Beauty and the Beasts

“Roar!” Parker leaped forward and took a bite in an exaggerated manner. After chewing it, he widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Oh my god! I had thought the barbecued meat and fish steamboat you made were the tastiest foods. I hadn’t imagined there’s something even more delicious!”

Parker couldn’t believe what he was tasting. After tasting it, he felt that the fragrance was even more alluring now.

Cortis was staring intently at the firewood under the bamboo rice without saying a word. However, Bai Qingqing knew that he was angry. She quickly picked up another slice of meat and, after blowing upon it, walked to Cortis and squatted down.

“You should try this too. I didn’t add chili for you.” With a flushed face from sitting in front of the fire, Bai Qingqing said to Cortis with a smile.

Cortis’ expression immediately lightened up. Without even thinking, he opened his mouth and ate it.

The food scalded his tongue, it was dry and sharp, and the taste of the condiments was too overwhelming for him. This really wasn’t considered a delicacy to him. However, when he saw Bai Qingqing’s look of anticipation, Cortis smiled and carefully chewed it, before saying, “Very tasty.”

Bai Qingqing heaved a sigh of relief. She ran to the pot and ate a slice herself. Not bad. But in order to force out the oil, the meat was a little charred. However, compared to other types of meat, this stir-fried meat still tasted so much better.

No wonder the females here liked to eat pork. Now, Bai Qingqing’s favorite type of meat was pork as well.

Seeing that the rice was about to be cooked, Bai Qingqing quickly went to work on the steamed egg.

This wasn’t difficult. She frequently made steamed eggs when cooking rice in the rice cooker at home. Her mother told her that steamed egg made using rice water tasted the best, but since resources were limited here, she could only use water.

Bai Qingqing scooped the stir-fried meat into the stone bowl, then, without washing the bowl, directly poured in some water and a dash of salt. Because stone decreased in temperature at a slower rate, the instant the water was poured into it, the water became warm. Bai Qingqing beat three eggs and mixed them with a pair of chopsticks.

Gazing at the murky water, Parker asked, “Are you making egg steamboat? This is turning into water.”

Bai Qingqing sputtered with laughter. “The only thing you know is steamboat. This is called a steamed egg. I made enough for the three of us. The taste is light, so Cortis should be able to eat this.”

Upon hearing this, Cortis looked over with interest. Although his face was expressionless, there was a smile in his eyes. “I like to eat eggs.”

But what he meant was cold and raw eggs.

“Really? Then you must eat more later,” Bai Qingqing said with a smile. Then, she removed the firewood and placed the stone pot right over the charcoal fire, using a large tree leaf to cover the pot.

It should cook this way.

After approximately ten minutes, the bamboo rice was cooked.

Bai Qingqing lifted the tree leaf that had turned soft from the heat and saw a light yellow substance. Because there was the sauce of meat in it, the fragrance of the steamed egg was very intense.

Parker opened his mouth wide. His female cooked foods like she was conjuring magic. It was clearly a pot of water earlier, but now it had solidified.

Bai Qingqing smiled and used chopsticks to poke at the steamed egg. She wasn’t too satisfied with it, actually—the fire was too big, so there were some bubbles in the steamed egg. Next time she ought to turn down the fire.

As the pot was too wide, the three eggs only occupied a thin layer. Bai Qingqing scooped a bowl for Cortis first and set it aside to let it cool, then asked Parker to go over and eat.

Parker eagerly brought a stone bowl with him. He wasn’t too hungry initially, but the fragrance of the food made him hungry.

Although the steamed eggs didn’t look very appetizing, it actually tasted much better than what she used to taste at home. The taste of eggs laid by farmed chickens simply couldn’t compare to this. The stir-fried pork went well with rice, so Bai Qingqing ate a lot for this meal.

Cortis was particularly interested in the solidified egg. He raised the bowl and slurped down a mouthful.

“How is it?” Bai Qingqing asked immediately upon noticing Cortis eat the egg.