Transmigrated to the Beastman World as a Veterinarian – CH71

Jian Mo took a closer look at the scrawny winged beast’s sub-beastman owner, whose face was filled with unmistakable longing.

The sub-beastman sniffed deeply, glanced at the winged beast, then at Jian Mo, as if on the verge of asking if there was more food in the winged beast’s bowl and whether he could have a taste.

Realizing his train of thought, Jian Mo’s expression turned a little complicated.

The sub-beastman’s name was Peng Xi. He came from a family of winged beast caretakers and, having grown up with them, was highly familiar with their temperament. This time, he and his companion, Duan An, had brought the winged beast along on their trip.

Peng Xi looked at the food bowl and, seeing that Jian Mo didn’t say anything, offered cheerfully, “It smells amazing! I’ve heard your cooking is fantastic—now I believe it!”

Jian Mo downplayed it. “It’s just average, really. Basic home cooking.”

“No way! I can smell it from here,” Peng Xi insisted. “If it weren’t good, Dara wouldn’t be eating it so happily.”

Dara was the name of the scrawny winged beast.

Jian Mo glanced at Dara, thinking that for a winged beast, any decently made meal would be eaten happily.

Since Peng Xi kept steering the conversation back to food, Jian Mo simply invited them to stay for dinner.

The two were overjoyed and immediately agreed, even offering to help with the preparations.

Although Jian Mo’s kitchen was finished, the large iron pots they had commissioned were not yet ready, so they had to make do with ceramic ones.

It was getting late, so Jian Mo decided to keep the meal simple. He made a pot of stew, roasted some sausages, and prepared a cold salad with wild greens.

Three dishes and one soup. The selection was modest, but the portions were generous.

Peng Xi ate with tears in his eyes. “This is too delicious! It smells amazing! Your cooking is incredible!”

Jian Mo modestly replied, “It’s alright. Maybe it feels special because it’s your first time eating my food.”

Peng Xi shook his head vehemently. “I’ve traveled to so many places and eaten at so many tables, but your food is the best! I could even eat the plate!”

Looking at the slender sub-beastman, Jian Mo could only smile and say, “Then eat as much as you like.”

“I won’t hold back!” Peng Xi declared enthusiastically.

After the satisfying meal, Peng Xi lounged on a recliner, clutching his full stomach. “That was amazing. Earlier, I was envious of your house. But now that I’ve eaten this meal, I feel like a nice house isn’t such a big deal. Good food is unbeatable.”

Jian Mo chuckled at his relaxed posture. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I loved it! I heard we could trade for food from your tribe. Is that true? Can I trade for some too? I brought fabric with me. If that doesn’t work, I have a metal dagger I can trade instead.”

Jian Mo declined politely. “We did make some specialty foods during the winter, but they’re all gone now. Maybe next time.”

“What about the sausages we just ate?” Peng Xi asked eagerly. “I heard those were one of the foods you trade.”

Jian Mo wasn’t surprised by his knowledge and explained, “Those were made in the winter, and there isn’t much left.”

Peng Xi’s eyes sparkled. “How much is ‘not much’? Can I trade for all of it?”

Jian Mo reminded him, “These sausages were made months ago and have been stored for a while.”

Peng Xi waved off the concern. “I don’t care when they were made as long as they’re delicious!”

Seeing his enthusiasm, Jian Mo relented. “Alright, we can trade them for a roll of fabric.”

Peng Xi immediately pulled out a large roll of fabric from his basket. “Take the biggest one!”

Jian Mo’s sausages totaled only half a basket. He hadn’t had time to make more recently. Watching Peng Xi eagerly trade such a large roll of fabric for them, Jian Mo felt a little guilty. “Actually, cooking isn’t that hard. If you’re interested, I can teach you.”

Peng Xi was keen. “Really? That’d be great!”

That evening, Jian Mo taught them to cook. “Cooking mainly comes down to two things: controlling the heat and balancing the seasoning. Beginners might struggle with heat control, so focus on seasoning first. Pre-marinating your ingredients can also help.”

