Chapter 39: Pickled Mustard Greens
After arranging things for Lin Zhihao, Chu Feng got back to work.
He had purchased a large-format printer and had it delivered to his villa. Using it, he printed out several copies of a castle design.
After printing, he also ordered carving tools and some wood sculpture design books online—planning to bring them as reference materials for Duvean.
Duvean’s carving skills were already pretty good. With the right tools, he might be able to create even better work.
More than three days quickly passed, and Chu Feng appeared once again in Ilya’s room.
Ilya blinked as he looked at the stacked cardboard boxes.
“This time… you didn’t bring a suitcase?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “Nope.”
This time, he had packed everything into cardboard boxes, tied them together with rope, and clutched the rope tightly when teleporting. Sure enough, everything came through with him.
Chu Feng had made full use of the transport channel this time—the stuff he brought was almost twice as much in volume as last time.
Ilya looked at the boxes curiously. “What’s in all of these?”
Chu Feng grinned proudly. “You’ll see in a bit. Help me untie them.”
Ilya eagerly replied, “Okay!”
He twirled his wrist, and a dagger appeared in his hand. With a few swipes, the ropes were sliced into several pieces.
The things Chu Feng brought were always strange and fascinating to Ilya—they often left him wide-eyed in wonder.
He loved unpacking his things. It was like opening treasure chests.
He opened the first box. “Is this… salt?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yep.” In this place, salt was basically like money. Though he’d brought a box before, more was always better.
She opened the second box. “What’s this?”
“These are seeds of some crops from where I’m from. I want to gift them to the Shaman to see if they can be cultivated here,” Chu Feng said.
“You even brought this? The Shaman will definitely be delighted!”
Ilya looked at the seeds excitedly. In the village, many of their plants had come from all over the land—collected painstakingly by the shaman and villagers. Yet Chu Feng had brought multiple varieties at once. Even if just one or two of them could be grown, it would be a big help.
Chu Feng thought to himself: He still didn’t know how long he’d be staying here. Sooner or later, he’d have to eat from this land. If the local meals improved, he’d benefit, too.
Ilya opened the third box. “What’s this?”
“Rice,” Chu Feng replied.
Ilya looked puzzled. “Rice? What’s that?”
Chu Feng took a deep breath. “It’s a staple food where I come from. A bit like your yellow grain here. Doesn’t have much flavor, but it fills you up.”
“Is it for the Highland Tribe?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.” Since they were helping him with labor, the least he could do was make sure they were well-fed.
Ilya opened the fourth box and asked curiously, “What’s this?”
“Pickled mustard greens,” Chu Feng said.
Ilya asked curiously, “What is pickled mustard green?”
“It’s a side dish to go with rice. Just eating plain rice can be bland, but this makes it go down better.”
“It looks pretty good. Can I try some?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Sure!” He had been so busy packing before coming over that he was actually feeling quite hungry.
Chu Feng thought to himself: Zha cai isn’t anything special back home, but once it’s exported, its value skyrockets and it’s hailed as a famous Chinese delicacy. It should be well-received here too. After all, it’s salty—made with lots of salt—and salt is rare here. So pickled mustard green is bound to be valuable.
Ilya nodded. “I’ll go cook something in a bit.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright.”
Ilya opened the fifth box. “Is this instant noodles? You brought so much of it?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.” The instant noodles he brought last time were in bowls, but this time he brought packets. Bowls are easier to serve, but packets take up less space. Boxes six, seven, and eight were all filled with instant noodles.
Chu Feng wasn’t sure what flavors the people here would like, so he brought four full boxes with a variety of flavors.
Ilya gave a wry smile. “If Gray sees this many instant noodles, he’ll probably go crazy.”
Chu Feng: “…” He’d almost forgotten—Gray was a hardcore instant noodle fan.
In addition to the noodles, Chu Feng also brought two boxes of potato chips.
“Potato chips—Duvean loves them. When I visited him a few days ago, he said he ran out and asked when you’d be back.”
Chu Feng: “Really? Duvean said that?”
Ilya nodded. “Not just Duvean—lots of people in the village have been asking when you’d be back.”
“Mostly kids, right?” Chu Feng muttered. All probably hoping he’d bring them candy again.
Ilya shook her head. “Not just kids. Quite a few adults too.”
Chu Feng: “…” Has my popularity here really gotten that high? I’m honestly flattered!
