering resources.
Some people in the base were poorer, while others were wealthier, but overall, everyone was getting by.
The same couldn’t be said for other bases, many of which had fierce competition and attracted a large number of people.
Xia Huo Qu asked, “So what are we bringing this time? Are we driving?”
“Yes, we’ll drive. Our beast forms can’t carry much and are only useful for exploring nearby areas.”
“That’s great!”
After breakfast, Xia Lu Nong was all smiles, brimming with excitement. Kong Zhi accompanied him silently, not saying a word.
Kong Zhi’s rented field hadn’t been cleared yet, so he joined Xia Lu Nong in the vegetable garden that day. Xia Lu Nong’s garden was thriving, especially the tomatoes, which grew like shrubs, covered in yellow, red, and green fruits. Each plant had dozens of tomatoes.
Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi started picking the red and yellow tomatoes, and soon both of their baskets were full. Looking at the remaining half of the unpicked tomatoes, Xia Lu Nong scratched his itchy face and muttered, “There are way too many tomatoes left.”
Kong Zhi replied, “Yeah.”
Xia Lu Nong turned to him, “Do you want some tomato sauce?”
“Not really.”
“Oh.” Xia Lu Nong turned back and kept muttering, “We can’t make freeze-dried tomatoes right now, and sun-drying them would take forever. Plus, it’s been raining a lot lately, so they might go bad. I guess I’ll have to make tomato sauce, though my brother and the others don’t like it—too sweet for them.”
After Xia Lu Nong finished rambling, Kong Zhi said, “Why not take them to Old Liu or Little Tang to trade for supplies?”
Xia Lu Nong sighed, “I guess that’s the only option.”
Even so, Xia Lu Nong doubted that tomatoes would be popular. Everyone grew tomatoes, so why would anyone trade valuable supplies for them?
When they took the tomatoes to Old Liu, he looked a bit troubled. “Tomatoes aren’t easy to trade right now. Earlier or later in the season, they would have been fine.”
Xia Lu Nong handed him a clean tomato. “Ours are different. They’re big and sweet. Just taste one.”
Old Liu obliged and took a bite. As the juicy tomato hit his taste buds, his expression changed, showing a bit of amazement. Chewing on the tomato, he looked at it closely. “Did you grow this from the seeds I gave you? How did it turn out so delicious? It’s sweet, fragrant, and tender—good enough to eat as fruit.”
Xia Lu Nong smiled, “I don’t remember if we got the seeds from you or from Brother Tang.”
“Well, you must have a special touch for growing them.” Old Liu gave him a thumbs up. “How about five pounds of tomatoes for one pound of rice?”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “Can we trade for flour instead?”
“Sure, but it’ll be eight pounds of tomatoes for one pound of flour.”
Xia Lu Nong quickly did the math. They had about seventy or eighty pounds of tomatoes, which would only get them about ten pounds of flour.
He felt heartbroken for his tomatoes and thought it over carefully. “That’s not enough. We put a lot of effort into growing these tomatoes, and we used plenty of fertilizer too. Brother Liu, this deal just won’t work.”
“I get it,” Old Liu sighed. “But there’s not much I can do. Aside from the single guys on the gathering team, no one in the base would trade for tomatoes. Maybe you should think it over?”
It seemed there was no way to negotiate. Xia Lu Nong sighed and nodded. “Thanks, Brother Liu. I’ll think about it.”
Thanks for the chapter!