Both Peng Xi and Duan An paid close attention, but their results were… unexpected.

By the end of the lesson, Jian Mo was convinced some people were simply born without a knack for cooking. Their unique approaches to food preparation defied conventional logic, and no amount of advice could deter them from their creative experiments.

In the end, Jian Mo had to concede. “Maybe just blanch your ingredients and season them before stewing from now on.”

Peng Xi looked at him hopefully. “But our seasonings taste completely different from yours. Can you trade some of yours with us?”

Jian Mo enjoyed cooking and had a variety of custom seasoning powders, including shellfish powder, meat powder, pepper sprout powder, sugar, salt, and mixed spice blends—far more elaborate than the typical spices others used.

Seeing Peng Xi’s anticipation, Jian Mo offered, “Forget trading—I’ll give you some.”

Peng Xi beamed. “Could you mix them for us? Otherwise, we wouldn’t know how much to use.”

Duan An nodded eagerly in agreement.

Jian Mo brought out two small jars and mixed some seasoning powders into each, giving one jar to each of them.

Peng Xi pinched a bit of the seasoning powder and popped it into his mouth. “Even the seasoning tastes amazing!”

Jian Mo joked, “If your cooking doesn’t turn out well, just boil meat in plain water and dip it in this powder before eating.”

Peng Xi’s eyes lit up. “That’s brilliant! Doctor Jian Mo, you’re amazing. Next time, we’ll trade for more of this powder, okay?”

Jian Mo replied casually, “I’m not sure about that. Most of the seasonings are fine, but we’re running low on pepper sprout powder. If we can’t gather more soon, I won’t be able to make this blend again.”

Surprised, Peng Xi asked, “Aren’t there plenty of pepper sprout plants outside? Why not just gather them?”

Jian Mo sighed. “There aren’t many near our tribe. We can’t just raid other tribes’ lands.”

Peng Xi suggested, “What about unclaimed areas? Do you know the place near the border of the Bing Jiang Tribe and the Qin Hai Tribe? There’s a huge patch of pepper sprout plants there.”

Jian Mo hadn’t heard of it. “Are you sure?”

Peng Xi nodded confidently. “We saw it on the way here—a massive patch, and no one was there.”

Duan An added, “It’s so far from both tribes that they probably don’t bother going there. The plants should still be untouched.”

Intrigued, Jian Mo said, “I’ll see if we can go collect some.”

Peng Xi encouraged him. “You definitely should! That area isn’t claimed by anyone, so no one will stop you.”

Jian Mo realized it was probably like the salt lake—a shared resource no one managed due to its remoteness.

“If it’s really there, we’ll make time to check it out,” he said with a smile.

Peng Xi urged, “Why not go tomorrow? Who knows what might happen if you wait too long. You have a winged beast, right? Fly there and back—it won’t take more than a day.”

Jian Mo considered it and nodded. “I’ll ask my partner.”

“Great!” Peng Xi said eagerly. “We can guide you there.”

Jian Mo smiled. “Thanks, that’ll be a big help.”

Peng Xi and Duan An stayed overnight in the He’an Tribe.

The tribe had vacant houses available for visitors, but staying in them required some form of compensation.

Without hesitation, the two offered a piece of cloth in exchange, securing the best house for themselves.

When Jian Mo escorted them to their accommodations, he couldn’t help but marvel at their generosity. The Tian Ning Tribe, renowned for their pottery, was clearly wealthy, and its sub-beastmen were impressively generous.

After settling them in, Jian Mo returned home to consult Wu Jiong about the area near the Bing Jiang Tribe and Qin Hai Tribe border.

Wu Jiong wasn’t sure if pepper sprout plants grew there but was confident the trip wouldn’t pose any issues.

Jian Mo slapped his thigh in decision. “In that case, let’s not waste the opportunity. Tomorrow, we’ll head over. Chirpy’s been lazing around the tribe for so long it’s grown chubby—this will be a good chance for it to slim down!”

Wu Jiong calmly replied, “It’s not fat, just sturdy. It looks much stronger than the Tian Ning Tribe’s winged beast.”

Jian Mo smirked. “You’re so protective of it. That’s why Chirpy likes you so much. Can’t even say a word against it!”

“It’s just the truth,” Wu Jiong responded, unbothered.

Peng Xi and Duan An were thrilled about guiding Jian Mo to collect pepper sprout plants. Early the next morning, they arrived at his house, conveniently joining in for breakfast.

While eating, Peng Xi suggested, “Doctor Jian Mo, you’d better bring a couple of large sacks. There’s really a lot of pepper sprout out there.”

Duan An added, “Yes, and bring some food, too. If you don’t finish gathering it all in one day, you could stay overnight and continue tomorrow.”

Jian Mo grinned. “With such glowing recommendations, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Peng Xi assured him, “You’ll see for yourself. The whole area is full of pepper sprouts. If we’d known you liked the stuff, we would’ve gathered some on the way here and brought it to you!”

Not only did Peng Xi and Duan An enjoy breakfast at Jian Mo’s house, but their winged beast also managed to eat its fill.

Jian Mo glanced worriedly at the winged beast’s now-distended belly. If it was overstuffed, would it still be able to fly?

As it turned out, a full stomach didn’t hinder the winged beast at all.

After eating, Dara not only flew but flew quickly, taking the lead while Chirpy followed close behind, chirping to guide the way.

Watching Peng Xi and Duan An ride comfortably on Dara’s back, Jian Mo thought about trying to ride Chirpy alone on the way back. Chirpy was so well-behaved that with a bit of training, it should be no problem.

The two groups headed north, flying for half a day until they reached an unfamiliar area.

Although they’d visited the Bing Jiang Tribe and Qin Hai Tribe before, they’d never traveled this particular route or ventured into this specific region. Considering the size of the two tribes and the length of their shared border, it wasn’t surprising they hadn’t been here before.

Jian Mo, perched on Chirpy’s back, was starting to doze off when a sharp, pungent, spicy aroma suddenly hit his nose.

Looking down, he was astonished to see the mountains below blanketed in blooming pepper sprout flowers.

The flowers were a vivid orange-red and semi-transparent, stunningly vibrant and visually striking, reminiscent of the rhododendrons that blanketed the hills back in his homeland during spring.

However, pepper sprout flowers were larger, vivid, and their scent was much more intense.

Jian Mo stared down in awe and called to Wu Jiong behind him, “This many?!”

With their keen hearing, Peng Xi, flying ahead, shouted back, “See? We weren’t lying, right?”

Jian Mo replied, “No lies at all! Thank you for bringing us here!”

Peng Xi laughed. “No problem—it’s not like this land belongs to our tribe.”

The two winged beasts began to descend slowly.

Since pepper sprout plants were covered in thorns, the beasts didn’t dare land too close and instead touched down at the edge of the patch.

The group dismounted and approached the pepper sprout plants on foot.

Up close, the semi-transparent flowers appeared even more dazzling. The center of each flower released a potent spicy aroma that filled the air.

Thanks to this pungent scent, the area was remarkably clean; insects and wild animals avoided it entirely.

Jian Mo plucked two flower stamens, brought them close to his nose, and confirmed they were the pepper sprouts they used regularly—definitely worth harvesting.

Peng Xi and Duan An helped gather for a while but soon grew tired of the repetitive work.

Noticing their dwindling enthusiasm, Jian Mo kindly said, “You’ve already brought us here. We can handle the rest ourselves.”

Peng Xi immediately deposited the pepper sprouts he’d collected into their bag. “Now that you’ve found the pepper sprout, can we come back next time to trade for more seasoning powder?”

Jian Mo smiled. “Of course! You’re always welcome.”